BuzzSumo vs Semrush (2026): which should you pick?
As of Oct 23, 2026, BuzzSumo and Semrush share a 2.2 GPA, and only Semrush has a free plan.
Checked Oct 17, 2026 and Oct 23, 2026 · graded Oct 17, 2026 and Oct 23, 2026 by ToolGPA
BuzzSumo grades higher on ease of use. Semrush grades higher on features. They get the same grade on value for money, the free plan and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
BuzzSumo
Content research, media monitoring and journalist outreach
Semrush
SEO suite for keyword research, rank tracking and AI search visibility
Which one is for you
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 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
| 2.2GPABuzzSumoFair | 2.2GPASemrushFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | DContent Creation is $159 a month on yearly billing, $199 monthly, for one user, well past where this category's dearest tenth starts ($99). The journalist database needs PR & Comms at $239, and the API is priced on request. | 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 since February 2023. New users get a trial of Suite limited to 50 searches, and nothing on record says it needs a card. | 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 | CThe Content Analyzer, idea, topic and question tools, a brief generator, keyword and backlink tools, alerts and a Chrome extension. It does content research, but that's only part of this category's job: it writes, scores and publishes nothing. | 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 | BNo rating on record, but there's nothing to set up to start: type a topic, URL or domain and it lists the most shared content. | 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 | BWeb plus a Chrome extension, with no desktop or phone app. It sends alerts to Slack, has an RSS feed for Zapier or IFTTT on Enterprise, and offers Account and Search APIs priced separately. | 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 | finding content that already earns shares 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: BuzzSumo and Semrush. How we grade
Where they differ
- BuzzSumo also covers research and link outreach.
- Semrush also covers rank tracking and site audit.
At a glance
| BuzzSumo | Semrush | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free plan |
| Starts at | $159 per month, billed annually ($199 billed monthly) | $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 | Free trial of the Suite plan, limited to 50 searches | 7-day free trial of paid plans; a card is checked with a small charge that is refunded at once |
| Web | ||
| Browser extension | ||
| Made by | BuzzSumo Ltd | Semrush Holdings |
| Price read from | buzzsumo.com | semrush.com |
| Checked | Oct 23, 2026 | Oct 17, 2026 |
Worth knowing
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
- 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
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
- 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
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
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
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
- 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, BuzzSumo or Semrush?
As of Oct 23, 2026, Semrush is cheaper to start with: $117.33 a month, against $159 a month for BuzzSumo. BuzzSumo starts at $159 per month, billed annually ($199 billed monthly), and Semrush starts at $117.33 per month, billed annually ($139 billed monthly).
Which has a free plan, BuzzSumo or Semrush?
As of Oct 23, 2026, only Semrush has a free plan. BuzzSumo does not, though it has a free trial.
Which platforms do BuzzSumo and Semrush run on?
As of Oct 23, 2026, only BuzzSumo lists a browser extension. Both list a web app. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
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.