Rank tracking tools are every SEO professional's bread and butter. (As an SEO professional who bakes bread, I know this to be 100% true.) 

These applications show us how effectively our websites and content are at reaching audiences through specific search terms. Without granular insight into who's coming to these pages and how they're getting there, we couldn't home in on what's working and fix what isn't.

I've used all sorts of SEO rank tracking tools in my career, and for this article, I tested dozens more. While not as enjoyable as testing dough hydration levels, it did help me come up with the best SEO rank trackers available. Here's what I found.

The 9 best rank trackers

• Semrush for overall functionality

• SEO Tester Online for an all-in-one SEO suite

• Ahrefs for keyword analysis

• Nozzle for data visualization

• Advanced Web Ranking for reporting

• Moz Pro for integrations

• Rank Tracker for unlimited keyword tracking

• Mangools for low-volume keyword tracking

• Keyword.com for free keyword analysis

What is a rank tracker?

SEO rank tracking tools are SEO tools that help you monitor how a website or webpage is ranking in a given search engine results page (SERP) for select keywords. Nearly every SEO rank tracker has a handful of general features, like query search data, competitor analysis, reporting, SERP monitoring, and keyword performance tracking.

The various types of SEO tools have a lot of overlap, and rank trackers share a lot of functionality with keyword research tools and all-in-one SEO tools. But keyword research tools focus on the search metrics of queries regardless of how a specific website ranks for them, which is key information rank trackers offer. Meanwhile, all-in-one SEO tools may incorporate rank tracking, but they can also have added features like social media insights, publishing capabilities, and on-page SEO recommendations. 

What makes the best rank tracker?

Picking the best SEO rank tracking tool can be a bit like picking the best loaf of sourdough, since every one is just some combination of the same ingredients (flour, water, and salt). It's a matter of personal taste. Maybe the ability to give clients branded and templated white-label reports is more important to you than a keyword suggestion tool, or perhaps you like your whole wheat bread topped with toasted sesame seeds.

To that end, I judged each SEO rank tracker based on four core criteria:

• Ease of use: How intuitive is the interface, how easy is the tool to learn, and how responsive is the overall design? Ideally, any SEO rank tracking tool will feel polished, modern, and simple.

• Scope and accuracy of data: How often does the data update, where does the data come from, how granular can you make it, and how far back can you make your tool look? The data the tool displays should be reliable and customizable enough to suit your needs, whether you rely on on-demand desktop search metrics on Google or weekly reports on mobile YouTube rankings.

• Reporting features: Are reports customizable, schedulable, and visually appealing? A good SEO tracking tool should help you see your data clearly and present it to stakeholders effectively.

• Integration capabilities: How readily does the SEO rank tracker integrate with other common SEO tools? Ideally, it should expand its accuracy and utility by connecting with Google Workspace, CRMs, and other applications via APIs. 

The best rank tracker tools at a glance

Best overall rank tracker

Semrush (Web)

Semrush pros:

• Huge range of SEO tools

• Innovative functionality like generative AI

• Simple, sleek interface

Semrush cons:

• Expensive

• Some key functionality is blocked for its lowest tier

This wouldn't be an SEO tools review without Semrush. Semrush does just about everything you could ask an SEO tool to do exceptionally well, which is why it comes in as the best overall SEO tracker. Easily the most expensive tool on this list, Semrush earns its price tag with a combination of premium functionality, user-friendliness, and commitment to innovation.

Semrush gives digital marketing teams for companies of all sizes a huge range of keyword performance and rank tracking features, so they can diagnose and optimize their SEO efforts, all in one easy-to-navigate dashboard. Once you plug your domain in, you can easily edit the main dashboard to monitor the metrics that matter, like traffic sources, referring domains, organic keyword performance, and position tracking. 

In terms of features, Semrush goes above and beyond most of its competitors. Where many rank trackers offer a basic competitor keyword gap feature, for example, Semrush offers a suite of five competitor analysis tools, like backlink gap and in-depth organic research. You can readily perform typical rank checker actions like bulk keyword analysis and site audits, and take advantage of more niche features like topic research, brand monitoring, social analytics, review management, and trend monitoring.

Semrush is also constantly expanding its tool suite with interesting offerings like PageImprove, which allows users to edit on-page SEO elements like H1s and metadata within their browsers. It's also breaking into the AI field with ContentShake AI, an analytics-driven generative AI browser extension for creating original content.

Semrush continues to set the bar for premium rank tracking. If you've got the budget, it's hard to do better. Plus, Semrush integrates with Zapier, so you can automate things like notifying channels on Slack when SEO audits are complete or adding audit tasks to your task management tool that correspond to Semrush campaigns. Here are a few more examples to get you started, but you can connect Semrush to any app you use at work.

Pricing: Pro ($129.95/month; 500 keywords), Guru ($249.95/month; 1,500 keywords), Business ($499.95/month; 5,000 keywords)

Rankings updated: Daily

Best rank tracker for an all-in-one SEO suite

SEO Tester Online (Web)

SEO Tester Online pros:

• Highly functional suite of SEO tools

• Solid user experience

• Flexible pricing

SEO Tester Online cons:

• Rankings update weekly

• Exports and report downloads are capped by tier

• Keyword quantities are low for the price

Aside from its very unmemorable name, what makes SEO Tester Online unique is that it's really a whole suite of tools. While most of the rank trackers on this list include a lot of similar SEO features, SEO Tester Online includes some pretty unique tools:

• SEO Checker: This automatic SEO diagnostic tool gives a surprisingly detailed report on technical issues and fixes. Its SERP preview function is also very handy.

• SEO Spider: Use this advanced crawl to break down results by key performance metrics, like pages with meta descriptions below 50 or above 160 characters, pages with weak code, or images without alt text.

• SERP Checker 360°: This SERP analyzer shows how competitors are beating your pages for target keywords. I like how this can segment the analytics by backlink, social engagement, and copywriting strategies.

• Keyword Explorer Tool: While not a unique tool in its own right, what makes this one stand out is that it can suggest keywords based on autocomplete, related, and similar terms.

• SEO Editor: This premium feature walks you through new article creation, ensuring you check all the important SEO boxes as you go.

• Copy Metrics: Plug a webpage into this tool, and you'll see a heatmap of search terms highlighted throughout the copy, keyword suggestions, a heading breakdown, a list of included links, and a table showing where relevant keywords are (or aren't) being used in headers and descriptions.

• Lead Generation Tool: This tool lets you offer users lead magnets like downloadable reports and custom PDF files, adding a simple way to generate leads on your connected website.

Overall, it's a well-designed SEO solution. The interface is really responsive and intuitive, the visuals are modern, and the functionality is simple. I really like it as a rank tracker with robust features. And while I wouldn't say it can stand in as a content management platform or a CRM on its own, I think small teams could probably get by if they use it as their only SEO tool and primary digital marketing platform.

SEO Tester Online even connects to thousands of apps with Zapier, so you can automatically add new leads from SEO Tester Online to wherever you store them. Here are some examples of automations you can unlock with Zapier.

Pricing: Lite (€26/month; 25 keywords), Pro (€38/month; 150 keywords), Plus (€56/month; 500 keywords)

Rankings updated: Weekly

Best rank tracker for keyword analysis

Ahrefs (Web)

Ahrefs pros:

• Dynamic, highly functional suite of SEO tools

• Can report on keyword data from a wide range of search engines

Ahrefs cons:

• Interface is a little cluttered

• Reporting features aren't as strong as other tools

In terms of overall quality and feature-richness, Ahrefs is one of the few tools I tested that realistically competes with Semrush. (Transparency note: it's also the tool on this list I use most in my daily work.) Like Semrush, it can be used for a bunch of SEO-related tasks, like monitoring how well webpages rank, gain traffic, and earn SERP features like featured snippets for specific keywords. 

One of Ahrefs' key strengths is its keyword research functionality. Its flagship tool for that, Keyword Explorer, allows you to check search metrics across search engines ranging from Google and Amazon to international alternatives like Baidu and Daum. Results show typical data like click volume, top SERP results, and cost-per-click (CPC) estimates, as well as deeper information like position history and the monetary value of ranking pages' traffic. Its parent topic identification feature can be especially useful, as it shows the keyword that the top-ranking page for your entered search query gets the most traffic from. This can help you align content plans with the specific keywords most likely to help your pages rank.

In addition to the Keyword Explorer, Ahrefs has supplementary rank-tracking tools that can help you gain additional value from search data. Its Web Explorer tool can automatically crawl pages based on specific instructions like "Pages with ai chatbots in anchor text of external outlinks," which pulls up all manner of content about AI chatbots for you to scour for keyword inspo. Its page analytics tools, like Site Explorer, even show the parent keyword for the best-performing pages, giving you quick access to keywords currently bringing in valuable traffic.

Whether you pronounce it "H"-refs or "A-H"-refs (I do the former), Ahrefs is a very powerful tool that can do much more than track search engine rankings. 

Pricing: Lite ($99/month; 750 keywords), Standard ($199/month; 2,000 keywords), Advanced ($399/month; 5,000 keywords), Enterprise ($999/month; 10,000 keywords)

Rankings updated: Weekly (daily updates available for additional fee)

Best rank tracker for data visualization

Nozzle (Web)

Nozzle pros:

• All features included in every tier

• Very detailed reporting widgets within the dashboard

• On-demand data pulls

Nozzle cons:

• No white-label reporting

• Pricing model can be confusing

Though the self-proclaimed "most powerful rank tracker on the planet" doesn't exactly live up to its name for me, Nozzle is still a very capable rank tracker that gets top marks for data visualization. While its reporting functionality has some limits, I liked its dashboards so much that I thought it deserved a place on this list.

Compared to high-end tools on this list like Semrush and Ahrefs, Nozzle isn't noticeably better at raw functionality like search query analytics, competitor analysis, and SERP monitoring. What it does do really well is give a ton of detail into performance metrics. The dashboard is pretty sleek and user-friendly, and I like that reporting widgets are highly responsive and can be customized within the dashboard. 

Data on saved keyword groups, webpage performance, PPC values, search volume, and much more can be displayed as graphs or tables at the click of a button. Within the reporting widgets, you can sort, filter, and change ranking metrics in real time. Also, the cute little graphs next to each figure are a small touch that give a quick visual sense of performance. These data pulls can be scheduled as often as every five minutes, which is a level of granularity not every tool offers. 

Nozzle's reporting dashboard is easily the most dynamic one I've seen, making it the best tool on this list for managing data on the fly straight from a browser. However, that's also somewhat of a limitation. Nozzle doesn't offer white-label reporting as of this writing, unfortunately. To create reports, you can either export tables as CSV files or copy them in Excel, CSV, or JSON formats. 

Another odd quirk of Nozzle is that it doesn't separate its tiers by tracked keywords like other tools. Instead, it gives users full functionality at every plan level but limits each one to a designated number of SERPs that can be analyzed in a month. Its pricing page has a calculator for this, but it's still a little nebulous. Still, for users who like to run their whole SEO analytics operation in-browser, Nozzle's dynamic widgets are as dynamic as widgets get.

Pricing: Basic ($59/month; 10,000 SERPs), Advanced ($119/month; 21,000 SERPs), Pro ($299/month; 60,000 SERPs), Pro Plus ($599/month, 130,000 SERPs)

Rankings updated: On demand

Best rank tracker for reporting

Advanced Web Ranking (Web)

Advanced Web Ranking pros:

• On-demand updates

• Very intuitive interface and attractive visualizations

• Only tool on this list with detailed forecasting

Advanced Web Ranking cons:

• Keyword tools aren't as robust as other high-end tools

• Can be expensive

If you're looking for a rank tracking tool that can also help you ideate keywords and build out content plans like many of the options in this post, Advanced Web Ranking isn't for you. Though it does have useful tools for finding content gaps and researching keyword performance, its real strength is its reporting functionality.

Let's start with the user interface. The painfully generically named Advanced Web Ranking is one of the easiest-to-use tools I tested. The sidebar menu is very simple, the interface is highly responsive, and the design is dynamic without being distracting. There are never so many options or oddly nested feature lists that you feel adrift, and the visual elements add just enough pop to make navigation intuitive.

While you don't get the kind of in-widget report interaction you get with Nozzle, you do get clean, crisp data visualizations for all the usuals, like traffic, CPC estimates, and ranking, along with more niche data, like SERP feature changes, click share, pixel position (how far in pixels your link is from the top of the SERP), and estimated visits. And unlike most other tools on this list, Advanced Web Ranking has a tool for trend monitoring, so you can take a deep dive into visibility over time. It's also the only rank tracker with a dedicated forecasting tool to help you get a handle on how you can reasonably expect your content to perform in the future.

In terms of reporting, what's especially attractive about Advanced Web Ranking is… reports. Specifically, it allows you to create and save custom reports, generate PDFs and authorize Google Drive permissions straight from the dashboard, connect Google Analytics and Google Search Console (GSC) to integrate ranking data, schedule upcoming reports, and create white-label reports from templates or scratch.

Does Advanced Web Ranking give you premium-level keyword research tools? No. Does it have pretty average keyword tools to go along with some of the strongest reporting functionality on the market? Yes.

Pricing: Pro ($99/month; 7,000 keywords), Agency ($199/month; 14,500 keywords), Enterprise ($499/month; 35,500 keywords), Custom ($700/month; 50,000 keywords)

Rankings updated: On demand

Best rank tracker for integrations

Moz Pro (Web)

Moz Pro pros:

• Largest integration gallery

• Robust internal and community support documentation

• Page Optimization Score

Moz Pro cons:

• Tracked keywords are low for the cost

• Lo-fi interface

If you run a complex digital marketing operation that relies on a ton of separate tools, the ability to integrate them with an SEO research product can be a huge help. Moz Pro integrates with more third-party apps than any other product I tested.

Like most of the other options here, Moz Pro can be connected to other apps via APIs. For the less tech-savvy of us, it has an existing API gallery for integrating with tools like Seer, HubSpot, SeoTools for Excel, WordPress, Found, Linkody, and Google Docs. I've been surprised at how few ready-made integrations most rank trackers have, so Moz Pro easily comes in at the top of the pack here. And since Moz is such a long-established player in the SEO world, its learning library and community resources are also exceptionally robust if you need support, tips, or guides.

With Moz Pro, you also get the features you'd expect from a household SEO name, like search engine position tracking, keyword suggestions, technical site health diagnosis, and competitor analysis. It handles all those tasks with the accuracy and assurance that's made Moz one of the leading names in SEO for two decades. In particular, I like the Page Optimization Score Moz assigns to your target webpage to measure its effectiveness in ranking for individual keywords. This feature pulls up a separate interface that scores your webpage based on SEO best practices and outlines how many times the keyword is used, where it's used, what's helping your score, and what's hurting your score.

The biggest downside to Moz Pro is that, for a premium price, you get fewer keywords tracked than other platforms. Its interface is also pretty lo-fi compared to newer products, so if you're looking for a user-friendly, modern dashboard, it's not for you. 

Pricing: Standard ($99/month; 300 keywords), Medium ($179/month; 1,500 keywords), Large ($299/month; 3,000 keywords), Premium ($599/month; 4,500 keywords SERPs)

Rankings updated: Daily

Best rank tracker for high-volume keyword tracking

Rank Tracker (Windows, Mac, and Linux)

Rank Tracker pros:

• Unlimited keyword tracking at all tiers

• On-demand ranking updates

• TF-IDF explorer

Rank Tracker cons:

• Lo-fi design

• Fewer SEO tools than premium options

• Software runs from desktops rather than browsers

If you're not yet detecting a theme of uninspiringly named SEO rank trackers, SEO PowerSuite's Rank Tracker should help clue you in. While it's not the easiest tool to search for, it's a pretty distinctive one on this list because it combines unlimited keywords and real-time reporting.

The immediate difference between Rank Tracker and other trackers is that it's not a browser-based app—it's downloadable rank tracking software that runs from your desktop and connects to a browser to monitor nearly 600 different search engines. And while it isn't the only tool on this list that has on-demand ranking updates, by offering users at all plan tiers unlimited keyword tracking and daily rank scheduling, Rank Tracker could sneakily be one of the most powerful trackers out there.

The biggest knock to SEO PowerSuite's Rank Tracker is that its features are somewhat limited. It just doesn't come with the kind of feature depth that premium alternatives have, but the essential tools like reports, domain diagnostics, competitor research, and SERP analysis are all there. That said, it does have some interesting perks, like dedicated tools for related questions and a TF-IDF (term frequency-inverse document frequency) Explorer to help you find common keywords your competitors are relying on.

I don't love that it runs on a desktop, as that gives my computer one more excuse to slow down while I'm in the middle of writing this article, but that may not be a deterrent for others.

Its interface isn't the most modern or attractive, but it is one of the simpler ones to navigate and it does allow dashboard customization. You won't get the kinds of visual bells and whistles that I appreciate from the likes of Advanced Web Ranking and Nozzle, but if you're more interested in raw data than flashy interface, Rank Tracker is an amazing, somewhat under-the-radar option.

Pricing: Pricing: Free (unlimited keywords), Professional ($149/year; unlimited keywords); Enterprise ($349/year; unlimited keywords)

Rankings updated: On demand

Best rank tracker for low-volume keyword tracking

Mangools (Web)

Mangools pros:

• White-label reporting

• Attractive interface

• Tools are both simple and powerful

Mangools cons:

• Caps users at daily lookups

• Not very feature-rich

For users with relatively low-volume keyword tracking needs, Mangools comes in as a great value. Rather than packing all its SEO tracking functionality into one dashboard, Mangools gives you five highly functional tools:

• KWFinder: Keyword research and ideation

• SERPChecker: SERP competitor analysis

• SERPWatcher: Rank tracking

• LinkMiner: Backlink research

• SiteProfiler: Website analyzer

In terms of user experience, Mangools is one of my favorite rank trackers. All of its tools are elegant, modern, and highly responsive. Since features are organized into separate products with their own dashboards, they're also simple to navigate. Want to explore keywords? Go to the keyword tool. Want to create a ranking report? Go to the rank tracking tool. Doesn't get much simpler.

Each of Mangools' tools is very good at what it does. SERPWatcher's data visualizations are among the best of any tool on the market and even give you white-label functionality. You can easily monitor performance for saved keywords (including whether you're winning SERP features like featured snippets), and then you can pop over to LinkMiner to get a quick view of backlink performance for specific domains or webpages. I found that KWFinder in particular is much more user-friendly than comparable features in other rank tracking apps, giving really clear pictures of key metrics like interest growth percentage.

The main drawback of Mangools is that its simplicity comes at the expense of feature range. It has noticeably fewer features than top-shelf rank trackers, but for basic users who just want a general keyword tool that's functional and intuitive, it does what it does extremely well. That's especially true for those looking for a budget tool with a relatively low-volume keyword tracking need, as its lowest tier maxes out at 25 keyword and 25 SERP lookups per 24 hours. 

Pricing: Entry ($29/month; 25 keyword lookups/day), Basic ($49/month; 100 keyword lookups/day), Premium ($69/month; 500 keyword lookups/day), Agency ($129/month; 1,200 keyword lookups/day)

Rankings updated: Daily

Best rank tracker for free keyword analysis

Keyword.com (Web)

Keyword.com pros:

• Includes a free tier

• Well-designed

• Branded reporting

Keyword.com cons:

• Forever Free plan has limited keyword tracking and refreshes

• Feature suite is very limited

While free trial periods are fairly standard for SEO tools like rank trackers, lifetime free plans aren't. (SEO PowerSuite's Rank Tracker is the only other one on this list that has a free option with limited features.) Keyword.com may be a simple tool, but for users who just want a cheap option, it doesn't get cheaper than free.

In comparison to more expensive plans, Keyword.com admittedly doesn't have a ton of features. The Forever Free tier can only be used for keyword monitoring for up to 10 keywords, but considering that's a service you'd normally have to pay for with other tools, that's a pretty fair deal. Using Keyword.com's surprisingly slick dashboard, even free users can monitor ranking trends over time for select keywords and find search volume, CPC estimates, competition ratings, and traffic sources. It also has branded reporting, which is rare for free tools.

Forever Free users only get weekly ranking updates as opposed to daily, but they do get 10 daily on-demand refreshes and unlimited websites to track. If that level of utility isn't quite enough, the paid tiers are pretty reasonable. Starting at $26/month, paid users can get more keywords, more on-demand refreshes, white-label reporting, daily updates, API access, keyword suggestions, and integrations with GSC, Google Analytics, and Google Looker Studio. 

For users who want truly all-in-one SEO tools and don't mind ponying up, Keyword.com probably won't make the cut. But for users who want to test out keyword tracking with a free tool, it's a great starting point.

Pricing: Forever Free (free; 10 keywords), Starter ($26/month; 100 keywords), Consultant ($42/month; 200 keywords), Agency ($131/month; 1,000 keywords)

Rankings updated: Daily (weekly for Forever Free plan); paid tiers include on-demand updates

Rank trackers I liked but didn't crack the list

I'd be remiss if I didn't give a shout-out to some of my other favorite rank trackers. I thought these were also great options but found that they didn't quite beat out the ones listed above.

• Pro Rank Tracker: Excellent reporting capabilities and can drill down to a ton of specific search parameters

• SE Ranking: Strong performance monitoring with a sleek interface

• Zutrix: Relatively simple tool with good user experience and value pricing

• BrightLocal: Local SEO tool with a great interface and white-label reporting

• AccuRanker: Outstanding interface with CRM-like feel

• Raven Tools: Great competitor analysis and ad monitoring tools

• Serpstat: Top-notch market research tool with rich competitor analysis features

• Nightwatch: Intelligent keyword and competitor suggestions and very strong custom reporting functionality

What about Google Search Console?

Google Search Console (GSC)—Google's free tool for monitoring search performance—could technically make this list as an SEO rank tracker. While there's no more accurate or reliable tool for tracking how well your site is ranking for given keywords on Google, I chose to leave it off this list since I see it more as a supplementary tool.

You definitely can use GSC instead of the rank trackers listed on this post, but it doesn't have the added SEO functionality that they do. GSC also doesn't show performance for non-Google search engines like Bing. Many rank trackers also integrate with GSC directly, so you don't have to choose one or the other. 

Rank tracker tools do more with integration

Looking to create attractive white-label reports for your clients, gain a keyword edge on your competitors, or just keep an eye on your website's performance? Regardless of how much bread you're willing to drop on them, like perfectly proofed dough, one of these SEO rank tracking tools should rise to the occasion for you (a bit of a stretch, I know).

Related reading:

• How to rank #1 on Google by analyzing weaknesses in search results

• The best SEO content optimization tools

• How to write SEO-driven blog content

• Content refreshing: How to update old content and boost your traffic