Free Keyword Difficulty Checker
Check difficulty and search volume for up to 20 keywords at once. Add your domain to see which ones your site can realistically win.
Live Google data · free, no sign-up
How to use the free keyword difficulty checker
- 01
Paste up to 20 keywords, one per line.
- 02
Add your domain to get a winnability score for each.
- 03
Prioritize keywords your site can win with real search volume.
Difficulty only means something next to your site's strength
Keyword difficulty (0–100) estimates how hard it is to reach the top 10, based on the links pointing to the pages that rank now. But a difficulty of 40 is easy for an established site and nearly impossible for a new one.
That's why the checker can compare each keyword against your domain's own authority. The "Can you win it?" score is the same winnability score Rankfly uses to choose every article it writes: difficulty against your authority, plus search volume and buying intent.
Keyword difficulty scale
How to read the 0–100 difficulty score these tools show.
| Difficulty | Label | What it usually takes |
|---|---|---|
| 0–14 | Very easy | A good page on almost any site, including new ones |
| 15–29 | Easy | Solid content; a few links help |
| 30–49 | Medium | An established site with some backlinks |
| 50–69 | Hard | Strong authority and links to the page itself |
| 70–100 | Very hard | Major brands and very strong domains |
Tips for using the keyword difficulty checker
Add your domain
Difficulty alone can't say whether you can win. With your domain, the checker compares each keyword with your site's authority.
Check authority separately
See your site's link strength with the domain rating checker.
Don't ignore volume
A very easy keyword with no searches brings no traffic. Balance difficulty against searches per month.
Re-check as you grow
As your site earns links, harder keywords become winnable. Re-check quarterly.
Skip the manual work: get an article published to your site every day.
Rankfly finds the keywords your site can actually win, writes a full SEO article for each one, adds images, and publishes it to WordPress, Shopify, Webflow, Wix and more. Enter your website to see your free 30-day content plan.
3-day free trial · $66/month for 30 articles
Keyword Difficulty Checker FAQ
Where does the data come from?
From DataForSEO, which supplies search volumes from Google Ads data and live Google results to SEO tools worldwide. Every figure is real; when there's no data for a query, the tool tells you instead of guessing.
What's a good keyword difficulty?
For a new site, under 20–30. As your site earns links and authority, keywords in the 30–50 range become realistic.
Is it free?
Yes. Search-data tools are limited to 5 runs per person per day because each lookup costs us real data credits. Rankfly customers get this research done automatically for their whole site.
How is keyword difficulty calculated?
From the link strength of the pages currently ranking in Google's top 10 for the keyword.
What's a winnability score?
Rankfly's score that weighs difficulty against your site's authority, plus volume and buying intent. It's how Rankfly picks every article it writes.
Is keyword difficulty the same in every tool?
No. Ahrefs, Semrush and others use different formulas; compare keywords within one tool.
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Let Rankfly do your SEO for you.
Enter your website for a free 30-day content plan: the keywords your site can win and the articles Rankfly would write and publish. About three minutes.
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