Joonas Rotko · Founder, That Marketing Buddy
I assess SEO and GEO software through 10+ years of agency work, current product research, buyer needs, competing tools and total cost.
How this review was prepared
This review combines years of using Semrush in agency work with a fresh check of its current SEO Classic, SEO + AI Search and user-pricing documentation. Current limits and prices come from Semrush; recommendations reflect the work those limits enable.
This page may include affiliate links, meaning I may earn a commission if you sign up (at no extra cost to you).
The Verdict
Is Semrush right for you?
Semrush is worth the money when research and monitoring are part of your weekly operating rhythm, but only after you price the full configuration.
Its advantage is breadth: one account can take a team from market and keyword research through competitive analysis, rank tracking, backlink review and technical auditing. That reduces tool switching and supports a repeatable client or in-house process.
Semrush is especially strong when the same agency or marketing team handles both paid search and SEO. Organic rankings, paid keywords, competitor ads and landing-page opportunities can inform one search strategy instead of living in separate research tools. The catch is cost creep across toolkits, users and reports. My agency worked exactly this way, and its Semrush bill exceeded €1,000 per month at one point. I was not using or needing everything in the subscription, but the account kept running until I noticed the total later.
Who It's For
Who Semrush is for (and who it isn't)
✓ Best for
- +Agencies doing discovery and ongoing SEO. Competitor data, research, audits and tracking support both proposals and monthly delivery.
- +Teams with several active sites or markets. Pro+ and Advanced add site, keyword, historical and multi-location capacity for recurring analysis.
- +Teams that need one shared SEO evidence base. Projects, scheduled reports and integrations turn scattered research into a common operating view.
- +Agencies combining SEO and paid search. Semrush is one of the strongest platforms for researching organic demand, paid keywords, competitor ads and shared search opportunities in one system.
× Consider something else if
- −You need SEO and PPC competitor research on a smaller budget. SpyFu combines organic keywords, paid keywords and ad history in a much narrower, lower-cost research product.Try SpyFu →
- −You want paid-ad creation and publishing alongside SEO. Search Atlas combines its SEO and AI visibility system with Google and Meta Ad Studio from the Growth tier.Try Search Atlas →
- −You mainly need multi-site SEO delivery. SE Ranking provides rank tracking, audits, research and reporting without requiring Semrush's broader paid-search and toolkit ecosystem.Try SE Ranking →
What You Can Do
What can Semrush do?
Build an evidence-based pitch or market brief
Start with a prospect or competitor domain, identify the themes and pages already producing visibility, then test whether the opportunity survives a manual SERP review. For agencies, this turns a generic proposal into a specific market view. Traffic estimates and difficulty are comparative signals, not promised results.
Turn keyword research into a prioritised roadmap
Use Keyword Magic Tool and competitor gaps to build a candidate set, group it by intent and map it to existing or planned pages. Pro+ is the practical step-up when historical data, content tools or multiple locations matter. The useful output is a short backlog tied to business goals, not an export of thousands of unowned keywords.
Monitor sites and catch technical or ranking changes
Projects combine daily Position Tracking and Site Audit. SEO and Starter cover 5 sites and 500 tracked keywords; Pro+ raises those to 15 and 1,500; Advanced to 40 and 5,000. Agencies should model limits across the entire client book rather than one showcase project.
Report what changed and what to do next
Reports can combine Semrush, Analytics and Search Console data. A useful report explains movement, names a likely cause and assigns the next decision. White-labeling and richer delivery are paid report features, and working collaborators can add user fees, so reporting belongs in the cost model.
Coordinate paid search and SEO from one evidence base
Semrush is particularly useful when one agency or team owns both disciplines. PPC research can reveal competitor ad copy, paid keywords and commercial landing pages, while organic research shows rankings, content gaps and longer-term opportunities around the same demand. This helps teams decide where paid search should provide immediate coverage, where SEO can lower dependency over time, and which queries deserve both. Semrush can support Google Ads research and planning, but the broader Advertising Toolkit is separately priced and the platform is not a substitute for hands-on campaign management inside the ad platforms.
AI, API & MCP
How Semrush fits an AI-agent workflow
Semrush gives an agent read-only access to keyword, backlink, traffic, and position data through MCP or its API.
AI agent workflow
Research a competitor without exporting reports
Ask an agent for a domain overview, organic keywords, and backlink gaps for a client pitch. The response uses the account's subscribed data and API-unit balance.
Approval boundary: Set a budget or review large batches before they run, because exploratory requests consume API units even though the tools cannot change projects.
MCP
officialOfficial remote MCP for Semrush data
Semrush's Streamable HTTP MCP server supports OAuth or an API key. It is read-only and its available data depends on the subscription and remaining API units.
Semrush MCP documentation →API
officialOfficial API for scheduled SEO research
The Semrush API exposes broad SEO and competitive-research data for scripts and scheduled jobs. Access is metered through the account's unit pool.
Semrush API documentation →Pricing
How much does Semrush cost?
The published entry plan starts at $139.95/mo. For this review's professional buyer, the practical starting point is $299/mo before users and add-ons. No free plan, but there’s a 7-day free trial.
| Plan | Monthly |
|---|---|
| SEO | $139.95/mo |
| StarterPopular | $199/mo |
| Pro+ | $299/mo |
| Advanced | $549/mo |
The current default offer combines SEO and AI Search. The $139.95 SEO tier covers 5 sites and 500 keywords but excludes tracked AI performance, sentiment and custom prompts. Starter adds 50 prompts and one AI brand-performance domain; Pro+ raises SEO capacity and adds historical data and content optimisation; Advanced adds 40 sites, 5,000 keywords, Share of Voice, API integration and 200 prompts. The account total can then grow through users, reporting, lead generation and separate toolkits.
Core plan choice
Choose SEO for traditional research, tracking and auditing without custom AI prompt monitoring. Starter fits one small team or agency beginning GEO work. Pro+ is the practical professional tier for 15 sites, 1,500 keywords, historical data, content optimisation and 100 prompts. Advanced is a capacity/API purchase for 40 sites, 5,000 keywords and 200 prompts.
Additional users: from $45/month each
Individual logins are extra. Current SEO-tier user pricing starts at $45 and rises with the plan; Semrush documentation lists $45, $80 and $100 at the corresponding SEO levels. Some separate toolkit access can also be charged per user. Free view-only sharing is not the same as a working seat.
AI Visibility: $99/month per domain
The standalone Base subscription is billed annually and includes 25 daily custom prompts, one brand-performance domain, AI competitor and prompt research, site audit for AI readiness, and mentions across ChatGPT, Google AI, Gemini and Perplexity. Every additional brand-performance domain can create another $99 charge.
Lead Generation: $90/month
This adds an Agency Partners profile and Semrush verified badge. It is a sales/distribution expense rather than additional SEO research capacity, so judge it by qualified leads and closed work.
Base Report: $10/month
Adds data from 20+ Semrush tools, Analytics and Search Console integrations, scheduled PDF delivery and sharing with Semrush users. Confirm whether this price is per report before modelling many clients.
Pro Report: $20/month
Adds 20+ external integrations, precise delivery timing, branding and white-labeling, AI summaries and link sharing. This is the more relevant reporting add-on for agencies, and should be multiplied by the number of reports that require it.
Other toolkits
Semrush also sells Traffic & Market from $289/month, Local from $30, Content from $60, Social from $20, Advertising from $99 and AI PR from $149. Enterprise is custom-priced and App Center products set their own prices. These are separate products, not features automatically unlocked by a higher SEO + AI Search tier.
Example agency budget
A Pro+ subscription at $299 monthly plus two $80 working users, one extra $99 AI Visibility domain, Lead Generation at $90 and one Pro Report at $20 reaches $668 per month before Local, Content, Traffic & Market or App Center products. The exact configuration matters more than the advertised starting price.
A directional contract benchmark
SpendHound reports average annual Semrush spend of $4,996 among SMB contracts and $18,240 among enterprise contracts in its de-identified dataset. Treat those self-reported averages as negotiation context only, since they combine different configurations and are not equivalent plan quotes.
Run a quarterly subscription audit
My agency bill eventually exceeded €1,000 per month because a useful core platform accumulated features and costs that were no longer earning their place. Assign one owner to review active users, toolkits, domains, reports and App Center subscriptions every quarter. Record the client or internal workflow each paid item supports, then remove anything without an owner or recent use.
Alternatives
When I'd choose something else
Three different buying priorities, and what I'd pick instead for each one.
Lower all-in agency cost
SE Ranking
Choose it when tracking, audits, research and client delivery matter more than the widest competitive database.
Trade-off: Its adjacent marketing ecosystem is less expansive.
Explore SE Ranking for this use case →SEO plus paid acquisition execution
Search Atlas
This is the closest current alternative for a team that wants SEO, AI visibility and paid acquisition in one operating platform. Growth includes Meta and Google Ad Studio alongside its SEO system.
Trade-off: Search Atlas is newer, uses an execution-credit model and offers only 2 projects on Growth or 4 on Pro. Semrush remains stronger for established competitive search research.
Explore Search Atlas for this use case →Lower-cost SEO and PPC competitor research
SpyFu
Choose SpyFu when the shared job is researching competitors' organic keywords, paid keywords, ad history and search overlap. It starts around $33 per month and supports unlimited projects and downloads.
Trade-off: It is a narrower research product. It does not match Semrush's complete auditing, reporting, content, GEO and multi-toolkit environment.
Explore SpyFu for this use case →Keep going
- Compare Semrush against the field: 27 Best SEO Software in 2026
- Compare Semrush against the field: 27 Best GEO Tools in 2026 (Generative Engine Optimization and AI Visibility Tracking Compared)
- Put it to work: How to Do SEO Competitor Analysis: A Step-by-Step Guide (2026)
- Put it to work: How to Do an SEO Audit on Your Website: A Step-by-Step Guide
Downsides
Limitations to consider before subscribing
Fragmented product and pricing
SEO, AI visibility, users, reports, lead generation, local, content and market work can all carry separate prices and limits.
Collaboration raises cost
Additional users are paid, and some access is charged again per user or domain.
Breadth creates an adoption burden
Without defined recurring workflows, teams pay for a large interface while using few reports.
Metrics require interpretation
Estimated traffic, difficulty and visibility are inputs, not business outcomes.
Useful subscriptions can quietly become shelfware
Semrush may remain valuable while individual users, domains, reports and toolkits stop being used. Without a scheduled account review, the bill can grow far beyond the value received.
My Recommendation
My recommendation: buy Semrush around a weekly process
Shortlist it when one team needs competitive research, keyword planning, monitoring, audits and reporting across active projects.
Choose a focused tool when one workflow dominates, or SE Ranking when agency fundamentals and predictable value matter more than maximum breadth.
What to check during the trial
- –Create one real project and confirm limits.
- –Rebuild a recent competitor or keyword brief.
- –Draft the report a client or executive would receive.
- –Price every user, AI domain, report feature and toolkit.
Use Semrush with Claude, ChatGPT or a coding assistant
Connect Semrush through MCP for a defined interactive task, such as comparing domains, finding keyword gaps or summarising an audit. For scheduled reporting or a custom application, verify API availability and limits on the plan you would keep. In Claude, ChatGPT, Claude Code, Codex or Cursor, require the answer to identify the Semrush source and turn each finding into a clear content, technical, paid-search or client action.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Semrush
Yes when research, tracking, audits and reporting are monthly work. SEO and Starter are tight at 5 sites and 500 keywords; Pro+ is more realistic for a growing roster.
Current SEO plans include AI-search features, while combined SEO + AI Search tiers add defined prompt and brand capacity. Confirm the exact plan.
Starter can support a small operation with 5 sites and 50 AI prompts. Pro+ is the more practical growing-agency tier with 15 sites, 1,500 keywords, historical data, content optimisation and 100 prompts. Advanced is for higher capacity, API integration and Share of Voice.
Additional users, standalone AI Visibility domains, Base or Pro Reports, Lead Generation and separate Traffic & Market, Local, Content, Social, Advertising, AI PR and App Center subscriptions can all raise the total.
Yes. This is one of its strongest agency use cases. Teams can research organic rankings, paid keywords, competitor ads and shared opportunities in one system, then coordinate which queries need paid coverage, organic investment or both. Campaign execution still happens in the relevant advertising platforms, and the broader Advertising Toolkit costs extra.
Search Atlas is the closest operational alternative because Growth includes SEO, AI visibility, Meta Ad Studio and Google Ad Studio. SpyFu is the stronger budget alternative when you mainly need combined SEO and PPC competitor research. Similarweb can serve larger competitive-intelligence teams, but it now separates SEO Intelligence and Ad Intelligence into distinct products.
It can consolidate much of a stack, but specialist crawlers, content optimisers and analytics tools may remain better at narrow jobs.
Yes. Semrush provides MCP access for compatible assistants and API access for supported custom workflows. Confirm the plan, permissions and usage limits, then keep source verification and client-facing decisions under human review.