CrawlRaven vs Semrush (2026): which should you pick?
As of Oct 23, 2026, CrawlRaven grades higher than Semrush: 2.4 against 2.2 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 17, 2026 and Oct 23, 2026 · graded Oct 17, 2026 and Oct 23, 2026 by ToolGPA
CrawlRaven grades higher on value for money. Semrush grades higher on features. They get the same grade on the free plan, ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
CrawlRaven
Search Console data and a site audit joined into an SEO to-do list
Semrush
SEO suite for keyword research, rank tracking and AI search visibility
Which one is for you
Pick CrawlRaven if
- Fits if you're a consultant turning Search Console data into a weekly fix list
- Works for teams that want Claude or ChatGPT to read their SEO data over MCP
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want a free plan, as there's only the 7-day trial and some free tools
- Watch out: audits run within a monthly page allowance the pricing page doesn't state
- Pricey if you need CSV exports, which are on Agency at $199 a month
- Tight if you buy a lifetime plan, which keeps its 3 or 20 sites with no swaps or add-ons
- Not for you if you need keyword research, as it imports lists from Ahrefs or Semrush instead
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
| 2.4GPACrawlRavenFair | 2.2GPASemrushFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | BPro lifetime is $390 once for 3 fixed websites, under two years of this category's middle subscription. Monthly, Starter is $29 for 1 site, right at the middle, and Pro is $39 for 3. | 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, but the 7-day trial of Pro on 1 website needs no card. A free audit of up to 100 pages needs no account, and the Chrome side panel is free. | 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 | CSearch Console and GA4 joined to keyword mapping, cannibalization and decay flags, a 200-point technical audit and MCP access. The gaps: no keyword research of its own, CSV exports only on Agency, and an audit page allowance the pricing page doesn't state. | 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 connect Search Console and GA4 by OAuth and let it sync and crawl before the ranked list means much. | 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 and a Chrome extension, with Search Console, GA4, Ahrefs and Semrush imports, and MCP for Claude, ChatGPT, Codex and Cursor. No desktop or phone app. | 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 | turning Search Console data into an SEO to-do list | 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: CrawlRaven and Semrush. How we grade
Where they differ
- CrawlRaven also covers content optimization.
- Semrush also covers reports, keyword research, rank tracking and backlink analysis.
At a glance
| CrawlRaven | Semrush | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free plan |
| Starts at | $29 per month for 1 website, 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 | 7-day free trial of everything in Pro on 1 website, no credit card required | 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 | CrawlRaven | Semrush Holdings |
| Price read from | crawlraven.com | semrush.com |
| Checked | Oct 23, 2026 | Oct 17, 2026 |
Worth knowing
CrawlRaven
- There is no free plan, only the 7-day trial and some free tools, including a no-account audit of up to 100 pages.
- Audits run within a monthly page allowance whose size the pricing page does not state.
- CSV exports are listed on the Agency plan, and keyword list imports start at Pro.
- Lifetime plans keep a fixed site count with no extra-site add-ons; refunds are offered within 14 days of a first purchase.
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
CrawlRaven
- Search Console and GA4 in one place
- Connects Search Console by OAuth and syncs queries, pages, clicks and positions daily, then weighs each page against its GA4 traffic and engagement.
- Ranked content opportunities
- Maps each keyword to the page that should rank and flags content gaps, cannibalization, runner-up keywords and pages losing clicks, each with a suggested next step.
- 200-point technical audit
- Crawls the site for indexation, canonicals, Core Web Vitals, JavaScript rendering, HTTPS, redirects and structured data, with findings sorted by severity and search clicks.
- Keyword list imports
- From Pro, CSV exports from Ahrefs, Semrush or any keyword tool are merged with Search Console queries into one keyword map. It does not do keyword research itself.
- MCP server for AI assistants
- Claude, ChatGPT, Codex or Cursor can connect over OAuth to read the plan and Search Console data; paid plans get up to 30 tools across approved scopes.
- Free Chrome side panel
- A free extension audits the open tab's tags, headings, schema and social cards, checks the real status code of every link and exports CSV.
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
CrawlRaven
Starter$29
per month for 1 website, billed monthly
Search Console and GA4 insights, keyword map, cannibalization and decay flags, action items, MCP access and the technical audit.
Pro$39
per month for 3 websites, billed monthly
Everything in Starter, plus Ahrefs and Semrush keyword list imports and MCP write proposals. Extra sites cost $10 a month each.
Agency$199
per month for 20 websites, billed monthly
Everything in Pro, plus CSV exports for your own reports. Extra sites cost $10 a month each.
Pro lifetime$390
one-time, for 3 websites
A single payment for the Pro features on a fixed set of 3 websites; sites cannot be added or swapped later.
Agency lifetime$1,990
one-time, for 20 websites
A single payment for the Agency features on a fixed set of 20 websites, with no extra-site add-ons.
EnterpriseCustom
Priced per seat on quote: dedicated workspaces, central billing and access control for in-house teams and large agencies.
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
CrawlRaven
- Lifetime license
Lifetime plans from $390
CrawlRaven sells Pro for 3 websites at $390 one-time and Agency for 20 websites at $1,990 one-time, in place of the monthly plans.
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, CrawlRaven or Semrush?
As of Oct 23, 2026, CrawlRaven is cheaper to start with: $29 a month, against $117.33 a month for Semrush. CrawlRaven starts at $29 per month for 1 website, billed monthly, and Semrush starts at $117.33 per month, billed annually ($139 billed monthly).
Which has a free plan, CrawlRaven or Semrush?
As of Oct 23, 2026, only Semrush has a free plan. CrawlRaven does not, though it has a free trial.
Which platforms do CrawlRaven and Semrush run on?
As of Oct 23, 2026, only CrawlRaven 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.