Guide · chapter 01

Installation and licence activation

How to install SEO Bee on Windows, start it for the first time and enter your licence key to remove the 500 URL limit.

2 min readUpdated 21 October 2026

Download

You download the installer from the Download page. The same installer covers the free and the paid version: the only difference is whether you are signed in to a licence in the app.

System: Windows 10 or 11, 64-bit. The macOS and Linux versions are in preparation. For JavaScript rendering, the app uses a built-in Chromium that comes with the installer.

First launch

  1. Run the installer and follow the steps. At the end, leave Launch SEO Bee ticked.
  2. SEO Bee opens in its own window. The interface comes from a small server that runs only on your computer and accepts no connections from other machines. When you close the window, SEO Bee keeps running in the notification area; to quit it completely, right-click its icon there and choose Quit SEO Bee.
  3. Choose the interface language in Settings. There are 36 European languages to pick from.
  4. Pick a folder for your crawls if the default one doesn't suit you. Each crawl is a single file, so large sites need disk space.

Activating your licence

Without signing in, SEO Bee runs as the free version, with a limit of 500 URLs per crawl. A licence is tied to your email address. There is no key to type in.

  1. Open Settings and go to the Licence section.
  2. Enter your email address: the one you bought with or were invited to the beta with.
  3. Enter the six-digit code we email you. The limit is gone straight away, from the next crawl.

A licence runs on two computers. If you stop using one, sign it out in your account. The app checks the licence about once a week and keeps working offline for up to 14 days.

Updates

The app tells you when a new version is out. Your saved crawls stay where they are and open in the new version. We write up what's new in each version in News from the hive.

Next: run your first crawl.