Overview

The tracker monitors organic rankings, AI Overview citations, featured snippets, and People Also Ask presence. Checks can be scoped by keyword, location, and device, giving SEO practitioners more context than a position-only tracker. Google is the supported search engine, so it is not the right choice for monitoring rankings across multiple engines.

Results are kept in SQLite and can be reviewed through terminal trend reports, competitor comparisons, and shareable HTML reports. Historical data supports tracking changes over time. Self-hosting gives the operator control of where the software and its data run, but it also means handling setup and keeping the scheduled jobs working.

Key features

Configurable checks and schedules

Keywords and target domains go in a CSV file; location, locale, device, activity, and frequency are optional settings. Checks can run from the command line or through system schedulers, with examples for cron, launchd, and systemd. That flexibility suits users who already manage scripts or servers, while the file-based workflow is less attractive to people seeking a graphical setup.

Frequency can be set daily, weekly, or monthly. Less frequent checks reduce API consumption, which matters when monitoring many keyword and location combinations. Each combination of keyword, location, device, and locale counts as a separate check, so expanding coverage can use calls quickly.

Alerts and data

Alerts can flag new rankings, improvements, drops, and lost rankings, with delivery through Slack, Discord, or SMTP email. Microsoft Teams requires a separate Power Automate setup, so Teams users should expect extra configuration rather than a direct alert connection.

SQLite storage uses write-ahead logging, migrations, UTC timestamps, and thread-safe per-call connections. These implementation details support reliable local recordkeeping, but the storage remains part of a self-hosted workflow rather than a managed online service.

Pricing

The Rank Tracker plan is free. The software is MIT-licensed and self-hosted, but requires Decodo SERP Scraping API credentials; free tracker software does not mean unlimited data collection. Decodo’s API free plan allows up to 5K crawls or 10K pages scraped per month, and checks consume API calls according to their keyword, location, device, and locale combinations.

Daily tracking is the stated update frequency, with country location tracking, competitor tracking, Google results, mobile rank tracking, and historical ranking data. The published plan does not state a seat limit. Users with broad keyword or geographic coverage should account for API usage and may need to reduce check frequency to fit their allowance.

Platforms

Decodo Rank Tracker supports Linux, macOS, and Windows as a self-hosted tool. The quick start uses a Linux or macOS shell and provides Windows equivalents for virtual-environment activation and file copying. This is a practical fit for users who can follow shell-based setup, not a turnkey hosted dashboard.

Who it's for

Choose it if you want a free, open-source tracker you can run yourself, need Google result features beyond organic positions, and value competitor comparisons and exportable HTML reports. It is less suitable if you want a browser-based service, multiple search engines, or predictable monitoring without managing API-call consumption.

Pros and cons

Pros: Tracks organic rankings, AI Overview citations, featured snippets, and People Also Ask presence, providing several views of Google visibility.
Pros: Historical records, competitor comparisons, terminal trends, and shareable HTML reports support both ongoing analysis and reporting.
Pros: MIT licensing and self-hosting avoid a software subscription and let operators keep the deployment under their control.
Cons: Each keyword-location-device-locale combination consumes an API call, making extensive tracking dependent on usage limits and frequency choices.
Cons: CSV configuration and command-line or scheduler setup put the operational work on the user.
Cons: Google-only coverage and separate Power Automate setup for Microsoft Teams limit flexibility for some workflows.

Alternatives

Browse rank tracking software for other approaches to ranking and monitoring needs.

GBP Rank Tracker is another free, MIT-licensed option, with unlimited scans and a 13×13+ grid; consider it when those scan and grid terms better match the job.
Positionly is a freemium option with Android, iOS, API, and web platforms; its free plan covers 5 keywords and 1 website, while Basic costs 15.00 USD per month billed for 12 months (20% off) for 100 keywords and 10 websites. Pick it if those platform options or stated quotas fit better.
Rank Tracker has a free plan for Linux, macOS, and Windows that includes scheduled SEO tasks, project saving, and one competitor per project; choose it if those project features are a closer fit.
Rankinity offers a free version with 300 checks per month and a full version with unlimited checks at custom pricing. It may suit users prioritizing a stated check allowance or unlimited-check plan.
SerpBear is free software with self-hosted availability; external scraping services may have usage limits or costs. Consider it if you want another self-hosted free option.
CanIRank is a web-based freemium alternative whose free plan includes one website and five keyword reports total; choose it if a web platform and that limited free allowance suit you.
Geogrid is a freemium API and web option with a free plan of 200 credits and one weekly scheduled rescan; it may suit users who want those specific scanning terms.
Grid My Business is a freemium API and web alternative; consider it if that platform mix better fits your needs.

Verdict

Decodo Rank Tracker is a strong fit for technically comfortable SEO practitioners who want a free, self-hosted way to track several kinds of Google results and compare competitors over time. The breadth of tracked result features is its main reason to choose it; API-call consumption and the command-line setup are the main reasons to look elsewhere.

	Decodo Rank Tracker	Zest Metrics
Free plan	Yes	No
Free trial		Yes
Paid from	Free	$49/mo
Platforms	Linux, macOS, self-hosted, Windows	Web
Update frequency	daily	daily
Location tracking	country	global
Competitor tracking	Yes	Yes
Search engines	Google
Mobile rank tracking	Yes	Yes
Historical ranking data	Yes	Yes
Free plan		No
Keyword limit		150 keywords

Decodo Rank Tracker vs Zest Metrics

Decodo Rank Tracker

Zest Metrics