KeyClusters vs Semrush (2026): which should you pick?

Pick KeyClusters if

• Fits if you have a big keyword export and need it turned into a list of pages
• Works for clustering now and then without a monthly bill, as credits never expire

Look elsewhere if

• Skip it if you need keyword ideas, as it only groups a list you bring
• Not for you if you want to try it free, as there's no trial or free credits
• Tight if you want looser groups, as it only joins keywords sharing 3 or more top-10 pages
• Pricey if you cluster a lot, as it's priced per keyword: 100,000 keywords is $350
• Too light for pulling results into other tools, as there's no API on record

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

KeyClusters

• It does not find new keywords: you upload a list exported from Ahrefs or Semrush, or a file of your own.
• No free plan, free credits or trial is offered; the smallest pack is $19 for 2,500 keywords.
• Clusters are formed only from shared pages in Google's top 10 results, with 3 or more pages in common.

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.

KeyClusters

SERP-based clustering

Each keyword is run through Google and its top 10 ranking pages compared; keywords with 3 or more pages in common are put in the same cluster.

Ahrefs and Semrush imports

Upload keyword export files from Ahrefs or Semrush as they are, or a custom CSV file of your own keywords.

Location and device targeting

Run the analysis for any location and for desktop or mobile results, so clusters follow the results searchers there see.

Spreadsheet output

Results arrive within minutes as a CSV or Excel file of keywords grouped into clusters, to plan one page per group and avoid cannibalization.

Credits that never expire

1 credit clusters 1 keyword, packs are bought once and topped up from the dashboard, and there is no limit on list size beyond your credits.

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.

KeyClusters

• 2,500 keywords$19

  one-time top-up, used as you go

  2,500 credits at $0.0076 per keyword. 1 credit clusters 1 keyword, credits never expire and every feature is included.

• 20,000 keywords$110

  one-time top-up, used as you go

  20,000 credits at $0.0055 per keyword, which the vendor puts at 28% less per keyword than the smallest pack.

• 100,000 keywords$350

  one-time top-up, used as you go

  100,000 credits at $0.0035 per keyword, which the vendor puts at 54% less per keyword than the smallest pack.

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.

KeyClusters

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.