SEMrush alternatives
Semrush's 50+ tools come at a price that climbs fast once you need more than a handful of projects, and our review notes several capabilities are sold as separate add-ons. These are the alternatives our reviews name, each with the reason it made the list.
Top SEMrush alternatives
Ranked by our editorial score.
A larger, faster-updated backlink index that's the industry default for link-building research, with our review listing Ahrefs Lite at a slightly lower $129/mo entry than Semrush Pro.
vs SEMrush: Easier to use (8 vs 7)
Source: our SEMrush review
Lighter alternative: “Ahrefs Lite ($129/mo) for backlink-first SEO, or Ubersuggest ($29/mo) for budget keyword research.”
Starts at $99/month with a simpler, beginner-friendly interface and plain-language explanations of technical SEO issues — a gentler on-ramp than Semrush's 50+ tool dashboard.
vs SEMrush: Better value (7 vs 6) · Easier to use (9 vs 7) · Better support (8 vs 7) · Fewer features (7 vs 9) · Fewer integrations (7 vs 9)
Source: our SEMrush review
Comparison: “vs Moz Pro: Moz Pro starts at $99/month with a beginner-friendly interface and plain-language explanations of technical issues; SEMrush starts at $139.95/month and provides far greater database depth (140+ countries), more integrated tools (50+), and stronger competitive intelligence for agencies managing multiple clients.”
Roughly half Semrush's price for the same core workflow — rank tracking, site audits, backlinks and keyword research — though Semrush's database still covers more countries and has deeper PPC data.
vs SEMrush: Better value (7 vs 6) · Easier to use (8 vs 7) · Fewer integrations (7 vs 9)
Source: our SE Ranking review
Comparison: “vs SEMrush: SE Ranking starts at $52/month annually versus SEMrush's $117/month, covering rank tracking, site auditing, backlinks, and keyword research at roughly half the price; SEMrush offers a larger database spanning 140+ countries, deeper PPC intelligence, and 50+ integrated tools.”
The budget pick for keyword research alone, at $29/month against Semrush Pro's $139.95/month — useful for bloggers and small sites that don't need the full suite.
vs SEMrush: Better value (9 vs 6) · Easier to use (8 vs 7) · Fewer features (7 vs 9) · Fewer integrations (6 vs 9)
Source: our SEMrush review
Lighter alternative: “Ahrefs Lite ($129/mo) for backlink-first SEO, or Ubersuggest ($29/mo) for budget keyword research.”
A significantly cheaper entry tier that includes API access Semrush reserves for its ~$499/month Business plan — though Semrush still leads on content marketing tools and English-language keyword database size.
vs SEMrush: Better value (8 vs 6) · Fewer features (7 vs 9) · Fewer integrations (6 vs 9)
Source: our Serpstat review
Comparison: “vs Semrush: Semrush starts at $139.95/month and restricts API access to its ~$499/month Business plan, while Serpstat's entry tier is significantly cheaper and includes API access; Semrush has a broader content marketing and advertising toolkit and larger English-language keyword databases.”
Far cheaper at $33/month and, by our review, the strongest tool available for historical PPC competitor research (up to 16 years of paid-search data) — though it doesn't match Semrush's breadth across content, social and site auditing.
vs SEMrush: Better value (8 vs 6) · Fewer features (7 vs 9) · Fewer integrations (6 vs 9)
Source: our SEMrush review
Comparison: “vs SpyFu: SpyFu's Basic plan starts at $33/month and leads the market on PPC competitor history, surfacing up to 16 years of paid-search data; SEMrush costs significantly more but combines organic SEO, content strategy, site auditing, and social tools in a single platform that SpyFu cannot match in breadth.”
* “Lower listed price” compares the entry prices in our reviews. Where the two tools price differently (per seat, per contact, per email sent), the cheaper option depends on your list size and sending volume.
How they compare
Our five sub-scores out of 10. Bold means at least a point above SEMrush.
Free alternatives to SEMrush
2 of the 6 alternatives have a free plan.
What each free plan includes
Lower listed starting price than SEMrush ($117.33/mo): Ahrefs ($29/mo), Moz Pro ($39/mo), SE Ranking ($103.20/mo), Ubersuggest ($12/mo), Serpstat ($55/mo). Pricing models differ, so compare at your own list size.
How we picked them
Every alternative here is named in one of our own reviews — either in the SEMrush review (as a lighter or more powerful option, or in a head-to-head comparison) or in the other tool's review. Each relationship was then checked by hand: would someone replacing SEMrush reasonably consider this tool? Rankings follow our editorial score only; no tool pays to be listed or ranked.
Relationships drafted from our catalogue reviews on 30 September 2026 for this local preview. Before publication each row is confirmed by a Conversion Gems editor.
0 tools our reviews mention alongside SEMrush that we left out, and why
Questions about SEMrush alternatives
- Mailchimp alternatives
- Obsidian alternatives
- Slack alternatives
- Dropbox alternatives
- Google Drive alternatives
- Salesforce alternatives
- Grammarly alternatives
- Discord alternatives
- QuickBooks alternatives
- DocuSign alternatives
- Adobe Illustrator alternatives
- Canva alternatives
- SEMrush alternatives
- Shopify alternatives
- Stripe alternatives
- Linktree alternatives
- n8n alternatives
- Cursor alternatives
- All alternatives pages