OnCrawl vs Screaming Frog SEO
Reviewed by MarTechRadar Research Desk. Pricing & entity snapshots verified Oct 21, 2026.
OnCrawl (Web SaaS) and Screaming Frog SEO (Web SaaS) both compete in Technical SEO Auditing & Indexing. On pricing, OnCrawl lists Custom / enterprise pricing (no free plan disclosed), whereas Screaming Frog SEO lists Free plan · £169–£199/yr (free plan). Technically, OnCrawl is rated L2 · Workflow copilot with a 4.1/5.0 (Proprietary moat) moat, while Screaming Frog SEO is rated L1 · Prompt-assisted with a 2.1/5.0 (Workflow-embedded) moat. Corporate profile: OnCrawl (founded 2013, HQ Mérignac, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, €3.5M funding) vs. Screaming Frog SEO (founded 2010, HQ Henley-on-Thames, United Kingdom). Verified by the MarTechRadar Research Desk (Oct 15, 2026 for OnCrawl; Oct 7, 2026 for Screaming Frog SEO). At a 5-seat team baseline, OnCrawl starts at Custom quote vs Screaming Frog SEO at ~£79/mo (£945/yr).
OnCrawl
Enterprise technical SEO platform combining cloud-based web crawling and server log analysis to optimize organic search visibility and indexing.
5-User Team Cost: Custom quote (Custom / enterprise pricing) · Autonomy: L2 · Workflow copilot · Moat: 4.1/5.0 (Proprietary moat)
Target fit: DTC / eCommerce, Enterprise Brands (Web SaaS)
Screaming Frog SEO
Desktop technical SEO crawler engineered for comprehensive site auditing, log analysis, and automated metadata extraction.
5-Seat Floor: ~£79/mo (£945/yr) (Free plan · £169–£199/yr) · Autonomy: L1 · Prompt-assisted · Moat: 2.1/5.0 (Workflow-embedded)
Target fit: DTC / eCommerce, Enterprise Brands (Web SaaS)
How OnCrawl and Screaming Frog SEO differ
- Pricing model: OnCrawl is enterprise / quote, Screaming Frog SEO is freemium.
- Screaming Frog SEO has a free plan; none is recorded for OnCrawl.
- AI autonomy: OnCrawl is rated L2 · Workflow copilot, Screaming Frog SEO L1 · Prompt-assisted on the MarTechRadar scale.
- Moat tier: OnCrawl is rated Proprietary moat, Screaming Frog SEO Workflow-embedded.
- Screaming Frog SEO was founded earlier (2010) than OnCrawl (2013).
- Headquarters: OnCrawl in Mérignac, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, Screaming Frog SEO in Henley-on-Thames, United Kingdom.
- Funding stage: OnCrawl is Acquired; Screaming Frog SEO is Bootstrapped.
- Company headcount: OnCrawl is 51-200 employees; Screaming Frog SEO is 11-50 employees.
Computed from the fields below. Only editor-verified ratings and vendor-sourced prices are compared.
When to choose OnCrawl vs Screaming Frog SEO (and when to walk away)
Choose OnCrawl if
- Target ICP & Stack Fit: You operate as DTC / eCommerce and Enterprise Brands requiring a Web SaaS deployment for Technical SEO.
- L2 Architecture & Defensibility: Deep log file correlation engine merged with large-scale distributed crawling algorithms, underpinned by technical data cross-referencing capabilities post-acquisition by BrightEdge.
- Commercial Model Fit: Your procurement budget aligns with Custom / enterprise pricing.
Walk away from OnCrawl if
- Walk away if you require transparent self-serve monthly billing or your budget ceiling is under $1,000/mo (OnCrawl requires sales-gated custom quoting).
- Walk away if your workflow cannot tolerate log ingestion latency and configuration: Deploying the log monitoring module requires sustained SysOps intervention to set up log shipping pipelines (such as S3 buckets, FTP, or syslog relays), causing multi-week deployment delays if server architectures are fragmented.
- Walk away if high javascript rendering overhead is a deal-breaker for your team: Executing full browser DOM hydration across millions of pages consumes substantial computing credits, which forces teams to throttle render depth on heavy client-side applications.
Choose Screaming Frog SEO if
- Target ICP & Stack Fit: You operate as DTC / eCommerce and Enterprise Brands requiring a Web SaaS deployment for Technical SEO, with verified ecosystem connectivity for WordPress, Google Analytics 4 (GA4), Google Search Console, Looker.
- L1 Architecture & Defensibility: Entrenched desktop auditing workflow adoption, zero vendor-side data lock-in, and custom extraction capabilities via XPath, CSS Path, and regex on local compute.
- Commercial Model Fit: Your procurement budget aligns with Free plan · £169–£199/yr and want a self-serve free tier for zero-cost initial validation.
Walk away from Screaming Frog SEO if
- Walk away if your workflow requires uncapped enterprise volume on the Free plan · £169–£199/yr entry plan without upgrading tiers.
- Walk away if your workflow cannot tolerate local hardware bottlenecks: Because crawls run on your desktop instead of the cloud, auditing millions of URLs creates a RAM and SSD disk bottleneck.
- Walk away if waf and IP blocking is a deal-breaker for your team: Fast crawls from one local IP address often hit Cloudflare or origin WAF blocks unless you set up proxy rotation or crawl-delay rules.
Side-by-side facts
| Field | OnCrawl | Screaming Frog SEO |
|---|---|---|
| Subtrack | Technical SEO Auditing & Indexing | Technical SEO Auditing & Indexing |
| Pricing | Custom / enterprise pricing | Free plan · £169–£199/yr |
| Pricing model | Enterprise / quote | Freemium |
| Published pricing tiers | Enterprise / Custom (Custom quote) | — |
| Free access | No free plan disclosed | Free plan |
| Enterprise plan | Yes | Not recorded |
| AI autonomy level | L2 · Workflow copilot | L1 · Prompt-assisted |
| Moat tier & score | 4.1 / 5.0 · Proprietary moat | 2.1 / 5.0 · Workflow-embedded |
| Delivery | Web SaaS | Web SaaS |
| Audience | DTC / eCommerce, Enterprise Brands | DTC / eCommerce, Enterprise Brands |
| Ecosystem integrations | — | WordPress, Google Analytics 4 (GA4), Google Search Console, Looker |
| Funding & backing | €3.5M · Acquired by BrightEdge | Bootstrapped |
| Founders | Francois Goube, Tanguy Moal | — |
| Company size | 51-200 employees | 11-50 employees |
| Founded | 2013 | 2010 |
| Headquarters | Mérignac, Nouvelle-Aquitaine | Henley-on-Thames, United Kingdom |
| Fact-checked | MarTechRadar Research Desk, Oct 15, 2026 | MarTechRadar Research Desk, Oct 7, 2026 |
| Governance & docs | Trust & Security ↗ · Terms ↗ · Privacy ↗ | Privacy ↗ |
OnCrawl vs Screaming Frog SEO: TCO & constraint stress test
Test how both tools behave under your team size, monthly budget ceiling, CRM ecosystem, and governance guardrails.
OnCrawl
High Deal-Risk · Constraint Mismatch- Opaque Enterprise Quoting vs. SMB/Mid-Market Budget: OnCrawl does not disclose a public self-serve floor (Custom / enterprise pricing). Buyers with a $800/mo cap face high sales-qualification friction.
- Sales-Gated Contract Terms: OnCrawl operates an enterprise subscription model without public off-the-shelf tiers. Commercial pricing is available on request through tailored enterprise sales quotes based on organizational scale and seats.
- Primary Operational Bottleneck: Log Ingestion Latency and Configuration: Deploying the log monitoring module requires sustained SysOps intervention to set up log shipping pipelines (such as S3 buckets, FTP, or syslog relays), causing multi-week deployment delays if server architectures are fragmented.
Walk-Away Rule: Walk away if you require transparent self-serve monthly billing or your budget ceiling is under $1,000/mo (OnCrawl requires sales-gated custom quoting).
Negotiation Lever: Demand a 30- to 60-day paid pilot opt-out clause in the OnCrawl order form before signing a 12-month enterprise commitment.
Screaming Frog SEO
High Deal-Risk · Constraint Mismatch- Opaque Enterprise Quoting vs. SMB/Mid-Market Budget: Screaming Frog SEO does not disclose a public self-serve floor (Free plan · £169–£199/yr). Buyers with a $800/mo cap face high sales-qualification friction.
- Annual Contract Lock-in Risk Detected: Screaming Frog SEO offers a free version capped at 500 URLs per crawl. The full paid licence costs £169 to £199 per user per year, with volume tiers priced at £199 (1 to 4 licences), £189 (5 to 9 licences), £179 (10 to 19 licences), and £169 per licence for 20+ licences.
- Primary Operational Bottleneck: Local Hardware Bottlenecks: Because crawls run on your desktop instead of the cloud, auditing millions of URLs creates a RAM and SSD disk bottleneck.
Walk-Away Rule: Walk away if your workflow requires uncapped enterprise volume on the Free plan · £169–£199/yr entry plan without upgrading tiers.
Negotiation Lever: Validate exact quota thresholds (seats, credits, or API calls) included in Screaming Frog SEO's Free plan · £169–£199/yr tier before converting from monthly to annual billing.
Limitations
OnCrawl
Operational considerations and platform boundaries include: Log Ingestion Latency and Configuration: Deploying the log monitoring module requires sustained SysOps intervention to set up log shipping pipelines (such as S3 buckets, FTP, or syslog relays), causing multi-week deployment delays if server architectures are fragmented.Full limitations in the OnCrawl review
Screaming Frog SEO
Limitations and trade-offs to weigh before choosing Screaming Frog SEO: Local Hardware Bottlenecks: Because crawls run on your desktop instead of the cloud, auditing millions of URLs creates a RAM and SSD disk bottleneck.Full limitations in the Screaming Frog SEO review
Official vendor architectural differentiators & migration proof
To help buyers evaluate real-world switching costs, verified founders, solutions architects, and PMMs at both OnCrawl and Screaming Frog SEO can submit up to 3 evidence-backed architectural differentiators or verified customer migration case studies.
Why teams choose OnCrawl over Screaming Frog SEO
Work at OnCrawl? Verify your official domain email to publish 3 technical differentiators, migration benchmarks, or a head-to-head buyer sandbox offer on this comparison page:
+ Submit OnCrawl Official Differentiators & Case Study →Why teams choose Screaming Frog SEO over OnCrawl
Work at Screaming Frog SEO? Verify your official domain email to publish 3 technical differentiators, migration benchmarks, or a head-to-head buyer sandbox offer on this comparison page:
+ Submit Screaming Frog SEO Official Differentiators & Case Study →Pricing notes & tier schedules
OnCrawl: Custom / enterprise pricing
OnCrawl operates an enterprise subscription model without public off-the-shelf tiers. Commercial pricing is available on request through tailored enterprise sales quotes based on organizational scale and seats.
- Enterprise / Custom (Custom quote, 15–50+ seats (Enterprise SLA)): Sales-negotiated annual contract for custom volume, SSO/RBAC governance, and dedicated SLA.
- Credit & Usage Burn Multiplier: Workflows on OnCrawl consume metered credits or usage quotas; high-volume AI generation, batch queries, or recurring automation runs can exhaust base allocations and trigger mid-cycle top-up packs.
- Log Ingestion Latency and Configuration: Deploying the log monitoring module requires sustained SysOps intervention to set up log shipping pipelines (such as S3 buckets, FTP, or syslog relays), causing multi-week deployment delays if server architectures are fragmented.
Screaming Frog SEO: Free plan · £169–£199/yr
Screaming Frog SEO offers a free version capped at 500 URLs per crawl. The full paid licence costs £169 to £199 per user per year, with volume tiers priced at £199 (1 to 4 licences), £189 (5 to 9 licences), £179 (10 to 19 licences), and £169 per licence for 20+ licences.
- Per-Seat Linear Scaling: Screaming Frog SEO prices licenses on a per-user/seat basis (Free plan · £169–£199/yr); expanding from 2 to 15+ operators multiplies base recurring spend linearly.
- Local Hardware Bottlenecks: Because crawls run on your desktop instead of the cloud, auditing millions of URLs creates a RAM and SSD disk bottleneck.
Frequently asked questions: OnCrawl vs Screaming Frog SEO
How does OnCrawl pricing compare to Screaming Frog SEO in 2026?
OnCrawl is listed at Custom / enterprise pricing (enterprise / quote, no free plan disclosed), whereas Screaming Frog SEO is listed at Free plan · £169–£199/yr (freemium, free plan).
How do OnCrawl and Screaming Frog SEO compare on AI autonomy and moat depth?
On the MarTechRadar L1–L5 scale, OnCrawl is rated L2 · Workflow copilot with a Proprietary moat moat (4.1/5.0), while Screaming Frog SEO is rated L1 · Prompt-assisted with a Workflow-embedded moat (2.1/5.0).
Which teams are OnCrawl and Screaming Frog SEO built for?
OnCrawl is a Web SaaS product in Technical SEO Auditing & Indexing designed for DTC / eCommerce, Enterprise Brands. Screaming Frog SEO is a Web SaaS product in Technical SEO Auditing & Indexing designed for DTC / eCommerce, Enterprise Brands.
What are the main limitations of OnCrawl vs Screaming Frog SEO?
For OnCrawl: Operational considerations and platform boundaries include: Log Ingestion Latency and Configuration: Deploying the log monitoring module requires sustained SysOps intervention to set up log shipping pipelines (such as S3 buckets, FTP, or syslog relays), causing multi-week deployment delays if server architectures are fragmented. For Screaming Frog SEO: Limitations and trade-offs to weigh before choosing Screaming Frog SEO: Local Hardware Bottlenecks: Because crawls run on your desktop instead of the cloud, auditing millions of URLs creates a RAM and SSD disk bottleneck.
What are the hidden TCO drivers and contract negotiation levers for OnCrawl vs Screaming Frog SEO?
For OnCrawl: Credit & Usage Burn Multiplier (Workflows on OnCrawl consume metered credits or usage quotas; high-volume AI generation, batch queries, or recurring automation runs can exhaust base allocations and trigger mid-cycle top-up packs.) Negotiation lever: Demand a 30- to 60-day paid pilot opt-out clause in the OnCrawl order form before signing a 12-month enterprise commitment. For Screaming Frog SEO: Per-Seat Linear Scaling (Screaming Frog SEO prices licenses on a per-user/seat basis (Free plan · £169–£199/yr); expanding from 2 to 15+ operators multiplies base recurring spend linearly.) Negotiation lever: Validate exact quota thresholds (seats, credits, or API calls) included in Screaming Frog SEO's Free plan · £169–£199/yr tier before converting from monthly to annual billing.
Excerpts are quoted verbatim from each fact-checked review. Last updated Oct 21, 2026.