Semrush vs SE Ranking

Those looking for a reliable SEO tool should undoubtedly choose Semrush or SE Ranking. Both tools offer an impressive suite of features to improve SEO globally and locally. However, as much as they’re packed with features, their differences are undeniable.

Semrush is a more expensive pick, with the best and most numerous features on the market. SE Ranking follows closely, lacking only some of them but being much more affordable. In our guide about the top 10 SEO tools in 2024, we mentioned these are our favorites.

As a result, this SE Ranking vs Semrush comparison will be a tough one. We’ll go through their most prominent features, compare their ease of use, and see how much they cost. Other factors like customer support and free plans will be analyzed too.

If you’ve decided to buy one of these, don’t do so until you read the entire Semrush vs SE Ranking duel. It will be a tough choice in the beginning but rest assured, you’ll see who is the winner and why. This is a longer read, so let us start with the analysis right away.

Semrush vs SE Ranking Features Comparison

An SEO tool properly equipped with much-needed features can tackle all your needs.

Luckily, we’re discussing two of the most powerful offerings that still come with a few differences. All of them are mentioned in the following SE Ranking vs Semrush duel.

Domain Research (Semrush Wins)

When it comes to domain research, both services display excellent performance. Semrush titles it Domain Research, while in SE Ranking, the option is called Competitive Research.

At first glance, they seem to be offering similar metrics, such as:

• Organic traffic
• Paid traffic
• The number of keywords the domain ranks for
• Referring domains
• Backlinks, and so on…

However, we noticed that Semrush comes with an authority score for each domain. It’s calculated using parameters like backlinks, referring domains, monthly visits, organic traffic, and outbound domains.

SE Ranking doesn’t display an authority score, which is a bit disappointing. On the flip side, it has something called Domain and Page Trust, which can also go from 0 to 100. The Domain Trust implies how likely a domain is to rank in SERPs.

Conversely, the Page Trust score shows the same but for the individual page. Interestingly, SE Ranking and Semrush are eerily similar in Domain Research. Looking at them side-by-side, we can see they provide immaculate information about the most important metrics.

We like that both display SERP features, top organic/paid keywords, and even traffic distribution by country. Moreover, both tools display the keyword search intent, which helps you discover why users search for the domain or a specific keyword. More about it later.

To aid your PPC campaign, Semrush and SE Ranking include Advertising Research. It shows you the most popular keyword ads, along with their volume, CPC, and the number of traffic.

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Supported Countries

With all the similarities we mentioned in the first part of our Semrush vs SE Ranking comparison, we should discuss one glaring difference.

Namely, when analyzing the domain, Semrush focuses on worldwide-related information, rather than on specific countries. Of course, you can choose specific countries as well.

For instance, if you want to see how your website performs on Google US, you can select this country and get your data. In SE Ranking, there’s no global ranking data, instead, you have to specifically pick the country and then get results.

We think Semrush is better than SE Ranking in this regard, as you can get global ranking information which is handy if you’re not targeting specific markets.

On the flip side, SE Ranking can fetch information from around 190 countries, whereas, Semrush supports around 120.

Traffic Research

Traffic Research is available in both tools, albeit, Semrush takes a bit of a lead here. It’s obvious that Semrush’s database of domains and backlinks is larger than SE Ranking’s, hence its more accurate results. Sometimes, the accuracy difference is dramatic.

If you open Traffic Analytics in Semrush, you will see the number of visits to a particular site. Moreover, it’ll display unique visitors, bounce rate, and the percentage of desktop and mobile visitors. In SE Ranking, everything revolves around organic and paid traffic research.

These are separate categories, showing the total traffic, traffic cost, keywords, and the number of backlinks. In addition, SE Ranking displays a table of the most popular keywords that the domain ranks for, with their difficulty, volume, search intent, and SERP features.

Semrush offers the Organic Research function, which functions the same but with more insights, including branded traffic, non-branded traffic, and top position changes in SERP features. Overall, we think Semrush works a hunk better than SE Ranking in Domain Research.

This especially applies to overall accuracy and the ability to display more backlinks and referring domains than SE Ranking. Ultimately, this comes down to a larger domain database, which we’ll touch upon later in the SE Ranking vs Semrush analysis.

Keyword Research (Semrush Wins)

Keyword Research is a crucial feature of every SEO tool. Besides, everything revolves around proper keyword implementation for which SEO tools are frequently used. We loved this feature of this tool, as mentioned in the Semrush review.

However, that’s not to say SE Ranking is bad. Its Keyword Research functions leave almost nothing to be desired. Again, it functions the same in both cases. Type in the keyword and get relevant information based on the country you’ve chosen.

SE Ranking has the advantage of supporting more countries but the information you get quantity-wise, is the same. We’re looking at parameters like keyword difficulty, search volume, CPC, and related keywords.

Both tools offer the search intent metric but we like the addition of competitive density in Semrush. This metric shows the level of competition in Google and is assigned a score from 0 to 1. In short, it implies how many advertisers compete for that keyword in paid search.

SE Ranking displays the most popular ads for the analyzed keyword, and in Semrush, you can see the keyword’s ad history – pretty much the same thing. On the surface, both services display amazing keyword research prowess but we think Semrush, again, has an edge.

Keyword Difficulty

When discussing keyword difficulty, Semrush is more accurate than SE Ranking.

We used the keyword “best SEO tool” to test this. In SE Ranking, the keyword difficult for this one is 41. Logically thinking, how accurate do you think this is? In Semrush, it’s 74.

Just for reference, we tested Moz and Ahrefs. In Moz, the difficulty for this keyword is 57 and in Ahrefs, it’s 74, which is the same as Semrush. Another thing to mention is that both services offer suggestions on what to do to rank for the keyword.

Semrush will often tell you “You need that many backlinks to rank for the keyword.” In many cases, this will be an exact number, with a few more tips along the way. However, for very difficult keywords, with a difficulty of 85 and above, answers can be vague.

In this case, you’ll get a general suggestion along the lines of “It will take a lot of on-page SEO, link building, and content promotion efforts.” SE Ranking will tell you whether the keyword is “doable.” Of course, a few additional bits of advice will be there.

Unfortunately, these bits are vaguer than we expected. For example, the aforementioned keyword with a difficulty of 41 is doable according to SE Ranking. Yet, for the keyword with the difficulty so low, SE Ranking told us that “it will require more SEO effort.”

Duh… We knew that already.

Keyword Suggestions

Keyword suggestions are mandatory for ranking better in SERPs and improving overall SEO. In this Semrush vs SE Ranking comparison, we’re satisfied with both, with Semrush having a bit of an advantage. Semrush has the Keyword Magic Tool, which works marvelously.

You’ll need to type in the keyword and get suggestions based on that. These suggestions are accompanied by their volume, difficulty, trend, CPC, and a few other bits of data. In addition, the keyword research tool arrives with keyword variations and questions.

This allows you to implement so-called LSI keywords to let Google have a better understanding of the page’s topic. Questions can be implemented in your FAQ sections, which allows you to appear in Google Snippets.

Another perk is the ability to change the language. However, Semrush currently supports 10 of them, including English, Russian, German, Polish, Dutch, and many more. Also, the Keyword Magic Tool comes with the option to export all keyword suggestions to XLS.

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This gives you a comprehensive overview of all suggestions and their vital parameters. SE Ranking has a separate Keyword Suggestions menu. It’s extremely intuitive and offers the same metrics as Semrush – volume, trend, difficulty, search intent, SERP features, and CPC.

We like the option to check the local search volume for each keyword as well. An interesting thing to note is that Semrush has a huge database of keywords – much larger than SE Ranking. To be precise, Semrush has 20 billion, while SE Ranking has around 7 billion.

This means you’ll be getting more keywords and more accurate data about them, which can be useful for PPC campaigns or deciding whether or not the keyword is worth “fighting” for.

Keyword Manager

Keyword Manager is present in SE Ranking and Semrush. It enables you to group keywords in a cluster and have them ready for the next marketing campaign or content plan. Of course, you’ll first need to provide the seed keywords – up to 5 of them in Semrush.

It’ll then unravel the list of clusters and keywords with search intent, difficulty, and volume. Each cluster contains several keywords, which Semrush thinks are worth doing and will rank well. A useful addition is the ability to write content right then and there.

Semrush’s AI-driven tools will help you implement all keywords from the cluster properly, therefore, covering the given topic most comprehensively. Users can also open the Mind Map to see all keywords related to the seed keyword graphically.

SE Ranking excels in this regard, albeit, it’s much less detailed than its rival. The Keyword Manager tool lets you add a couple of keywords and track their parameters. SE Ranking’s Keyword Grouper is a bit more complicated.

You’ll have to select the country, location, and language and provide the report title. Then, you’ll be offered to select the keyword grouping accuracy from 1 to 9, along with the grouping method, which can be soft or hard.

Finally, provide a few search queries and start grouping. SE Ranking will group keywords according to their SERP result similarity and come up with related keyword clusters. Admittedly, the tool works well but we found Semrush more reliable and logical.

Not to mention that this feature is premium even if you’re a premium user. Simply put, each search query costs $0.004 and if you’re checking its volume, it’s $0.005 per query.

Position Tracking

In position tracking, it doesn’t matter which service you choose, Semrush or SE Ranking. We found them very reliable thanks to daily updates and all the required information. Both will show your average position in the chosen country, along with the traffic forecast.

We also appreciate the visibility metric based on the click-through rate. Traffic estimates are accurate too if the domain in question is larger. If the website is smaller, traffic estimates will be less accurate, which is thoroughly explained in Semrush.

Read more about the best rank trackers here. Semrush and SE Ranking are leading the pack by being some of the best tools for this purpose. This is also because of their option to notify you of rank changes via email, which we use daily.

Keyword Gap

Okay, so what about the keyword gap? SE Ranking doesn’t offer this feature but Semrush does. Another plus, you might say. This tool lets you discover the keywords your competitors are ranking for but your domain isn’t.

Semrush displays these keywords clearly so that you can fill that “gap” and start ranking for them. In SE Ranking, you’ll find organic competitor semantics comparison, which displays the number of unique, missing, and common keywords the analyzed domain and its rivals have.

Again, this isn’t similar to the keyword gap, which lets you directly influence your ranking.

Link Building/Backlink Analysis (Draw)

Backlink analysis and link-building are integral parts of some of the best SEO tools. However, which service performs better – SE Ranking or Semrush? This is a pretty close battle in terms of features.

However, it’s worth noting that Semrush has a larger backlink database.

It currently has around 43 trillion, whereas, SE Ranking’s database is capped at around 3 trillion at the time of writing. If this is true, then the tool is bound to be inferior. Still, its backlink analysis in both tools is impeccable, with metrics like:

• Referring domains
• Number of backlinks
• Authority score
• Toxic backlinks
• DoFollow/NoFollow backlinks
• Broken backlinks
• Toxicity score, and much more.

Interestingly, for our website, SE Ranking came up with more referring domains – 103.4K compared to 46.1K in Semrush. In the same fashion, Semrush detected 14.5M backlinks, with SE Ranking displaying 21.3M. It looks like Semrush is less accurate in this particular case.

Analyze Your Backlink Profile With SE Ranking

When testing a few more gargantuan domains, such as Amazon or Washington Post, Semrush came out with the opposite results. Another similarity is the toxicity score, which can be found in both options based on toxic backlinks.

Backlink Audit

Apart from site audits which we’ll discuss in a bit, you’ll find backlink audits handy. They’ll help you ensure your backlink profile is “healthy” by removing toxic or broken backlinks. SE Ranking and Semrush function well and we can’t complain.

However, SE Ranking has no dedicated Backlink Audit feature. Instead, it’s under Website Audit. Semrush’s Backlink Audit is separated, with a wealth of information available. SE Ranking has the Disavow function that you’ll find in its rival – a nice addition.

Whether you pick Semrush or SE Ranking, you’ll quickly identify backlink issues and fix them thanks to nifty bits of advice from both. The top issues that need immediate fixing will be highlighted, with comprehensive explanations of how and why to remedy them.

Link Building

Semrush has an edge over SE Ranking by being a better link-building tool.

Its CRM-style approach allows you to discover excellent backlink opportunities. This is accompanied by the option to export them to CSV and directly contact these websites to ask for a backlink.

You can use this option to ask for a guest post or any other method of obtaining a quality backlink to improve your ranking. Sadly, you’ll find nothing similar in SE Ranking which lacks some link-building capabilities.

Backlink Gap

One feature SE Ranking isn’t lacking is the Backlink Gap. It allows you to compare your domain to a competitor and divulge the websites that link to the competitor but not your site. Therefore, you can again fill the gap by requesting backlinks from these sites.

We’d give an advantage to SE Ranking here. Namely, Semrush lets you compare your domain with up to 4 competitors. SE Ranking, however, allows for 5, which means you’ll get more information.

Site Auditing (Draw)

Site and SEO audits are handy for getting a glimpse of the website’s performance. Of course, this isn’t a glimpse only, as both services are in-depth regarding page crawling. Semrush is a little less generous in terms of crawling than SE Ranking.

However, we found Semrush to be more comprehensive in its reports. For one, both services offer crucial information like:

• Health score
• Errors/warnings
• The number of crawled pages
• Broken link analysis
• Core Web Vitals

Each tool will grade your site’s health based on parameters like broken links, SEO issues, core web vitals, and so forth. We like the last parameter, as it indicates your website loading times. SE Ranking, in particular, uses CLS, FID, and LCP parameters found in PageSpeed Insights from Google.

Audit Your Website With Semrush

SE Ranking and Semrush will also display the so-called top issues first, highlighting them in red. When you click on the issue, you’ll get more information about it along with the reasons for fixing them. Both tools have an on-page SEO checker.

This tool crawls each page individually and helps you discover page-specific issues. They can range from issues with external/internal links, indexing, usability, and experience to text content, URL, description, title, and much more.

Whether you choose SE Ranking or Semrush, both will display optimization ideas to make the page rank better. They’ll also analyze the page’s SERP features and showcase backlink ideas for even more dramatic improvements.

Local SEO (SE Ranking Wins)

Local SEO is important if you aim to satisfy the local market and keep your business afloat. Semrush and SpyFu offer a variety of these tools but so does SE Ranking. However, this is a bonus feature that will require an additional payment.

Apart from the listing management option in Semrush, you can also track your local ranking, audit the site according to local SEO merits, and perform various on-page SEO fixes. SE Ranking can do the same offering the option to go through your Business Listings.

Here, you can see if your site is registered as a business on a myriad of platforms like Google, Facebook, Bing, Apple Maps, Google Maps, etc. SE Ranking shows listing-related errors that you can fix to ensure the business is listed properly.

In Semrush, we like the Map Rank Tracker, which monitors your progress in real-time on Google Maps. Listing Management is here too, which, like SE Ranking, lets you list your business in top directories that include Bing, Google, Yahoo, Siri, and others.

SE Ranking’s Local SEO is more affordable because you’re paying on a per-location basis. If you need to track SEO in one location, you’ll pay just $5.6 per month and get all of the aforementioned features. Semrush has a Local pack that starts at $20 a month.

Improve Local SEO With SE Ranking

On the other hand, this feature lets you respond to Google reviews using AI suggestions, track Google Map Rankings and much more. Since SE Ranking can do the same, yet it’s cheaper, it wins this round.

Content Marketing (Semrush Wins)

Content Marketing is exceptionally well done in both tools. But which one is better, Semrush or SE Ranking? It’s a tough one but we’re giving it to Semrush. An alternative to Semrush in this regard is hard to find if you’re looking to match the level of quality.

SE Ranking

SE Ranking has a Content Editor, which can generate new content and improve upon keyword implementation. It’s a full-fledged editor where you can add paragraphs, see your content score, and explore many quality-boosting options.

SE Ranking shows you even grammatical mistakes and grades the text with a Readability score. There’s this AI Writer that can write entire FAQ sections, topics, and paragraphs for you but only if you pay more on top of the subscription.

Another tool in Content Marketing is Content Idea Finder. Type in the keyword and get hundreds of clusters with search volume and difficulty. Moreover, you’ll find a mind map that vividly displays the aforementioned ideas.

Semrush

Semrush’s Content Marketing is marvelous. It has the Topic Research function that provides content ideas. While some of them are non-sensical, most are spot-on, with the option to enable a mind map for a better overview.

Furthermore, we LOVE using its SEO Writing Assistant. Like SE Ranking, it helps you craft new content to ensure you’ve used all the necessary keywords. Semrush will rate the page according to SEO, readability, originality, and tone of voice.

Semrush’s bonus feature is ContentShake AI. It can generate 25 content ideas weekly, write unlimited articles, and even rewrite existing articles to make them sound better. Granted, it’s $60 a month but there’s a free trial on the site.

Semrush includes an additional feature called SEO Content Template. It comes up with SEO recommendations for your content for the given keyword by analyzing the top 10 rivals according to Google.

Additionally, it shows their average readability, text length, and semantically related words. Finally, this tool advises from which website to acquire backlinks to make the page rank better. You surely won’t find this in free SEO tools.

Other Features (Semrush Wins)

In this Semrush vs SE Ranking duel, we have to discuss their other features – mostly paid. Semrush comes with optional add-ons, some of which are:

• Agency Solutions
• Trends
• Local
• Social Media

In particular, we like its Social Media add-on for managing your social media profile. Another thing is the Trends tool, which helps you explore the market and hunt new growth opportunities through real-time, accurate insights.

In addition to everything, Semrush has an App Center with over 30 apps. They’re aimed at different aspects of SEO, such as content optimization, AI writing, marketing, and so on. While nearly all are paid, some of them come for free – check some of them out in our Semrush pricing discussion.

SE Ranking is home to a few nifty additions. For instance, there’s Report Builder for crafting bespoke reports by using templates or starting from scratch. This is interesting to toy around with and each report can be printed and scheduled at your accord.

The Agency Pack is another addition paid additionally in the Essential plan. Pro plan users have it available but many won’t use it because it’s for agencies, rather than individuals. It contains features like White label, Lead Generator, and Agency Catalog placement.

Above all, the Agency Pack supports white-label customization, allowing you to pick from UI colors, create a logo, and do much more. Unlike Semrush, it has no App Center where you can download additional apps and extend functionalities.

API access is only in the Business plan, which leaves third-party integrations for that plan only. As said, Content Marketing and Local Marketing are bonus features either paid additionally or being available in higher-tier plans.

Neither of them is overly generous with plagiarism checks that go up to 10 in their most expensive plans. However, Semrush takes the win here thanks to more ubiquitous add-ons, many of which are funneled through the App Center.

SE Ranking vs Semrush: Ease of Use (Draw)

Ease of use is important for quickly sifting through various SEO features and fetching what you need. We’re happy to report that Semrush and SE Ranking offer incredible interfaces, simultaneously some of the simplest to use.

Starting with SE Ranking, the tool offers its functions on the left-hand side, while the rest of the screen is reserved for displaying useful metrics. Each feature is accessible in seconds thanks to intuitive drop-down menus.

For example, let’s say you want to open Keyword Research. Logically, you’ll find it under the “Research” tab. You don’t have to be an expert to use it and that’s what we like about it. SE Ranking is snappy and quick, alas a tad slower than Semrush overall.

However, its mobile app is polished and looks nice. This app is limited mostly to tracking your ranking and a few other functions. In this regard, Semrush is the same. However, if you’re on the big screen, you’ll notice that it functions well and looks even better.

Just look at it. It’s filled with graphs, colors, and easy-to-digest data. Its features are, again, on the left-hand side, and everything feels super-snappy and responsive. Even when analyzing larger domains, Semrush won’t hesitate to come back with information in merely a few seconds. Sometimes that will last a bit longer in SE Ranking.

Another perk of Semrush is its aforementioned CRM-like link-building experience. From time to time, you’ll find some of the features buried deep in a few particular menus but nothing out of the ordinary. All in all, well-crafted SEO tools for everyone’s taste.

Semrush vs SE Ranking Price Review (SE Ranking Wins)

Which tool should you buy, SE Ranking or Semrush? On price alone, SE Ranking is the winner.

But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Instead, we’ll continue this Semrush vs SE Ranking discussion by examining their prices.

Semrush

Semrush is for many an expensive tool. In reality, it is. The starting plan is around $139 a month. That’s a Pro plan with up to 5 projects and only 500 keywords to track. Admittedly, this plan isn’t generous, as it even lacks Content Marketing.

We think its Guru plan is when things start to get serious. It allows for 15 projects and 1,500 keywords to track, even including Content Marketing, Looker Studio Integration, and up to 12 years of historical data. All of these plans can be discounted by 17%.

If you opt for the annual plan, you’ll pay upfront for the entire year, simultaneously saving money. You can do that through the promo code for Semrush or by clicking the button below that will take you straight to the site.

Don’t forget that you’ll start with a 14-day trial instead of a 7-day one. That’s one gift from 01net.

Just so you know, Semrush’s plans are for ONE person only, and each subsequent user seat costs from $45 to $100 a month per seat – depending on the plan.

Good news – Semrush has a 7-day refund policy. It allows you to test the tool without rush and if you find it dissatisfying or too expensive, get a refund. Albeit, you can test it with a 14-day trial through our site, making this commodity a bit redundant.

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SE Ranking

SE Ranking’s pricing is lower than you expect. First of all, the tool thrusts you into a risk-free 14-day trial with first registration. You don’t have to provide credit card info. Just make an account and you’ll be greeted by the sweet premium features.

After that, it’s your choice. As you can see, the monthly pricing starts at $65 a month. Again, you’ll see the most benefits with the Pro plan at $119 a month with a whopping 2,000 keywords to track! For comparison, the Guru plan in Semrush tracks 1,500.

And it costs more… yeah. If you’re looking for a discount, you’ll find it through the button below, along with the free trial we mentioned. There’s a 20% price reduction that drops the price significantly, as shown in the image below.

Now the Pro plan becomes a must-have choice at just above $95 a month. This one contains optional purchases like the Agency Pack, Local Marketing, Content Marketing, and THREE user seats – they come as standard.

Semrush’s Guru plan is suited only for one seat as is the Business plan. SE Ranking has a very attractive price, no doubt. This also applies to its Business plan with 5 seats, full API access, and unlimited projects, which you’ll also find in the Pro plan.

Besides, all plans are customizable, so you can increase the number of keywords to track, monitor backlinks per account, and a few other factors at an increased cost. Compared to Semrush, it has one fatal flaw discussed in the next section.

Visit SE Ranking

Which One Is a Better Free SEO Tool? (Semrush Wins)

Namely, SE Ranking has no free plan – such a shame. Yes, a 14-day trial is here and everything is risk-free. But after the plan expires, you must purchase it. Alternatively, there are a few tools you can use for free on the site but they’re not impressive.

We then have Semrush on the other side with a 100% free plan. You just register, verify your email, and are ready to roll. This plan is very limited. For example, you have only 10 or so requests per day, after which, the tool virtually becomes unusable.

But then again, the amount of info you’ll get from these few requests is unbelievable for a free tool. Not long ago, we compared SpyFu and Semrush and the latter beats SpyFu, which is already a pretty good free SEO solution.

That speaks volumes about how dependable it is on both sides of the spectrum.

Customer Support of Semrush and SE Ranking (Draw)

Before we wrap up the Semrush vs SE Ranking duel, let us quickly address their support. Both offer three support channels that include phone, live chat, and email. We used all three and prefer live chat, as it’s hassle-free and quick to respond.

Semrush and SE Ranking are more than helpful and apart from direct contact, you’ll find plenty of help on their sites. This comes in the form of FAQs, how-to guides, and much more. Overall, we’d declare this round a draw – nothing to complain about here.

The Final Verdict: Semrush Wins Against SE Ranking

Okay, so after our extensive tests, it’s time to put things into perspective. Semrush is the winner of today’s battle. SE Ranking held its ground like a true powerhouse, even beating its rival in several categories, such as pricing and local SEO.

It’s amazing what SE Ranking managed to achieve while keeping the price modest. We appreciate the multi-user plans that Semrush lacks. On the flip side, Semrush comes with more metrics and a hunk better accuracy, with better keyword research.

Our final verdict is that you should buy Semrush. But if you don’t listen to us and instead buy SE Ranking, we believe you won’t go wrong. Besides, you’re getting a 14-day free trial on both, so why not test them before your final decision?

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