Short answer
If Semrush feels like paying for a Swiss Army knife when you only use the blade, SE Ranking is the best all-round Semrush alternative for small teams and agencies: more tracked keywords and projects for less money. Ahrefs is the pick if backlinks are your whole job, and Mangools is the friendliest option for bloggers on a budget.
Top picks
Prices checked Oct 31, 2026
- Best overall
SE Ranking
Best overall value, agencies, rank tracking
Starts at $129/mo ($103.20/mo annually)
Try free for 14 days - Best for backlinks
Ahrefs
Backlink research
Starts at $129/mo (Lite)
See Ahrefs plans - Best for beginners
Mangools
Beginners and bloggers
Starts at $37.70/mo billed annually
Check Mangools
On this page
- Why people look for a Semrush alternative
- Semrush alternatives: comparison table
- SE Ranking
- Ahrefs
- Mangools
- SpyFu
- Moz Pro
- Serpstat
- Ubersuggest
- Free Semrush alternatives
- How to choose the right Semrush alternative
- What you give up when you leave Semrush
- How to switch without losing data
- How we evaluated these tools
- FAQ
- The bottom line
Why people look for a Semrush alternative
Most people leave Semrush over price, not quality. The data is good. The bill is the problem.
Here's what the Semrush pricing page showed when we checked on October 31, 2026:
- The SEO plan is $139/mo ($117.33/mo billed annually) for 5 websites and 500 keywords tracked daily.
- SEO + AI Search Starter is $199/mo ($165.17 annually) and adds 50 tracked AI prompts per day.
- Pro+ is $299/mo ($248.17 annually) for 15 sites and 1,500 keywords, plus historical data and content optimization.
- Advanced is now "contact sales."
- Every extra user starts at $45/mo.
That last line hurts. A three-person team on Pro+ is looking at roughly $389/mo before any add-ons. Freelancers feel it too: 500 tracked keywords disappear fast once you have three clients.
Other reasons we hear (forum threads on "semrush alternatives" repeat them):
- You only use two or three features, usually rank tracking, keyword research and site audits.
- You want AI search tracking without jumping to a higher tier.
- You need more projects, not more toolkits.
If that's you, keep reading. If you live in Semrush's PPC, local or market research toolkits every day, an alternative may cost you more time than it saves money.
Semrush alternatives compared
All prices are monthly list prices in USD from each vendor's official pricing page, checked October 31, 2026. Annual billing is cheaper on most tools.
| Tool | Entry price | Tracked keywords at entry | Free trial or plan | AI search tracking | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Our pickSE Ranking | $129 ($103.20 annual) | 2,000 daily, 10 projects | 14-day trial | Yes, 25 prompts/day, 5 AI engines | Try SE Ranking |
| Ahrefs | $129 (Lite) | 750 | Ahrefs Free (own site only), no trial | 150 prompt checks on Lite | Ahrefs pricing |
| Mangools | $37.70 annual (about $61 monthly) | 200, weekly updates | Free account, 48-hour money-back | AI Search Watcher, 500 prompts | Check Mangools |
| SpyFu | $39 | 5,000 weekly, 1 project | 30-day money-back guarantee | On Pro + AI | SpyFu pricing |
| Moz Pro | $49 (Starter) | 300 on Standard ($99) | Free trial | 150 prompts weekly on Standard, 3 AI models | Moz pricing |
| Serpstat | $100 annual (Team) | Unlimited projects, 3 users on Team | 7-day trial on Team | 1,500 AI visibility checks/mo | Serpstat pricing |
| Ubersuggest | $29 or $290 lifetime | Daily tracking, lower limits | 7-day trial (monthly plans) | Prompt tracking included | Ubersuggest pricing |
| Free stack (GSC + Ahrefs Free) | $0 | Your own site's queries | Free | Limited | Start free |
SE Ranking: the best Semrush alternative for most teams
SE Ranking gives you the core Semrush workflow (rank tracking, keyword research, competitor research, site audit, backlinks) with higher limits at a lower price. For freelancers and small agencies, that's the whole argument.
On the official subscription page the Core plan costs $129/mo, or $103.20/mo billed annually. For that you get 10 projects, unlimited keyword, competitor and backlink research, 2,000 keywords tracked daily, 250,000 audited pages a month and 25,000 API credits. Core also includes AI visibility tracking: 25 prompts a day across 5 AI engines. Growth is $279/mo ($223.20 annually) with 30 projects, 5,000 keywords, 3 seats and all-time historical data.
Put that next to Semrush's $139 SEO plan: four times the tracked keywords and double the projects for $10 less. If rank tracking is the reason you open Semrush every morning, that gap matters more than anything else on this page.
Agencies get a cheap white-label option too. The Agency Pack is +$69/mo on annual plans, and extra seats start at $16.
Want the long version? Read our SE Ranking vs Semrush comparison or the full SE Ranking review.
Pros
- Much higher keyword and project limits per dollar than Semrush
- AI visibility tracking included on Core, no separate tier needed
- Cheap extra seats and an affordable white-label add-on
- 14-day free trial (10 projects, 750 keywords a day, 20 AI prompts a day)
- Built-in import of projects and ranking history, plus free assisted migration on annual plans
Cons
- Smaller PPC and market research features than Semrush
- Core has one manager seat; teams need extra seats or Growth
- Payments are non-refundable unless the service wasn't delivered, so use the trial properly
Ahrefs: best for backlink research
Ahrefs is the one tool that matches Semrush on data depth, and many SEOs prefer its backlink index. It isn't cheaper at the same level, though, so treat it as a sideways move.
The Ahrefs pricing page lists Lite at $129/mo with 6 months of history, 750 tracked keywords, 150 AI prompt checks and one user (two more at $40/mo each). Standard is $249/mo and adds 2 years of history, 2,000 keywords, Content Explorer and Brand Radar. Advanced is $449/mo. There's also a small Starter plan at $29/mo for basic keyword and competitor lookups, and annual billing saves up to 17%.
Two things to know before you switch. Ahrefs says plainly that it doesn't run discounts or free trials, and it generally doesn't issue refunds. It also accepts only cards (Visa, Mastercard, Amex, UnionPay) except for Enterprise.
We have a separate guide if Ahrefs is the tool you're trying to leave: Ahrefs alternatives.
Pros
- Excellent backlink and keyword data
- Generous project counts; verified projects are unlimited
- Ahrefs Free gives site owners a useful free audit and backlink view
Cons
- Lite is the same price as SE Ranking Core with far fewer tracked keywords
- No free trial, generally no refunds
- Extra users add up quickly
Mangools: best for beginners and bloggers
Mangools is the friendliest tool on this list. Five small apps (KWFinder, SERPChecker, SERPWatcher, LinkMiner, SiteProfiler) with clean screens and plain-English metrics. If Semrush overwhelms you, start here.
The Mangools pricing page shows Basic at $37.70/mo billed annually ($452.40 a year). Paid monthly it works out to about $61. Premium is $52.70/mo annually and Agency $97.70/mo. Annual billing saves about 35%. Every plan now includes AI Search Watcher with 500 prompts and API/MCP access.
The limits are where you feel the price. Basic gives you 100 keyword lookups per 24 hours and 200 tracked keywords updated weekly; daily rank updates come only on Agency. Fine for a blog. Tight for client work.
Pros
- Very easy to learn
- Low annual price
- AI Search Watcher included on every plan
- 48-hour money-back guarantee
Cons
- Low daily lookup limits on Basic
- Weekly rank updates below Agency
- Smaller toolset than Semrush or SE Ranking
SpyFu: best for competitor and PPC spying
SpyFu does one thing very well: it shows you what your competitors rank for and bid on, with years of history. If you used Semrush mainly for competitor and Google Ads research, SpyFu covers that for much less.
SpyFu's pricing page lists Basic at $39/mo. Pro + AI is $59 for the first month and $119/mo after that, with unlimited search results, 10 tracking projects and 15,000 weekly tracked keywords. Team is $249/mo. Annual billing saves 25%, every plan includes API access, and SpyFu advertises more than 10 years of historical data. There's also a 30-day money-back guarantee, the most relaxed refund policy on this list.
Pros
- Strong competitor keyword and ad history
- Cheap entry plan with a 30-day money-back guarantee
- Lots of tracked keywords, even if updates are weekly
Cons
- Site audit and backlink tools are thinner than Semrush's
- Weekly, not daily, rank tracking
- Basic covers only one tracking project
Moz Pro: best for learning SEO
Moz is the brand many of us learned SEO from, and Moz Pro is still a tidy, trustworthy suite. Its keyword and link metrics are widely quoted, and the interface is calmer than Semrush's.
On Moz's pricing page, Starter is $49/mo for one site. Standard is $99/mo ($79 billed annually) for 3 sites, 300 tracked keywords and 150 AI prompts tracked weekly in GPT, Gemini and Google AI Mode. Medium ($143/mo annually) raises that to 10 sites and 1,500 keywords, and Large ($239/mo annually) to 25 sites and 3,000 keywords. Annual plans save 20%, and there's a free trial.
Pros
- Easy to understand, good learning resources
- AI prompt tracking on Standard
- Domain Authority is a familiar metric for clients
Cons
- Low tracked-keyword limits for the price
- Fewer research reports than Semrush
- Starter is very limited
Serpstat: best for budget agencies
Serpstat is an all-in-one suite in the Semrush mould (keywords, competitors, backlinks, audit, rank tracking) with team-friendly pricing.
On Serpstat's pricing page, annual pricing starts with Team at $100/mo ($1,200 paid upfront): unlimited projects, 3 users, API access and MCP integration with ChatGPT and Claude. Team x2 ($169/mo) doubles the key limits to 1,000 searches a day, 100,000 keyword position checks and 6 users. Agency is $410/mo. Team and Agency include 1,500 AI visibility checks a month, and Team has a 7-day trial. Monthly billing costs more, so check the toggle before you buy.
Pros
- Full suite at a lower team price, 3 users on the base plan
- AI visibility checks included
- API access from the first plan
Cons
- Best prices need a year upfront
- Limits are counted in searches and position checks, which takes some planning
Ubersuggest: cheapest paid option
Ubersuggest, from Neil Patel, is the budget pick. It won't replace Semrush for an agency, but for a single small site it covers keyword ideas, a site audit, daily rank tracking and, lately, AI prompt tracking.
Ubersuggest's pricing shows Individual at $29/mo, $192 a year, or $290 one-time for lifetime access. Business is $49/mo and Enterprise $99/mo. Monthly plans have a 7-day trial. Prices are localized, so you may see different numbers, and lifetime purchases aren't refundable.
Pros
- Very cheap, plus a lifetime option
- Simple interface
- Prompt tracking for ChatGPT-style answers included
Cons
- Shallow data next to Semrush or Ahrefs
- Low limits per project
- Lifetime deals are non-refundable
- Free Semrush alternatives
Can you replace Semrush for free? For your own site, mostly yes. For competitor research, no.
The free stack we'd set up:
- Google Search Console for the queries, clicks and positions your site actually gets. This is first-party data, more accurate for your site than any third-party tool.
- Ahrefs Free for a site audit and backlink view of sites you own.
- Semrush's own free plan: one demo project and 10 reports a day. Handy for an occasional competitor check.
- Trials for the heavy lifting: SE Ranking (14 days), Semrush (7 days), Serpstat Team (7 days). Plan the research, then run it inside a trial.
How to choose the right Semrush alternative
Start with the one feature you open every day, then match it to a tool.
- Rank tracking across many sites: SE Ranking. Its keyword limits are the highest per dollar here.
- Backlinks: Ahrefs.
- Competitor and PPC history: SpyFu.
- Simple keyword research for a blog: Mangools.
- Lowest possible price: Ubersuggest, or the free stack.
- AI search visibility with your SEO data: SE Ranking (25 prompts a day on Core) or Semrush's AI tiers. We compare dedicated trackers in our AI visibility tools guide.
Then check three things before paying: how often rankings update (daily or weekly), what an extra user costs, and the refund policy. Ahrefs and SE Ranking are strict on refunds, so use the free options first.
What you give up when you leave Semrush
Be honest with yourself about this part. A cheaper tool is only cheaper if you don't spend the savings on workarounds.
Semrush's strength is breadth. Beyond SEO it sells separate toolkits for local SEO, content, PPC and market research, and most alternatives here cover only the SEO core. So you may lose:
- PPC research depth. SpyFu comes closest. The others treat ads as a side feature.
- Market and traffic estimates. Semrush's traffic and market tools are a separate paid toolkit, and no tool on this list replaces them fully.
- One login for everything. Two cheap tools can cost more in time than one expensive one.
- Report templates your clients already know. If clients expect Semrush PDFs, plan the conversation before you switch.
For most freelancers and small businesses none of this matters. They use rank tracking, keyword research, audits and a backlink check, and every tool above handles those.
How to switch without losing data
Switching takes an afternoon if you do it in this order.
- List what you actually use. Open your Semrush projects and write down the reports you've opened in the last month. That's your requirements list.
- Export your tracked keywords from Position Tracking as CSV, one file per project, with tags.
- Export keyword lists and audit results you still need. Ranking history doesn't always carry over. SE Ranking says its built-in migration can import projects and ranking history, but other tools may start from zero, so export the trend charts you care about.
- Start the new tool's trial before Semrush renews. Import the keyword CSVs, add competitors, run the first audit.
- Run both tools for a week and compare a few rankings by hand in an incognito search. Small differences between tools are normal; big ones are worth a support ticket.
- Cancel Semrush from your subscription settings once you're happy. If you're on SE Ranking's annual plan, ask about the free assisted migration first.
How we evaluated these tools
We built this list the way a buyer would. On October 31, 2026 we opened each vendor's official pricing page and recorded list prices, annual discounts, tracked-keyword limits, project limits, extra-user costs, trials and refund terms. Where a page loaded prices with JavaScript, we rendered it fully before reading the numbers.
We then compared the tools on what Semrush users say they actually need: daily rank tracking, keyword research, site audits, backlinks, and now AI search tracking. We also read the "people also ask" questions and forum threads people search alongside "semrush alternatives" to see which pain points come up most.
We don't take payment for placement. Some links earn us a commission (SE Ranking and Mangools); Ahrefs, SpyFu, Moz, Serpstat and Ubersuggest links are plain links. Prices change often, so check the vendor page before you buy.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best Semrush alternative?
For most small teams it's SE Ranking. The Core plan costs $129/mo ($103.20 billed annually) and tracks 2,000 keywords daily across 10 projects, versus 500 keywords and 5 sites on Semrush's $139 SEO plan.
Is there a free Semrush alternative?
Yes, partly. Google Search Console and Ahrefs Free cost nothing and cover your own site's queries, backlinks and technical issues. Neither lets you research competitors in depth.
Why is Semrush so expensive?
Semrush bundles many toolkits, charges for extra users (from $45/mo each), and puts AI prompt tracking and content tools on higher tiers. You pay for breadth whether you use it or not.
Who are Semrush's main competitors?
Ahrefs is the closest full-suite rival. SE Ranking, Moz Pro, Serpstat, SpyFu, Mangools and Ubersuggest compete on price or on a narrower set of features.
Which is better, Semrush or Ubersuggest?
Semrush has far deeper data and more tools. Ubersuggest is much cheaper ($29/mo or a $290 lifetime plan) and fine for basic keyword ideas and small sites.
Can I move my projects from Semrush to another tool?
You can export keyword lists and reports from Semrush as CSV and import them elsewhere. SE Ranking offers free assisted migration on annual plans.
The bottom line
Semrush is a great tool with a big bill. If you mostly track rankings, research keywords and audit sites, SE Ranking does that with higher limits for less, and it now includes AI visibility tracking on the base plan. Pick Ahrefs if backlinks are your job, Mangools if you want something simple, and the free stack if the budget is zero.