7 Best Semrush Alternatives in 2026

Every price and limit below comes from the vendor's own pricing pages and help centers, checked on 12 October 2026, in US dollars before tax. They are 'as of October 2026'. Where a vendor's own pages disagree, we say so.

What Semrush costs today

Semrush's SEO plan is $139 a month ($117.33 billed annually) for 5 websites and 500 tracked keywords. Semrush One plans bundle its SEO and AI Visibility toolkits: Starter $199 (50 AI prompts tracked daily), Pro+ $299 (15 websites, 1,500 keywords, 100 prompts) and Advanced $549 (40 websites, 5,000 keywords, 200 prompts, API access). Each plan includes one user; extra users cost $45 a month on SEO and Starter, $80 on Pro+ and $100 on Advanced. Client reports are priced per report ($10 a month for a Base report, $20 for a white-labelled Pro report), the Traffic and Market toolkit is $289 a month, and Local is $30 to $60 a month per location. There is a 7-day trial with exports disabled and a free plan with 10 reports a day. Adobe completed its acquisition of Semrush on 28 April 2026, according to Semrush's newsroom.

People look elsewhere for four reasons: the cost of extra seats and add-ons, wanting more client projects or tracked keywords per dollar, wanting deeper link data, or needing only part of the suite.

At a glance (as of October 2026)

The alternatives, one by one

SE Ranking: more client projects per dollar

Core is $129 a month ($103.20 billed annually) for 10 projects, 2,000 keywords tracked daily, 100 AI prompts, 250,000 audit pages a month, 25,000 API credits and MCP access; Growth is $279 ($223.20) for 30 projects, 5,000 keywords, 250 prompts and three manager seats. Extra seats start at $16. Rank tracking covers Google, Bing, Yahoo and YouTube. White-label comes with the $69 Agency Pack, billed annually only. SE Ranking states its database at 5.5 billion keywords across 188 locations and 2.9 trillion backlinks, and its own FAQ says its search volume figures currently trail Semrush's and Ahrefs'. 14-day trial without a card; payments are non-refundable. Best for: agencies with many small clients. Limit: SE Ranking has no Chrome extension of its own.

Ahrefs: the link specialist

Lite is $129 a month (5 projects, 750 tracked keywords, one user, 1,000 credits a user a month), Standard $249 (20 projects, 2,000 keywords, unlimited credits), Advanced $449 (50 projects, 5,000 keywords) and Enterprise $1,499 with an annual commitment. Annual billing saves up to 17% per its pricing page. Ahrefs states 35 trillion backlinks in its history and 28.7 billion keywords across 217 locations. Rank Tracker updates weekly on every plan. A $29 Starter plan covers light, credit-based use, and Ahrefs Free audits and monitors sites you can verify. Ahrefs says it never runs discounts, offers no trial and generally does not refund. Best for: link research and competitive analysis. Limit: weekly rank tracking and per-user credit caps on Lite.

Serpstat: the cheaper all-rounder

Individual is $69 a month or $50 billed annually (5 projects, 100 searches a day, 10,000 position checks a month, 30,000 audit pages), Team $129 or $100 (unlimited projects, 500 searches a day, 3 users, API) and Agency $499 or $410 (30 users, white-label reports). Rank tracking updates daily on every plan. Serpstat's own pages give different keyword database sizes (8.91 billion, 8.62 billion and 7.11 billion), so compare coverage in your market during the trial. The trial lasts 7 days with a $1 card verification, and subscription payments are non-refundable. Best for: small teams that want daily rank tracking at a low price. Limit: no API or extra users on Individual.

SEO PowerSuite: desktop tools for a yearly fee

SEO PowerSuite bundles four desktop apps: Rank Tracker, WebSite Auditor, SEO SpyGlass and LinkAssistant. Professional is $349 a year, Enterprise $599 and Max $899, billed annually only; paid plans include unlimited projects, keywords and backlinks, and white-label reports start on Enterprise. The free edition handles one project without saving. It states 6.5 trillion backlinks in its index. Its return policy says it gives no refunds, so test with the free edition. Best for: freelancers who prefer software on their own machine and a fixed yearly cost. Limit: desktop-first, and no refunds.

Ubersuggest: the budget suite

Ubersuggest's pricing page showed us local-currency prices rather than US dollars, so we cannot quote a US list price from it. NP Digital's own blog (updated July 2026) lists $29, $49 and $99 a month, with lifetime options. The Individual plan includes one project, 150 searches a day, 125 tracked keywords updated weekly and 10 AI prompts per project, updated monthly; Business and Enterprise raise those limits and add users. AI Search Visibility for ChatGPT, Gemini and Google AI Overviews is included in every plan. There is a one-time 7-day trial on monthly plans, lifetime purchases are non-refundable, and Ubersuggest says it has no API plans at the moment. Best for: small businesses doing their own SEO. Limit: weekly rank tracking and low limits.

Keywords Everywhere: keyword data while you browse

A browser extension with annual-only plans: Bronze $84 a year (100,000 credits, one seat), Silver $168 (400,000 credits, 3 seats), Gold $480 and Platinum $1,440. One credit is one keyword, and credits expire after a year. API calls use the same credits with no separate fee. Best for: content teams that mostly need volumes and related keywords. Limit: no rank tracking or site audits in the plans.

Google's free tools: for your own sites

Search Console is free and shows real clicks, impressions, queries and links for sites you verify. Keyword Planner is free inside Google Ads but needs a completed Ads account setup with billing information. Neither shows competitors' data. Best for: your own and your clients' verified sites. Limit: no competitor research.

Pick by why you are leaving Semrush

If AI visibility is why you use Semrush

Semrush tracks AI visibility in Semrush One plans and in its AI Visibility Toolkit ($99 a month per domain billed annually). SE Ranking includes 100 prompts on Core, Ahrefs sells Brand Radar from $199 a month, and Serpstat sells a separate LLM Brand Monitor. Semrush and SE Ranking do not list Claude or Grok among the assistants they track. Fenn asks ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Perplexity and Grok the questions your buyers ask, shows who gets named instead of you, and drafts the fixes and pages for you to approve and publish. It does not do keyword research or rank tracking, so it complements a suite rather than replacing one. Plans start at $29 a month, set up after a demo.

FAQ

What is the best free alternative to Semrush?

For your own sites, Google Search Console. For a free suite-style tool, Ahrefs Free covers sites you can verify, and Semrush itself has a free plan with 10 reports a day. Serpstat and SE Ranking offer trials rather than free plans.

Is SE Ranking as good as Semrush?

For rank tracking and client projects it gives more per dollar as of October 2026. Semrush has a broader set of toolkits and SE Ranking's own FAQ says its search volume figures trail Semrush's and Ahrefs'. See our Semrush vs SE Ranking comparison for plan-by-plan detail.

Is Ahrefs cheaper than Semrush?

At entry, Ahrefs Lite ($129 a month) is $10 below Semrush's SEO plan ($139), but Lite tracks keywords weekly and caps credits per user. Ahrefs also has a $29 Starter plan for light use.

Did Adobe buy Semrush?

Yes. Semrush's newsroom announced that Adobe completed the acquisition on 28 April 2026. Semrush is still sold under its own name.