6 Best Rank Checker Tools: Free, Tested, and Reviewed

Looking for the best Keyword Rank Checker tools?

These SEO tools are crucial for tracking your website's performance, boosting traffic, and obtaining market insights.

With many options available—free, paid, and freemium—each offering unique features and catering to different users, choosing the right one can be challenging.

This guide highlights some of the best keyword rank checker tools, detailing their features and outcomes to assist you in making an informed decision.

What are Keyword Rank Checker Tools?

Keyword rank checker tools are crucial for determining your visibility on Google, and as a result your traffic, and leads.

Imagine you're a company specializing in organic skincare products. When someone searches for "natural face cream" and your website appears at the top of Google's results, it can drive significant traffic to your site.

Keyword rank checker tools monitor things like:

The ranking of target keywords for your site
How your traffic and keyword rankings shift over time
Discovering new keywords to focus on
Comparing competitor rankings
Tracking the performance of specific pages or content
Analyzing ranking trends across different search engines (e.g., Google, Bing)

Related article: Rank Tracker: The Essential SEO Tool Explained

Top Keyword Rank Checker Tools

1. StoryChief - Best All-In-One SEO Content Tool

StoryChief is a freemium tool designed to streamline content creation and SEO optimization into a single platform. Unlike other rank-checking tools, it combines rank tracking with robust content marketing features, making it an excellent choice for marketers and teams focused on creating and optimizing high-performing content.

The test:
We tested the following keywords:

“Organic marketing”
“Facebook organic marketing”

The result:
StoryChief provided a detailed performance overview for each keyword, including:

SERP position
Impressions
Click-through rate (CTR)
Clicks
Position changes over time

Additionally, clicking on a keyword allowed us to view an in-depth performance breakdown and navigate directly to the Google SERP for further context.

Detailed performance:

Pros:

All-in-one tool: Combines content creation, keyword tracking, and SEO analytics in a single platform.
Google Search Console integration: Ensures accurate keyword performance data, including impressions, clicks, and CTR.
Tracks multiple keywords at once: You can input several keywords in one go, saving time compared to single-entry tools.
Track keywords historically for up to 180 days.
Detailed keyword insights: Offers in-depth keyword data, position trends, and AI-driven optimization suggestions.
Freemium access: A free account provides lifetime access to keyword performance insights, lost positions, and optimization tips.

Cons:

May be too feature-rich for some: Users solely interested in keyword rank tracking might find the broader suite of features unnecessary or overwhelming.

Conclusion: StoryChief stands out as a comprehensive SEO tool tailored to content marketers. Its integration with Google Search Console ensures accurate and reliable data, while its freemium model allows users to access valuable keyword performance insights indefinitely.

If you’re looking for a tool that does more than just track rankings—offering AI-powered optimization tips and robust content marketing features—StoryChief is a top contender.

2. Ahrefs - Keyword Rank Checker

Ahrefs Keyword Rank Checker is a popular SEO tool known for its comprehensive backlink analysis and keyword research capabilities. Its rank checker provides a quick look at keyword rankings for any domain, with the ability to track multiple keywords seperately.

The test:
We tested the following keywords:

“Organic marketing”
“Facebook organic marketing”

The results:

“Organic marketing” - position 1
“What is organic marketing” - position 1
“Facebook organic marketing” - position 8

Here are the screenshots of the different results:

Pros:

Accurate keyword position data
Easy-to-understand interface
Provides SERP overview, including ‘featured snippets’ and ‘people also ask’ sections
Provides domain data: In addition to keyword ranks, Ahrefs provides additional domain metrics such as URL Rating (UR), Domain Rating (DR), backlinks, and traffic.
You can track as many keywords as you need without any daily limitations.
The tool includes clear timestamps to show when the ranking data was last updated.

Cons:

No keyword-specific data: While Ahrefs is excellent for tracking rankings, it doesn’t provide detailed keyword-level data in the Rank Checker. To access this, you'll need to use Ahrefs' Keyword Generator tool.
Limited SERP data without a paid plan: While you can view rankings, more in-depth SERP data (such as traffic, keyword difficulty, CPC) is restricted unless you're logged into a paid account.
Separate keyword input: You need to input each keyword separately, which can be inconvenient if you have a large list of keywords to track.

Conclusion:
Ahrefs offers a clean and accurate SERP overview, providing helpful insights like featured snippets and the "People Also Ask" section. Its detailed ranking data is ideal for professional SEO and digital marketing teams.

However, its limitations in keyword data and separate keyword entries might make it less convenient for those looking for bulk keyword tracking.

3. SEO Review Tools - Free Google Rank Checker

SEO Review Tools offers a free Google Rank Checker designed for users who want a quick and straightforward way to track keyword rankings. Unlike some other tools, this tool allows you to input multiple keywords simultaneously. It’s a convenient choice for beginners or those on a budget.

The test:

We tested the following keywords:

“Organic marketing”
“Facebook organic marketing”

The results:

The tool provided SERP positions but lacked additional keyword details or historical data.
For “Facebook organic marketing,” the tool returned “No data available,” even though the actual ranking is position 8.

SERP overview:

Pros:

Easy to use: The tool’s interface is simple, making it suitable for users with little to no SEO experience.
Tracks multiple keywords at once: You can input several keywords in one go, saving time compared to single-entry tools.
Basic position and SERP overview: Offers quick insights into where your keywords rank on Google.

Cons:

Missing key data points: The tool doesn’t provide search volume, competition, or other keyword-specific metrics.
No update timestamps: Users cannot see when the ranking data was last updated, making it difficult to gauge the timeliness of the results.
Accuracy issues: In our test, the tool failed to return accurate data for the keyword “Facebook organic marketing,” despite its actual ranking being position 8.
Lacks historical data: There’s no option to view or track ranking trends over time.

Conclusion: SEO Review Tools' Free Google Rank Checker is an excellent choice for those looking for a basic, free tool to get a snapshot of keyword rankings. However, its limitations in accuracy, lack of detailed keyword insights, and absence of historical data make it less suitable for advanced users or in-depth analysis. It’s best used as a quick, supplemental tool rather than a primary rank checker.

Related article: 18 Effective SEO Software for 2025

4. SEO.AI Keyword Rank Checker

SEO.AI is a straightforward, beginner-friendly tool with a clean interface. It aims to help users track keyword positions quickly without unnecessary complexity. The tool is free to use, making it accessible for individuals and small businesses. However, our test revealed significant shortcomings in accuracy and detail.

The result:

“Organic marketing” - position 87
“Facebook organic marketing” - position 4

These rankings were inaccurate when compared to real-world results (positions 1 and 8, respectively).

Pros:

Simple and user-friendly interface: The tool is easy to navigate, making it ideal for beginners.
Free to use: No cost barriers for tracking keyword positions.
Basic position data: Provides keyword rankings at a glance.

Cons:

Inaccurate ranking data: Our test revealed discrepancies in keyword positions.
Lacks detailed keyword insights: Lacks critical data such as SERP overview, search volume, competition level, and keyword difficulty.
No update timestamps: Users cannot confirm when the data was last refreshed, making it harder to track real-time changes.
No historical tracking: The tool doesn’t allow users to monitor ranking trends over time.

Conclusion:
While SEO.AI’s Keyword Rank Checker offers a user-friendly interface and free access, its inaccuracies and lack of detailed features limit its usefulness. The absence of SERP insights, keyword analysis, and update timestamps make it unreliable for serious SEO campaigns.

5. Semrush - Keyword Rank Checker

Semrush Keyword Rank Checker is a highly regarded SEO platform that offers a free tool for checking the rankings of domains and keywords. However, it only allows domain-based rank checks in the free version, not individual keywords.

The test:

We tested the tool for domain-based keyword rankings since it’s only possible to input domain info.

The result:

The tool displayed the top keywords for the domain, including rankings, but didn’t allow input of specific keywords for analysis.
Limited data on SERP features, traffic, and CPC in the free version.

Pros:

Accurate domain-level data: The ranking information for domains is precise and reliable.
Good for strategic insights: Tracks a domain's top-performing keywords, which can guide content strategy and SEO efforts.

Cons:

Cannot input specific keywords: The free version only supports domain-based analysis, making it unsuitable for tracking individual keyword rankings.
Lacks advanced metrics in free version: While it provides keyword volume, other metrics like traffic, keyword difficulty (KD), and CPC are absent.
Minimal SERP insights: The free tool doesn’t offer a complete SERP overview, such as featured snippets or “People Also Ask” sections.

Conclusion:
Semrush’s Keyword Rank Checker shines in domain-level insights, making it a powerful tool for strategizing against your competition. However, the free version is limited in scope, with no ability to analyze individual keywords and only basic data for top keywords.

6. KeywordTools.Org - Ranking Check Tool

KeywordTools.Org provides a Google ranking live check for specific keywords. The tool is simple, free, and ideal for quick checks without requiring extensive SEO knowledge or setup. However, it lacks the advanced features of more comprehensive SEO platforms.

The test:

The result:

“Organic marketing” - position 1
“Facebook organic marketing” - position 6

Pros:

Free and simple to use
Accurate data
SERP info included: Displays a basic SERP overview for the entered keywords.

Cons:

The tool doesn’t offer data on search volume, competition, keyword difficulty, or traffic.
Users cannot verify when rankings were last refreshed.
Lacks features such as historical data tracking, bulk keyword analysis, or additional insights into keyword performance.

Conclusion:
KeywordTools.Org is a dependable option for simple, real-time keyword rank checking. It provides accurate results and a basic SERP overview, making it suitable for casual users or quick checks. However, the absence of advanced metrics, update timestamps, and other features limits its usefulness for in-depth SEO analysis or professional use.

Related article: 11 SEO Content Audit Tools to Improve Rankings

How To Choose The Right Rank Checker Tools?

When selecting a keyword rank checker tool, consider these factors:

Accuracy: Ensure the tool provides reliable data aligned closely with actual SERPs.
Features: Evaluate which features are most important based on your goals.
Additional metrics: Does the tool show relevant data such as SERP features, search volume, and competition level?
Updates/frequency: How often does the tool update rankings? Can you easily track historical performance?
Limitations: Be aware of any keyword limits, region-based restrictions, or other constraints in the free version.

Free tool: Analyze your target audience, brand voice, content pillars and competitors. Try it now.