SEMrush is one of the best SEO tools. It’s an all-in-one SEO solution, it’s got great PPC research integration, and in 2020 it’s as time-tested as any pack of SEO tools out there.
But it does come with some drawbacks, the most significant of which are the price and the limitations on functionalities.
This is a list of SEO tools that could be great SEMrush alternatives. Disclaimer: the usual suspects like Ahrefs and Moz Pro are not on the list.
These tools are great, no question about it, but to my mind they are too similar to SEMrush. The tools presented here are actual alternatives, providing similar features cheaper, or similarly priced, but aiming at a different audience than SEMrush itself.
SEO PowerSuite
What it does differently than SEMrush:
- Desktop software
- Free plan available
- Cheaper for paid plans
- You can buy just the features you need
- No limits on keyword and backlink research, pages crawled or projects
SEO PowerSuite, in a way, is the best SEMrush alternative out there.
First of all, it’s also an all-in-one SEO solution, but it’s not cloud-based, which of course comes with its own fair share of difficulties. The tool is actually split into 4 apps, divided between keyword research and rank tracking, backlink research, website audit and on-page SEO, and link building.
So unlike SEMrush, you only need to pay for the functionality you require, and the paid plans provide a limitless experience, with restrictions only on the number of competitors researched, making it a decidedly cheaper alternative for marketers seeking that all-in-one solution.
Second of all, there’s a perfectly capable free version of the software. While it has some limitations on keyword and competitor research, it can still be effectively used by SEOs running lower-volume campaigns, making it one of the only free alternatives to holistic SEO tools like SEMrush.
Pricing: Free version available, the Professional plan is $299/year, and the Enterprise is $699/year.
SpyFu
What it does differently than SEMrush:
- It’s cheaper
- Emphasis on competitor research
- No on-page SEO
- Unlimited keyword and backlink research
SpyFu is an all-around powerful SEO solution that presents one of the cheaper, more competition-oriented alternatives to SEMrush.
The entire set of its SEO features, from keyword to backlink research (both are unlimited, by the way) revolves around competition research.
On top of the usual competition research of looking for keyword gaps and backlink intersections, you also see your competitors’ entire Google Ads history, as well as all of the organic keywords they ranked for in the last 10 years.
Pricing: the Basic plan is $399/year, the Professional plan is $699/year, and the Team plan is $2388/year.
SERPStat
What it does differently than SEMrush:
- Fewer projects available for research
- Bigger emphasis on keyword research and audit
- Wide selection of extensions for web browsers
Those who want to compare SEMrush to SERPstat will instantly see that both apps are aimed at people who want their entire SEO campaign run from a single HQ. Price-wise, it’s comparable to SEMrush. That said, at similar prices, it has much higher allowance for keywords researched and pages crawled.
It also sports very convenient extensions available for Opera, Firefox, and Chrome. Once you install it, wherever you go on the internet, you’ll immediately get a slew of SEO information. You’ll be able to look up PageSpeed insights, CPC information, research keywords — all in a couple of clicks.
Pricing: the Lite plan is $662, the Standard plan is $1.430, the Advanced plan is $2.870, and the Enterprise plan is $4.790.
SE Ranking
What it does differently than SEMrush:
- Adjustable limits which you can reconfigure to wildly change the pricing according to your current needs
Another comprehensive SEO tool, much like SEMrush, but with a twist: for every pricing plan, you can adjust the limits on keyword and backlink research. This adjustment comes with a change in price.
While all of the SEO features are available even with the cheapest plan, there’s also an interesting nugget for every website owner out there: you can set up to 100 alarms for your webpages, getting notified any time anything on them changes. This can prove a truly invaluable tool for many website managers.
Pricing: as per adjustments on keywords researched, Optimum is priced at $372-660/year, Plus is $852-1.428/year, and Enterprise is $1.812-8.628/year.
Raven Tools
What it does differently than SEMrush:
- Pulling data from different sources
- Great email automation integration
- Call tracking integration
Raven Tools is similar to SEMrush features-wise, while still managing to be one of the best SEMrush alternatives because the tool takes a very different approach to data.
Instead of using an entirely original index, as SEMrush does, Raven Tools brings data together from a couple of different APIs, namely Moz and Majestic, and provides their users with the results.
On top of that, it can double as a perfect HQ for your entire sales operation, thanks to the smooth email automation and call tracking integration. Importing data from MailChimp here is exceptionally easy, so you can run your SEO campaigns side by side with your email campaigns.
Pricing: the Start license is $948/year, Grow is $1.668/year, Thrive is $2.988/year, and Lead is $4.788/year.
Surfer
What it does differently than SEMrush:
- It’s cheaper
- Unlimited keyword research
- Free Chrome extension providing SEO data as you surf the web (hence Surfer)
Surfer is a suite targeting a slightly different audience than SEMrush’s. The functionality it offers revolves around analyzing the current SERPs in real time.
The idea is that you first put in your target keyword. The tool then analyzes the SERPs and provides you with recommendations and best practices not in a vacuum, but firmly relying on what’s ranking right now.
From then on, creating your content, in theory, will be as easy as following the instructions of Surfer.
Pricing: the Basic plan is $590/year, the Pro plan is $990/year, and Business is $1.990/year.
Woorank
What it does differently than SEMrush:
- It’s cheaper
- Much fewer features overall
- Sales-oriented tools included
Like many alternatives for SEMrush, this SEO tool is trying to seize on just a fraction of SEMrush’s audience.
Those of us running low-to-medium volume SEO campaigns, or working as in-house experts, will definitely get more out of it than an agency handling multiple clients or huge websites in highly competitive fields.
For an in-house digital marketer and website owner, though, it offers a convenient keyword and website audit tool, covering a part of the overall functionality of SEMrush.
There is no backlink research or content editor, but there is an integration of a lead generation tool, and a convenient feature for handling link outreach.
Pricing: the Pro plan is $470/year, Premium is $1.430/year, and Enterprise has a negotiable price, depending on the agreement you’ll have with Woorank Sales team.
LinkResearchTools
What it does differently than SEMrush:
- Exclusively link management software
- One of the only tools more expensive than SEMrush
LinkResearchTools, as per the name, specializes on links. You’ll get not just your own backlink profile all laid out for you, but those of your competitors, leaders of rankings, and more.
There’s a separately sold (although still quite expensive) Link Detox tool, which essentially analyzes all of your backlinks to find spammy links which you can then immediately disavow. Essentially it’s the same functionality available in SEMrush, Ahrefs, and SEO PowerSuite as part of the overall software.
The difference here is data: LinkResearchTools is relying on 25+ link data sources at once. It isn’t dipping into a single backlink index, as SEMrush does. Instead, it’s bringing together dozens of indexes for the fullest picture of a backlink profile.
Whether or not this is worth the exorbitant price tag is up to you, but it’s certainly one of the more interesting “one-feature” SEMrush alternatives out there.
Pricing: Superhero Small is $4.990/year, Superhero Standard is $7.990/year, Superhero Plus is $18.490/year, and Superhero Ultra is $30.990/year.
Advanced Web Ranking
What it does differently than SEMrush:
- It’s cheaper
- Fewer features
- Emphasis on Google Analytics integration
Advanced Web Ranking is a tool that works best in concert with some other tools. Unlike some SEMrush alternatives like SEO PowerSuite or Ahrefs, it doesn’t boast its own index or a multitude of features for an SEO expert with any degree of proficiency.
What it does have is a robust rank tracking functionality.
In a nutshell, AWR is the tool you need if you want to boost your Google Analytics research with a powerful rank tracking tool. It is an all-in-one SEO solution, but only thanks to integrating Google’s own native and free tools.
Beyond that, it could work for an in-house SEO specialist looking for a rank tracker specifically, but it’s not the HQ that has absolutely everything within one app, as some of the best SEMrush alternatives.
Pricing: the Starter plan is $528/year, the Pro plan is $1.068/year, Agency is $2.148/year, and the Enterprise plan is $5.388/year.
WebCEO
What it does differently than SEMrush:
- Emphasis on sales functionality
- Unlimited users under higher-priced plans
- White-label SEO functionality
WebCEO is another one of the tools on this list that, as far as SEMrush alternatives go, improves upon it in certain ways. The pricing, though, is not one of those ways: it’s definitely not a cheaper alternative.
At base level, it delivers the same breadth of features as SEMrush for your sites, including social media management integration, backlink and keyword research, and more. On top of it, though, it’s distinctly B2B oriented.
WebCEO has a number of B2B features, and lead generation tools designed specifically for sales teams and departments.
Pricing: the Startup plan is $900/year, Corporate is $2.700/year, Agency Unlimited is $900/year + you can add more projects, extend keyword and backlink research limits for additional price.
Conclusion
I hope you found this article useful and will give some of these tools a try. We don’t all have the means or the desire to work with SEMrush, and there has never been as many perfectly functional tools on the market, as there are right now.
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