Why Scalpel SEO Is Free, and How Donations Help
Scalpel SEO is a free browser extension with no paid tier, no locked features, and no adverts. If you find it useful, you can make an optional one-off donation that helps fund new checks and ongoing upkeep. Donating is never required, and it does not unlock anything, because every feature is already free for everyone.
Why it matters
Free tools cost time to maintain and improve. Browser extensions break when Chrome updates its APIs. New data sources need integrating. Edge cases come up. Without support, even the best tool decays over months. Being transparent about how support works keeps the deal honest. You get the whole extension either way. Support is a thank-you for effort spent, not a purchase that unlocks something you couldn't use before.
How it works
Scalpel SEO is built for free and distributed for free. Every feature you see works the same for everyone who installs it. There's no locked tier hiding checks or data behind a "pro" paywall. No ads. No telemetry. No nag screen asking you to upgrade.
When you donate, the money funds:
- New checks. If there's a common SEO gap we spot across multiple audits, we add a check for it.
- Keeping existing checks accurate. Google updates Search Central docs, W3C specs change, best practices shift. We stay current.
- General upkeep. Server costs, API integrations, fixing bugs that come up.
The donation is one-off. You're not subscribing. It's not a transaction. Nothing changes in the extension. It's a way to say "I use this, I value it, here's support."
What does not matter
Donating does not get you email support or priority fixes. There's no account system; you don't create a login. A donation does not unlock anything in the extension, and not donating does not limit anything. The funding model works because most practitioners who find the tool useful recognise the value and chip in enough to keep it going. It's not a subscription or a purchase. It's a gift economy.
Code example
There's no code here because Scalpel SEO has no special code path for donors or supporters. Everyone's experience is identical. The Donate button lives in the Tools tab settings panel:
<!-- The donate button in the settings panel -->
<button onclick="window.open('https://scalpellabs.ai/donate', '_blank')">
Donate (optional)
</button>
The button opens a link in a new window. That's all it does. No tracking, no gating, no account creation.
How Scalpel SEO shows it
Open Scalpel SEO, click the Tools tab at the bottom. You'll see a small Donate button. Click it, and it opens a payment link in a new tab. There's also a footer line in the extension that says "Powered by Scalpel Labs" linking to the project home. Neither of these appears if you've donated: the experience is the same either way.