Independent head-to-head
JetOctopus vs Screaming Frog
Both are on our shortlist, and most people only need one. Here is where each genuinely wins.
Which fits your work better: JetOctopus or Screaming Frog?
JetOctopus suits in-house teams and agencies with large sites who want crawl data, bot logs and Search Console data in one cloud platform and are willing to pay for scale. Screaming Frog suits technical SEOs and consultants who need a fast, configurable one-off crawl and are comfortable in a desktop tool rather than a dashboard. Screaming Frog is cheaper to start with ($21/month against $459/month), so price alone favours it.
JetOctopus
Technical SEO ToolsA cloud crawler that combines site crawls, server-log analysis and Search Console data.
Screaming Frog
Technical SEO ToolsThe desktop crawler every technical SEO still opens first.
Decision view
Compare what changes the answer
| Decision factor | JetOctopus$459/mo | Screaming Frog$21/mo |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | $459/mo | $21/mo |
| Free plan | Not verified | Yes |
| Free trial | 7 days | None |
| Best for | In-house teams and agencies with large sites who want crawl data, bot logs and Search Console data in one cloud platform and are willing to pay for scale. | Technical SEOs and consultants who need a fast, configurable one-off crawl and are comfortable in a desktop tool rather than a dashboard. |
| Not for | Freelancers and small sites: the cheapest published plan is $349 a month on annual billing, far above desktop crawlers, and the 7-day trial crawls only 10,000 URLs. | Teams who want continuous, scheduled monitoring with alerts rather than a crawl you run yourself. |
Shared answers are dimmed so trade-offs stay visible.
Plan comparison
Published plans as recorded on each vendor’s pricing page on its verification date. Limits and add-ons differ between vendors, so compare at your own volume.
JetOctopus
| Plan | Monthly | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Growth | $459 | 500K crawled URLs and 2M log lines a month, 3 Search Console properties. Price shown is per month on quarterly billing; annual billing is the lower figure. The pricing page offers annual and quarterly billing only. |
| Pro | $1089 | 2M crawled URLs and 8M log lines a month, 10 Search Console properties. Marked best deal on the pricing page. |
| Ultra | $2069 | 5M crawled URLs and 25M log lines a month, 20 Search Console properties. |
| Unlimited | Custom | Custom crawl, log and user limits — contact sales. |
Screaming Frog
| Plan | Monthly | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Free | Free | 500 URLs per crawl, most core features included |
| Licence | $21 | Billed as a single £199/year licence, not a monthly subscription — removes the crawl limit |
Where JetOctopus wins
- Logs, crawl and Search Console data are in one place, which a desktop crawler does not offer
- All modules are included on every plan, with no per-seat or per-domain fees
- A 7-day trial with all modules needs no credit card
Where Screaming Frog wins
- Genuinely capable free tier up to 500 URLs — no time limit, no card required
- Custom extraction handles edge cases no off-the-shelf audit tool covers
- One-time annual licence is cheap next to any SaaS platform's audit module
JetOctopus or Screaming Frog?
JetOctopus suits in-house teams and agencies with large sites who want crawl data, bot logs and Search Console data in one cloud platform and are willing to pay for scale. Screaming Frog suits technical SEOs and consultants who need a fast, configurable one-off crawl and are comfortable in a desktop tool rather than a dashboard. Screaming Frog is cheaper to start with ($21/month against $459/month), so price alone favours it.
In-house teams and agencies with large sites who want crawl data, bot logs and Search Console data in one cloud platform and are willing to pay for scale.
Technical SEOs and consultants who need a fast, configurable one-off crawl and are comfortable in a desktop tool rather than a dashboard.
What decides it
- Entry price
- JetOctopus starts at $459/month; Screaming Frog at $21/month. Compare the plan that matches your real usage, not the entry tier.
- Trial
- JetOctopus offers a 7-day trial; Screaming Frog offers a free plan.
- Platforms
- JetOctopus: web, api. Screaming Frog: windows, macos, linux.
- What each gives up
- JetOctopus: entry pricing is $349 a month billed annually, or $459 on quarterly billing, so it is a different class of purchase from Screaming Frog or Sitebulb. Screaming Frog: interface rewards familiarity — new users face a real learning curve.