Keyword research isn’t optional anymore. It’s the backbone of every high-performing SEO strategy. Using a tool helps in researching better keywords for your business. But let’s be honest, most beginners and small businesses skip it, thinking it might shell out big bucks for real insights.
Truth is, it doesn’t.
There’s a goldmine of free keyword tools out there. Tools that deliver data straight from Google, spy on competitors, surface trending topics, and help you find low-competition keywords worth ranking for — all without touching your wallet.
In this guide, we’re breaking down 10 free keyword research tools that can give your business a great head start. Whether you’re writing blogs, planning campaigns, or optimizing old content, these tools can help you move smarter, rank faster, and reach the right audience.
Let’s dive in.
Why Keyword Research Is Crucial for SEO
Keyword research isn’t just about finding popular search terms. It’s about understanding why people search for this word, what’s their intent. Are they looking to buy? Learn? Compare? Navigate? That context drives everything and you’ll need to optimize your content according to the user intent.
For new sites and small teams, the smartest move is to chase low-competition, high-intent keywords. Skip the vanity metrics. Those high-volume head terms are usually locked down by the big leagues. Instead, go after long-tail keywords — more specific, less competitive, and packed with a clear purpose. That’s where you can win.
The best part? You don’t need to blow your budget. Free tools like Google Keyword Planner, Trends, Search Console, Soovle, and AnswerThePublic put serious data at your fingertips. They give you real queries, real patterns, real opportunities, without the price tag.
What to Look for in a Free Keyword Tool
When sizing up a free keyword tool, don’t get distracted by fancy dashboards. Focus on whether it delivers real, usable SEO intel. Here’s what matters:
- Search Volume Accuracy: Most tools give estimates. The good ones pull from Google or solid aggregators so you can actually trust the numbers.
- Keyword Difficulty: You need to know at what difficulty level you are playing? This is especially true if you’re building from scratch. There are players with more experience and trust than you.
- SERP Snapshot: A peek at the current top-ranking pages tells you who’s dominating and what are the points they are putting out and missing.
- Intent Tagging: It’s not just what people search for, but why. Is the purpose only research? Shopping? Brand-hunting? Match that intent or get ignored.
Competitor Intel: Tools that show what your rivals rank for and where they’re weak, gives you instant ammo.
No free tool does everything perfectly. But stitch together a few smart ones, and you’ve got yourself a legit keyword research stack — no credit card required.
The Top 10 Free Keyword Research Tools
Here are 10 battle-tested, genuinely free keyword tools built to give you a sharp edge in SEO—without spending a dime.
Google Keyword Planner (Free Tool #1)
URL: http://ads.google.com/home/tools/keyword-planner
Use This For: Accurate keyword volume straight from Google. Ideal for planning paid and organic search strategies.
Features:
- Search volume: Google-backed monthly range data (e.g., 1K-10K). Precise only with active ads.
- Keyword ideas: Seed keywords, URLs, or categories = hundreds of suggestions.
- Intent signals: Geared toward commercial and transactional queries.
Pros: 100% free with a Google Ads login. Filter by location and language. Real, reliable data.
Cons: Volume estimates are broad. Mostly built for ads. UI is clunky.
Best Use: Start here. It gives legit Google search volume and early keyword direction.
Ubersuggest (Free Tool #2)
URL: http://neilpatel.com/ubersuggest
Use This For: Beginner-friendly keyword and content research.
Features:
- Search volume: Monthly estimates.
- Suggestions: Short-tail, long-tail, plus blog topic ideas.
- Intent: Not labeled, but tied to real content examples.
Pros: Easy UI. Good for beginners. Includes SEO difficulty and CPC.
Cons: Just 3 free daily searches. Accuracy varies.
Best Use: Use it to discover long-tail keywords and check difficulty. Great starting point.
AnswerThePublic (Free Tool #3)
URL: http://answerthepublic.com
Use This For: Unlocking what your audience is asking.
Features:
- Search volume: Shows ranges with suggestions.
- Suggestions: Organizes autocomplete data into questions, comparisons, and prepositions.
- Intent: Excellent for identifying informational queries.
Pros: Visual goldmine. Great for blog ideas. No login required.
Cons: Just 3 free searches daily. No SEO metrics.
Best Use: Ideal for bloggers, marketers, and FAQ builders who want to answer real user questions.
Keyword Surfer (Free Tool #4)
URL: http://surferseo.com (via Chrome Web Store)
Use This For: Keyword stats directly in your Google SERP
Features:
- Search volume: Monthly count right in the SERP.
- Suggestions: Related keywords and similarity.
- Intent: Not labeled, but contextually obvious.
Pros: Super quick insights. Shows traffic, keywords used, and backlinks.
Cons: Browser extension only. Lacks depth.
Best Use: Ideal for instant keyword validation while researching on Google.
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Soovle (Free Tool #5)
URL: http://soovle.com
Use This For: Broad search suggestion sweep across platforms.
Features:
- Search volume: Not available.
- Suggestions: Pulls from Google, YouTube, Bing, Amazon, Yahoo, and Wikipedia.
- Intent: Not tagged but easy to infer.
Pros: No login. No limit. Covers multiple platforms.
Cons: No volume, no difficulty, no trends.
Best Use: Use it to kickstart brainstorming from a dozen different channels.
Keyword Sheeter (Free Tool #6)
URL: http://keywordsheeter.com
Use This For: Mass keyword ideation at breakneck speed.
Features:
- Search volume: Not built-in.
- Suggestions: Generates 1,000+ keywords/minute from Google autocomplete.
- Intent: Raw data, untagged.
Pros: Free, fast, filters for positive/negative phrases. Bulk export.
Cons: No search volume or difficulty built in.
Best Use: Ideal for raw data extraction and brainstorming sprints.
Google Trends (Free Tool #7)
URL: http://trends.google.com
Use This For: Spotting spikes, seasonal topics, and emerging terms.
Features:
- Search volume: Relative only, not exact numbers.
- Suggestions: Related queries, rising trends.
- Intent: Implied through search interest.
Pros: 100% real-time data from Google. Geo-based breakdowns. Dead simple.
Cons: Lacks keyword metrics. No difficulty.
Best Use: Use it to time content or jump on early trends before they peak.
Keyword Tool.io (Free Tool #8)
URL: http://keywordtool.io
Use This For: Platform-specific keyword suggestions (Google, Amazon, YouTube, etc).
Features:
- Search volume: Paid only feature.
- Suggestions: Loads of autocomplete-driven long-tail terms.
- Intent: Not tagged.
Pros: Covers many platforms. No login needed.
Cons: No metrics in the free version. Limited insights.
Best Use: Use to gather massive long-tail lists across multiple marketing channels.
Ahrefs Free Keyword Generator (Free Tool #9)
URL: http://ahrefs.com/keyword-generator
Use This For: Quick keyword ideas + difficulty ratings.
Features:
- Search volume: Monthly estimates.
- Suggestions: Match-based and question-based.
- Intent: Not tagged
Pros: Free difficulty scores. Covers Google, YouTube, Bing, and Amazon.
Cons: Limited results per search.
Best Use: Great for checking keyword potential fast with difficulty insights.
QuestionDB (Free Tool #10)
URL: http://questiondb.io
Use This For: Discovering question-focused queries for smarter content.
Features:
- Search volume: Shown in results.
- Suggestions: Pulls from Reddit, blogs, and forums.
- Intent: Strong informational alignment.
Pros: Unique ideas you won’t find elsewhere. Clean UI.
Cons: Daily limits. Full features are locked behind a paid plan.
Best Use: Perfect for FAQ-rich content, product pages, and long-tail targeting.
No single tool does it all, but combine a few of these tools together and get a zero-cost keyword system that can rival any paid system.
Bonus: Combine Tools Like a Pro
If you’re just starting out, keyword research can feel like decoding the Matrix. Here’s a dead-simple but strategic workflow that stitches together free tools for real insights—without hitting a paywall.
1. Start with AnswerThePublic: The Idea Machine
Fire this up first. This tool pulls autocomplete data from Google and visualizes it as questions, prepositions, and comparisons. It’s your goldmine for uncovering what your audience types in.
Perfect for content ideation—blog posts, FAQs, YouTube scripts, even product page angles.
2. Validate with Google Keyword Planner: The Volume Check
Take those raw keyword ideas and run them through Google Keyword Planner. You’ll get monthly search volumes and competition levels straight from Google’s own database.
Use this to weed out dead weight and double down on terms with real search demand.
3. Analyze with Google Trends: The Pattern Sniffer
Next, drop your shortlisted keywords into Google Trends. This shows how interest fluctuates over time and across geographies.
Spot rising topics, seasonal dips, or evergreen winners. Critical if you’re building topical authority or planning a content calendar.
4. Check Competition with Ubersuggest: The Quick Scout
Finally, plug your best keywords into Ubersuggest for a fast look at SEO difficulty and top-ranking pages. The free tier gives you just a few searches a day, but it’s enough to size up the battlefield.
If a keyword looks promising and beatable, it goes on your shortlist. If the top 10 is full of titan and big players, turn back.
This combo allows you to have clarity while chasing low-competition, high-intent keywords—without paying a dime.
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Key Metrics to Watch While Using Free Tools
Free tools give you data, but it’s the interpretation that powers your SEO game. Here’s how to read the numbers that move the needle.
1. Search Volume (SV): What Are People Searching For?
Search volume tells you how many times a keyword is searched each month. This demand signal is normally an average of the last 12 months.
Pro Tip: If you’re running a new site, go after keywords with at least 100+ monthly searches. Enough volume to get traction, but not so high that you get buried.
2. Keyword Difficulty (KD): How Hard Is It to Rank?
KD measures how tough it’ll be to show up on page one. Lower = easier. Simple.
For beginners, prioritize low-difficulty, long-tail keywords for early rankings and traffic momentum.
3. CPC (Cost Per Click): How Valuable Is the Keyword?
Yes, CPC is a paid metric — but hear this: if advertisers are shelling out ₹100+ per click, that keyword has commercial value. Use this as a signal for buying intent.
Even if you’re not running ads, a high CPC keyword = potential for sales or conversions through organic content.
4. Search Intent: Why Is Someone Searching This?
Google doesn’t rank content based on keywords alone. It ranks based on intent.
Is the searcher just looking for info? Trying to buy? Comparing options?
Align your content format with the searcher’s goal:
- Informational: Blogs, how-tos
- Transactional: Product pages, CTAs
- Navigational: Brand-focused content
- Commercial: Comparisons, reviews
How to Use These Together:
Want traffic? Go after high SV + low KD terms.
Want sales? Focus on keywords with commercial/transactional intent and a decent CPC.
Want to rank consistently? Make sure your content matches the search intent 100%.
Each metric tells part of the story. Master all four, and your keywords won’t just rank — they’ll perform.
When Free Tools Aren’t Enough: Knowing When to Upgrade
Free keyword tools are great—until they aren’t. They’re a smart entry point, no doubt, but they come with strings attached: data caps, vague metrics (hello, search volume “ranges”), limited competitive insights, and zero real-time rank tracking.
If you’re consistently bumping into daily limits or need more horsepower—like laser-accurate SEO difficulty, SERP feature tracking, or competitor breakdowns—it’s time to graduate.
Here’s the rundown on paid tools that pull their weight:
- Semrush: The Swiss Army knife of SEO. Ideal for pros who want an all-in-one digital marketing suite. Massive keyword database, killer reporting, and deep SEO audit tools.
- Ahrefs: Best-in-class for backlink data, but also solid for KD, keyword gaps, and content explorer. Great if you want to reverse-engineer what’s already winning.
- Mangools (KWFinder): Lightweight but punchy. Simple UI, powerful long-tail keyword research, and easier on the wallet than the big players.
Or cut to the chase and partner with Softtrix. We’ll bring the tools, experience, and strategy—so you can focus on scaling.
Final Word + What To Do Next
Keyword research doesn’t have to feel like a budget killer or a technical maze. Free tools give you enough to start seeing real traffic—if you use them smartly. But as you scale, your need for precision and depth will outgrow their limits.
Action Plan
Test out 2–3 free tools today—AnswerThePublic, Google Keyword Planner, Google Trends, or Ubersuggest. Use them to build your first keyword list.
Want real results without all the guesswork?
Get a free SEO audit from Softtrix. We’ll show you exactly what keywords to go after, why, and how.
