19 Best 2025 SEMrush Alternatives for Powerful SEO & Marketing Insights

Looking for a SEMrush alternative? You're not alone. Many marketers, bloggers, and business owners want tools that offer similar SEO and marketing features but at a lower cost or with easier-to-use dashboards. 

We’ll cover why people are switching, what to look for in a good SEO tool, and which SEMrush alternatives stand out in 2025. From all-in-one tools to free and niche options, there’s something here to help you grow your traffic and improve your rankings.

Why explore SEMrush alternatives?

SEMrush is a great SEO tool, but it’s not the best fit for everyone. Over time, I’ve noticed a few reasons why many people (myself included) start looking for other options.

• Pricing is one big reason. SEMrush can get expensive, especially for freelancers, bloggers, or small business owners who don’t need all the advanced features.
• Some people find the dashboard overwhelming or harder to use compared to simpler tools.
• Others need better data for local SEO or international markets, and SEMrush may not always deliver on that.
• If you're mainly focused on content writing or niche marketing, some tools are more tailored to your needs.
• For agencies or teams, multi-user access and client reporting can be limited or costly in SEMrush.

That’s why I recommend exploring other SEO tools, whether you're a marketer, business owner, writer, or eCommerce seller. The right alternative can save you money, match your workflow.

Key features to look for in SEMrush alternatives

When looking for a good SEMrush alternative, it’s important to focus on the features that really help your business grow. I’ve tested several tools, and here are the key things I always look for:

• Keyword Research: A strong SEO tool should help you find the right keywords with good search volume and low competition. This is useful for writers, bloggers, and marketers trying to get more traffic.
• Site Audit Tools: I like tools that clearly show what’s wrong with my website and how to fix it. This helps improve site health and Google rankings.
• Competitor Analysis: It’s important to see what your competitors are ranking for. Tools that show competitor keywords and backlinks are super helpful for strategy.
• Ease of Use: Some tools are too complex. I prefer platforms with clean dashboards and simple steps, especially useful for beginners or small teams.
• Accurate Rank Tracking: Tracking your rankings over time helps you know what’s working. This is great for agencies and content teams.
• Content Optimization: For bloggers and content marketers, tools that suggest ways to improve your writing for SEO are a big win.
• Pricing and Plans: Not everyone needs an expensive plan. I always look for tools that offer good value, free trials, or flexible pricing.

No matter your role, choosing a tool with these features can make your SEO work much easier and more effective.

Top SEMrush Alternatives: A Comprehensive List

7 best all-in-one SEO SEMrush alternatives

1. Ahrefs

Ahrefs has been around since 2011 and is one of the top all-in-one SEO tools today. Personally, I find Ahrefs really helpful when I want deep insights into what’s helping websites rank. Ahrefs stays focused on what it does best: SEO. That makes it perfect for serious SEO work like link-building and checking competitors.

Highlight features:

• Backlink Analysis: Tracks over 35 trillion backlinks to show where your links are coming from and how strong they are.
• Keywords Explorer: Checks over 22 billion keywords across 10 search engines and gives you useful data like how hard a keyword is and how much traffic it can bring.
• Site Audit: Scans your website for technical problems like broken links and helps improve overall site health.
• Content Explorer: Let's you find top-performing content on any topic, which is great for building your content strategy.
• Rank Tracker: Monitors your keyword rankings in 190 countries and shows your progress with easy-to-read graphs.

How it compares to SEMrush:

• Better Backlink Data: In my experience, Ahrefs often finds more links than SEMrush, which makes it great for link-building strategies.
• Focused on SEO: Ahrefs sticks to SEO and skips PPC or social media tools, making it simpler for users who only want SEO help.
• Traffic Potential Estimates: Gives a better picture of keyword potential by including variations, not just search volume, like SEMrush.
• Cleaner Dashboard: Easier to use if you want a less crowded interface, but it’s not ideal if you need PPC tools.
• No Free Trial: One downside: Ahrefs doesn’t offer a free trial, unlike SEMrush, so testing it out costs money.

Pricing: Starts at $129/month (or $83/month if billed annually). The highest plan goes up to $833/month.

Best for: SEO experts, content creators, and digital agencies who need strong tools for backlink research, keyword analysis, and technical SEO.

2. SE Ranking

SE Ranking started in 2013 and is a cloud-based, all-in-one SEO tool that offers a budget-friendly alternative to SEMrush. I like how it gives digital marketers and small businesses useful features without a high price tag. It has good tools for tracking keywords, checking competitors, and auditing websites, all while being easy to use. 

Highlight features:

• Rank Tracker: Tracks keywords on Google, Bing, Yahoo, and YouTube, even down to the city level.
• Website Audit: Checks over 70 SEO factors, finding issues like broken links and missing meta tags.
• Competitor Analysis: Shows competitors’ keywords, traffic, and backlink info to help with your strategy.
• On-Page SEO Checker: Gives clear tips to improve each page on your website.
• White-Label Reporting: Let's agencies create unlimited, branded reports without extra fees.

How it compares to SEMrush:

• Affordable Pricing: Starts at $55/month (billed yearly), which can be up to 55% cheaper than SEMrush’s $140/month plan.
• User-Friendly Interface: Easier to navigate than SEMrush’s busy dashboard, which I think is great for beginners.
• Smaller Keyword Database: Has fewer keywords than SEMrush, so it might not be the Best for big campaigns.
• Stronger Local SEO: Tracks rankings by city, which beats SEMrush’s focus on ZIP codes.
• Limited PPC Tools: Does not offer strong tools for paid ads or social media like SEMrush.

Pricing: Starts at $55/month (Essential plan, billed annually) and includes a 14-day free trial with no credit card needed. 

Best for: Small businesses, startups, and agencies who want an easy, affordable SEO tool with good rank tracking and white-label reports.

3. Moz Pro

Moz Pro has been around since 2004 and is a solid all-in-one SEO platform. I like Moz for its special scores like Domain Authority (DA) and Page Authority (PA), which help you understand how strong a website is. It’s great for link analysis, keyword research, and fixing site issues. 

Highlight features:

• Domain Authority Metric: Rates website strength from 0-100, helping with competitor checks and link-building.
• Keyword Explorer: Looks at 1.25 billion keywords and gives useful info like search volume and Priority Score.
• Link Explorer: Tracks 40 trillion backlinks and shows link quality and new opportunities.
• Site Crawl: Finds SEO problems like duplicate content and broken redirects.
• Rank Tracking: Watches keyword rankings in 200 countries and lets you customize reports.

How it compares to SEMrush:

• Unique Metrics: DA and PA offer insights that SEMrush doesn’t, which I find really helpful for evaluating sites.
• Strong Community Support: Has lots of free guides and forums, which I think beats SEMrush’s mainly paid training.
• Smaller Keyword Database: Has fewer keywords than SEMrush, which may limit big campaigns.
• Simpler Interface: Easier for beginners compared to SEMrush’s complex dashboard, but less flashy.
• Weaker PPC and Social Tools: Doesn’t have strong paid ads or social media features like SEMrush.

Pricing: Starts at $99/month (Standard plan, billed yearly) with a 30-day free trial. SEMrush Pro is $140/month.

Best for: SEO pros, small to medium businesses, and marketers who want reliable SEO metrics, link data, and good learning resources.

4. Serpstat

Serpstat started in 2013 and is a budget-friendly all-in-one SEO tool that works well as a SEMrush alternative. At first, it was just for keyword research, but now it has over 30 tools for SEO, PPC, and content marketing. Its AI-powered tools and strong local SEO features make it great for users watching their budget. 

Highlight features:

• Keyword Research: Checks 7 billion keywords across 230 Google databases, showing volume and difficulty.
• Rank Tracker: Tracks keyword rankings daily, with city-level accuracy for local SEO.
• Site Audit: Finds technical SEO problems on your site and ranks fixes by importance.
• Backlink Analysis: Shows backlink profiles but not as detailed as some competitors.
• AI Content Tools: Helps create meta tags, write articles, and rewrite text to improve content.

How it compares to SEMrush:

• Cost-Effective Pricing: Starts at $45/month (Lite plan, yearly billing), much cheaper than SEMrush’s $140/month Pro plan.
• Local SEO Strength: Offers detailed city-level rank tracking, better than SEMrush’s broader focus.
• Smaller Data Size: Has fewer keywords and backlinks than SEMrush, so it may not suit huge campaigns.
• User-Friendly Interface: Clean and colorful UI that’s easier to navigate than SEMrush’s busy dashboard.
• Limited PPC and Content Features: Doesn’t have the advanced PPC or content marketing tools like SEMrush’s Keyword Magic Tool.

Pricing: Starts at $45/month (Lite, annual), with a 7-day free trial. SEMrush Pro costs $140/month.

Best for: Small businesses, freelancers, and agencies who want affordable, easy-to-use SEO tools with solid keyword research and local SEO features.

5. Sistrix

Sistrix started in 2008 and is a German SEO tool known for its Visibility Index. It focuses on tracking how visible websites are in search results, keyword research, and competitor analysis, especially for European markets. Its big keyword database (450 million keywords worldwide) and content planning tools are great if you want data-driven SEO. 

Highlight features:

• Visibility Index: Measures how visible a website is in organic search across millions of sites, great for tracking trends.
• Keyword Research: Looks at 450 million keywords with info on search volume and ranking history.
• Competitor Analysis: Compares your keywords and traffic sources with competitors for useful insights.
• Site Audit: Finds SEO problems like broken links and slow site performance.
• Content Planner: Helps organize keywords by topic to plan better content.

How it compares to SEMrush:

• Better Visibility Tracking: Its Visibility Index beats SEMrush’s Visibility Score for long-term trend tracking.
• Strong European Focus: Has better keyword data for European markets, while SEMrush is more global.
• Limited PPC and Social Features: Doesn’t offer the same PPC or social media tools as SEMrush.
• Navigation Can Be Tricky: The interface isn’t as smooth or easy to use as SEMrush’s.
• More Historical Data: Gives over 10 years of SEO data, more than SEMrush, great for long-term strategies.

Pricing: Starts at €119/month (Optimizer plan, no free trial), up to €799/month for advanced options. 

Best for: Agencies and SEO pros focused on European markets who want deep visibility tracking, keyword research, and lots of historical data for smart SEO planning.

6. SEO PowerSuite

SEO PowerSuite, made by Link-Assistant in 2004, is a desktop SEO toolkit. It includes four main tools: Rank Tracker, Website Auditor, SEO SpyGlass, and LinkAssistant, which help with keyword research, site audits, backlink checks, and link building. 

Highlight features:

• Rank Tracker: Tracks unlimited keywords on over 400 search engines, including local ones.
• Website Auditor: Checks your site for technical SEO problems like broken links and duplicate content.
• SEO SpyGlass: Analyzes backlinks using a database of 3.6 trillion links and spots risky links that could cause penalties.
• LinkAssistant: Finds link-building chances using 10 methods, such as guest posting.
• Custom Reports: Creates white-label reports you can export for clients.

How it compares to SEMrush:

• Unlimited Keyword Tracking: Unlike SEMrush’s limits, you can track as many keywords as you want.
• Cost-Effective Pricing: One-time payment of $299 for the Professional plan, which is cheaper over time than SEMrush’s $140/month.
• Smaller Backlink Database: Has 3.6 trillion backlinks versus SEMrush’s 43 trillion, so less data depth.
• Offline Use: Runs on your computer, giving you full data control, unlike SEMrush’s cloud-based system.
• Limited Marketing Features: Missing PPC, social media, and content marketing tools found in SEMrush.

Pricing: Free plan with basic features. Professional plan at $299/year, Enterprise at $499/year (one-time purchase options available). SEMrush Pro starts at $140/month.

Best for: Small businesses, solo entrepreneurs, and budget-focused SEOs who want unlimited keyword tracking, offline access, and detailed, customizable reports for essential SEO work.

7. HubSpot

HubSpot, launched in 2006, is a top inbound marketing and CRM platform. HubSpot combines SEO with content management, email marketing, and customer relationship management (CRM). It is best for businesses that care more about generating leads and engaging customers than deep SEO analysis.

Highlight features:

• Content Management System: Helps create SEO-friendly blogs and landing pages, with built-in performance tracking.
• Keyword Tracking: Follows keyword rankings, gives tips to improve organic traffic.
• CRM Integration: Connects SEO work to leads and customer journeys, showing how SEO helps sales.
• Email Marketing: Automates email campaigns with personalized messages to keep audiences engaged.
• Social Media Tools: Let's you schedule posts and track how they perform on platforms like LinkedIn and Twitter.

How it compares to SEMrush:

• Integrated Marketing Suite: Combines SEO, CRM, and email marketing in one place, while SEMrush focuses mostly on SEO.
• Lead Generation Focus: Tracks leads and conversions better than SEMrush’s mainly analytics approach.
• Less Advanced SEO: Doesn’t match SEMrush’s detailed backlink analysis or huge keyword database (SEMrush has 25.3 billion keywords).
• User-Friendly Interface: Easier to navigate than SEMrush’s complex dashboard, good for non-SEO experts.
• Broader Marketing Features: Includes social media and email marketing tools, which SEMrush doesn’t have in its core plans.

Pricing: The Free plan offers basic CRM and SEO tools. Marketing Hub plans start at $18/month (Starter, annual) and go up to $3,600/month (Enterprise). 

Best for: Small to mid-sized businesses and marketing teams who want a single platform for SEO, lead tracking, and multi-channel marketing with strong CRM features.

Top 4 budget-friendly SEO SEMrush alternatives

1. Ubersuggest

Ubersuggest, bought by Neil Patel in 2017, is a budget-friendly SEO tool that works well as an alternative to SEMrush for small businesses and content creators. It covers important SEO features like keyword research, site audits, and backlink tracking, focusing on simplicity and low cost. 

Highlight features:

• Keyword Research: Checks 1.2 billion keywords with useful data like search volume, cost per click (CPC), and SEO difficulty.
• Site Audit: Finds SEO problems such as broken links and slow page speed.
• Backlink Tracker: Watches your backlink profile, showing referring domains and anchor text details.
• Content Ideas: Suggests popular topics and article ideas based on keyword trends.
• Chrome Extension: Shows SEO metrics live while you browse, making your workflow smoother.

How it compares to SEMrush for Budget-Friendly SEO:

Pricing: Free plan, Premium plans begin at $12/month (Individual, annual) or a $120 lifetime option; Business plans start at $20/month. 

Best for: Small businesses, bloggers, and startups who want affordable, easy-to-use SEO tools for keyword research, site audits, and basic competitor checks.

2. Mangools

Mangools, started in 2014, is a budget-friendly SEO toolkit that’s easy to use. It includes five main tools: KWFinder, SERPChecker, SERPWatcher, LinkMiner, and SiteProfiler, which cover keyword research, rank tracking, backlink analysis, and site audits.

Highlight features:

• KWFinder: Finds keywords with low competition, shows search volume, and difficulty.
• SERPChecker: Checks search results, including mobile and local ranks, plus competitor data.
• SERPWatcher: Tracks keyword rankings daily across many search engines.
• LinkMiner: Looks at backlink profiles using Majestic data, with a cool Website Preview tool.
• SiteProfiler: Gives domain authority and traffic estimates for competitor research.

How it compares to SEMrush for Budget-Friendly SEO:

Pricing: Free plan with limited tools. Paid plans start at $29/month (Basic, annual), up to $44.90/month (Premium), and $89.90/month (Agency).

Best for: Bloggers, small businesses, and SEO beginners who want affordable, easy-to-use tools for keyword research, rank tracking, and basic competitor analysis.

3. GrowthBar

GrowthBar, launched in 2020, is an AI-powered and budget-friendly SEO tool built mainly for bloggers and marketers. It mixes keyword research, competitor analysis, and AI content creation. GrowthBar focuses on organic growth, and AI content helps it stand out.

Highlight features:

• AI Content Generation: Uses GPT-3 to create SEO-friendly outlines and articles.
• Keyword Research: 6 billion keywords, search volume, and competition levels.
• Competitor Analysis: Tracks organic and paid keywords, backlinks, and top pages of competitors.
• Chrome Extension: Gives SEO info live, speeding up your workflow.
• Rank Tracking: Keeps an eye on unlimited keyword rankings for many sites.

How it compares to SEMrush for Budget-Friendly SEO:

Pricing: Free 5-day trial. Paid plans start at $29/month (Standard, 25 AI posts), $79/month (Pro, 100 AI posts), and $199/month (Agency, 300 AI posts). 

Best for: Bloggers, small businesses, and content creators who want affordable, AI-powered SEO tools for keyword research, content creation, and competitor tracking.

4. AccuRanker

AccuRanker, launched in 2013, is a focused SEO tool that specializes in fast and accurate rank tracking. AccuRanker sticks to what it does best, tracking rankings across Google, Bing, YouTube, and Baidu with instant updates.

Highlight features:

• Instant Rank Updates: Refreshes keyword rankings anytime with daily updates.
• Granular Tracking: Tracks keywords on desktop, mobile, and local searches in over 190 countries.
• Share of Voice: Shows how visible your site is compared to competitors in search results.
• White-Label Reports: Let's you create branded reports to share with clients.
• Third-Party Integrations: Works well with Google Analytics, Looker Studio, and DataBox for smooth workflows.

How it compares to SEMrush for Budget-Friendly Rank Tracking:

Pricing: Starts at $116/month for 1,000 keywords (annual billing), scaling up to $2,249/month for 50,000 keywords. Comes with a 14-day free trial. 

Best for: Agencies, freelancers, and small businesses that want accurate, budget-friendly rank tracking with great reporting and local SEO tracking.

5+ niche-focused SEO SEMrush alternatives

1. Majestic: Backlink Analysis

Majestic, launched in 2008, is a specialized SEO tool mainly focused on backlink analysis. It’s known for having a huge backlink database (15 trillion links) and unique metrics like Trust Flow and Citation Flow that help you understand the quality and authority of links. 

Highlight features:

• Site Explorer: Shows a detailed view of a website’s backlinks, including where links come from and the anchor text used.
• Trust Flow & Citation Flow: Special metrics that measure how trustworthy and influential backlinks are.
• Historic Index: Tracks backlink data going all the way back to 2006, helping spot long-term trends.
• Clique Hunter: Finds websites that link to many of your competitors, showing great places to get links.
• Bulk Backlink Checker: Lets you check up to 400 URLs at once, making competitor backlink research faster.

How it compares to SEMrush:

• Larger backlink database focused on deep link insights (15 trillion links vs. SEMrush’s 43 trillion, but Majestic goes deeper).
• Specialized metrics (Trust Flow & Citation Flow) give more detailed link quality info than SEMrush’s general metrics.
• Historic Index tracks backlinks further back in time, great for long-term link strategies.
• Niche focuses on backlinks only, no keyword research, PPC, or content tools like SEMrush offers.

Pricing:  Starts at $49.99/month (Lite plan, annual billing) with a free basic plan for simple backlink checks. 

Best for: SEO agencies, link builders, and specialists who need detailed, budget-friendly backlink analysis and historical link data.

2. Raven Tools, LLC: Agency Reporting

Raven Tools, launched in 2007, is a specialized SEO platform that focuses mainly on white-label reporting. It pulls data from SEO, PPC, and social media into customizable reports that can be automatically sent to clients, helping save time and maintain your brand. In my experience, Raven Tools works best if your priority is clean, branded reporting rather than a full SEO toolbox.

Highlight features:

• White-Label Reports: Fully customizable and branded reports that can be scheduled and sent automatically to clients.
• Site Auditor: Finds SEO problems like broken links and duplicate content.
• Rank Tracking: Tracks keyword positions on Google and Bing with daily updates.
• Marketing Integrations: Pulls data from Google Ads, Google Analytics, and social media platforms like Twitter.
• Campaign Manager: Combines SEO, PPC, and social campaigns in one place for easier client management.

How it compares to SEMrush for Agency Reporting:

• More flexible, white-label reporting than SEMrush’s standard templates.
• Automates report creation and delivery, saving agencies time compared to SEMrush’s more manual reports.
• Smaller keyword and backlink databases, so less data than SEMrush.
• Focuses on agency client management and reporting instead of the wide SEO/PPC tools SEMrush offers.

Pricing: Starts at $39/month (Start plan, annual billing) with a 7-day free trial, up to $399/month (Scale plan). 

Best for: SEO and digital marketing agencies that want affordable, easy-to-brand reporting tools to create professional client reports and manage campaigns smoothly.

3. SpyFu: Competitor Analysis

SpyFu, launched in 2005, is an SEO tool that focuses mainly on competitor analysis. It’s great at showing you competitors’ keywords, PPC ad campaigns, and backlinks. The keyword database (8 billion) is smaller than SEMrush’s (25.3 billion), but if you’re mainly after competitor intel, SpyFu covers that well. 

Highlight features:

• Competitor Keyword Analysis: Finds organic and paid keywords that bring traffic to your competitors.
• Ad History: Tracks rivals’ PPC campaigns, including budgets and ad copy over several years.
• Backlink Spy: Shows where competitors get backlinks from with filters.
• Kombat Tool: Compare up to three websites to find unique and shared keywords.
• Rank Tracking: Tracks keyword rankings on Google, with easy-to-export reports.

How it compares to SEMrush for Competitor Analysis:

• Provides deeper PPC insights with detailed ad history and budget info..
• Has a smaller SEO feature set than SEMrush’s technical SEO and content tools.
• Focuses heavily on competitor strategies instead of broader keyword research.
• Offers longer historical PPC data, useful for planning ad campaigns over time.

Pricing: Starts at $39/month (Basic, annual plan) or $16/month (Basic, 3-year plan) with a 30-day money-back guarantee.

Best for: Digital marketers, PPC specialists, and small businesses looking for affordable, detailed competitor insights for SEO and paid ads.

4. BuzzSumo: Content Marketing

BuzzSumo, launched in 2014, is a content marketing tool focused mainly on helping content creators and marketers find what works best online. BuzzSumo shines when it comes to spotting viral content and tracking social media engagement. It’s perfect for anyone focusing on content strategy rather than technical SEO or paid ads.

Highlight features:

• Content Analyzer: Shows top-performing content by topic, website, or keyword, with engagement stats.
• Influencer Discovery: Helps find important influencers on platforms like X (Twitter) and YouTube.
• Trending Topics: Tracks real-time popular content to guide your strategy.
• Backlink Tracking: Keeps an eye on content shares and backlinks to spot viral hits.
• Social Media Insights: Analyzes engagement on Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest, and more.

How it compares to SEMrush for Content Marketing:

• Offers deeper data on content engagement and shares than SEMrush’s Content Marketing Toolkit.
• Better influencer discovery tools, while SEMrush’s influencer features are limited.
• Doesn’t have the same SEO depth, lacking keyword research and technical SEO tools that SEMrush has.
• Real-time trending topic alerts give you fresh insights, unlike SEMrush’s slower, static audits.

Pricing: Starts at $199/month (Content Creation, annual plan) with a 7-day free trial, scaling up to $999/month for Enterprise.

Best for: Content marketers, bloggers, and social media managers who want detailed insights on content performance, influencer outreach, and trending topics to help create viral campaigns.

5. CognitiveSEO: SEO Analysis & Strategy

Launched in 2010, CognitiveSEO is a cloud-based SEO tool that focuses on backlink analysis and content optimization. With a keyword database of 7 billion, CognitiveSEO really shines in deep link analysis and helping improve content. 

Highlight features:

• Backlink Analysis: Tracks up to 200,000 inbound links per project, matching big names like Ahrefs.
• Content Optimizer: Gives keyword ideas and tips to improve content for better search rankings.
• Site Audit: Finds over 100 SEO issues like duplicate content, slow-loading pages.
• Rank Tracking: Keeps tabs on keyword rankings with real-time data.
• Customizable Dashboard: Lets you create dashboards with 35+ SEO metrics for a tailored view.

How it compares to SEMrush in SEO Analysis & Strategy:

• Offers very detailed backlink info, on par with Ahrefs and more focused than SEMrush’s broader link data.
• Strong content optimization tools, including support for multiple languages, while SEMrush focuses mostly on English.
• Smaller keyword database, so it might not scale as well for very large campaigns compared to SEMrush.
• Advanced custom dashboards provide better visual reports than SEMrush’s standard ones, which I find great for specialists.
• Doesn’t have PPC or social media tools, focusing fully on SEO instead.

Pricing: Starts at $129.99/month (Starter plan, annual), with a 7-day free trial. 

Best for: SEO specialists, content marketers, and agencies looking for deep backlink insights and content optimization to boost organic SEO growth strategically.

3+ Free SEMrush alternatives

1. Google Keyword Planner

Google Keyword Planner has been part of Google Ads since 2013. It’s a free tool for finding keywords and is a budget-friendly alternative to SEMrush for keyword research. Originally made for advertisers, it also gives useful info for organic SEO by showing keyword ideas and how often people search for them. 

Highlight features:

• Keyword Suggestions: Comes up with keyword ideas based on your starting words, websites, or product types.
• Search Volume Data: Shows how many searches keywords get each month and their trends over time.
• Competition Metrics: Tells you if keywords are easy or hard to compete for in ads.
• Forecasting Tool: Predicts how many clicks and views you might get depending on your ad budget.
• Google Ads Integration: Works seamlessly with Google Ads to help optimize ad campaigns.

Best for: Small businesses, startups, and beginner SEOs who want free, reliable keyword research directly from Google for both organic SEO and paid ads.

2. Google Search Console

Google Search Console (GSC) started in 2006 and is a free SEO tool that helps you see how your website is doing in Google search. It focuses on technical SEO stuff like indexing and how Google crawls your site. I think GSC is a must-have for any website owner because it’s free and shows important info about how Google views your site. Still, it doesn’t help with keyword research or paid ads.

Highlight features:

• Performance Reports: Tracks clicks, impressions, and click-through rates for your pages and search queries.
• Index Coverage: Shows problems with pages Google can’t index and helps submit sitemaps.
• URL Inspection: Check if a specific page is indexed and how Google sees it.
• Mobile Usability: Flags issues that might make your site hard to use on phones.
• Core Web Vitals: Measures page speed and how users interact with your site.

Best for: Website owners, bloggers, and SEOs who want free, useful tools to monitor and improve their site’s performance in Google search.

3. Google Analytics

Google Analytics 4, released in 2020, is a free tool for tracking visitors and how they use your website. GA4 is excellent for businesses of all sizes that want detailed info on who visits their site, where they come from, and what actions they take, which is key for shaping SEO and marketing. It’s less focused on technical SEO but great for overall website performance analysis.

Highlight features:

• Audience Insights: Shows who your visitors are, their interests, and how they behave on your site.
• Acquisition Reports: Breaks down where your traffic comes fromcsearch engines, social media, referrals, and more.
• Conversion Tracking: Monitors goals like sales, sign-ups, or other actions.
• Real-Time Data: Lets you see live visitor activity to adjust campaigns quickly.
• Google Ads Integration: Combines data from Google Ads and Search Console for a full picture.

Best for: Businesses, marketers, and e-commerce sites needing free, detailed insights into traffic and conversions to guide SEO and marketing efforts.

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How to choose the right SEO tool for your business

Picking the right SEO tool can feel confusing, but it gets easier if you think about a few key things. Here’s my simple advice to help you choose:

• Know what you need: Are you looking for help with keywords, checking backlinks, finding popular content, or fixing website issues? Different tools do different jobs. For example, SpyFu is great for spying on competitors, and BuzzSumo helps find trending topics.
• Think about your budget: Some tools cost a lot. If you’re just starting or have a small business, free tools like Google Keyword Planner and Search Console are great. If you need more features, paid tools like SEMrush are worth it, but more expensive.
• Match the tool to your job: If you run a business, all-in-one tools like SEMrush might work best. Writers and content creators usually like BuzzSumo. People who run ads might find SpyFu handy. SEO experts may prefer tools like CognitiveSEO for deep link info.
• Choose something easy to use: Pick a tool that you find simple and not too confusing.

From what I’ve seen, it’s a good idea to start with free tools first. That way, you can figure out what you really need before paying for anything.

Final Takeaways

In short, there are many good Semrush alternatives that can help with different parts of SEO and marketing. My advice is to think about what matters most for your business or project and try out free options first. That way, you can find the best tool to help you grow without paying for features you don’t need.

FAQs

1. Should I use Ahrefs or Semrush?

Both are great SEO tools. Use Ahrefs if you want deep backlink data and easy keyword research. Choose Semrush if you want an all-in-one tool with SEO, PPC, and content marketing features.

2. Which SEO tool is cheaper than Semrush?

Tools like SpyFu, Raven Tools, and Majestic usually cost less than Semrush and are good if you want to focus on specific SEO tasks without paying for everything.

3. Is Google Analytics better than Semrush?

Google Analytics is free and great for tracking website visitors and behavior. Semrush is better for SEO research and competitor analysis. They work well together but serve different purposes.