# #3 Semrush

Semrush is an online visibility platform for SEO and AI search, with tools for keyword research, competitor analysis, position tracking, site audits and monitoring how a brand appears in AI search results. Website: semrush.com. Category: [SEO & AI Content](https://gtmranked.com/best/seo-content/). Score 20/100 (6 positive, 6 mixed, 13 negative of 25 independent comments).

**Verdict:** Independent users, mostly in r/bigseo and r/SEO, treat Semrush as a capable all-in-one SEO suite whose strongest area is keyword research, and several run keyword work, audits and competitor research from it. The main trade-off is backlinks and cost: most comparisons say Ahrefs (or Majestic) has the better link index, a recurring view is that it costs more than the share of features people actually use, and users warn its search-volume and traffic numbers are directional estimates, with keywords it shows at zero volume still driving clicks. About a quarter of the comments were promotional, including cheap shared-account group-buy offers, agency pitches and a cluster of near-identical comparison replies.

**What users like:**
- Keyword research is the most-praised area: users call it the best keyword tool after Google and say it is strong for keyword work and keyword clustering, even when they use Ahrefs for links [1](https://www.reddit.com/r/SEO/comments/1fv69oy/_/lq5aocv/) [2](https://www.reddit.com/r/bigseo/comments/1par9dd/_/nrpkckz/) [3](https://www.reddit.com/r/bigseo/comments/1par9dd/_/nrnasno/) [4](https://www.reddit.com/r/SEO/comments/1gykxpd/_/lyt7ad9/)
- Covers several jobs in one place: users run keyword research, site audits, competitor analysis, SEO content briefs and toxic-backlink monitoring with alerts and disavow from it [1](https://www.reddit.com/r/SEO/comments/1gykxpd/_/lyt7ad9/) [2](https://www.reddit.com/r/SEO/comments/1mvbiv7/_/na25ey4/) [3](https://www.reddit.com/r/bigseo/comments/1uye3i3/_/oy0tj99/)
- One user who runs every project on it finds its organic keyword data closely matches Google Search Console, and prefers how it weights nofollow comment links over Ahrefs [1](https://www.reddit.com/r/bigseo/comments/1uye3i3/_/oya7g0z/)

**What users complain about:**
- Backlink data trails Ahrefs and Majestic: users describe the link index as noisy, especially for lost links, say its crawler still needs work, and switch to Ahrefs for link-related tasks [1](https://www.reddit.com/r/bigseo/comments/1uye3i3/_/oy42o8j/) [2](https://www.reddit.com/r/bigseo/comments/1par9dd/_/nrlnlpc/) [3](https://www.reddit.com/r/bigseo/comments/1par9dd/_/nrlpacx/) [4](https://www.reddit.com/r/bigseo/comments/1par9dd/_/nrpkckz/) [5](https://www.reddit.com/r/bigseo/comments/1par9dd/_/nrnasno/)
- Seen as expensive for what many users actually use: comments call it a great tool but not worth the cost, no longer valuable, or bloated, and some consolidated onto other tools to cut spend [1](https://www.reddit.com/r/bigseo/comments/1pi82if/_/nt9bs19/) [2](https://www.reddit.com/r/bigseo/comments/1pi82if/_/nt5tkxh/) [3](https://www.reddit.com/r/bigseo/comments/1pi82if/_/ntdwsca/) [4](https://www.reddit.com/r/bigseo/comments/1nwxylf/_/nhlplh1/) [5](https://www.reddit.com/r/bigseo/comments/1par9dd/_/nrnasno/)
- Search-volume and traffic figures are estimates: keywords it reports at zero volume show 10 to 100 searches in Search Console or bring 150 to 250 clicks a month, and users say traffic estimates across these tools can be far off [1](https://www.reddit.com/r/SEO/comments/1hkn3cl/_/m3gdq9t/) [2](https://www.reddit.com/r/SEO/comments/1hkn3cl/_/m3q2l44/) [3](https://www.reddit.com/r/bigseo/comments/1par9dd/_/nrn57kd/) [4](https://www.reddit.com/r/bigseo/comments/1qkmomi/_/o2l8grw/) [5](https://www.reddit.com/r/bigseo/comments/1o1p6j2/_/njbxk6p/)
- Some buyers hesitate over its future because of the Adobe acquisition [1](https://www.reddit.com/r/bigseo/comments/1pi82if/_/nt4az2r/) [2](https://www.reddit.com/r/bigseo/comments/1pi82if/_/nt5tkxh/)

**Best for:** Marketers who want keyword research, site audits and competitor research in one subscription; Keyword-led content planning and SEO content briefs; Teams that already budget for a paid SEO suite and will use most of it.
**Skip it if:** Link-building work that depends on the most complete backlink index; Small sites or solo users on a tight budget who only need a few reports; Anyone who needs search-volume or traffic estimates to be exact.
**Pricing (vendor-stated, checked 2026-10-14):** USD list prices from the pricing page's own price data (the page displays local currency by visitor location): free plan with 1 demo project and 10 reports per day; SEO plan $117.33/mo billed annually ($139.95 monthly); Starter $165.17/mo billed annually ($199 monthly); Pro+ $248.17/mo billed annually ($299 monthly); Advanced and Enterprise are custom. Paid plans have a 7-day free trial; additional users from $45/mo.

Full review: https://gtmranked.com/tools/semrush/