BrandMentions vs Semrush (2026): which should you pick?
As of Oct 23, 2026, Semrush grades higher than BrandMentions: 2.2 against 2.0 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 17, 2026 and Oct 23, 2026 · graded Oct 17, 2026 and Oct 23, 2026 by ToolGPA
BrandMentions grades higher on value for money. Semrush grades higher on features and platforms. They get the same grade on the free plan and ease of use.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
BrandMentions
Web and social mention monitoring with alerts and AI sentiment
Semrush
SEO suite for keyword research, rank tracking and AI search visibility
Which one is for you
Pick BrandMentions if
- Fits if you want to know when your brand, or a new link to it, shows up online
- Works for PR and marketing teams tracking sentiment and share of voice against rivals
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you track more than 5 keywords or need faster than daily updates, as hourly starts at Pro ($249 a month billed annually)
- Pricey if you pay short-term: Starter's shortest term is quarterly, at $99 a month
- Not for you if you want a long look first, as there's no free plan, only a 7-day trial
- Watch out: Boolean search and white-label reports start at Expert, and the API at Enterprise from $1,099
- Skip it if you want help winning links, as it monitors and does no outreach
Pick Semrush if
- Fits if you want research, rank tracking and audits in one account and can pay $117.33 a month or more
- Works for agencies that need keyword data for many countries and compare client sites with competitors
Look elsewhere if
- Pricey if you're one person with one site, at $117.33 a month even yearly, and the trial checks your card with a small charge
- Tight if your team is more than just you, since every extra user is from $45 a month
- Skip it if AI answer tracking is the point, as the SEO plan leaves it out and Starter is $165.17 a month
- Watch out: the API and share of voice need the custom-priced Advanced plan, and scheduled PDF reports are $10 to $20 a month extra
- Watch out: local, content, social and ad tools are separate toolkits with their own prices, and the free plan allows 10 reports a day
How we grade them
| 2.0GPABrandMentionsFair | 2.2GPASemrushFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CStarter is $79 a month billed annually for 5 keywords and 5,000 mentions, inside this category's usual range. You can't pay month to month, though: the shortest term is quarterly at $99 a month, and hourly updates need Pro at $249. | DThe SEO plan, the one Semrush aims at freelancers and small businesses, is $117.33 a month billed yearly ($139 monthly). That's in this category's dearest tenth, for one user. AI search tracking needs Starter at $165.17, and each extra person is from $45 a month. |
| Free plan and trial | CNo free plan, just a 7-day free trial with the main features. Enough to see what it catches for your brand, not enough to live on. | CA free account with no card: 1 project, 10 reports a day and 10 tracked keywords. Fine for a look around, but you'll hit the wall in an afternoon. The 7-day trial of the paid plans checks your card with a small charge that's refunded at once. |
| Features | CWeb, social, news, review sites and spoken mentions, alerts for new mentions and links, AI sentiment, competitor comparisons and reports. The gaps: Starter updates daily on 5 keywords, Boolean search waits for Expert and the API for Enterprise. | BKeyword research from a database it puts at 29 billion keywords across 142 countries, competitor and backlink analysis, daily rank tracking and Site Audit. It covers the whole job, though the SEO plan only gets the basic research tools and no AI visibility. |
| Ease of use | CNo rating on record. You set up projects and keywords and tune alerts before the feed is useful, and reports and sentiment rules add more to learn. | CNo rating on record. It's a big suite with a lot of reports, and there are projects to set up and plenty to learn before it all makes sense. |
| Platforms and integrations | CWeb only, with Slack as the one named integration. The API comes only with Enterprise, from $1,099 a month billed annually. | BWeb only, with no desktop or phone app. It connects to Google Analytics, Search Console, Wix, Yoast, AIOSEO, Supermetrics and Monday.com, has MCP from Starter, and the API comes with the custom-priced Advanced plan. |
| Best for | spotting new brand mentions and links | all-in-one SEO research for teams with a budget |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: BrandMentions and Semrush. How we grade
Where they differ
- Semrush also covers keyword research, rank tracking, site audit and backlink analysis.
At a glance
| BrandMentions | Semrush | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free plan |
| Starts at | $79 per month for 5 keywords, billed annually ($99 billed quarterly) | $117.33 per month, billed annually ($139 billed monthly) |
| Free plan | None | Free account: 1 project, 10 analytics reports a day across the main tools and 10 keywords in Position Tracking. No credit card needed. |
| Free trial | 7-day free trial with access to the main features | 7-day free trial of paid plans; a card is checked with a small charge that is refunded at once |
| Web | ||
| Made by | GESKIMO SRL | Semrush Holdings |
| Price read from | brandmentions.com | semrush.com |
| Checked | Oct 23, 2026 | Oct 17, 2026 |
Worth knowing
BrandMentions
- There is no free plan, only a 7-day trial; Starter's shortest billing term is quarterly, at $99 a month.
- Starter tracks 5 keywords with daily updates; hourly updates start at Pro and real-time updates at Expert.
- White-label reports and Boolean search start at Expert; the API and up to 10 years of history come only with Enterprise.
- BrandMentions calls itself monitoring software, not a link-building service, and it does not sell links or placements.
Semrush
- Each plan includes one user; extra users start at $45 a month each, priced by plan level.
- Scheduled PDF reports are an add-on at $10 a month, or $20 with white-labeling; Advanced includes reporting.
- API access and share of voice come only with the custom-priced Advanced plan.
- Local, content, social, advertising, AI PR and traffic tools are separate toolkits with their own prices.
Key features
BrandMentions
- Web and social monitoring
- Collects public mentions from social networks, video sites, forums, news, blogs, websites and review sites, plus brand names spoken in videos and podcasts.
- Mention and new-link alerts
- Email alerts for new mentions and new links, and Flash Alerts written as plain-language rules. Updates run daily on Starter, hourly on Pro and in real time from Expert.
- AI sentiment and analysis
- Sentiment built on large language models, with 12+ emotions and custom rules. Multilingual sentiment and the AI Assistant start at Pro.
- Competitor tracking
- Track rivals as keywords and compare volume, reach, share of voice and sentiment across projects, competitors and time periods.
- Reports
- AI-written reports exported as PDF or editable PowerPoint, on a schedule or on demand. White-label reports start at Expert.
- API
- A REST API with webhook-style callbacks for new mentions, included on Enterprise plans.
Semrush
- Keyword research
- Look up search volume, difficulty and intent from a database Semrush puts at 29 billion keywords across 142 country databases.
- Competitor and backlink analysis
- See which keywords and pages bring a rival site its traffic, and inspect any domain's backlink profile.
- Position Tracking
- Track daily rankings for 500 to 5,000+ keywords depending on the plan; Pro+ adds tracking by location and device.
- Site Audit
- Crawl your sites for technical SEO problems. From the Starter plan the audit also checks how ready a site is for AI search.
- AI visibility tracking
- Starter and above track daily whether set prompts in AI chat tools mention your brand, with sentiment monitoring. The SEO plan has none of this.
- MCP and API access
- Starter and above can query Semrush data from AI assistants through MCP; the API itself comes with the Advanced plan.
Plans
BrandMentions
Starter$79
per month for 5 keywords, billed annually ($99 billed quarterly)
5,000 mentions a month, 3 projects, 1 user, daily updates, basic AI sentiment and 3 months of data retention.
Pro$249
per month for 20 keywords, billed annually ($299 billed monthly)
30,000 mentions a month, 10 projects, 2 users, hourly updates, multilingual AI sentiment, standard reports and the AI Assistant.
Expert$399
per month for 50 keywords, billed annually ($499 billed monthly)
75,000 mentions a month, 50 projects, 10 users, real-time updates, audience demographics, white-label reports and Boolean search.
Enterprise$1,099
per month and up, billed annually ($1,299 billed monthly)
Custom keyword, mention and user limits, unlimited projects, the API, full historical data and a success manager. Booked through a demo.
Semrush
Free$0
1 project, 10 analytics reports a day and 10 tracked keywords, for trying the tools.
SEO$117.33
per month, billed annually ($139 billed monthly)
1 user, 5 websites, 500 keywords tracked daily, basic keyword and competitor research, and Site Audit. No AI search tracking.
Starter$165.17
per month, billed annually ($199 billed monthly)
5 websites and 500 keywords, full keyword research tools, MCP access, 50 AI prompts tracked daily and 300 AI visibility reports a day.
Pro+$248.17
per month, billed annually ($299 billed monthly)
15 websites, 1,500 keywords, historical data, content optimization, cannibalization checks, multi-location tracking and 100 AI prompts.
AdvancedCustom
40+ websites, 5,000+ keywords, share of voice, API access, team users, reporting and unlimited AI prompts. Sold after a demo.
Ways to pay less
BrandMentions
- Annual discount
Up to 3 months free with annual billing
BrandMentions' pricing page lists annual billing at up to 3 months free: Pro is $249 a month billed annually instead of $299 billed monthly.
Semrush
- Annual discount
Save up to 17% with annual billing
Semrush's pricing page lists annual billing at up to 17% less: Starter is $165.17 a month billed annually instead of $199 billed monthly.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, BrandMentions or Semrush?
As of Oct 23, 2026, BrandMentions is cheaper to start with: $79 a month, against $117.33 a month for Semrush. BrandMentions starts at $79 per month for 5 keywords, billed annually ($99 billed quarterly), and Semrush starts at $117.33 per month, billed annually ($139 billed monthly).
Which has a free plan, BrandMentions or Semrush?
As of Oct 23, 2026, only Semrush has a free plan. BrandMentions does not, though it has a free trial.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.