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SE Ranking vs Semrush vs Ahrefs: what each costs
Across 12 like-for-like jobs (ties count for each), SE Ranking is cheapest in 11, Ahrefs in 4 and Semrush in 0. Cheapest plans, lowest first: Ahrefs Starter at $29 (no tracked keywords), SE Ranking Core at $129 and Semrush SEO at $139.
Growing the team: seats on each plan
SE Ranking includes 1 manager seat on Core and 3 manager seats on Growth and sells more from $16 a month; Ahrefs includes one user and caps extra users by plan; Semrush's pricing page states extra users from $45 a month but not how many a plan includes.
| Plan | A month | Users included | Extra user | Most extra | 5 users |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SE Ranking Core | $129 | 1 | from $16 | – | $193 |
| SE Ranking Growth | $279 | 3 | from $16 | – | $311 |
| Ahrefs Lite | $129 | 1 | $40 | 2 | – |
| Ahrefs Standard | $249 | 1 | $60 | 5 | $489 |
| Ahrefs Advanced | $449 | 1 | $80 | 10 | $769 |
| Semrush SEO | $139 | not stated | from $45 | – | – |
| Semrush Starter | $199 | not stated | from $45 | – | – |
| Semrush Pro+ | $299 | not stated | from $45 | – | – |
| Semrush Advanced | $549 | not stated | from $45 | – | – |
For five users the cheapest of these plans is SE Ranking Core at $193 a month (extra seats priced "from"). Semrush can't be priced for a team from its pricing page alone.
The same job, priced on each
| Job | SE Ranking | Semrush | Ahrefs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheapest plan | $129Core | $139SEO | $29Starter |
| 500 keywords, daily | $129Core | $139SEO | no plan |
| 1,500 keywords, daily | $129Core | $299Pro+ | no plan |
| 2,000 keywords, daily | $129Core | $549Advanced | no plan |
| 5,000 keywords, daily | $279Growth | $549Advanced | no plan |
| 500 keywords, weekly | $129Core | $139SEO | $129Lite |
| 750 keywords, weekly | $129Core | $299Pro+ | $129Lite |
| 1,500 keywords, weekly | $129Core | $299Pro+ | $249Standard |
| 1 user | $129Core | no plan | $129Lite |
| 3 users | $161Core, extra seats priced from | no plan | $209Lite |
| 5 users | $193Core, extra seats priced from | no plan | $489Standard |
| 25 AI prompts, daily, 3+ engines | $129Core | $99Base (Semrush AI Visibility) | $50Custom prompts Basic (Brand Radar) |
| 100 AI prompts, daily, 3+ engines | $129Core | no plan | $250Custom prompts Scale (Brand Radar) |
Monthly prices billed monthly, in US dollars; marked is the cheaper. "No plan" means the published plans don't state enough for that job.
Where the three differ
- Way in: Ahrefs Starter at $29 (no tracked keywords), SE Ranking Core at $129 and Semrush SEO at $139.
- Rank tracking: SE Ranking updates daily, Semrush updates daily and Ahrefs updates weekly.
- Lowest cost per keyword: SE Ranking $0.056 (Growth, 5,000 daily), Semrush $0.11 (Advanced, 5,000 daily) and Ahrefs $0.09 (Advanced, 5,000 weekly) a month.
- Seats: SE Ranking 1 user on Core, extra from $16 a month; Semrush no stated seat count, extra from $45 a month; Ahrefs 1 user on Lite, extra $40 a month.
- AI prompts: SE Ranking includes 100 from Core ($129), Semrush includes 50 from Starter ($199) and sells Semrush AI Visibility from $99 and Ahrefs includes 5 from Lite ($129) and sells Brand Radar from $50.
- Yearly billing: SE Ranking saves 20% on Core; Semrush saves 16% on SEO; Ahrefs shows no yearly price on its page.
Plans in one line each
- SE Ranking: Core $129 and Growth $279 a month.
- Semrush: SEO $139, Starter $199, Pro+ $299 and Advanced $549 a month; Semrush AI Visibility from $99.
- Ahrefs: Starter $29, Lite $129, Standard $249, Advanced $449 and Enterprise $1,499 a month; Brand Radar from $50.
SE Ranking vs Semrush vs Ahrefs, answered
Is SE Ranking cheaper than Semrush?
On the cheapest plan: Ahrefs Starter at $29 (no tracked keywords), SE Ranking Core at $129 and Semrush SEO at $139. Across the 12 jobs on this page, SE Ranking is cheapest in 11, Semrush is cheapest in 0 and Ahrefs is cheapest in 4.
Which is cheaper for 1,500 keywords tracked daily?
SE Ranking Core at $129 and Semrush Pro+ at $299; Ahrefs has no daily plan that size.
Which costs less for a team of three?
SE Ranking Core at $161 and Ahrefs Lite at $209; Semrush doesn't say how many users a plan includes, so it can't be priced for three.
Do SE Ranking, Semrush and Ahrefs track AI prompts?
SE Ranking includes 100 from Core ($129), Semrush includes 50 from Starter ($199) and sells Semrush AI Visibility from $99 and Ahrefs includes 5 from Lite ($129) and sells Brand Radar from $50.
Every figure here is quoted on the tools' own pages: SE Ranking pricing · Semrush pricing · Semrush AI Visibility pricing · Ahrefs pricing · Brand Radar pricing. Your own numbers: plan finder, cost per keyword, cost per user.
Prices read from each vendor's own pricing page on .