My Entire SEO Tech Stack (And What I'd Cut If I Had To)

I spend $437 per month on SEO tools.

That sounds like a lot (it is). But these tools help me manage 20+ client accounts generating over $200K in annual revenue. ROI checks out.

The question I get constantly: “Which tools are actually worth it?”

Here’s my complete tech stack, honest reviews of each tool, what I’d cut if money got tight, and free alternatives that don’t suck.

The “Can’t Live Without” Tier

These are non-negotiable. If my budget got slashed, I’d pay for these out of pocket.

1. Ahrefs ($129/month)

What I use it for:

• Keyword research (primary tool)
• Backlink analysis
• Competitor research
• Site audits
• Content gap analysis
• Rank tracking

Why it’s worth it: Ahrefs has the second-largest backlink database (behind Google itself). Their keyword data is more accurate than most competitors, and their Site Audit tool catches issues others miss.

Real example: Found a client had 2,300 broken backlinks. Contacted webmasters, got 180 fixed. Rankings improved across the board.

What I’d change:

• Rank tracker could be better
• Credit system is limiting (they charge “credits” for each query)
• No built-in content optimization tool

Best feature: Content Explorer. Find top-performing content in any niche, analyze what made it successful, reverse-engineer for your own content.

Who should buy it:

• SEO professionals managing multiple sites
• Content marketers needing keyword research
• Anyone serious about link building

Who should skip it:

• Complete beginners (overwhelming)
• People only managing one small blog
• Those on a tight budget (use free alternatives first)

Alternative: SEMrush ($129/month, very similar) or Ubersuggest ($29/month, limited but decent)

Rating: 10/10 for professionals, 6/10 for beginners

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2. Google Search Console (Free)

What I use it for:

• Monitoring actual Google rankings
• Identifying which queries drive traffic
• Finding indexing issues
• Discovering crawl errors
• Checking Core Web Vitals

Why it’s essential: It’s the ONLY tool that shows actual Google data. Everything else is estimates.

Real example: Client complained “we’re not ranking.” Search Console showed we ranked for 1,200 keywords. Problem wasn’t rankings—it was click-through rate. Fixed title tags, traffic up 67%.

What I’d change:

• UI is clunky
• Data is delayed 2-3 days
• Export limits are annoying
• Segmentation could be better

Best feature: Performance report. See exactly what people search, how often you appear, your actual ranking, and CTR. No other tool provides this.

Pro tip: Set up email alerts for coverage issues and security problems. Don’t check manually—let Google tell you when something breaks.

Rating: 10/10 (it’s free and irreplaceable)

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3. Screaming Frog SEO Spider ($259/year)

What I use it for:

• Technical SEO audits
• Finding broken links
• Checking canonical tags
• Analyzing site structure
• Exporting page data in bulk

Why it’s worth it: Desktop crawler that gives you complete control. Web-based tools are limited by monthly crawl budgets. Screaming Frog? Crawl 500,000 pages if you want.

Real example: Audited a 12,000-page e-commerce site. Found 890 product pages with duplicate meta descriptions. Fixed in bulk using their export → find/replace → reimport workflow. Saved 20+ hours.

What I’d change:

• Learning curve is steep
• UI feels dated (functional, not pretty)
• Memory usage is insane for large crawls

Best feature: Custom extraction. Pull any data from pages using XPath or regex. Want to extract all H1s, meta descriptions, and word counts into Excel? Done in 30 seconds.

Alternative: Sitebulb ($35/month, prettier UI) or free version of Screaming Frog (limited to 500 URLs)

Rating: 9/10 (essential for technical SEO)

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The “Very Useful” Tier

I’d keep these if possible, but could work around them in a budget crunch.

4. Grammarly Premium ($12/month)

What I use it for:

• Proofreading client content
• Catching embarrassing typos
• Improving readability
• Tone consistency

Why it’s helpful: Writing 50+ articles per month, mistakes happen. Grammarly catches things human eyes miss on the 47th read-through.

Real example: Caught “public” vs “pubic” typo in a client’s healthcare article. That one catch paid for a year of Grammarly.

What I’d change:

• Suggestions are often wrong for professional writing
• Over-corrects sentence structure
• Plagiarism checker is mediocre

Best feature: Tone detector. Tells you if your writing sounds confident, friendly, formal, etc. Surprisingly accurate.

Alternative: Free Grammarly (90% as good), LanguageTool (open-source), or Hemingway Editor ($20 one-time)

Rating: 7/10 (nice to have, not essential)

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5. SurferSEO ($89/month)

What I use it for:

• On-page content optimization
• Checking keyword density and relevance
• Identifying topical gaps
• Competitor content analysis

Why it helps: Takes guesswork out of on-page SEO. Tells you exactly what to include to match top-ranking content.

Real example: Client’s article ranked #12. Surfer analysis showed we were missing 15 related terms that top 5 all included. Added them naturally, ranking jumped to #6 in 3 weeks.

What I’d change:

• Can encourage keyword stuffing if not careful
• Credit system is limiting
• AI writing tool is mediocre

Best feature: Content Editor. Real-time scoring as you write. See exactly how your content compares to top-ranking pages.

Controversy: Some SEOs hate Surfer because it encourages formulaic content. They’re right—use it as a checklist, not a rulebook.

Alternative: Clearscope ($170/month, better but pricier), MarketMuse (enterprise pricing), or manual SERP analysis (free but time-consuming)

Rating: 8/10 (powerful but can be misused)

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6. SEMrush (I don’t subscribe, but use for specific projects - $129/month)

What I use it for (occasionally):

• PPC competitor research
• Local SEO tracking
• Advertising intelligence
• Position tracking

Why I don’t subscribe full-time: Too much overlap with Ahrefs. 80% of features duplicate what I already have.

When I do pay for it:

• Client needs PPC keyword research
• Local SEO project (their local tracking is better than Ahrefs)
• Need advertising spend estimates

Best feature: Keyword Magic Tool. Best keyword idea generator out there.

Alternative: Ahrefs (for most things) or SpyFu ($39/month for PPC data)

Rating: 9/10 (excellent, but redundant with Ahrefs)

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The “Nice to Have” Tier

These make life easier but aren’t essential.

7. Hemingway Editor ($20 one-time)

What I use it for:

• Simplifying complex sentences
• Checking readability grade level
• Identifying passive voice

Why I like it: Makes editing faster. Paste content, see what needs simplification.

Best use case: B2B writing that’s accidentally too technical. Hemingway flags jargon and complex sentences.

Rating: 7/10 (great value for one-time purchase)

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8. BuzzSumo ($99/month - I only pay when I need it)

What I use it for:

• Finding viral content ideas
• Identifying influencers to pitch
• Backlink prospecting
• Content performance analysis

Why I don’t keep it year-round: Only need it during content strategy planning. I subscribe for 1 month per quarter, export everything I need, cancel.

Cost: $99/month × 3 months = $297/year instead of $1,188

Best feature: Content Analyzer. See most-shared content by topic, date range, domain. Goldmine for finding what resonates.

Alternative: Ahrefs Content Explorer (similar, included in Ahrefs subscription)

Rating: 8/10 (excellent, use strategically)

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The “Overrated” Tier

Popular tools I’ve tried and don’t recommend.

Moz Pro ($179/month) - Stopped Subscribing

Why I quit:

• Keyword data less accurate than Ahrefs/SEMrush
• Smaller backlink index
• DA (Domain Authority) metric is misunderstood and over-emphasized
• More expensive than competitors with less features

What it does well:

• Local SEO tools are decent
• Moz Academy is good for learning

Who should use it:

• Absolute beginners (friendlier UI than Ahrefs)
• Local SEO specialists
• Those who need DA metric for client reporting

Why I switched: Paying $50 more per month for inferior data made no sense.

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Yoast SEO Premium ($99/year) - Free Version Is Enough

Why I don’t upgrade: Free version does 95% of what premium does. The extra features aren’t worth $99/year for most users.

What premium adds:

• Internal linking suggestions (useful but not $99 useful)
• Redirect manager (use Redirection plugin, it’s free)
• Multiple focus keywords (rarely need this)

Verdict: Stick with free version.

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Jasper AI ($49/month) - Tried It, Not Impressed

Why I unsubscribed: Content quality is mediocre. Requires heavy editing to be publishable. At that point, faster to write from scratch.

What it’s good for:

• Generating first drafts (but they’re rough)
• Brainstorming ideas
• Rephrasing content

Why I skip it: Would rather spend that $49 on better keyword research tools.

Alternative: Claude.ai or ChatGPT ($20/month), better output quality

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The “Free Tools I Actually Use” Tier

You don’t need to spend money to do good SEO.

Google Analytics 4 (Free)

Use: Traffic analysis, conversion tracking, user behavior

Pro tip: Set up custom events for meaningful actions (scroll depth, video plays, button clicks). Default setup is useless.

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Google PageSpeed Insights (Free)

Use: Core Web Vitals testing, performance optimization

Note: Don’t obsess over 100/100 score. Aim for green in all Core Web Vitals, ignore the rest.

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AnswerThePublic (Free/Limited)

Use: Finding question-based keywords

Limit: 2 searches per day on free plan

Worth upgrading? No. Just use it twice, export, work with that data.

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Google Keyword Planner (Free)

Use: Keyword research for Google Ads and SEO

Caveat: Data is grouped into ranges unless you run active campaigns. Still useful for ideas.

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Ubersuggest (Free/Limited)

Use: Budget Ahrefs alternative

Limit: 3 searches per day

Verdict: Great for hobbyists, insufficient for professionals

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My Actual Monthly Spend Breakdown

Tool	Monthly Cost	Annual Cost	Status
Ahrefs	$129	$1,548	Essential
Screaming Frog	$21.58	$259	Essential
SurferSEO	$89	$1,068	Very useful
Grammarly	$12	$144	Very useful
Hemingway	-	$20 (one-time)	Nice to have
BuzzSumo	$24.75	$297 (3 months only)	Occasional
Total	~$276/month	$3,336/year

Add-ons as needed:

• SEMrush: $129/month (2-3 times per year)
• Others: ~$200/year for one-off tools

Realistic annual spend: $3,500-4,000

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What I’d Cut If Budget Was Tight

First to go:

• Grammarly Premium → Use free version
• SurferSEO → Do manual SERP analysis
• BuzzSumo → Use Ahrefs Content Explorer

Savings: ~$150/month

What I’d keep:

• Ahrefs (non-negotiable)
• Screaming Frog (too valuable for technical SEO)
• Google Search Console (free, essential)

Bare-bones budget: ~$150/month

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The $0 Starter Stack

Don’t have budget for tools? Start here:

1. Google Search Console - Rankings and indexing
2. Google Analytics 4 - Traffic analysis
3. Screaming Frog Free - Technical audits (up to 500 URLs)
4. Ubersuggest Free - Basic keyword research
5. AnswerThePublic Free - Question keywords
6. Google Keyword Planner - Keyword volumes
7. Hemingway App (Web) - Readability checking
8. Grammarly Free - Grammar checking

Can you do good SEO with $0? Yes, but slower.

When to upgrade: When tool limitations slow you down more than their cost hurts.

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The “Investment Tiers” Framework

Hobbyist Blogger ($0-30/month):

• Use free tools
• Upgrade to Grammarly Premium ($12/month)
• Consider Ubersuggest Pro ($29/month)

Freelance SEO ($100-200/month):

• Ahrefs ($129/month)
• Screaming Frog ($22/month)
• Grammarly ($12/month)
• Free tools for the rest

Agency/Full-Time SEO ($300-500/month):

• Ahrefs ($129/month)
• SurferSEO ($89/month)
• Screaming Frog ($22/month)
• Grammarly ($12/month)
• SEMrush as needed
• Specialty tools for specific projects

Enterprise (Sky’s the limit):

• Full SEMrush suite
• BrightEdge or Conductor
• Custom tools and APIs
• Dedicated data team

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How to Choose Your Stack

Ask yourself:

1. What’s my biggest SEO bottleneck?

   • Slow keyword research → Ahrefs or SEMrush
   • Technical issues → Screaming Frog
   • Content optimization → SurferSEO
   • Writing quality → Grammarly

2. Can I justify the cost?

   • Will this tool make me money?
   • Will it save me time?
   • How long until it pays for itself?

3. Is there overlap?

   • Do two tools do the same thing?
   • Can I consolidate?

4. What can I do for free?

   • Don’t pay for what Google gives you
   • Don’t pay for what you can do manually (if time permits)

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Tools I’m Testing (Not Recommending Yet)

1. Clearscope ($170/month) Like SurferSEO but more sophisticated. Testing to see if the extra cost is justified.

2. MarketMuse (Contact for pricing) Content intelligence platform. Impressive tech, eye-watering price. Verdict pending.

3. Frase ($45/month) Cheaper SurferSEO alternative. UI is clunky but functional. Might recommend for budget-conscious users.

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Bottom Line

If you’re starting out: Use free tools until they limit you. Upgrade one tool at a time as budget allows.

If you’re a professional: Invest in Ahrefs + Screaming Frog minimum. Add others based on specialization.

If you’re an agency: Budget $300-500/month for comprehensive coverage. More if you manage large enterprises.

Most important lesson: Tools don’t do SEO for you. They amplify good strategy and speed up execution. A mediocre SEO with great tools will lose to a great SEO with basic tools every time.

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Your Action Plan

This week:

1. Audit current tool spend
2. Identify overlap (are you paying for the same feature twice?)
3. Cancel one tool you don’t use
4. Invest savings in tool you actually need

This month:

1. Try free alternatives to one paid tool
2. If quality is equal, downgrade
3. Track time saved by each tool
4. Calculate actual ROI (revenue/time saved vs. cost)

This quarter:

1. Build your minimum viable stack
2. Test one new tool per month
3. Ruthlessly cut tools that don’t prove value
4. Reinvest in what works

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Need help choosing the right tools for your SEO goals or want personalized recommendations for your stack? I’ve tested dozens of tools across hundreds of projects. Let’s build your optimal setup.