Keyword Chef vs SERP Gap Analyzer (2026): which should you pick?
As of Oct 23, 2026, Keyword Chef grades higher than SERP Gap Analyzer: 2.2 against 2.0 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 23, 2026 · graded Oct 23, 2026 by ToolGPA
Keyword Chef grades higher on value for money and ease of use. SERP Gap Analyzer grades higher on platforms. They get the same grade on the free plan and features.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Keyword Chef
Credit-based long-tail keyword finder for bloggers and niche sites
SERP Gap Analyzer
Finds keywords whose top Google results have weak spots to beat
Which one is for you
Pick Keyword Chef if
- Fits if you run a niche site and want topics where forums rank on page one
- Works for occasional research, as pay-as-you-go credits never expire
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you write in anything other than English, as that's all it supports
- Tight if you target a country outside its 7, which only get global volume
- Pricey if you want Niche Insights without a subscription, as that's $97 a year on its own
- Watch out: monthly credits don't roll over, and pay-as-you-go credits cost more per keyword
- Watch out: the free trial allows only 30 SERP lookups and no bulk SERP checks
Pick SERP Gap Analyzer if
- Fits if your site is small and you want keywords where the current top 10 has weak pages
- Works for Semrush users choosing which slipping pages to update first
Look elsewhere if
- Pricey if you want lots of keywords, as $99 a month gets 10 reports of 6; Premium is $149 for 30
- Skip it if you don't use Semrush, since it's sold through its App Center
- Not for you if you need results fast, as each report can take up to 15 minutes
- Watch out: TopicRanker's own cards show tighter limits than Semrush's, such as 1 domain and 3 reports on Basic
- Watch out: a scanned domain can't be deleted, only archived, and there's no API on record
How we grade them
| 2.2GPAKeyword ChefFair | 2.0GPASERP Gap AnalyzerFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CStarter is $29 a month for 5,000 keywords, at the dearer end of this category. If you only dip in now and then, $20 buys 1,200 credits once and they never expire. Monthly credits don't roll over. | DBasic is $99 a month, well into this category's dearest tenth, for 10 reports a month with 6 suggested keywords each. Premium is $149 for 30 reports. That's a lot per keyword, even with the AI writing tools thrown in. |
| Free plan and trial | CNo free plan, but the trial needs no card and has no time limit: 1,000 credits and up to 30 SERP lookups. That's enough to see if it suits you, not to run on. | CNo free plan, but a 7-day free trial through the Semrush App Center. You'll need a Semrush account to start it. |
| Features | CAutomatic filtering, a SERP Score for weak results on page one, bulk SERP checks, wildcard searches and Niche Insights. It does long-tail hunting fully, but the listing names the gaps: English only, and country volume for just 7 countries. | CWeak-spot keyword reports, checks on ranking pages' titles, age, speed and length, Search Console fixes for slipping pages, an AI Search Score and GPT-4 drafts. It does its job, but 6 keywords per report on Basic is thin. |
| Ease of use | BNo rating on record, but there's nothing to set up. Type a seed and it does the sorting for you, grouping what's left into questions, best-of and how-to. | CNo rating on record. You need a Semrush account, then a domain, seed topic, language and country for each report, and up to 15 minutes' wait for it. |
| Platforms and integrations | CWeb only. No desktop or phone app, and no integrations or API on record. | BWeb only, inside Semrush, and it connects to Google Search Console to find your pages that are slipping. No desktop or phone app, and no API on record. |
| Best for | low-competition long-tail keywords for bloggers | finding keywords where the top results are weak |
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: Keyword Chef and SERP Gap Analyzer. How we grade
Price against what you get
Keyword Chef starts at $29 a month and scores 2.3 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. SERP Gap Analyzer starts at $99 a month and scores 2.3.
They score the same, and Keyword Chef starts $70 a month lower. Of the other keyword research tools on the chart, 9 score higher than Keyword Chef for less, and 15 score higher than SERP Gap Analyzer 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
- Keyword Chef can be bought with a one-time purchase.
- SERP Gap Analyzer also covers long-form writing, AI search visibility and content optimization.
At a glance
| Keyword Chef | SERP Gap Analyzer | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free trial |
| Starts at | $29 per month for 5,000 credits, or $20 once for 1,200 credits | $99 per month |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | Free trial: 1,000 one-time credits with no time limit and up to 30 SERP lookups; no credit card needed | 7-day free trial through the Semrush App Center |
| Web | ||
| Made by | Keyword Chef | TopicRanker Inc. |
| Price read from | app.keywordchef.com | semrush.com |
| Checked | Oct 23, 2026 | Oct 23, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Keyword Chef
- Only English is supported, and country-level search volume covers just 7 countries; other countries get global volume.
- Monthly credits do not roll over, while pay-as-you-go credits never expire but cost more per keyword.
- The free trial allows only 30 SERP lookups and no bulk SERP checks.
- Niche Insights is not included with pay-as-you-go credits; on its own it costs $97 a year.
SERP Gap Analyzer
- Sold through the Semrush App Center, so it needs a Semrush account; the maker's own site sends trial sign-ups there.
- Basic allows 10 analysis reports a month with 6 suggested keywords each; Premium raises that to 30 reports and 12 keywords for $50 more.
- Each report can take up to 15 minutes, and a scanned domain cannot be deleted, only archived.
- TopicRanker's own pricing cards show tighter limits than the Semrush listing, such as 1 domain and 3 reports a month on Basic.
Key features
Keyword Chef
- Automatic keyword filtering
- Removes broad, competitive and junk keywords and groups the rest into categories such as questions, best-of and how-to.
- SERP Score
- Counts the easy-to-outrank results, such as forums and user-generated content, on page one for each keyword, and can be customized.
- Bulk SERP checks
- Paid users can pull the search results for every keyword in a report at once with Get All SERPs, at no extra credit cost.
- Wildcard search
- Search patterns like 'best * for chefs' or 'can you cook * in the oven' to find best-of topics and clusters, with minus signs to exclude words.
- Keyword import
- Upload keywords from other tools to check their volume and SERP Score.
- Niche Insights
- Ten years of trend data, keywords by intent, topic lists, products and affiliate brands for a niche. Included in monthly plans or $97 a year on its own.
SERP Gap Analyzer
- Weak-spot keyword reports
- Enter a domain and seed topic, with a language and country, and get suggested keywords rated easy, medium or hard, with search volume and the weaknesses of pages ranking now.
- Competitor page checks
- Flags ranking pages with keyword words missing from the title, no update in 6+ months, load times over 3 seconds, under 1,000 words or poor readability.
- Optimize Content with Search Console
- Connect Google Search Console to find your pages in the top 20 over 90 days that are sinking, or get many impressions but few clicks, and see what to fix.
- AI Search Grader
- Tests generated prompts on ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, DeepSeek, Mistral and Llama, ranks your brand against rivals and gives a 0 to 100 AI Search Score.
- AI writing tools
- GPT-4 tools write post title ideas, content briefs, meta descriptions and full first drafts with Article Genie, based on the analysis.
- Seed topic suggestions
- Crawls your site and uses language analysis to suggest seed topics it covers often; there is no limit on suggestions, but one query runs at a time.
Plans
Keyword Chef
Starter$29
per month for 5,000 credits
1 credit is 1 keyword in a report. Monthly credits expire each cycle; includes Niche Insights, Domain Age and queue priority.
Plus$69
per month for 20,000 credits
The same features as Starter, at about $0.0034 a credit.
Pro$119
per month for 50,000 credits
The same features as Starter, at about $0.0024 a credit.
Pay As You Go Starter$20
one-time, for 1,200 credits that never expire
Lifetime credits for occasional use. Pay-as-you-go packs do not include Niche Insights.
Pay As You Go Plus$100
one-time, for 10,000 credits that never expire
Lifetime credits at $0.01 each, without Niche Insights.
Pay As You Go Pro$250
one-time, for 50,000 credits that never expire
Lifetime credits at $0.005 each, without Niche Insights.
SERP Gap Analyzer
Basic$99
per month
3 domains, 6 suggested keywords per report, 10 analysis reports a month and 20 exports to XLS or PDF.
Premium$149
per month (Basic plus a $50 monthly upgrade)
Unlimited domains, 12 suggested keywords per report, 30 analysis reports a month and unlimited exports.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Keyword Chef or SERP Gap Analyzer?
As of Oct 23, 2026, Keyword Chef is cheaper to start with: $29 a month, against $99 a month for SERP Gap Analyzer. Keyword Chef starts at $29 per month for 5,000 credits, or $20 once for 1,200 credits, and SERP Gap Analyzer starts at $99 per month.
Which has a free plan, Keyword Chef or SERP Gap Analyzer?
As of Oct 23, 2026, neither Keyword Chef nor SERP Gap Analyzer has a free plan. Both have 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.