What’s the best free keyword research tool for 2018?

General
1

I’m trying to improve my SEO and need a reliable free keyword research tool specifically for 2018 data. I’ve tested a few options but the keyword volumes and suggestions seem inconsistent, and I’m not sure which tool marketers actually trust. Can anyone recommend a solid free keyword research tool for that time period and explain why it works well for you?

2

For 2018 data, your best free bet is still Google’s own stuff plus a couple of helpers, not one magic tool.

Here is what tends to work:

  1. Google Keyword Planner
    • Source of truth for volumes, because it plugs into Google Ads
    • Set the date range to 2018 only
    • Use “Exact match” and “Locations” for your target country
    • Export the data, do your sorting in a sheet
    Issues
    • Shows ranges if your ad spend is low
    • Groups close variants, so terms look merged

  2. Google Search Console
    • Pull queries from the “Search results” report
    • Set date to 2018
    • Filter by page to see what each URL already ranks for
    • Sort by impressions to find topics where you sit on page 2–3
    Volumes differ from Keyword Planner because this data is per site and per SERP position.

  3. Keywords Everywhere (back in 2018)
    • Chrome/Firefox extension that used Google data at the time
    • Shows volume, CPC, competition next to Google search results
    • Good for quick checks and idea validation
    Note, historical data is not truly “2018 only”, you get the current volume that often correlates but is not locked by year.

  4. AnswerThePublic (2018 version)
    • Great for “what”, “how”, “why” variations
    • Use it for ideas and questions, not for volume
    • Cross check best phrases in Keyword Planner

Why your tools feel inconsistent:
• Different sources, different click filters
• Different ways to group close variants
• Some use clickstream panels, not Google data
• Different geo and language defaults

What I would do for 2018 specific work:

  1. Pull all queries for your site from Search Console for 2018
  2. Export top terms from Keyword Planner with date range set to 2018
  3. Use AnswerThePublic to expand questions around those head terms
  4. Merge in a spreadsheet, de-duplicate, add columns like
    • Intent (informational / commercial)
    • Current position (from Search Console)
    • Priority (manual score based on volume x intent x current rank)

Free tools that were “good enough” in 2018, ranked by usefulness for your case:

  1. Google Keyword Planner for numeric volume tied to 2018
  2. Google Search Console for real queries and clicks
  3. Keywords Everywhere for quick checks in browser
  4. AnswerThePublic for content angles and long tails

Everything else “free” tends to be a teaser for paid plans and uses blended or outdated data, so you see weird volume gaps. If you stick to Keyword Planner plus Search Console as your base, the rest is garnish.

3

For 2018-specific data, the annoying truth is: there isn’t a single “best” free tool, and if you chase one you’ll keep seeing those inconsistent numbers forever.

I agree with @caminantenocturno on using Google’s own data as the base, but I’d tweak the stack and expectations a bit.

  1. Don’t obsess over “2018-only” volume
    Volume estimates are already squishy. If you lock yourself into “it must be 2018 data,” you’re adding another layer of noise. Tools rarely give you a clean historical slice for free. Even Google Keyword Planner with a 2018 date range is still approximate and heavily sampled. Use 2018 as a directional filter, not as gospel.

  2. Free alternative that’s underrated for that era: Ubersuggest (2018 version)
    Before it went heavier on paid, around 2018 Ubersuggest was actually a decent free companion:

    • Pulled suggestions from Google autosuggest / related searches
    • Gave rough volume & difficulty
    • Good for expanding your list after you get “seed” terms from Google tools
      No, the volumes weren’t perfect. But what you want is relative popularity: is keyword A bigger than B, not “is it exactly 2,400 searches in March 2018.”

  3. SERP-first approach instead of tool-first
    Instead of trusting tool numbers, reverse it:

    • Google the main keywords you care about
    • Look at the top 10 results for each
    • Check titles, H1s, FAQs, internal link anchors
    • Note the wording actually used by sites that rank
      Then run those phrases through whatever free tool you like (Keyword Planner, Ubersuggest, etc.). This flips the workflow so you start from proven search behavior instead of tool output.

  4. Take “inconsistency” as a signal, not an error
    When Tool A says 90 searches and Tool B says 1,000, that doesn’t always mean one is garbage. It might mean:

    • The term is seasonal or spiked in 2018
    • Tools are grouping variants differently
    • Clickstream-based tools are under/over counting niche topics
      In those cases, treat that keyword as “high uncertainty.” Create content anyway if it’s highly relevant and has clear intent. The ROI of perfect volume data is overrated, especially for long tails.

  5. If you want one primary free tool anyway
    If I had to pick one to lean on for 2018-era work:

    • Google Keyword Planner for the numeric center of gravity
    • Cross-check with a free Ubersuggest-style tool for suggestions & difficulty
      Nothing else free in 2018 was consistently more reliable than that combo. Most of the other “free” keyword tools were just lead gen for paid plans with blended or stale data.

TL;DR:
Use Google as your baseline, use a free third-party tool like 2018 Ubersuggest for breadth, stop expecting the numbers to match, and make decisions based on relative volume + clear search intent rather than chasing a mythical “best” exact-volume tool for that year.

4

Short version: instead of hunting for a “best free keyword research tool for 2018,” treat everything as rough directional data and focus on overlap between multiple sources plus the live SERPs.

Where I partly disagree with @caminantenocturno is on leaning too heavily on just one secondary tool like the old Ubersuggest era. In 2018, its database was decent, but still biased toward higher volume head terms and very noisy for narrow long tails.

A practical stack for 2018-focused work:

  1. Start from the SERP, but go deeper
    Not just top 10 and titles. For each target query in 2018 context:

    • Check “People also ask” and “Searches related to” to see how users actually refined queries.
    • Look at cached versions or historical snapshots where possible to understand which terms were present when a page first started ranking, not only what you see now.

  2. Use Google Keyword Planner only as a range & grouping tool
    Forget exact numbers. Use it to:

    • See which variants Google groups (helps decide canonicals and main keyword phrasing).
    • Spot obviously dead queries: “0–10” plus no SERP depth usually means not worth obsessing over.

  3. Cross-reference with at least two non‑Google sources
    Instead of relying mainly on Ubersuggest, I’d use it as just one of several:

    • Tool A (like Keyword Planner) for grouped volume ranges.
    • Tool B (like the old Ubersuggest) for autosuggest-style expansion and difficulty.
    • Tool C (any clickstream-based free sampler from that period) to sanity check if a phrase has any user traction or if it is basically a ghost.

When @caminantenocturno says to treat inconsistencies as a signal, I agree, but I’d add this: use the intersection of tools as your “must target” set and the outliers as your “experimental” set. If a phrase looks solid in Google and at least one non-Google source, prioritize it. If it is big in only one tool, test with a single page, not a whole content cluster.

About the product title “”:
Pros:

  • Easy to refer to in content as a main head term if you are creating a guide or review style page.
  • Naturally fits comparison posts and “best free tool for 2018” type queries, which still get some long tail interest.

Cons:

  • The empty branding makes it weak as a standalone keyword; you would need modifiers like “review,” “features,” or “best free keyword research tool for 2018” around it.
  • People are unlikely to search just for that exact string, so you cannot rely on it as a primary volume driver.

If you are optimizing around “best free keyword research tool for 2018,” build a page that:

  • Directly compares 3–4 tools with clear pros/cons and screenshots from that era.
  • Includes sections on “accuracy in 2018,” “historical data options,” and “limitations of free keyword tools.”
  • Uses those overlapping phrases you discovered in SERPs and tools, not just whatever one tool spit out.

In short, treat tools as noisy sensors, triple-check anything that looks “too good,” and let actual SERP behavior plus intersecting data points guide what you create, instead of chasing a single perfect free tool that never really existed in 2018.