mangools vs google-keyword-planner
Mangools vs Google Keyword Planner — features, pricing, and which to choose for your SEO workflow in 2026.
Quick Verdict
Most SEO beginners face this exact choice: Google's free Keyword Planner or a paid tool like Mangools. While Google Keyword Planner gives you data straight from the source, it's built for advertisers, not SEO professionals. Mangools packages that data into an SEO-focused interface with additional features you won't find in Google's tool.
The fundamental difference comes down to purpose and presentation. Google Keyword Planner shows you what people search for but expects you to interpret that data for SEO. Mangools takes search data and presents it specifically for ranking decisions, complete with difficulty scores and SERP analysis that Google doesn't provide.
Feature Comparison
Google Keyword Planner excels at search volume accuracy since it pulls directly from Google's ad auction data. You get monthly search volumes, seasonal trends, and geographic breakdowns that are as accurate as it gets. However, the tool groups keywords into broad volume ranges unless you're running active ad campaigns, and it provides no ranking difficulty metrics or SERP analysis. Mangools' KWFinder takes a different approach, combining Google's search data with proprietary difficulty scoring. You get exact search volumes (not ranges), keyword difficulty scores from 0-100, and detailed SERP analysis showing domain authority of ranking pages. The tool also includes trend data going back 15 years and related keyword suggestions that are more SEO-focused than Google's advertiser-oriented suggestions. Where Mangools really separates itself is the additional tools in the suite. SERPChecker analyzes the first page of results for any keyword, showing you exactly what you're competing against. LinkMiner helps you find backlink opportunities from competitors' link profiles. Google Keyword Planner offers none of these complementary features.
Pricing Comparison
Google Keyword Planner is completely free but requires a Google Ads account. You'll see limited data unless you're actively running ad campaigns, which makes it less useful for SEO-only professionals. The "free" comes with the expectation that you'll eventually spend money on ads. Mangools starts at $30/month for the Basic plan, which includes 100 keyword lookups per day across all tools. The Premium plan at $40/month bumps that to 500 lookups daily and adds more SERP analysis credits. For agencies, the Agency plan at $80/month provides 1,200 daily lookups and white-label reporting. There's also a 10-day free trial that doesn't require a credit card.
Best For
Google Keyword Planner works best for advertisers who want free, accurate search data and don't need SEO-specific features. If you're just starting out, have a tight budget, or primarily run Google Ads campaigns, the free access to Google's data is hard to beat. It's also ideal for quick volume checks on specific keywords. Mangools is better for dedicated SEO work where you need to make ranking decisions quickly. The keyword difficulty scores alone save hours of manual SERP analysis, and the additional tools create a complete workflow from keyword research to backlink prospecting. If SEO is your primary focus and you can justify $30/month, Mangools provides significantly more actionable insights.
The Verdict
Choose Mangools if you're serious about SEO and can afford the monthly cost. The time saved on difficulty analysis and SERP research justifies the price for most SEO professionals. Google Keyword Planner remains the better choice for advertisers, extreme budget constraints, or casual keyword research, but it's not built for the modern SEO workflow that demands competitive analysis alongside search volume data.