TL;DR: The Quick Verdict on Keywords.am vs Helium 10
If you are hunting for new products to sell, Helium 10’s Black Box is still the king. I won’t argue with that. But when comparing Keywords.am vs Helium 10 for listing optimization, the winner is clear. Keywords.am offers the TFSD Framework, proper byte-counting (which H10 messes up), and our “Growth” plan is $60/month for 3 users—compared to Helium 10’s pricing of $99/month for just one.
Every Amazon seller knows Helium 10. It’s the giant in the room. They have a tool for everything: taxes, inventory, product research, you name it.
But just because a tool is big doesn’t mean it’s the best at the specific thing you need to do right now.
Here is the hard truth about 2026: The “Gold Rush” era is over. You can’t just launch a generic product and buy a lambo. The new game is listing optimization. If your title isn’t engineered perfectly, and your backend keywords aren’t weighing in at the exact byte count, you aren’t just missing sales. You’re invisible.
So, when analyzing Keywords.am vs Helium 10, where do you spend your budget? The “Swiss Army Knife” that does a bit of everything, or the “Scalpel” designed for one job?
I’m going to strip away the marketing fluff and look at the actual features and costs. Let’s figure out what actually moves the needle in this Keywords.am vs Helium 10 debate.
At a Glance: Keywords.am vs Helium 10 Feature Breakdown
If you are short on time, here is the direct breakdown of Keywords.am vs Helium 10 features.
Feature |
Helium 10 (Platinum) |
Keywords.am (Growth) |
The Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
Pricing |
$99/mo |
$60/mo |
We cost less and give you more seats. |
Core Focus |
Sourcing & Ops |
Ranking & Optimization |
They find items; we rank them. |
Methodology |
Basic Text Fields |
TFSD Framework |
We teach you how to rank. |
Accuracy |
Character Counts |
Byte Counts |
Vital for backend search terms. |
AI Type |
General AI |
Amber AI |
Trained on Amazon’s actual patents. |
Workflow |
Fragmented |
Unified |
Research, draft, and publish in one spot. |
Stick with Helium 10 if: You are still in the “Product Discovery” phase. seriously. If you don’t have a product yet, use Black Box. It’s solid.
Switch to Keywords.am if: You have active products. You want them to rank higher. You want to fix compliance issues that are dragging you down, and you want to write listings that actually convert traffic into cash.
The “Hidden” Compliance Problem: Bytes vs. Characters
This is the one thing that drives me absolutely crazy about most tools. They get this wrong, and it costs you money.
Amazon’s strict guidelines allow 249 bytes for backend search terms. They do not limit you by characters.
– A letter like “a” is 1 byte.
– A Spanish “é”? That’s 2 bytes.
– Japanese characters? 3 bytes.
Helium 10 often defaults to counting characters. So, you type out 249 characters. You think you’re safe. But because of a few special symbols, you are actually at 255 bytes. The result? Amazon doesn’t just ignore the extra words. They de-index the entire field. You lose everything.
Keywords.am counts Bytes.
Our editor actually weighs every character in real-time. If you hit 249 bytes, we stop you. It’s a tiny detail, but it ensures you stay indexed. That is the difference between “good enough” content and “ranking” content.
“Data you can bet your ASIN on” isn’t just a catchy tagline. It’s about technical precision.
AI vs. Amber AI: Who Actually Knows Amazon?
Most of these “AI listing builders” are basically just ChatGPT wrappers. They utilize generic data. They write pretty sentences, but they don’t know Amazon’s Terms of Service. They’ll happily write “Best Seller” or “Cures arthritis” in your bullets—and get your listing flagged immediately.
Helium 10’s Listing Builder is a capable writing assistant, but it tends to stuff keywords without thinking about readability or strict policy compliance.
Keywords.am’s Amber AI is built different.
We trained Amber on a proprietary dataset that includes:
1. Amazon Style Guidelines: She knows titles can’t be all-caps.
2. Restricted Keywords: She sees “Eco-friendly” and warns you about the Green Claims policy before you publish.
3. The TFSD Framework: She understands that the Title is for the algorithm, but the Bullets are for the customer.
When you ask Amber to “make this sound premium,” she doesn’t just grab a thesaurus. She restructures the benefit to match what Amazon’s A9 algorithm actually rewards—high relevance and click-through potential.
The Workflow War: Fragmented vs. Flow
Time is your most valuable asset. Let’s look at what it takes to optimize just one listing.
The Helium 10 Way:
1. Open Cerebro. Search competitors.
2. Export CSV.
3. Open Frankenstein. Paste CSV. Clean it.
4. Copy list.
5. Open Scribbles. Paste list.
6. Write listing.
7. Copy/Paste to Seller Central manually.
That is 8 steps across 4 browser tabs. It is exhausting just reading it.
The Keywords.am Way:
1. Import ASIN: Pull your data.
2. Research & Draft: Your competitors’ keywords are right there in the editor. Click the “Eye” to hide used terms.
3. Publish: Click one button. Changes go live on Amazon.
Result: You are done 60% faster. Stop wrestling with CSV files and start ranking.
Intent-Aware Localization: Beyond Translation
Selling globally? Helium 10 typically gives you a direct translation.
Keywords.am uses Intent-Aware Localization.
We don’t just translate “Sunscreen” to “Bloqueador solar”. We look at what people actually search for in Mexico or Germany.
– In the US, it might be “Sunscreen for face”.
– In Mexico, the search volume is on “Protector solar facial toque seco” (Dry touch facial sunscreen).
We adapt your listing to local buying habits, not just the dictionary. That gives you a massive edge in international markets.
Pricing: The ROI Reality
Let’s talk numbers.
Helium 10 Platinum: ~$99/month.
– Limited AI credits.
– 1 user.
– Bloated with tools you might not use.
Keywords.am Growth: $60/month.
– Unlimited AI usage.
– 3 Team Members included.
– Full access to everything.
If you run an agency, the choice is even clearer. To get multi-user access on Helium 10, you are looking at the Diamond plan ($279/mo). We include it because we know listing optimization is a team sport.
Final Verdict: Which One Do You Need?
I’m not saying Helium 10 is a bad tool. It’s incredible for product research.
Stick with Helium 10 if:
– You are strictly in “Product Discovery” mode, hunting for your next big product.
– You need deep inventory analytics, and that’s your primary focus.
– You want one massive subscription that covers a huge range of tools, and you don’t mind the $99+ price tag.
Switch to Keywords.am if:
– You have products live, and your main goal is to get them ranking higher.
– You’re tired of the “Copy-Paste-Export” shuffle that eats up your precious time.
– You want a tool that actually checks for compliance (like those tricky bytes and prohibited words) so you don’t get de-indexed.
– You want to save money without sacrificing power or precision.
Ready to stop wrestling with your listings and start seeing real results?
Import your active listing in 30 seconds. I think you’ll be surprised by what you’ve been missing.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Keywords.am better than Helium 10?
For listing optimization, yes. Keywords.am offers more precise compliance (byte counting), dedicated AI trained on Amazon policy (Amber AI), and a faster workflow at a lower price point. For product research, Helium 10 is still the market leader.
Does Keywords.am replace Helium 10?
It replaces the listing optimization tools within Helium 10 (Scribbles, Listing Builder, Frankenstein). Many 7-figure sellers use Helium 10 for research and Keywords.am for execution.
Can I migrate my data from Helium 10?
Yes. You can copy your keyword lists from Cerebro or Magnet directly into Keywords.am’s editor to start writing immediately.
Does Keywords.am include a keyword tracker?
Yes. Keywords.am tracks your keyword rankings to validate that your optimization changes are actually working.
