Top Free Keyword Research Tools: In the SEO world, keyword research is the backbone of content strategy. But you don’t need to break the bank to find powerful insights. In 2025, several free keyword research tools offer amazing features that can help you discover high-traffic, low-competition keywords—even if you’re just starting out.
Whether you’re a web designer, blogger, marketer, or small business owner, these tools are must-haves in your digital toolkit.
1. Google Keyword Planner
Google Keyword Planner is one of the most reliable and widely used keyword research tools, especially for beginners and digital marketers who want data straight from the source — Google itself. Originally built for advertisers running Google Ads, it has become a go-to tool for SEO professionals and content creators as well.
With Google Keyword Planner, you can discover new keyword ideas, see estimated monthly search volumes, evaluate keyword competition levels (low, medium, or high), and understand the cost-per-click (CPC) if you’re considering running paid campaigns. One of its strongest advantages is location targeting — allowing you to filter keyword data by country, city, or language, making it perfect for both local and global SEO strategies.
Even though the tool doesn’t provide exact numbers for all users, the range-based data it offers is still incredibly useful for planning blog posts, landing pages, product content, and ad campaigns. You can explore trends over time, compare multiple keywords side-by-side, and group keywords based on relevance to help structure your content clusters or ad groups. Best of all, it’s 100% free to use — all you need is a Google Ads account (you don’t even have to run an ad). For anyone looking to build a strong keyword foundation and create content that aligns with real search demand, Google Keyword Planner remains one of the most essential free tools available in 2025.
Key Features:
Location-Based Filtering – Target keywords by country, city, or language.
Accurate Search Volume – Know how many times a keyword is searched monthly.
Competition Analysis – See whether it’s easy or hard to rank for a keyword.
CPC Data – Understand how much advertisers are bidding for keywords.
Keyword Grouping – Discover related keyword clusters for broader strategy.
2. Ubersuggest
Ubersuggest is an all-in-one SEO tool developed by marketing expert Neil Patel, designed to make keyword research and SEO strategy accessible to everyone — from beginners to seasoned marketers. What makes Ubersuggest stand out is its clean interface, ease of use, and generous free plan that offers valuable insights into keyword performance, competition, and content opportunities. With just a keyword or domain input, Ubersuggest delivers detailed data, including monthly search volume, SEO difficulty, paid competition (PPC), and cost-per-click (CPC) metrics. It also suggests hundreds of related keyword ideas, including long-tail variations, question-based queries, and comparisons — making it a great resource for generating blog post titles, service page topics, or YouTube video ideas. Beyond keyword research, Ubersuggest offers domain analysis, backlink data, top-performing pages by traffic, and even content ideas based on what’s trending in your niche. The free version allows for a few daily searches, and you can unlock more features by simply signing in with a Google account. This makes it an ideal choice for freelancers, content creators, small businesses, and anyone looking to grow their website traffic organically without investing in expensive SEO tools. In 2025, Ubersuggest continues to be one of the most user-friendly and valuable freemium tools for building a smart, data-driven content strategy.
Key Features (Free Version):
Domain Overview – Analyze your own or a competitor’s domain to see their top keywords.
Keyword Suggestions – Get hundreds of related keywords, long-tail variations, and questions.
Search Volume – See how often a keyword is searched each month.
SEO Difficulty (SD) – Know how hard it is to rank for a keyword.
Content Ideas – Discover blog posts that are already ranking and how well they perform.
3. AnswerThePublic
AnswerThePublic is a unique keyword research tool that taps into autocomplete data from search engines like Google, Bing, YouTube, Amazon, TikTok, and Instagram to reveal the questions and phrases people are actively searching for online. By visualizing these queries, it provides invaluable insights into user intent, helping content creators, marketers, and businesses craft content that directly addresses their audience’s needs and curiosities.
This tool taps into Google’s autocomplete data and transforms it into organized keyword clusters.
Key Features (Free Version):
Data Download – Export keyword suggestions in CSV format.
Search Listening – See what real people are asking about a topic.
Question Clusters – Visual maps of how people search (who, what, why, how, etc.).
Prepositions & Comparisons – Find keywords like “web design for beginners” or “Ubersuggest vs Ahrefs.”
4. Keyword Generator by Ahrefs (Free version)
Keyword Generator by Ahrefs is one of the most effective free tools for discovering keyword ideas across major platforms like Google, YouTube, Bing, and Amazon. Even though Ahrefs is primarily a premium SEO suite, its free keyword generator provides surprisingly rich data without requiring a paid subscription or login. By simply entering a keyword, users can access up to 100 keyword suggestions, each showing monthly search volume and keyword difficulty (KD) — a score that indicates how hard it would be to rank for that term. In addition to standard suggestions, the tool also offers 50 question-based keywords, helping you identify long-tail topics and blog titles your audience is likely to search for. This makes it especially useful for bloggers, YouTubers, affiliate marketers, and eCommerce businesses who want to generate content ideas based on real user intent. You can even filter your research by country to find location-specific keyword trends. With its fast performance, clean UI, and trustworthy data backed by one of the biggest names in SEO, Ahrefs Keyword Generator is a go-to resource in 2025 for anyone who wants high-impact keyword insights without the cost. It’s an ideal starting point for building your content strategy or uncovering new keyword opportunities that can drive organic traffic.
Top Features:
- Keyword difficulty
- Top 100 ideas per keyword
- SERP overview
5. Keyword Surfer (Chrome Extension)
Keyword Surfer is a free Chrome extension that displays keyword insights directly in your Google search results — no need to switch tabs or visit another tool. It shows search volume, similar keyword ideas, and estimated traffic for top-ranking pages. This lightweight tool is perfect for quick, on-the-go keyword analysis and content planning. Whether you’re researching blog topics, writing SEO content, or checking competition, Keyword Surfer helps you make fast, data-driven decisions without leaving Google. It’s especially useful for freelancers, bloggers, and content writers who want to streamline their keyword workflow.
Top Features:
- Keyword volume
- Similar keyword suggestions
- On-page word count and backlinks
6. Google Trends
Google Trends is a powerful free tool that shows you real-time search trends, keyword popularity over time, and how interest in a topic changes across regions. Unlike traditional keyword tools that focus only on volume, Google Trends helps you spot seasonal patterns, breakout topics, and emerging searches. You can compare multiple keywords, filter results by country, timeframe, category, and even search platform (like YouTube or Google Shopping). It’s perfect for finding trending content ideas, planning campaigns around peak interest times, and understanding user behavior in different locations. A must-have for bloggers, marketers, and content creators aiming to stay ahead of trends in 2025.
Top Features:
- Keyword popularity over time
- Regional interest
- Related search queries
Freemium Keyword Research Tools You Should Try
While 100% free tools are great for getting started, some freemium keyword research tools offer limited but high-quality features that give you a taste of their full potential. These platforms usually allow a few searches per day or access to basic data — perfect for beginners, freelancers, or small business owners who aren’t ready to invest in a paid plan.
1. Ahrefs Free Keyword Generator
Ahrefs Free Keyword Generator is a simplified version of Ahrefs’ full SEO toolkit, giving you access to reliable keyword data without needing a paid plan. It’s perfect for bloggers, content creators, freelancers, and SEO beginners who want to discover keyword ideas backed by real search data.
This tool pulls keyword suggestions from Google, Bing, YouTube, and Amazon, making it incredibly versatile whether you’re writing blog posts, creating YouTube videos, or optimizing product listings.
Free Features:
- Top 100 keyword ideas per query
- Keyword difficulty (KD) score
- SERP overview with ranking pages
- Works for Google, YouTube, Bing, and Amazon
2. Semrush Free Account
Semrush is one of the most advanced and feature-rich SEO platforms on the market. While it’s known for its premium plans, Semrush also offers a free account that gives you limited access to some of its most powerful tools, including keyword research, competitor analysis, and domain insights.
With a free account, you can run up to 10 keyword or domain queries per day, making it ideal for freelancers, content marketers, small business owners, or anyone testing out keyword ideas before scaling up.
Free Features:
- Keyword overview
- Keyword Magic Tool (limited use)
- Competitor keyword analysis
- Domain keyword insights
3. Moz Keyword Explorer (Free Account)
Moz Keyword Explorer is a beginner-friendly keyword research tool created by the trusted SEO brand Moz. It combines keyword data with actionable metrics like search volume, difficulty, and organic CTR, making it easier to choose the right keywords for your content strategy.
While Moz is a premium platform, its free plan allows up to 10 keyword searches per month — great for casual bloggers, freelancers, and marketers starting out with SEO.
Free Features:
- 10 free searches/month
- Keyword difficulty & organic CTR
- Keyword suggestions & SERP analysis
Best for: Casual bloggers and small business owners.
4. SpyFu (Free Version)
SpyFu is a competitive intelligence tool designed to help you discover which keywords your competitors are ranking for — both organically and through paid ads. Its free version gives you a surprising amount of data, making it a great resource for freelancers, marketers, and small business owners who want to reverse-engineer successful SEO strategies without paying for expensive tools.
With SpyFu, you don’t just research keywords — you spy on competitors, find gaps, and uncover untapped keyword opportunities to grow your online presence.
Free Features:
- Limited keyword reports
- Competitor keyword analysis
- Top-ranking pages & domains
Final Thoughts
If you want to rank higher in search results, generate more organic traffic, and improve your content game, these free keyword research tools in 2025 are your best bet. Start small, test different tools, and choose the one that fits your workflow.
