All-in-One SEO Platforms

Semrush review

The broadest search-marketing suite, strongest where paid and organic data meet.

Checked 20 August 2026 Alston verifiedAlston testedAlston videoFree plan

Semrush at a glance

Every row is a verified field or an honest absence. A row is dropped rather than filled with an em dash, so the length of this table says how complete the record is.

Quick facts about Semrush
What it is The broadest search-marketing suite, strongest where paid and organic data meet.
Category All-in-One SEO Platforms
Best suited for You need paid-search intelligence alongside organic, in one place
Starting price Free plan available; paid from $139/month
Free plan Yes
Free trial Seven days. "Try Semrush free for seven days. Cancel anytime." Neither the pricing page nor the dedicated trial page states whether a payment method is required, or what happens at day seven.
Main strength Advertising and competitor research data with no real equivalent in Ahrefs
Main limitation Seats are strictly per person, so a three-person team pays roughly $45 a month more per extra head
Evidence Alston tested
Alston video Yes, embedded below
Closest alternatives Ahrefs, Moz Pro, Screaming Frog SEO Spider
Pricing checked 20 August 2026
Record checked 20 August 2026

The in-depth Semrush guide

Full tutorial Semrush tutorial: every tool, in workflow order This is the whole Semrush toolkit in the order you would actually use it: set up a project, research keywords, read your competitors, track positions, fix what the crawl finds, brief and optimise content, then work the backlink and paid-search tools. Every section has the dedicated video walkthrough beside it, recorded in my own paid account, and each names the tier its report sits on. 22 min read 27 video walkthroughs} Read the guide

In-depth Semrush guides

17 separate articles, each written for one question this listing is too short to answer. Every one is hands-on, dated, and links back here.

Pricing Semrush pricing, and what the invoice actually comes to Semrush starts at $139 a month and almost nobody pays that. Seats, reporting and the API are priced separately. The real figures, with the dates they were checked. 4 min read 3 clips Read the guide Coupons Semrush coupon codes, and what actually reduces the bill There is no public Semrush coupon code. The pages offering one earn up to $450 a sale, and Semrush's own affiliate terms forbid the trick most of them use. 4 min read 1 clip Read the guide Alternatives Semrush alternatives, by the job you actually use it for Most Semrush alternatives replace one of the four products inside it and quietly drop the rest. Sorted by the job, with prices and the dates they were checked. 3 min read 2 clips Read the guide Free trial Semrush free trial, and the three things nobody publishes The Semrush trial is seven days, confirmed on two of their own pages. Neither one says whether a card is needed, what happens on day eight, or what the limits are. 4 min read 3 clips Read the guide Advertising Research Semrush Advertising Research, the one thing Ahrefs cannot do Competitor ad copy is a list of promises somebody paid to test. This is the strongest reason to pick Semrush, and the spend figures are still modelled. 3 min read 6 clips Read the guide Backlink Audit Semrush Backlink Audit, and why the toxic score is not an instruction Backlink Audit scores your links for toxicity and files a disavow for you. Both deserve more caution than the interface implies, and one wants owner access to GSC. 3 min read 3 clips Read the guide Content Tools The Semrush content tools, and how they actually chain together Semrush has four content tools that look like four products. They are one pipeline, and using any of them alone is why people conclude the content toolkit is thin. 3 min read 4 clips Read the guide Domain Overview Semrush Domain Overview, and the Authority Score trap Domain Overview is the 30-second competitor screen. Authority Score is Semrush's own number, not Google's, and optimising for it is the mistake to avoid. 3 min read 2 clips Read the guide Integrations Semrush integrations, and which of them actually connect The integrations list counts logos. What matters is which connections are automatic, which are manual, which need a second purchase, and what access you hand over. 3 min read 2 clips Read the guide Keyword Gap Semrush Keyword Gap, and the only bucket worth opening Keyword Gap compares up to five domains and sorts the result into four buckets. Three of them are interesting and one of them is the actual deliverable. 3 min read 3 clips Read the guide Keyword Magic Tool Semrush Keyword Magic Tool, and why 780,000 keywords is the problem One seed keyword returned 780,000 results in my own account. The skill is not finding keywords, it is the filter order that cuts that to a list you can act on. 3 min read 5 clips Read the guide Link Building Semrush Link Building Tool, and the part it cannot do for you The Link Building Tool finds prospects and tracks outreach in one workspace. Finding prospects was never the hard part, and the tool is honest about where it stops. 4 min read 3 clips Read the guide On-Page SEO Checker Semrush On-Page SEO Checker, and what an "idea" actually is The On-Page SEO Checker generates ideas per page across seven categories. They are derived from the top ten, and some need another tool connected first. 3 min read 2 clips Read the guide Organic Research Semrush Organic Research, and why you should stop starting from a seed keyword Organic Research starts from a competitor instead of a seed keyword, which skips the step where you guess. 2.9 million keywords filtered to 2,300 in one session. 3 min read 4 clips Read the guide Position Tracking Semrush Position Tracking, and the reports your plan will not show you Position Tracking updates daily and is the report clients read. Share of voice and the device breakdowns sit above the tier most people buy, and I have the footage. 3 min read 4 clips Read the guide Site Audit Semrush Site Audit, and the limit you hit on the first run Semrush Site Audit crawls your site and scores it. The score is not a grade, the crawl stops at your plan limit, and it cannot see what Googlebot actually did. 3 min read 5 clips Read the guide Traffic Analytics Semrush Traffic Analytics, and what the numbers are actually worth Traffic Analytics estimates any domain's visits. The figures are modelled, competitor comparison is gated by plan, and the full dataset is a separate subscription. 3 min read 3 clips Read the guide

What Semrush is

Semrush is a search-marketing platform covering keyword research, competitor analysis, rank tracking, site auditing, content briefs and paid-search intelligence in one subscription. The thing being bought is the database underneath it: a very large keyword and advertising index that the twenty-odd interfaces are all views onto. That is why it wins on questions about other people's marketing and loses to specialists on single jobs.

For SaaS SEO specifically, the differentiator is advertising data. Knowing which keywords a competitor bids on, what their ad copy promises and which landing pages they send that traffic to tells you what they have already established converts, which is usually a faster read on commercial intent than any organic metric. Nothing in Ahrefs answers that question at the same depth.

The cost model is the part that catches teams out. Seats are strictly per person and cannot be shared, reporting sits behind separate add-ons, and API access does not appear until the Advanced tier. A two-person team on the mid plan with reporting is a materially different invoice from the headline figure.

What I found testing Semrush

I recorded a six-hour course walking through every Semrush tool on camera, and I use the platform daily on my own sites and client work. After two years of that, here is what I would tell someone before they buy.

The advertising research is the feature I use most and the one that gets talked about least. When a competitor is bidding on a keyword, they have already proven it converts. Reading their ad copy and landing pages before writing a commercial page is faster than any amount of organic keyword research, and nothing in Ahrefs does this job at the same depth.

The pricing catches people out. The headline is $139 a month, but seats are per person, reporting is an add-on, and API access only appears at $549. A two-person team on the mid tier with reporting is a meaningfully different invoice from what the pricing page suggests. I bought the Pro plan with my own money and the course documents every limitation I hit on camera, from share of voice being locked to a higher tier to JavaScript rendering only showing its effect on the most expensive plan.

If you run a single site and your main job is writing content, Semrush is probably more tool than you need. If your work involves knowing what competitors are doing across both paid and organic, there is nothing that replaces it.

What you can use it for

  • Find the keywords a competitor already ranks for, and the gap between their coverage and yours
  • Read a competitor's paid keywords and ad copy to see what they have proven converts
  • Track daily positions by location and device, and report them to a client without exporting by hand
  • Audit a site on a schedule and work a prioritised technical issue list

The features that matter for SEO

Each one says what it does and the SEO job it serves. A vendor feature list without that second half tells you nothing you could not read on their own site.

Keyword Magic Tool

Expands a seed term into a very large keyword set, grouped into topic clusters with volume, difficulty and intent labels.

The fastest route from one head term to a clustered content plan, and the tool most of the research in a SaaS keyword map actually comes out of.

Volume figures diverge noticeably from Google Ads in smaller markets, so treat them as relative rather than absolute.

Organic Research and Keyword Gap

Lists every keyword a domain ranks for, and compares up to four domains to find terms competitors hold and you do not.

The gap report is the single most useful input to a commercial-page roadmap. It shows demand your rivals have already validated.

Advertising Research

Shows competitors' paid keywords, ad copy and landing pages, with historical spend estimates.

Paid copy is a competitor telling you which promises convert. Reading it before writing commercial pages is faster than testing your own.

Spend figures are modelled estimates, not billing data.

Position Tracking

Tracks daily rankings by keyword, location and device, with share-of-voice and SERP-feature reporting.

The reporting layer clients actually read, and the earliest signal that a technical change has cost you positions.

Site Audit

Crawls a site and returns a prioritised list of technical issues with explanations and affected URLs.

Good enough to run as the scheduled health check on most sites, though a dedicated crawler goes deeper on large or JavaScript-heavy ones.

Log File Analyzer

Parses server logs to show what Googlebot actually requested, and how often.

The only way to confirm crawl budget is reaching the pages you care about, rather than assuming a sitemap did the job.

AI visibility and prompt tracking

Monitors brand presence in AI answers, with prompt counts and report limits set per tier.

Useful as an add-on to work you are already doing in Semrush, though the prompt allowances are small next to dedicated AI-visibility products.

The SEO tier advertises prompt monitoring without publishing a prompt count.

Alston’s Semrush videosAlston video

37 recordings on this product, all from Alston’s own paid account. Every one plays here.

  1. 01Semrush Tutorial - SEO Keyword Research, On-page SEO, Off-page SEO & Ads Course

  2. 02How to Use Semrush for Keyword Research | 1.5 hrs Expert Semrush Tutorial Course

  3. 03How to Use Semrush SEO Competitor Analysis For Keywords & Backlinks

  4. 04How to Use Semrush to Create Best SEO Backlinks For Your Website (2024)

  5. 05How to Use Semrush for On Page SEO & Technical SEO | 40 MIN Expert Semrush Tutorial Course

  6. 06How to Set Up Semrush Projects in 2025 (Beginner-Friendly Tutorial)

  7. 07How to Do PPC Advertising Research with Semrush 2024

  8. 08How to Use Semrush For SEO Content Marketing With AI (2024)

  9. 09Semrush vs Morningscore: Which SEO Tool Delivers the Best ROI for Your Business?

  10. 10How to Find Keywords for SEO With Semrush Keyword Overview | Semrush Tutorial Course | #1

  11. 11Bulk Low-Competition Keywords With Semrush Keyword Magic Tool | Semrush Tutorial Course | #2

  12. 12Create Keywords Clusters With Semrush Keyword Manager | Semrush Tutorial Course | #3

  13. 13How to Use Semrush For Easy to Rank Low Competiton Long-Tail SEO Keyword Research

  14. 14How to Find Keywords With Low Competition Using Reddit and Semrush | Semrush Tutorial Course

  15. 15Steal SEO Competitor Keywords With Semrush Organic Research | Semrush Tutorial Course | #4

  16. 16Compare Competitor SEO Keywords With Semrush Keyword Gap | Semrush Tutorial Course | #5

  17. 17Find SEO Competitor Backlinks With Semrush Backlink Gap | Semrush Tutorial Course 2024 | #15

  18. 18Instant Domain SEO Analysis With Semrush SEO Domain Overview | Semrush Tutorial Course 2024 | #13

  19. 19Instant Domain SEO Analysis With Semrush SEO Traffic Analytics | Semrush Tutorial Course | #14

  20. 20Track Your SEO Keywords Ranking With Semrush Position Tracking | Semrush Tutorial Course | #6

  21. 21Find Not Provided Keywords With Semrush Organic Traffic Insights | Semrush Tutorial Course | #7

  22. 22Improve Your Website SEO With Semrush Site Audit | Semrush Tutorial Course | #8

  23. 23Find & Fix Website SEO Errors With Semrush On Page SEO Checker | Semrush Tutorial Course | #11

  24. 24Analyze Googlebot Crawl Website With Semrush Log File Analyzer | Semrush Tutorial Course | #12

  25. 25Create SEO Article Brief With Semrush SEO Content Template | Semrush Tutorial Course | #9

  26. 26Create SEO Article Brief With Semrush SEO Writing Assistant | Semrush Tutorial Course 2024 | #10

  27. 27Free Semrush Good Content Software - AI Writer, Rewrite & More | Semrush Tutorial Course | #25

  28. 28Find SEO Competitor Backlinks With Semrush Backlink Analytics | Semrush Tutorial Course | #16

  29. 29Remove/Disavow Google Toxic Links With Semrush Backlink Audit | Semrush Tutorial Course | #16

  30. 30Create Best SEO Backlinks With Semrush Link Building Tool | Semrush Tutorial Course | #17

  31. 31Find Competitor SEO Links With Semrush Bulk Backlink Analysis | Semrush Tutorial Course | #18

  32. 32Competitor PPC & Paid Search Ads | Semrush Advertising Research | Semrush Tutorial Course | #19

  33. 33Google Shopping Product Listing Ads With Semrush PLA Research | Semrush Tutorial Course | #20

  34. 34Find Right Keywords for Paid Ads With Semrush PCC Keyword Tool | Semrush Tutorial Course | #21

  35. 35Find Domain Keywords Ranked Ads With Semrush Ads History | Semrush Tutorial Course 2024 | #22

  36. 36Latest Best Semrush Marketing Apps Center | Semrush Tutorial Course | #23

  37. 37All the Current Semrush Integrations | Semrush Tutorial Course | #24

What it costs

Starting price: Free plan available; paid from $139/month Checked 20 August 2026 Vendor’s own pricing page

Semrush plans, as published on 20 August 2026
Plan Price What it includes
Free $0 /mo
  • 1 demo project
  • 10 reports per day
SEO $139 /mo
$117.33/month billed annually
  • 5 sites
  • 500 keywords tracked daily
  • AI-search performance and custom prompt monitoring, with no prompt count published
Starter $199 /mo
$165.17/month billed annually
  • 50 prompts tracked daily
  • One domain for AI brand performance
  • 300 AI visibility reports a day
  • MCP access
Pro+ $299 /mo
$248.17/month billed annually
  • 15 sites
  • 1,500 keywords
  • 100 prompts tracked daily
  • Content optimisation and cannibalisation analysis
Advanced $549 /mo
$455.67/month billed annually
  • 40 sites
  • 5,000 keywords
  • 200 prompts tracked daily
  • SEO share of voice
  • API data integration
Enterprise Custom
Additional users
Add-on
 From $45 /mo Seats are strictly per person. The pricing page quotes additional users from $45 a month.
Base Report
Add-on
 $10 /mo Data from 20-plus tools, Google Analytics and Search Console integrations, PDF export.
Pro Report
Add-on
 $20 /mo Base Report features plus 20-plus external integrations and timed delivery.

Add-on rows are only ever charged on top of a plan, so they are excluded from the entry price used in the directory’s price filter.

Published figures only. What a real invoice comes to once seats, add-ons and the annual discount are counted is worked through on semrush pricing, and what the invoice actually comes to.

Strengths and limitations

Strengths

  • Advertising and competitor research data with no real equivalent in Ahrefs
  • One subscription covers SEO, content, local and paid research, which removes three other tools for a small team
  • Position tracking and scheduled site audits are dependable and easy to hand to a client
  • Reporting and white-label deliverables are genuinely built for agency workflow

Limitations

  • Seats are strictly per person, so a three-person team pays roughly $45 a month more per extra head
  • API access starts at Advanced, $549 a month, which puts pipeline work out of reach on lower tiers
  • Reporting is an add-on at $10 to $20 a month on top of a tier that looks like it includes it
  • Keyword volumes diverge from Google Ads in smaller markets, so absolute figures need cross-checking
  • The interface is dense and takes real time to learn, the reason a six-hour tutorial exists at all

Who it is for, and who should skip it

Worth it if

  • You need paid-search intelligence alongside organic, in one place
  • You report to clients or stakeholders and want the deliverable generated rather than assembled
  • Competitor research is the largest part of your week

Skip it if

  • You only need a technical crawl, a dedicated crawler is cheaper and deeper
  • Your team wants to share one login, which the seat rules do not permit
  • You need API access on a small budget

Instead of Semrush

Each one answers when it is the better choice, which is the only thing a list of competitors is useful for. Which of them actually replaces the part of Semrush you use is worked through on semrush alternatives, by the job you actually use it for.

  • Ahrefs Choose it when backlink data is the reason for buying, or you want clicks data rather than volume alone behind keyword selection.
  • Moz Pro Choose it when you want a credible full platform at the lowest entry price and Domain Authority is the metric your stakeholders quote.
  • Screaming Frog SEO Spider Choose it when the only job is technical crawling, where a desktop licence costs a fraction of a suite subscription.

Sources and verification

Last verified 20 August 2026 20 days ago

Pricing 20 August 2026 Plans 20 August 2026 Features 18 August 2026 Company 9 August 2026

Questions

Is Semrush better than Ahrefs?

They win on different things. Semrush has advertising and paid-search data that Ahrefs has no real equivalent for, and a wider toolset. Ahrefs has the stronger link index and reports clicks rather than only search volume, which makes keyword selection more accurate. For SaaS competitor research the answer is usually Semrush; for link analysis it is usually Ahrefs.

Does Semrush have a free plan?

Yes. One demo project and ten reports a day, as published on 20 August 2026. That is enough to check a domain or a handful of keywords, not enough to run research on. There is also a seven-day trial of the paid toolkits, and paid plans start at $139 a month.

Does Semrush include API access?

Only from the Advanced tier at $549 a month. Lower plans have no API, so dashboard and pipeline work is not possible on them.

Semrush Free trial available Free plan available; paid from $139/month
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