SEO · alternatives
Alternatives to SEMrush
24 seo tools sit alongside SEMrush in this directory. Below is what separates each from SEMrush on the figures we hold, price, model, tier count and rating, and a direct comparison for every one.
- Alternatives listed
- 24
- With a free tier
- 6
- Cheaper to start
- 6
- SEMrush starts at
- Free, then $117.33/month
Why people look past SEMrush
Only what the record supports. Each point below is a figure on the SEMrush entry measured against the tools listed beside it.
It costs more than the category median
SEMrush starts at $117.33/month. Across the 6 seo tools listed beside it that publish a price, the median entry point is $72/month.
Cost climbs steeply across the tiers
SEMrush publishes 5 tiers, from Free up to $455.67/month. Teams that outgrow the entry plan can find the next rung a large step, the SEMrush pricing page breaks each one down.
What each alternative does differently
Ordered by the aggregated rating on each catalogue entry. Differences are drawn from price, pricing model, tier count and rating, the fields the category listing carries. For a feature-level difference, follow the head-to-head link on each card: those pages read both full records.
The enterprise platform for AI & search visibility
- No free tier, where SEMrush has one.
- Sold on a usage-based model rather than subscription.
Audit web page performance and quality
- Starts $117.33 a month cheaper, at Free.
- Sold on a free model rather than subscription.
- 1 tier to SEMrush's 5.
Desktop crawler for technical SEO audits and site analysis
- Starts $81.67 a year dearer, at £199/year.
- 2 tiers to SEMrush's 5.
SEO and AI visibility platform with daily rank tracking, priced on published tiers plus per-unit extras
- No free tier, where SEMrush has one.
- Starts $11.670000000000002 a month dearer, at $129/month.
- Sold on a Per month by tracked keywords and projects model rather than subscription.
- 4 tiers to SEMrush's 5.
WordPress SEO plugin with a free tier that undercuts Yoast on schema and feature count
- Sold on a Freemium, paid tiers billed annually only model rather than subscription.
- 4 tiers to SEMrush's 5.
Google's free tool for monitoring how a site appears in Search
- Sold on a Open source, no licence fee model rather than subscription.
- 1 tier to SEMrush's 5.
Every SEMrush alternative at a glance
A dash means the catalogue entry carries no figure, not that the answer is nothing.
| Tool | Entry price | Model | Tiers | Head to head |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SEMrush (this page) | Free, then $117.33/month | Subscription | 5 | |
| ConductorThe enterprise platform for AI & search visibility | On request | Usage-based | - | vs SEMrush |
| LighthouseAudit web page performance and quality | Free | Free | 1 | vs SEMrush |
| Screaming Frog SEO SpiderCrawl websites for SEO issues | Free, then £199/year | Subscription | 2 | vs SEMrush |
| SE RankingGrow your visibility with AI SEO | $129/month | Per month by tracked keywords and projects | 4 | vs SEMrush |
| Rank Math | Free | Freemium, paid tiers billed annually only | 4 | vs SEMrush |
| Google Search Console | Free | Open source, no licence fee | 1 | vs SEMrush |
| Yoast SEO | Free | Freemium, per site per year | 2 | vs SEMrush |
| MarketMuse | Free | Freemium | 4 | vs SEMrush |
| Mangools | On request | Per month by usage volume | 3 | vs SEMrush |
| OnCrawl | On request | Quote | 1 | vs SEMrush |
| Linkody | On request | Per month by tracked domains and backlinks | 5 | vs SEMrush |
| AccuRanker | On request | Per month by tracked keyword count | 3 | vs SEMrush |
| Keyword Insights | On request | Per month by credit volume, with pay-as-you-go available | 3 | vs SEMrush |
| Advanced Web Ranking | On request | Per month by tracked keyword count | 3 | vs SEMrush |
| Nightwatch | On request | Per month by tracked keywords, sites and AI usage volume | 3 | vs SEMrush |
| Wincher | On request | Quote | 1 | vs SEMrush |
| SISTRIX | On request | Quote | 1 | vs SEMrush |
| Botify | On request | Quote | 1 | vs SEMrush |
| seoClarity | On request | Quote | 1 | vs SEMrush |
| Lumar | On request | Quote | 1 | vs SEMrush |
| SpyFu | $29/month | Subscription | 3 | vs SEMrush |
| Majestic | $41.67/month | Subscription | 3 | vs SEMrush |
| Sitebulb | $95/month | Subscription | 3 | vs SEMrush |
| Frase | $49/month | Subscription | 4 | vs SEMrush |
Ratings are aggregated from third-party sources and imported with each catalogue entry; Softwr hosts no reviews of these products. How each figure is used is set out on the SEMrush badges page.
Cheaper ways to solve the same problem
Free to start (6)
These publish a tier that costs nothing, so they can be evaluated before any money changes hands.
- Lighthouse , Free
- Screaming Frog SEO Spider , Free, then £199/year
- Rank Math , Free
- Google Search Console , Free
- Yoast SEO , Free
- MarketMuse , Free
Cheaper than SEMrush (6)
Entry price under SEMrush's $117.33/month. The record does not say what unit that price is charged in, so confirm per-seat versus flat rate before comparing budgets.
- Lighthouse , Free
- MarketMuse , Free
- SpyFu , $29/month
- Majestic , $41.67/month
- Sitebulb , $95/month
- Frase , $49/month
What you would be giving up
SEMrush is most often brought in for seo keyword research and competitor analysis, website performance tracking and auditing, content marketing optimization, ppc advertising research. Anything replacing it has to cover the ones you actually depend on, and a cheaper tool that misses one of them is not cheaper.
Two things this page cannot settle. It compares on price, model, tier count and rating, because those are the fields the category listing carries, feature-level differences need both full records, which is what the head-to-head pages load. And the ratings are third-party aggregates imported with each entry rather than reviews written here, so a 0.2 difference between two tools is noise rather than a finding.
If SEMrush is broadly right and the question is cost, the SEMrush pricing breakdown covers every tier and what each one adds. If you want the whole field rather than a shortlist, the SEO category lists everything the directory holds, and best seo tools ranks them.
SEMrush runs on web, mobile app. Platform coverage is not carried on the category listing for the alternatives, so it is one more thing to check on each head-to-head page rather than here.
Questions about SEMrush alternatives
- What are the main alternatives to SEMrush?
- 24 other seo tools are listed in this directory, led by Conductor, Lighthouse, Screaming Frog SEO Spider, SE Ranking. They are ordered by the aggregated rating on each catalogue entry, not by any Softwr ranking.
- What is the best free alternative to SEMrush?
- 6 of the alternatives listed here can be used without paying: Lighthouse, Screaming Frog SEO Spider, Rank Math, Google Search Console, Yoast SEO.
- Is there a cheaper alternative to SEMrush?
- Yes. 6 of the alternatives below start under SEMrush's $117.33/month: Lighthouse at Free, MarketMuse at Free, SpyFu at $29/month, Majestic at $41.67/month.
- Why do people look for an alternative to SEMrush?
- On the figures on record, 2 things stand out: it costs more than the category median; cost climbs steeply across the tiers. Each is set out with the numbers behind it above.
- What would I give up by switching from SEMrush?
- SEMrush is most often brought in for seo keyword research and competitor analysis, website performance tracking and auditing, content marketing optimization, ppc advertising research. Anything you replace it with has to cover the ones you actually rely on, the side-by-side comparisons linked from each alternative below put the two feature records against each other.
- Is there an open-source alternative to SEMrush?
- None of the seo tools listed here are recorded as open source. That is what the licence field on each entry says, and the field is not always filled in, so it is worth checking directly for any tool you are serious about.
- How were these SEMrush alternatives chosen?
- They are the tools filed in the same category, SEO, ordered by the aggregated rating on each entry. There is no editorial shortlist, and nothing on this page is paid: no sponsored placement runs on alternatives pages and the order cannot be bought. Softwr has not used these products.
- Where can I compare SEMrush against one of these directly?
- Every alternative below has a side-by-side page against SEMrush covering price, platforms, features and what each one is used for. Those pages read the full record for both products rather than the summary shown here.
- Does this list cover every seo tool?
- No. It covers what this directory holds in the SEO category, 24 tools beside SEMrush. The category page lists the rest of the catalogue as it grows.