Haloscan vs Semrush (2026): which should you pick?
As of Oct 23, 2026, Haloscan and Semrush share a 2.2 GPA, both have a free plan, and Haloscan starts cheaper, at about $55.13 a month against $117.33 a month.
Checked Oct 17, 2026 and Oct 23, 2026 · graded Oct 17, 2026 and Oct 23, 2026 by ToolGPA
Haloscan 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.
Haloscan
French-market keyword and competitor research with rank tracking
Semrush
SEO suite for keyword research, rank tracking and AI search visibility
Which one is for you
Pick Haloscan if
- Fits if your sites are in French and aimed at people searching in France
- Works for buyers of expired domains who want ones that still rank
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if your market is anywhere but France, as that's all the data covers
- Not for you if you need backlink research, which is still marked coming soon
- Tight if you stay free, with 50 keyword searches a month and no API, competitor analysis or rank tracking
- Watch out: prices are in euros before VAT, and Starter has one user; 2 users means Agency at €149.20 a month yearly
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
| 2.2GPAHaloscanFair | 2.2GPASemrushFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CStarter is €49.20 a month on yearly billing, €59 monthly, both before VAT. That's the dear end of this category, near its dearest tenth. For it you get 10,000 keyword searches a month, 800 tracked keywords and the API. | 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 | CA free plan for one user: 50 keyword searches and 25 site searches a month, 100 results each. No API, competitor analysis, projects or rank tracking, so you'll reach the edge fast. | 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 | CKeyword Explorer with volume, difficulty, intent and SERP features, Site Explorer for any domain's keywords, daily rank tracking on Google, Bing and YouTube, and expired domains. But the data covers France only, and backlinks are still listed as coming soon. | 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. A single lookup is quick, but it's a full suite, with projects, rank tracking and bulk lookups of up to 1,000 keywords to learn before it all clicks. | 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 free Chrome and Firefox extension that shows a site's visibility and ranking keywords, and API access on every paid plan. 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 | keyword research for French sites | 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: Haloscan and Semrush. How we grade
Where they differ
- Semrush also covers reports, site audit and backlink analysis.
At a glance
| Haloscan | Semrush | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | €49.20 per month, billed annually (€59 billed monthly), excl. VAT | $117.33 per month, billed annually ($139 billed monthly) |
| Free plan | 50 keyword searches and 25 site searches a month, 100 results per search and 5,000 results or exports a month, for 1 user. No API, competitor analysis or projects. | 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 | ARCHI301 | Semrush Holdings |
| Price read from | haloscan.com | semrush.com |
| Checked | Oct 23, 2026 | Oct 17, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Haloscan
- Keyword and site data covers France only; Haloscan says it is focusing exclusively on the French market for now.
- Prices are in euros and exclude VAT; billing goes through FastSpring.
- The free plan has no API, no competitor analysis and no projects or rank tracking.
- Backlink analysis is listed as coming soon, so link research needs another tool.
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
Haloscan
- Keyword Explorer
- Search volume, allintitle count, CPC, competition, a difficulty score, search intent and the SERP features for each keyword, with bulk lookups of up to 1,000 at a time.
- Site Explorer
- See the keywords a domain or page ranks for, its estimated traffic, its best pages and the keywords it shares with competitors.
- Rank tracking and projects
- Track rankings daily on Google, Bing and YouTube with alerts on big changes, grouped into projects: 800 to 5,000 keywords depending on plan.
- Expired domains
- Find expired domains that still rank and are available to buy, including some with Google Business listings.
- API on paid plans
- Every paid plan includes API access at no extra cost; Haloscan says it has been available since July 2023.
- Free browser extension
- A free Chrome and Firefox extension shows a domain's visibility index and ranking keywords, numbers Google results and outlines nofollow links.
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
Haloscan
Free€0
50 keyword searches and 25 site searches a month, up to 100 results per search, 1 user.
Starter€49.20
per month, billed annually (€59 billed monthly), excl. VAT
10,000 keyword searches and 3,000 site searches a month, 5 projects, 800 tracked keywords, API access, 1 user.
Agency€149.20
per month, billed annually (€179 billed monthly), excl. VAT
25,000 keyword searches and 10,000 site searches a month, 20 projects, 2,000 tracked keywords and 2 users.
Guru€374.20
per month, billed annually (€449 billed monthly), excl. VAT
50,000 keyword searches and 30,000 site searches a month, 50 projects, 5,000 tracked keywords and 5 users.
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
Haloscan
- Annual discount
Two months free with yearly billing
Haloscan's pricing page marks yearly billing as two months free: Starter is €590 a year instead of €59 a month.
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, Haloscan or Semrush?
As of Oct 23, 2026, Haloscan is cheaper to start with: about $55.13 a month, against $117.33 a month for Semrush. Haloscan starts at €49.20 per month, billed annually (€59 billed monthly), excl. VAT, and Semrush starts at $117.33 per month, billed annually ($139 billed monthly).
Which has a free plan, Haloscan or Semrush?
As of Oct 23, 2026, both Haloscan and Semrush have a free plan.
Which platforms do Haloscan and Semrush run on?
As of Oct 23, 2026, only Haloscan 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.