Same-subcategory comparison

SE RankingvsSemrush

Compare buyer fit, pricing, capability depth, and purchase constraints within one buying category. A higher score is not a universal winner.

Comparison summary

How to choose

These conclusions apply to this subcategory and the buyer conditions shown here. They do not make one product universally better.

SE Ranking

Consider when

Mid-market in-house SEO teams needing broad daily workflows
Agencies managing many client projects and reports

Check before choosing

Buyers seeking an unlimited flat-price SEO platform
Teams that only need local listing management

Full profile

Semrush

Consider when

SEO teams combining keyword, backlink, audit, rank, and competitor research
Agencies managing multiple sites and client reports

Check before choosing

Buyers needing only a low-cost single-purpose rank tracker
Teams that will not use broad research and reporting workflows enough to justify the subscription

Full profile

Dimension	SE Ranking	Semrush
Pricing and trial	Core $129 USD · per account · per month · Core monthly billing · billed monthly · minimum 1 account · Core monthly subscription $103.20 USD · per account · per month · Core annual plan billed upfront · discounted · annual upfront payment · minimum 1 account · Core annual subscription; displayed as a monthly equivalent and billed upfront Growth $279 USD · per account · per month · Growth monthly billing · billed monthly · minimum 1 account · Growth monthly subscription $223.20 USD · per account · per month · Growth annual plan billed upfront · discounted · annual upfront payment · minimum 1 account · Growth annual subscription; displayed as a monthly equivalent and billed upfront Enterprise Requires quote · per organization · Enterprise custom terms and price · custom quote · Enterprise buyers through the sales-assisted route Core is USD 129 monthly or USD 103.20 per month on an annual plan billed upfront. Growth is USD 279 monthly or USD 223.20 per month on an annual plan billed upfront. Enterprise uses custom limits, pricing, and terms. Annual payment is not converted into a non-cancellable term unless separately confirmed. Full profile	SEO $139 USD · per account · per month · SEO monthly billing · billed monthly · minimum 1 account · Public monthly plan state $117.33 USD · per account · per month · SEO prepaid annual monthly equivalent · Annual upfront-payment rule · discounted · annual upfront payment · minimum 1 account · Annual payment state; amount is a monthly equivalent and the full year is paid upfront Starter $199 USD · per account · per month · Starter monthly billing · billed monthly · minimum 1 account · Public monthly plan state $165.17 USD · per account · per month · Starter prepaid annual monthly equivalent · Annual upfront-payment rule · discounted · annual upfront payment · minimum 1 account · Annual payment state; amount is a monthly equivalent and the full year is paid upfront Pro+ $299 USD · per account · per month · Pro+ monthly billing · billed monthly · minimum 1 account · Public monthly plan state $248.17 USD · per account · per month · Pro+ prepaid annual monthly equivalent · Annual upfront-payment rule · discounted · annual upfront payment · minimum 1 account · Annual payment state; amount is a monthly equivalent and the full year is paid upfront Advanced $549 USD · per account · per month · Advanced monthly billing · billed monthly · minimum 1 account · Public monthly plan state $455.67 USD · per account · per month · Advanced prepaid annual monthly equivalent · Annual upfront-payment rule · discounted · annual upfront payment · minimum 1 account · Annual payment state; amount is a monthly equivalent and the full year is paid upfront Current public plans are SEO, Starter, Pro+, and Advanced. Annual states are paid upfront for the year; displayed annual amounts are monthly equivalents, not monthly payments. A billing frequency is not treated as a contract commitment. Full profile
Best for	Mid-market in-house SEO teams needing broad daily workflows Agencies managing many client projects and reports Teams adding AI-search visibility to established SEO operations	SEO teams combining keyword, backlink, audit, rank, and competitor research Agencies managing multiple sites and client reports Content teams needing research-backed briefs and optimization
Not for	Buyers seeking an unlimited flat-price SEO platform Teams that only need local listing management Organizations unwilling to budget separately for agency, AI-search, API, or extra-capacity add-ons	Buyers needing only a low-cost single-purpose rank tracker Teams that will not use broad research and reporting workflows enough to justify the subscription Organizations requiring all enterprise security and governance terms publicly itemized
Source check	99/100	99/100
Key features	Daily multi-device and geographic rank tracking Keyword, domain, traffic-gap, and SERP competitor research Technical website audits with prioritized issue reporting Backlink inventory, quality, toxicity, and competitor-gap analysis On-page scoring, content briefs, editor, and AI writing workflows	Keyword research, intent, clustering, and gap analysis Daily location and device rank tracking with competitor visibility Technical and on-page site auditing Backlink inventory, gap, authority, and toxicity analysis Content briefs, writing recommendations, and optimization
Cons	Add-ons and extra limits can materially increase the displayed base price Annual displayed rates are monthly equivalents paid upfront Modeled keyword, traffic, and backlink data should be validated in priority markets	Annual prices are monthly equivalents paid upfront for the year Additional users and report packages add recurring cost AI-search, content, API, and share-of-voice depth vary materially by plan
Category buying score	79	82Higher category-fit score
Rank	#3	#1
Context	Marketing & SEO / SEO Software	Marketing & SEO / SEO Software
Technical SEO and site health	81Technical website audits with prioritized issue reporting are clearly included, which supports site-health management, but the plan facts only establish overall audit quotas rather than a fully specified technical control set, so the score reflects useful but bounded depth.	82The platform includes technical and on-page site auditing, which is sufficient for general site-health review, but the supplied facts do not establish advanced crawl configuration or all remediation workflows.
Keyword discovery and intent	82Supports keyword and traffic-gap analysis to identify new search opportunities, restricted by the daily tracked keyword quotas of each plan level.	87The platform supports keyword research, intent, clustering, and gap analysis, which gives it broad discovery coverage, but the supplied facts do not confirm every possible discovery source or export path.
Rank and competitive visibility	83Allows deep tracking of competitor visibility and SERP dynamics, though comprehensive daily geo-prompts are capped at 100 on Core and 250 on Growth.	85Daily location and device rank tracking with competitor visibility supports competitive rank monitoring, and the Advanced plan adds SEO share of voice, but the supplied facts do not state all competitive dimensions or historical depth.
Usability, support, and total cost	71Core starts at USD 129 per month or USD 103.20 per month when billed annually upfront, with a 14-day no-credit-card trial; total cost rises when Agency Pack, AI Search, seats, keywords, or API capacity are added, and support tiers are not detailed.	71Seven-day free access helps evaluation, but annual billing is paid upfront and extra users and report packages add recurring cost, so total cost can rise as usage expands.
Backlink intelligence	80Backlink inventory, quality, toxicity, and competitor-gap analysis are supported, which gives buyers practical backlink intelligence, but the supplied facts do not establish broader link-building or full-fidelity market coverage, so the score remains moderate.	87Backlink inventory with gap, authority, and toxicity analysis gives buyers link profile and risk inspection without substituting for first-party traffic proof.
Content optimization	81Assists editors with structured briefs and writing workflows, though scaling this workflow requires managing separate AI prompt limits and add-on costs.	79Provides on-page writing optimization and recommendations, which are restricted to the Pro+ plan and are unavailable on lower tiers.
Reporting and integrations	77Custom reporting, guest links, API credits, and plan-dependent integrations provide practical reporting and data-sharing options, but the facts do not specify a complete integration catalog or sync behavior, so buyers should treat the integration layer as plan-bound and confirm specifics.	80Supports core exports and integrations, but advanced API data access is restricted to the highest-tier Advanced plan.
Full profile	Full profile	Full profile

Comparison summary

Most material score differences

These are the stored dimension rationales returned with each score. They explain the buyer conditions behind the gap without speculating about hidden model reasoning.

Backlink intelligence

7 pts

SE Ranking · 80/100: Backlink inventory, quality, toxicity, and competitor-gap analysis are supported, which gives buyers practical backlink intelligence, but the supplied facts do not establish broader link-building or full-fidelity market coverage, so the score remains moderate.
Semrush · 87/100: Backlink inventory with gap, authority, and toxicity analysis gives buyers link profile and risk inspection without substituting for first-party traffic proof.

Keyword discovery and intent

5 pts

SE Ranking · 82/100: Supports keyword and traffic-gap analysis to identify new search opportunities, restricted by the daily tracked keyword quotas of each plan level.
Semrush · 87/100: The platform supports keyword research, intent, clustering, and gap analysis, which gives it broad discovery coverage, but the supplied facts do not confirm every possible discovery source or export path.

Reporting and integrations

3 pts

SE Ranking · 77/100: Custom reporting, guest links, API credits, and plan-dependent integrations provide practical reporting and data-sharing options, but the facts do not specify a complete integration catalog or sync behavior, so buyers should treat the integration layer as plan-bound and confirm specifics.
Semrush · 80/100: Supports core exports and integrations, but advanced API data access is restricted to the highest-tier Advanced plan.

Research basis

This page uses stored product facts, official evidence, and category scoring rationales. It is not an account-based hands-on test, and third-party user ratings are not folded into the category buying score.

SE Ranking: Fact confidence: 99% · Fact checked: 2026-08-10
Semrush: Fact confidence: 99% · Fact checked: 2026-08-10