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You’re facing a big decision: choosing the right SEO and marketing tool.
SE Ranking and Semrush are both powerful options, but which one truly fits your needs?
It’s tough to decide when both promise to boost rankings, track competitors, and streamline workflows.
Many marketers, agencies, and business owners struggle with this exact choice.
You need a platform that makes SEO easier, not one that overwhelms you with complexity.
In this article, we’ll compare SE Ranking vs Semrush side by side.
By the end, you’ll know which platform is the right fit for your growth strategy.
Ready to make a smart choice for your business? Let’s dive in.
Overview SE Ranking vs Semrush
We took a close look at both SE Ranking and Semrush. Our review focused on their core features and how they support SEO and digital marketing strategies.
We also evaluated how easy they are to use for individuals, teams, and agencies.
This helped us identify where each platform shines and which type of business can gain the most value.
What is SE Ranking
SE Ranking is an all-in-one SEO platform that helps businesses, agencies, and marketers manage and optimize their online visibility. It started as a rank tracking tool and has grown into a complete SEO suite with over 30 tools covering keyword research, competitor analysis, backlinks, technical audits, and content marketing.
Key Features
Rank Tracking Daily updates with desktop and mobile data across multiple search engines.
Keyword Research Access to billions of keywords with search volume, difficulty, CPC, and intent analysis.
Competitor Analysis Insights into competitor traffic, keywords (organic and paid), and backlink gaps.
Backlink Monitoring Track new and lost links, anchor text, do-follow ratio, and domain authority.
Website Audit Scan hundreds or thousands of pages for technical SEO issues, Core Web Vitals, and duplicate content.
On-Page SEO Checker Compare your page against top-ranking competitors and get actionable improvement suggestions.
Content Marketing Tools AI content writing, idea generation, topic planning, and plagiarism checks (Pro plan and above).
Keyword Grouper Clusters related keywords to avoid cannibalization and improve content strategy.
Custom Reports & Integrations White-label reports, Looker Studio connection, API access, and unlimited users on higher plans.
Pricing for SE Ranking
Essential Plan $55/month ( $44/month if billed annually)
Includes: 1 manager seat, 5 projects, 500 keywords tracked daily, rank tracking, site audit, keyword & competitor research.
Pro Plan from $95/month ($76/month if billed annually)
Includes: 3 manager seats, ~30 projects (varies by sub-tier), ~2,000 keywords tracked daily, API access, expanded data limits.
Business Plan from $207/month ($167/month if billed annually)
Includes: 5 manager seats, unlimited projects, ~5,000 keywords tracked daily, historical data, dedicated support (larger sub-tiers available).
API-Only $109/month ($87/month if billed annually)
Includes: direct access to SE Ranking data APIs (keywords, backlinks, SERP, audits).
Select Add on (examples)
AI Search from $69/month; Content Marketing from £28/month; Local Marketing from £8/month; Agency Pack $40/month (annual only).
Free trial available try before you buy.
Pros
Cons
What is Semrush
Semrush is a comprehensive digital marketing platform built for SEO, paid search, content marketing, social media management, and competitive intelligence. It’s used by freelancers, in-house marketing teams, and agencies to discover high-value keywords, audit and optimize websites, analyze competitors’ organic and paid strategies, manage backlinks and content workflows, and generate client-ready reports.
Over the years Semrush has grown into a full marketing suite that combines large data indexes (keywords, SERPs, backlinks), automation for recurring monitoring, specialized research tools for markets and competitors, and collaboration/reporting features that agencies and teams need to scale.
Key features
Keyword Research & Keyword Magic massive keyword database with filters for intent, volume, difficulty, SERP features, related keywords and long-tail suggestions; includes keyword grouping and bulk export for content planning.
Position Tracking (Rank Tracking) daily rank checks across desktop, mobile and local results; visibility and share-of-voice metrics plus alerts for major rank shifts.
Site Audit & Technical SEO automated site crawling with prioritized issues (crawlability, indexability, Core Web Vitals, structured data, duplicate content, redirect chains) and step-by-step recommendations for fixes.
On-Page & Content Tools Content Template, SEO Writing Assistant and Topic Research to create SEO-friendly briefs; content scoring against top competitors and optimization tips (keywords, readability, structure).
Backlink Analytics & Link Building large backlink index for discovery and historical trends, toxic link detection, outreach workflows, link prospect lists and competitor backlink gap analysis.
Advertising & PPC Research competitor ad examples, historical ad copy, CPC and paid keyword data, campaign planning support and creative insights to improve paid search performance.
Market & Competitive Intelligence Traffic Analytics and Market Explorer to estimate competitors’ traffic sources, audience interests, top pages, and to benchmark market share and trends.
Local SEO & Listings local rank tracking, citation management and tools to manage business listings and local visibility.
Social Media Management schedule and post to multiple social networks, track engagement, and compare social performance across competitors.
Reporting & White-Labeling custom, automated PDF/online reports, client dashboards, API access and white-label options for agencies.
Pricing
Pro $139.95/month (annual billed ≈ $117.33/month). Good for freelancers and small teams starting with full SEO + basic content tools.
Guru $249.95/month (annual billed ≈ $208.33/month). Adds historical data, extended limits and the Content Marketing Platform aimed at growing agencies and marketing teams.
Business $499.95/month (annual billed ≈ $416.66/month). For large agencies and enterprises needing high limits, white-labeling, API access and advanced reporting.
Enterprise / Custom available for very large or specialized needs with custom limits and pricing.
Pros
Cons
Feature Comparison : SE Ranking vs Semrush
Keyword Research
- SE Ranking: Covers essential metrics like search volume, difficulty, CPC, keyword clustering, and ranking dynamics. Database of 7B keywords.
- Semrush: Offers a massive database (20B+ keywords), intent analysis, keyword gap, trends, and advanced filtering.
Site Audit / Technical SEO
- SE Ranking: 115+ checks, including Core Web Vitals, crawlability, JS rendering. Fast and customizable.
- Semrush: 130+ checks, with mobile optimization, structured data, and historical tracking. More visual dashboards.
Backlink & Competitor Analysis
- SE Ranking: Monitors new/lost backlinks, anchor text, domain trust, and toxicity.
- Semrush: Deeper backlink insights, toxic link detection, authority scoring, and advanced competitor comparison.
Rank Tracking & Domain Analysis
- SE Ranking: Precise rank tracking across Google, Bing, Yahoo, and YouTube (desktop & mobile). Supports up to 15K keywords.
- Semrush: Advanced visibility metrics, keyword cannibalization detection, and strong domain/traffic analytics.
Reporting & Customization
- SE Ranking: Strong white-label reporting on lower-tier plans, unlimited templates, and scheduling.
- Semrush: Highly flexible dashboards and API access, but full white-labeling reserved for higher plans.
Ease of Use & Scalability
- SE Ranking: Clean, beginner-friendly interface with flexible pricing. Great for small teams and freelancers.
- Semrush: Feature-rich but complex for beginners. Best suited for agencies and large enterprises.
What To Look For When Choosing and SEO & Content Platform
Define your SEO goals clearly Understand whether you only need basic keyword rank tracking or if you require a full-suite solution that covers content optimization, PPC research, competitor benchmarking, and reporting.
Budget and long-term value Don’t just look at the monthly cost. Consider the scalability of plans, hidden add-ons, the cost of extra users or data, and whether the ROI matches your business needs.
Ease of use vs data depth Some tools have simple dashboards but limited data, while others offer deep insights but require training and a learning curve. Strike the right balance for your team’s skill level.
Keyword and backlink database size A larger database means more reliable keyword suggestions, broader coverage of SERPs, and more accurate backlink analysis. Essential for competitive industries.
Reporting capabilities Check if the tool provides white-label reports, automated scheduling, and client-ready templates. Agencies especially benefit from custom branding and shareable dashboards.
Rank tracking accuracy and limits Pay attention to how many keywords you can track, how frequently they update, and whether you can track across multiple devices, languages, and locations.
Scalability and collaboration Growing teams need shared projects, user roles, APIs, and enterprise features. A tool should adapt as your business or agency grows.
Local SEO support For businesses with physical locations, features like Google Maps tracking, local pack results, and geo-specific ranking insights are must-haves.
Final Verdict
SE Ranking is the better fit if you are a freelancer, small business, or boutique agency looking for an affordable, easy-to-use SEO tool with strong rank tracking and customizable reporting.
Semrush is the best choice for larger agencies, enterprises, and experienced marketers who need advanced data depth, competitor insights, PPC research, and full-suite digital marketing capabilities.
There’s no single “winner” overall the winner is SE Ranking for budget-focused users and Semrush for enterprise-level users.