Keyword Planner: 5 al­ter­na­tives to the Google tool

After the Google Keyword Planner provided detailed results for free for a long time, these important values are now reserved for paying customers of the ad service Google Ads. Without a running ad campaign, it only delivers ap­prox­i­mate range values instead of specific numbers. Ad­di­tion­al­ly, since June 2016, Google’s Keyword Tool has combined many com­pa­ra­ble terms (singular vs. plural, word variants with acronyms, etc.), which has generally made SEO analysis sig­nif­i­cant­ly more chal­leng­ing. In this article, we present the best al­ter­na­tives to the Google Keyword Planner.

Key­word­Tool.io

The Keyword Tool, ac­ces­si­ble through the website key­word­tool.io, is managed by the Chinese company Key Tools Limited, which describes the online tool itself as the best Keyword Planner Al­ter­na­tive. The de­vel­op­ers provide three reasons for this statement: Firstly, the free version delivers up to 750 sug­ges­tions for long-tail keywords for each searched term. Secondly, the free use is available at any time – with a 99.99 percent avail­abil­i­ty – and without requiring reg­is­tra­tion. The Keyword Tool derives its data from Google Au­to­com­plete, the feature for auto-com­plet­ing entered search queries, and Google Suggest, the topic-related sug­ges­tions that users receive when entering a search term. Over 190 Google domains and more than 80 languages are supported.

In addition to the ability to generate new keywords for the Google search engine and export them in a CSV or Excel file, the web service’s offerings include various research functions:

• YouTube: SEO is becoming in­creas­ing­ly important on YouTube. A keyword-optimized channel, mean­ing­ful tags, and strategic video titles and de­scrip­tions are among the most crucial elements. Keyword Tool extracts over 750 sug­ges­tions from YouTube Au­to­com­plete, helping you enhance your videos ac­cord­ing­ly.
• Bing: As a search engine supported by Microsoft, the sig­nif­i­cance of Bing shouldn’t be un­der­es­ti­mat­ed, even if the number of users is con­sid­er­ably lower than Google. Key Tools Limited also offers a research function for Bing queries, where Bing Au­to­sug­gest serves as the basis for around 600 generated keywords by default. You can choose from over 40 different languages.
• Amazon: Amazon’s keyword research tool generates sug­ges­tions based on the product rec­om­men­da­tions au­to­mat­i­cal­ly shown by the online sales platform for a par­tic­u­lar keyword. This results in over 380 new keyword com­bi­na­tions for your query, which can be used not only to optimize sales listings on Amazon but also for enhancing search engine op­ti­miza­tion in online stores.
• App Store: The au­to­com­plete of search queries is also the foun­da­tion of this Keyword Tool feature, with which you can find over 1,000 theme-relevant keywords for Apple’s App Store. The results form the basis for for­mu­lat­ing app titles and de­scrip­tions, greatly sup­port­ing the marketing of your own mobile app.
• Google Play Store: Similar to the Apple App Store, the tool extracts keywords from Google Play Au­to­com­plete. The results help de­vel­op­ers optimize their app de­scrip­tions and metadata.
• eBay: The tool analyzes product searches on eBay, finding keywords buyers use. These keywords can be used to optimize product listings specif­i­cal­ly and achieve better rankings.
• Instagram: Keyword Tool uses Instagram search sug­ges­tions to identify popular hashtags and search terms. This helps to increase reach and en­gage­ment.
• X: The tool shows popular search terms and hashtags that users engage with on X. These keywords are ideal for trend analyses and optimized posts.
• Pinterest: Based on Pinterest Au­to­com­plete, Keyword Tool provides keyword sug­ges­tions for pins and boards. This aids in Pinterest SEO and vis­i­bil­i­ty en­hance­ment.
• TikTok: The tool analyzes TikTok search sug­ges­tions to generate relevant keywords for titles, de­scrip­tions, and hashtags. This helps in­flu­encers and brands better position their videos.
• Etsy: Keyword Tool displays various keyword sug­ges­tions based on Etsy search queries used by buyers. This enables sellers to optimize their product tags and de­scrip­tions.

You can also view the most fre­quent­ly asked questions from Google, YouTube, and Bing users, relating to the desired search term. Use the filter function to search for the results or certain words or terms. In the free version, it is also possible to exclude up to five keywords from the search (“negative keywords”).

When it comes to the search volume of the re­spec­tive keywords, the Keyword Planner al­ter­na­tive behaves similarly to the Google model in that you only receive the exact number of monthly searches if you opt for the paid plans, which are “Pro Business,” “Pro Plus,” or “Pro Basic.” Otherwise, Keyword Tool does not show any search volume. If you use one of the paid sub­scrip­tions, you receive twice as many keyword results. The “Pro Plus” and “Pro Business” plans ad­di­tion­al­ly display com­pe­ti­tion and cost per click, based on the values from Google Ads.

Overview of Key­word­tool.io as a Keyword Planner al­ter­na­tive

Moz Pro: Keyword Explorer

An excellent paid al­ter­na­tive to the Keyword Planner is the Keyword Explorer, a component of the SEO suite Moz Pro, which also includes tools for backlink and error analysis as well as ranking tracking (own and other websites). You can test the suite for free for 30 days before needing to subscribe to one of four plans for continued use. Depending on the chosen plan, the amount of daily or monthly keyword research with Keyword Explorer is limited (between 50 to 3,000 per month). Aside from the paid version, you can use the research service on the Moz website up to three times a day for free.

To find potential keywords for a topic area, the tool accesses a database of over 180 million ranking keywords, which is con­tin­u­ous­ly expanded. Ad­di­tion­al­ly, data from 170 search engines is in­cor­po­rat­ed into the keyword research.

The research on a search term or topic is sum­ma­rized by Keyword Explorer on three pages.

• Overview: The general overview page provides a summary of all the in­for­ma­tion captured by the Moz Pro tool research. This includes data on search volume, the chance of ranking with the re­spec­tive keyword, and the overall dif­fi­cul­ty of the search term. Ad­di­tion­al­ly, the page lists the top five entries of new keyword sug­ges­tions and the top three positions of Google search results. It concludes with three topic-specific reports compiled by the Fresh Web Explorer.
• Keyword Sug­ges­tions: In the keyword sug­ges­tions, you receive up to 1,000 related search terms and long-tail keywords for the selected search term. Each sug­ges­tion includes the monthly search volume and a relevance rating from the Keyword Planner al­ter­na­tive. The results can be specified using a filter function. For example, you can display only sug­ges­tions with a certain search strength or those that are questions. The entire list can be exported as a CSV file with a single click.
• SERP Analysis: In this section, Keyword Explorer provides insights into the first results page of Google Search, showing you the top results along with valuable ad­di­tion­al in­for­ma­tion. This includes the trust­wor­thi­ness of the page and the entire domain, as well as the number of external domains linking to the re­spec­tive page or the entire domain. The number of Facebook shares is also displayed. The SERP analysis can also be exported as a CSV file.

Like the free version of the Keyword Planner, the research tool of the Moz Pro suite displays all search volumes only in ap­prox­i­mate range values. The values for com­pe­ti­tion and potential of the search terms are given in per­cent­ages.

Overview of MOZ Keyword Explorer as a Keyword Planner al­ter­na­tive

Word­track­er

Back when the Google search engine was still in beta, the company Word­track­er was already working on de­vel­op­ing tech­niques to capture and evaluate the frequency of terms in search engines. Over time, the Euston-based company developed various concepts for this purpose, such as the Keyword Ef­fi­cien­cy Index (KEI), which reflects the ef­fi­cien­cy of keywords in numerical terms. The in-house keyword research tool Word­track­er.com is un­doubt­ed­ly one of the best paid al­ter­na­tives to the Keyword Planner. A highly limited free version is available, allowing for one search per day.

Word­track­er relies on a database with over 3 billion searches (over 480 million unique keywords) plus relevant search engine keywords, which the tool sources from partner SEMrush. For a single search, you receive up to 10,000 relevant keywords based on this resource (depending on the acquired license). In the free version, the number is limited to 100 terms. In addition to keyword sug­ges­tions, Word­track­er provides a chart sum­ma­riz­ing the interest of the last twelve months, as well as a preview of search engine results that lists top-ranking URLs and cal­cu­lates how difficult it would be to surpass them based on criteria such as trust­wor­thi­ness, link strength, and position. The tool also lists the top search queries on YouTube and Amazon.

Word­track­er is con­sid­ered one of the best Keyword Planner al­ter­na­tives primarily due to its level of detail: Even in the free version, each keyword shows the exact search volume, potential com­pe­ti­tion and the per­cent­age of searches that were not clicked (“No Click Searches”). If enough eval­u­a­tion criteria are available, you also learn about the pre­vi­ous­ly mentioned ef­fi­cien­cy of a keyword (KEI). The paid plans enhance the keyword research and the resulting set with the following features:

• Selection of Time Period: Instead of the monthly average, Word­track­er can also provide you with the search volume for specific months.
• Selection of Coverage Area: While the free version only offers global searches and selected al­ter­na­tives such as United States, United Kingdom, Brazil, Australia, Canada, France, and Germany, the most expensive paid license allows you to choose from over 200 regions worldwide, refining your research ac­cord­ing­ly.
• Save and Export Keyword List: Save in­di­vid­ual keywords or the entire set as a project to access it later at any time. Al­ter­na­tive­ly, you can also export the list as a CSV file.
• Advanced Keyword Options: Paying users also have access to ad­di­tion­al settings for struc­tur­ing suggested keywords, including options to include plural forms or list only exact matches.
• Access to the Word­track­er API: If you use the Keyword Planner al­ter­na­tive in the Gold version, you can directly access the extensive keyword database with your ap­pli­ca­tions.

Before deciding to purchase a Word­track­er edition, you can first test it for free for one week.

Overview of Word­track­er as a Keyword Planner al­ter­na­tive

SEMrush

In 2008, a small group of SEO and IT spe­cial­ists embarked on a mission to make the battle for users on the World Wide Web fair and trans­par­ent for everyone. Nearly a decade later, SEMrush with over 11 locations worldwide is un­doubt­ed­ly one of the most sought-after resources for online marketers around the globe—whether they want to analyze their own web project, design an ad­ver­tis­ing campaign, or optimize backlink structure.

The American company now offers its users more than 140 databases con­tain­ing over 25 billion keywords, making the marketing and analysis service an excellent al­ter­na­tive to the Keyword Planner. For a quick check of a specific keyword, you can use SEMrush after a free login without a paid account, but if you plan an extensive keyword research, sub­scrib­ing to a monthly plan (due to the daily limit on checks and other re­stric­tions) is necessary. Even with the most af­ford­able version, you can generate keyword sug­ges­tions for up to 500 search terms per month—including in­for­ma­tion such as search volume, com­pe­ti­tion level, or potential costs in paid search (ad banners).

In the “Keyword Analytics” section, SEMrush offers all the in­for­ma­tion you need for de­ter­min­ing high-quality and com­pet­i­tive keywords. Con­ve­nient­ly, you can select which Google domain should serve as the basis for the research, yielding language-specific results. While the Keyword Planner al­ter­na­tive provides the organic search volume as a single, rounded value, you receive the estimated CPC (Cost-per-Click) value and in­for­ma­tion on the com­pe­ti­tion intensity for the paid search of the relevant keyword. Ad­di­tion­al­ly, SEMrush provides a live overview of organic search results, relevant ad texts, and top videos on YouTube. For nearly all result data, you can op­tion­al­ly access detailed reports or export them as Excel, CSV, or CSV-semicolon files.

In addition to the in­for­ma­tion about the desired search term, which you can retrieve for both desktop and mobile traffic, the SEMrush service also suggests new, suitable keywords for you. The tool generates the following lists for this purpose:

• Keyword Vari­a­tions: In this list, the Keyword Planner al­ter­na­tive suggests possible new search queries that include the desired keyword or a variation of it. To generate the most high-quality and useful word groups, the research tool combs through a suitable regional database.
• W-Questions: SEMrush analyzes the top search queries with the search term you specify to create a list of W-questions where your keyword appears.

For both keyword lists, which you can also export in the formats mentioned earlier, you receive in­for­ma­tion about the search volume (rounded), potential costs, and the cor­re­spond­ing SERP sources of the sug­ges­tions. Users of the “Guru” and “Business” plans also have the option to view his­tor­i­cal data.

Overview of SEMrush as a Keyword Planner al­ter­na­tive

mangools: KWFinder

The SEO package mangools, con­sist­ing of the two tools SER­PCheck­er and KWFinder, is developed and marketed by the Slovak internet company itrinity. You can use both tools for up to five searches every 24 hours for free after creating an account, making the suite a useful al­ter­na­tive to the Keyword Planner even for smaller keyword samples. SER­Pcheck­er primarily serves as a sup­ple­ment to the actual research, helping you identify and analyze regional and global com­peti­tors. By pur­chas­ing the paid plans “Basic”, “Premium”, or “Agency”, you increase the number of possible checks to 100, 500, and 1,200, re­spec­tive­ly.

To generate in­for­ma­tion and new keywords for a search term, KWFinder offers you three different options:

• Related Keywords: This standard function allows the research tool to search for similar and topic-related search terms and com­bi­na­tions. It is based on the mangools database and a pro­pri­etary algorithm.
• Au­to­com­plete: In an “Au­to­com­plete” search, the keyword planner al­ter­na­tive uses Google au­to­com­plete. To do this, KWFinder places the chosen search term upfront and expands it with various letters or words to create hundreds of new search phrases in real time, which are usually presented to search engine users during input.
• Questions: The “Questions” option places question words before the chosen keyword to generate questions that include the keyword and have a high search volume.

You can further specify each analysis by having the tool check only the search behavior of users from specific countries or cities, or by setting a language for the outputted search terms.

The research results are sum­ma­rized into three areas: The main part is a list of the suggested keywords or keyword com­bi­na­tions. Ad­di­tion­al­ly, there is a graphic for the SEO dif­fi­cul­ty (scale from 0 to 100) and a chart dis­play­ing the search volume trend over the past years. The keyword set re­searched for the main keyword (limited to 25 entries in the free version) shows the following five metrics for each included sug­ges­tion:

• Trend: Mini chart showing the per­for­mance of the re­spec­tive keyword over the last twelve months
• Search Volume: Exact value for the average search volume over the past twelve months
• CPC: Estimated cost per click if the keyword is used for an ad­ver­tis­ing campaign
• PPC: Com­pe­ti­tion level of the term in PPC marketing (Pay-per-Click), expressed on a scale from 0 (not com­pet­i­tive) to 100 (highly com­pet­i­tive)
• SEO Dif­fi­cul­ty: Degree of dif­fi­cul­ty in ranking with the re­spec­tive keyword, de­ter­mined based on various SEO criteria (trust­wor­thi­ness, link strength, social signals, etc.) of the top-ranking com­peti­tors

With the help of the filter function, you can arrange the various keyword sug­ges­tions according to your pref­er­ences and wishes. For example, you can specify that only search terms with a certain minimum or maximum CPC value are displayed or that certain words are com­plete­ly excluded. Once you have analyzed and prepared the results in KWFinder to your sat­is­fac­tion, you can export the data for in­di­vid­ual terms or the entire list as a CSV file.

Overview of SEMrush as a Keyword Planner al­ter­na­tive

The best keyword planner al­ter­na­tives compared in a table