SEOLab vs Plug In SEO: Scan Limits, Audits, and Real Cost

SEOLab is the better choice for most Shopify stores in 2026 because it includes for free what Plug In SEO sells on Lite ($29.99), Standard ($49.99), and Premium ($79.99) plans. SEOLab gives you bulk meta tags, JSON-LD, alt text, image compression, and auto fix for broken links with no scan caps or audit limits listed. Plug In SEO is a long-running, Built for Shopify app, rated 4.6 from about 670 reviews and live since 2011, with live chat support and an optional expert service, so it deserves a fair look. Here is how they compare.

Disclosure: SEOLab is our app. To keep this fair we compared both against their live Shopify App Store listings and the developer's own product page on 3 October 2026, cited dated merchant reviews, and gave Plug In SEO a section of its own. Plug In SEO's listing and developer site are the source for every Plug In SEO price and limit below, and third-party roundups were not used.

SEOLab

Our pick

4.9 (2,769 reviews)

Price: Free at time of writing

Launched: December 2024

Best for: Free bulk SEO, large catalogs, AI visibility

Plug In SEO

by Plug in Useful

4.6 (about 670 reviews)

Price: $29.99 to $79.99 a month, 7 day trial

Launched: June 2011

Best for: Learning SEO with guided audits and optional expert help

SEOLab vs Plug In SEO: What Are the Key Differences at a Glance?

Ratings come from the live SEOLab listing and Plug In SEO listing. SEOLab is free at the time of writing, and independent reviewers note the team plans paid tiers later, so check the listing before you commit long term. Plug In SEO's listing shows 672 reviews and its reviews page shows a few more, so we say about 670.

What Does Each Plan Really Include?

Plug In SEO sells three plans on its listing, and the real differences are how many pages it scans, how many pages get keyword research, and how many audits you run each month. Here they are side by side with SEOLab.

Plug In SEO's listing says all prices are billed every 30 days, and the developer's site also sells a separate fixed-price Quick Start Service. Check the app for the plan you would actually be offered.

What Does a Year of Plug In SEO Really Cost?

Monthly prices hide the annual total. Multiplying the listed prices by 12 gives about $360 on Lite, $600 on Standard, and $960 on Premium, before the Quick Start Service or any fix packages. Because Lite caps scans at 200 pages and audits at 2 a month, many stores with real catalogs end up on a higher plan.

That can be a fair price for guided help, and the 7 day trial lets you test it. The point is that with SEOLab there is no plan to outgrow, while with Plug In SEO the plan follows your page count. Set a reminder before the trial ends.

How Do Scan Limits Affect a Large Store?

A page scan limit counts how many URLs the app can analyze. Plug In SEO lists 200 pages on Lite, 2,000 on Standard, and unlimited on Premium. Every product, collection, page, and blog post is a page, so a store with 1,500 products, 100 collections, 40 pages, and 400 posts is already past 2,000. SEOLab's Page Optimization scores every product, collection, blog, and page in one scan with no cap listed.

The limits come straight from the plan cards on Plug In SEO's listing ("Scan up to 200 pages", "Scan up to 2,000 pages", "Scan unlimited pages"), and the 5,000 page store is our example, so count your own pages in Shopify admin. For catalogs past a few hundred pages, scan limits are the deciding factor.

How Do the Audit Allowances and Keyword Research Compare?

Plug In SEO is built around audits: it scans, lists issues by priority, and shows guidance for each. Audit runs are capped at 2, 5, or 10 a month, which matters because fixing issues means rerunning checks. Premium's 10 audits is generous for one store, and Lite's 2 can run out in a single working session.

SEOLab's SEO Audit and Site Health scans the home page, products, collections, and blogs, and returns an SEO health score and separate mobile and desktop speed scores, with a prioritized Do These Next list. No audit cap is listed. Plug In SEO also includes AI keyword research that suggests what shoppers search for, which SEOLab approaches with a focus keyword and SEO score per row. See the SEO Audit and Site Health page.

Guided Fixing or Bulk Tools: Which Fits How You Work?

The two apps have different philosophies. Plug In SEO's listing says it gives you tools to diagnose problems and help you learn to fix them yourself. Fixes come through liquid title and meta description templates, bulk editing with a Google preview, ALT text templates, and AI copywriting where you approve every change. That teaching approach suits owners who want to understand SEO.

SEOLab's Page Optimization scores every page and shows a focus keyword, an SEO score, and an AI Optimizer button per row, so you can apply changes directly. You still review before applying, and automatic changes are faster, so preview a sample before running anything store-wide.

• Learning: Plug In SEO leans on instructions, videos, and a paid expert service.
• Speed: SEOLab leans on applying AI suggestions and templates in bulk.
• Cost of help: the Quick Start Service is sold separately by Plug In SEO. Reviews call it helpful, and it adds to the plan price.

For the mechanics of a good title and description, see our meta titles guide and the Meta Title and Description Optimizer page.

How Do They Compare on Technical SEO and JSON-LD?

Technical SEO covers the code layer: JSON-LD schema, sitemaps, and URL structure. Plug In SEO lists schema markup tools with automatic JSON-LD, URL optimization, local SEO tools, and works alongside Shopify's native SEO features. SEOLab includes JSON-LD in the free install, alongside a Search Appearance section, a URL handle and slug manager, a robots.txt customizer, and a Sitemap and Indexing Manager that connects to Google Search Console.

After enabling schema in any app, test a product URL in the Rich Results Test, and read our JSON-LD guide for the fix when two sources overlap. For the sitemap tool, see Sitemap and Indexing Manager.

Which App Fixes Broken Links and Redirects Better?

Plug In SEO lists broken link detection with one-click fixes. SEOLab's URL Management includes a toggle for auto fixing broken links, which monitors new 404s and redirects them to a target URL you set, plus a Broken Links Finder, manual redirect creation, and a Link Monitor with Unresolved, Manage Redirects, and Ignored queues.

One caution applies to both: an automatic rule that sends every 404 to one target is triage, not strategy. Send high value URLs to a relevant page. Our broken links and redirects playbook explains why, and the Broken Link Redirects page shows the full workflow.

What About Images, Speed, and AI Visibility?

Plug In SEO lists image ALT text template setup and speed and performance analysis, with speed reports from Standard. It does not list image compression. SEOLab puts alt text and compression in one place, with an Alt Tags tab with a Fix all alt text button and an Image Optimization tab that reports images optimized and average size saved, plus a Speed Booster. See our image optimization guide and speed guide.

Keep the AI claims in proportion. Plug In SEO's listing promotes AEO tools to help AI search engines find you, and SEOLab includes LLMs.txt and Agents.md on the built-in plan. Google's AI features documentation says there are no additional requirements to appear in AI Overviews or AI Mode, and that you do not need new machine readable files, AI text files, or special markup. Neither app can guarantee a mention in ChatGPT. Our AI SEO guide explains what actually moves citations.

What Do Merchants Say About Each App?

Plug In SEO holds a 4.6 rating, with 83 percent of its reviews at five stars and 27 at one star. Positive reviews, including one from March 2026, praise easy setup, and several from 2024 and 2025 praise the Quick Start Service and named specialists. The critical reviews tell a fuller story, so here are the patterns on Plug In SEO's 1-star reviews:

These are individual reports against roughly 670 reviews, so most merchants are satisfied. They still support the same advice for any SEO app: duplicate your theme first, test what your trial unlocks, keep one SEO app active, and check your theme for leftover code after uninstalling.

Where Does Plug In SEO Fit?

Category by Category: Who Wins?

Built for Shopify · 4.9 Stars · 2,700+ Reviews

SEOLab: All-in-One SEO Without the Paywall

Bulk meta tags, JSON-LD, alt text, image compression, broken link redirects, indexing submission, speed tools, and AI visibility in one free install.

Free Install SEOLab →

How Do You Switch From Plug In SEO to SEOLab Safely?

Final Verdict: Which App Should You Choose?

Across meta tags, JSON-LD, broken links, indexing, images, audits, and AI search, SEOLab covers the same ground as Plug In SEO's three plans at no cost, and without scan caps, monthly audit limits, or a trial that turns into a bill. That matters most on large catalogs, where a 5,000 page store needs Premium at $79.99 a month for full coverage. Its scan-and-approve workflow also lets you review changes before they touch your store. That makes SEOLab the stronger pick for most merchants, and the clear pick for large catalogs and budget conscious stores.

Plug In SEO remains a credible option if you want to learn SEO through guided audits, like having a paid expert service available, and are comfortable with a $29.99 to $79.99 plan. Whichever you choose, do not stack two SEO apps, and verify results in Google Search Console after any change.

Comparing more options? See our 14 best Shopify SEO apps roundup, or read SEOLab vs TinySEO, SEOLab vs Tapita SEO, SEOLab vs Smart SEO, SEOLab vs SearchPie, SEOLab vs Booster SEO, and SEOLab vs Avada SEO.

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