Comparison · Auto-compiled

SE Ranking vs Semrush

Auto-compiled side-by-side from the latest Vibetoolstack reviews. A full editor's verdict for this pair is on the way.

Last tested May 2026
SE Ranking
AI SEO

SE Ranking wins SMB all-in-one SEO at fair price; Semrush wins enterprise scale, Surfer wins content optimization, Ahrefs wins backlinks.

From $65/mo Essential
Semrush
Semrush
AI SEO

Semrush is the enterprise SEO platform for full-time professionals and agencies; SE Ranking wins SMB, Ahrefs wins backlinks, Surfer wins content optimization.

From $140/mo Pro
Category
SE Ranking AI SEO
Semrush AI SEO
Pricing model
SE Ranking Subscription + Tier-based
Semrush Subscription + Add-Ons
Starting price
SE Ranking $65/mo Essential
Semrush $140/mo Pro
VTS Score
SE Ranking 83/100
Semrush 86/100
Star rating
SE Ranking 4/5
Semrush 4/5
Standout
SE Ranking Best price-per-feature in all-in-one SEO — $65/mo Essential covers ~80% of Semrush Pro's $140/mo feature set with friendliest 14-day no-card trial.
Semrush Largest keyword database in the category (~25 billion keywords) — the category benchmark for serious keyword research at scale.
Known weakness
SE Ranking Keyword database depth trails Semrush (3.7B vs 25B), backlink index trails Ahrefs, Content Marketing module trails Surfer + Frase on editor UX.
Semrush Price gap to alternatives is real ($140 vs $49-65); feature breadth overwhelming for beginners; content tools trail specialists like Surfer and Frase.

Editor's verdict — coming. This pair has been earmarked from real-world testing. Until the full verdict ships, the table above shows the most recent data from each linked review. For a fully written compare with scorecard, founder's take, and recommendation, see all comparisons.