Google Keyword Planner vs Keyword Keg in 2026: A free, permanent Google tool vs a product mid-migration
One tool is a stable, free feature built into Google Ads. The other pulled keyword suggestions from 11 autosuggest APIs but is actively being folded into Keywords Everywhere, with its pricing page no longer live.
Google Keyword Planner
Keyword Keg- Google Keyword Planner is free forever with any Google account and has no product continuity risk, since it is a core, permanent Google Ads feature. Keyword Keg is in active migration to Keywords Everywhere, and its pricing page is no longer accessible.
- Keyword Keg pulled suggestions from 11 autosuggest APIs simultaneously, including Google, YouTube, Amazon, eBay, and Wikipedia, one of the widest source sets in the category while it operated standalone. Keyword Planner pulls from a single source: Google's own ad and search systems.
- Keyword Keg supported bulk upload of up to 500,000 keywords in one file with metrics appended, a far larger ceiling than Keyword Planner's bulk lookup tool is positioned for.
- Keyword Keg automatically categorized keywords by intent (Buyer Intent, Product Info, Questions, Alphabetical, Prepositions). Keyword Planner has no intent categorization, only a competition rating tied to ad demand.
- Google Keyword Planner's volume data is sourced directly from Google, the most authoritative source available, though shown as ranges without active ad spend. Keyword Keg drew estimated metrics across all 11 of its source platforms, not just Google.
- Keyword Keg offered white-label CSV, Excel, and PDF export for agency reporting. Keyword Planner has no white-label export option; its data leaves as a plain CSV.
- Neither tool offers a standalone public API, though Keyword Planner's underlying data is reachable through the separate Google Ads API, which Keyword Keg never offered an equivalent to.
Google Keyword Planner and Keyword Keg approach keyword discovery from different angles, and one of them is not a stable product to build a workflow around right now. Keyword Planner is free, permanent, and pulls search volume and CPC data directly from Google's own ad systems, a single-source tool built for advertisers that SEOs have relied on for years as an authoritative check. Keyword Keg's pitch was breadth: pull keyword suggestions from 11 different autosuggest sources, Google, Amazon, YouTube, Wikipedia, and more, in a single search, then bulk-enrich up to 500,000 keywords with metrics in one file. That breadth was genuinely differentiated, but Keyword Keg is now in active migration into Keywords Everywhere, its pricing page is no longer accessible, and new sign-ups are redirected elsewhere. That single fact should weigh more heavily on your decision than any feature comparison below.
The tools at a glance
Google Keyword Planner
Free keyword research and forecasting tool from Google, built into Google Ads with search volume data direct from the source
Google Keyword Planner is a free tool inside Google Ads, built for advertisers but used by SEOs for one dependable reason: the data comes straight from Google's own systems rather than a third-party model, and it has never faced the kind of platform uncertainty that now surrounds Keyword Keg. Enter a seed keyword or landing page URL and it returns related suggestions with volume, competition, and CPC, plus performance forecasting for a given bid.
It is also, by design, a single-source tool. Keyword Planner reflects Google Search and Google Ads demand only; it has no visibility into what people search on Amazon, YouTube, or Wikipedia, and no intent categorization beyond a general low/medium/high competition rating. Set against Keyword Keg's 11-API breadth, that is a real limitation for anyone doing e-commerce or cross-platform keyword research.
What Keyword Planner offers instead is certainty. It costs nothing, it is not going anywhere, and the data provenance is unmatched for Google Search specifically. Compared to a tool mid-migration with a dead pricing page, that stability is worth factoring into the decision on its own, independent of any feature checklist.
| Feature | Free Free |
|---|---|
| Keyword discovery | ✓ |
| Search volume data | Range-based without ad spend |
| CPC and competition data | ✓ |
| Multi-platform autosuggest sources | 1 (Google) |
| Bulk keyword upload | ✓ |
| API access | Yes, via Google Ads API |
Keyword Keg
A five-tool keyword research suite built on 11 autosuggest APIs, now being migrated into Keywords Everywhere
Keyword Keg's core idea was coverage: instead of pulling suggestions from one autocomplete source like Keyword Planner does, it queried 11 at once, search engines, marketplaces, Wikipedia, and app stores, returning intent-categorized results (Buyer Intent, Product Info, Questions, and more) across all of them from up to 30 seed keywords in a single search. The Import Keywords tool could take a file of up to 500,000 rows and return it with volume, CPC, and competition data appended, a bulk ceiling well above what Keyword Planner is positioned for.
That description is now largely historical. As of mid-2026, Keyword Keg is undergoing a full migration into Keywords Everywhere, built by the same team. The pricing page is no longer active, and anyone trying to sign up today is redirected to Keywords Everywhere instead. Existing customers are reportedly still supported through the transition, but the product is not accepting new standalone subscribers.
For a comparison against a tool as stable as Keyword Planner, that changes the calculus entirely: you are not choosing whether Keyword Keg's multi-API breadth fits your workflow, you are choosing whether to build around a product that is being wound down. Anyone drawn to the 11-source coverage or bulk import capacity described here should evaluate Keywords Everywhere directly rather than Keyword Keg itself.
| Feature | Migration to Keywords Everywhere See keywordseverywhere.com |
|---|---|
| Bulk upload up to 500K keywords | ✓ |
| 11 autosuggest APIs | ✓ |
| Intent categorization | ✓ |
| White-label export | ✓ |
| Standalone pricing page active | ✗ |
Head-to-head feature comparison
| Feature | Google Keyword Planner | Keyword Keg |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | Free | No longer published (see Keywords Everywhere) |
| Product status | Stable, permanent Google Ads feature | Being migrated into Keywords Everywhere |
| Autosuggest source count | 1 (Google) | 11 (Google, YouTube, Bing, Yahoo, Yandex, Amazon, eBay, Alibaba, Wikipedia, Ask.com, Google Play) |
| Search volume data source | Direct from Google search systems | Estimated across all 11 source platforms |
| Intent categorization | No (competition rating only) | Yes (Buyer Intent, Product Info, Questions, Alphabetical, Prepositions) |
| Bulk keyword processing ceiling | Positioned for standard bulk lookups | 500,000 keywords per bulk upload |
| White-label export | No | Yes (CSV, Excel, PDF) |
| API access | Yes, via Google Ads API | No |
| Free tier or trial | Free forever | No |
Which should you choose?
Google Keyword PlannerGoogle Keyword PlannerKeyword KegGoogle Keyword PlannerFeature-for-feature, Keyword Keg's 11-API breadth and 500,000-row bulk import genuinely outmatch what Keyword Planner offers, which pulls from Google alone and caps out at standard bulk lookups. But that comparison assumes Keyword Keg is still a product you can sign up for, and it is not, in any meaningful standalone sense; the pricing page is dead and new users land on Keywords Everywhere instead. Keyword Planner, by contrast, is not going anywhere: it is a permanent, free feature of Google Ads with no migration risk attached. Weighing features against stability, Keyword Planner is the safer default, and anyone who actually needs Keyword Keg's multi-source coverage should route around Keyword Keg entirely and evaluate Keywords Everywhere.
Bottom line
Use Google Keyword Planner for free, dependable Google-sourced volume and CPC data with zero risk of the product changing under you. If what draws you to this comparison is Keyword Keg's multi-platform autosuggest breadth or its 500,000-row bulk import, skip Keyword Keg's dead pricing page and evaluate Keywords Everywhere directly, since that is where the same capabilities now live and where new development is happening.
Frequently asked questions
Is Keyword Keg still worth signing up for in 2026?
No, not as a new standalone customer. Keyword Keg's pricing page is no longer accessible and new sign-ups are being redirected to Keywords Everywhere, the browser-extension product from the same team the platform is being consolidated into. Existing Keyword Keg users are reportedly still supported during the transition, but anyone comparing it fresh against Google Keyword Planner should evaluate Keywords Everywhere instead.
Why would I use Keyword Keg instead of the free Google Keyword Planner?
The historical reason was source breadth: Keyword Keg pulled suggestions from 11 autosuggest APIs, including Amazon, eBay, YouTube, and Wikipedia, while Keyword Planner draws from Google alone. That advantage now lives inside Keywords Everywhere rather than Keyword Keg itself, so the honest answer is to evaluate Keywords Everywhere if multi-platform suggestions matter to you, not Keyword Keg directly.
Does Google Keyword Planner cover Amazon or YouTube keyword suggestions the way Keyword Keg did?
No. Google Keyword Planner is built entirely around Google's own search and ad data, with no visibility into Amazon, YouTube, eBay, or Wikipedia search behavior. Keyword Keg's multi-API approach covered all of those platforms simultaneously, a capability now being absorbed into Keywords Everywhere rather than staying inside Keyword Keg.
Which tool handles bulk keyword uploads at a larger scale?
Keyword Keg supported bulk uploads of up to 500,000 keywords in a single file with metrics appended, a considerably larger ceiling than Keyword Planner is designed around. Since Keyword Keg's standalone pricing page is no longer live, that bulk capacity is now most reliably accessed through Keywords Everywhere rather than Keyword Keg directly.
Is Google Keyword Planner data still the most reliable free source for Google-specific search volume?
Yes, since it is sourced directly from Google's own search and ad systems rather than a third-party model, Keyword Planner remains the most authoritative free source for Google Search volume specifically. It shows ranges rather than precise figures unless the account has active ad spend, but that is a data-precision tradeoff, not a reliability one.
Should I trust a tool that is mid-migration like Keyword Keg for ongoing keyword research?
It is safer to treat a mid-migration product as a stopgap rather than a long-term foundation, since Keyword Keg's pricing page is already down and new customers are being routed to Keywords Everywhere. For any keyword research workflow you plan to rely on for more than a few months, Google Keyword Planner's stability or a direct evaluation of Keywords Everywhere are both safer choices than building around Keyword Keg itself.