Semrush alternatives, compared by price (2026)

The short answer: Semrush is the broadest SEO suite, now owned by Adobe, and from €134 a month it is priced like one. For the closest full suite for less, SE Ranking. For backlink data, Ahrefs. For competitor keywords and ads history, SpyFu. For keyword research on a budget, Mangools or Ubersuggest. If the research is only the first step and you need the content that comes after it, that is what AltoRank does. Eight tools below, each with its price and the job it wins.

By Mike Cecconello · Published October 1, 2026 · Every price below carries the date and source it was read from

Why people look for a Semrush alternative

Mostly price. The entry SEO plan is €134 a month, daily AI prompt tracking starts on the €190 Starter plan, and each extra user is from €43 a month. A freelancer or a small agency often uses a fraction of what that buys.

Then ownership. Adobe announced the completion of its acquisition of Semrush on 28 April 2026. Semrush is still sold on its own, but some teams prefer to buy from a smaller vendor, and several roundups now list "independent" alternatives for that reason.

And scope. If research was never the goal, only a means to producing content, a suite of any size leaves the actual work to you.

The eight alternatives

1. AltoRank: when the research is a means to content

Ours, and not a suite in Semrush's sense, so read the rest before weighing it. AltoRank researches the questions a site's buyers search, then drafts the article in the site's voice with sources attached and holds it for a named person to approve before it publishes. No backlink index, no site audit to browse, no rank tracker, and its AI-mention tracker is built but not yet switched on. Open source under AGPL-3.0, free to self-host, €69/mo managed for 100 articles, €199/mo on Agency for unlimited client workspaces.

2. Ahrefs: backlinks and site research

Known for backlink data, with what it calls the world's second-most active crawler, plus keyword research, site audit, rank tracking, AI prompt tracking and an API and MCP server on every main plan. Lite €119/mo (€99 billed yearly) for 5 projects, 750 tracked keywords and 1 user; Standard €229 (€191); Advanced €419 (€349); Enterprise €1,394/mo with an annual commitment. A Starter plan at €27/mo and Ahrefs Free sit below. Read from ahrefs.com/pricing on 30 September 2026. It has its own roundup of alternatives.

3. SE Ranking: the closest suite for less

Rank tracking, keyword, competitor and backlink research, site audit and AI prompt tracking. Core €109/mo (€87.20 billed yearly) for 10 projects, 1 seat, 2,000 keywords and 100 AI prompts tracked daily; Growth €235 (€188) for 30 projects and 3 seats. Agency white-label and a fuller AI Search add-on cost extra. A 14-day trial with no card. Read from seranking.com on 30 September 2026. Its own roundup ranked first for "Semrush alternatives" on Google US that day.

4. Moz Pro: the familiar suite, with AI tracking

Keyword Explorer, rank tracking, site crawl, backlinks and Domain Authority, with AI prompt tracking across GPT, Gemini, Google AI Mode and Perplexity from Standard up. Standard $99/mo ($79 billed yearly) for 3 sites, 300 tracked keywords and 50 prompts; Medium $179 ($143), which carries a free trial; Large $299 ($239); a $49/mo Starter for a single site. Read from moz.com/products/pro/pricing on 1 October 2026.

5. SpyFu: competitor keywords and ads

Built around seeing which keywords and ads a competitor has run, with 10+ years of history. Basic $39/mo for 10,000-row results and 5,000 weekly tracked rankings; Pro + AI $59 for the first month, then $119, for unlimited results and exports; Team / Agency $249 for 5 users. A 30-day money-back guarantee. Read from spyfu.com/pricing on 30 September 2026. Strongest if paid search is part of the job.

6. Mangools: an easier keyword suite

Keyword research, SERP checks, rank tracking, backlinks and site metrics, with an API, an MCP server and AI prompt monitoring on every plan. Basic €37.70/mo billed yearly, Premium €52.70, Agency €97.70; a 48-hour money-back guarantee instead of a trial. Read from mangools.com on 25 September 2026. It has its own roundup of alternatives.

7. Ubersuggest: the cheapest suite

Keyword research, a site audit, rank tracking and a few AI prompts and articles a month. Individual €29/mo for one project, Business €49, Enterprise €99, billed monthly with a one-time 7-day trial; lifetime licences from €290, which its pricing page says are non-refundable. Read from app.neilpatel.com/en/pricing on 30 September 2026. See the Ubersuggest alternatives.

8. Keywords Everywhere: volume in your browser

A browser extension that shows search volume, CPC and trend next to Google results, billed on credits: Bronze $84/yr for 100,000 credits, up to Platinum $1,440/yr for 8 million. The REST API and an MCP server share the same credits. Read from keywordseverywhere.com/compare-plans on 25 September 2026. Not a suite, but often all a writer needed Semrush for.

Not listed: Similarweb, a traffic-intelligence platform rather than an SEO suite, and Serpstat, whose pricing we could not read on 25 September 2026. For audit-first tools, see the WooRank alternatives.

When Semrush is the better choice

If you use most of it: keyword and competitor research, backlinks, audits, rank tracking, AI visibility and reporting for several sites, in one login. No single tool above covers that range, and stitching three together can cost more than Semrush does. The alternatives win when you only need one or two of those jobs, or when the job after the research is the one that matters.

Other tools people compare this one against

Same format, same tests, a different tool under the microscope.

• Ahrefs alternatives

  A research suite vs the content the research points to.

• Mangools alternatives

  A keyword list vs the content that comes after it.

• Surfer alternatives

  Scoring content you bring vs researching and drafting it for you.

All 23 comparisons, listed by what each tool is actually for.