Comparison
SE Ranking alternative: OpenSEO vs SE Ranking
SE Ranking is an all-in-one SEO and AI search platform on a monthly plan, with generous rank tracking. OpenSEO is open source and paid per lookup. Here is how they differ, and when SE Ranking is the better buy.
Starting price
SE Ranking pricing vs OpenSEO
SE Ranking Core: $129 a month ($103.20 a month billed yearly).
- 10 projects, 1 manager seat
- 2,000 keywords tracked daily and 100 AI prompts
- 14-day free trial, no card
List prices, checked in October 2026. SE Ranking sets its own prices and changes them; check its pricing page for current figures. OpenSEO's data costs are at the time of writing; see Pricing.
OpenSEO vs SE Ranking: feature comparison
| SE Ranking | OpenSEO | |
|---|---|---|
| Source code | Closed | Open source (MIT), self-hostable |
| Price model | Monthly plan from $129, with add-ons for agencies and AI search | Open-source software; data paid per lookup, from $0.01 |
| Rank tracking | 2,000 keywords checked daily on Core | $0.02 per keyword and device for the top 20, up to $0.10 for the top 100 |
| AI search | 100 prompts tracked daily on Core; more as an add-on | Pay per prompt run on 120+ models, priced before it runs |
| Reports | Report builder; white label with the Agency Pack | CSV exports and shareable views; no white-label reports yet |
| AI agents | API credits and MCP on every plan | 66 MCP tools and a REST API on every install, spending capped per call |
When to choose SE Ranking
- You track thousands of keywords every day: at that volume a flat plan is cheaper than paying per check.
- You run an agency and need white-label client reports.
When to choose OpenSEO
- You track tens or hundreds of keywords, not thousands, or check them weekly.
- You want the software open source and your data on your own server.
- Your research comes in bursts, and a monthly plan sits idle between them.
FAQ
OpenSEO vs SE Ranking FAQ
Is OpenSEO a free SE Ranking alternative?
The software is: OpenSEO is open source under the MIT licence and free to self-host, with no seats and no plan. Search data, like keyword volumes, rankings and backlinks, is paid per lookup at the price shown before it runs, so a quiet month costs little. The crawler, the site audit and your Search Console data cost nothing.
Is the data as good?
OpenSEO’s search data comes from YepAPI, a provider of a large commercial SEO dataset. It covers keyword volume, rankings, backlinks and SERPs well, but the big suites run their own crawlers and keyword databases, which are larger. For most site owners the difference matters less than the price; for agencies doing link research all day it can matter more.
What does OpenSEO actually cost?
The software is open source and free to self-host. Search data is paid per lookup, at the price shown before it runs: about $0.08 for a keyword search of 150 ideas, $0.02 to $0.10 for a rank check (top 20 to top 100). Tracking 100 keywords daily on desktop costs about $60 a month at the top 20.
SE Ranking is a trademark of its owner. OpenSEO is not affiliated with or endorsed by SE Ranking.