# Bulk Keyword Difficulty Checker - KD & Search Intent (`wrenfield-data/keyword-difficulty-checker`) Actor

Check SEO keyword difficulty (KD 0-100) and search intent for thousands of keywords at once, in 90+ countries and languages. Find easy keywords to rank for. Up to 1,000 keywords per request, $5 per 1,000 keywords.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/wrenfield-data/keyword-difficulty-checker.md
- **Developed by:** [Wrenfield Data](https://apify.com/wrenfield-data) (community)
- **Categories:** SEO tools
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $4.00 / 1,000 keyword difficulties

This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.
Since this Actor supports Apify Store discounts, the price gets lower the higher subscription plan you have.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/actors/running/actors-in-store.md#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

An Actor is a serverless cloud program that runs on the Apify platform. It has two run modes.
In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours,
and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store.
In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server.

Apify vocabulary and the platform model are defined once, in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md.

## How to integrate an Actor?

If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects.
You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready.

Do not guess an integration path. Every one of them is in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md: the Apify MCP server, Agent Skills with the Apify CLI, the JavaScript and Python clients, the REST API, and the account-free path for an agent with no human to sign in. It also carries the rule on stating cost before the first paid run.

For examples already wired to this Actor's own input schema, see the [API](#api) section below.

Each client library has reference documentation the quickstart does not restate: [JavaScript/TypeScript](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md) (`npm install apify-client`) and [Python](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md) (`pip install apify-client`).

# README

## Bulk Keyword Difficulty Checker: KD score and search intent for thousands of keywords

**Bulk Keyword Difficulty Checker** gives every keyword an SEO **keyword difficulty (KD) score from 0 to 100** and its **search intent** (informational, navigational, commercial or transactional). Paste up to thousands of keywords, pick a country and get a sortable table in seconds. Use it to find **easy keywords to rank for** before you write.

- 🎯 **KD 0-100 plus a plain-English level**: very easy, easy, possible, difficult, hard, very hard.
- 🧭 **Search intent with confidence** so you can match content type to the query.
- ⚡ **Fast and bulk**: 1,000 keywords per request; a 1,000-keyword list takes a few seconds.
- 💸 **$5 per 1,000 keywords**, plus a small per-batch fee. Keywords without a score are free.

**Workflow:** get volume, CPC and keyword ideas first with [Keyword Search Volume](https://apify.com/wrenfield-data/keyword-search-volume) ($4 per 1,000 keywords), score them here, and see who already ranks with [Competitor Keywords](https://apify.com/wrenfield-data/competitor-keywords).

### What data do you get?

| Field | What it is |
| --- | --- |
| `keyword_difficulty` | How hard it is to reach Google's top 10, from 0 (easy) to 100 (very hard) |
| `difficulty_level` | `very easy` (0-14), `easy` (15-29), `possible` (30-49), `difficult` (50-69), `hard` (70-84), `very hard` (85-100) |
| `search_intent` | Main intent: informational, navigational, commercial or transactional |
| `search_intent_probability` | Confidence of the main intent (0-1) |
| `secondary_intents` | Other likely intents |
| `found` | `false` when there's no difficulty score for the keyword (not charged) |

### How to check keyword difficulty in bulk

1. Paste your keywords, one per line.
2. Pick the **Country** and **Language**.
3. Keep **Add search intent** on (or turn it off to pay only for KD).
4. Click **Start** and sort the table by KD to find easy wins.

**Tip:** pair it with [Keyword Search Volume](https://apify.com/wrenfield-data/keyword-search-volume) and target keywords with good volume and KD under 30.

### Use cases

- **Content planning**: prioritize topics you can actually rank for.
- **Keyword list cleanup**: score a big list from a brainstorm, autocomplete or a competitor export.
- **Client reporting**: add difficulty and intent columns to any keyword sheet.
- **Programmatic SEO**: score thousands of template keywords at once.

### Input example

```json
{
    "keywords": ["keyword research", "seo tools", "how to start a blog", "best running shoes for flat feet", "running shoes"],
    "location": "United States",
    "language": "English",
    "includeSearchIntent": true
}
```

### Output example

```json
{
    "keyword": "best running shoes for flat feet",
    "keyword_difficulty": 10,
    "difficulty_level": "very easy",
    "search_intent": "commercial",
    "search_intent_probability": 0.9178,
    "secondary_intents": [],
    "location": "United States",
    "language": "English",
    "found": true,
    "scraped_at": "2026-10-19T00:40:40Z"
}
```

### Pricing

This Actor uses **pay-per-event** pricing. Paid Apify plans get automatic volume discounts.

| Event | Price |
| --- | --- |
| Keyword difficulty (`keyword-difficulty`) | **$0.005** per keyword with a KD score |
| Search intent (`search-intent`) | **$0.0015** per keyword with intent (only when *Add search intent* is on) |
| Keyword batch (`keyword-batch`) | **$0.025** per data request of up to 1,000 keywords (search intent is a second request) |

| Example run | Cost |
| --- | --- |
| 10 keywords, KD + intent | $0.115 |
| 1,000 keywords, KD only | $5.03 |
| 1,000 keywords, KD + intent | $6.55 |

Set **Maximum cost per run** in the run options to cap your spend. **Free Apify plan:** 10 keywords per run.

### Use it through the API, on a schedule or with AI agents

**One-link MCP setup:** `https://mcp.apify.com?tools=wrenfield-data/keyword-difficulty-checker` (Claude, Cursor, VS Code or any MCP client). Set `maxTotalChargeUsd` on the run to cap what it can charge.

Run it from Python, JavaScript or any HTTP client with the [Apify API](https://docs.apify.com/api/v2), schedule it to track changes every week or month, or connect it to Make, Zapier, n8n, Google Sheets and other integrations. AI agents can call it through the Apify MCP server.

```bash
curl -X POST "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/wrenfield-data~keyword-difficulty-checker/run-sync-get-dataset-items?token=YOUR_API_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"keywords": ["keyword research", "seo tools"], "location": "United States"}'
```

### FAQ

**How is keyword difficulty calculated?**
It's based on the strength (backlink profiles) of the pages that currently rank in Google's top 10 for the keyword, on a logarithmic 0-100 scale.

**Is this the same as Google Ads "competition"?**
No. Google Ads competition measures advertiser demand. Keyword difficulty measures how hard it is to rank organically.

**Why is a keyword returned with `found: false`?**
It's too rare or new to have a score yet. You aren't charged the KD fee for it.

### Related SEO tools

A complete keyword research and SEO toolkit from the same developer. Every tool exports flat JSON, CSV or Excel, so one dataset feeds the next:

- [Keyword Search Volume & Keyword Research](https://apify.com/wrenfield-data/keyword-search-volume): bulk Google Keyword Planner search volume, CPC, competition, trends and keyword ideas
- [Competitor Keywords](https://apify.com/wrenfield-data/competitor-keywords): every keyword a domain ranks for, with position, URL, volume and traffic
- [Google Autocomplete Keyword Expander](https://apify.com/wrenfield-data/google-autocomplete-keyword-expander): hundreds of long-tail ideas from Google and YouTube autocomplete
- [People Also Ask Scraper](https://apify.com/wrenfield-data/people-also-ask-scraper): Google PAA questions, related searches and AI Overviews
- [Domain Authority & Traffic Checker](https://apify.com/wrenfield-data/domain-authority-traffic-checker): bulk domain authority, backlinks and organic traffic
- [AI Search Visibility Tracker](https://apify.com/wrenfield-data/ai-search-visibility-tracker): check if ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini and AI Overviews mention your brand
- [Google Trends Scraper](https://apify.com/wrenfield-data/google-trends-scraper): interest over time, by region, related queries and Trending Now

### Feedback and support

Missing a field, hit an error, or need another country or option? Open an issue on the **Issues** tab and include the run ID. We read every issue and reply there.

### Acceptable use

- This Actor is an independent tool. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by Google or DataForSEO.
- Don't use the data to build a competing search engine, or otherwise to compete with or harm Google or the other search engines the data comes from.
- The Actor may not be used from, or for people or organizations in, Russia, Belarus, Cuba, Iran, Syria, Myanmar, North Korea, Crimea or the Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine.
- You are responsible for using the results lawfully, including privacy laws such as GDPR for any personal data they contain.

# Actor input Schema

## `keywords` (type: `array`):

Keywords to check, one per line (thousands are fine; they're sent in batches of 1,000). Keywords are trimmed, lower-cased and de-duplicated.

## `location` (type: `string`):

Country to measure difficulty in: name (<code>United States</code>), 2-letter code (<code>DE</code>) or location code (<code>2840</code>).

## `language` (type: `string`):

Language name or code (<code>English</code>, <code>es</code>). Leave empty for the main language of the country.

## `includeSearchIntent` (type: `boolean`):

Also classify each keyword as informational, navigational, commercial or transactional (small extra charge per keyword, see Pricing).

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "keywords": [
    "keyword research",
    "seo tools",
    "how to start a blog",
    "best running shoes for flat feet",
    "running shoes"
  ],
  "location": "United States",
  "language": "English",
  "includeSearchIntent": true
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `keywords` (type: `string`):

No description

## `allFields` (type: `string`):

No description

## `summary` (type: `string`):

No description

# API

You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup.

## JavaScript example

```javascript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

// Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
// Replace the '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {
    "keywords": [
        "keyword research",
        "seo tools",
        "how to start a blog",
        "best running shoes for flat feet",
        "running shoes"
    ],
    "location": "United States",
    "language": "English"
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("wrenfield-data/keyword-difficulty-checker").call(input);

// Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any)
console.log('Results from dataset');
console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
items.forEach((item) => {
    console.dir(item);
});

// 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs

```

## Python example

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

# Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
# Replace '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = {
    "keywords": [
        "keyword research",
        "seo tools",
        "how to start a blog",
        "best running shoes for flat feet",
        "running shoes",
    ],
    "location": "United States",
    "language": "English",
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("wrenfield-data/keyword-difficulty-checker").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print(f"💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/{run.default_dataset_id}")
for item in client.dataset(run.default_dataset_id).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{
  "keywords": [
    "keyword research",
    "seo tools",
    "how to start a blog",
    "best running shoes for flat feet",
    "running shoes"
  ],
  "location": "United States",
  "language": "English"
}' |
apify call wrenfield-data/keyword-difficulty-checker --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,wrenfield-data/keyword-difficulty-checker"
        }
    }
}
```

The hosted server signs you in with OAuth on first connect, so no API token belongs in this config. Clients without OAuth support can send an `Authorization: Bearer <APIFY_API_TOKEN>` header instead, using a token from API & Integrations in Apify Console (https://console.apify.com/settings/integrations).

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/rpAunyA1gp27JEDRN/builds/N8eD0xlPJVXir5FgN/openapi.json