Screaming Frog SEO Spider vs Sitebulb
Sitebulb lists at $18/mo and Screaming Frog SEO Spider at $23.55/mo, so Sitebulb costs $66.60 less a year at listed prices. Screaming Frog SEO Spider's price assumes annual billing; Sitebulb's is month to month. Below: prices, free plans, whether AI can replace each one, and the free alternatives.
01Side by side
| Screaming Frog SEO Spider | Sitebulb | |
|---|---|---|
| Listed price | $23.55/mo | $18/mo |
| Per year | $282.60 | $216 |
| Plan compared | SEO Spider licence (1–4 users) | Lite |
| Billing | annual billing, per user per month | monthly |
| Free plan | Yes: Free. 500 URLs per crawl. | None listed |
| Can AI replace it? | Bot | Half-bot |
| Build time with AI | multi-day | multi-day |
| Free alternatives listed | 5 | 5 |
| Prices checked | Aug 14, 2026 | Aug 14, 2026 |
Each column uses the plan that app's page lists. Plans include different things, so read both pricing pages before you switch.
02The short version
Screaming Frog SEO Spider BotThe core loop is small enough for a capable coding agent to produce a useful local version in one sitting. For Screaming Frog SEO Spider, crawl an owned site locally, inspect technical signals, and export raw audit data. The hard boundary is years of crawl edge cases, javascript rendering, integrations, and desktop performance, plus crawl scale, rule depth, and operational polish.
Leaving means giving up: years of crawl edge cases, JavaScript rendering, integrations, and desktop performance, massive hosted crawl capacity, proprietary scoring and continuous monitoring.
Free options: Crawly, FreeCrawl and LibreCrawl.
Full Screaming Frog SEO Spider verdict →
All free alternatives to Screaming Frog SEO Spider →
Sitebulb Half-botThe core loop is buildable, but a dependable replacement becomes a real weekend or multi-day project. For Sitebulb, crawl an owned site and turn technical findings into prioritized, evidenced hints. The hard boundary is rule depth, visualization, reporting, javascript crawling, and agency workflow, plus crawl scale, rule depth, and operational polish.
Leaving means giving up: rule depth, visualization, reporting, JavaScript crawling, and agency workflow, massive hosted crawl capacity, proprietary scoring and continuous monitoring.
Free options: Crawly, FreeCrawl and LibreCrawl.
03Free alternatives to both
Unlimited local crawling, JavaScript rendering and crawl diffs in a native Mac app; other operating systems get nothing.
getcrawly.com →A finished desktop crawler with 200 checks, JavaScript rendering, projects and exports; unusually close to the actual frog.
freecrawl.net →An unlimited browser-based crawler with JavaScript rendering; free, capable and one Docker stack away from useful.
librecrawl.com →A workmanlike crawler with issue severity, audit history and exports; less microscope, more dependable checklist.
seonaut.org →A proper cross-platform crawler with JavaScript rendering, reports and raw exports; no license key hiding under the lily pad.
crawler.siteone.io →04Questions
Is Screaming Frog SEO Spider cheaper than Sitebulb?
Sitebulb lists at $18/mo and Screaming Frog SEO Spider at $23.55/mo, so Sitebulb costs $66.60 less a year at listed prices. Screaming Frog SEO Spider's price assumes annual billing; Sitebulb's is month to month. The plans compared are Screaming Frog SEO Spider SEO Spider licence (1–4 users) and Sitebulb Lite; they don't include the same things, so check both pricing pages.
Can AI replace Screaming Frog SEO Spider or Sitebulb?
Screaming Frog SEO Spider: Bot. The core loop is small enough for a capable coding agent to produce a useful local version in one sitting. For Screaming Frog SEO Spider, crawl an owned site locally, inspect technical signals, and export raw audit data. The hard boundary is years of crawl edge cases, javascript rendering, integrations, and desktop performance, plus crawl scale, rule depth, and operational polish. Sitebulb: Half-bot. The core loop is buildable, but a dependable replacement becomes a real weekend or multi-day project. For Sitebulb, crawl an owned site and turn technical findings into prioritized, evidenced hints. The hard boundary is rule depth, visualization, reporting, javascript crawling, and agency workflow, plus crawl scale, rule depth, and operational polish.
Are there free alternatives to Screaming Frog SEO Spider and Sitebulb?
Yes. Crawly, FreeCrawl, LibreCrawl, SEOnaut and SiteOne Crawler are listed as free alternatives to both.
Prices change; confirm on the vendor's site before you decide.
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