BuzzSumo vs Semrush AI PR Toolkit (2026): which should you pick?

Pick BuzzSumo if

• Fits if you look for topics and formats that already earn shares and links
• Works for digital PR teams finding journalists and tracking their coverage

Look elsewhere if

• Pricey if you're one person, at $159 a month on yearly billing for one user
• Skip it if you want articles written or scored, as it does research only
• Tight if you need the journalist database or the API: one starts at PR & Comms for $239, the other is priced on request
• Watch out: cancelling isn't refunded, and plans run to the end of the paid term
• Not for you if you want a free plan, gone since February 2023; the trial is 50 searches

Pick Semrush AI PR Toolkit if

• Fits if you're new to PR and want one place to find and pitch journalists
• Works for agencies comparing several brands' coverage, on the Business plan

Look elsewhere if

• Pricey if you just want to pitch, as Base is $149 a month with no monitoring or contact exports
• Tight if a team shares it, as each plan has one user and every extra one is $20 a month
• Watch out: add-ons stack up, with 200 more exports at $149 a month and 1,000 more emails at $29
• Not for you if you want a real trial, as sending, contact details and exports stay locked until you pay
• Watch out: the pricing page shows yearly billing, while Semrush's help center gives the same figures as monthly prices

BuzzSumo

• There has been no free plan since February 2023; new users get a trial of Suite limited to 50 searches.
• Cancelling stops renewal but is not refunded: annual and monthly plans run to the end of the paid term.
• The journalist database starts at PR & Comms, and the API is priced on request.
• Invoicing is only for Enterprise plans paid yearly; all other plans are paid by card.

Semrush AI PR Toolkit

• Prowly itself no longer takes new subscriptions or trials; new customers are pointed to this Semrush toolkit.
• Each plan includes one user; extra users cost $20 a month each.
• Base cannot export contacts or monitor media; 200 more exports cost $149 a month and 1,000 more emails $29.
• The pricing page shows annual billing; Semrush's help center gives the same figures as monthly prices.

BuzzSumo

Content Analyzer

Search any topic, URL or domain to see its most shared and linked content, with up to five years of engagement history depending on plan.

Content ideas and briefs

The Content Ideas Generator, Topic Explorer and Question Analyzer surface topics, headlines and forum questions, and the Brief Generator turns them into briefs.

Keyword and backlink tools

A keyword tool with search volume and cost per click, and a Backlink Analyzer that follows new links to a domain or URL over time.

Journalist database

From PR & Comms up, find journalists writing on a topic, build media lists of 20 to 600 journalists by plan, and draft pitches with an AI tool.

Monitoring alerts

Alerts for brand, keyword, content, backlink, competitor and journalist mentions by email, and into Slack from PR & Comms up.

Chrome extension and API

A Chrome extension shows engagement and backlinks for any article while you browse, and Account and Search APIs are priced separately.

Semrush AI PR Toolkit

AI-cited media finder

Lists the media outlets in your industry that AI models cite in their answers, with journalists to pitch at each.

Media database

Profiles of more than 600,000 journalists and outlets, searchable by keyword and location; Pro adds audience and traffic data per outlet.

AI pitch and press release writing

Drafts pitches and press releases with AI on every plan, ready to send from the toolkit's mailing tool.

Email outreach and analytics

Sends pitches from your own authenticated domain and tracks engagement. Pro adds scheduled follow-ups and shows which pitches led to coverage.

Media monitoring

From Pro, watches online news, blogs and forums for mentions, filters out reprints and duplicates, and sends alerts with AI summaries.

Competitive intelligence

Business tracks where competitors get coverage and benchmarks your share of voice, sentiment and reach against theirs.

BuzzSumo

• Content Creation$159

  per month, billed annually ($199 billed monthly)

  1 user, unlimited searches, 2 alerts, Content Analyzer, trending feeds, Question Analyzer and 2 years of history.

• PR & Comms$239

  per month, billed annually ($299 billed monthly)

  5 users and 5 alerts, plus the journalist database and outreach, coverage reports, Slack alerts and 3 years of history.

• Suite$399

  per month, billed annually ($499 billed monthly)

  10 users and 10 alerts, plus the YouTube Analyzer, the advanced Chrome extension, article uploads and 5 years of history.

• Enterprise$999

  per month, billed annually only

  30 users, 50 alerts, an RSS feed for Zapier or IFTTT, journalist search by state and early access to new features.

Semrush AI PR Toolkit

• Base$149

  per month, billed annually

  1 user, AI-cited media finder, media database, AI pitch writing, 250 contacts added and 500 emails a month. No monitoring or exports.

• Pro$279

  per month, billed annually

  Adds media monitoring (3,000 mentions a month), follow-ups, outlet audience data, 500 contacts, 150 exports and 1,250 emails a month.

• Business$499

  per month, billed annually

  Adds competitor tracking, benchmarking and gap ideas, with 50,000 mentions, 1,000 contacts, 500 exports and 3,500 emails a month.

BuzzSumo

• Annual discount

  Save 20% with annual billing

  BuzzSumo's pricing page lists a 20% saving for paying annually: Content Creation is $159 a month billed yearly against $199 billed monthly.

• Nonprofit

  Discounts for NGOs and charities

  BuzzSumo's pricing FAQ says it offers discounts to NGOs and registered charitable non-profits; buyers are asked to contact the team.

• Education

  Discounts for classroom use

  The same FAQ offers discounts to educational institutions that use BuzzSumo in the classroom, arranged by contacting BuzzSumo.

Semrush AI PR Toolkit

No public discounts listed.