Majestic vs Semrush (2026): which should you pick?
As of Oct 23, 2026, Majestic and Semrush share a 2.2 GPA, both have a free plan, and Majestic starts cheaper, at $41.67 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
Majestic 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.
Majestic
Backlink index with Trust Flow, Citation Flow and link history
Semrush
SEO suite for keyword research, rank tracking and AI search visibility
Which one is for you
Pick Majestic if
- Fits if you want to check a site's links before buying the domain or pitching it
- Works for developers who need raw link data and can pay for the API plan
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you stay on Lite, which only sees links from the last 120 days
- Pricey if you need the API or a second user, as both start on the API plan at $399.99 a month
- Not for you if you want a proper look first: the free account gets a few lookups a day and there's no trial
- Watch out: the homepage dates the Historic Index to March 2024, so newer links sit only in the Fresh Index
- Skip it if you want outreach or alerts for lost links, as it only does research, and prices exclude VAT
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
| 2.2GPAMajesticFair | 2.2GPASemrushFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CLite is $41.67 a month billed yearly ($49.99 monthly), close to this category's middle of $49. Link history and competitor comparisons sit on Pro at $83.33, and the API plan is $399.99 a month ($333.33 yearly). | 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 account gets a few Site Explorer lookups a day, a weekly showcase site and basic scores in the browser extension. That's enough for a look, not for real work. There's no trial, just a 7-day money-back guarantee on your first plan. | 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 | CBacklinks, referring domains, anchor text, new and lost links and Trust Flow across 800+ topics, for any site. It does link research fully, but that's one part of link building: no outreach, no link alerts, and Lite only sees 120 days. | 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. Looking up a site is simple, but analysis units, report units, two indexes and its own scores take a while to make sense of. | 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, Google Sheets and Search Console. The API comes only with the API 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 | a dedicated backlink index with link history | 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: Majestic and Semrush. How we grade
Where they differ
- Semrush also covers keyword research, rank tracking and site audit.
At a glance
| Majestic | Semrush | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $41.67 per month, billed annually ($49.99 billed monthly) | $117.33 per month, billed annually ($139 billed monthly) |
| Free plan | Free account: a few Site Explorer clicks a day through the free backlink checker, a weekly showcase site with near-Lite access, the Majestic Million list and basic metrics in the browser extension. | 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 | Majestic-12 Ltd | Semrush Holdings |
| Price read from | majestic.com | semrush.com |
| Checked | Oct 23, 2026 | Oct 17, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Majestic
- Lite searches only the Fresh Index of the last 120 days; history and the comparison tools need Pro.
- API access, extra users and creating OpenApps start with the API plan at $399.99 a month billed monthly.
- There is no free trial; Lite and Pro have a 7-day money-back guarantee for first-time customers, and prices exclude VAT.
- The homepage gives the Historic Index a date range ending in March 2024; newer links sit in the Fresh Index.
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
Majestic
- Site Explorer
- Backlinks, referring domains, anchor text, new and lost links and the text around each link for any domain or URL.
- Trust Flow and Citation Flow
- Scores from 0 to 100 for the quality and the quantity of links, with Topical Trust Flow placing a site in over 800 topic categories.
- Fresh and Historic indexes
- The Fresh Index covers links seen in the last 120 days. Pro adds the Historic Index, whose records start in 2006.
- Competitor link prospecting
- Pro tools such as Compare, Clique Hunter and Link Profile Fight show sites that link to competitors but not to you.
- Author Explorer
- A beta tool on Pro that looks up web authors: what they have written, its backlinks and a timeline of their X posts.
- Browser extension and Google Sheets
- A Chrome and Firefox extension shows link counts and flow scores for any page for free; subscribers can also pull data into Google Sheets.
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
Majestic
Free$0
A few Site Explorer clicks each day, plus the free browser extension, for trying the data.
Lite$41.67
per month, billed annually ($49.99 billed monthly)
1 user, Fresh Index only, 1 million analysis units and 60 report units a month, 5,000 rows per search.
Pro$83.33
per month, billed annually ($99.99 billed monthly)
1 user, Historic Index, comparison tools, raw exports, Author Explorer, 20 million analysis units and 300 report units.
API$333.33
per month for 100 million units, billed annually ($399.99 monthly)
5 users and the full API. 300 million units cost $799.99 a month and 1,000 million $1,599.99, billed monthly.
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
Majestic
- Annual discount
About 17% off with annual billing
Majestic's pricing page sells Lite at $499.99 for 12 months against $49.99 a month, and Pro at $999.99 against $99.99 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, Majestic or Semrush?
As of Oct 23, 2026, Majestic is cheaper to start with: $41.67 a month, against $117.33 a month for Semrush. Majestic starts at $41.67 per month, billed annually ($49.99 billed monthly), and Semrush starts at $117.33 per month, billed annually ($139 billed monthly).
Which has a free plan, Majestic or Semrush?
As of Oct 23, 2026, both Majestic and Semrush have a free plan.
Which platforms do Majestic and Semrush run on?
As of Oct 23, 2026, only Majestic 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.