Side-by-side comparison

SE Ranking vs Semrush: entry plans, daily keyword limits, trials and moving your history

Last reviewed October 7, 2026

Quick answerSemrush's SEO plan tracks 500 keywords daily across 5 websites; SE Ranking Core tracks 2,000 keyword pairs across 10 projects. Pick Semrush for its free plan or its search volume data.

SE Ranking vs Semrush: entry plans side by side

SE Ranking Core costs $129 a month billed monthly, or $103.20 a month billed annually, as read on October 7, 2026. It tracks 2,000 keyword and search engine pairs a day across 10 projects, where a project is one website. Semrush's SEO plan tracks 500 keywords a day across 5 websites. Semrush's pricing page showed no US-dollar price on October 7, 2026, so its price is on Semrush's page and not here.

SE Ranking Core and the Semrush SEO plan, as read on October 7, 2026
CriterionSE Ranking CoreSemrush SEO plan
Price$129 a month billed monthly; $103.20 a month billed annuallyPrice on Semrush's page
Sites10 projects5 websites
Keywords tracked daily2,000 keyword and search engine pairs500 keywords
Trial14 days, no credit cardSeven days, card checked with a refunded nominal charge
Free planNone1 website, 10 tracked keywords

Growth, SE Ranking's second plan, is $279 a month billed monthly or $223.20 a month billed annually, with 30 projects and 5,000 pairs. SE Ranking pricing lists the plans and add-ons.

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Keyword tracking and sites: 2,000 pairs against 500 keywords

The two limits count different things. SE Ranking counts keyword and search engine pairs, so 30 keywords on 2 search engines use 60 of the limit. Semrush's page counts keywords. A small-business owner who wants to track 200 keywords on one search engine uses 200 of Core's 2,000 pairs and fits inside Semrush's 500, but not inside Semrush's free plan, which stops at 10.

Both paid plans include a site audit for that owner's one website: SE Ranking lists 250k audit pages a month on Core, and Semrush lists Site Audit on its SEO plan. Semrush Pro+ allows 15 websites and 1,500 keywords, and Advanced allows 40 websites and 5,000 keywords with API access.

Where Semrush leads: a free plan and search volume data

Semrush has a free plan with 1 website and 10 tracked keywords in Position Tracking, and it asks for no credit card. SE Ranking has no permanent free plan; its FAQ page offers a 14-day trial and free website tools that need no account.

SE Ranking says its own search volume figures currently trail both Semrush and Ahrefs, so a buyer who builds keyword lists from search volume should weigh that first. Semrush alternatives compares six other tools.

Trials and billing: 14 days with no card, seven days with a card check

SE Ranking can be tried for 14 days without entering a card. The trial includes up to 10 projects, 750 tracked keywords a day and 20 AI prompts a day, and it does not renew into a paid plan; a 200-keyword list on one search engine fits inside that 750. Semrush's seven-day trial checks the card with a nominal charge that it says is refunded at once.

Annual billing saves 20% on SE Ranking and up to 17% on Semrush, according to each pricing page. SE Ranking has no money-back guarantee: payments are non-refundable except where the service was not delivered as promised. Semrush lets you cancel any time unless you have custom terms, and its pricing page points to a refund policy without stating the terms.

Moving from Semrush to SE Ranking, and who should pick which

SE Ranking documents an export of keywords and ranking history from Semrush Position Tracking and a CSV import into SE Ranking. SE Ranking's migration page names Semrush, Ahrefs, AgencyAnalytics, AccuRanker and Serpstat, and its pricing page makes assisted migration free with an annual subscription. On a monthly plan, migration uses the self-serve import options, with support on hand. Custom report layouts, tool-specific dashboards and some integrations may need manual setup.

Pick SE Ranking Core for daily checks of up to 2,000 pairs across 10 projects, with audits and reports in one plan. Pick Semrush for its free plan or when search volume data comes first. SE Ranking vs Semrush vs Ahrefs sets the third tool beside both.

Sources used for this page

The facts above come from the pages below, read on October 7, 2026. Prices and terms change, so confirm them on the vendor's site before you buy.

  1. SE Ranking pricing page: plan limits, trial and migration — Vendor pricing page · seranking.com · read October 7, 2026
  2. SE Ranking pricing page, US dollar view captured on October 5, 2026 (Internet Archive) — Vendor pricing page · web.archive.org · read October 7, 2026
  3. SE Ranking FAQ: plans, trial, free tools, integrations — Vendor product page · seranking.com · read October 7, 2026
  4. SE Ranking help center: Account and project settings FAQ (trial limits) — Vendor documentation · help.seranking.com · read October 7, 2026
  5. SE Ranking help center: Import keyword ranking history from Semrush — Vendor documentation · help.seranking.com · read October 7, 2026
  6. SE Ranking: Migrate to SE Ranking — Vendor product page · seranking.com · read October 7, 2026
  7. Semrush pricing: SEO plan limits, free plan and trial — Vendor pricing page · semrush.com · read October 7, 2026