SE Ranking vs Semrush: Pricing and Features Compared (2026)
SE Ranking vs Semrush in 2026: plan prices, tracked keywords, keyword and backlink data, site audits and AI search tracking, checked on both vendors' pages.
SE Ranking’s entry plan tracks 2,000 keywords a day for $129 a month. Semrush’s entry plan tracks 500 for $139. Each suite covers keyword research, rank tracking, site audits and backlink checks, and each now tracks how AI answers mention your brand.
Go with SE Ranking if you want lots of tracked keywords and AI prompt tracking on one plan. Go with Semrush if you need the largest keyword and backlink data, or ads and market research in the same login.
SE Ranking vs Semrush: main points
- SE Ranking Core is $129 a month for 2,000 keywords tracked daily and 25 AI prompts tracked daily. Semrush’s SEO plan is $139 a month for 500 tracked keywords.
- Semrush has more than 26 billion keywords and more than 43 trillion backlinks. SE Ranking has 5.4 billion keywords and 2.7 trillion backlinks.
- AI prompt tracking comes with SE Ranking Core and Growth. Semrush sells it as the AI Visibility Toolkit at $99 a month, or inside Semrush One from $199 a month.
- SE Ranking has a 14 day trial with no credit card. Semrush has a free account with 10 reports a day and a 7 day trial.
- SE Ranking Core includes 1 manager seat, with extra seats from $16. Extra Semrush users start at $45 a month.
- Neither tool tracks Claude.
SE Ranking vs Semrush at a glance
| Feature | SE Ranking | Semrush |
|---|---|---|
| Starts at | $129/mo (Core) | $139/mo (SEO), or $99/mo for the AI Visibility Toolkit alone |
| Free plan or trial | 14 day trial, no credit card | Free account (10 reports a day), 7 day trial |
| Main strength | Many tracked keywords for the price | Largest data and widest set of toolkits |
| Keyword database | 5.4 billion, 188 locations | More than 26 billion |
| Backlink index | 2.7 trillion backlinks | More than 43 trillion backlinks |
| Tracked keywords on entry plan | 2,000, daily | 500, daily |
| AI search tracking | 25 prompts daily on 5 AIs, included on Core | AI Visibility Toolkit or Semrush One (50 prompts on Starter) |
| Site audit | 250,000 pages a month on Core | Included, with AI crawler checks |
| Seats on entry plan | 1 (extra from $16) | Extra users from $45/mo |
| Best for | Small teams and agencies tracking many keywords | Teams that need deep research data and ads tools |
What is SE Ranking?
- Founded
- 2013
- Headquarters
- Legal addresses in London and Wilmington, Delaware, with hubs in Kyiv, Wroclaw and Warsaw
- Starts at
- $129/mo (Core)
- Free plan or trial
- 14 day trial, no credit card
- Best for
- Small teams and agencies that track many keywords
SE Ranking is an SEO suite built around daily rank tracking. It also covers keyword research, competitor research, backlinks, site audits and content. Every current plan includes an AI Results Tracker. The company also sells SE Visible, a separate AI visibility tool that starts at $71 a month. More than a million businesses, agencies and SEO pros have used SE Ranking, and its team of 150+ people works remotely.
SE Ranking history
SE Ranking started in 2013 with one product, its Rank Tracker. In 2014 it opened a hub in Kyiv, which became its main base for building new tools.
The suite grew one tool at a time. In 2016 SE Ranking added keyword and competitor research, along with its first backlink tools. A Website Audit and an API followed in 2018. Mobile apps for Android and iOS came in 2019.
From 2020 on, the focus moved to data. SE Ranking added 30+ keyword databases in 2020 and 65 more in 2021, plus historical data back to February 2020. In 2022 it opened hubs in Wroclaw and Warsaw and grew its country database to 190 locations. A content marketing module came the same year. In 2023 it added an AI Writer and a local marketing tool.
SE Ranking and AI search
By 2024 more than 1,000,000 SEO pros had used the platform. In 2025 SE Ranking bought Planable and added an AI Search addon. It also launched SE Visible as its own product, and it opened an MCP server for AI assistants. Today the AI Results Tracker sits inside the main plans, and SE Visible serves teams that want AI tracking on its own.
What is Semrush?
- Founded
- 2008
- Founders
- Oleg Shchegolev and Dmitri Melnikov
- Headquarters
- Boston, Massachusetts
- Starts at
- $139/mo (SEO), or $99/mo for the AI Visibility Toolkit
- Free plan or trial
- Free account (10 reports a day), 7 day trial
- Best for
- Teams that need deep research data and ads tools
Semrush is one of the largest SEO suites. It is split into toolkits, such as SEO, AI Visibility, Advertising and Local. You can buy them one at a time. Semrush One bundles the SEO Toolkit and the AI Visibility Toolkit on one plan. Semrush has more than 28 million users, from startups to Fortune 500 companies.
Semrush history
Semrush has its roots in SEOquake, a browser addon for SEO data. Oleg Shchegolev and Dmitri Melnikov first released the product as Seodigger, then as a Firefox extension. The company took the SeoQuake name in 2007. The two founders started Semrush in 2008. Its head office is in Boston.
In April 2018 Semrush raised $40 million, with Greycroft among the lead investors. It went public on the New York Stock Exchange on March 25, 2021, under the ticker SEMR. It then bought other marketing brands. Backlinko joined in 2022, and Brand24 and Exploding Topics followed in 2024. In March 2025 Bill Wagner became CEO, and Shchegolev moved to CTO.
Semrush and AI search
Semrush launched its AI Toolkit on March 4, 2025, to show how AI tools such as ChatGPT and Perplexity describe a brand. On October 29, 2025, it launched Semrush One, which joins SEO and AI search tracking on one plan. In November 2025 Adobe agreed to buy Semrush for about $1.9 billion. The deal closed on April 28, 2026, and the company now runs as “Semrush, an Adobe company.”
SE Ranking vs Semrush keyword research
| Feature | SE Ranking | Semrush |
|---|---|---|
| Keyword database | 5.4 billion | More than 26 billion |
| Markets | 188 country databases, 591 million US keywords | Many countries |
| Search volume and difficulty | Yes | Yes |
| Related keyword ideas | Yes | Yes, in Keyword Magic Tool |
| Best for | Small and midsize sites in one main market | Long tail research and very large sites |
Semrush wins on keyword data. Its database holds more than 26 billion keywords to SE Ranking’s 5.4 billion, and the gap shows most when you research long tail topics or very large sites. Each tool gives you volume and difficulty for every term.
SE Ranking still covers what most small and midsize sites need in one main market. Its US database alone holds 591 million keywords. Want a quick check before you pick? Arrowsterr’s free keyword research tool shows volume and difficulty for any term.
SE Ranking vs Semrush rank tracking
| Feature | SE Ranking | Semrush |
|---|---|---|
| Entry plan | Core: 2,000 keywords, $129/mo | SEO: 500 keywords, $139/mo |
| Next plan | Growth: 5,000 keywords, $279/mo | One Starter: 500 keywords, $199/mo |
| Larger plan | Enterprise, custom | One Pro+: 1,500 keywords, $299/mo |
| Update speed | Daily | Daily |
| Local tracking | 3 locations on Core and Growth, more as an addon | Many locations on Pro+ |
| Device tracking | Yes, by device and language | On Pro+ |
Rank tracking is where SE Ranking stands out. Core tracks 2,000 keywords a day. On Semrush you stay at 500 keywords through One Starter, and you need One Pro+ at $299 a month to reach 1,500. Both update daily, so what you pay for is room.
If you track thousands of keywords for clients, SE Ranking’s Growth plan holds 5,000 of them.
SE Ranking vs Semrush backlink data
| Feature | SE Ranking | Semrush |
|---|---|---|
| Backlinks in the index | At least 2.7 trillion | More than 43 trillion |
| Domains | 420 million indexed domains | 390 million referring domains |
| Freshness | 58% of backlinks updated within 90 days | Refreshes at least hourly |
| Best for | Checking your own links and a few rivals | Link building at scale |
Link builders should pick Semrush. Its index holds more than 43 trillion backlinks and refreshes at least hourly. SE Ranking’s index holds at least 2.7 trillion, with 58% of links updated within 90 days.
For checking your own links and a few rivals, SE Ranking does the job. Semrush earns its place when link building is a core part of your work and you need the widest view of who links where.
SE Ranking vs Semrush site audit
| Feature | SE Ranking | Semrush |
|---|---|---|
| Where it lives | Core and Growth | SEO Toolkit |
| Pages on the entry plan | 250,000 a month (Core) | Not public |
| Pages on the next plan | 2 million a month (Growth) | Not public |
| AI crawler checks | Not public | AI-ready Site Audit on Semrush One Starter, 8 AI crawlers |
SE Ranking puts hard numbers on its audits: 250,000 pages a month on Core and 2 million on Growth. Semrush keeps its page limits private, so a big crawl is harder to plan.
Semrush One Starter adds an AI-ready Site Audit. It checks whether your site blocks 8 AI crawlers, including bots from ChatGPT, Perplexity and Claude. You can run the same kind of check for free with Arrowsterr’s AI crawler checker.
Pick SE Ranking if you need to know your crawl limit up front. Pick Semrush if AI crawler access is the question you need answered.
SE Ranking vs Semrush AI visibility tracking
| Feature | SE Ranking | Semrush |
|---|---|---|
| How you get it | Included on Core and Growth | AI Visibility Toolkit or Semrush One |
| Prompts on the first plan | 25 daily | 25 (toolkit) or 50 (One Starter) |
| AIs | AI Overviews, AI Mode, Gemini, ChatGPT, Perplexity | AI Overviews, AI Mode, ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity (varies by report) |
| More prompts | SE Visible from $71/mo for 75 prompts | $60/mo for each 50 extra prompts |
| Extra users | Seats from $16 | $99 license per extra toolkit user |
| Trial | 14 days, no card | None for the toolkit, 7 days for Semrush One |
SE Ranking’s AI Results Tracker comes with every current plan. Core and Growth each track 25 prompts daily on 5 AIs, with no addon to buy.
Semrush’s AI Visibility Toolkit is $99 a month on its own. It includes 1 project, 1 Brand Performance domain and 25 tracked prompts. Coverage changes by report: Prompt Tracking runs on AI Overviews, AI Mode and ChatGPT.
The better pick depends on whose brand you study. SE Ranking fits if you want AI tracking inside your SEO plan. Semrush fits if you want to study AI answers for any domain, since its AI Analysis reports cover more than your own brand. For a wider view of this market, see our list of the best AI visibility tools.
SE Ranking vs Semrush pricing
Prices below are as of November 2026.
| Plan level | SE Ranking | Semrush |
|---|---|---|
| Free | No free plan | $0: 1 demo project and 10 reports a day |
| Entry | Core: $129/mo, or $103.20/mo billed yearly | SEO: $139/mo, or $117.33/mo billed yearly |
| Entry plan includes | 2,000 keywords daily, 10 projects, 1 manager seat, 25 AI prompts daily, 250,000 audit pages a month, 25 content articles, 3 local locations, 25,000 API credits with MCP access | 5 websites and 500 tracked keywords |
| Middle | Growth: $279/mo, or $223.20/mo billed yearly | One Starter: $199/mo, or $165.17/mo billed yearly |
| Middle plan includes | 5,000 keywords, 30 projects, 3 seats, 25 AI prompts daily, 2 million audit pages a month, 50 content articles, 100,000 API credits | 5 websites, 500 keywords, 50 AI prompts daily, AI-ready Site Audit, MCP access |
| Top | Enterprise: custom | One Pro+: $299/mo, or $248.17/mo billed yearly (15 websites, 1,500 keywords, 100 AI prompts, historical data, content optimization). One Advanced: custom, 40+ websites and 5,000+ keywords |
| AI tracking alone | SE Visible from $71/mo | AI Visibility Toolkit: $99/mo for 25 prompts and 1 user |
| Extras | Seats from $16, Agency Pack $69/mo on yearly billing | Extra users from $45/mo |
| Trial | 14 days, no card (750 tracked keywords, 20 AI prompts a day) | 7 days for Semrush One, none for the AI Visibility Toolkit |
The SE Ranking trial is a real test run. You get 14 days with 750 tracked keywords and 20 AI prompts a day, and you never enter a card.
Arrowsterr: an SE Ranking and Semrush alternative for AI search
Arrowsterr is an AI visibility and SEO research platform. It shows how ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, Perplexity and Google’s AI results talk about your brand. It also gives you the keyword research and content tools to change what they say.
It suits SE Ranking and Semrush users who want AI search at the center of their work. You get 6 AIs on one plan, Claude included, and a Starter plan at $39 a month.
Arrowsterr features
- AI Visibility tracks your brand on ChatGPT, Gemini, Google AI Overviews and AI Mode daily, and on Claude and Perplexity weekly. See AI Visibility.
- Organic Search gives you keyword research with volume, difficulty, intent, questions and the Google top 10 with AI Overview sources. It also finds competitor keyword gaps. See Organic Search.
- The Sources report shows which sites AI answers cite, so you know where to get mentioned.
- Topic Bank and Content Plan turn research into a plan. Then the Agentic Writer drafts and publishes posts on Pro and up. See Agentic Content.
- The site audit crawls up to 200 pages and flags AI crawler blocks and page issues. Zippie, its AI agent, fixes them through your CMS.
- The MCP server and the API put Arrowsterr data in AI assistants and your own apps.
Arrowsterr pricing
| Plan | Price | Includes |
|---|---|---|
| Free forever | $0 | 10 prompts weekly on ChatGPT and AI Overviews, 200 research tasks, 1 brand, 1 seat |
| Starter | $39/mo | Pick one toolset: AI Visibility with 50 prompts daily on 6 AIs, or Organic Research with 3,000 tasks and Content Plan. 3 brands, 2 seats |
| Pro | $179/mo | Both toolsets, 150 prompts daily, 8,000 tasks, 10 brands, 5 seats, Agentic Writer |
| Agency | $499/mo | 400 prompts daily, 20,000 tasks, unlimited brands, 15 seats |
| Enterprise | From $1,500 | Custom plan |
Try both toolsets free for 7 days, with no card needed. See Arrowsterr pricing.
Arrowsterr vs SE Ranking and Semrush
| Feature | Arrowsterr | SE Ranking | Semrush |
|---|---|---|---|
| AIs tracked | 6: ChatGPT, Gemini, AI Overviews, AI Mode, Claude, Perplexity | 5 | 5, varies by report |
| Claude tracking | Yes, weekly | No | No |
| Perplexity tracking | Yes, weekly | Yes | Yes |
| AI prompts on the entry plan | 50 daily (Starter) | 25 daily (Core) | 25 (AI Visibility Toolkit) |
| Entry price | $39/mo | $129/mo | $139/mo (SEO), $99/mo (AI Visibility Toolkit) |
| Free plan | Free forever | 14 day trial | Free account, 10 reports a day |
| Content plan and writer | Topic Bank, Content Plan and Agentic Writer | AI Writer and content articles | Content optimization on Pro+ |
| AI crawler checks | In every site audit, plus a free AI crawler checker | Not public | AI-ready Site Audit on One Starter |
Start your free trial of Arrowsterr, with both toolsets for 7 days and no card.
Which should you choose: SE Ranking or Semrush?
Pick SE Ranking if:
- You track thousands of keywords and want them updated daily.
- You want AI prompt tracking included in your SEO plan.
- You want a full trial with no credit card.
- You run a small agency and want local tracking and client projects on one plan.
Pick Semrush if:
- You need the largest keyword and backlink databases.
- Link building or research in many countries is a big part of your work.
- You also run Google Ads and want ads research from the same vendor.
- You want to study AI answers for competitor domains, beyond your own prompts.
Agencies that track AI answers for many clients can also look at Arrowsterr for agencies.
SE Ranking vs Semrush FAQ
Is SE Ranking cheaper than Semrush?
At the entry level, yes. SE Ranking Core is $129 a month, and Semrush’s SEO plan is $139 a month. Core also includes 2,000 tracked keywords and AI prompt tracking. Semrush’s SEO plan includes 500 tracked keywords, and AI tracking comes with Semrush One or the AI Visibility Toolkit.
Does SE Ranking have as much data as Semrush?
No. Semrush has more than 26 billion keywords and more than 43 trillion backlinks. SE Ranking has 5.4 billion keywords and 2.7 trillion backlinks. For most single market sites, SE Ranking’s data is enough.
Do SE Ranking and Semrush track ChatGPT?
Yes, both do. SE Ranking tracks ChatGPT along with Google AI Overviews, AI Mode, Gemini and Perplexity. Semrush covers ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, AI Mode, Gemini and Perplexity, with coverage that varies by report.
Does SE Ranking have a free plan?
No. SE Ranking has a 14 day trial with no credit card. Semrush has a free account with 10 reports a day.
Which is better for agencies, SE Ranking or Semrush?
SE Ranking suits agencies that track many keywords for clients. Growth includes 5,000 keywords, 30 projects and 3 seats, and the Agency Pack is $69 a month on yearly billing. Semrush suits agencies that need deep research data, and its Advanced plan adds team users and reporting.
Who owns Semrush?
Adobe owns Semrush. Adobe agreed to buy it in November 2025, and the deal closed on April 28, 2026.
Summary: SE Ranking vs Semrush
Count the keywords you track today. Past 500, Semrush moves you up to One Pro+ at $299 a month. SE Ranking Core holds 2,000 for $129, and you can test it for 14 days without a card.
If research depth matters more than keyword count, open a free Semrush account. Its 7 day trial covers Semrush One, so you can test the AI tracking too.
The Arrowsterr team
We build Arrowsterr and spend our days helping brands show up in ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Google's AI answers. We sign up for every tool we review and check every price on the vendor's own site.
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