Inspect and self-host / 12 picks

Best open-source SEO tools
for builders.

Browse curated open-source SEO tools, crawlers, rank trackers and agent projects you can inspect, adapt or self-host.

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Editor’s note

A focused shortlist,
not a pay-to-rank table.

Open source can provide transparency and deployment control, but it also moves maintenance onto your team. This shortlist spans full products, focused utilities and agent-ready search infrastructure.

How to read this guideProducts are selected from the reviewed directory using the criteria below. Placement is editorial and does not claim hands-on testing of every product.
The directory view

Explore every pick.

Open a listing for features, compatibility, screenshots and direct links.

Open Source

OpenSERP

★ 1.1k

Open-source SERP API for SEO and AI automation

A normalized API and CLI for live results from multiple search engines, including answer boxes, related searches and AI summaries. Its documented capabilities include Multiple search engines, Normalized JSON API and SERP feature extraction.

Active repoRelease v0.8.6
SERP APIRank TrackingDeveloper Tools
Skill

SEO Skill

One skill and 50+ audit tools for AI agents

A developer-focused SEO audit toolkit that helps coding agents find, explain and fix organic and AI search visibility issues. Its documented capabilities include 50+ audit utilities, Typed crawler and Actionable reports. It is most relevant to workflows involving Agent Skills and SEO Audit.

VerifiedChecked today
Agent SkillsSEO AuditDeveloper Tools
MCP

DataForSEO MCP

★ 233

Official MCP access to professional SEO data

The official DataForSEO MCP server exposes SERPs, keywords, backlinks, on-page audits and AI optimization data to compatible agents through a maintained TypeScript implementation. Its documented capabilities include SERP endpoints, Keyword data and Backlink analysis.

Active repoUpdated 19d ago
MCPSEO DataDeveloper Tools
Open Source

SEOnaut

★ 738

Simple, self-hosted technical SEO auditing

A mature open-source crawler that discovers broken links, redirect problems, metadata issues and structural SEO errors. Its documented capabilities include Full-site crawler, Issue severity scoring and Redirect analysis. It is most relevant to workflows involving Technical SEO and Crawler.

Active repoUpdated 1mo ago
Technical SEOCrawlerSelf-hosted
Open Source

SerpBear

★ 2k

Open-source rank tracking with unlimited keywords

Track Google positions across domains with Search Console data, email notifications and a built-in reporting API. Its documented capabilities include Unlimited keyword tracking, GSC integration and Notifications. It is most relevant to workflows involving Rank Tracking and Search Console.

Active repoRelease v3.1.0
Rank TrackingSearch ConsoleSelf-hosted
NewOpen Source

Unlighthouse

★ 4.7k

Run Lighthouse performance scans across an entire site

Unlighthouse combines site crawling with Lighthouse to scan many pages, visualize performance and accessibility results, and run locally or in continuous integration. Its documented capabilities include Site-wide Lighthouse scans, Performance dashboards and Route discovery.

Active repoRelease v0.18.0
Technical SEOPerformanceOpen Source
NewOpen Source

SiteOne Crawler

★ 805

Cross-platform audits for SEO, security and accessibility

SiteOne Crawler analyzes websites for technical SEO, security, accessibility and performance issues through a cross-platform CLI and desktop-friendly reporting workflow. Its documented capabilities include SEO and link audits, Security checks and Accessibility analysis.

Active repoRelease v2.5.1
Technical SEOCrawlerOpen Source
NewMCP

Ahrefs MCP

Bring live Ahrefs SEO data into AI agents

The official hosted Ahrefs MCP server gives supported AI tools secure access to keyword, backlink and competitor data through account-scoped authorization and usage controls. Its documented capabilities include Hosted remote MCP, Ahrefs API access and OAuth-style authorization.

VerifiedChecked today
MCPSEO DataDeveloper Tools
NewMCP

Semrush MCP

Connect Semrush SEO and traffic data to AI workflows

The official Semrush MCP server exposes SEO, traffic, backlinks and read-only project data to supported AI tools for research, reporting and monitoring workflows. Its documented capabilities include SEO API data, Traffic and market insights and Read-only project data.

VerifiedChecked today
MCPSEO DataDeveloper Tools
NewMCP

Firecrawl MCP

★ 7k

Search, crawl and extract clean web data from AI agents

The official Firecrawl MCP server adds live search, scraping, crawling, mapping and structured extraction tools to MCP-compatible agents with cloud and self-hosted options. Its documented capabilities include Web search, Page scraping and Site crawling.

Active repoRelease v3.2.1
MCPWeb CrawlingDeveloper Tools
NewMCP

Apify MCP

★ 2.1k

Give agents access to thousands of web automation actors

Apify MCP connects AI agents to hosted and local web scrapers for search engines, maps, social platforms, e-commerce and other structured data collection tasks. Its documented capabilities include Hosted MCP endpoint, Thousands of Apify Actors and OAuth support.

Active repoRelease v0.11.6
MCPWeb CrawlingDeveloper Tools
NewMCP

Tavily MCP

★ 2.2k

Real-time search, extraction, mapping and crawling

The official Tavily MCP server brings agent-oriented web search, page extraction, site mapping and crawling to local or remote MCP clients. Its documented capabilities include Real-time search, Page extraction and Site mapping. It is most relevant to workflows involving MCP and Web Search.

Active repoUpdated today
MCPWeb SearchDeveloper Tools
Selection criteria

What makes the cut.

  1. 01Public source code
  2. 02A practical SEO or search workflow
  3. 03Enough documentation to understand setup and intended use
FAQ

Before you choose.

Short answers to the questions that matter most for this workflow.

Does open source mean free to run?+

Not necessarily. The code may be available without a license fee, but hosting, proxies, APIs, storage and maintenance can still cost money.

What should I check before self-hosting an SEO tool?+

Review the license, recent maintenance, security model, data storage, external API dependencies and the resources required for updates and backups.

Can open-source SEO tools be used commercially?+

It depends on the project license. Always check the repository license and any third-party service terms before commercial deployment.