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Which tool should replace Semrush if you only use part of it?
Summary
Start from the Semrush feature you open most. For daily rank tracking at higher volume, SE Ranking Core tracks 2,000 keywords a day for $129. For keyword and competitor research, Ahrefs Lite costs the same $129 but updates rankings weekly. A single small site can drop to Ubersuggest, and if Site Audit is all you use, a $279-a-year Screaming Frog license covers it.
What the $139 plan includes
Semrush's entry SEO plan is $139 a month, or $117.33 a month billed annually. It monitors five websites and tracks 500 keywords daily, and it bundles Position Tracking, Site Audit and basic keyword and competitor research. Content optimization starts on Pro+ at $299, and API data integration is listed only on Advanced at $549.
If rank tracking is the reason you pay
SE Ranking Core is $10 cheaper and gives you four times the daily keywords (2,000) and twice the projects (10). It also includes 25K API credits a month and MCP access, which on Semrush start at Advanced and Starter ($199) respectively. One manager seat is included; more start at $16.
Ahrefs is a weaker fit here. Lite includes 750 tracked keywords, but every Ahrefs plan updates them weekly, so a team used to daily movement would lose that view.
If research is the reason you pay
Heavy users of keyword and competitor research usually end up comparing Semrush with Ahrefs. Lite is $129 a month with 100,000 crawl credits, up to 25,000 pages per project, five unverified projects and unlimited verified ones. It includes one user, and you can add two more at $40 each.
Expect the two tools to report different backlink counts and search volumes for the same competitor. The guide on why SEO tool numbers differ explains where those gaps come from.
If you run one site, or only crawl
- Ubersuggest's smallest plan covers one user, one project, 125 tracked keywords updated weekly and 150 searches a day. The pricing page puts its three plans between US$29 and US$99 a month, and the FAQ says there are no API plans at the moment.
- Screaming Frog is a desktop crawler at $279 per user per year. The free version stops at 500 URLs per crawl; the paid one runs as far as your machine's memory and storage allow. Its feature list has no rank tracking or keyword research, so it replaces Semrush only for people who used Site Audit and little else.
Work out your own number: the SEO Tools Cost Calculator finds the cheapest published plan for your sites, tracked keywords and users.
Sources
Figures come from each vendor's own pricing pages and documentation. We have not tested these tools hands-on, and no ranking here is paid for.