Semrush vs Surfer
We give Semrush and Surfer the same GPA: 2.2 out of 4.0. Semrush grades higher on the free plan. Surfer grades higher on value for money. They get the same grade on features, ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Semrush
SEO suite for keyword research, rank tracking and AI search visibility
Surfer
Content editor that scores articles for search and AI citations
How we grade them
| 2.2GPASemrushFair | 2.2GPASurferFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | 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. | CGraded against other content editors. Discovery is $49 a month billed yearly ($59 monthly) for 1 seat and 120 documents: more than Frase's $39 and NeuronWriter's $19, well under Clearscope's $129. Standard, with 3 seats, is $99. |
| Free plan and trial | 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. | DNo free plan. The 7-day trial gives new accounts Pro, but it needs a card and turns into a paid plan unless you cancel. The free Keyword Surfer extension is a small consolation. |
| Features | 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. | BA live Content Score and guidelines, an AI writer with humanizer and plagiarism checks, keyword research, topical maps, content audits with drop alerts and AI answer tracking. The whole content job, though Discovery has no AI prompt tracking. |
| Ease of use | 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. | CNo rating on record. Writing against a score is easy to grasp, but topical maps, audits and the AI tracking spaces are more to learn. |
| Platforms and integrations | 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. | BWeb plus Chrome extensions, one bringing the guidelines into Google Docs. It connects to WordPress, Zapier, Contentful, Jasper, ChatGPT and Claude; the API needs Peace of Mind or an add-on. No desktop or phone app. |
| Best for | the broadest all-in-one SEO suite | scoring articles as you write them |
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: Semrush and Surfer. How we grade
Price against what you get
Semrush starts at $117.33 a month and scores 2.7 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Surfer starts at $49 a month and scores 2.7.
They score the same, and Surfer starts $68.33 a month lower. Of the other SEO tools on the chart, none scores higher than Semrush for less, and none scores higher than Surfer 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
- Semrush starts at $117.33 per month, billed annually ($139 billed monthly). Surfer starts at $49 per month, billed yearly ($59 billed monthly).
- Semrush has a free plan. Surfer does not, though it has a free trial.
- Only Surfer lists a browser extension.
- Semrush also covers reports, rank tracking, site audit and backlink analysis.
- Surfer also covers long-form writing.
At a glance
| Semrush | Surfer | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free trial |
| Starts at | $117.33 per month, billed annually ($139 billed monthly) | $49 per month, billed yearly ($59 billed monthly) |
| Free plan | Free account: 1 project, 10 analytics reports a day across the main tools and 10 keywords in Position Tracking. No credit card needed. | None |
| Free trial | 7-day free trial of paid plans; a card is checked with a small charge that is refunded at once | 7-day free trial with Pro access for new accounts; card required, converts to the chosen plan |
| Web | ||
| Browser extension | ||
| Made by | Semrush Holdings | Surfer Sp. z o.o. |
| Price read from | semrush.com | surferseo.com |
| Checked | Oct 17, 2026 | Oct 17, 2026 |
Who each one suits
Semrush
- Freelancers and in-house marketers who want research, tracking and audits in one account
- Agencies comparing many client sites against their competitors
- Brands that want to watch their visibility in AI chat answers alongside Google rankings
Surfer
- Writers and content teams producing articles meant to rank
- Agencies refreshing existing client content at volume
- Brands that want to see whether AI chat tools cite their pages
Worth knowing
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.
Surfer
- Discovery has no AI prompt tracking and one seat; Standard tracks 25 prompts weekly in ChatGPT only.
- On annual plans, credits reset once a year, and unlimited documents fall under a fair usage policy.
- The trial needs a card and becomes a paid plan after 7 days unless cancelled; it is for new accounts only.
- API access needs Peace of Mind, Enterprise or an API add-on.
Key features
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.
Surfer
- Content Editor and Content Score
- Write or paste an article and get live guidelines on terms, structure and length, scored against the pages that rank for the topic.
- AI writing assistant
- Surfy drafts and edits inside the editor, with an AI detector, humanizer, plagiarism check and 1-click optimization of existing text.
- AI visibility tracking
- Track set prompts in ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, Google AI Mode and AI Overviews, with mention gaps and brand sentiment.
- Content Audit and drop alerts
- Monitor 10 to 500 published pages, get alerts when rankings drop and suggestions for which articles to refresh.
- Keyword research and Topical Map
- Plan clusters of related articles around a topic, and check search results with the SERP Analyzer.
- Keyword Surfer extension
- A free Chrome extension shows search volume and keyword ideas on Google results; another brings Surfer's guidelines into Google Docs.
Plans
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.
Surfer
Discovery$49
per month, billed yearly ($59 billed monthly)
1 seat, 120 documents to create or optimize, 10 tracked pages, AI writing assistant and humanizer. No AI prompt tracking.
AI Search Analytics$82
per month, billed yearly ($95 billed monthly)
AI visibility only: 50 prompts tracked daily across all models, mention gaps and sentiment, 5 brand spaces, 5 seats and MCP.
Standard$99
per month, billed yearly ($119 billed monthly)
3 seats, 360 documents, 50 tracked pages, 1-click optimization, plagiarism checks and 25 prompts tracked weekly in ChatGPT.
Pro$182
per month, billed yearly ($219 billed monthly)
5 seats, 360 documents, 200 pages, 50 prompts daily across all models, 5 brand spaces, internal linking, cannibalization report and MCP.
Peace of Mind$299
per month, billed yearly ($359 billed monthly)
10 seats, unlimited documents under fair use, 500 pages, 100 prompts daily, API access and a dedicated success manager.
EnterpriseCustom
Custom limits, SSO, white-label, advisory program and tailored onboarding, through sales.
Ways to pay less
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.
Surfer
- Annual discount
Save up to 17% with yearly billing
Surfer's pricing FAQ gives up to 17% off for annual plans, paid upfront: Pro is $182 a month billed yearly instead of $219 billed monthly.
