Semrush Review

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What it is: SEO and marketing platform
Best for: All-in-one SEO and marketing research
Price: $117.33/mo yearly or $139 monthly (Pro), checked October 25, 2026
Prices checked: October 25, 2026

We researched Semrush's official pricing and terms, plus independent reviews and customer feedback. We haven't used Semrush ourselves, so this is a research-based review, not a hands-on test.

Who it’s best for

Marketers and businesses who want keyword research, site audits, rank tracking and competitor research in one tool.

Who should skip it

Probably not the best fit for a single small site on a tight budget.

How it works day to day

This part draws on Semrush’s own product pages, help center and documentation, read October 26, 2026 (listed under Sources). We haven’t used Semrush ourselves.

Most Semrush users work from a project set up for their own site. Within it, Site Audit crawls the site and lists technical issues to fix, and Position Tracking follows your Google rankings for a chosen set of keywords. Separately, you use research tools to find new keywords and see what competitors rank for and which sites link to them.

Key features in use

Keyword Magic Tool: start from a seed keyword and get a list of related keywords with search volume, difficulty, search intent and cost per click.
Site Audit for technical SEO issues such as broken links, crawl errors and slow pages.
Position Tracking for daily rank tracking, with keywords imported from Keyword Magic Tool, Google Search Console or Google Analytics.
Domain and backlink analytics for competitor research.
Advertising research for paid search.

Setup and learning curve

Semrush's getting-started guide suggests creating a project, setting up Position Tracking, Site Audit and On-Page SEO, then connecting Google Search Console and Google Analytics. There's a lot of depth, so expect to spend time learning which reports matter for your site. Semrush's knowledge base has a manual for each tool.

Integrations

Semrush connects with Google Search Console, Google Analytics and Looker Studio. Its Looker Studio connectors (for Domain Analytics, Position Tracking and Site Audit) need the Guru or Business plan.

Support

Semrush has a detailed knowledge base, tool manuals and a getting-started tutorial, plus Semrush Academy courses.

Real-world use cases

A content team finds keyword gaps where competitors rank and they don't.
A site owner runs a monthly technical audit and fixes the top issues.
An agency tracks rankings for clients and reports in Looker Studio.

What it costs

Prices checked October 25, 2026, from Semrush’s own pricing page unless noted. Prices change often, so check the official page before you buy.

Pro: $139 a month, or $117.33 a month billed yearly.
Guru: $199 a month, or $165.17 a month billed yearly.
Business: $299 a month, or $248.17 a month billed yearly.
Free trial available. Extra users and add-ons cost more.

What we like

One of the two best-known SEO suites, with deep keyword and backlink data.
Covers SEO, ads and competitor research in one place.

What to watch for

Expensive for a solo site.
Trustpilot showed 1.7 out of 5 from about 1,400 reviews as of October 25, 2026, mostly billing, cancellation and refund complaints.
Extra users and add-ons raise the price.

The fine print

The 7-day money-back guarantee covers only a first yearly subscription or first add-on bought directly by card, with a written request within 7 days. Monthly plans, renewals and trial conversions are excluded.
Cancelling means filling in a form in your account and confirming an emailed link within 24 hours.

The main alternative: SE Ranking

Paid plans are non-refundable, and its keyword and backlink data are smaller than Semrush's.

What it costs: $129/mo, or $103.20/mo billed yearly (Core), checked October 26, 2026

Read our full SE Ranking review · SE Ranking vs Semrush

Pick Semrush if you…

want the deepest data and will use many of its tools.
will set a reminder before any trial converts.

Pick SE Ranking if you…

want most of the same features for less.
are a small agency or business on a budget.

Our take

Semrush is a top SEO suite if you'll use its depth. Read the refund rules and complete both cancellation steps if you leave, because billing is where most complaints come from. SE Ranking covers the basics for less.

Side by side

Company	Best for	Starting price	Trial / refund
Semrush	All-in-one SEO and marketing research	$117.33/mo yearly or $139 monthly (Pro), checked October 25, 2026	Free trial
SE Ranking	Agencies and small businesses on a budget	$129/mo, or $103.20/mo billed yearly (Core), checked October 26, 2026	14-day trial (paid plans non-refundable)

From our company records. Check the official pages for current prices.

What we checked

Semrush prices from our SEO tools guide (Semrush pricing page, October 25, 2026)
Semrush's cancellation and refund policy
Trustpilot rating and complaint themes (1.7 from 1,421, read October 17, 2026, via itssahil.life)
SE Ranking's details: from our SEO tools guide, which read the official pricing page on October 25, 2026
Semrush's feature pages, help-center articles and integration pages, read October 26, 2026

Sources

Visit Semrush’s official site

How we review

We read the company's own terms, test the sign-up or booking steps where we can, and compare it with alternatives. A commission never changes what we write. Read our disclosure.