screaming-frog vs botify
Screaming Frog vs Botify — features, pricing, and which to choose for your SEO workflow in 2026.
Quick Verdict
Screaming Frog and Botify sit at opposite ends of the technical SEO spectrum. Screaming Frog is the beloved desktop crawler that nearly every SEO professional has used — simple, affordable, and reliable for site audits. Botify is the enterprise powerhouse built for massive websites with complex technical challenges and unlimited budgets.
The choice between them usually comes down to scale and complexity. If you're auditing sites under 500,000 URLs and need straightforward crawl analysis, Screaming Frog gets the job done. If you're managing enterprise sites with millions of pages and need advanced log file analysis, JavaScript rendering, and real-time monitoring, Botify becomes essential.
Feature Comparison
Screaming Frog excels at core crawl analysis — broken links, redirect chains, meta data issues, and duplicate content detection. The desktop tool crawls up to 500 URLs for free, with paid licenses removing URL limits and adding features like custom extraction, JavaScript rendering, and Google Analytics integration. It's particularly strong for site migrations, broken link audits, and standard technical SEO health checks. Botify operates on an entirely different level. Beyond crawl analysis, it combines log file data to show which pages Google actually crawls versus what you think it crawls. The platform includes advanced JavaScript rendering, real-time crawl monitoring, and sophisticated segmentation for analyzing different page types. Botify's log file analysis reveals crawl budget waste and indexing patterns that Screaming Frog simply cannot surface. The JavaScript rendering capabilities differ significantly. Screaming Frog's JavaScript rendering works well for most sites but has limitations with complex single-page applications. Botify's cloud-based rendering handles the most demanding JavaScript frameworks and provides detailed before-and-after analysis of rendered content.
Pricing Comparison
Screaming Frog offers exceptional value with a free tier for up to 500 URLs and an annual license at £149 ($185) that removes all crawling limits. This makes it accessible for freelancers, small agencies, and in-house teams with modest budgets. Additional costs only come from optional integrations with tools like Majestic or Ahrefs. Botify uses custom enterprise pricing that typically starts around $500 per month for smaller implementations and scales to tens of thousands monthly for large enterprise accounts. The pricing reflects the platform's target market — major e-commerce sites, large publishers, and enterprise organizations where technical SEO mistakes cost millions in lost revenue.
Best For
Screaming Frog is perfect for agencies, consultants, and in-house teams managing multiple smaller sites or conducting periodic audits. It's ideal when you need quick crawl analysis, site migration planning, or regular technical health checks without ongoing monitoring requirements. The tool shines for one-off audits and tactical technical SEO fixes. Botify makes sense for enterprise organizations with sites exceeding 100,000 pages, complex technical architectures, or significant organic traffic revenue. It's essential when you need continuous monitoring, detailed crawl budget analysis, or sophisticated segmentation to understand how different page types perform in search. The platform becomes invaluable for sites where small technical improvements translate to substantial revenue gains.
The Verdict
For 90% of SEO use cases, Screaming Frog provides everything you need at an unbeatable price point. It's the Swiss Army knife of technical SEO — reliable, versatile, and cost-effective. Choose Botify only when you're managing truly enterprise-scale technical SEO challenges where the advanced features and continuous monitoring justify the significant cost premium. The decision usually aligns with website size and budget rather than personal preference.