Semrush alternatives: top competitors compared
Named alongside Semrush
AhrefsBest forFreelance SEOs, marketing consultants, and lean in-house marketing teams, from small businesses to Fortune 500 teams.86% of Semrush answersGoogle Search Console54% of Semrush answersMoz ProBest forSEO professionals, agencies, in-house marketing teams and individual consultants who want SEO and AI search tracking in one toolkit49% of Semrush answersSE RankingBest forAgencies and in-house SEO teams47% of Semrush answers
Data from SlateIndex weekly runs
Semrush has a visibility score of 64.3 in SEO Tools, #1 of 58. AI answers that name Semrush most often also name these 4.
What AI answers fault Semrush for
Pricing is high, with enterprise-style suites costing around $100 or more per month
Raised in 2 collected answers.
Less comprehensive than Ahrefs for backlinks in some comparisons
Raised in 2 collected answers.
Quick reference
| Alternative | Best for | Starting price | Visibility | Key differentiator |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ahrefs | Freelance SEOs, marketing consultants, and lean in-house marketing teams, from small businesses to Fortune 500 teams. | Free; paid from $29 / mo | 56% | It is the only AI marketing platform built on Ahrefs' proprietary web index. |
| Google Search Console | — | — | 47.3% | — |
| Moz Pro | SEO professionals, agencies, in-house marketing teams and individual consultants who want SEO and AI search tracking in one toolkit | Free; paid from $49 / mo | 25.9% | Proprietary SEO metrics such as Domain Authority, Page Authority and Brand Authority, which Moz has published since 2004 |
| SE Ranking | Agencies and in-house SEO teams | $129 / mo | 27.6% | A large proprietary dataset: 5.5B keyword database, 2.2B domain profiles and 188 country databases, as stated by the vendor. |
Alternative 1
Ahrefs vs Semrush →Ahrefs
Ahrefs suits freelance SEOs, marketing consultants, and lean in-house marketing teams, from small businesses to Fortune 500 teams..
Quick facts
- Free; paid from $29 / mo · flat tiers
- Free plan available
- 56% visibility score · #2 in SEO Tools
Key features
- Site Explorer — Backlink and organic traffic research for any domain.
- Keywords Explorer — Keyword research and search intent data.
- Site Audit — Website health checks and technical SEO issue detection.
- Rank Tracker — Tracks keyword rankings in search results.
Ahrefs vs Semrush
| Dimension | Ahrefs | Semrush |
|---|---|---|
| Visibility score | 56% | 64.3% |
| Pricing model | Flat tiers | Flat tiers |
| Entry price | Free; paid from $29 / mo | Free; paid from $139 / mo |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Trial | Free plan available | Free plan available |
Pros
- Strong backlink analysis and index
- Strong competitor research
- Honest, transparent pricing
- Deep technical site audits
- Free Webmaster Tools tier for verified site owners
Cons
- High monthly cost, especially for smaller budgets
- Seat-based pricing needs careful evaluation against team size
Google Search Console is ranked #3 in SEO Tools.
Quick facts
- Pricing not available
- 47.3% visibility score · #3 in SEO Tools
Key features
- Google Search Console — Free web-based service for site owners to monitor and troubleshoot their presence in Google Search results, with performance, URL inspection, indexing, and Core Web Vitals reporting.
Google Search Console vs Semrush
| Dimension | Google Search Console | Semrush |
|---|---|---|
| Visibility score | 47.3% | 64.3% |
| Pricing model | — | Flat tiers |
| Entry price | — | Free; paid from $139 / mo |
| Free plan | — | Yes |
| Trial | — | Free plan available |
Pros
- Free first-party search data
- Essential foundation for indexing and performance diagnostics
- Strong integration with Google Analytics and Google Ads
- Tracks queries, impressions, clicks, and rankings
- Widely used and highly rated
Cons
- Does not show total website traffic
- Not directly comparable to paid SEO suites
Alternative 3
Moz Pro vs Semrush →Moz Pro
Moz Pro suits sEO professionals, agencies, in-house marketing teams and individual consultants who want SEO and AI search tracking in one toolkit.
Quick facts
- Free; paid from $49 / mo · flat tiers
- Free plan available
- 25.9% visibility score · #5 in SEO Tools
Key features
- Moz Pro — All-in-one SEO and AI visibility toolkit with keyword research, rank tracking, site audits, link research and domain metrics.
- Moz Local — Local SEO tool for managing business listings, reviews, social posts and local rank tracking across locations.
- STAT — Large-scale daily rank tracking platform for keyword sets in the thousands or more, with SERP feature and share of voice analytics.
- Moz API — API for Moz metrics such as Domain Authority, Page Authority, Brand Authority and link data, for building custom tools and dashboards.
Moz Pro vs Semrush
| Dimension | Moz Pro | Semrush |
|---|---|---|
| Visibility score | 25.9% | 64.3% |
| Pricing model | Flat tiers | Flat tiers |
| Entry price | Free; paid from $49 / mo | Free; paid from $139 / mo |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Trial | Free plan available | Free plan available |
Pros
- structured educational resources
- industry-standard metrics like Domain Authority
- 30-day free trial, one of the longest
- cost-effective, user-friendly alternative for foundational tracking and local SEO
- simpler, lower-cost all-in-one platform good for beginners and small teams
Cons
Alternative 4
SE Ranking vs Semrush →SE Ranking
SE Ranking suits agencies and in-house SEO teams.
Quick facts
- $129 / mo · flat tiers
- 14-day free trial
- 27.6% visibility score · #4 in SEO Tools
Key features
- SE Ranking — SEO platform for keyword research, rank tracking, website audits, backlink research and performance reporting.
- SE Visible — Tracks brand mentions, sentiment and share of voice across AI search engines.
- Planable — Social media management platform for planning, collaboration, publishing and analytics.
- SE Ranking API — Programmatic access to SEO and GEO data, with MCP access for AI assistants.
SE Ranking vs Semrush
| Dimension | SE Ranking | Semrush |
|---|---|---|
| Visibility score | 27.6% | 64.3% |
| Pricing model | Flat tiers | Flat tiers |
| Entry price | $129 / mo | Free; paid from $139 / mo |
| Free plan | No | Yes |
| Trial | 14-day free trial | Free plan available |
Pros
- Strong value for agencies and mid-market teams
- Full-stack suite with rank tracking, audits and competitor analysis
- Transparent, published pricing
- Discounts and 14-day free trial
- Strong user ratings and reviews
Cons
How to choose
Match the pricing model to your cost driver: headcount, usage or features.
| Platform | Pricing model | Starting price |
|---|---|---|
| Semrush | Flat tiers | Free; paid from $139 / mo |
| Ahrefs | Flat tiers | Free; paid from $29 / mo |
| Google Search Console | — | — |
| Moz Pro | Flat tiers | Free; paid from $49 / mo |
| SE Ranking | Flat tiers | $129 / mo |
More alternatives
Ranked by how often AI answers name them alongside Semrush in the latest weekly run.