Semrush vs Serpstat
Sabari Rohith
Last updated on
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The short answer
Semrush and Serpstat both cover the SEO core: keyword research, rank tracking, site audits, and backlink analysis. The honest split is scope and price. Semrush is the larger, broader all-in-one marketing suite, with dedicated add-ons for PPC research, social, local SEO, and AI visibility, backed by a much bigger review base and data footprint. Serpstat is the leaner, budget-friendly SEO toolset, with an entry price roughly half of Semrush’s and a smaller but well-regarded team behind it. One brings more breadth and infrastructure; the other brings a lower floor and a simpler, more approachable toolset.
If you want one platform spanning SEO, PPC, content, social, and AI visibility, need the largest reviewer base to validate the tool against (3,434 G2 reviews as of July 2026), or run an agency that needs dedicated advertising competitive research, Semrush’s higher floor (reported ~$117.33/mo, Pro, annual) buys real breadth, though real cost climbs fast once add-ons stack up.
If your core need is keyword research, rank tracking, and site audits without a big monthly bill, you’re a freelancer or small agency, and you value an approachable interface over toolkit breadth, Serpstat’s entry tier (reported ~$50/mo, annual) is roughly 2.3x cheaper than Semrush Pro, with reviewers citing it as a value-for-money pick.
At a glance
| Semrush | Serpstat | |
|---|---|---|
| Founded / Vendor | Semrush Holdings (semrush.com), founded 2008 | Serpstat (serpstat.com), founded 2013 |
| Category | All-in-one marketing suite (SEO + PPC + content + social + AI) | Leaner SEO toolset (keyword, rank, audit, backlink, PPC keyword data) |
| Starting price | reported ~$117.33/mo (Pro, annual), verify live | reported ~$50/mo (Individual, annual), verify live |
| Public rating | reported 4.5/5 G2 (3,434 reviews), verify live | reported 4.6/5 G2 (463 reviews), verify live; low-N vs Semrush |
| Best for | Cross-channel breadth, integrated SEO + PPC teams | Budget-conscious freelancers and small agencies |
Vendor profile
Semrush
Semrush was founded in 2008 and is operated by Semrush Holdings, headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts (as reported by BuiltIn Boston). Team size is reported in the range of roughly 1,250 to 1,450 employees, depending on the source, so treat exact headcount as approximate. Semrush has grown into a broad platform covering SEO, PPC, content, social, local, and AI visibility (AEO tracking), most of which sit behind higher tiers or separate add-ons. A reported acquisition of Semrush Holdings by Adobe (said to have closed around April 2026) appears in search results but has not been confirmed against a primary Semrush or Adobe press release, so that claim is flagged as unverified and excluded from any load-bearing statement here.
- Vendor
- Semrush Holdings (semrush.com)
- Founded
- 2008
- HQ
- Boston, Massachusetts, USA
- Team
- reported ~1,250 to 1,450 employees (range, not exact)
- Pricing model
- Tiered annual or monthly; modular add-ons (Local, Social, Content, Advertising, AI Visibility)
- Starting price
- reported ~$117.33/mo (Pro, billed annually)
- Public rating
- reported 4.5/5 G2 (3,434 reviews), verify live before relying on it
Serpstat
Serpstat was founded in 2013 in Odesa, Ukraine, and started life as an internal tool inside the Netpeak digital marketing agency before spinning out as its own SaaS product. Team size is reported in the range of roughly 75 to 82 employees, considerably smaller than Semrush’s headcount. Serpstat’s homepage claims “1.1 million users globally,” a self-reported figure that has not been independently audited. A third-party estimate (Latka) reports roughly $3.9M ARR and around 1,000 customers as of 2024, which is not a primary Serpstat disclosure and should be treated as directional only.
- Vendor
- Serpstat (serpstat.com)
- Founded
- 2013 (spun out of the Netpeak agency)
- HQ
- Odesa, Ukraine
- Team
- reported ~75 to 82 employees (range, not exact)
- Pricing model
- Tiered annual or monthly; monthly billing at roughly a 27% premium over annual
- Starting price
- reported ~$50/mo (Individual, billed annually)
- Public rating
- reported 4.6/5 G2 (463 reviews), verify live; low review count, treat as directional not statistically deep
Pricing: what you'll actually pay
Pricing figures below are reported from each vendor’s own pricing page as accessed in July 2026. Both G2 star ratings quoted in this comparison were pulled from search-indexed cache because G2 blocks automated fetches (HTTP 403), so re-verify ratings and review counts live before relying on them. Serpstat’s headline price is meaningfully lower across every tier, while Semrush’s higher floor buys broader toolkit coverage once you add the modules you need. Note that Semrush’s live pricing page (July 2026) appears to have restructured its tier lineup (the SEO/entry floor still reads ~$117.33/mo annual, but the higher-tier names and top-tier price may differ from the Pro/Guru/Business labels below), so confirm current tier names and prices on semrush.com/pricing before relying on them.
| Semrush | Serpstat | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price (annual) | reported ~$117.33/mo (Pro) | reported ~$50/mo (Individual) |
| Starting price (monthly) | reported $139.95/mo (Pro) | verify live (exact monthly figure not confirmed in dossier) |
| Typical operating range | reported $117.33 to $416.66/mo (Pro to Business, annual) | reported $50 to $410/mo (Individual to Agency, annual) |
| Top tier | Business, reported $416.66/mo annual ($499.95/mo monthly); custom Enterprise above that | Agency, reported ~$410/mo annual |
| Add-on modules | reported $20 to $289/mo each (Local, Social, Content, Advertising, AI Visibility) | not applicable, dossier reports no separate add-on tiers |
| Free trial | ✓ 7-day free trial (confirmed live, July 2026) | ✓ 7-day free trial |
| Pricing model | Tiered; modular add-ons stack cost quickly at scale | Tiered; monthly billing at roughly a 27% premium over annual |
Capability comparison
Both tools cover the SEO core: keyword research, rank tracking, site audits, and backlink analysis. The gaps show up in toolkit breadth, reported data depth, and how much you pay to unlock adjacent channels. Semrush wins on breadth and reported scale; Serpstat wins on price and approachability for smaller teams.
| Service | Semrush | Serpstat |
|---|---|---|
| Keyword research | reported large multi-engine database | reported keyword and SERP data via own crawling API |
| Rank tracking | reported Position Tracking, daily; multi-location on Guru+ | reported rank tracking included across tiers |
| Technical site audit | reported 130+ technical checks | reported site audit included across tiers |
| Backlink analysis | reported Backlink Analytics + Audit, larger data footprint | reported backlink analysis; reviewers cite thinner backlink completeness than premium rivals |
| PPC / advertising research | ✓ dedicated Advertising toolkit (core differentiator) | Partial (PPC keyword data included, not a dedicated ad-research suite) |
| Content marketing tools | Partial (Content Marketing toolkit, Guru tier or add-on) | ✕ (not a listed capability in dossier sources) |
| Social media tools | Partial (Social Media toolkit add-on, ~$20/mo) | ✕ |
| Local SEO | Partial (Local SEO add-on, ~$30/mo) | Partial (local SEO reporting included) |
| AI Visibility / AEO tracking | ✓ (AI Visibility add-on, ~$99/mo; #1 in AEO per G2 Spring 2026) | unverified, no add-on found in dossier sources |
| Free trial | ✓ 7-day free trial (confirmed live, July 2026) | ✓ 7-day free trial |
| Review-base depth | 3,434 G2 reviews (larger, more statistically stable) | 463 G2 reviews (smaller sample, treat rating as directional) |
Decision matrix - who fits which side
| Criterion | Semrush | Serpstat |
|---|---|---|
| Cross-channel breadth (SEO + PPC + content + social + AI) | ✓ | ✕ |
| Dedicated PPC / advertising research | ✓ | ~ |
| Lowest entry price | ✕ | ✓ |
| Larger, more statistically stable review base | ✓ | ~ |
| Built-in AI visibility / AEO tracking | ✓ | ✕ |
| Free trial confirmed | ✓ | ✓ |
| Approachable toolset for freelancers/small teams | ~ | ✓ |
| Deepest reported backlink data footprint | ✓ | ~ |
| Value-for-money as a reviewer-cited theme | ✕ | ✓ |
| Enterprise-grade named case studies | ✓ | ~ |
Check = clear edge. Tilde = capable but not the stronger pick. Cross = outside the model.
Strengths & tradeoffs
Both tools cover the SEO core competently, and each side wins rows the other does not. The real differences are scope, price, and how much infrastructure and review history stand behind each rating.
| Axis | Semrush | Serpstat |
|---|---|---|
| Toolkit breadth | All-in-one across SEO, PPC, content, social, local, AI | Leaner SEO core: keyword, rank, audit, backlink, PPC keyword data |
| PPC / advertising research | Dedicated Advertising toolkit, core differentiator | PPC keyword data included, not a dedicated ad-research suite |
| AI visibility | AI Visibility add-on (~$99/mo); #1 in AEO per G2 Spring 2026 | Unverified, no confirmed AI visibility offering in dossier sources |
| Entry price | reported ~$117.33/mo annual (Pro) | reported ~$50/mo annual (Individual), roughly 2.3x cheaper |
| Top-tier price | reported ~$416.66 to $500/mo (Business) | reported ~$410/mo (Agency), still undercuts Semrush’s top tier |
| Cost creep | Add-ons ($20 to $289/mo each) stack cost quickly | No confirmed add-on tiers in dossier sources; simpler pricing |
| Review-base depth | 3,434 G2 reviews, larger and more statistically stable | 463 G2 reviews, smaller sample, treat as directional |
| Reviewer-cited value | “Expensive”/“High Pricing” tags on 500-plus reviews | Reviewers cite it as good value-for-money vs premium rivals |
| Backlink data completeness | Larger reported data footprint | Reviewers note thinner backlink data than premium competitors |
| Team / company scale | reported ~1,250 to 1,450 employees | reported ~75 to 82 employees, considerably smaller |
| Free trial | Confirmed 7-day free trial (live, July 2026) | Confirmed 7-day free trial |
Ratings & track record
| Metric | Semrush | Serpstat |
|---|---|---|
| G2 rating (reported) | 4.5 / 5 | 4.6 / 5 |
| G2 reviews (reported) | 3,434 | 463 |
| Founded | 2008 | 2013 |
| HQ | Boston, Massachusetts, USA | Odesa, Ukraine |
| Team size (reported) | ~1,250 to 1,450 employees | ~75 to 82 employees |
| Notable signal | #1 in 6 G2 Spring 2026 category reports, including AEO | Reviewer-cited value-for-money and ease of use |
Serpstat’s nominal G2 edge (4.6 vs 4.5) rests on a far smaller review sample (463 vs 3,434), so it should be read as directional rather than a statistically deep comparison against Semrush’s larger review pool. Both G2 figures were sourced from search-indexed cache because G2 returns HTTP 403 to automated fetches, so re-verify ratings and counts live before relying on them for a purchase decision. Semrush’s scale advantage (team size, add-on breadth, recent G2 category wins) is real, but so is Serpstat’s price advantage and the reviewer-cited perception of it as the more approachable, budget-friendly option. The honest read is that the choice tracks whether you need cross-channel breadth or a leaner SEO core at a lower price, not which tool is objectively “better.”
Both tools’ data is sourced from publicly available information as of July 2026. G2 ratings and reviewer quotes were pulled from search-indexed cache because G2 blocks direct automated fetches; re-verify live before relying on them. Pricing figures are reported from each vendor’s own pricing page and may change; confirm at semrush.com/pricing and serpstat.com/page/pricing-plans before purchase. This comparison is independent; we take no affiliate or referral fees from either vendor.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between Semrush and Serpstat?
Is Semrush better than Serpstat?
Which is cheaper, Semrush or Serpstat?
How do the review ratings compare between Semrush and Serpstat?
Does Serpstat offer PPC or advertising research like Semrush?
Which tool is better for a small agency or freelancer on a budget?
Sources and references
- Semrush homepage (accessed July 2026)
- Semrush pricing (accessed July 2026)
- Semrush company stories (accessed July 2026)
- Semrush G2 Spring 2026 Reports announcement (accessed July 2026)
- G2: Semrush reviews (reported 4.5, 3,434 reviews) (accessed July 2026)
- Semrush employee count estimate (Revelio Labs) (accessed July 2026)
- Serpstat homepage (accessed July 2026)
- Serpstat pricing plans (accessed July 2026)
- Serpstat about us page (accessed July 2026)
- G2: Serpstat reviews (reported 4.6, 463 reviews) (accessed July 2026)
- Serpstat revenue/scale estimate (Latka) (accessed July 2026)
Want an outside opinion before you commit?
This comparison is independent — we don't take referral fees from either agency. If you'd like a second read from a B2B SaaS specialist on which fits your stage, PipeRocket is happy to give you an honest one. No obligation.
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