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Semrush Review
Reviewed by Carlos Gil · Founder & Editor, The Best Network
Updated 8 min readEditorially reviewed
Quick facts
- Starting price
- SEO plan $117.33/mo billed annually ($139 monthly)
- Free plan
- Yes
- Best for
- In-house SEO teams, agencies and consultants who want keyword, backlink, competitor, site audit and AI visibility data in one subscription
- Platforms
- Web app; Chrome extensions (SEO Writing Assistant, SEOquake); API, Trends API, MCP server and Claude connector
BestStacked Score
Weighted average of 5 categories. Methodology below.
Quick answer
What is Semrush, and is it worth paying for?
Semrush is a subscription SEO suite: keyword research, competitor and backlink analysis, rank tracking, site audits and reporting, with AI search visibility tracking (how ChatGPT, Google AI Mode and other assistants mention your brand) added to every paid SEO + AI Search plan. Content, Local, Social, Advertising, AI PR and Traffic & Market are separate toolkits with separate prices. It's worth paying for if SEO is a core channel and you'll use the research data every week; it's expensive for occasional checks. The SEO plan costs $117.33 a month billed annually ($139 monthly) for 5 monitored websites and 500 keywords tracked daily, checked on Semrush's pricing page on October 13, 2026. There's a free plan with 10 reports a day and a 7-day trial. Adobe completed its acquisition of Semrush on April 28, 2026.
- Best for
- SEO teams and agencies that need keyword, backlink, competitor and technical audit data daily, and want AI search visibility tracked in the same tool.
- Skip it if
- You only need on-page content optimization or a few rank checks a month; Surfer or Moz Pro's cheaper tiers cost less for that.
- Strongest capability
- Breadth of research data: Semrush says it holds 28 billion keywords, 43 trillion backlinks and 808 million domain profiles across 142 geo databases, plus over 317 million LLM prompts.
- Biggest limitation
- Cost stacking: extra users cost $45 to $100 a month each, most toolkits are billed separately, and month-to-month plans are excluded from the 7-day money-back guarantee.
The Verdict
Semrush remains one of the widest SEO data platforms you can buy without a sales call. The SEO plan covers keyword research, competitor analysis, Position Tracking and Site Audit, and the Semrush One tiers (Starter, Pro+ and Advanced) add daily AI prompt tracking and AI brand performance reports on top of the same SEO limits. In 2026 it shipped an official Claude connector (August), an MCP server and App Center additions such as Crazy Egg, and Adobe completed its purchase of the company in April; Semrush's customer FAQ says there are no immediate changes to products, billing or contracts. The weaknesses are price and packaging. Extra users cost $45, $80 or $100 a month depending on tier, Content, Local, Social, Advertising, AI PR and Traffic & Market are priced separately, Standard API access needs the top tier plus purchased units, and the 7-day refund applies only to first-time annual purchases. Semrush's help center also still lists older plan names and prices next to the current pricing page. We score Semrush 8.4/10.
Best for
SEO teams and agencies that use research, rank tracking and audit data every week and want AI visibility tracking alongside it.
Skip if
You need a cheap single-purpose tool, have several people who each need a seat, or want refundable monthly billing.
AlternativesMoz Pro, Surfer SEO, Writesonic
The Background
What Is Semrush?
Semrush (semrush.com, contracted through Semrush Inc. of Boston under its terms of service) is an online visibility platform built around an SEO research database. Its core SEO + AI Search plans combine keyword research, domain and backlink analysis, Position Tracking, Site Audit and reporting with AI Visibility features that track how AI assistants mention a brand. Around that core it sells separate toolkits: AI Visibility (standalone), Traffic & Market for competitor traffic estimates, Local for Google Business Profile management, Content for AI-assisted writing, Social, Advertising, and AI PR for media outreach, plus an App Center of third-party apps. Adobe announced the acquisition in November 2025 and completed it on April 28, 2026; Semrush now describes itself as an Adobe company, and Adobe launched Adobe Brand Visibility using Semrush data in June 2026. The database figures quoted in this review are Semrush's own claims.
The Product
Semrush Features: What You Actually Get
Keyword, competitor and backlink research
Semrush's research reports cover keyword volumes and difficulty, organic and paid competitors, and backlink profiles. Semrush says its database holds 28 billion keywords, 43 trillion backlinks and 808 million domain profiles across 142 geo databases; those are its figures. The SEO Toolkit help article lists 10,000 results per report on Pro, 30,000 on Guru and 50,000 on Business, and historical data from Guru (Pro+ on the current pricing page).
A content lead pulls the keywords a competitor ranks for but their own site doesn't, filters by difficulty, and exports a shortlist for next quarter's articles.
Position Tracking and Site Audit
Every paid SEO + AI Search plan includes daily rank tracking (500 keywords on SEO and Starter, 1,500 on Pro+, 5,000 on Advanced) and Site Audit. The help center lists 100,000 pages to crawl a month on Pro, 300,000 on Guru and 1,000,000 on Business. Multi-location and device tracking starts on Pro+, and SEO share of voice on Advanced.
An agency tracks 300 keywords for a client on desktop and mobile and runs a weekly audit to catch broken links and crawl errors after site releases.
AI Visibility and prompt tracking
The SEO plan includes AI visibility reports for any domain and custom prompt monitoring; Starter tracks 50 prompts daily with 300 AI visibility reports a day and one domain for AI brand performance, Pro+ 100 prompts and Advanced 200. The standalone AI Visibility Toolkit costs $99 a month with 25 prompts and no free trial, according to its help article; 50 more prompts cost $60 a month. The help article says Prompt Tracking covers Google AI Mode and ChatGPT.
A SaaS marketing team tracks 50 buying-intent prompts daily to see whether ChatGPT recommends them or a rival, and which pages get cited.
Separate toolkits for content, local, social, ads and PR
Content ($60 a month, 5 SEO-boosted articles), Local ($30 or $60 per location), Social ($20, $40 or $250), Advertising ($99 or $220), AI PR ($149, $279 or $499) and Traffic & Market ($289) are priced on their own pages. Toolkits without the SEO Toolkit cost $20 per extra user; Traffic & Market and AI Visibility need a paid seat for each user.
A multi-location dentist adds Local Pro for three offices to manage Google Business Profiles, listings and review replies without paying for a full SEO plan.
API, MCP server and Claude connector
The Standard API is for SEO Business (Advanced) subscribers who buy API unit packages; one line of a domain organic keywords report costs 10 units live or 50 historical. Semrush's MCP server gives AI assistants such as Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor and Perplexity access to its data, with 50,000 API units included on Starter, Pro+ and SEO Classic Pro and Guru. An official Claude connector launched on August 26, 2026 for all Semrush One and SEO Classic subscribers.
An SEO consultant asks Claude, through the connector, to compare a client's backlink gaps with two competitors and draft the outreach list.
Feature recap
- Keyword, domain, competitor and backlink research
- Daily Position Tracking from 500 keywords and Site Audit on every paid plan
- AI visibility reports and daily prompt tracking (50 to 200 prompts on Semrush One)
- My Reports with Base ($10) and Pro ($20, white-label) report add-ons
- Separate Content, Local, Social, Advertising, AI PR and Traffic & Market toolkits
- Standard API on the top tier, MCP server and an official Claude connector
- Free plan with 10 reports a day and a 7-day trial on paid plans
The Numbers
Semrush Pricing: Every Plan Explained
These are the SEO + AI Search plans from Semrush's pricing page, checked October 13, 2026, in USD. Annual prices are shown as the monthly equivalent but are paid upfront for the year. Users share most plan limits; each extra user is a paid add-on.
| Plan | Monthly | Annual | Included Features | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | $0 | 1 demo project, 10 reports a day across core tools, AI Visibility features, Help Center and basic onboarding; support for billing and account questions only | Trying the data |
| SEO | $139/mo | $117.33/mo | 5 websites, 500 keywords tracked daily, keyword research, competitor analysis, Position Tracking, Site Audit, AI visibility reports and custom prompt monitoring | Freelancers and small businesses |
| Starter (Semrush One)Best value | $199/mo | $165.17/mo | 5 websites, 500 keywords, 50 AI prompts tracked daily, 1 domain for AI brand performance, 300 AI visibility reports a day, AI-ready Site Audit, MCP access | Small teams tracking SEO and AI search |
| Pro+ (Semrush One) | $299/mo | $248.17/mo | 15 websites, 1,500 keywords, 100 prompts daily, historical data, content optimization, keyword cannibalization analysis, multi-location and device tracking | Growing agencies |
| Advanced (Semrush One) | $549/mo | $455.67/mo | 40 websites, 5,000 keywords, 200 prompts daily, SEO share of voice, API data integration (units bought separately) | Large agencies and in-house teams |
| Add-ons and toolkits | Users from $45/mo; reports $10 or $20/mo | Prorated on annual plans | Extra users $45, $80 or $100 by tier; Lead Generation $90; AI Visibility Toolkit $99; Content $60; Local from $30 per location; Social from $20; Advertising from $99; AI PR from $149; Traffic & Market $289 | Add as needed |
| Enterprise | Custom | Custom | Unlimited projects and custom limits, large-scale prompt tracking, SSO, audit logs, custom integrations, dedicated account manager, SLA and 24/7 support | Multi-brand organizations |
A two-person agency on Pro+ billed annually pays $248.17 a month plus $80 for the second user, about $328 a month or roughly $3,940 a year paid upfront, before any toolkit (our arithmetic from Semrush's listed prices). Semrush's billing FAQ puts annual savings at around 17% and says annual plans are paid upfront; add-ons on annual plans are prorated to the remaining term. The 7-day trial needs a card: Semrush places a small verification charge, refunds it, and the trial converts to a paid plan automatically unless you cancel. Each account gets one trial. Semrush's Cancellation and Refund Policy (updated August 20, 2025) offers a one-time 7-day money-back guarantee only on first purchases with a 12-month or longer commitment, or first-time add-ons, bought on semrush.com by credit card; month-to-month plans, renewals and trial conversions of standalone products aren't eligible, and approved refunds are processed within 30 days. Its terms (updated August 25, 2026) say subscriptions renew automatically on the then-current terms, price changes apply at renewal, and fees are otherwise non-refundable. To cancel, you submit a form while logged in and click an email link valid for 24 hours; cancellation takes effect at the end of the paid term.
Ownership and rules
Adobe ownership, account sharing and data rules
Adobe completed its acquisition of Semrush on April 28, 2026. Semrush's customer FAQ, published the same day, says there are no immediate changes to services, agreements, billing or support, and that Semrush will join Adobe's data protection program. In June 2026 Adobe announced Adobe Brand Visibility, which combines Semrush's AI visibility data with Adobe LLM Optimizer; it's an Adobe enterprise product, and its announcement doesn't say how it relates to Semrush plans.
Semrush's terms (August 25, 2026) say each account is for one individual and two or more people may not share a login; Semrush can suspend accounts with repeated access from multiple locations or devices beyond plan limits. The terms also bar scraping the service, reselling it, and using Semrush outputs to train AI models except through official integrations. Disputes for US users go to individual AAA arbitration under Massachusetts law, and Semrush caps its liability at the greater of $50 or what you paid in the prior three months.
Read before you buy
Where Semrush's own pages differ
Plan names and prices: the pricing page sells SEO at $139 a month and Semrush One Starter, Pro+ and Advanced at $199, $299 and $549, while the SEO Toolkit pricing article in the Knowledge Base still lists Pro at $139.95, Guru at $249.95 and Business at $499.95. Other help pages refer to these older tiers as SEO Classic.
Monthly or annual toolkit prices: the toolkit pricing pages show AI Visibility ($99 per domain), Social ($20, $40, $250), Advertising ($99, $220), AI PR ($149, $279, $499) and Content ($60) as billed annually, while the matching Knowledge Base articles list the same figures as monthly prices. The Social article marks its Base and Pro prices with an asterisk it doesn't explain.
API access: the developer API access page says Standard API access is for SEO Business subscribers, and the pricing page lists API data integration only on Advanced, while the MCP page says Starter, Pro+ and SEO Classic Pro and Guru include 50,000 API units for MCP use.
Traffic & Market seats and trials: the user management article prices each Traffic & Market user at $289, the pricing page says to contact Semrush for extra users, and the Traffic & Market article says Pro includes one seat with team access on a custom plan. The free trial page offers a self-serve Traffic & Market trial, while the Traffic & Market article says trials are handled through the account team.
The Tradeoffs
Semrush Pros and Cons
What we love
- Very broad keyword, backlink and competitor research data
- Rank tracking, Site Audit and AI visibility on every paid SEO plan
- Free plan and a 7-day trial before you commit
- Separate toolkits let local, social or PR users skip the SEO plan
- MCP server and official Claude connector for AI assistants
- Large Knowledge Base, Academy and webinars for self-service learning
What could be better
- Extra users cost $45 to $100 a month each on SEO plans
- Toolkits and seats for Traffic & Market and AI Visibility add up quickly
- Monthly plans are excluded from the 7-day money-back guarantee
- Standard API needs the top tier plus separately bought units
- Help-center articles still show older plan names and prices
- Free users get support only for billing, account and legal questions
The Audience
Who Should Use Semrush?
Best for: SEO agencies managing several clients
Pro+ covers 15 websites and 1,500 tracked keywords with historical data and multi-location tracking, and Pro Report add-ons give white-labeled client reports.
Best for: in-house teams adding AI search to SEO
Teams that already rely on rank tracking and audits can add daily AI prompt tracking and brand performance reports through Starter rather than buying a second tool.
Skip if: you mainly need content optimization on a budget
Writers and small sites that only need on-page content guidance or a handful of rank checks will pay less with Surfer or Moz Pro's entry plans.
The Methodology
How We Reviewed Semrush
This is an editorial review, not a documented hands-on test. We didn't use a Semrush account for this review. It's based on Semrush's pricing pages for SEO + AI Search and each toolkit, Knowledge Base articles on plans, limits, users, AI Visibility, Content, Local, Social, Advertising, AI PR, Traffic & Market, billing, cancellation, support and integrations, its Cancellation and Refund Policy (August 20, 2025), Terms of Service (August 25, 2026), developer API and MCP documentation, free trial page, homepage and 2026 newsroom items, plus Adobe's acquisition announcement and each competitor's own pricing page, all checked on October 13, 2026. Where Semrush's pages differ, we report both statements. No ranking, traffic or data-accuracy results are claimed.
Our editorial evaluation considers product information, official documentation, pricing, features and professional experience. It is not a claim of documented hands-on testing.
Our review methodology →What changed
- : First published. Editorial review based on Semrush's pricing pages for SEO + AI Search and each toolkit, Knowledge Base articles on plans, limits, users, toolkits, billing, cancellation, support and integrations, its refund policy and terms of service, developer API and MCP docs, free trial page, homepage and newsroom, Adobe's acquisition announcement, and competitor pricing pages, all checked October 13, 2026. Sub-scores are provisional pending editorial approval.
The Field
Semrush vs The Competition
Semrush competes with other all-in-one SEO suites and with narrower content and AI visibility tools. Prices below were checked on each vendor's pricing page on October 13, 2026.
| Tool | Starting Price | Free plan | Best Feature | BS Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Semrush | SEO plan $117.33/mo billed annually ($139 monthly) | Yes | Keyword, competitor and backlink research | 8.4/10 |
| Moz Pro | Starter $49/mo; Standard $79/mo billed yearly ($99 monthly) | No | Lower entry price with AI prompt tracking included | 8.2/10 |
| Surfer SEO | Discovery $49/mo billed yearly | No | On-page content optimization | 8.6/10 |
| Ahrefs | Free (own site); Starter $29/mo; Lite $129/mo | Yes | Backlink and keyword research suite | Not yet reviewed |
| Writesonic | Starter $79/mo billed annually | No | AI content plus AI search visibility tracking | 8.2/10 |
Moz Pro: Moz Pro's Standard plan includes 3 tracked sites, 300 tracked keywords and 150 tracked AI prompts at a lower price than Semrush's SEO plan. Semrush has the larger research toolset and more tracking on its entry tier.Read our Moz Pro review →
Surfer SEO: Surfer focuses on writing and optimizing pages, with AI search analytics plans, rather than full keyword and backlink research. Pick Surfer for content work and Semrush for research and tracking.Read our Surfer SEO review →
Ahrefs: Ahrefs is Semrush's closest all-in-one rival, with a free tier for your own site and Brand Radar AI visibility as an add-on from $199 a month. BestStacked hasn't reviewed Ahrefs yet.
Writesonic: Writesonic pairs AI writing with AI visibility tracking for teams focused on content. Semrush offers the deeper SEO research data; Writesonic is closer to a content workflow tool.Read our Writesonic review →
In The Wild
How People Actually Use Semrush
A freelance SEO consultant
Start on the free plan or the 7-day trial, then the SEO plan ($117.33 a month billed annually) for 5 sites and 500 tracked keywords. If you pay monthly, note the 7-day refund doesn't apply.
An agency with a five-person team
Pro+ covers 15 client sites; budget $80 a month for each extra user, since logins can't be shared under Semrush's terms, and add Pro Reports at $20 for white-labeled client reports.
A brand tracking AI search mentions
Starter tracks 50 prompts daily alongside SEO data. If you only need AI tracking, the standalone AI Visibility Toolkit is $99 for 25 prompts, with no free trial according to its help article.
The Ecosystem
Semrush Integrations
Semrush connects to Google's marketing tools, publishing platforms and social networks, and exposes its data through an API, MCP server and a Claude connector.
- →Google Analytics and Google Search Console
- →Looker Studio (Data Studio) and Google Sheets
- →WordPress and Google Docs (SEO Writing Assistant, AI Article Generator)
- →Google Business Profile, Google Ads and Meta ads
- →Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest and YouTube
- →Zapier, Trello, monday.com, Zoho, Wix and AIOSEO
- →Standard API, Trends API, MCP server and Claude connector
- →App Center third-party apps, including Crazy Egg (August 2026)
Integration names come from Semrush's integrations help article. The Pro Report add-on ($20 a month) adds 20+ external data sources to My Reports. API access requires the top SEO tier plus purchased units, while MCP access with 50,000 units is included from Starter.
Common Questions
Semrush FAQ
The Final Word
Should You Use Semrush?
Semrush gives SEO teams a very wide research and tracking toolkit, and its Semrush One plans fold AI search visibility into the same subscription. It's a strong fit if you'll use the data every week. Price the full stack before you buy: extra seats, toolkits and API units add up, logins can't be shared, and only first-time annual purchases qualify for the 7-day refund. Check the live pricing page rather than older help articles. We score Semrush 8.4/10.
Yes, if
SEO is a core channel, you need research, rank tracking and audits in one place, and you want AI visibility tracked alongside them.
No, if
You need a low-cost single-purpose tool, have many users who each need a seat, or want refundable monthly billing.
About the reviewer
Carlos Gil
Founder & Editor, The Best Network
Carlos Gil is the bestselling author of The End of Marketing, a LinkedIn Top Voice, and founder of The Best Network. He brings 15+ years in marketing to practical reviews of AI, SaaS, email marketing, creator, and ecommerce software.
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