Feature Comparison at a Glance
| Feature | SearchVitals | Screaming Frog |
|---|---|---|
| Deployment | Cloud — no install | Desktop (Windows/Mac/Ubuntu) |
| GEO / AI Visibility audit | ✓ Core feature | ✗ Not available |
| AI crawler access checker | ✓ GPTBot, ClaudeBot, Perplexity | ✗ Not available |
| Core Web Vitals (CrUX) | ✓ Field + lab data | ✓ via Google APIs |
| JavaScript rendering | ✓ Cloud-based | ✓ Headless Chrome |
| Crawl depth / URL limit | Unlimited (plan-based) | 500 URLs free; unlimited paid |
| Scheduled crawls | ✓ Continuous monitoring | ✗ Manual only |
| Shareable reports | ✓ Live URL | ✗ Export files only |
| llms.txt validation | ✓ | ✗ |
| Structured data audit | ✓ | ✓ |
| Duplicate content detection | ✓ | ✓ |
| Custom extraction | Coming soon | ✓ XPath / regex |
| Log file analysis | ✗ | ✓ with log analyser add-on |
| Price (entry) | Free audit; plans from $29/mo | £199/year (desktop licence) |
Where Screaming Frog Wins
Screaming Frog has been the technical SEO crawler of choice since 2010, and for good reason. Its depth is unmatched for certain use cases:
- Large-scale desktop crawls. When you need to crawl 500,000 URLs with custom extraction rules and export raw data to a spreadsheet, Screaming Frog is still the most powerful desktop tool available.
- Log file analysis. The Screaming Frog Log File Analyser companion product lets you compare what Googlebot actually crawled against what the spider found — invaluable for crawl budget investigations on large sites.
- Custom extraction. XPath and regex extraction let experienced SEOs pull almost any data point from raw HTML. If you have a specific bespoke data need, Screaming Frog can probably be configured to grab it.
- Annual licence model. At £199/year, the paid licence is cost-effective for in-house SEOs who audit fewer than 5–10 sites per month.
Where SearchVitals Wins
SearchVitals was built for the current moment in search — where AI answer engines matter as much as Google blue links, and your technical audit needs to cover both.
- AI crawler access auditing. SearchVitals checks whether GPTBot, ClaudeBot, PerplexityBot, Google-Extended, and other AI crawlers can actually access your site — in robots.txt, at the server level, and in meta tags. Screaming Frog has no equivalent.
- GEO visibility scoring. SearchVitals evaluates how well your content is structured for AI retrieval: llms.txt implementation, structured data coverage, heading structure, definition patterns, and citation signals. This is the fastest-growing audit category in SEO right now.
- Cloud-based, no install. Runs from any browser. No laptop with 16 GB RAM required. Particularly valuable for agencies who need audits on client sites from any device.
- Continuous monitoring. Screaming Frog requires a manual trigger for every crawl. SearchVitals can monitor your site on a schedule and alert you when new issues appear — useful for catching regressions after deployments.
- Shareable live reports. Share a live URL with a client instead of exporting a CSV. Non-technical stakeholders can explore findings without needing the desktop app.
Which Tool for Which Use Case
cloud
Use SearchVitals when…
- check_circleYou need GEO / AI visibility auditing
- check_circleYou want cloud auditing (no install)
- check_circleYou're an agency sharing reports with clients
- check_circleYou want continuous monitoring + alerts
- check_circleYou need llms.txt and robots.txt validation
computer
Use Screaming Frog when…
- check_circleYou need 100k+ URL desktop crawls
- check_circleYou need log file analysis
- check_circleYou need complex XPath custom extraction
- check_circleYou prefer a one-time annual licence
- check_circleYou're working offline or behind a VPN
Can I Use Both?
Yes — and many agencies do. A common workflow is to run a SearchVitals audit first for a quick health check and GEO readiness score, then reach for Screaming Frog for deeper data extraction on specific technical problems uncovered in that first pass.
SearchVitals covers the GEO visibility layer that Screaming Frog simply cannot. If AI search is part of your growth strategy (and in 2025, it should be), SearchVitals is the only audit tool that measures it.
Pricing Summary
Screaming Frog SEO Spider: Free for up to 500 URLs. Paid licence is £199/year for unlimited crawls on one machine. The Log File Analyser is a separate purchase.
SearchVitals: Free instant audit for any site. Paid plans start at $29/month for continuous monitoring, scheduled crawls, full GEO scoring, and shareable reports. Agency plans available for multi-site management.
Frequently Asked Questions
I already have a Screaming Frog licence — do I still need SearchVitals? expand_more
They solve different problems. Screaming Frog is a desktop crawler for deep, manual technical audits. SearchVitals adds GEO/AI crawler access auditing (GPTBot, ClaudeBot, PerplexityBot access) and continuous monitoring that Screaming Frog does not do at all — many teams run both.
Can SearchVitals crawl as many URLs as Screaming Frog? expand_more
No — Screaming Frog's desktop crawler is built for large-scale crawls (500,000+ URLs with custom extraction). SearchVitals audits are scoped per site rather than raw large-scale crawling, and each plan has a monthly audit allowance (see Pricing above) rather than an unlimited local crawl.
Does SearchVitals do log file analysis? expand_more
No. Log file analysis (comparing what Googlebot actually crawled against server logs) is a Screaming Frog Log File Analyser strength that SearchVitals does not replicate.
Can I export my audit data? expand_more
Not today — SearchVitals reports are live, shareable web dashboards rather than CSV/PDF exports. If you rely on exporting raw crawl data for offline analysis, Screaming Frog remains the better fit for that specific workflow.
Is there a free way to try SearchVitals before switching? expand_more
Yes — the Free Audit runs instantly with no account required, so you can compare a real report against your current Screaming Frog workflow before deciding.
Does SearchVitals replace Screaming Frog for custom XPath extraction? expand_more
No. XPath/regex custom extraction is a Screaming Frog-specific capability for pulling arbitrary data points from raw HTML — SearchVitals's check set is fixed to its technical, on-page, performance, and GEO categories.