Blog · 24 October 2026 · 9 min read

Semrush alternatives in 2026: 7 tools for the SEO essentials

Semrush costs from about $140 a month before AI tracking or extra users. Seven Semrush alternatives compared on price, limits and fit (October 2026).

Semrush is one of the most complete marketing platforms there is. It is also built for teams that use a lot of it. If your SEO work comes down to four jobs, finding keywords, tracking rankings, checking backlinks and auditing a site, you may be paying for a large toolbox to use a handful of tools.

The price has also climbed. The classic SEO plan starts at about $140 a month, AI visibility tracking now sits in the more expensive Semrush One plans, and every extra user is another monthly fee. For a freelancer, a small business or an in-house marketer with one site, that adds up quickly.

This guide compares seven Semrush alternatives that cover the essentials, with prices checked on each vendor's own pricing page in October 2026. It also says plainly where Semrush is still the better choice.

What Semrush costs in October 2026

Semrush now sells two families of plans. According to its pricing page:

• SEO plan: from about $140/month (about $117/month billed annually). 5 websites and 500 keywords tracked daily.
• Semrush One Starter (SEO + AI search): from about $199/month. Same 5 websites and 500 tracked keywords, plus 50 AI prompts tracked daily.
• Semrush One Pro+: from about $299/month. 15 websites, 1,500 tracked keywords and 100 AI prompts daily.
• Advanced and Enterprise: higher tiers with custom or sales-led pricing.

There is a free plan with one demo project and 10 reports a day, which is enough to look around but not to run a site on. Additional users are an add-on on every plan.

None of this makes Semrush a bad deal. It makes it a deal sized for agencies and marketing teams that use its keyword database, competitive research, PPC data, content tools and reporting every day.

When Semrush is still the right choice

Be honest about this before you switch:

• You use the wider marketing suite. PPC research, advertising data, content marketing tools and local listings are all under one login. Most alternatives below focus on SEO only.
• You need very deep competitive data. Semrush has years of historical data and large keyword and backlink databases. Smaller tools often show fewer rows and less history.
• Your team already lives in it. Switching costs are real: saved projects, client reports, trained colleagues.

If none of those apply, one of the tools below will probably cover what you actually do.

The alternatives at a glance

Prices are the entry paid plan on monthly billing unless stated, taken from each vendor's pricing page in October 2026. Some vendors show prices in local currency, which is why Mangools is listed in euros.

1. Ahrefs

Ahrefs is the closest like-for-like replacement for Semrush. Its Site Explorer and backlink data are the reason many SEOs pick it, and Keywords Explorer, Site Audit and Rank Tracker cover the rest of the essentials.

According to the Ahrefs pricing page, Lite costs $129/month and includes 5 projects (plus unlimited verified projects), 750 tracked keywords, 150 checks on AI prompts, 6 months of history and API and MCP access. Standard is $249/month with 2,000 tracked keywords and 2 years of history. There is also a limited Starter plan at $29/month and a free Ahrefs tier for data on your own site.

Watch out for: Lite includes 1,000 credits per user, and heavy research uses them quickly. Brand Radar, the AI visibility product, starts at $199/month on top. If you are choosing between the two big names, our Semrush vs Ahrefs comparison goes deeper.

2. SE Ranking

SE Ranking is the most common choice for people who want Semrush-style coverage for less, and it is especially strong on rank tracking. The SE Ranking pricing page lists Core from about $129/month ($103.20/month billed annually) with 10 projects, 2,000 keywords tracked daily and 100 AI prompts. Growth is about $279/month with 30 projects, 5,000 keywords and three manager seats.

An AI Search add-on extends AI visibility tracking. API and MCP access are listed on the Growth plan.

Watch out for: the database is smaller than Semrush or Ahrefs for some markets, and the price advantage shrinks once you add the AI Search add-on.

3. Moz Pro

Moz Pro is the friendliest of the established suites, and Domain Authority is still a metric many clients recognise. The Moz Pro pricing page lists an entry Starter plan at $49/month, Standard at $99/month ($79 billed annually) with 3 campaigns and 300 tracked keywords, Medium at $179/month and Large at $299/month. Moz positions Medium and Large as the plans that include its AI Search tools.

Watch out for: 300 tracked keywords on Standard is tight if you run more than one site, and extra keywords and campaigns are paid add-ons. If Moz is already on your list, see our Moz alternatives guide too.

4. Mangools

Mangools (KWFinder, SERPChecker, SERPWatcher, LinkMiner and SiteProfiler) is built for people who want answers quickly without learning a big interface. The Mangools pricing page showed Basic at €61/month, or €37.70/month billed annually, with 100 keyword lookups per 24 hours, 200 tracked keywords updated weekly and 100,000 backlink rows a month. Premium and Agency raise those limits, and Agency switches rank updates to daily. Every plan now bundles AI Search Watcher and includes API and MCP access.

Watch out for: daily lookup limits and weekly rank updates on the lower plans. It is great for keyword research, lighter for technical audits.

5. Ubersuggest

Ubersuggest is the cheapest established option. The Ubersuggest pricing page lists three plans from $29 to $99 a month, with a one-time lifetime option. The entry plan covers 1 project, 150 reports per day, 125 tracked keywords per project with weekly updates and a 1,000-page weekly site audit. AI visibility covers ChatGPT, Gemini and Google AI Overviews.

Watch out for: row limits are low (2,000 rows per report on the entry plan), there is no API, and the data is estimate-heavy. Fine for a small business site, thin for agency work.

6. Serpstat

Serpstat is a solid budget all-rounder with keyword research, site analysis, rank tracking, site audit and backlinks. The Serpstat pricing page lists Individual at $50/month billed annually (about $69 monthly) with 5 projects and 100 searches a day. Team is $100/month annually (about $129 monthly) and adds unlimited projects, API access, an MCP integration for ChatGPT and Claude and 1,500 AI visibility checks a month.

Watch out for: the Individual plan has no API or AI visibility, and the interface takes some getting used to.

7. SEO Sauna

SEO Sauna is our product, so weigh this section accordingly. It is built for people who want the essentials in one place and increasingly do their SEO work inside an AI assistant.

What you get for €59/month excluding VAT:

• Keyword research, domain research for any site (including competitors), backlinks, rank tracking and site audits.
• Google Search Console built in, with reads that use no credits.
• AI visibility tracking on ChatGPT and Gemini by default, plus Google AI Overviews, Claude and Perplexity. See AI visibility.
• An MCP server at https://app.seosauna.com/mcp that works with Claude, ChatGPT (custom connection), Cursor, Codex and other MCP clients. Setup is in Connect your AI assistant.
• Unlimited projects, with no per-project cap.
• 17,000 usage credits (€17 worth) each month, top-ups at €1 per 1,000 credits.

Rank tracking is priced by what you actually check. You pick keywords, devices, depth and frequency, and SEO Sauna shows a cost estimate before the tracker runs. As a rough guide, 100 keywords on one device, five pages deep, checked weekly costs about €1 to €2 a month.

Watch out for: SEO Sauna is not a full marketing suite. There is no PPC research, content marketing toolkit or social tooling, and its data comes mainly from DataForSEO rather than its own web crawler, so Semrush and Ahrefs offer more reports and longer history. It is also open source (OpenSEO, MIT licence) and self-hostable if you would rather pay data providers directly.

You can start free with 1,000 trial credits and no card at app.seosauna.com. The SEO Sauna 101 page gives the full overview.

How to choose

Start from what you do each week, not from feature lists.

1. Write down your real jobs. For most small teams it is: research keywords for new pages, track 100 to 500 keywords, check competitors' links now and then, audit the site monthly.
2. Count your sites and users. Per-project and per-seat limits are where cheap plans get expensive.
3. Decide whether AI visibility matters. If you need to know what ChatGPT says about your brand, check whether it is included or a paid add-on.
4. Check how you will work. If you already plan content in Claude or ChatGPT, a tool with an MCP server lets the assistant fetch data itself instead of you copying exports.
5. Use the trial on your own site. Run the same three keyword searches and one competitor lookup in two tools and compare.

A rough mapping:

• Backlinks are central to your work: Ahrefs.
• You track lots of keywords for clients: SE Ranking or Serpstat Team.
• You are new to SEO: Moz Pro or Mangools.
• Smallest possible budget: Ubersuggest.
• Essentials, flat price, AI assistant workflow: SEO Sauna.

FAQ

What is the best Semrush alternative?

It depends on your work. Ahrefs is the closest full replacement and the strongest on backlinks. SE Ranking gives similar coverage with more tracked keywords for the money. For the essentials at a flat price with AI assistant access, SEO Sauna is a lighter option.

Is there a free Semrush alternative?

Several tools have free tiers or trials, including Semrush's own free plan with 10 reports a day and Ahrefs' free tier for your own site. Google Search Console is free and gives you your real clicks and rankings. SEO Sauna lets you start with 1,000 trial credits and no card.

Is Ahrefs cheaper than Semrush?

Slightly at entry level. Ahrefs Lite is $129/month and the Semrush SEO plan is about $140/month as of October 2026. The real cost depends on credits, tracked keywords, users and whether you need AI visibility, which both sell as higher tiers or add-ons.

Do Semrush alternatives have the same data quality?

Not always. Semrush and Ahrefs run large databases with long history. Smaller tools rely more on third-party data providers and show fewer rows. For keyword volumes, rankings and backlink overviews the difference is usually small enough not to change decisions.

Can I use a Semrush alternative with ChatGPT or Claude?

Yes, if the tool offers an MCP server. Ahrefs, Mangools, Serpstat (Team) and SEO Sauna list MCP access, and Semrush has its own. Our Claude SEO guide shows what that workflow looks like.