Rakko Keyword vs Semrush (2026): which should you pick?
As of Oct 23, 2026, Rakko Keyword grades higher than Semrush: 2.6 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
Rakko Keyword 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.
Rakko Keyword
Japanese keyword research with suggest data from five search engines
Semrush
SEO suite for keyword research, rank tracking and AI search visibility
Which one is for you
Pick Rakko Keyword if
- Fits if you write for Japanese readers and want suggest data from Rakuten and Amazon
- Works for a budget of a few hundred yen a month, at ¥660 for Entry on yearly billing
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you can't read Japanese, as the site and support are in Japanese
- Not for you if you want to try paid features first, as there's no trial and no refund mid-term
- Tight if you pay monthly, since that costs twice the yearly rate, and plans can't be downgraded without cancelling
- Watch out: lookups through AI tools burn credits 5 times faster on Light, and the API needs Standard
- Tight if you stay free: 50 credits a week and no search volume at all
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
| 2.6GPARakko KeywordGood | 2.2GPASemrushFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | AEntry is ¥660 a month on yearly billing, tax included: a few dollars, and under 60% of this category's cheaper quarter. It's only 400 credits, though, the API waits on Standard at ¥2,475, and monthly billing costs double. | 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 with 50 credits a week, reset every Monday, for suggestions, competitor keywords (50 results) and rank checks to position 30. No search volume at all, which is the number you came for. | 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 | CSuggestions from five search engines, volume and difficulty, competitor keywords, headings from the top 20 results, rank checks, AI drafts and MCP. It covers the job, but for Japan: the site, support and keyword data are all aimed there. | 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 tools are simple lookups, but the whole site is in Japanese, and each tool costs a different number of credits, so there's some working out to do. | 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, with MCP for Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, n8n and Dify from Light, and the API from Standard. Results go to Google Sheets or Excel. 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 Japanese search | 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: Rakko Keyword and Semrush. How we grade
Where they differ
- Semrush also covers reports, rank tracking, site audit and backlink analysis.
At a glance
| Rakko Keyword | Semrush | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | ¥660 per month, billed annually (¥1,320 billed monthly), incl. tax | $117.33 per month, billed annually ($139 billed monthly) |
| Free plan | 50 credits a week, reset each Monday, with suggest keywords and most research tools at lower output caps. No search volume data. | 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 | ラッコ株式会社 (Rakko Inc.) | Semrush Holdings |
| Price read from | rakkokeyword.com | semrush.com |
| Checked | Oct 23, 2026 | Oct 17, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Rakko Keyword
- The site, support and keyword data are aimed at Japan; prices are in yen including 10% consumption tax.
- There is no free trial of paid features, and cancelling mid-term brings no refund.
- Monthly billing costs twice the annual rate; plans can only be upgraded, not downgraded, without cancelling.
- Use through AI tools burns credits faster, 5 times on Light and 1.5 times from Standard, and the API itself needs Standard or above.
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
Rakko Keyword
- Suggest keywords from five engines
- Pull search suggestions from Google, YouTube, Amazon, Rakuten and Bing; paid plans add search volume, difficulty and an expanded list of up to 10,000 or more.
- Competitor keyword research
- See which keywords and pages bring a site its search traffic, with estimated visits and trend charts; 50 to 10,000 results per lookup by plan.
- Headings and co-occurring words
- Extract the headings and the words used most by the top 20 results for a keyword, to plan an article's structure.
- Rank checks
- Check where up to 50 URLs rank for a keyword on Google or Yahoo, to position 30 on the free plan and 100 on paid plans, by region and device from Standard.
- Bulk search volume
- Look up current Google monthly volume, CPC and competition for a list of keywords at 0.02 credits each, with a minimum of 10 per request.
- AI article drafts and MCP
- Generate titles, headings and article text from the top results, and connect Claude, ChatGPT or n8n through MCP from Light or the API from Standard.
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
Rakko Keyword
フリー (Free)¥0
50 credits a week for suggest keywords, competitor keywords (50 results), rank checks to position 30 and other basic lookups.
エントリー (Entry)¥660
per month for 400 credits, billed annually (¥1,320 billed monthly)
Search volume and difficulty, 800 competitor keywords per lookup, 1 user. A suggest search costs 1 credit, a site lookup 3.
ライト (Light)¥990
per month for 1,000 credits, billed annually (¥1,980 billed monthly)
1,000 credits, 2,000 competitor keywords per lookup and MCP access for AI tools at 5 times the web credit cost. No API.
スタンダード (Standard)¥2,475
per month for 3,000 credits, billed annually (¥4,950 billed monthly)
3,000 credits, 10,000 competitor keywords per lookup, API access, 100-URL bulk site checks and 5 simultaneous users.
プロ (Pro)¥4,950
per month for 6,300 credits, billed annually (¥9,900 billed monthly)
Standard's features with 6,300 credits a month and 10 simultaneous users.
エンタープライズ (Enterprise)¥9,900
per month for 13,500 credits, billed annually (¥19,800 billed monthly)
Standard's features with 13,500 credits a month and 25 simultaneous 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
Rakko Keyword
- Annual discount
Half price with annual billing
Rakko Keyword's pricing page marks annual billing as 50% off: Standard is ¥29,700 a year instead of ¥4,950 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, Rakko Keyword or Semrush?
As of Oct 23, 2026, Rakko Keyword starts at ¥660 per month, billed annually (¥1,320 billed monthly), incl. tax, and Semrush starts at $117.33 per month, billed annually ($139 billed monthly).
Which has a free plan, Rakko Keyword or Semrush?
As of Oct 23, 2026, both Rakko Keyword 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.