Google Keyword Planner vs QuestionDB in 2026: Free ad-platform volume vs question-mining for content ideas
One is Google's free keyword tool built for ad campaigns. The other pulls real questions from Reddit, Quora, and Google's own PAA boxes to feed an AI outline generator.
Google Keyword Planner
QuestionDB- Google Keyword Planner is completely free with no usage cap, while QuestionDB's free tier is limited to 5 searches per month before you need the $9.99/month Solo plan.
- QuestionDB pulls real audience questions from Reddit, Quora, Google People Also Ask, and People Also Search results, a discovery angle Keyword Planner does not have at all.
- Keyword Planner shows search volume as broad ranges unless the connected account has active Google Ads spend, while QuestionDB reports volume, keyword difficulty, and CPC directly on any paid plan.
- QuestionDB's AI Outline Generator turns a chosen question into a structured content brief. Keyword Planner has no content-brief feature; its forecasting tool only projects ad clicks, impressions, and cost.
- Keyword Planner has documented API access through the Google Ads API. QuestionDB has no API on any current plan tier.
- QuestionDB's Solo plan at $9.99/month for 100 searches is one of the lowest entry prices in keyword research, but Keyword Planner still costs nothing regardless of volume.
Google Keyword Planner and QuestionDB rarely compete for the same job. Keyword Planner answers "how many people search this term," using Google's own advertiser data at zero cost, though the volume shows as a wide range unless the connected account has active ad spend. QuestionDB answers a different question: what is my audience actually asking about, mining Reddit threads, Quora answers, and Google's own People Also Ask and People Also Search results, then feeding a chosen topic into its AI Outline Generator. Keyword Planner has no notion of a question or a content brief; QuestionDB, on paid plans, reports volume, difficulty, and CPC alongside its question data, but caps free usage at five searches a month. The two are more complementary than competing, but a lot of buyers only have budget for one entry point.
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 the free keyword tool built into Google Ads. Enter a seed term, phrase, or landing page and it returns related keyword ideas with search volume, CPC, and an advertiser-facing Competition label. Because the numbers come straight from Google's own search systems, it is the closest thing to ground-truth volume data that costs nothing.
The trade-off is precision and scope. Accounts with no active Google Ads spend see volume as a wide range, like 1,000 to 10,000 monthly searches, and there is nothing in the tool that resembles question-based discovery. Keyword Planner starts from a seed keyword and expands outward; it was never built to tell you what people are actually asking in forums or search boxes.
Against QuestionDB specifically, the gap runs both directions. Keyword Planner has no Reddit or Quora data, no content brief generator, and no keyword difficulty score. What it does have is a documented API through Google Ads, unlimited free usage, and volume data sourced directly from Google rather than modeled or scraped.
| Feature | Free Free |
|---|---|
| Search volume data | Yes (ranges unless active ad spend) |
| CPC data | Yes |
| Question-based discovery | No |
| API access | Yes (Google Ads API) |
| Monthly search cap | None |
QuestionDB
Find low-competition keywords by mining questions from Reddit, Quora, SERP PAA, and People Also Search
QuestionDB starts from a different premise than a volume database: instead of expanding a seed keyword outward, it mines Reddit threads, Quora answers, Google's People Also Ask boxes, and People Also Search results to surface what people are actually asking about a topic. That question-first view is useful for planning content around real audience intent rather than pure search volume.
Paid plans add search volume, keyword difficulty, and CPC on top of the question data, plus an AI Outline Generator that turns a chosen question into a structured brief with suggested headings, and an AI Content Analysis tool that flags coverage gaps against existing SERP competitors.
The catch is access. The free tier caps out at 5 searches a month, enough to sample the data quality but not to run a real research sprint. There is also no API at any tier, so everything happens inside the browser interface, and depth on competitive, high-volume topics trails dedicated platforms like Ahrefs.
| Feature | Free Free | Solo $9.99/mo | Business $29.99/mo | Enterprise $69.99/mo |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Searches per month | 5 | 100 | 400 | 1,000 |
| Search volume + KD + CPC | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| AI Outline Generator | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| CSV and image export | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| API access | No | No | No | No |
Head-to-head feature comparison
| Feature | Google Keyword Planner | QuestionDB |
|---|---|---|
| Search volume data | Yes (ranges unless active ad spend) | Yes (paid plans only, not on Free) |
| Question-based discovery (Reddit, Quora, PAA) | No | Yes (Reddit, Quora, Google PAA, People Also Search) |
| Keyword difficulty scoring | No (ads Competition label only, no organic KD) | Yes (paid plans only) |
| CPC data | Yes | Yes (paid plans only) |
| AI outline / content brief generation | No | Yes (AI Outline Generator) |
| Content gap analysis | No | Yes (AI Content Analysis) |
| CSV export | Yes | Yes (paid plans, plus image export) |
| API access | Yes (Google Ads API, developer token required) | No |
| Free tier | Yes (fully free, unlimited) | Yes (5 searches/month cap) |
| Monthly usage cap | No | Yes (5/mo Free, 100/mo Solo, 400/mo Business, 1,000/mo Enterprise) |
| Performance forecasting | Yes (clicks, impressions, cost) | No |
| Starting price | Free | Free (capped), $9.99/mo (Solo) |
Which should you choose?
Google Keyword PlannerQuestionDBGoogle Keyword PlannerQuestionDBGoogle Keyword PlannerQuestionDBThese two are not fighting over the same buyer. Keyword Planner is a volume and CPC lookup with no cap and no question data; QuestionDB is a question-mining and outline tool with a hard monthly cap on its free plan and no API. A team doing both broad keyword sizing and audience-question research will likely end up using Keyword Planner to check volume and QuestionDB, or its $9.99 Solo plan, to find the actual angles worth writing about.
Bottom line
Start with Google Keyword Planner if you need volume and CPC numbers with no cost and no cap, full stop. Add QuestionDB's Solo plan at $9.99 a month once you are past the idea-generation stage and need to know what real people on Reddit and Quora are asking about your topic, since the AI Outline Generator turns that into a usable brief in the same session. Skip QuestionDB if your content calendar is already full and volume sizing is your only remaining gap.
Frequently asked questions
Does QuestionDB show search volume the way Google Keyword Planner does?
Only on paid plans. QuestionDB's free tier surfaces questions from Reddit, Quora, and Google's own PAA and People Also Search results without volume, difficulty, or CPC data attached. Paid plans starting at $9.99 a month add all three metrics alongside the question data, while Google Keyword Planner shows volume on every search for free, just as a range unless the connected account has active ad spend.
Is Google Keyword Planner useful for finding content ideas, not just volume?
Not really. Keyword Planner expands a seed keyword into related terms with volume, competition, and CPC, but it has no concept of a question or audience intent the way QuestionDB does. If your goal is finding what people are actually asking on Reddit or Quora about a topic, Keyword Planner has nothing comparable to QuestionDB's question mining.
How many searches do I get on QuestionDB's free plan?
Five searches per month. That is enough to sample the data quality for your niche but not enough to run a real content research sprint, which is why most regular users move to the $9.99 Solo plan for 100 searches a month.
Which tool has an API for pulling data into another system?
Google Keyword Planner does, through the Google Ads API, though it requires a developer token to set up. QuestionDB has no API at any plan tier, including Enterprise, so its data has to be pulled manually or exported to CSV.
Can QuestionDB replace Google Keyword Planner for volume research?
Not fully. QuestionDB reports volume, difficulty, and CPC on paid plans, but the underlying question-mining workflow is built around Reddit, Quora, and SERP features rather than a comprehensive keyword database. For broad volume sizing across a large keyword list, Google Keyword Planner's free, Google-sourced data is still the more direct source.
Is QuestionDB's AI Outline Generator worth the $9.99 a month over free tools?
For content teams publishing regularly, yes. The AI Outline Generator takes a chosen question and produces a structured brief with headings and supporting points in the same session you find the question, which removes a separate step most workflows require. If you only need volume numbers rather than content briefs, Google Keyword Planner covers that for free instead.