8 Semrush Alternatives and Their Pros and Cons

SEO is one of the most potent marketing channels for generating fantastic ROI, but building and executing a powerful SEO strategy is no easy feat. That’s where tools like Semrush come into play. Semrush is a robust, all-in-one platform that empowers you to conduct keyword research, explore website traffic and keyword rankings, and thoroughly analyze backlink profiles, all while optimizing a site’s technical performance.

Semrush is known for how powerful it is, but powerful doesn’t mean perfect. Let’s discuss some attention-worthy Semrush alternatives.

Wait, why would people look for alternatives?

You might be thinking, “If Semrush is so great, why would people look elsewhere?” Well, there are a few points to consider.

• Harder to use. Sometimes, the more robust an SEO suite is, the higher the learning curve. Some users have too difficult a time navigating Semrush and finding what they need, so they go to a competitor instead.
• Not budget-friendly. Depending on your budget, the subscription packages might be too expensive. The limits can be fairly low unless you’re willing to pay more, and they often increase their prices.
• Additional add-ons mean additional costs. If you need to pay for every add-on along the way, the cost of the tool gets pretty pricey, pretty quickly.
• You don’t always get what you pay for. Users have expressed concern over the accuracy of Semrush’s data — namely the rank tracker and backlink data. Identifying toxic links is often a challenge, and its website audit isn’t of great quality.

What criteria did we evaluate in Semrush alternatives?

In order to adequately evaluate Semrush alternatives, we looked at a variety of factors:

Functionality: What features does the SEO tool provide? Are they fleshed out enough to give in-depth information? Also, how much flexibility do you have in customizing the tool and the data it reports back?
Interface: How long and how many clicks does it take a user to get where they want to go? Is the user experience seamless and streamlined, or cluttered and nonsensical? Is it intuitive enough even for beginners to navigate?
User reviews: What are people saying about the tool? Does it have a positive reputation? Why or why not?
Price: Does the SEO tool offer various pricing options for different budgets, without excessively hampering access or functionality?

For context, here’s how we evaluated Semrush:

Functionality

Its functionality is both its biggest strength and biggest downfall. Semrush is a top-to-bottom solution, with tools for keyword research, on-page SEO, local SEO, competitor analysis, content marketing, rank tracking, link building, social media management, paid advertising, and beyond. However, its breadth also makes it difficult to navigate. It’s too easy to get lost and too hard to quickly find what you need.

Interface

If you already know your way around Semrush (or you’re willing to spend the time to learn), then you’ll **** this solution. It’s hefty learning curve, however, means that you’ll be going down the proverbial rabbit hole at some point. Plus, it can feel kind of clunky, which makes it difficult to find the information you’re looking for.

User reviews

Semrush has a fairly solid reputation, with 4.6 out of 5 stars on G2, 4.4 out of 5 stars on Gartner, and 8.9 out of 10 stars on TrustRadius. Unsurprisingly, one of the most common complaints in reviews is about its navigability (or lack thereof).

Price

Semrush isn’t the nicest to your wallet (although it has a free trial and free version with very limited capabilities). Semrush’s cheapest plan is $119.95 per month and provides you with five projects (meaning sites), 500 keywords to track, and 10,000 results per report (meaning the number of available rows of data). If you want more access and features, including Looker Studio integration, you will have to upgrade. Semrush’s next two plans are $229.95 and $449.95 per month. Each of its plans only allows one user to be logged in at a time, which means you have to purchase additional seats. 

Now, let’s dive into Semrush’s top competitors!

8 of the best Semrush alternatives and why they excel

We sifted through a multitude of Semrush alternatives and handpicked the ones we thought measured up the most. 

1. SE Ranking vs Semrush

SE Ranking strikes the perfect balance between functionality and ease of use, making it our top Semrush alternative. It is an intuitive and user-friendly platform, making it easy for users to perform complex tasks like diving deeper into a website’s analytics. Let’s break SE Ranking down by our aforementioned criteria.

Functionality

In the past, SE Ranking was lauded by its users for its exceptional rank tracking capabilities. By offering position tracking (backed by its dedicated crawlers) for Google, Yahoo, Bing, and even YouTube, SE Ranking guaranteed accurate ranking data like no other tool. 

To this day, SE Ranking’s position tracking tool remains the market leader because of its ultra-reliable data and unparalleled usability. Its grouping, tagging and filtering options always ensure a top-notch user experience. 

Still, few user reviews focus on rank tracking alone. They also praise SE Ranking for its wide and constantly expanding range of features, its impeccable usability, and its budget-friendly pricing plans. 

With SE Ranking, you can find plenty of keyword opportunities, audit your whole website or optimize individual pages, snoop on your competitors’ SEO and PPC campaigns (both current and historical), as well as build a healthy backlink profile and monitor your most precious backlinks. You can even create content briefs and write SEO-friendly texts five times faster with the help of AI-powered SEO tips and AI writing assistance.

SE Ranking also caters to marketing agencies by offering unlimited reporting, White labeling and Looker Studio integration. 

Look at this side-by-side table-view comparison of SE Ranking vs Semrush to learn how both tools’ capabilities stack up against one another. 

Interface

SE Ranking provides a smooth user experience thanks to its simple navigation. The top menu features standalone tools, whereas the lefthand menu displays everything related to your project. When you click on the tools at the top, the lefthand menu changes. This makes it quick and easy to find anything you need, whether it’s traffic that your competitors are getting from paid ads (Competitive Research > Paid Traffic Research) or the SERP history of specific keywords (Keyword Research > Organic SERP History).

User reviews

On G2, SE Ranking has an overall rating of 4.8/5 stars (from over 1,100 reviews), which is the highest on this platform compared to other Semrush competitors on this list. It also has 4.4/5  stars and 485 reviews on Trustpilot. Users applaud it for its wide range of features, data accuracy, and fair pricing. One user even calls it the “perfect SEO tool” with a “reasonable price,” saying, “The ease of use is fantastic. You can learn the basics in less than 5 minutes, especially when it comes to keyword rank tracking and competitor research.”

Price

While many of SE Ranking’s features are comparable to Semrush, it is a much more cost-efficient SEO solution. SE Ranking’s plans range from $49 a month to $1129 a month (compared to $119.95 for Semrush’s cheapest plan). SE Ranking also offers a 20% discount if you choose to pay annually. 

SE Ranking’s Pro and Business plans already include user seats, while Semrush makes you pay $45-$100 for every additional user.

Each of SE Ranking’s pricing plans offers different variations with higher and lower data limits. Its Pro plan, for example, gives you the option to track the positions of 1000 keywords and audit 250k pages, or you can track 1750 keywords and audit 400k pages, depending on your preference. Such a flexible approach allows businesses to steadily upgrade their allowance as their projects and needs grow.

All three of SE Ranking’s plans include Google Analytics, Search Console and Looker Studio integrations. Its Business plan also grants you access to its API feature.

SE Ranking’s price and capabilities make it suitable for everyone from solopreneurs to SMBs to agencies. Semrush, on the other hand, is costlier and has a higher learning curve, which means you’ll need a bigger budget (and more bandwidth and patience) to learn the tool.

2. Serpstat vs Semrush

Serpstat is a “growth ******* tool” for domain and keyword analysis, SEO, marketing/content marketing, and PPC. It is an all-in-one platform with a variety of features that help you view SERP historical data, conduct site audits, comb through competitor analytics, and analyze backlink profiles. All of its plans include access to APIs and other integrations. Feature for feature, Serpstat is a top contender among Semrush alternatives.

Functionality

One advantage of using Serpstat is that it stays up-to-**** with trends and technology. The SERPstat team has been keeping up with the latest and greatest in AI and have incorporated that into their tool. You can use it to download YouTube scripts to use as blogs, analyze text based on specific words in it, and even customize the data it pulls so that you can analyze it to your liking. For instance, you can choose to view organic keywords versus PPC.

Interface

Serpstat offers a smooth and intuitive user experience. Most recently, they made it easier to sift through thousands of projects based on the project ID (not just its name). Serpstat also makes it easy to customize your reports, even down to adjusting the widths of individual data columns.

Plus, you can view your projects’ most important metrics at a glance.

Users rant and rave the most about Serpstat’s keyword research capabilties. Its sidebar navigation is seamless and streamlined while providing accurate, in-depth information.

This could be refreshing for Semrush users who are tired of its clunky UI and questionable data.

User reviews

Serpstat has received 4.7 out of 5 stars on Capterra. On G2, it has a 4.6 out of 5 star rating, which means its user experience is mostly positive. Serpstat scores especially high for ease of use, with one user saying, “I loved the dashboard and how easy it is to audit my sites and track the keywords they are ranking for. I also liked the task list and how easy it was to track improvements.”

Price

Serpstat offers four plans: Lite ($69/month), Standard ($149/month), Advanced ($299/month), and Enterprise ($499/month), and you can start with a seven-day free trial. Even compared to Semrush’s cheapest plan, the Lite subscription gives you more keywords, projects (10 for rank tracking and site auditing, and 100 for those who need to share access to users who aren’t on the team), and pages to include in your reports. It comes with one user seat and audits up to 150,000 pages per month. Only users on the Enterprise plan can white label their report.

3. Ahrefs vs Semrush

Ahrefs is a serious contender as one of the closest alternatives to Semrush. Both tools have similar features and functionalities.

Functionality

If you’re looking for a wealth of data, you came to the right place. Ahrefs has loads of it. From in-depth backlink analysis capabilities, tons of opportunities to research competitors and their top pages, and paid traffic exploration, to finding the best PPC keywords, identifying broken links, and seeing where your competitors outrank you, Ahrefs is an all-in-one SEO tool that excels when it comes to data.

Ahrefs boasts probably the largest backlink database and can easily vouch for the quality of its backlink data. Still, some users complain that its keyword search volumes and traffic estimates are a bit off. Also, Ahrefs lacks content and local SEO tools, meaning you’ll need to pay extra to cover your content marketing and local SEO needs.

Interface

Ahrefs has a steeper learning curve. It’s certainly not as intuitive as Ubersuggest, but it’s easier on the eyes than Semrush. If you commit to taking the time to learn it, you’ll reap the rewards. Ahrefs has tons of nooks and crannies: Just take a look at the left-hand side navigation menus.

Also, Ahrefs’s interface and user experience is only marginally smoother than Semrush.

User reviews

The crowd has spoken, and they **** Ahrefs. On Capterra, it has 4.7 out of 5 stars and 483 reviews. It’s currently sitting at 4.6 out of 5 stars on G2, with 451 reviews. And on TrustRadius, it averages 8.7 out of 10 stars and 336 reviews and ratings. One recent review called it the “most brilliant built digital marketing software ever.” Not bad!

Price

Ahrefs isn’t cheap, but it can be more affordable than Semrush in some cases. It’s also worth noting that its prices tend to increase as the limit usage decreases, meaning you’ll pay more for less access. Its most basic subscription (Lite) costs $99 a month, which is perfect for individuals, small businesses, and SEO hobbyists. It includes 75 trackable keywords, 2,500 max rows per report, weekly updates on those keywords, 100,000 crawl credits per month for each site audit, and a maximum of 25,000 crawlable pages per project. You get unlimited verified projects and up to five unverified projects. However, you are limited to tracking the rankings of only five websites and performing one website audit per website per month.

If you want access to more features and higher limits, Ahrefs’s next plans are $199, $399, and $999 per month. Users can join for free, but it will start costing you money in the form of credits once they begin using the various tools. Be ready to pay $20-50/month for every additional user and at least $100 to update your ranking data daily instead of weekly.

4. Moz Pro vs Semrush

This all-in-one suite of SEO tools is another common Semrush alternative. Moz Pro aims to remove the complexity of SEO and make it more accessible and easy to digest, helping users spend less time sifting through complicated spreadsheets and more time using data to make smarter decisions.

Functionality

Moz Pro offers all the standard tools you’d expect from a professional SEO toolset. Its Keyword Explorer tool, for example, helps you understand how people are finding you online, and helps you identify the keywords you should be targeting. Moz Pro also lets you track local and national rankings in Google (US and international, plus mobile), Yahoo and Bing; crawl and audit your site to identify errors or bugs; find opportunities to better optimize your web pages; and improve your overall linking architecture. Unfortunately, Moz Pro isn’t as flexible as SE Ranking and other Semrush alternatives, and it is not currently being actively developed or expanded.

Interface

While Moz Pro is robust, its user interface isn’t as smooth as Semrush’s or SE Ranking’s. It’s also more difficult to customize views and reports. Plus, its data isn’t always as fresh and accurate as it could be.

User reviews

Moz Pro currently has 4.4 out of 5 stars on G2, with more than 350 reviews. On Gartner, it has 4.6 out of 5 stars with 11 ratings. It also has 8.2 out of 10 stars, on TrustRadius, with 371 reviews and ratings. Moz Pro, then, isn’t as highly regarded as some of the other Semrush competitors on this list.

Price

Moz Pro’s most basic plan (Standard) is cheaper than Semrush’s—$99 a month versus $119 a month, respectively—but its subscription prices shoot up from there. Moz Pro’s Premium plan costs $599 a month. With it, you get fewer projects (three versus five on Semrush) and keywords (3oo across four search engines, so 1,200 in total, versus 1,500 on Semrush). However, Moz Pro offers unlimited scheduled reports whereas Semrush limits you to 3,000 scheduled reports per day and one user seat. Moz’s most basic plan also crawls up to 400,000 pages per month.

5. Ubersuggest vs Semrush

In a short amount of time, Ubersuggest, created by Neil Patel, evolved from a simple keyword research tool to a robust SEO platform that retains an incredibly user-friendly interface. It is often regarded as one of the best SEO tools for those with limited SEO knowledge, making it one of the top Semrush alternatives.

Functionality

One of Ubersuggest’s user reviews says it best: “Ubersuggest offers an easy-to-use interface that simplifies keyword research and analysis.” 

This platform is a lifesaver for people who are either new to SEO and analytics, or people who want to improve the health of their website without having to become an expert. It condenses and simplifies information that could otherwise be overwhelming for some users to digest, which makes it more user-friendly than Semrush.

Interface

Ubersuggest has a minimalist aesthetic, but still has all of the information you’ll ever want or need. On the dashboard, for example, it immediately gives you ideas for how to better optimize your site.

It’s straightforward to use and easy to navigate.

The menu on the left side gives you access to everything you could possibly need, including a site audit, keyword and content ideas, traffic estimates, top pages, a backlinks overview feature and new opportunities to explore, a keyword generator, and even an AI writer!

While it might not be as comprehensive as Semrush, it gets the job done and can sometimes do it better.

User reviews

On G2, users gave Ubersuggest 4.2 out of 5 stars. On Trustpilot, it scored 3.9 out of 5 stars. It also currently has 8.3 out of 10 stars on TrustRadius. Ubersuggest is a newer tool and isn’t the most well-known Semrush alternative, but it’s quickly evolving and giving Semrush a run for its money.

Price

Patel isn’t scared to take on his competitors. In fact, he’s pretty blunt about how much cheaper Ubersuggest is than alternatives like Semrush.

Make one Ubersuggest payment and spend a fraction of what you would with Semrush.

There’s also the option of opting for a monthly plan. Ubersuggest subscriptions range from $29 to $99 a month, which are significantly cheaper than even Semrush’s cheapest plan. With the Individual plan (the most affordable), you get 150 reports per day, one project, 150 searches on Chrome through their extension, 125 trackable keywords, a weekly site audit that’ll crawl 1,000 pages, 20,000 keyword suggestions, and so much more. Check out the full details of each plan on the Ubersuggest website.

While Ubersuggest might not have all the bells and whistles that Semrush has, it still provides comprehensive data while also being a cost-effective solution. Unsurprisingly, one user said, “Earlier, we used to use Semrush, which was way too costly. Since the start of 2022, we switched to Ubersuggest, which does the job well and at a reasonably low price.”

6. SEO PowerSuite vs Semrush

This all-in-one SEO software is consistently ranked among the G2 leaders in SEO software. Users appreciate the ability to automate, customize, and brand their SEO reports.

Functionality

SEO PowerSuite comes complete with its own rank tracker, website auditor, SpyGlass (their tool for analyzing backlinks), and LinkAssistant (for link-building and management). It also assists you in optimizing your content for search engines. Additionally, they offer custom white labeling and Google Analytics integration. However, while it’s comparable to Semrush in terms of collecting data, it’s not as good at analyzing data and providing recommendations for how tobest use it, which is something that SMBs, agencies, and enterprises will really need. 

Interface

According to user reviews, navigating this SEO tool can be a tad cumbersome. While it’s powerful and in-depth, expect a steeper learning curve if you don’t already know where to look. Then again, your experience with Semrush will be similar.

User reviews

It has 4 out of 5 stars on Capterra, 9 out of 10 on TrustRadius, and 4.5 out of 5 on G2, making SEO PowerSuite pretty consistent across the board based on reviews, it is a good (not great) Semrush alternative, that is unless you’re prepared to pay up. 

Pricing

SEO PowerSuite has a forever-free plan, which gives you unlimited keywords to track, 500 URLs to crawl and audit, and up to 1,100 links to track and audit. However, you won’t have access to additional features like scheduled reports, data exporting, and the ability to save projects, which is something you might find yourself missing greatly. If you want to upgrade, consider that the two paid plans are $299 and $499 a year. 

7. Raven Tools vs Semrush

Admittedly, this SEO and reporting tool has flown (get it? Raven? Flown?) under the radar, but it’s nothing to turn your nose up at. It even integrates your marketing and advertising data, allowing you to consolidate all of your efforts (and their results) under one roof.

Functionality

Raven Tools has no shortage of tools and features, including reporting, competitor research, its website auditor, rank tracker, backlink tracker, keyword research, and social media reporting. It also offers a tool called “Link Spy”, which helps you check up on your competitors and find new opportunities to get links back to your website. Raven Tools also includes plenty of integrations, including Google Search Console, Google Analytics, and Google/Bing/Facebook ads.

Reviews indicate, however, that if you’re looking to scale and need something more comprehensive, you’ll probably find better success with Semrush.

Interface

Raven Tools doesn’t get very many points for ease of use. Its users say that it can be needlessly complicated and tedious, and that it (surprisingly) doesn’t even provide the most basic data, particularly from Google ads (a major drawback for SMBs and agencies). Users have also reported bugs and glitches when trying to integrate additional third-party software into Raven Tools, which is a major drawback for all users.

User reviews

Raven Tools is a worthy contender, with 4.4 out of 5 stars on Capterra, 4.2 out of 5 stars on G2, and 4.5 out of 5 stars on Gartner. On TrustRadius, however, it only has 7.6 out of 10 stars. It’s also worth noting that Raven Tools  doesn’t have nearly as many overall reviews as Semrush, so you can’t fully compare the two.

Pricing

Raven Tools’ monthly plans range from $39 to $399 per month. What’s interesting is that even their cheapest plan gives you access to everything; it’s just more limited compared to its pricier options. Namely, you’ll get two domains/projects, two users, some data storage, its “light” CRM, unlimited automated client reports, 50,000 monthly page crawls, white labeling features, and 1,500 trackable keywords monthly.

8. cognitiveSEO vs Semrush

While cognitiveSEO is one of the lesser-known Semrush alternatives, it provides top-notch digital marketing strategy analysis and insights to help your brand grow online.

Functionality

It has a built-in content optimization tool, site auditing, backlink analysis, penalty recovery, a rank tracker, an SEO dashboard, marketing reports, and an SEO API. You can also use cognitiveSEO’s free tools if you want to take it for a test drive.

Interface

Users have said that the interface isn’t very intuitive and can be quite slow, especially the keyword research tool. Some people also note that cognitiveSEO is only suitable for agencies and bigger enterprises, but not for smaller companies and solopreneurs. (It’s worth pointing out that cognitiveSEO rates higher for its quality of support, which makes sense given that it’s a much smaller tool/company.)

User reviews

Users have rated it 4.5 out of 5 stars on G2, 8 out of 10 stars on TrustRadius, and 4.5 out of 5 stars on Capterra. Similar to Raven Tools, it’s one of the lesser-known Semrush competitors, which puts it at a disadvantage compared to Semrush by default.

Pricing

This tool isn’t the most budget-friendly Semrush alternative. The cheapest cognitiveSEO plan is $129.00 a month. You can track 1,500 keywords, analyze 200,000 inbound links, get 150 content audit credits, and analyze 50,000 links per site. You’ll also get two user seats and five campaigns. All three plans allow for Google Analytics integration. You won’t be able to white-label the tool unless you upgrade or use JavaScript crawling, get API access, or work with a customer success manager. Its price might also not be suitable for solopreneurs, and agencies might not like that cognitiveSEO provides no option for white labeling.

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