Pick Screaming Frog if you want a highly configurable desktop crawler with a free plan for up to 500 URLs, Linux support and deep custom extraction. Pick Sitebulb if you present audits to clients or stakeholders, want each issue prioritised and explained for you, or need a cloud version your team can share. Neither wins outright: it depends how much guidance and reporting you need.
Who's going to read the crawl once it's finished? If it's you, alone, with a spreadsheet open and a list of things to check, you want one kind of tool. If it's a client, a marketing manager or a developer who's never heard of a canonical tag, you want another. That one question sorts out most of this comparison.
Our advice in one paragraph
Go with Screaming Frog if you like control: a desktop crawler with a long list of configuration options, custom extraction, a command line interface, Linux support and a free plan that crawls up to 500 URLs. Go with Sitebulb if you need audits that explain themselves, with prioritised Hints, PDF reports for clients and a cloud version for team work. There's no outright winner. It's a choice between raw power you steer yourself and a guided workflow that's ready to show people.
Hints versus a blank canvas
The SEO Spider, as the first vendor calls its crawler, is a configurable tool backed by a user guide. Its site says it audits a site for over 300 SEO issues, with JavaScript rendering, custom extraction and scheduling. You decide what to crawl, how to crawl it and what to pull out. That's brilliant when you know what you're looking for, and a bit daunting when you don't.
The second vendor opens its audits with what it calls Hints: issues that are prioritised, grouped into categories and explained, including why each one matters. There's in-built education too, and the explanations are written so you can copy and paste them straight into a report. If you're still building your technical SEO knowledge, or you're handing work to junior staff, that hand-holding is useful.
Desktop, cloud and the machines it runs on
The SEO Spider is desktop software you run locally on Windows, macOS or Linux. If your team works on Linux, that settles things quickly, because the rival's desktop version is Windows or Mac only.
The guided crawler comes in two forms: Sitebulb Desktop and a browser-based Cloud version. The vendor says the Cloud version crawls up to 10m URLs per audit and lets a team share crawl data. For an in-house team working across several sites, shared data in a browser can save a lot of passing files around.
The comparison grid
| Area | Screaming Frog | Sitebulb |
|---|---|---|
| How it feels | Raw, configurable crawler with many settings and a user guide | Audit workflow led by prioritised, explained Hints |
| Where it runs | Desktop on Windows, macOS and Linux | Desktop on Windows or Mac, plus a browser-based Cloud version |
| Scale in the cloud | No cloud version shown | Cloud crawls up to 10m URLs per audit, with shared team data |
| Getting started | Free plan: crawl 500 URLs, a licence removes the limit | Free trial rather than a free tier |
| Reporting | Reports, exports, XML sitemaps, Data Studio crawl report, email notifications | Custom PDF reports, data visualisations, copy-paste issue explanations |
| Automation and AI | Scheduling, command line, MCP server, crawl with OpenAI and Gemini | Crawl automation and automated reporting in Cloud, MCP and SEO Skills integration |
Who builds each crawler, and why it shows
This is the background that explains the two personalities. The SEO Spider is made by an SEO agency that also sells services, so it's a tool built by practitioners for their own kind of work. Its rival is a dedicated software company, and its product is shaped around presenting findings to other people.
The guided crawler's homepage goes a step further and names the SEO Spider as its example of a desktop crawler, while saying JavaScript crawling comes included in its own plans.That's a direct comparison from one side, so treat it as the vendor's framing and check the details of any plan you're considering.
Reports for clients versus exports for you
The SEO Spider gives you reports and exports, XML sitemap creation, a Data Studio crawl report and email notifications. It's built around getting data out so you can work with it elsewhere.
The guided crawler leans into presentation: customised PDF reports for clients and stakeholders, data visualisations and issue explanations you can lift straight into a deck. If you send audits to clients every month, that can save hours. Agencies weighing up a wider kit should also look at our list of SEO tools built for agency work.
Scheduling, MCP and AI hooks
Both crawlers now advertise an MCP integration, so plugging them into an AI assistant is a live point of overlap rather than a reason to pick one. The SEO Spider adds scheduling, a command line interface and the option to crawl with OpenAI and Gemini, which suits anyone scripting audits. The guided crawler offers crawl automation and automated reporting in its Cloud version, plus an SEO Skills integration section.
If you're the sort of SEO who runs crawls from a terminal at 2am, the command line is a big plus. If you'd rather a report simply arrived on schedule, cloud automation is the easier ride.
Crawlers and audit platforms beyond these two
Not convinced by either? These four are the closest rivals. Our full guide to the best SEO crawlers compares more options, and there's a separate page on alternatives to the SEO Spider.
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Ahrefs Site Audit
Best for: Teams already inside Ahrefs, whose platform is built on its own web index and includes Brand Radar for AI visibility.
Semrush Site Audit
Best for: Marketers on the Semrush suite who want AI search issues checked alongside classic technical SEO.
Lumar
Best for: Enterprise web teams needing cloud crawling, monitoring and automated QA testing that stops new issues reaching the live site. Deepcrawl is now Lumar.
Oncrawl
Best for: Large ecommerce, media and listing sites cross-referencing crawl, log and performance data, with zero sampling according to the vendor.
Do you make an SEO crawler or site audit tool? Tool makers can ask to be considered for a featured place on this page.
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Frequently asked questions
Is there a free version of either crawler?
The SEO Spider has a free plan that crawls up to 500 URLs, and a licence removes the limit. The guided crawler offers a free trial rather than a free tier.
Does Screaming Frog run in the cloud?
Its site shows desktop software for Windows, macOS and Linux, with no cloud version. The rival offers both a desktop app and a browser-based Cloud version.
Which is better for client reports?
The guided crawler is built around presentation, with custom PDF reports, visualisations and copy-paste issue explanations. The SEO Spider focuses on reports and exports you work with yourself.
Can I use Sitebulb on Linux?
Its desktop version runs on Windows or Mac. The Cloud version runs in a browser, so a Linux user could use that instead.
Do both work with AI assistants?
Yes, both advertise an MCP integration. The SEO Spider also lets you crawl with OpenAI and Gemini.
