DiagnoSEO vs Semrush (2026): which should you pick?
As of Oct 23, 2026, DiagnoSEO grades higher than Semrush: 2.6 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
DiagnoSEO 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.
DiagnoSEO
Credit-based SEO toolkit with audits, keyword tools and AI writing
Semrush
SEO suite for keyword research, rank tracking and AI search visibility
Which one is for you
Pick DiagnoSEO if
- Fits if you run WordPress sites and want the DiagnoSEO Pro plugin with your SEO tools
- Works for freelancers running audits and keyword checks now and then on a small budget
Look elsewhere if
- Pricey if you need rank tracking or the API, as both start on Enterprise at $129 per user a month
- Tight if you're on Basic, as 60 credits a month is six keyword ideas reports at 10 credits each
- Watch out: extra credits are $1 per 10, need an active plan and expire after a year
- Watch out: monthly and annual plans list different limits, such as 100 projects monthly but 50 yearly on Pro
- Not for you if you want a free plan, as there's only a 7-day trial and refunds cover a first purchase within 7 days
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
| 2.6GPADiagnoSEOGood | 2.2GPASemrushFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | ABasic is $9 per user a month, under 60% of this category's cheaper quarter, for 20 tools, 60 credits and 5 projects. The catch: a keyword ideas report is 10 credits, and rank tracking needs Enterprise at $129. | 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 a 7-day free trial of Basic, and Advanced can be tried for $7. Refunds cover a first purchase only, within 7 days. | 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 | CPage audits, a site crawler, a SERP analyzer, keyword research, a backlink checker, a content editor, AI articles and a WordPress plugin. The gap the listing names: rank tracking only comes with 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. Each tool spends a different number of credits, from 1 for an audit to 10 for a GPT-4o article, so there's a meter to keep an eye on. | 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 WordPress plugin, connected to Search Console, with an API on Enterprise. 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 | credit-based SEO tools with a WordPress plugin | 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: DiagnoSEO and Semrush. How we grade
Price against what you get
DiagnoSEO starts at $9 a month for each person and scores 2.3 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Semrush starts at $117.33 a month and scores 2.7.
Semrush scores higher, and starts $108.33 a month higher: the question is whether the extra is worth that to you. Of the other SEO tools on the chart, 1 scores higher than DiagnoSEO for less, and none scores higher than Semrush for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- DiagnoSEO also covers long-form writing and content optimization.
- Semrush also covers reports and rank tracking.
At a glance
| DiagnoSEO | Semrush | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free plan |
| Starts at | $9 per user / month, 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 the Basic plan; the Advanced plan can be tried for $7 | 7-day free trial of paid plans; a card is checked with a small charge that is refunded at once |
| Web | ||
| Made by | DiagnoSEO | Semrush Holdings |
| Price read from | diagnoseo.com | semrush.com |
| Checked | Oct 23, 2026 | Oct 17, 2026 |
Worth knowing
DiagnoSEO
- Tools spend credits per use (an SEO audit 1, a GPT-4o article 10); extra credits cost $1 per 10, need an active plan and expire after a year.
- Rank tracking, API access and the embeddable audit tool come only with Enterprise at $129 per user a month.
- Monthly and annual plans list different limits: Pro has 100 projects monthly but 50 annually, and Enterprise tracks 500 or 5,000 keywords.
- Refunds cover the first purchase only, if asked within 7 days. The WordPress plugin is also sold alone at $49 a year, shown cut from $69.
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
DiagnoSEO
- SEO audit and site crawler
- Checks a page against more than 200 on-page factors, with an advanced audit at 3 credits, and crawls whole sites; the pages allowed per crawl rise with the plan.
- SERP Analyzer and visibility checker
- The SERP Analyzer compares the pages ranking for a keyword and gives AI tips on what to change; the Website Visibility Checker reports a domain's top 50 or top 1,000 keywords.
- Keyword research
- Keyword ideas from live Google autocomplete with search volume and intent, related keywords, questions, People Also Ask, a topical map and bulk volume checks of 1,000 keywords.
- Content Editor and AI writing
- Semantic keyword recommendations while you write, plus AI articles of up to 5,000 words with GPT-4o mini or GPT-4o, rewriting, outlines, headlines and internal link suggestions.
- Backlink checker
- Lists the linking domains and pages for any site, with broken backlinks, anchor text distribution, link locations and linking TLDs at no extra credit.
- WordPress SEO plugin
- The DiagnoSEO Pro plugin adds AI titles and meta descriptions, schema, content analysis, sitemaps, redirections and internal links to WordPress sites.
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
DiagnoSEO
Basic$9
per user / month, billed monthly
20 tools, 60 credits, 5 projects and the DiagnoSEO Pro WordPress plugin on 5 sites. Has a 7-day free trial.
Advanced$19
per user / month, billed monthly
30+ tools including the advanced ones, 200 credits, 20 projects and the WordPress plugin on 10 sites. Can be tried for $7.
Pro$39
per user / month, billed monthly
60+ tools, 400 credits, 100 projects (50 on annual billing), the plugin on unlimited sites and the WordPress theme builder on 30 sites.
Enterprise$129
per user / month, billed monthly
1,600 credits, 1,000 projects, rank tracking, an embeddable audit tool, custom audits, bulk content generation, API access and dedicated support.
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
DiagnoSEO
- Annual discount
Two months free with annual billing
DiagnoSEO says annual billing saves 16%, or two months free: Basic is $90 per user a year instead of $9 a month.
- Other savings
10% off renewals at the regular price
The pricing FAQ says subscriptions renewed at the regular price get a 10% discount, the same on every plan.
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, DiagnoSEO or Semrush?
As of Oct 23, 2026, DiagnoSEO starts at $9 per user / month, billed monthly, and Semrush starts at $117.33 per month, billed annually ($139 billed monthly). One is priced for each person and the other is not, so which costs less depends on how many of you use it.
Which has a free plan, DiagnoSEO or Semrush?
As of Oct 23, 2026, only Semrush has a free plan. DiagnoSEO 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.