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SEO · head to head

SEMrush vs Umami

SEMrush logo

SEMrush

SEO

Do SEO, content marketing, competitor research, PPC and social media marketing from just one platfor

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Umami logo

Umami

Marketing

Open source, cookie-free web analytics you can self-host for the cost of a database

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: SEMrush free tier limited to 10 reports per day across all tools; Umami there is no cohort analysis, retention curve, session replay or multi-touch attribution, so a marketing team that needs to justify channel spend will still buy a second tool and Umami becomes a supplementary dashboard.
  • They diverge on capability: SEMrush covers Keyword research, Umami covers Cookie-free tracking.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which SEMrush and Umami actually diverge.

Attributes where SEMrush and Umami differ
AttributeSEMrushUmami
Pricing modelsubscriptionPer month by event count
PlatformsWeb, Mobile appWeb, Linux
CategorySEOMarketing
Founded2008Unknown

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in SEMrush

  • Keyword research
  • Site audit
  • Competitor analysis
  • Backlink analytics
  • Rank tracking
  • Content marketing
  • PPC research
  • Social media tools

Only in Umami

  • Cookie-free tracking
  • Self-hosting
  • Small tracking script
  • Custom events
  • Funnels and goals
  • Multi-site and teams
  • Public dashboards
  • API access

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

SEMrush

  • SEO keyword research and competitor analysisnot Umami
  • Website performance tracking and auditingnot Umami
  • Content marketing optimizationnot Umami
  • PPC advertising researchnot Umami

Umami

  • A developer who wants traffic numbers on a personal or client site without adding a consent bannernot SEMrush
  • An organisation whose legal or procurement team has ruled out sending visitor data to a US advertising companynot SEMrush
  • A high-traffic site where hosted analytics priced by pageview band has become expensive and self-hosting removes the ceiling entirelynot SEMrush
  • A team that wants analytics data in a database they already control so they can query and join it themselvesnot SEMrush

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

SEMrush

  • Free tier limited to 10 reports per day across all tools
  • Keyword tracking capped at 500 per month on entry tiers (SEO and Starter plans)
  • Additional users cost £45/month per user above base subscription
  • Most advanced features require Advanced plan (£455.67/month), making entry cost significant for small teams

Umami

  • There is no cohort analysis, retention curve, session replay or multi-touch attribution, so a marketing team that needs to justify channel spend will still buy a second tool and Umami becomes a supplementary dashboard.
  • Self-hosting is only free in licence terms; you own the database, the upgrades, the backups and the query performance at scale, and a busy site's events table grows quickly enough to need real attention.
  • Because it stores no persistent identifier, it cannot follow a user across devices or sessions in any meaningful way, which makes returning-visitor and lifetime-value questions unanswerable by design rather than by omission.
  • Cloud overage is billed per event beyond the plan allowance, so a traffic spike or a badly instrumented custom event can produce a bill materially above the $20 or $200 headline before anyone notices.
  • It is maintained by a small team, so the pace of new capability is modest and enterprise expectations such as SSO, granular role permissions and formal support agreements are limited compared with commercial analytics vendors.

Pricing, plan by plan

SEMrush

Free
  • FreeFree
    • 1 demo project with basic features
    • No credit card required
    • For trying out the platform
  • SEO Plan$117.33/month
    • Annual billing ($1407.96/year)
    • Monitor 5 websites
    • Track 500 keywords daily
  • Starter Plan$165.17/month
    • Annual billing ($1982.04/year)
    • 5 websites, 500 keywords tracked daily
    • MCP access with 50 AI prompts tracked across search platforms
  • Pro+ Plan$248.17/month
    • Annual billing ($2978.04/year)
    • 15 websites, 1,500 keywords daily
    • 100 AI prompts tracked

Umami

Free
  • Self-hostedFree
    • MIT licensed, no licence fee
    • No event limit imposed by the software
    • Unlimited websites and users
  • Cloud HobbyFree
    • Up to 100,000 events per month
    • 3 websites
    • 6 months data retention
  • Cloud Pro$20/month
    • Up to 1,000,000 events per month
    • Unlimited websites
    • Unlimited team members
  • Cloud Business$200/month
    • Up to 10,000,000 events per month
    • All Pro features
    • Higher volume overage rate

Which should you pick?

Choose SEMrush if

  • You need keyword research.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Mobile app.
  • You also want site audit.
SEMrush review

Choose Umami if

  • You need cookie-free tracking.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Linux.
  • You also want self-hosting.
Umami review

Questions people ask

Is SEMrush or Umami better?
Neither clearly leads. SEMrush starts at Free and Umami at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, SEMrush or Umami?
SEMrush starts at Free and Umami at Free.
Does SEMrush or Umami run on more platforms?
SEMrush runs on Web, Mobile app. Umami runs on Web, Linux.
Can I use SEMrush for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is SEMrush best used for?
SEMrush is most often used for seo keyword research and competitor analysis, website performance tracking and auditing, content marketing optimization, ppc advertising research. Of those, seo keyword research and competitor analysis and website performance tracking and auditing are not what Umami is typically brought in for.
What can SEMrush do that Umami cannot?
SEMrush covers Keyword research, Site audit, Competitor analysis, Backlink analytics. Umami covers Cookie-free tracking, Self-hosting, Small tracking script, Custom events.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

SEMrush: How much does Semrush cost?

Semrush starts at $117.33/month for the SEO Plan with annual billing and goes up to $455.67/month for the Advanced Plan. A free tier is available with 1 demo project and basic features. Prices increase with monthly billing instead of annual.

Source
Umami: Is Umami really free?

Self-hosted, yes; it is MIT licensed with no event cap. You pay for the server and database. Umami Cloud has a free tier at 100,000 events a month and paid tiers from $20.

SEMrush: What does each Semrush plan include?

Plans scale from 5 to 40 websites monitored, 500 to 5,000 keywords tracked daily, and include progressively more features like MCP access and API access at higher tiers. Advanced Plan includes dedicated support.

Source
Umami: Do I need a cookie consent banner?

For Umami analytics specifically, generally no, because it sets no cookies and stores no personal data. Other tags on your site may still require one.

SEMrush: Are there add-on options for Semrush?

Yes, additional users cost $45/month, and reporting features range from $10-$20/month. Enterprise plans with unlimited projects and dedicated support are available with custom pricing.

Source
Umami: Can it replace Google Analytics?

For traffic, referrers and event counts, yes. For attribution modelling, audiences and advertising integration, no.

Umami: What does it need to run?

A container and a PostgreSQL or MySQL database. Most people deploy it on infrastructure they already pay for.

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