OpenSEO: Open Source Semrush Alternative

1. Project Overview

OpenSEO is an open-source, pay-as-you-go SEO toolkit — positioned as an alternative to Semrush and Ahrefs — that covers keyword research, rank tracking, competitor insights, backlinks, site audits and AI visibility, and exposes the same data to AI agents through an MCP server and Agent Skills.

2. Background & Positioning

Why it was created

Established SEO suites are typically sold as monthly subscriptions, which is a poor fit for small teams, indie developers and agencies that only run SEO analyses occasionally. OpenSEO takes a different approach: you bring your own DataForSEO API key and pay only for the data you actually request. There is no seat licence or flat subscription when you self-host.

How it differs from similar projects

Usage-based cost — data is billed by DataForSEO per request instead of a bundled monthly plan.
Open and forkable — MIT-licensed, with a deliberately simple UI built around focused workflows, designed to be customized.
Agent-ready — ships an MCP server and reusable Agent Skills so tools such as Claude Code, Codex, ChatGPT and other agents can run SEO tasks directly.
Flexible hosting — use the hosted service at openseo.so or self-host with Cloudflare or Docker.

3. Feature Categories

🔎 Keyword Research

Discover and evaluate search terms and their potential. Purpose: decide which topics are worth targeting.

📈 Rank Tracking

Monitor how your pages rank for chosen keywords over time. Purpose: measure the effect of your SEO work.

🕵️ Competitor Insights

Examine what competing sites rank for. Purpose: find gaps and opportunities.

🔗 Backlinks

Review link profiles pointing to a site. Purpose: understand authority and link-building opportunities.

🩺 Site Audits

Crawl a site and surface technical SEO issues. Purpose: find and fix problems that hold rankings back.

🤖 AI Visibility

Check how a brand or site shows up in AI-driven search experiences. Purpose: stay visible as search shifts toward AI answers.

🧩 Agent Integrations

An MCP server, Agent Skills, and setup guides for ChatGPT (web and desktop), Codex and Claude Code-style agents. Purpose: let AI agents run SEO workflows on real data.

4. Key Highlights

Pay only for what you use — bring your own DataForSEO key; self-hosting costs go straight to DataForSEO.
MCP server and Agent Skills — guide agents step by step through SEO tasks.
Cloudflare-first self-hosting — the recommended path, documented as workable on Cloudflare's free plan.
Docker option — a compose.yaml setup, best suited for testing.
Hosted option — free to try; a hosted subscription is listed at $10/month, with a 28% markup on DataForSEO requests.
Modern TypeScript stack — Vite, Cloudflare Wrangler, pnpm and Drizzle ORM, easy to fork and extend.

5. Use Cases by Role

General developers — add SEO data to your own apps or fork the UI for a custom workflow.
DevOps/SRE — self-host on Cloudflare or Docker and manage keys through environment configuration.
Data/research scientists — pull keyword, ranking and backlink data for analysis, or query it through an agent.
Project managers & marketers — track rankings, audit sites and compare competitors without a fixed subscription.

6. Getting Started

Find what you need

Hosted app and docs: openseo.so
MCP setup: https://openseo.so/docs/mcp
Agent Skills setup: https://openseo.so/docs/skills/setup

Install / integrate

Self-hosting guides live in the repository:

git clone https://github.com/every-app/open-seo.git
cd open-seo
# Then follow one of:
#   docs/SELF_HOSTING_CLOUDFLARE.md  (recommended)
#   docs/SELF_HOSTING_DOCKER.md      (best for testing)
#   docs/LOCAL_DEVELOPMENT.md        (development)
#   docs/DATAFORSEO_API_KEY.md       (API key setup)

Contribute

Clear, well-written issues are the most useful contribution. The project provides a skill to help:

npx skills add every-app/open-seo --skill simple-issue-description

See docs/CONTRIBUTING.md for details.

7. Project Structure

open-seo/
├── src/            # Application source
├── web/            # Web frontend
├── docs/           # Self-hosting, development and contributing guides
├── drizzle/        # Database migrations
├── deploy/         # Deployment configuration
├── plugins/openseo/# Plugin package for agent tools
├── scripts/        # Tooling scripts
├── specs/          # Specifications
├── tests/          # Tests
├── compose.yaml    # Docker Compose setup
├── wrangler.jsonc  # Cloudflare configuration
└── .env.example    # Example environment variables

8. Related Ecosystem

DataForSEO — the required data provider for all SEO data.
Cloudflare — the recommended self-hosting platform (Railway, Coolify and Dokploy are also mentioned).
MCP-compatible agents — Claude Code, Codex, ChatGPT, OpenClaw and Hermes.
Commercial counterparts — Semrush and Ahrefs, which OpenSEO positions itself as an alternative to.

9. License

✅ Use, modify, fork and redistribute the code, including commercially, under the MIT License
✅ Self-host for personal, team or client work
❌ No warranty or liability from the authors
ℹ️ Keep the copyright and licence notice in copies
ℹ️ SEO data comes from DataForSEO, which has its own pricing and terms

10. FAQ

Q: Do I need a subscription?
A: Not when self-hosting. You pay DataForSEO directly for usage. The hosted version is free to try, with a paid plan listed at $10/month.

Q: Where should I self-host it?
A: Cloudflare is recommended (see docs/SELF_HOSTING_CLOUDFLARE.md). Docker is best for testing (docs/SELF_HOSTING_DOCKER.md).

Q: Can AI agents use it?
A: Yes. See the MCP guide and the Agent Skills guide.

Q: How do I get a DataForSEO key?
A: Follow docs/DATAFORSEO_API_KEY.md in the repository.

Q: How can I contribute?
A: Open a clear issue; the simple-issue-description skill can help you write one.

11. Quick Links

Repository: https://github.com/every-app/open-seo
Website / hosted service: https://openseo.so
Pricing: https://openseo.so/pricing
Issues: https://github.com/every-app/open-seo/issues
Community: https://discord.gg/c9uGs3cFXr

12. Summary

OpenSEO brings the core workflows of commercial SEO suites into an MIT-licensed, usage-priced, forkable project, and makes that data available to AI agents. It suits developers, small teams, agencies and marketers who want SEO insights without a fixed monthly subscription.