Glimpse vs Semrush (2026): which should you pick?
As of Oct 23, 2026, Glimpse 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
Glimpse grades higher on value for money and ease of use. Semrush grades higher on features. They get the same grade on the free plan and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Glimpse
Google Trends add-on with absolute search volume and trend discovery
Semrush
SEO suite for keyword research, rank tracking and AI search visibility
Which one is for you
Pick Glimpse if
- Fits if you already use Google Trends and want search counts instead of an index
- Works for analysts who want trend data in their own dashboards through an API
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want to know the price before you talk to anyone, as none is published
- Too light for choosing keywords for a page, as it tracks trends rather than difficulty
- Not for you if you browse in Safari or Firefox, as the vendor names Chrome and Edge for the extension
- Watch out: the volumes are Glimpse's own estimates, fitted to Google Trends' relative movements
- Watch out: the free plan's limits aren't published, so you can't tell where it stops
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
| 2.4GPAGlimpseFair | 2.2GPASemrushFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CNo price is published anywhere we could read. Sign-up is free, and past that the site only offers to book a demo, so the price is only given on a sales call. That leaves nothing to weigh against this category's $17 middle. | 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 | CSigning up is free, but Glimpse doesn't publish what the free plan includes, so we can't tell you where its limits are. Paid plans sit above it, unpriced. | 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 | CAbsolute search volume on Google Trends going back 20+ years, rising trends by niche, a one-year forecast, channel breakdowns and alerts. It does trend research fully, but that's a smaller job, and the volumes are Glimpse's own estimates. | 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. Much of it is a browser extension that adds numbers to Google Trends pages, so you install it and keep searching the way you already do. | 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 an extension for Chrome and Edge, with no desktop or phone app. There's an API for interest and volume over time, and a Google Sheets link. | 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 | real search numbers on top of Google Trends | 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: Glimpse and Semrush. How we grade
Where they differ
- Semrush also covers reports, rank tracking, site audit and backlink analysis.
At a glance
| Glimpse | Semrush | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | Not published | $117.33 per month, billed annually ($139 billed monthly) |
| Free plan | Signing up is free, according to the homepage and the extension listing; the free plan's limits are not published on any page we could read. | 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 | None listed | 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 | Glimpse | Semrush Holdings |
| Price read from | Not confirmed | semrush.com |
| Checked | Oct 23, 2026 | Oct 17, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Glimpse
- Glimpse publishes no pricing page, so the cost of its paid plans could not be confirmed.
- Much of it works as a browser extension on top of Google Trends; the vendor names Chrome and Edge.
- Its search volumes are Glimpse's own figures, calibrated to match the relative movements in Google Trends.
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
Glimpse
- Absolute search volume on Google Trends
- The extension turns Google Trends' 0 to 100 index into daily search counts for any keyword and country, going back more than 20 years.
- Trend discovery
- Browse rising keywords by category and niche on Glimpse's site, with year-over-year and month-over-month growth for each.
- Trajectory and forecasting
- Shows a trend's path with seasonality and noise removed, and a forecast of the next year of searches.
- Channel breakdown
- See where a topic is talked about most across TikTok, LinkedIn, Reddit, Instagram, X, YouTube, Facebook and Pinterest.
- Tracking and alerts
- Track keywords and get an alert when one of them climbs or drops in search activity.
- Glimpse API
- Endpoints for interest over time and search volume over time, offered in place of a Google Trends API, which Google has not made public.
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
Glimpse
Pricing could not be confirmed. See meetglimpse.com.
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
Glimpse
No public discounts listed.
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, Glimpse or Semrush?
As of Oct 23, 2026, Glimpse has no price we could confirm, and Semrush starts at $117.33 per month, billed annually ($139 billed monthly).
Which has a free plan, Glimpse or Semrush?
As of Oct 23, 2026, both Glimpse and Semrush have a free plan.
Which platforms do Glimpse and Semrush run on?
As of Oct 23, 2026, only Glimpse 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.