SE Ranking vs Semrush: What Each Keyword Costs
By Bike HawleyPrices checked October 23, 2026No test results yet
SE Ranking vs Semrush comes down to what one tracked keyword costs each month. SE Ranking's Core plan tracks 2,000 keywords daily for $129 ($0.065 each), while Semrush's SEO plan tracks 500 daily for $139.95 ($0.28 each), more than four times as much. Prices are as of October 23, 2026, and we have not tested either tool yet.
SE Ranking vs Semrush Plans at a Glance
SE Ranking vs Semrush plans at a glance, as each vendor publishes them, look like this.
| Fact | SE Ranking | Semrush |
|---|---|---|
| Cheapest plan | Core, $129 a month | SEO, $139.95 a month |
| Billed yearly | $103.20 a month | $117.33 a month |
| Keywords tracked | 2,000 on Core | 500 on SEO |
| Updates | Daily | Daily |
| Cost per keyword | $0.065 a month | $0.280 a month |
| Free trial | 14-day free trial, no credit card required; the trial includes up to 10 projects, 750 tracked keywords a day and 20 AI prompts a day | 7-day free trial for new users; a card is required (Semrush runs a $1 authorization check) and the first payment is charged automatically when the trial ends unless you cancel |
| Refunds | Payments are non-refundable except when the service was not delivered as promised or a promotion says otherwise; you can cancel any time | No refunds on month-to-month plans; a one-time 7-day money-back guarantee covers only initial annual (12-month or longer) subscriptions and initial add-ons bought by card on semrush.com |
| Pays us | 30% of each subscription sale | $200 to $450 per first sale of the SEO Toolkit or Semrush One (by quarterly sales tier), plus $10 per free trial |
SE Ranking vs Semrush Price Per Tracked Keyword
SE Ranking vs Semrush price per tracked keyword is the widest gap between them, and the chart places both among nine trackers.
- Daily
- Weekly
- Interval not published or not confirmed
Monthly price divided by keywords tracked, vendor pricing pages, October 23, 2026. Nightwatch in euros.
The gap holds at every tier. SE Ranking Growth tracks 5,000 keywords for $279 ($0.056 each) against 1,500 for $299 on Semrush Pro+ ($0.20). Semrush Starter, its cheapest plan with AI tracking, works out to $0.40 a keyword. Billed yearly, SE Ranking Core drops to $0.052 and Semrush's SEO plan to $0.23. Both check daily, so this is a like-for-like gap; SE Ranking's schedule is fixed at daily, with a manual recheck button. Our best rank tracker guide compares all nine on the same math.
SE Ranking vs Semrush Plans, Tier by Tier
SE Ranking vs Semrush plans match up tier by tier like this, with monthly prices first and the yearly rate per month in parentheses.
| Tier | SE Ranking | Semrush |
|---|---|---|
| Entry | Core $129 ($103.20): 10 projects, 2,000 keywords, 100 AI prompts, 1 seat | SEO $139.95 ($117.33): 5 sites, 500 keywords, no AI prompts, 1 user |
| Entry with AI | Core, as above | Starter $199 ($165.17): 500 keywords, 50 AI prompts |
| Team | Growth $279 ($223.20): 30 projects, 5,000 keywords, 250 AI prompts, 3 seats | Pro+ $299 ($248.17): 15 sites, 1,500 keywords, 100 AI prompts, 1 user |
| Large | Enterprise: custom | Advanced: custom, 40+ sites, 5,000+ keywords |
| Extra seat | From $16 a month | From $45 a month |
What Semrush Does That SE Ranking Doesn't, for the Price
Semrush sells several toolkits that have no line on SE Ranking's price list, and each costs extra.
Traffic & Market ($289 a month) shows competitors' traffic and acquisition channels, Advertising ($99 or $220) adds PPC research and a Google and Meta ads dashboard, and AI PR starts at $149. Semrush also has a free plan (10 reports a day, 10 tracked keywords) and a 7-day refund window on a first yearly plan. Its homepage claims 29 billion keywords and 43 trillion backlinks, figures we have not checked. Review sites split: G2 lists SE Ranking at 4.7 from 1,615 reviews and Semrush at 4.5 from 3,901, and Trustpilot shows 4.2 from 714 against 1.6 from 1,418 (read October 23, 2026).
Who Should Buy SE Ranking and Who Should Pay for Semrush
You should buy SE Ranking if rank tracking is most of the job, because it gives more daily keywords per dollar at every tier.
Core fits a solo SEO or small in-house team; Growth plus the Agency Pack fits a small agency that wants white-label reports. One caution: SE Ranking's status page, last updated September 25, 2026, reports delayed Google updates and missing positions past the first page or two, and several Trustpilot reviewers describe outages. Pay for Semrush if your team lives in its PPC, traffic or local toolkits and one login is worth the per-keyword premium. Neither tracker has been through our test of whether rankings match what a real person sees (how we test). SE Ranking pays us 30% of what you spend for as long as you stay; Semrush's program pays a one-time $200 to $450 (our disclosure). Our SE Ranking review and Semrush review cover the rest.
SE Ranking vs Semrush Pricing Questions
These SE Ranking vs Semrush pricing questions are the ones that usually decide the purchase.
Is SE Ranking cheaper than Semrush?
SE Ranking is cheaper than Semrush at both published tiers: Core is $129 against $139.95, and Growth is $279 against $299 for Pro+.
Does SE Ranking have a free trial?
SE Ranking has a free trial of 14 days with no credit card required, capped at 750 tracked keywords a day.
Can SE Ranking replace Semrush for an agency?
SE Ranking can replace Semrush for an agency whose work is rank tracking, audits and client reports, but not for one that depends on Semrush's PPC, traffic or PR toolkits.
SE Ranking vs Semrush Pricing Sources
These SE Ranking vs Semrush pricing sources were read on October 23, 2026.
- SE Ranking pricing page and FAQ, read October 23, 2026
- SE Ranking help: rankings tool and the Google rankings status page
- Semrush pricing page, refund policy and homepage data claims, read October 23, 2026
- Review sites: G2 for SE Ranking and Semrush (as shown in Google), Trustpilot for SE Ranking and Semrush