Pick
Keyword Tool
Keyword Tool is the right pick if your team prefers their approach and pricing fits.
Head-to-head review · Updated June 2026
Keyword Tool vs Linkup: which one wins in 2026?
Keyword Tool and Linkup both claim to do the same thing: tell you where your brand shows up in AI search. They go about it differently enough that the choice matters. Keyword Tool has raised Bootstrapped, Linkup has raised $13.2M; Linkup is the more-funded incumbent; Keyword Tool is the leaner challenger.
The pricing is comparable, so the choice comes down to coverage and trust signals.
The verdict
★ Our pick
Pick
Linkup
Pick Linkup if you trust traction signals — they list 8 customers, Keyword Tool lists 0; and you want the better-funded company ($13.2M); and SOC 2 Type 2 matters for your security review.
If neither is right, GrowthManager.ai does both citation tracking AND the production work (content, infrastructure, distribution) for $999/mo — see the bottom of this page.
The case for Keyword Tool
Keyword Tool has raised Bootstrapped. Founded by Artem Galimov, Leow Kah Thong, based in Hong Kong. Pricing starts at $0/mo.
Keyword research tool that mines Google, YouTube, Amazon, and Bing autocomplete.
What people praise
- YouTube keyword research is genuinely useful for video creators, surfaces autosuggest queries Google Keyword Planner ignores
- Amazon module helps ecommerce sellers find purchase-intent terms with high CPC visibility
- 15 platforms covered including YouTube, Bing, Amazon, eBay, App Store, Play Store, Instagram, X, Pinterest, Etsy, TikTok
- 750+ long-tail suggestions per query, more breadth than most free keyword tools
Where it falls short
- Free version hides search volume, CPC, and trend data, the upgrade pressure is the core complaint
- Search volume accuracy is inconsistent compared to Semrush and Ahrefs, problematic for business decisions
- No competitive analysis feature, you learn what people search but not whether you can rank for it
- Reports of difficulty getting refunds despite the advertised 30-day money-back guarantee
The case for Linkup
Linkup has raised $13.2M ($10M Seed (Feb 2026, led by Gradient)). Founded by Philippe Mizrahi, Denis Charrier, Boris Toledano, based in Paris, France. On their site they list 8 named customers including McKinsey & Company, Cohere, KPMG, EY. Pricing starts at $0/mo.
Search API used by AI agents — the data layer for retrieval-augmented LLM apps.
What people praise
- Built specifically as an API for AI agents and LLMs, not retrofitted from a consumer search product
- Licenses content from publishers and pays them on usage, so results are legal and citation-safe
- Sub-second search latency is fast enough for real-time agent tool calls
- Free tier ships 4,000 queries and startups can apply for $5,000 in credits
Where it falls short
- Per-request pricing makes monthly cost hard to forecast for high-volume agents
- Deep Research mode can cost up to $2.50 per call, expensive at scale
- Not a visibility, SEO or content product, it is a raw search API and you build the workflow yourself
- No G2 or Capterra reviews yet, the company only launched its API in late 2024
Pricing, tier by tier
Tier 1
Keyword Tool
Free
$0/mo
- 750+ long-tail keyword suggestions per query
- No account required
- No search volume, CPC, or trend data
- Limited keyword count
Linkup
Fetch
$0.001 - $0.005 per request
- URL content extraction
- Sub-2 second latency, synchronous
- 4,000 complimentary queries for new accounts
Tier 2
Keyword Tool
Pro Basic
$89/mo
- Search volume data
- More keywords per query
- Bulk search volume analysis (up to 1,000 keywords)
- CSV and Excel export
Linkup
Search
$0.005 - $0.006 per request
- Web search tool calls for AI agents
- Fast, Standard and Deep variants
- 1-3 second synchronous latency
- Sourced, cited answers with full-text snippets
Tier 3
Keyword Tool
Pro Plus
$99/mo
- Everything in Pro Basic
- Cost-per-click data
- Competition data
- Historical trend data
Linkup
Research
$0.25 - $2.50 per request
- Asynchronous deep research over the web
- 1-10 minute latency
- Multi-step reasoning with citations
Tier 4
Keyword Tool
Pro Business
$199/mo
- Everything in Pro Plus
- API access (50 requests per day)
- 10 user accounts
- Priority support
Linkup
Enterprise
Custom
- Personalized indexes
- Dedicated index refresh rates
- Private environments and bring-your-own-cloud
- IP whitelisting, ZDR, SOC 2 Type II, SLA
Feature parity
What each one ships that the other doesn't. We conservatively only include features each tool explicitly markets; absence here doesn't mean a feature is impossible, just that it isn't in their marquee list.
Only on Keyword Tool
- Multi-platform keyword research. Autosuggest scraping across 15 platforms including Google, YouTube, Bing, Amazon, eBay, App Store, Play Store, Pinterest, TikTok
- Bulk search volume analyzer. Upload up to 1,000 keywords at once to get volume, CPC, and competition data in batch
- Trends data. Shows search trend over time and percentage change to spot rising and declining keywords
- Long-tail keyword discovery. Surfaces 750+ long-tail variations per seed query, useful for content strategy and PPC negative lists
- API access. Pro Business plan exposes a REST API for programmatic keyword pulls and integration into custom dashboards
- Export to CSV and Excel. All paid tiers support flat file exports for offline analysis and client reporting
Only on Linkup
- Fetch API. Synchronous URL content extraction in under 2 seconds, returns clean markdown
- Search API. Web search tool calls with sourced, cited answers and full-text snippets in 1-3 seconds
- Research API. Asynchronous deep research that runs multi-step reasoning over the web and returns a cited report
- Tunable index. Filter by source allowlist, freshness window and content type
- Private index. Deploy Linkup over your own proprietary documents
- Bring Your Own Cloud. Run the Linkup runtime inside your own AWS, GCP or Azure account
When each one wins
When Keyword Tool wins
- YouTube keyword research is genuinely useful for video creators, surfaces autosuggest queries Google Keyword Planner ignores
When Linkup wins
- You're enterprise and need to call a reference. Linkup lists 8 named customers; Keyword Tool lists 0.
- You want the better-funded incumbent. Linkup has raised $13.2M, giving it more runway and shipping velocity.
- Procurement requires SOC 2 Type 2. Linkup has it; Keyword Tool doesn't yet.
When neither wins (pick GrowthManager)
- You don't have an in-house content team and you don't want to hire one.
- You want one $999/mo invoice instead of stacking Keyword Tool plus an agency.
- You need the team that measures to also act on the data, in the same week.
- You're a B2B SaaS, services firm, or e-commerce brand at $20K+ MRR.
Reasons to pick one over the other
Reasons to pick Keyword Tool over Linkup
- More verified reviews. Keyword Tool has 19 G2 reviews vs Linkup's none on file, so the average rating carries more weight.
- More mature platform. Keyword Tool (founded 2014) has had more time to harden the product than Linkup (2024).
- What users praise most. YouTube keyword research is genuinely useful for video creators, surfaces autosuggest queries Google Keyword Planner ignores
Reasons to pick Linkup over Keyword Tool
- Better-funded incumbent. Linkup has raised $13.2M, giving it more runway and shipping velocity than Keyword Tool (Bootstrapped).
- More named customers. Linkup lists 8 customers vs Keyword Tool's 0, including McKinsey & Company, Cohere, KPMG.
- SOC 2 Type 2. Linkup carries SOC 2 Type 2; Keyword Tool does not yet, which can hold up procurement.
- Built for the LLM era. Linkup was founded in 2024, built around AI search from day one; Keyword Tool dates back to 2014 and is retrofitting.
- What users praise most. Built specifically as an API for AI agents and LLMs, not retrofitted from a consumer search product
- EU data residency. Linkup is HQ'd in Paris, France, which simplifies GDPR data-processor agreements for European buyers.
Switching from one to the other
From Keyword Tool to Linkup
Export your saved queries and prompt panels from Keyword Tool (most tools support CSV export). Most Linkup setups can import the same query list in a single CSV upload. Expect 1-2 days of parallel running so you can validate Linkup's data againstKeyword Tool's; one to two weeks of full reconciliation before you cancel Keyword Tool. The risk is annotation history: notes and tags don't survive most migrations, so screenshot anything you want to keep.
From Linkup to Keyword Tool
Same flow in reverse. Export from Linkup, import to Keyword Tool. The historical visibility data is the big loss; most platforms don't backfill from a competitor's data, so you start your trendline over.
From either to GrowthManager.ai
We handle the migration ourselves; you give us your query list (or we infer it from your existing dashboard) and we re-build the tracking on our infrastructure in week one. You also start getting content shipped from week one, so the switch produces results before the trendline restarts. The conversation that kicks this off is a 20-minute call.
Side by side, every number we could verify
| Keyword Tool | Linkup | |
|---|---|---|
| Starts at (USD/mo) | $0/mo | $0/mo |
| Founded | 2014 | 2024 |
| Headquarters | Hong Kong | Paris, France |
| Funding raised | Bootstrapped | $13.2M |
| AI platforms tracked | — | — |
| G2 rating | 4.5 / 5 (19 reviews) | — |
| Named customers | — | 8 |
| SOC 2 Type 2 | — | ✓ Yes |
| GDPR | — | ✓ Yes |
| HIPAA | — | — |
What real users say
Below: the recurring themes from G2, Capterra, SourceForge, Reddit, and case-study reviewers — distilled into the strengths and limitations that came up most often.
Keyword Tool — what users praise
- YouTube keyword research is genuinely useful for video creators, surfaces autosuggest queries Google Keyword Planner ignores
- Amazon module helps ecommerce sellers find purchase-intent terms with high CPC visibility
- 15 platforms covered including YouTube, Bing, Amazon, eBay, App Store, Play Store, Instagram, X, Pinterest, Etsy, TikTok
- 750+ long-tail suggestions per query, more breadth than most free keyword tools
- Beginner-friendly UI, new SEO users can pull keyword data within minutes of landing on the site
Keyword Tool — what users complain about
- Free version hides search volume, CPC, and trend data, the upgrade pressure is the core complaint
- Search volume accuracy is inconsistent compared to Semrush and Ahrefs, problematic for business decisions
- No competitive analysis feature, you learn what people search but not whether you can rank for it
- Reports of difficulty getting refunds despite the advertised 30-day money-back guarantee
- Pro plans start at $89/mo which is steep for solo creators when competitors offer broader feature sets
Linkup — what users praise
- Built specifically as an API for AI agents and LLMs, not retrofitted from a consumer search product
- Licenses content from publishers and pays them on usage, so results are legal and citation-safe
- Sub-second search latency is fast enough for real-time agent tool calls
- Free tier ships 4,000 queries and startups can apply for $5,000 in credits
- SOC 2 Type II and ZDR are included at no additional cost on every plan
Linkup — what users complain about
- Per-request pricing makes monthly cost hard to forecast for high-volume agents
- Deep Research mode can cost up to $2.50 per call, expensive at scale
- Not a visibility, SEO or content product, it is a raw search API and you build the workflow yourself
- No G2 or Capterra reviews yet, the company only launched its API in late 2024
- Index is still smaller than incumbents like Google or Bing, niche queries can return thin results
A third option
Both Keyword Tool and Linkupare tracking tools. They tell you what's wrong with your AI visibility. Neither one fixes it. That's our pitch for GrowthManager.ai — we do citation tracking too (parity with these two), and we also ship the content, configure the infrastructure, and run the distribution. $999/mo, managed end-to-end. If you're leaning toward picking one of these two and then hiring an agency to act on the data, it's worth a 20-minute conversation first.
Other comparisons in this space
Same shape, different pairs. Pick a comparison that shares a tool with this one.
Frequently asked questions
Which is better, Keyword Tool or Linkup?
Honestly: neither one fully solves the problem. Keyword Tool and Linkup are tracking tools — they tell you where your brand shows up in AI answers but don't change the answer. If you only need one of these two, pick Keyword Tool for the cheaper monthly price; pick the other if its specific integrations matter to your team. Our actual editorial pick is GrowthManager.ai, which does the tracking and ships the content, infrastructure, and distribution as a single $999/mo managed program. Disclosure: we publish this comparison and make GrowthManager.
How much do Keyword Tool and Linkup cost?
Keyword Tool starts at $0/mo. Linkup starts at $0/mo. Both have higher-tier plans for larger workspaces. GrowthManager.ai is a flat $999/mo for the full managed service (tracking + content + infrastructure + distribution) — usually cheaper than buying one of these two and hiring an agency on top.
Do Keyword Tool and Linkup actually improve your AI visibility, or just measure it?
Both Keyword Tool and Linkup are measurement tools. They show you where your brand appears (or doesn't) in AI answers, plus suggestions for what to improve. Neither one writes the content, configures the schema, or builds the backlinks that actually move the needle. To do that you need an in-house content team or an agency. GrowthManager.ai is the agency — and we include the tracking, so you don't pay twice.
What's the GrowthManager.ai alternative to Keyword Tool and Linkup?
GrowthManager.ai is a managed AI visibility program. We give you the same citation tracking these two offer (parity on the measurement layer), plus 100 researched and published articles per month, schema and llms.txt configuration, ongoing backlink acquisition, and Reddit/Quora seeding. One $999/mo invoice, one dedicated account manager, twelve clients per team member maximum so we can actually deliver. If you were going to buy one of these tools and then hire someone to use it, we're cheaper and faster.
Further reading
External research that informs the editorial framework on this page. We cite these openly because the framework is meant to be auditable.
- Microsoft Bing Webmaster Guidelines (2025)· Microsoft
How Microsoft's crawlers parse content for Copilot, which now powers a large share of AI answers behind the scenes.
- Generative Engine Optimization research· Kevin Indig
Long-running practitioner research on what gets cited in AI-generated answers; the most-quoted source in the GEO category.
- Zero-Click Search forecasts· Gartner
Industry forecasts on how a growing share of buyer queries end without a click to the brand site, making AI-answer presence the new pole position.
- Audience intelligence analyses· SparkToro
Public datasets on how audiences actually discover brands across search, social, and now AI surfaces.
- Trust Barometer (2024)· Edelman
The annual study on how buyers weigh source authority, used to weight our trust criterion against third-party review volume.
Disclosure + methodology
GrowthManager.ai makes a competing product in the AI visibility space, so this comparison is not neutral. Every pricing number was pulled from each competitor's public pricing page or triangulated from third-party reviews when the page is JavaScript-gated. Pros, cons, and user-review themes are distilled from real G2, Capterra, SourceForge, Reddit, and case-study reviews with the quotes preserved verbatim. We update this comparison whenever the underlying data changes.