Semrush Alternatives (2026): 4 Cheaper Options, Picked by What You Need

By the AI Tools For Me team · Updated October 9, 2026

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Semrush does a lot, and its paid plans start at $139/mo. If you only use part of it, a smaller tool may do that part for less.

The short answer

For rank tracking, keyword research and audits, SE Ranking is the closest match ($129/mo, 14-day free trial). If you mainly write content, try Frase ($39–$49/mo) or Surfer ($49/mo yearly). To track ChatGPT and Google AI answers only, Otterly.ai starts at $29/mo.

Why people look for a Semrush alternative

Price. The entry SEO plan is $139/mo, or $117.33/mo billed annually. Tracking AI answers starts on the SEO + AI Search Starter plan at $199/mo.
Limits. The entry plan monitors 5 websites and tracks 500 keywords daily. Agencies and bigger sites can outgrow that quickly.
More than you need. Many small sites mostly use one part, such as writing help or rank tracking, and pay for the whole suite.

None of that makes Semrush a bad choice. It means the right alternative depends on which part of Semrush you actually use.

Semrush vs the alternatives at a glance

Tool	Best for	Starts at	Free option
Semrush	The whole SEO toolkit in one account	$139/mo billed monthly	Free plan (1 demo project, 10 reports a day)
SE Ranking	A like-for-like SEO suite for less	$129/mo billed monthly	Free 14-day trial, no credit card
Frase	Writing and publishing content, plus AI tracking	$49/mo billed monthly	Free 7-day trial, no credit card
Surfer SEO	Optimizing articles you write yourself	$49/mo billed yearly	No free plan listed
Otterly.ai	Tracking your brand in AI answers only	$29/mo billed monthly	Free trial (length not stated)

List prices in US dollars before tax, from each vendor’s pricing page on October 9, 2026.

How we chose

We started from the jobs people use Semrush for most: tracking rankings, researching keywords, writing content and, now, checking AI answers. For each job we picked one tool that does it for less, and read its pricing page on October 9, 2026. We haven’t tested these tools hands-on yet, so we don’t claim any of them is better than Semrush, only that it covers that job for a lower price.

We haven’t covered Ahrefs, Moz or Ubersuggest yet. We’ll add them once we’ve checked their plans the same way.

SE Ranking: best for a like-for-like SEO suite for less

SEO platform for rank tracking, site audits and keyword research, with an AI Search add-on for tracking visibility in AI answers.

Starts at: $129/mo billed monthly ($103.20/mo billed annually)
Free option: Free 14-day trial, no credit card

Compared with Semrush: Core tracks 2,000 keywords daily across 10 projects; Semrush’s entry SEO plan tracks 500 keywords across 5 websites. Both include keyword and competitor research and a site audit.

Switch if: You use Semrush mainly for rank tracking, keyword research and audits, and want more tracked keywords for a lower monthly price.

Stay with Semrush if: You rely on a specific Semrush report or add-on, or your team already knows Semrush well.

Visit SE Ranking Read the SE Ranking profile

Source: seranking.com, checked October 9, 2026

Frase: best for writing and publishing content, plus AI tracking

Research and writing tool that builds SEO content briefs from what already ranks.

Starts at: $49/mo billed monthly ($39/mo billed yearly)
Free option: Free 7-day trial, no credit card

Compared with Semrush: Not a full SEO suite. Starter gives you 10 articles and 50 audit pages a month, publishing to WordPress, Webflow, Sanity or Wix, and 50 prompts tracked daily on ChatGPT and Google AI.

Switch if: You mostly open Semrush to plan and write articles, and would rather have a tool that drafts them and tracks AI answers for a fraction of the price.

Stay with Semrush if: You need backlink research or rank tracking for hundreds of keywords; Frase’s pricing page doesn’t list either.

Visit Frase Read the Frase profile

Source: frase.io, checked October 9, 2026

Surfer SEO: best for optimizing articles you write yourself

Content optimization tool that compares your draft with top-ranking pages, with AI visibility tracking on higher plans.

Starts at: $49/mo billed yearly ($588/yr)
Free option: No free plan listed

Compared with Semrush: Not a full SEO suite. Discovery gives you 120 documents a year to create or optimize, AI SEO guidelines while you write, and its Surfy assistant.

Switch if: Your work is writing and updating articles, and you want guidance on what to add to compete with the pages that already rank.

Stay with Semrush if: You need keyword research and rank tracking for a whole site, or you can’t pay for a year up front.

Visit Surfer SEO Read the Surfer SEO profile

Source: surferseo.com, checked October 9, 2026

Otterly.ai: best for tracking your brand in AI answers only

Tracks how often your brand and links appear in ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, Perplexity and Microsoft Copilot answers.

Starts at: $29/mo billed monthly
Free option: Free trial (length not stated)

Compared with Semrush: Not an SEO tool at all. Lite tracks 15 prompts daily on ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, Perplexity and Microsoft Copilot. Semrush’s AI tracking starts at $199/mo with 50 prompts.

Switch if: You were about to upgrade Semrush only to see how ChatGPT and Google’s AI answers mention you.

Stay with Semrush if: You want AI tracking in the same account as your keyword rankings.

Visit Otterly.ai Read the Otterly.ai profile

Source: otterly.ai, checked October 9, 2026

The free route

If budget is the main reason you’re leaving, you can cover the basics for $0. Google Search Console shows the searches that already bring people to your site, how often you appear, your clicks and your average position. Pair it with Semrush’s own free plan for occasional keyword and competitor lookups (10 reports a day). You lose daily rank tracking and deep competitor research, but for a new site that is often enough.

When to stay with Semrush

You use several parts of it every week: keyword research, rank tracking, audits and competitor analysis. Replacing it could mean paying for two or three tools.
You want SEO and AI answer tracking in one account and one bill.
Your team or clients already work in Semrush reports.

In that case, check whether annual billing ($117.33/mo instead of $139) lowers the cost enough. See how Semrush compares with three other tools in our guide to the best AI SEO tools, or the full list of AI SEO & AEO tools.

FAQ

What is the cheapest alternative to Semrush?

For a full SEO suite, SE Ranking Core was the cheapest in this guide on October 9, 2026: $129/mo, or $103.20/mo billed annually. If you only need help writing content, Frase starts at $39/mo billed yearly. For AI answer tracking alone, Otterly.ai starts at $29/mo.

Is there a free alternative to Semrush?

Google Search Console is free and shows the searches that already bring visitors to your site, your clicks and your average position. It doesn’t research competitors. Semrush itself also has a free plan with 1 demo project and 10 reports a day.

Is SE Ranking as good as Semrush?

We haven’t tested them side by side yet, so we can only compare published plans. On paper SE Ranking’s Core plan tracks more keywords and projects than Semrush’s entry SEO plan for a slightly lower price, while Semrush lists AI tracking and more reports on higher plans.

Can I cancel Semrush at any time?

Semrush’s pricing page FAQ says you can cancel, downgrade or upgrade your plan at any time, unless you signed custom terms. Check its refund policy before you pay for a year.

Which Semrush alternative is best for a small business?

Start with what you need most. If you want to see how your site ranks and what to fix, SE Ranking’s 14-day free trial is the easiest test. If you mainly publish articles, try Frase. If you just want to know whether ChatGPT mentions you, Otterly.ai is the smallest bill.

Sources

All pages checked October 9, 2026.