Tool comparison

A Screaming Frog & Ahrefs alternative that doesn't cost $100+ a month

Same site-wide technical crawl and real PageSpeed metrics - battle-tested on our own 10+ production sites, not a weekend project. No desktop install, no annual licence, no subscription. Try it free, then $9-49 one-time only when you need more.

Try it instantly - no signup. The same engine we run on 10+ of our own products.

Kalenux vs Screaming Frog vs Ahrefs / Semrush

An honest, side-by-side look. Different tools win at different jobs - here's where each one fits.

 Kalenux SEO AuditScreaming FrogAhrefs / Semrush
Price$9-49 one-timeFree to 500 URLs, then ~£199/yr$100-250+ / month
Billing modelOne-time credits, never expireAnnual licenceMonthly subscription
Site-wide technical crawlYesYesYes
180+ technical checksYesYesYes
Real PageSpeed / Core Web VitalsYesVia integrationYes
SetupWeb app, nothing to installDesktop app + RAM for big sitesWeb app
Health tracking run-over-runYesManualYes
CSV exportYesYesYes
Keyword research & rank trackingNo (by design)NoYes
Backlink indexNoNoYes

We're a focused technical-audit tool, not a keyword suite. If you want backlinks and keyword research, keep your Ahrefs. If you want fast, cheap, site-wide technical audits you can run on every client - that's us.

Where each tool wins

Pick Kalenux when

You need technical SEO + PageSpeed audits across whole sites, cheaply and often - especially across many client sites - without a monthly bill or a desktop crawler.

Pick Screaming Frog when

You want a deep desktop crawler with very granular configuration and don't mind the annual licence and local RAM for very large sites.

Pick Ahrefs / Semrush when

Your core work is keyword research, rank tracking and backlink analysis - the things a broad suite does that a focused audit tool deliberately doesn't.

The math for an agency

If you audit client sites, the difference compounds fast.

A keyword suite

$129/mo × 12 = $1,548 a year, every year, whether you run 2 audits or 200.

Kalenux Pro pack

$49 one-time = ~500 small-site audits. Credits never expire. Buy again only when you run out.

What that buys

Run a full technical audit on every client at onboarding, then re-audit monthly to show progress - for the price of one month of a suite.

Swapping out a desktop crawler or a keyword suite

A cheaper stand-in for a desktop crawler

Kalenux SEO Audit runs the same kind of site-wide technical crawl that a desktop spider does: broken links, redirects, canonicals, hreflang, structured data and sitemaps, plus real PageSpeed, all from a web dashboard with nothing to install.

The pricing works differently too. Screaming Frog is free to 500 URLs and then needs a yearly licence; Kalenux is free to start and credit packs are $9 to $49 one-time, with no subscription and credits that do not expire.

Replacing only the technical half of a keyword suite

Ahrefs and Semrush are broad keyword-and-backlink suites at $100 to $250-plus per month. If what you mainly need is technical site-health auditing, Kalenux covers that for $9 to $49 one-time. It is deliberately not a keyword-research suite, and it does not carry a backlink index.

Where a broad suite is still the better tool

It does not replace Ahrefs or Semrush completely, and we will not pretend otherwise. Those suites are stronger for keyword research, rank tracking and backlink analysis, which are jobs a focused audit tool does not attempt. Many agencies run Kalenux for fast, cheap technical audits across every client and keep a keyword suite for the research side.

Auditing many client sites

Credits are shared across every site in your account and never expire, so a $49 Pro pack covers around 500 small-site audits from one pool. Verify each client domain once, then re-run whenever you like and track health over time per site, which gives you a straightforward record of what you fixed between audits.

Related

Get the audit, skip the $100+/mo bill

Your first full audit is free. After that it's $9-49 one-time, credits never expire. No card to start.

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