Do you write high-quality SEO-optimized content but still find it hard to rank?
Something is missing in your arsenal. It would help if you used content optimization tools.
There are content optimization tools available in the market that make things easier. Frase and Surfer Seo are favorites among the Seo community and content writers.
But most people find it challenging to pick one with both having a happy set of customers.
With all the positive reviews and feedback, how does one decide which is the best?
Having tried both tools, I decided to share my thoughts and write down a few major benefits and drawbacks.
I will make a detailed comparison of all the key features by pitching them against each other. There may be some features that you may not need or a feature that may turn out to be a must-have.
Let’s find out.
Key Differences: Frase Vs Surfer SEO
| Frase | Surfer SEO |
|---|---|
| Basic subscription starts from $39.9 (30 posts/month) per month on an annual payment | Basic subscription starts from $49 (10 posts/month) per month on an annual payment |
| Proprietary NLP analysis across all plans | Basic plan has only a 1-month trial for NLP. |
| UI somewhat average | UI is intuitive and easy |
| Topic cluster creation is not available | Automatic Topic cluster creation |
| Keyword data, backlinks & AI writer are available as an SEO add-on for $35/per month | Keywords and backlink data available across all plans |
| Excellent Frase AI writer (part of SEO add-on) | No AI writer is available. |
| Automated content briefs | Not available |
| Manually find opportunities and keywords losing impressions | AI-powered Grow Flow connects to GSC and sends weekly content gaps |
| Does not integrate with Jasper and Semrush | Integrates with Jasper and Semrush |
| Internal link suggestions | None |
How does Content Optimization Helps in SEO?
Content optimization tools help you rank better on Google. But it is important to understand that there don’t use any magical algorithms that make the content better and it will start ranking.
These tools automate your manual task of analyzing what is in the SERPs.
They suggest appropriate keywords and terms that improve the topic coverage. But adding certain terms will not boost your ranking.
It is more towards pushing you to write better and more informational. Such articles have more chances of getting SEO traffic.
They also provide suggestions on heading and subheadings to use that further help in SEO.
Detailed Comparison
Content Brief
Frase helps you end to end in your content creation journey. It helps you research and creates content briefs from scratch.
The content brief can be created manually by the drag and drop feature or can be created automatically by the software. It is one of the powerful features of Frase that makes me keep coming back to the tool.
With Frase, you can create custom templates for different kinds of articles. This helps in faster and better content briefs.
Surfer Seo lacks automated content brief creation.
It does allow the creation of a brief in outline builder that is like Frase. But the flow in both the tools is different.
Content Planning
Surfer Seo has a flow like other SEO tools like Semrush. It starts with content planning using keyword research.
You start with the seed keyword. It will help you find keywords you can target and move them into the content editor.
But, Frase expects you to start with document (content brief) creation by analyzing SERPs. It does provide domain authority and backlink data (available as an add-on) in the SERPs. But does not have a proper keyword research tool.
Topic Clusters
Topic Cluster suggestions in Surfer Seo are one of the key features. It is missing completely in Frase.
As a Seo consultant, I always recommend covering the topic from all possible angles. Topic clusters play a huge role in Seo.
In the content planner, Surfer creates automatic topic clusters. It provides important data with the tool like keywords, estimated traffic, and keyword difficulty.
If you are not using any other tool for creating topic clusters then this can be extremely beneficial.
AI Writer
Frase AI writer is an add-on at an extra price with good usable output. Surfer completely lacks AI-based content generation.
Surfer has support for integration with Jasper AI. If you are already subscribed to Jasper AI writing assistant then integration makes it a powerful combination.
UI
Ease of UI/UX can be a subjective observation. I find Surfer to be faster and more refined. Although Frase has improved in this aspect in the last few months.
Frase often changes its UI and positions of buttons and tabs. It adds a bump in the experience when there are frequent changes in UI.
Content Auditing
Both tools provide solid data points for auditing an existing article for on-page SEO.
Surfer has shown better recommendations when NLP is activated. Both tools highlight areas of improvement in the content. These can be over or under the use of words or phrases as compared to SERPs.
Surfer assigns NLP entities labels in its recommendations. These are very helpful as using these entities will helps Google to understand the content better. Frase does not do such tagging instead it clubs them based on long tails, clusters, or top topics.
Collaboration based Features
There is not much to choose from when it comes to collaboration. You can add your team member but there is a cap based on the plan you choose.
They both allow a shareable link with others who are not team members. They have their WordPress plugin and Google doc integration in case you don’t want to use the native editor.
Pros and cons of Frase
Pros
- Creating high-quality content briefs for content writers
- Affordable
- Good AI writer.
Cons
- Lack of clarity on NLP entities recommendation.
- UI and document management are average.
Pros and cons of Surfer SEO
Pros
- Excellent content planner.
- Includes Keyword research tool
- Topic clusters
- Better NLP capabilities.
Cons
- Poor content brief workflow
- Expensive.
Surfer SEO vs Frase Pricing Comparison
The monthly subscription cost is vital in decision-making. Frase is relatively cheaper and allows more document creation.
But if you are an agency or with high usage, the costing and the benefits under their business plan are very similar.
They both have customization options if you are looking to use them for more than 10 websites or 70 articles.
Surfer is a powerful tool when you are using its NLP but the basic plan has that feature as a trial for the first month only. Surfer makes more sense if you opt for the pro plan at $99/month (annual payment).
Frase offers unlimited documents when compared with Surfer’s pro plan which offers only 30 documents.
Which Tool is Best for you?
In my opinion, if you are an enthusiast blogger or one who does not blog often Frase’s basic plan will make more sense.
When you get into the business side of blogging or long-form content, you need to decide based on your workflow.
Frase with its AI writer is a nifty single tool for faster SEO-optimized articles. And if you already own an AI writer or start a new website, a content planner from Surfer Seo will speed up your content generation process with the help of topic clusters and NLP-based recommendations.
- Frase at 60% Off – Check Pricing.
- Surfer SEO – Check Pricing.
- Get Free Surfer SEO Keyword Volume Chrome Plugin.
- Try for Free Frase AI Tools.