The best free Semrush site audit alternative
Crawly is a free, native macOS SEO crawler. No $139.95/month plan. No monthly crawl credit resets. No cloud account required. And it includes features Semrush does not have.
Why SEOs are looking for a Semrush Site Audit alternative
Semrush is one of the most comprehensive SEO platforms available, but its price reflects that breadth. At $139.95 per month for the Pro plan, you are paying for keyword tracking, backlink analysis, competitive research, and a dozen other tools. If you mainly need a site crawler, most of that monthly fee is going to features you are not using.
Semrush Site Audit also runs on crawl credits that reset monthly. On larger sites, or if you run frequent audits, those credits run out faster than expected. Crawly has no such constraint. It is a native macOS desktop crawler that stores all data locally, crawls unlimited pages, and runs audits whenever you want. It also ships with a Claude Code MCP integration for querying crawl data from the terminal, and a crawl diff feature that shows exactly what changed between two crawls.
If you need a capable site crawler without the all-in-one subscription overhead, Crawly is the answer.
Crawly vs Semrush Site Audit
Semrush starts at $139.95 per month with monthly crawl credit resets. Crawly gives you unlimited crawls, for nothing.
| Feature | Crawly Free | Semrush Site Audit |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | From $139.95 / month |
| Page limit | Unlimited | 20,000 pages per crawl (Pro) |
| Platform | Native macOS | Web-based (cloud) |
| Claude Code MCP | ✓ | ✗ |
| Crawl comparison (diff) | ✓ | ✗ |
| Monthly crawl credits | No limits | Resets monthly |
| Requires subscription | ✗ | ✓ |
| Data storage | Local SQLite, no cloud | Cloud only |
Semrush pricing correct as of May 2026. Based on publicly available feature documentation.
See it in action
Clean, native macOS interface. No cloud account. No browser tab. Just your data.
Frequently asked questions
- Is there a free alternative to Semrush Site Audit?
- Yes. Crawly is a completely free desktop SEO crawler for macOS. Unlike Semrush, there is no monthly subscription, no crawl credit system, and no page cap. You can run unlimited audits on any size site, as often as you like.
- Can Crawly replace Semrush Site Audit?
- For technical SEO audits, yes. Crawly covers on-page issue detection, redirect analysis, image auditing, hreflang checks, security header audits, and crawl comparisons. Semrush has broader keyword research and competitive intelligence tools, but for site crawling specifically, Crawly is a capable free replacement.
- Does Crawly have keyword data like Semrush?
- No. Crawly is a technical SEO crawler focused on what is on your site and what issues exist. Semrush's keyword research, position tracking, and competitor analysis are separate capabilities. If those are your primary need, Semrush remains the right tool.
- How does Crawly compare on crawl limits?
- Semrush Pro allows 20,000 pages per crawl and resets your credits monthly. Crawly has no page limit and no credit system. You can crawl any site, any number of pages, as many times as you want, with no resets.
- Is Crawly really free?
- Yes, completely. No trial, no paid tier, no subscription. Crawly is free to download and use indefinitely. It is built and maintained by Limely Ltd.
- Does Crawly work on Mac?
- Crawly is a native macOS application, built for Apple Silicon and Intel Macs running macOS 12 or later. It is not available for Windows or Linux.
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