Introduction
Semrush is a best-in-class SEO tool that offers value for money. It has brilliant search intent features, and it is the perfect tool to get organic search information. Its CRM-style tools are great for link-building campaigns, and they go beyond SEO and cover PPC data as well.
It is also equipped with 40+ different tools to help you with SEO and digital marketing tasks, such as keyword research, competitive analysis, website analysis, technical SEO, site auditing, PPC research, content marketing, and more.
However, Semrush is not suitable for every budget, as it sits on the costly side of SEO solutions. This makes it less accessible for small to medium businesses that are just getting started with SEO. Especially beginners and agencies would need to use alternative SEO tools to meet their business goals.
The limitations of using Semrush
Steep learning curve
Semrush is a comprehensive yet a complex tool. It takes time to learn and master all the features. It has a lot of features and tools, which can make it overwhelming for beginners to use it. Similarly, small agencies may find it difficult to use it at the initial phase.
Covers only one search engine
Semrush provides data only for one search engine, Google. If you want data for other search engines, such as Bing or Yahoo, you will need to use a different tool.
Costly
All Semrush plans come with only one user account, and its competitive intelligence add-ons are expensive. Its pro plan costs $119.95 per month, or $99.95 if billed annually. The pricing model can discourage small to medium-sized businesses from using it. Also, adding another user to the account may cost between $45 and $100.
Not easy to access
You must fill in your credit card information before accessing Semrush account. This can be a deterrent for some users, especially those who are new to SEO and are not sure if they want to commit to a paid subscription. Other SEO tools, such as Ahrefs and Moz, offer free accounts with limited features. This allows users to try out the tool before they commit to a paid subscription.
Here are some legit alternatives to the popular SEO tool, Semrush:
1. RanksPro
The RanksPro is a cloud-based SEO tool that helps businesses monitor keyword strategies, track website performance across various locations, and generate weekly reports on a unified platform. Its key features include multi-location, data analytics, and third-party integrations.
• It is a feature-rich SEO tool that helps you take control of your website’s SEO. With ESL Ranks Pro, you can easily audit your website, track your backlinks and keywords, and monitor your rankings in real time.
• It also features AI writing tool, so you can get ideas for your content strategy based on the competitive keywords and create SEO-friendly blog content with the click of a button.
• It provides insights you need to make informed decisions about your SEO strategy and improve your website’s performance.
• RanksPro is a good option for businesses on a budget or those who are new to SEO. As it has a simple interface, real time ranking data, third party integration and affordable pricing, it is suitable for small as well as large enterprises. Also, the ESL Ranks Pro has a Forever Free Plan, so you can try its free plan before opting for the plans with more features and benefits. They also provide support in the form of email, a help desk, and chat. Overall, it is an easy to use, comprehensive and affordable SEO tool.
2. SE Ranking
SE Ranking is a comprehensive SEO suite adorned with an array of features and capabilities. Here are some of the features and functions that make it a good alternative to Semrush, especially for small and medium-sized businesses:
• SE Ranking has a modern, straightforward, and easy-to-navigate surface. This makes it especially useful for beginners who are just starting to learn about SEO.
• It is one of the few SEO tools that offer a lead generation widget that is not present in Semrush. It is basically a web form that can be embedded on a website to collect leads from visitors who are interested in your SEO services. It also has some less common features, like keyword grouping and page change monitoring, to better monitor clients’ sites.
• It covers190 countries compared to Semrush’s 142 countries. This makes SE ranking a better choice for businesses that operate in multiple countries.
• It also constantly improves its algorithms to refine the keyword search volume and traffic estimates. It has also added AI-based tools, like its On-Page SEO Checker and AI writing assistant.
• SE Ranking is also more affordable SEO suite than Semrush. SE Ranking’s Essential plan starts at $39.17 per month, while Semrush’s Pro plan starts at $99.95 per month. Apart from that, SE Ranking’s $109 monthly plan offers three user seats, and its $239 plan provides five user seats. In contrast, Semrush charges an additional $20 to $50 per month for each user who actively uses the account.
• One must also take into account the rank-tracking capability of each tool. For instance, the Semrush package offers between 750 and 10,000 total tracked keywords with weekly checks, while SE Ranking provides between 750 and 15,000 tracked keywords checked daily. This makes SE ranking a more economical choice for organizations requiring multiple user accounts.
3. Mangools
Mangools is an SEO tool package that offers all the essential SEO features to let you smoothly work on your SEO strategy. It is an SEO tool primarily tailored for small businesses. Its affordable price, easy navigation, and striking design makes it a great choice for startups as well as small businesses looking for an alternative to complex tools like Semrush.
• Some of the important features and functionalities of Mangools include keyword research, competitor analysis, backlink analysis, rank tracking, and search engine results page (SERP) analysis.
• It is widely popular for its robust keyword research tool, KWFinder, which helps users identify optimal long-tail keywords to improve their content strategy and boost search engine visibility.
• Mangool’s feature set is not as wide as Semrush’, but it is still a compelling choice for small businesses, bloggers, and freelancers due to its competitive pricing and the valuable features.
• Keep in mind that Mongools currently does not offer tools for crawl analysis, site speed, or technical audits, which may be too restrictive for certain users.
4. SpyFU
SpyFu is a comprehensive SEO suite offers many of the features offered by Semrush, but its USP lies in its ability to spy on the keywords used by your competitors for both PPC and SEO campaigns. You can pick any domain and quickly discover the keywords it has been ranked for and the backlinks it has received. If you are looking for alternatives to Semrush, SpyFu can be a great choice for many of its features and benefits.
• SpyFu provides you access to your competitors’ AdWords expenditure, ad variations, historical ranking, and PPC ad data from the past 16 years. By analyzing the successful strategies used by your competitors, you can refine your SEO approach.
• It has an appealing dashboard that provides a holistic overview of everything going on with your site, including keywords, organic and paid traffic, and any keyword ranking declined from the first page.
• SpyFu provides over a decade of historical data, while Semrush only provides 2 years on the Guru and Business plans and 6 months on the Pro plan.
• SpyFu’s subscription plans are more economical than those offered by Semrush. Its Basic plan begins at $39 per month, and the Professional plan is available for $79 per month. While subscription plans for Semrush are as follows: Pro ($119.95/month), Guru ($249.95/month), Business ($449.95/month)
• In the teams’ plan, SpyFu includes five user logins, while Semrush’s team plan only includes one user login. This means that SpyFu is a better choice for teams that need multiple users to be able to access the tool.
• SpyFu certainly has its limitations. While it offers basic rank-tracking and robust keyword research features, its backlink databases are not as extensive as those provided by Semrush. There are some additional features in Semrush that are missing from SpyFu, such as connection-building tools and monitoring tools. However, SpyFu provides excellent off-page SEO tools to help the user with the entire SEO strategy.
5. SEO PowerSuite
SEO PowerSuite is a specialized tool for rank tracking, on-page SEO, backlink analysis, and link building, while Semrush is a comprehensive SEO and digital marketing suite that has a bunch of tools such as keyword research, site audits, backlink analysis, competitive research, and more. If you are looking for a feature-packed yet affordable SEO tool for your agency, SEO PowerSuite is an ideal option in many ways:
• SEO PowerSuite is a powerful set of tools, including a website auditor, a rank tracker, SEO Spy Glass, and Link Assistant.
• It is a more informative tool than Semrush in other SEO niches: backlink research and rank tracking.
• It is also more affordable than Semrush. SEO PowerSuite’s Essential plan starts at $39.17 per month, while Semrush’s Pro plan starts at $99.95 per month. SEO PowerSuite has a one-time purchase model, which means that you pay for SEO PowerSuite once and can use it forever. On the other hand, Semrush has a subscription service, so you need to pay a monthly or annual fee to use the tool.
• Semrush is cloud-based SEO software, so you do not need to download any desktop applications to use it. It can be easily accessed on any device with an internet connection. With SEO PowerSuite, you’ll need to download a desktop application to use the tool, as it isn’t cloud-based SEO software.
6. MozPro
Moz Pro is a comprehensive SEO suite with valuable SEO tools to simplify SEO tasks and make them more understandable and manageable. It has an easy-to-use interface that helps to save users time by avoiding the need to navigate complex spreadsheets.
• It has a comprehensive suite of professional SEO tools, including key functionalities such as keyword research, rank tracking, website audits, on-page optimization, link research, and custom reporting.
• Its Keyword Explorer tool enables local and national tracking of rankings across major search engines like Google, Yahoo, and Bing.
• The best part about Moz is that most of its tools are free to use. So if you’re on a shoestring budget and don’t want to invest heavily in pricey SEO tools like Semrush, Moz is the ultimate option for availing industry-standard services. Besides, it also provides generous crawl limits.
• There are certain limitations to using MozPro. Unfortunately, it doesn’t appear to be updated as frequently as other platforms, such as SE Ranking and ESL Ranks Pro, which provide tools with AI.
7. Raven Tools
Raven Tools is an all-in-one solution to meet varied SEO needs. It provides an array of features, including keyword research, rank tracking, backlink analysis, and website auditing. It also has a variety of tools for competitive analysis and social media marketing.
• It is simple to get started with Ravel Tools, and it is free to try. The process is straightforward. It has an easy-to-understand dashboard with a logical menu.
• If you are looking for an all-in-one SEO tool that won’t break the bank, the Raven tool is the perfect choice. It is also an ideal choice for SEO professionals, PPC managers, digital marketing agencies, freelancers, and small to large businesses.
• There are some limitations to using Raven tools, such as limited platform integration (for instance, it doesn’t feature Instagram), visuals that are not very appealing, and running videos that require an update.
• When you start with Raven Tools, it provides you with a 14-day free trial, and thereafter, you are charged $39 a month to access the Freelancer Plan, which allows three (3) domains, one user, and 7,500 position checks of your website. The starter plan for Raven Tools is $39 per month, while for Semrush,it is $99.95 per month.
8. UberSuggest
Ubdersuggest by Neil Patel has rapidly progressed from a basic keyword research tool to a comprehensive SEO platform. It is widely known for its user-friendly interface and is a highly accessible tool for beginners.
It is equipped with tons of features such as SEO auditing, monitoring, rank tracking, link building, competitor analysis, and custom report generation.
• It also provides an extensive training and support package, which includes step-by-step SEO tutorials, templates, and worksheets. Though it doesn’t offer a toolset as extensive as Semrush, it’s a great tool for beginners.
• UberSuggest is a good option for businesses on budget and those looking for easy-to-use SEO tools.
• UberSuggest offers a unique one-time payment plan beginning at $290, so users can expect to save a ton of money by opting for UberSuggest instead of Semrush. It also provides a monthly payment option that varies between $29 and $99. It has a very affordable individual plan and provides several features, including 150 daily reports, one project, and weekly site audits.
9. CognitiveSEO
Launched in 2012 by developer and CEO RazvanGavrilas of the company of the same name based in Romania, Cognitive SEO is a less-known yet powerful SEO suite and a great alternative to Semrush. It provides top notch SEO and digital marketing strategy analysis and insights to help your brand grow online.
• It is a comprehensive SEO suite that caters to a wide range of digital marketing needs, such as content optimization, site auditing, backlink analysis, rank tracking, an SEO dashboard, marketing reports, and an SEO API.
• It also has convenient features like penalty recovery and content optimization. It offers a comprehensive workspace for different teams and diverse clients, so it is easy share assets, files and code snippets with other developers.
• It can be integrated with various apps, including Trello and Google Drive. This feature fosters collaboration with other team members and enables discussions and comments on tasks or files within the team.
• CognitiveSEO’s cheapest plan starts at $119/month, while Semrush’s cheapest plan starts at $99.95/month, so clearly It is not the most cost-effective substitute to Semrush, however, you can use its free tools to try it.
10. Ahrefs
Ahrefs can be regarded as one of the closest alternatives to Semrush. It has almost similar features and functionalities as Semrush.
• It provides a wealth of data to strengthen your digital marketing strategy. From in-depth backlink analysis to finding the best PPC keywords, identifying broken links, and seeing where your competitors outrank you, it is an all-in-one SEO tool.
• It has a steeper learning curve than Semrush, but it is still much easier on the eyes than Semrush. Its interface and user experience are only marginally smoother than Semrush. As far as price is concerned, the plans for both tools are almost identical.
Ahrefs offers extensive backlink research and in-depth keyword click statistics. Semrush excels at providing performance data quickly, guidance for technical site optimization, and supporting PPC campaigns. It offers more comprehensive backlink analysis tools than Semrush.
Both Ahrefs and Semrush are comprehensive SEO suites, but they cater to different requirements. Ahrefs starts at $99/month, while SEMrush starts at $99.95/month. The decision you make between the two will be based on your own needs and priorities.
Tips for choosing the right SEO Tool
In the given article, we have discussed some of the best alternatives to Semrush. Especially when you are looking for feature-rich yet affordable SEO tools.
The list mentioned above provides you plenty of options for affordable SEO tools to choose from. These SEO tools have the same basic functionalities; however, they differ considerably in terms of features, pricing, and user experience. Here are some tips for choosing the right SEO tool to meet your business goals:
- The pricing of SEO tools varies depending on their features, popularity, etc. It is not necessary to invest in the most popular tool if most of its features are useless to you. It is always important to determine your goals and then choose a tool that fits your budget.
- It is crucial to answer questions like, what are your needs in relation to the SEO tool. What features are important to you? What kind of data do you need? These factors will help you select the appropriate tool.
- Consider the learning curve of the SEO tools. Some SEO tools, like Semrush and Ahrefs, are comprehensive and complex tools. If you are a beginner or you are looking for easy-to-learn and adopt SEO tools like ESL Rankings Pro and Ubersuggest can be a good choice.
- Your chosen tool must be backed up by reliable documentation and support. Read the reviews of different SEO tools to see what other users have to say.
Choosing the “best” alternative to Semrush is subjective and depends on various factors. One must consider factors like goals, pricing, available features, and durability.
If you are looking for comprehensive SEO tools, Semrush and Ahrefs might be the most suitable choices. If, on the other hand, you’re just getting started or you are a small to mid-sized business looking for an easy-to-use interface and affordable pricing, RanksPro, Ubersuggest, or Mangoos are good options. However, there is no one-size-fits-all solution. The best choice will depend on your specific SEO-related needs.
Summary
Semrush is a best-in-class SEO tool that offers value for money. It has brilliant search intent features, and it is the perfect tool to get organic search information. However, there are certain limitations of using it and high price tag is the most prominent of them. It is crucial to answer questions like, what are your needs in relation to the SEO tool. What features are important to you? What kind of data do you need? These factors will help you select the appropriate tool to suit your requirements.
