8 best Semrush alternatives in 2026
Looking for an alternative to Semrush? These 8 tools do the same job with a different focus. Each one is compared on who it suits, its key features, pros and cons, and what it really costs next to Semrush.
Why teams look for an alternative to Semrush
- Expensive for small teams.
- Add-on pricing adds up.
- Steep learning curve.
- Solo site owners on a tight budget (reviewers repeatedly call it expensive)
- Teams needing many seats cheaply: extra users start at EUR 43 per month each.
From Semrush's published plan limits and recurring themes in public reviews. See the Semrush review for the full picture.
Semrush alternatives at a glance
| Tool | Best for | Starting price | Free plan or trial |
|---|---|---|---|
 Semrush Current | Marketing teams that want keyword, audit, backlink and AI visibility tools in one login. | Contact sales | Free plan, Free trial |
 Ahrefs | SEO and link-building teams who value backlink and competitor data. | $29/month (Starter); $129/month (Lite) | Free plan |
 Moz Pro | Small businesses (about 58% of G2 reviewers) | $49/month monthly or $39/month annual (Starter, third-party sources) | Free trial |
 SE Ranking | Small agencies that need white-label reports and many client projects (via Agency Pack) | EUR 87.20/month billed annually (Core); EUR 109/month billed monthly | Free trial |
 Mangools | Freelancers and small sites that mainly need keyword research and rank tracking. | Not confirmed by the vendor: not confirmed by the vendor; third-party listings cite about $29.90/month (Basic, annual billing) | No |
 Serpstat | Small businesses and freelancers who want an all-in-one SEO suite at a low monthly price. | $50/month (Individual) | Free trial |
 HubSpot Marketing Hub | Teams already on HubSpot CRM that want marketing, forms and reporting in one system. | $0 (Free, up to 2 users); Starter from $7 or $20 per seat/month | Free plan |
 Bynder | Brand teams with extensive asset reuse and permissions. | Contact sales | No |
 Surfer SEO | Content teams optimizing articles against top-ranking pages. | $49 per month billed yearly (Discovery) | No |
The 8 best Semrush alternatives
Ahrefs
Bootstrapped SEO suite known for its backlink index, priced per plan with paid extra seats and AI add-ons.
Ahrefs is a bootstrapped SEO suite known for its backlink index, priced per plan with paid extra seats and AI add-ons. It suits SEO and link-building teams of one to three users, though cost is the top complaint among smaller buyers.
- Best for
- SEO and link-building teams who value backlink and competitor data.
Key features
- Technical site audit
- Crawl credits per month: 100,000 (Lite), 500,000 (Standard), 1.5M (Advanced)
- Rank tracking
- Tracked keywords: 750 / 2,000 / 5,000 on Lite / Standard / Advanced.
- Content optimization and AI features
- AI prompt checks: 150 / 300 / 600; Brand Radar AI add-on from $199/mo.
- Reporting and white label
- Report Builder add-on $99/mo (50 reports, 500 widgets, scheduling)
Pros
- Accurate SEO data.
- Strong backlink and competitor analysis.
Cons
- Expensive for individuals and small businesses.
- AI tool inaccuracies.
- No local SEO tools.
Pricing: $29/month (Starter); $129/month (Lite) · Free plan
Moz Pro
SEO suite with rank tracking, site crawl and link research, sold in four tiers with a low seat count.
Moz Pro is an SEO suite with rank tracking, site crawl and link research, sold in four tiers with a low seat count. It suits small businesses that want an accessible rank checker and link research without a steep learning curve.
- Best for
- Small businesses (about 58% of G2 reviewers)
- Company size
- Small businesses (58.1% of G2 reviewers)
Key features
- Rank tracking
- Tracked keywords 50 / 300 / 1,500 / 3,000 across tiers (third-party)
- Project and credit limits
- Seats 1 / 1 / 2 / 3 across tiers (third-party)
Pros
- Feature depth in rank checker and link research.
- Ease of use and setup (G2 sub-scores about 8.6 and 8.8 of 10)
Cons
- Reviews show a recent decline per G2 comparison summary.
- Limited autonomous or AI task features.
Pricing: $49/month monthly or $39/month annual (Starter, third-party sources) · Free trial
SE Ranking
All-in-one SEO platform with rank tracking, site audit, backlink and keyword research, and white-label reporting sold through an Agency Pack add-on.
SE Ranking is an all-in-one SEO platform with rank tracking, site audit, backlink and keyword research. White-label reporting comes through an Agency Pack add-on, which makes it a good fit for small agencies and SMB marketing teams.
- Best for
- Small agencies that need white-label reports and many client projects (via Agency Pack)
- Company size
- SMBs and small agencies.
Key features
- Keyword research database
- Vendor states a 4.2B keyword database across 188 country databases.
- Technical site audit
- Audit page quota per plan: 250k pages/month Core, 2M Growth.
- Backlink index and analysis
- Vendor cites 1.9B backlink profiles; some agency reviewers find the index smaller than rivals.
- Rank tracking
- Daily tracking: 2k keywords Core, 5k Growth; extra keywords from EUR 20.80 (Core) or EUR 30.40 (Growth)
Pros
- Keyword research, tracking, audits and reporting in one account.
- White-label reports are useful for agency clients.
- Responsive support with live chat.
Cons
- Backlink database smaller than some alternatives.
- White-label reporting costs extra via the Agency Pack.
- Competitor traffic estimates are only directional.
Pricing: EUR 87.20/month billed annually (Core); EUR 109/month billed monthly · Free trial
Mangools
Suite of lightweight SEO tools (KWFinder, SERPChecker, SERPWatcher, LinkMiner, SiteProfiler) aimed at individuals and small teams.
Mangools is a suite of lightweight SEO tools, including KWFinder, SERPChecker, SERPWatcher, LinkMiner and SiteProfiler. It aims at freelancers and small teams who want a simple interface for keyword research and rank tracking, but it has no dedicated site crawler.
- Best for
- Freelancers and small sites that mainly need keyword research and rank tracking.
- Company size
- Freelancers, small businesses, small agencies.
Key features
- Keyword research database
- KWFinder; vendor claims 2.5B+ keywords.
- Backlink index and analysis
- LinkMiner; vendor claims 9.5 trillion backlinks.
- Rank tracking
- SERPWatcher; weekly updates, daily on Agency plan per vendor.
- Competitor analysis
- SERPChecker and SiteProfiler.
Pros
- Simple, fast interface.
- Per-tool focus keeps learning curve short.
Pricing: Not confirmed by the vendor: not confirmed by the vendor; third-party listings cite about $29.90/month (Basic, annual billing)
Serpstat
All-in-one SEO suite with keyword research, rank tracking, site audit and API access, sold in four tiers from $50 per month.
Serpstat is an all-in-one SEO suite with keyword research, rank tracking, site audit and API access, sold in four tiers from $50 per month. It suits freelancers and small businesses, and its Agency plan adds white-label reports.
- Best for
- Small businesses and freelancers who want an all-in-one SEO suite at a low monthly price.
- Company size
- Solo SEOs to agencies (G2: 80.3% of reviews from small business)
Key features
- Keyword research database
- Keyword research and keyword clustering tools.
- Technical site audit
- Site audit with 30,000 to 1,500,000 pages per plan.
- Rank tracking
- Position checks: 10,000 to 500,000 per month by plan.
- Content optimization and AI features
- AI Visibility checks, 1,500/month on Team and up.
Pros
- Strong support rating on G2.
- Wide feature set for the price.
Cons
- Fewer recent G2 reviews than larger rivals.
Pricing: $50/month (Individual) · Free trial
HubSpot Marketing Hub
CRM-native marketing suite with a free tier, per-seat Starter, and Professional and Enterprise tiers with large contact bundles and onboarding fees.
HubSpot Marketing Hub connects content-led campaigns to contact records, email workflows and reporting. It suits teams that want content performance inside a broader marketing platform, but contact tiers, onboarding and added seats require a full cost review.
- Best for
- Teams already on HubSpot CRM that want marketing, forms and reporting in one system.
- Company size
- Small to enterprise marketing organizations; contact tier matters.
Best for
- Teams already on HubSpot CRM that want marketing, forms and reporting in one system.
- Small teams starting on Free (2 users) and growing into Starter.
Not ideal for
- Budget-limited teams needing automation depth: Professional starts at $800 or $890/month plus a $3,000 onboarding fee.
- Teams needing SAML SSO below Enterprise.
Pricing: $0 (Free, up to 2 users); Starter from $7 or $20 per seat/month · Free plan
Bynder
An enterprise digital asset and content workflow platform for organizing approved media and distributing assets.
Bynder specializes in digital asset management and content workflows for teams with extensive approved media libraries. Its pricing is customized to use case, so compare workflow modules, implementation, access controls and asset migration before committing.
- Best for
- Brand teams with extensive asset reuse and permissions.
- Company size
- Mid-market and enterprise brands.
Key features
- Editorial planning
- Content Workflow planning and reviews.
- Collaboration and approvals
- Asset Workflow approval controls.
- Creation and optimization
- Studio and asset workflows.
- Distribution and publishing
- DAM and content distribution integrations.
Pros
- Reviewers value asset organization and search.
Cons
- Reviewers report cost concerns and migration effort.
Pricing: Contact sales
Surfer SEO
Content optimization platform that scores drafts against SERP competitors and now tracks AI search visibility.
Rebranded: Surferseo.com redirects to surfer.ai, the product is now branded Surfer with AI search tracking.
Surfer SEO is a content optimization platform that scores drafts against competing pages and now tracks AI search visibility. It suits content teams that edit articles against top-ranking results, but it does not offer backlink data or technical crawling.
- Best for
- Content teams optimizing articles against top-ranking pages.
- Company size
- Content marketers, small teams, agencies.
Key features
- Rank tracking
- Pages tracked: 10 to 500 by plan.
- Content optimization and AI features
- Content scoring and editor, document quotas per plan; AI prompt tracker on paid plans.
- Project and credit limits
- Documents 120-360/unlimited, pages tracked 10-500, AI prompts 0-100.
Pros
- Intuitive interface.
- Content Editor is a standout.
- Helpful content auditing.
Pricing: $49 per month billed yearly (Discovery)
How to choose a Semrush alternative
Start with what made you look: a missing feature, a team that outgrew the plan or a bill that grew faster than the team. Then compare the shortlist on the points that matter most for this kind of software.
- Keyword research database: Size and freshness of the keyword data decide research quality.
- Technical site audit: Crawl depth and issue prioritization reveal fixable ranking blockers.
- Backlink index and analysis: Index size and update speed drive competitor link research.
- Rank tracking: Daily tracking by location and device is needed for reporting.
- Content optimization and AI features: Content scoring and brief tools support writers.
- Competitor analysis: Gap analysis shows where rivals win traffic.
What the alternatives cost compared with Semrush
Semrush does not publish a per-user price that can be compared directly, so the table shows each vendor's own pricing basis.
| Tool | Starting price | Per seat per month | Pricing model | 20 users per year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Semrush | Contact sales | EUR 43 per additional user per month (add-on); base plans do not publish seat counts. | flat per plan plus paid extra users | Not published |
| HubSpot Marketing Hub | $0 (Free, up to 2 users); Starter from $7 or $20 per seat/month | Starter from $7 or $20 per seat/month (billing mapping unlabeled); Professional includes 3 seats, extra seats from $45/month. | per seat (Starter) / flat + contact tiers (Pro, Enterprise) | $4,800 |
| Serpstat | $50/month (Individual) | $33.33 (Team, $100/month for 3 users) | per plan (seat bundles) | Not published |
| Ahrefs | $29/month (Starter); $129/month (Lite) | $40/mo extra seat on Lite, $60 on Standard, $80 on Advanced (1 user included) | flat per plan plus paid extra seats | Not published |
| Surfer SEO | $49 per month billed yearly (Discovery) | Not per seat: seats bundled (1 / 3 / 5 / 10); from $49 per month for 1 seat (Discovery) | flat | Not published |
| Mangools | Not confirmed by the vendor: not confirmed by the vendor; third-party listings cite about $29.90/month (Basic, annual billing) | Not published | per plan | Not published |
| Moz Pro | $49/month monthly or $39/month annual (Starter, third-party sources) | Not published | flat per plan | Not published |
| SE Ranking | EUR 87.20/month billed annually (Core); EUR 109/month billed monthly | EUR 14.40 per extra manager seat (from price); Core includes 1 seat at EUR 87.20/mo annual. | per plan, with paid extra manager seats | Not published |
| Bynder | Contact sales | Not published | custom quote | Not published |
When to stay with Semrush
- Marketing teams that want keyword, audit, backlink and AI visibility tools in one login.
- Teams that can live with 5 to 15 websites per plan.
Semrush alternatives: frequently asked questions
What is the best alternative to Semrush?
Ahrefs is the closest alternative for most teams: SEO and link-building teams who value backlink and competitor data. Moz Pro suits teams that small businesses (about 58% of G2 reviewers).
Is there a free alternative to Semrush?
Ahrefs and HubSpot Marketing Hub offer a free plan. Free plans usually cap users, features or history, so check the limits against your team size.