Google Keyword Planner review

Google Keyword Planner is the free baseline every content team can use, with one condition: it lives inside Google Ads. Google describes it as a free resource to help advertisers build keyword lists, and its help pages say you must complete account setup by entering billing information to use keyword ideas, with the account in Expert Mode. Once inside, you can enter words or a website to get related keyword ideas, see monthly search estimates and how they have changed over time, and view suggested bid estimates that indicate commercial value. Forecasts estimate clicks and conversions for a planned campaign. For organic content work the gaps are clear: there is no keyword difficulty score, no SERP analysis and no topic clustering, so it cannot tell an editor whether a page is likely to rank. It is a good check on demand and a starting point before paying for a dedicated tool.

Who it is for

Teams on a zero budget, or advertisers who want Google's own keyword ideas and bid estimates.

Price

Free with a Google Ads account.

Google Keyword Planner is a free resource to help advertisers build keyword lists for search campaigns.
Quoted from the vendor pricing page on November 5, 2026.

Key features

• Keyword ideas from words, phrases or a website
• Monthly search estimates and trends over time
• Suggested bid estimates per keyword
• Keyword forecasts for clicks, impressions and conversions
• Plans that convert into Search campaigns

Strengths and weaknesses

• Strength: Free to use
• Strength: Keyword ideas and trends come from Google's own tool
• Strength: Bid estimates show commercial value
• Weakness: Requires a completed Google Ads account setup with billing information
• Weakness: Built for advertisers, with no organic difficulty score
• Weakness: Account must be in Expert Mode

Key facts

• Price: Free
• Access: Google Ads account in Expert Mode, Tools then Planning menu
• Setup requirement: Billing information entered in Google Ads
• Main outputs: Keyword ideas, search estimates, bid estimates, forecasts

Where it ranks

Google Keyword Planner is No. 10 in our Best Keyword Research Tools verdict.