DeadLinkRadar and Screaming Frog approach link checking from opposite directions. Understanding the difference helps you choose the right tool—or use both effectively.
Quick answer:
Choose DeadLinkRadar for continuous monitoring with smart detection. It watches your links 24/7, catches soft 404s and expired file hosts, and alerts you when something breaks. Cloud-based, no software to install.
Choose Screaming Frog for comprehensive one-time SEO audits. It crawls your entire site and provides detailed technical analysis—not just links, but titles, meta descriptions, response codes, and more. Desktop software, manual runs.
At a Glance
| Feature | DeadLinkRadar | Screaming Frog |
|---|---|---|
| Primary purpose | Continuous link monitoring | Comprehensive SEO audits |
| Deployment | Cloud (web-based) | Desktop application |
| Pricing | $9-49/mo | $259/year or free (500 URLs) |
| Continuous monitoring | Yes | No |
| Scheduled checks | Yes (hourly to weekly) | No |
| Alerts | Email, Slack, Discord, webhooks | None |
| Soft 404 detection | Yes (content analysis) | Limited |
| Video/file host monitoring | Yes | No |
| Full site crawl analysis | No | Yes |
| JavaScript rendering | No | Yes |
| API access | Yes | Yes |
Different Tools for Different Jobs
DeadLinkRadar: Always-On Monitoring
DeadLinkRadar is designed for ongoing link health maintenance. You add your links once, and the system checks them automatically:
Continuous monitoring: Links are checked on a schedule you choose—hourly, daily, or weekly. No manual runs required.
AI-powered detection: Analyzes page content to find:
- Soft 404s (HTTP 200 with "Not Found" content)
- Deleted YouTube/Vimeo videos
- Expired file hosting links (40+ platforms)
- Login walls and paywalls
Instant alerts: Get notified via Slack, Discord, email, or webhooks the moment a link breaks. Fix problems in hours, not months.
Cloud-based: Works from any device, no software installation, no version updates.
Screaming Frog: Deep Site Analysis
Screaming Frog is a desktop crawler for comprehensive SEO audits:
Full site crawl: Analyzes every aspect of your site—not just links, but page titles, meta descriptions, canonical tags, hreflang, response codes, redirects, and more.
JavaScript rendering: Crawls JavaScript-heavy sites accurately (important for SPAs and dynamic content).
Custom extraction: Pull specific data from pages using XPath or regex.
Integrations: Connects with Google Analytics, Search Console, PageSpeed Insights, and Ahrefs for enriched data.
One-time analysis: You run it when you need it. No ongoing monitoring.
Price Comparison
| Scenario | DeadLinkRadar | Screaming Frog |
|---|---|---|
| Small site (500 URLs) | $9/mo ($108/year) | Free |
| Medium site (1,000+ URLs) | $9/mo ($108/year) | $259/year |
| Large site (5,000+ URLs) | $19/mo ($228/year) | $259/year |
| Enterprise (25,000+ links) | $49/mo ($588/year) | $259/year |
Key difference: Screaming Frog's paid license is unlimited URLs. DeadLinkRadar scales with link count. For very large sites, Screaming Frog costs less per crawl—but doesn't monitor continuously.
When to Choose DeadLinkRadar
You need continuous monitoring: Links break unpredictably. External sites go offline, files expire, videos get deleted. Continuous monitoring catches these immediately.
Alerts matter: You want Slack/Discord notifications when problems occur, not discovery during quarterly audits.
You link to external resources: File hosts, video platforms, third-party documentation—these break more often and need specialized detection.
You prefer cloud-based tools: No software to install, update, or run manually.
Your priority is link health, not full SEO audits: You don't need page title analysis, canonical tags, or JavaScript rendering.
When to Choose Screaming Frog
You need comprehensive SEO audits: Beyond broken links, you want full technical SEO analysis—titles, meta tags, structured data, crawl depth, and more.
You do quarterly site audits: A thorough crawl every few months fits your workflow better than continuous monitoring.
Your site uses heavy JavaScript: SPAs and dynamic sites need JavaScript rendering for accurate crawling.
You need custom data extraction: Pulling specific elements from pages for analysis or reporting.
You have a large site: Unlimited crawling for $259/year is cost-effective for sites with tens of thousands of pages.
Detection Comparison
| What Gets Detected | DeadLinkRadar | Screaming Frog |
|---|---|---|
| HTTP 404/500 errors | ✅ | ✅ |
| Redirect chains | ✅ | ✅ |
| Soft 404s | ✅ (content analysis) | ⚠️ (can configure, manual) |
| Deleted videos | ✅ (YouTube, Vimeo) | ❌ |
| Expired file hosts | ✅ (40+ services) | ❌ |
| JavaScript-rendered links | ❌ | ✅ |
| Internal linking issues | Basic | ✅ (comprehensive) |
The detection gap: Screaming Frog excels at crawling your site structure. DeadLinkRadar excels at understanding whether external resources are actually working.
Use Case: Content Publisher
A blog with 500 posts links to:
- 200 external articles and resources
- 50 YouTube video embeds
- 30 file downloads (PDFs, code samples)
- 100 affiliate links
With Screaming Frog:
- Run quarterly audits
- Find basic 404 errors
- Get comprehensive technical SEO data
- Miss soft 404s, expired files, deleted videos between audits
With DeadLinkRadar:
- Monitor continuously
- Catch soft 404s the day they happen
- Alert when YouTube videos get taken down
- Know immediately when affiliate links break
- Fix problems before readers (or Google) notice
Best approach: Use both. Screaming Frog for quarterly deep audits, DeadLinkRadar for ongoing monitoring.
Use Case: E-commerce Site
An online store with 5,000 product pages and 10,000 internal links.
With Screaming Frog:
- Crawl entire site structure
- Find broken internal links from site changes
- Audit canonical tags, structured data, faceted navigation
- Cost: $259/year unlimited
With DeadLinkRadar:
- Monitor key pages (product links, vendor resources)
- Catch when supplier links change
- Alert on broken checkout flow links
- Cost: $19/mo ($228/year) for 5,000 links
Best approach: Screaming Frog for technical audits, DeadLinkRadar for monitoring critical external resources.
The Complementary Approach
These tools aren't mutually exclusive. Many teams use both:
Screaming Frog for:
- Quarterly technical SEO audits
- Pre-launch site checks
- Migration verification
- Full site analysis
DeadLinkRadar for:
- Continuous link health monitoring
- External resource tracking
- Instant break alerts
- Smart detection (soft 404s, expired files)
Combined cost: ~$487/year for comprehensive coverage.
The Bottom Line
Screaming Frog is an audit tool. Run it when you need it, get deep analysis, then close it.
DeadLinkRadar is a monitoring tool. Set it up once, get alerts forever, fix breaks immediately.
If link health monitoring is your primary need—especially for external resources, video embeds, and file hosts—DeadLinkRadar provides continuous protection that periodic audits can't match.
If comprehensive SEO auditing is your priority, Screaming Frog offers unmatched depth.
Most serious sites benefit from both.
Try DeadLinkRadar Free
See what continuous monitoring catches between your audits. Start free with 50 links—no credit card required.
Find broken links the day they break, not during your next quarterly crawl.
Have questions about using DeadLinkRadar alongside Screaming Frog? Contact us for workflow recommendations.