Keyword research tools are extremely important for your online business but they can be expensive sometimes, especially if your blog or online venture is not generating enough revenue yet. I prefer using Semrush for all my keyword research and SEO activities but the $99 monthly investment may not suit your budget.

SEMrush enables you to perform keyword research, backlink tests, site audits and so much more. Here are the major benefits of SEMrush

  • Know where your keywords are ranking on Google search result pages.
  • Get traffic metrics for your website and those of your competitors in one place
  • The best backlink quality testing tool online.
  • Get keywords that will actually help you rank better on search engines

If you are looking for cheaper semrush alternatives, I have compiled a list of 10 free and premium tools worth checking out.

Top 10 Alternatives of Semrush

Semrush does not have a free plan, the premium plan starts at $99.95 while the business and enterprise plans cost $199.95 and $399.95 monthly. Note that this is the monthly billing. You can get a few bucks off if you choose the yearly billing cycle where the prices are $83.28, $166.62 and $333.28 (billed monthly)

We are talking about access to 30+ tools, 8.3 billion keywords, 8.7 trillion backlinks & 143 geodatabases. Although Semrush has it’s pros and cons, the pricing is definitely value for money if you chose to go with SEMrush.

If this pricing is a bit off your budget, here are 10 Semrush alternatives that you will definitely love to try out. 

Serpstat

Serpstat helps you perform a comprehensive site audit, keyword research, research quality backlinks, do competitor research, and track your site’s ranking positions.

Why should you consider Serpstat over Semrush?

  • SerpStat interface is simpler to use and ideal for beginners who need a clear and clutter-free interface. SEMrush provides advanced tools and in-depth analysis but it may be a little difficult for beginners to get their head around, The modular user interface on Serpstat beats it for any newbie.
  • Serpstat has the missing keywords tool that enables you to find keywords that your competitors are ranking for but you are not.
  • Serpstat is a cheaper option between the two. The Serpstat free guest package allows you to perform up to 10 searches a day. Once you register for free, these can be upgraded to 30 searches daily.   It’s premium pricing starts at just $69 as compared to SEMrush ‘s $83.28. 

Why choose Semrush over Serpstat?

  • SEMrush has a more superior traffic analysis as it takes into account not only search engine traffic but also that from social media and other channels
  • The backlink gap tool on SEMrush is just too good to miss out on. It helps you to get quality backlink ideas.
  • SEMrush customer service is more responsive

Moz

Moz is truly a master of inbound marketing with high-quality keyword research, link analysis, and keyword generation tools. Moz’s pricing is similar to Semrush but they give you a 30-day free trial to play around until you see the value of money you will be spending.

The pro version has flexible pricing for its premium features that will favor any company size. Its cheapest package goes for $99 while the highest costs $599 per month. You will have as many as 30 days for trying out the pro features.

Why Choose Mozover SEMrush?

  • Moz seminars are a wonderful opportunity to master the tools and also ranking strategies.
  • The Moz bar for chrome extension provides valuable information such as competitors domain authority, page authority and also free keyword research on their pages.
  • It is easy to continually monitor your growth with more free tools such as keyword explorer, link explorer, Moz bar and business console.

Why choose Semrush over Moz?

  • Related data sets are found on a number of pages rather than a single one for Moz
  • The free tools have access to a smaller part of the Moz database which gives fewer results.
  • SEMrush has a more in-depth data analytics dashboard.

Ahrefs – The Closest Semrush Alternative with Slightly Less Price

Ahrefs SEO ranking tool is a more similar SEMrush. It is the most similar in terms of features, pricing, and even usability. The SEMrush pricing is just $0.95 more than Ahrefs whose starter plan starts at $99.

Why choose Ahrefs over SEMrush?

  • Save nearly a dollar off your budget (well, literally)
  • Browser extensions for both Chrome and Mozilla
  • Daily crawler visits that update the Ahrefs database.

Why choose SEMrush over Ahrefs?

  • SEMrush data is more detailed and it has more tools with the same price tag.
  • Ahrefs lacks a training base for the better familiarity of its use and other growth hacks. Moreover, Semrush’s blog and community are stronger than Ahref’s blog and community, so in case you need help from other users, Semrush’s community power is more.

Google keyword planner – Free

How can one forego a free marketing tool especially one from Google? Google keyword planner is definitely one of the free and best alternatives to SEMrush or any other premium SEO tool. The tool helps you to run new keyword research projects and also see metrics like volume and forecasts.

Why choose Google keyword planner over SEMrush?

  • Absolutely free of charge
  • Loads of keyword ideas for you to choose from such as LSI and long-tail additions
  • A clean and intuitive user interface to help you plan your keywords

Why choose SEMrush over Google keyword planner?

  • SEMrush keyword report incorporates Organic and SEO results while Google’s keyword planner is mostly suited for Adwords and PPC campaigns
  • More detailed keyword analysis and competitor research.
  • Offers additional tools like backlink analysis, keyword gap, backlink gap, content marketing toolkit, social media toolkit and so forth.

Kw Finder “Good Enough” Alternative to Find Long Tail Keywords

KW finder is the ultimate tool for marketers looking for easy to rank for long-tail keywords. With KW finder you can see what competitors rank for, your highest-ranking local search keywords, search data, historical metrics and also generate keywords that will rank high in search engine result pages.

Why choose KW finder over SEMrush?

  • KW finder offers 50 keyword results with three searches per day for free. Upgrade the number of daily searches and keyword results starting at just $29 or $49 for monthly and yearly billing respectively.
  • You can use it without creating an account, although the usage is limited for public users.
  • Offers Google autocomplete suggestions

Why choose SEMrush over KW finder?

  • SEMrush is a more comprehensive SEO package with tons of analytics and data reports.
  • SEMrush makes it easier to build a formidable keyword strategy inclusive of long-tail keywords with its new Keyword Magic Tool.
  • Kw Finder is only limited to keyword research tools but Semrush offers backlink analysis, competitor analysis, content auditing, lead generation, featured snippets and many more useful tools

Uber Suggest  – A Decent Free Option for Beginners

Ubersuggest works more of the same as KW finder but will as well serve as a cheaper SEMrush alternative. The tool provides domain review, top SEO pages, keyword suggestions, content ideas, and even backlink data. The best part? All these for free.

Why choose Ubersuggest over SEMrush?

  • Absolutely free for everyone
  • Forecasts of your rate of success are provided
  • No need to create an account.

Why choose SEMrush over Ubersuggest?

  • Get more keyword suggestions overall thanks to a large keyword database
  • Has more features and toolkits than Ubersuggest, which is only restricted to keywords and rankings

Seo Powersuite – Desktop Software For SEO

SEO powersuite is a collection of desktop software that will help you spy on your competitors, perform website audits, track rankings and even manage your backlinks effectively. The tool has a free package with options to add more functionality with premium packs.

Why choose SEO powersuite over SEMrush?

  • The free version of SEO powersuite has an unlimited website and keyword searches
  • Highlights the most profitable keywords for you automatically
  • SEO powersuite makes it possible to store your projects on the cloud with its premium package.

Why choose SEMrush over SEO powersuite?

  • Wider support channels, SEO powersuite offers only tickets
  • Compatibility with a wide range of devices and operating systems
  • SEMrush has a more affordable starting price of $99 as compared to $299 for SEO powersuite

SpyFu  – Spy on your Competitors Most Profitable Keywords

True to its name SpyFu enables you to spy on a wide range of analytics from your top and most successful competitors. What does this SEMrush alternative do? Get all content, backlinks, and keywords that enable your competitors to outrank you, get all PPC keywords and ad tests they run, and finally create a customizable domain leads and top lists.

Why choose SpyFu over SEMrush?

  • SpyFu makes it all about analyzing your top-performing competitors in all aspects hence the better competitor research tool
  • SpyFu is cheaper when compared to SEMrush with prices starting at just $33 and $39 per month for yearly and monthly billing cycles respectively.
  • SpyFu has a 30-day money-back guarantee while SEMrush has only 7 days money back guarantee.

Why choose SEMrush over SpyFu?

  • SEMrush offers more device integrations including Android and iPhone/iPad
  • SEMrush offers analytic reports from a broader database, not just top-performing competitors
  • The backlink analysis on SEMrush yields more valuable and in-depth reports on your current backlinks  rather than showing potential backlinks

Optimizely

Optimizely offers A/B testing for pages of your websites. This tool will help you to create variables of your current pages for performance comparisons and also multivariate testing.

With Optimizely, you will easily track customer trends and changes in browsing behaviors. Utilize its features like sales campaign management, multivariate tests, and multi-page testing to create the most appealing pages for your website.

Why choose optimizely over SEMrush?

  • Easy to know what your viewers really want from your website
  • Quotation based pricing, pay for only what you will use
  • Optimizely helps you lower your website’s bounce rate by giving you suggestions and ideas to optimize your website pages.

Why choose SEMrush over optimizely?

  • SEMrush offers historical trends and data analytics that will help you gauge improvement from previous campaigns and areas that need optimization.
  • SEMrush keyword magic tool helps you to rank for the most profitable keywords of your interest.
  • It is easy to make comparisons of your online performance with that of your competitors.

RavenTools  – Go to Option for Freelancers and Small Agencies

This is the perfect digital marketing tool for anyone willing to dive into social media marketing. Raventools will take care of your social media conversations, SEO and internet marketing. The icing on the cake for this tool is the ease to generate comprehensive reports that are easily viable and also collaborate with the rest of your team.

Why choose Raventools over SEMrush?

  • Raventools has a longer trial period for its premium package, 14 days compared to 7 days for SEMrush
  • It is ideally suited for digital marketing agencies, freelancers, media marketers who work with multiple clients and need a white label solution for custom reports at a cheaper price.
  • Cheaper option with prices starting at $79
  • Seamless report analysis and integration.

Why choose SEMrush over Raventools?

  • More detailed data and accurate predictions/insights.
  • Generate quality keywords for ranking optimization
  • Semrush is a one-stop-shop for not only organic research but also for PPC research, social media marketing, content marketing, and Site audit.

SEMrush is a true digital marketing ace. The tool has over three million users worldwide. You can choose to go with this amazing tool or use any of the above 10 alternatives or even better, use multiple tools for your website’s online marketing strategy. It does not stop at formulating the best marketing formula but also some of these tools will help you implement and optimize it for the better.