7 Best KeywordTool.io Alternatives (2024 Reviews)

A common mistake business owners make is targeting all the wrong keywords when creating content.

Many try to target huge volume keywords that giant brands are targeting and never stand a chance of ranking. Others have the opposite problem — they drill down too much and write content that nobody is searching for (did you know that 95% of keywords get less than 10 searches per month?!).

So how do you find the middle ground? Keyword research tools, like KeywordTool.io, are a good starting point.

KeywordTool.io, also sometimes just called Keyword Tool, is a keyword research tool that breaks down keyword data across multiple platforms, not just Google.

In this article, we’ll evaluate Keyword Tool’s best uses cases, analyze customer reviews, and provide you with a few different alternatives to consider.

Here’s the TL;DR version if you’re in a hurry:

• KeywordTool.io has a 2.8 star rating on Trustpilot and 4.5 star rating on G2.
• Users love KeywordTool.io because of the ability to perform keyword research across multiple platforms, such as Google, Facebook, and even Amazon.
• Users raved about the simple interface, stating that it should be easy to use even for beginners.
• Major pain point: The software is surprisingly pricey for the amount of features you get with it. Some unsatisfied users also claimed they had trouble trying to obtain a refund.
• Major pain point: Some users reported that search volume and CPC data was inconsistent with other tools. This may leave you wondering how much you can actually trust the data you’re given.
• Our top pick for a KeywordTool.io alternative is TopicRanker.
• Other options for alternatives include Semrush, KWFinder, Serpstat, SpyFu, Ahrefs, and SE Ranking.

Our final verdict: KeywordTool.io is overall a pretty good keyword research tool, especially if you’re performing multi-platform keyword research. However, its competition analysis features are weak in comparison to other solutions. We found in the end that the price of Keyword Tool plans were very high for the features you get.

	Best Use Case	Worst Drawback	Pricing	Trustpilot Rating
TopicRanker	Finding easy to rank keywords based on SERP weaknesses	New company that’s only ~1.5 years old	$9 – $129 per month	N/A
Semrush	Comprehensive keyword research and competitor & gap analysis	One of the most expensive tools in the industry	$129.95 – $499.95 per month	4.1 stars
KWFinder	Traditional long tail keyword research	Competitor research is lacking	$29 – $129 per month	3.4 stars
Serpstat	All-in-one SEO and PPC marketing	Software can be slow and buggy	$59 – $479 per month	2.9 stars
SpyFu	Tracking competitor performance and ad spend	Not a strong focus on keyword research	$39 – $79 per month	1.6 stars
Ahrefs	Keyword research and content planning & execution	Starts at a very high price point	$99 – $399 per month	1.8 stars
SERanking	Sharing reports with your clients and team	Has a steep learning curve	$55 – $239 per month	3.8 stars

 

KeywordTool.io (2.8/5 Stars)

KeywordTool.io Trustpilot rating: 2.8 stars (3 reviews)

KeywordTool.io G2 rating: 4.5 stars (19 reviews)

After looking through all of KeywordTool.io’s reviews on G2 and Trustpilot, we concluded that:

 

Business Like KeywordTool.io For	Businesses Dislike KeywordTool.io For
Multi-platform keyword research Simple user interface even for beginners Filtered keyword results	Very pricey for what you get Tool can be slow to load in data Some inaccurate data Difficulty in obtaining a refund
What KeywordTool.io is Most Useful For: Conducting detailed keyword research for multiple platforms, such as Google, YouTube, Facebook, and even Amazon — all in one software.

 

KeywordTool.io Overview

KeywordTool.io is a keyword research platform that uses Google auto-complete to help you find good keywords to target on all of your platforms. Here are some of the basics you need to know:

• KeywordTool.io is designed for keyword research across search engines, social media sites, and ecommerce platforms.
• It’s not ideal for competitor analysis and research. It doesn’t offer ANY competition data on its cheapest plan.
• It has a 4.5 star rating on G2 and 2.8 star rating on Trustpilot (the main reason cited for the low rating is difficulty in obtaining a refund).

KeywordTool.io Pricing:

• Pro Basic: $89/month
• Pro Plus: $99/month
• Pro Business: $199/month

They also offer an annual discount, so if you choose to pay upfront for the entire year rather than pay monthly, you can save a pretty significant chunk of change.

KeywordTool.io Pricing with Annual Discount:

• Pro Basic: $69/month
• Pro Plus: $79/month
• Pro Business: $159/month

 

KeywordTool.io Use Cases

The most obvious use case to me for this software is if you run a SaaS or e-commerce company. Keyword Tool makes it incredibly easy to do keyword research on a bunch of platforms simultaneously.

All you have to do is input a keyword and then you can toggle between different platforms — such as Amazon, Etsy, Ebay, the Google Play Store, etc.

If you’re just concerned with Google traffic, then Keyword Tool isn’t really necessary — there are plenty of other (and better) alternatives for your use case. But if you’re someone who regularly needs to perform multi-platform keyword research, Keyword Tool can be useful.

 

KeywordTool.io Drawbacks

Keyword Tool suffers from the same problem as the vast majority of other keyword research tools: It uses an arbitrary “competition” score when evaluating ranking potential for any given keyword.

The software has pretty weak competitor analysis in general. It also doesn’t analyze intent or weaknesses in SERP results for that keyword. This might mean that KeywordTool.io shows you a keyword with low volume, leading you to believe you can rank when there are no existing problems on the SERP.

If there are no issues on the SERP you can address, that’s a sign that you should go back to the drawing board so you don’t waste resources on a piece of content that never ranks. But KeywordTool.io won’t tell you that.

A few other KeywordTool.io drawbacks to consider:

• Issues with data: The keyword data in KeywordTool.io can be slow to load in, and sometimes just flat wrong. Specifically, users have noted that the CPC and volume metrics were inaccurate in some searches.
• The price: Keyword Tool is expensive, and I’m not sure it makes sense to invest in for the majority of SEOs. There are plenty of other tools out there that offer more features at a better price.

 

KeywordTool Alternatives

TopicRanker (Top Pick)

TopicRanker works by finding and recommending easy to rank keywords you should target for your website content because of specific problem on a SERP such as:

• Titles of pages missing terms from the search query – title mismatch
• Thin content – article has less than 1000 words
• Load time too high, takes more than 3 seconds to load
• Outdate content – publish dates is older then 6 months ago
• Poor readability – reading level above the 9th grade
• Poor mobile user experience

TopicRanker works differently than most other keyword tools out there. It doesn’t rely on an arbitrary difficulty score to determine rankability. Instead, it analyzes SERP weaknesses — real problems in competitor’s content in the search results that you can capitalize on in your content.

 

 

TopicRanker also has a suite of AI Writing tools including the following tools:

• Title Generator: Unlock the Power of Engaging Headlines
• Content Brief Generator: Your Blueprint for Success
• Article Writer: Jumpstart Your Content Creation
• Meta Description Suggest Tool: Elevate Your SEO Game

We truly believe that Topicranker is the best when it comes to finding EASY to rank keywords.

If you know you can improve on actual problems and weaknesses on the SERP, you have a real shot at ranking for that keyword.

TopicRanker Pricing:

• Starter: $9/month
• Basic: $59/month
• Premium: $129/month

 

TopicRanker Pros	TopicRanker Cons
Focuses on specific problems in Google search results Identifies keywords you already rank for and improvements to make AI-assisted content brief & outline generator	New company that’s only been around about a year No user reviews available on well-known sites like G2

 

 

Semrush (4.1/5 Stars)

Semrush User Ratings: 4.1 stars on Trustpilot (635 reviews)

Chances are you’ve heard of Semrush. It’s one of the priciest tools on our list — but that price is well worth it for what you get.

Searching for a keyword in Semrush provides you information on its search volume, intent, common variations and related keywords, and estimated CPC.

Where Semrush really excels is its competitor research tool. This tool offers a wealth of insights on your competitors to help you refine your keyword and content strategy. For example, it helps you keep track of what competitors are publishing, keywords they’re ranking for, and gaps in their content

Semrush Pricing:

• Pro: $129.95/month
• Guru: $249.95/month
• Business: $499.95/month

 

Semrush Pros	Semrush Cons
Comprehensive keyword research tool Competitor and gap analysis 7-day free trial, plus a money-back guarantee	One of the most expensive keyword tools in the industry

 

 

KWFinder (3.4/5 Stars)

KWFinder User Ratings: 3.4 stars on TrustPilot (9 reviews)

KWFinder is a pretty standard keyword research tool. You can search for specific long tails and get basic information about what sites are ranking for it. You’ll also see the typical metrics for each keyword like search volume, CPC, and a difficulty score.

KWFinder is a tool by the company Mangools, which also has a bunch of other useful tools for SEOs and business owners — LinkMiner, SERPChecker, and SiteProfiler to name a few.

KWFinder Pricing:

• Entry: $29/month
• Basic: $49/month
• Premium: $69/month
• Agency: $129/month

 

KWFinder Pros	KWFinder Cons
User-friendly, intuitive interface Great for traditional long tail keyword research	Number of related keywords shown is capped depending on your plan Not ideal for competitor research

 

 

Serpstat (2.9/5 Stars)

Serpstat User Ratings: 2.9 stars on TrustPilot (10 reviews)

Serpstat is a keyword research tool for Google and Bing. But while it started out as just a keyword research tool, it’s grown into an all-in-one solution for both SEO and PPC marketing.

When I say all-in-one, I mean everything from site auditing, backlink analysis, rank tracking, and competitor analysis. Serpstat allows you to check what keywords your competitors are ranking for and where their traffic comes from.

This can help you figure out why competitors are outranking your content and what you can improve.

Serpstat Pricing:

• Individual: $59/month
• Team: $119/month
• Agency: $479/month

 

Serpstat Pros	Serpstat Cons
All-in-one SEO platform Useful for PPC marketing Strong competitor analysis features	Software can be slow and buggy Mediocre customer support

 

 

SpyFu (1.6/5 Stars)

SpyFu User Ratings: 1.6 stars on TrustPilot (147 reviews)

SpyFu is a competitor analysis and keyword research tool for Google Ads and SEO. That said, SpyFu is probably the weakest tool on this list when it comes to traditional keyword research.

However, it has some great features for analyzing your competition. With it, you can input a competitor’s domain and see pretty much everywhere they’ve shown up on Google, such as keywords they’ve bought on Google Ads, organic rankings, and their different ad variations.

SpyFu claims you can view this data for the past 17 years.

SpyFu Pricing:

• Basic: $39/month
• Professional: $79/month

 

SpyFu Pros	SpyFu Cons
Emphasis on competitor analysis Check competitor’s ad spends See competitor data from past 17 years	Keyword research isn’t the primary feature UI can be wonky

 

 

Ahrefs (1.8/5 Stars)

Ahrefs User Ratings: 1.8 stars on TrustPilot (224 reviews)

Ahrefs is another well-known player in the SEO world. It includes a suite of SEO tools such as keyword research, backlink analysis, rank tracking, and more.

One cool thing about Ahrefs is its Content Explorer feature. This is a tool that helps site owners discover new content ideas and then execute content that can rank in search. These features in tandem with its keyword research make it an excellent tool for content planning.

Ahrefs Pricing:

• Lite: $99/month
• Standard: $199/month
• Advanced: $399/month

 

Ahrefs Pros	Ahrefs Cons
Some free features One of the most comprehensive SEO tools on the market Content Explorer	Steep learning curve Limited integrations Very expensive

 

 

SE Ranking (3.8/5 Stars)

SE Ranking User Ratings: 3.8 stars on Trustpilot (505 reviews)

SE Ranking is an SEO tool that comes with a broad feature set. It’s great for keyword research, competitor analysis, and even auditing your site.

One particular feature that sets it a cut above KeywordTool.io is its ability to suggest keywords to you based on (1) topics your website covers and (2) topics your competitors are covering.

It can also identify overlapping keywords in lists with its keyword grouping feature. This way, you can avoid having to sift through tens or even hundreds of keywords with only minor variations.

SE Ranking Pricing:

• Essential: $55/month
• Pro: $109/month
• Business: $239/month

 

SE Ranking Pros	SE Ranking Cons
Allows you to avoid searching through lists of very similar keywords Wide variety of features Share reports with your clients or team	Steep learning curve AI writing tool comes with a word limit

 

What to Look For in a KeywordTool.io Alternative

We could list out alternatives for you all day, but at the end of the day, the perfect tool for your use case is going to come down to your individual needs.

In general, though, all the best keyword tools have a few things in common:

• Offers good value relative to its price point
• Provides accurate and reliable data (not all tools are created equally in this respect)
• Analyzes competitors and keyword competition
• Compatible with multiple devices, and ideally, has a mobile app
• Overall easy and pleasant to use

 

Final Recommendations 

Here’s a quick recap of our top 7 contenders for KeywordTool.io alternatives:

• TopicRanker
• Semrush
• KWFinder
• Serpstat
• SpyFu
• Ahrefs
• SE Ranking

Have you settled on a KeywordTool.io alternative? Finding a great keyword research tool is just one small piece of the puzzle.

After that, the real work starts: choosing the right SEO keywords to target, figuring out where competitor content falls flat, and creating valuable content that addresses those issues.

Managing this process manually can be a huge slog, but TopicRanker can help with keyword and competitor analysis so you know you’re not wasting your time before you start creating a piece of content.

Here’s a walkthrough of how it works to find keywords your site has a real chance of ranking for:

TopicRanker.com Walkthrough