Google Keyword Planner vs Semrush (2026): which should you pick?
As of Oct 23, 2026, Google Keyword Planner grades higher than Semrush: 2.8 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
Google Keyword Planner grades higher on value for money and the free plan. Semrush grades higher on features. They get the same grade on ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Google Keyword Planner
Free keyword ideas, search volumes and bid estimates inside Google Ads
Semrush
SEO suite for keyword research, rank tracking and AI search visibility
Which one is for you
Pick Google Keyword Planner if
- Fits if you're planning Google search ads and need a budget
- Works for getting volumes for a list of keywords without paying, if you have an Ads account
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want SEO difficulty or a rival's rankings, as it shows neither
- Not for you if you'd rather not enter billing details just to research keywords
- Tight if your niche is tiny or in health or finance, as those keywords may return nothing
- Watch out: volumes are rounded 12-month averages, and each keyword is capped at 80 characters and 10 words
- Watch out: the Ads account must be in Expert Mode, and the screens are made for ad campaigns
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
| 2.8GPAGoogle Keyword PlannerGood | 2.2GPASemrushFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | AFree, from Google itself, with keyword ideas, monthly volumes, bid ranges and forecasts, and an API for developers. Nothing in it costs money; the catch is the Ads account it needs. | 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 | BFree with no cap, but you need a Google Ads account with billing details entered and setup finished before ideas show, and Smart Mode accounts have to switch to Expert Mode. | 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 | CIdeas from words or a site, volumes for your own list, top-of-page bid ranges and budget forecasts. It's built for ads, though: no organic difficulty, no competitor rankings, and low-volume or sensitive keywords may show 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 | CNo rating on record. The tool itself is simple, but getting to it means a Google Ads account, billing details and Expert Mode, and the screens are made for ad campaigns. | 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 only, inside Google Ads, with keyword ideas, historical volumes and forecasts also available through the Google Ads API. No desktop or phone version on record. | 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 | free search volumes and ad cost estimates | 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: Google Keyword Planner and Semrush. How we grade
Where they differ
- Semrush also covers reports, rank tracking, site audit and backlink analysis.
At a glance
| Google Keyword Planner | Semrush | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free | Free plan |
| Starts at | Free | $117.33 per month, billed annually ($139 billed monthly) |
| Free plan | Free with a Google Ads account. Billing details must be entered and account setup finished before keyword ideas can be used. | 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 | ||
| Made by | Semrush Holdings | |
| Price read from | business.google.com | semrush.com |
| Checked | Oct 23, 2026 | Oct 17, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Google Keyword Planner
- Needs a Google Ads account with billing details entered and setup complete, and accounts in Smart Mode must switch to Expert Mode.
- Built for ad planning: it shows bid estimates and ad forecasts, not organic difficulty scores or competitor rankings.
- Keywords with very low volume or in sensitive areas such as health or finance may return no results.
- Each keyword is limited to 80 characters and 10 words.
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
Google Keyword Planner
- Keyword ideas from words or a site
- Enter phrases about a product or service, or any website, and get a list of related keyword ideas to filter, group by theme and save to a plan.
- Average monthly searches
- Shows how often a keyword and its close variants are searched, averaged over 12 months by default, by location and network. Volumes are rounded and exact-match only.
- Top-of-page bid ranges
- Low and high bid estimates, roughly the 20th and 80th percentile of what advertisers paid for a top-of-page ad over the last 30 days.
- Forecasts by budget
- A saved plan forecasts clicks, impressions, cost and conversions for a chosen budget and bid strategy, refreshed daily from the last 7 to 10 days of data.
- Volumes for your own list
- Paste or upload a CSV of keywords to get search volumes and forecasts for them, then turn the plan into a Search campaign.
- Google Ads API access
- Developers can request keyword ideas, historical metrics and forecasts through KeywordPlanIdeaService in the Google Ads API.
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
Google Keyword Planner
Free$0
Keyword ideas, monthly search volumes, top-of-page bid ranges and forecasts, for anyone with a Google Ads account.
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
Google Keyword Planner
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, Google Keyword Planner or Semrush?
As of Oct 23, 2026, Google Keyword Planner is cheaper to start with: it is free, against $117.33 a month for Semrush. Google Keyword Planner is free, and Semrush starts at $117.33 per month, billed annually ($139 billed monthly).
Which has a free plan, Google Keyword Planner or Semrush?
As of Oct 23, 2026, both Google Keyword Planner and Semrush have a free plan.
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.