rankingCoach vs Semrush (2026): which should you pick?
As of Oct 23, 2026, rankingCoach and Semrush share a 2.2 GPA, both have a free plan, and rankingCoach starts cheaper, at $40 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
rankingCoach 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.
rankingCoach
Do-it-yourself SEO, listings and reviews app for small businesses
Semrush
SEO suite for keyword research, rank tracking and AI search visibility
Which one is for you
Pick rankingCoach if
- Fits if you run a local business and do your own marketing
- Works for agencies sending white-label reports to small business clients, through the Agency edition
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you run several sites, as each is a separate $40-a-month project
- Pricey if you pay monthly, at $60 plus a $25 setup fee
- Skip it if you need keyword research or backlink data, as neither is on record
- Watch out: the free edition is labeled a limited-time offer and tracks 10 keywords in 1 location
- Watch out: refunds are at the company's discretion, canceling needs 7 days' notice, and ad spend is extra
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
| 2.2GPArankingCoachFair | 2.2GPASemrushFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CrankingCoach 360 is $40 a month per website on yearly billing ($480), or $60 monthly plus a $25 setup fee. That's mid-range for this category, and it bundles listings in up to 46 directories and review tools. Ad spend is on top. | 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 | CrankingCoach FREE covers 1 project, 10 keywords in 1 location, 3 competitors and alerts for reviews and mentions. You'll hit 10 keywords fast, and it's labelled a limited-time offer. | 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 | CSEO tasks with videos, 50 keywords tracked daily in 5 locations, directory listings, reviews with AI replies, brand monitoring and an ads builder. There's no keyword research or backlink tool on record. | 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 videos are made for your CMS, but there's a lot in one app and accounts to connect: Analytics, Business Profile, Facebook and Instagram. | 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, connected to Google Analytics, Google Business Profile, Google Ads, Facebook, Instagram, WordPress, Shopify and Wix. 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 | do-it-yourself local marketing | 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: rankingCoach and Semrush. How we grade
Price against what you get
rankingCoach starts at $40 a month and scores 2.3 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Semrush starts at $117.33 a month and scores 2.7.
Semrush scores higher, and starts $77.33 a month higher: the question is whether the extra is worth that to you. Of the other SEO tools on the chart, 9 score higher than rankingCoach for less, and none scores higher than Semrush 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
- rankingCoach also covers content optimization and local listings.
- Semrush also covers keyword research, site audit and backlink analysis.
At a glance
| rankingCoach | Semrush | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $40 per project / month, billed annually ($60 billed monthly) | $117.33 per month, billed annually ($139 billed monthly) |
| Free plan | RankingCoach FREE: 1 project, 10 keywords tracked in 1 location, 3 competitors, review and brand mention alerts, and Google Analytics and Business Profile connections. | 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 | rankingCoach GmbH | Semrush Holdings |
| Price read from | rankingcoach.com | semrush.com |
| Checked | Oct 23, 2026 | Oct 17, 2026 |
Worth knowing
rankingCoach
- Each website is a separate project at $40 a month billed yearly or $60 monthly, and monthly billing adds a $25 setup fee.
- The free edition is labeled a limited-time offer and tracks only 10 keywords in 1 location.
- Sold to businesses only: refunds are at the company's discretion, and canceling needs 7 days' notice before the term ends.
- Google Ads campaigns need an ad budget of their own on top of the subscription.
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
rankingCoach
- SEO tasks with video tutorials
- Builds an optimization plan for your site and explains each task in videos made for its CMS, such as WordPress, Shopify, Wix or Squarespace.
- Daily keyword tracking
- The 360 plan tracks 50 keywords daily in up to 5 locations against 5 competitors; each keyword counts once per location.
- Directory listings
- Publishes business details to up to 46 local directories, depending on category and country, and keeps them consistent and protected from edits.
- Reviews and AI replies
- Gathers reviews from several platforms in one place, with reputation reports and an AI assistant that drafts replies in your brand's tone.
- Brand and social monitoring
- A feed of brand mentions, new reviews and competitors' ads and social posts, with Facebook and Instagram connections and weekly summaries.
- Google Ads campaign builder
- Suggests ad texts for your business and runs campaigns with a daily budget cap; the ad spend itself is paid on top.
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
rankingCoach
rankingCoach FREE$0
1 project, 10 keywords in 1 location, 3 competitors and a feed of reviews, mentions and rivals' ads. Labeled a limited-time offer.
rankingCoach 360$40
per project / month, billed annually at $480 ($60 billed monthly)
50 keywords in 5 locations, 5 competitors, SEO video tasks, listings in up to 46 directories and AI review replies. Monthly billing adds a $25 setup fee.
Agency editionCustom
For agencies: all client projects in one account, more keywords, white-label reports, sub-accounts and client logins. Sold through the agency team.
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
rankingCoach
- Annual discount
Lower rate and no setup fee on annual billing
rankingCoach 360 is $480 a year, $40 a month, on annual payment, against $60 a month plus a $25 setup fee on monthly payment.
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, rankingCoach or Semrush?
As of Oct 23, 2026, rankingCoach is cheaper to start with: $40 a month, against $117.33 a month for Semrush. rankingCoach starts at $40 per project / month, billed annually ($60 billed monthly), and Semrush starts at $117.33 per month, billed annually ($139 billed monthly).
Which has a free plan, rankingCoach or Semrush?
As of Oct 23, 2026, both rankingCoach 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.