Semrush Alternatives 2026: 5 Options, 4 Free
Semrush alternatives: Ahrefs, Google Search Console, Screaming Frog SEO Spider, Seobility and 1 more. Prices and licenses checked October 23, 2026.
•3 min read•SEO Tools
Verdict:Semrush is hard to replace one-for-one for free, because the database behind keyword volumes, backlinks and competitor traffic is what you pay for. So start by asking which part you actually use. If you open it mostly to audit your own site and watch your own rankings, free tools cover that. Google Search Console gives real impressions and clicks for pages you verify, and Ahrefs Free adds a site audit and a limited backlink view for the same sites. Add Screaming Frog's free crawler for technical checks up to 500 URLs and you have most of a small site's SEO routine at zero cost. The trade-off is competitors: none of the free options show a rival's keywords, traffic or links, so if you do client work or content planning around what others rank for, you will feel the gap. In that case SE Ranking is the nearest full replacement, but at $129 monthly billed monthly it saves little against Semrush's $139, and the real saving only appears on annual billing. Semrush also has a free account with 10 reports a day and one demo project, which is worth trying before you leave, because it may be enough for occasional lookups. Leave if you are a solo site owner; stay if you sell SEO services.
Quick comparison
| Tool | Price | Platforms | Best for | Tested |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ahrefs | Free (Ahrefs Free: unlimited verified sites, Site Audit 5K crawl credits per project per month, Site Explorer shows up to 1K backlinks and keywords); paid from $29 per month (Starter; Lite is $129 monthly) | Web browser | Owners auditing their own sites | Docs only |
| Google Search Console | Free (Free service; Google states no usage plans) | Web browser | Real search data for your own site | Docs only |
| Screaming Frog SEO Spider | Free (Free version crawls up to 500 URLs); paid from $279 per user/year (paid licence) | Windows, macOS, Linux | Technical audits of small sites | Docs only |
| Seobility | Free (Basic plan: 5 checks per day); paid from $69.9 per month (Premium, 50 checks per day) | Web browser | Light on-page checks on a budget | Docs only |
| SE Ranking | Paid from $129 per month, billed monthly (Core; $103.20 billed annually) | Web browser | Teams that still need rank tracking and research | Docs only |
| Ubersuggest | Free; paid from $29 | Web | SEO | Docs only |
Independent comparison. Paid placements are labelled separately; editorial links earn no affiliate commissions. Learn more.
Good fit if
- You only manage your own site (Google Search Console is the pick)
- You need a technical crawl of a small site (Screaming Frog SEO Spider is the pick)
- You want a free backlink and audit view of your own site (Ahrefs is the pick)
- You want a paid suite with rank tracking (SE Ranking is the pick)
- You want quick on-page checks (Seobility is the pick)
Not ideal if
- You rely on Semrush features or integrations that these tools do not replicate
Semrush today: Free (1 demo project, 10 reports per day across tools); paid from $139 per month, billed monthly (SEO plan; $117.33 billed annually) (Semrush pricing, checked 2026-10-22).
Why people look for Semrush alternatives
Semrush's entry SEO plan is $139 per month ($117.33 billed annually) and covers 5 monitored websites and 500 daily tracked keywords. The next step, Starter, is $199 monthly, and Pro+ is $299 for 15 websites. Extra users are a paid add-on from $45 per month, and reports and lead generation are separate add-ons. The free plan is one demo project. For freelancers or small sites, that pricing ladder is the usual reason to look elsewhere.
Ahrefs
Compared with Semrush: Ahrefs Free covers unlimited verified sites with Site Audit credits and a capped Site Explorer view of 1K backlinks and keywords. It only works for sites you own, so competitor research, which Semrush does well, needs a paid plan from $29 a month.
Price: Free (Ahrefs Free: unlimited verified sites, Site Audit 5K crawl credits per project per month, Site Explorer shows up to 1K backlinks and keywords); paid from $29 per month (Starter; Lite is $129 monthly) (Ahrefs pricing, checked 2026-10-22).
Platforms and license: Web browser. Proprietary SaaS.
Best for: Owners auditing their own sites.
Google Search Console
Compared with Semrush: Free from Google and shows real queries, clicks and indexing for sites you verify. It has no competitor data, keyword volumes or rank tracking against rivals, which are the main reasons people pay Semrush $139 a month.
Price: Free (Free service; Google states no usage plans) (Google Search Console pricing, checked 2026-10-22).
Platforms and license: Web browser. Proprietary free service.
Best for: Real search data for your own site.
Worth knowing: Covers your own verified sites only, not competitors.
Screaming Frog SEO Spider
Compared with Semrush: The free crawler checks up to 500 URLs on your desktop, covering the technical audit side of Semrush. It has no keyword database or backlink index. The paid licence is $279 a year, well under a year of Semrush.
Price: Free (Free version crawls up to 500 URLs); paid from $279 per user/year (paid licence) (Screaming Frog SEO Spider pricing, checked 2026-10-22).
Platforms and license: Windows, macOS, Linux. Proprietary desktop software.
Best for: Technical audits of small sites.
Seobility
Compared with Semrush: Free Basic plan allows 5 checks a day, and Premium is $69.90 a month. It gives on-page and crawl checks, not Semrush's keyword and competitor databases, so it replaces only the audit part of the toolset.
Price: Free (Basic plan: 5 checks per day); paid from $69.9 per month (Premium, 50 checks per day) (Seobility pricing, checked 2026-10-22).
Platforms and license: Web browser. Proprietary SaaS.
Best for: Light on-page checks on a budget.
Worth knowing: Premium has a 14-day trial.
SE Ranking
Compared with Semrush: No free plan, only a 14-day trial, and Core costs $129 monthly, so the saving over Semrush's $139 SEO plan is small. It is the closest full suite here, with rank tracking and research in one subscription.
Price: Paid from $129 per month, billed monthly (Core; $103.20 billed annually) (SE Ranking pricing, checked 2026-10-22).
Platforms and license: Web browser. Proprietary SaaS.
Best for: Teams that still need rank tracking and research.
Worth knowing: 14-day free trial, no credit card.
Other popular options (paid)
Ubersuggest
Compared with Semrush: Paid tiers are listed from $29 to $99, under Semrush's $139 monthly SEO plan, and a free account exists. Monthly subscriptions carry a one-time 7-day trial, though the page does not name each plan's billing period.
Price: Free; paid from $29 (Ubersuggest pricing, checked 2026-10-23).
Which one to pick
- You only manage your own site: Google Search Console
- You need a technical crawl of a small site: Screaming Frog SEO Spider
- You want a free backlink and audit view of your own site: Ahrefs
- You want a paid suite with rank tracking: SE Ranking
- You want quick on-page checks: Seobility
Limits of this review
Docs-only for Ahrefs, Google Search Console, Screaming Frog SEO Spider, Seobility, SE Ranking: we did not install or run them, so feature claims come from vendor pages and we did not test import from Semrush. Vendor prices and free limits change; confirm on the linked pricing page before you buy or migrate.
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Kevin Fan
Kevin Fan is a SaaS founder. He runs Free Instead Of, which tracks free and open-source alternatives to paid software and checks each price and free-plan limit against the vendor's own pages.
Methodology
Based on official pricing and product pages checked between 2026-10-22 and 2026-10-23: Semrush, Ahrefs, Google Search Console, Screaming Frog SEO Spider, Seobility, SE Ranking, Ubersuggest. Prices, free limits and licenses are the figures shown on those pages on those dates. No tool on this page was installed or run. No accounts were created.