Cheaper Semrush Alternatives in 2026: What You Give Up at Each Price
SE Ranking Core, Moz Pro Standard and SpyFu Basic each cost less than Semrush's SEO plan on either billing basis. SE Ranking Core gives the most keyword room, Moz Pro Standard is the choice if 300 keywords is enough, and SpyFu Basic has the lowest bill but the thinnest history.
Toolradar data: Toolradar tracks 281 SEO tools as of October 24, 2026, and 47% of them are free, freemium or open source. The median cheapest paid plan is $30.24 a month across the 109 tools that publish a price, so Semrush's SEO plan sits well above the category median. The SEO tools ranking on Toolradar has the full list.
What Semrush charges for the same job
Semrush's pricing page lists Free, SEO, Starter, Pro+ and Advanced. The SEO plan is the baseline here:
- SEO: $139 a month billed monthly, or $117 a month billed annually. Five websites, 500 keywords tracked daily, position tracking, site audit and AI visibility reports for any domain.
- Starter: $199 a month billed monthly, or $165 billed annually. Five websites, 500 keywords and 50 prompts tracked daily.
- Pro+: $299 a month billed monthly, or $248 billed annually. 15 websites, 1,500 keywords and historical SEO data.
- Extra users start at $45 a month.
At $117 a month billed annually, the SEO plan costs $1,404 a year. Semrush's pricing page as archived on October 12, 2026 prints these prices. Toolradar's aggregate puts Semrush at 4.5 out of 5 from 6,361 ratings, on its Semrush listing.
How we ranked and priced them
Prices are the list prices each vendor shows for the plan named, as of October 2026. Yearly totals multiply the shown monthly price by 12. Ratings are Toolradar's aggregate of G2 and Capterra ratings, as shown on each Toolradar listing. The order follows fit for one SEO lead tracking about 500 keywords, not price alone, so the cheapest row sits third.
| Rank | Tool and plan | Monthly billing | Annual billing | Keywords | Seats and projects | Toolradar rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | SE Ranking Core | $129/mo | $103.20/mo ($1,238.40 a year) | 2,000 tracked daily | 1 manager seat, 10 projects | 4.7 from 2,710 ratings |
| 2 | Moz Pro Standard | $99/mo | $79/mo billed yearly ($950 billed for the first year, per Moz) | 300 tracked keywords per month | 1 user, 3 tracked sites | 4.4 from 958 ratings |
| 3 | SpyFu Basic | $39/mo | $29/mo ($348 a year) | 10,000 search results; 5,000 weekly tracked rankings | 1 user | 4.5 from 663 ratings |
Cost per tracked keyword and the annual discount
A monthly price alone hides how much tracking each dollar buys, so divide it by the keyword cap. On annual billing, Semrush's SEO plan works out to about $0.23 a month per keyword ($117 divided by 500). SE Ranking Core comes to about $0.05 ($103.20 divided by 2,000), and Moz Pro Standard to about $0.26 ($79 divided by 300). Moz is the second-cheapest total after SpyFu, yet it has the highest price per keyword of these three, so it only wins when the list is small. SpyFu counts differently (10,000 search results and 5,000 weekly tracked rankings), so it is left out of the per-keyword comparison.
Annual billing takes about 16% off Semrush's SEO plan, 20% off Moz Pro Standard and SE Ranking Core, and roughly 26% off SpyFu Basic. The discount is worth taking only if you will keep the same tool for a year.
SE Ranking Core: the most keyword room for the money
SE Ranking's pricing page lists Core at $129 a month billed monthly and $103.20 a month billed annually, a 20% saving on annual billing. Core includes 10 projects, one manager seat, 2,000 keywords tracked daily, 100 prompts tracked daily and 250,000 pages a month in site audit.
The catch is the seat count. Extra manager seats start at $16 a month. The Growth plan, at $279 a month billed monthly or $223.20 billed annually, adds three manager seats, 30 projects and 5,000 keywords. Toolradar's aggregate gives SE Ranking the highest rating of the three picks, 4.7 out of 5 from 2,710 ratings, and its SE Ranking listing on Toolradar shows the sources.
Pick it when 500 keywords is too few and you want AI prompt tracking on a single login.
Moz Pro Standard: a lower bill with 300 tracked keywords
Moz's pricing page lists Standard at $99 a month, or $79 a month when you pay yearly ($950 billed for the first year). It includes one user, three tracked sites and 300 tracked keywords per month. Medium is $179 a month or $143 a month billed yearly, with two users, 10 sites and 1,500 keywords. Moz also lists an entry plan at $49 a month for individuals managing a single website.
The catch is the keyword ceiling. 300 tracked keywords per month is well under the 500 keywords tracked daily on Semrush's SEO plan, and the two limits are counted differently. Toolradar's aggregate rates Moz Pro at 4.4 out of 5 from 958 ratings, the lowest of the three picks, and the Moz Pro listing on Toolradar shows the split by platform.
Pick it for a solo SEO whose tracked list stays under 300 keywords and who pays yearly.
SpyFu Basic: the lowest bill of the three, with less history
SpyFu's pricing page lists Basic at $39 a month, or $29 a month billed annually, a saving of $120 a year. Basic includes one user, 10,000 search results, 5,000 weekly tracked keyword rankings, 50,000 site-audit pages a month and up to 500 pages per crawl.
The catch is what Basic leaves out. Organic ranking history and 10-plus years of ad history are not on Basic. They are included on Pro + AI, which is $59 for its first month and $119 a month after that on monthly billing, or $89 a month billed annually, and on Team/Agency, at $249 a month or $187 billed annually, which also adds five users. Toolradar's aggregate puts SpyFu at 4.5 out of 5 from 663 ratings, and the SpyFu listing on Toolradar carries the same figure.
Pick it for competitor research on one login at the lowest bill, and skip it if you need ranking history.
Ahrefs: compare the same billing basis
Ahrefs' pricing page lists Lite at $129 a month, with 750 tracked keywords, one included user and extra users at $40 a month each, and says annual billing saves up to 17%. Lite tracks 250 more keywords than Semrush's SEO plan, so compare the monthly and annual prices on the same billing basis on Ahrefs' page before treating it as cheaper or dearer. Ahrefs' Starter card on that page reads "See what people search and spy on competitors." That is a research product, not a Semrush-style suite.
Where Semrush keeps the edge
Semrush's SEO plan covers five websites, 500 keywords tracked daily, site audit, position tracking and AI visibility reports for any domain on one plan. Where it pulls ahead is depth at the higher tiers. Starter, at $199 a month billed monthly, adds MCP access and 50 prompts tracked daily. Pro+ lifts the limits to 15 websites and 1,500 keywords, and adds historical SEO data, content optimization and keyword cannibalization analysis. If your work needs those, price Pro+ against the three picks, not against the SEO plan.
Who should pay and who should skip
- Pay for SE Ranking Core if one seat and 2,000 keywords cover the work and AI prompt tracking matters.
- Pay for Moz Pro Standard if your tracked list fits in 300 keyword rankings and you pay yearly.
- Pay for SpyFu Basic if competitor research is the job and you can do without ranking history.
- Skip Core if you need Semrush's Pro+ features, such as historical SEO data (SE Ranking has it only on Growth, at $279 a month billed monthly), content optimization, keyword cannibalization analysis or multi-location tracking.
Before you switch
Count your tracked keywords and websites first, because the keyword cap is what moves each plan up a tier. Then decide how much history you need. SpyFu Basic leaves out organic ranking history, and Ahrefs, which is not a pick here, gives its Lite plan six months of history against two years on Standard. Last, count seats: one login is the scenario this page ranks for, and an extra seat starts at $16 on SE Ranking, $30 on SpyFu's Pro + AI plan and $45 on Semrush.
FAQ
What is the cheapest Semrush alternative?
SpyFu Basic has the lowest bill of the three picks at $29 a month billed annually, or $348 a year, for one user, with 5,000 weekly tracked keyword rankings, but it has no organic ranking history on that plan. SE Ranking Core has the most keyword room at $103.20 a month billed annually, with 2,000 keywords tracked daily. The two limits are counted differently.
Is Ahrefs cheaper than Semrush?
It depends on the billing basis. Ahrefs' pricing page lists Lite at $129 a month and says annual billing saves up to 17%, so compare the same basis on Ahrefs' page. Its Starter is a separate product rather than a replacement for a full suite.
Does Semrush have a free plan?
Yes. The free plan costs $0 and includes one demo project and 10 reports a day. That is a trial of the platform rather than a working tracker for a keyword list.
How much does annual billing save?
Annual billing cuts the monthly price by $22 on Semrush's SEO plan, $25.80 on SE Ranking Core, $20 on Moz Pro Standard and $10 on SpyFu Basic. Over a year those gaps are $264, $309.60, $240 and $120.
Which option fits a team of three?
SE Ranking Growth includes three manager seats at $279 a month billed monthly or $223.20 billed annually. On Core, extra manager seats start at $16. Semrush adds users from $45 a month. SpyFu's Basic plan includes one user, and extra users cost $30 each on Pro + AI and Team/Agency.
Related guides
Related Dupple guides: cheaper Asana alternatives prices ten seats, best free SEO tools lists what each free plan caps, best AI SEO tools covers AI visibility suites, and best local SEO tools prices one location. For the AI side of search, read what answer engine optimization is, AI search visibility on ChatGPT and Perplexity and best generative engine optimization tools. For competitor research, see best AI competitive intelligence tools, and for the wider marketing stack, best AI tools for marketing. For more options, see the Semrush alternatives page on Toolradar, the Ahrefs listing and the full Dupple learning hub.
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Across our whole catalogue the median is $23.50 a month and 37% of tools advertise a free tier. Figures are the lowest recurring monthly price quoted in our own review of each tool, read on 2026-10-23. Full method and every category.
