Semrush Free vs. Pro: How Do They Compare?

As a longtime SEO consultant, I'm often asked “what SEO tool is best?”

My answer is “Semrush” — but with multiple plans to choose from, knowing which Semrush tier to sign up for can be tricky. In this guide, I’ll break down the benefits of a free Semrush account vs. the paid Pro tier so you can feel more confident about your decision.

Can You Use Semrush For Free?

First off, know that yes, you can use Semrush for free! I find that Semrush has one of the best and most generous free plans on the market today — many other SEO tools tend to keep every feature behind a paywall or limit your use so much that there’s nothing you can do with a free plan.

The Semrush free plan does come with some usage limits, but many of them reset every day. You can, for example, research 10 different keywords every day and never run up against the limits of your free plan.

How Much Does Semrush Pro Cost?

Semrush Pro pricing starts at $117.33 per month when billed annually. You can also opt for month-to-month billing at a rate of $139.95.

What Semrush Tools Do You Get Access to For Free?

Semrush offers their SEO Toolkit to everyone including free users. This user-friendly toolkit is ideal for:

• On-page SEO, including analyzing search intent, tracking keyword rankings, and planning SEO content creation
• Off-page SEO, including backlink analysis and improving the quality of referring domains
• Technical SEO, from full site audits to setting SEO targets and benchmarks

Some of the SEO toolkit’s features are restricted to paid users, though, and there are usage limits on the free tools. This chart shows you how your access and usage levels will differ when on a free vs. a Pro plan:

Whether you use the Semrush Free or Pro plan, you’ll be able to see essential search metrics like:

• Target keyword difficulty
• Organic traffic volume (monthly searches)
• Related keywords
• Top domains in the SERP for a specific keywords

Who Should Use Semrush For Free?

I frequently recommend the free version of Semrush to:

• Brand-new small business owners and SEO beginners who have never conducted keyword research or used a site audit tool before
• People with hobby websites who want to optimize their rank for a handful of keywords
• Digital marketing students working on school or personal projects
• Anyone who’s never used the Semrush platform before and is considering migrating over from another SEO tool (in that case, I also suggest doing a free trial of one of the paid Semrush plans!)

If you identify with two or more of the statements below, a free Semrush plan might be a good place for you to start, too:

• I’ve never used an SEO tool before
• I have a very small website and am going to do SEO myself
• I have a list of keywords I want to research but I don’t need to review them all at once
• I want to find additional keyword opportunities based on search volume
• I’m pretty sure I know who my competitors are and there are only a handful of them
• I’m interested in starting a link building campaign for my new website and want to get an idea of how trustworthy different sites are
• I’m not interested in optimizing for local search results, managing a Google Business Profile, running ads, or generating content with the help of AI
• I already have another tool I like and use for social media management

When Should You Subscribe to the Semrush Pro Plan?

The free Semrush plan isn’t right for everyone, though. You’ll probably find the free tier limiting if you:

• Run a marketing consultancy or agency
• Are a freelancer working on multiple SEO or content projects at once
• Regularly need to review large lists of suggested or related keywords
• Want to do deep research and outreach related to backlinks
• Have a large website with more than 100 pages
• Are unsure as to who your competitors are or where you fall in SERPs
• Want to use AI tools for generating and optimizing content
• Are interested in an all-in-one solution for SEO, generative engine optimization (GEO), local listing management, and more

If any of these statements sound like you, then you’ll want to go right to the Semrush Pro plan. You can start with a free trial to make sure it’s the right plan for you — and if you need even higher usage limits or more features, it’s very easy to upgrade your Semrush account to the Guru or Business tier at any time.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I Use a Free Semrush Account for PPC Research?

Yes, you can use a free Semrush account for basic pay-per-click (PPC) research. The standard keyword research results pages will show you:

• Cost per click (CPC)
• Competitive density
• Ad copy in the SERP
• Keyword ad history

If you want to go deeper, though — including tracking your competitors’ ads and optimizing your own ad copy, you’ll want to subscribe to a Pro plan and add on the Advertising Toolkit.

Does the Semrush Pro Plan Have Usage Limits?

Semrush Pro plans limit the number of rows in each report, and there’s a cap on how many webpages you can audit every month. But I’m a heavy Semrush user and have never run up against my limits on any paid plan.

Can I See Historical Keyword Data With a Free Semrush Account?

No, free Semrush accounts don’t show you how a website's keyword rankings have changed over a long period of time. If you need to see this information, you’ll actually want to skip over the Pro plan and sign up for Guru instead — historical data access starts at that tier.

The lack of historical data on free and Pro plans is actually what drove me to upgrade my account to Guru; now I can see data going back to 2012.

What Semrush Plans Include Tools For Local SEO and Content Marketing?

Semrush has separate toolkits for things like content marketing, AI SEO, social media, local SEO, and more. You can add any of these toolkits to your Pro plan for an additional monthly fee.

Which Semrush Plan Should I Get if I’m Working on Content Strategy?

If content strategy and planning is a big part of your marketing efforts, I’d skip the free plan and immediately sign up for either Semrush Pro or Guru.

A Pro plan will give you access to useful tools like the Keyword Strategy Builder, which turns your lists of keywords and content ideas into ready-to-use clusters. This one tool alone has saved me hours of time.

If you want to take your content optimization even further, though, a Guru plan will let you use Semrush’s SEO Writing Assistant and Topic Research tools. These are useful for both planning and editing your content.

Are There Other Benefits to a Semrush Account?

One of the things that makes Semrush really unique (and useful!) is its App Center. This is where you can expand the functionality of your Semrush account by adding on other marketing tools that help with everything from creating social media marketing content to tracking mobile app usage.

The App Center is also where you can find Exploding Topics Pro. An Exploding Topics Pro subscription gives you information beyond what you’re able to see for free on our website right now. With a paid account, you can see expanded metrics, trend forecasts, startup data, and more.

I find that this expanded trend data is particularly useful when planning new product lines, marketing campaigns, and social media content.