Surfer SEO vs Semrush – Tools, Features & Comparison

Surfer SEO vs Semrush – Pros & Cons

Although both SurferSEO and Semrush come with a fair share of pros and cons, for some, SurferSEO is the first best option today, mostly due to its greater scope of advantages, compared to the Semrush. Still, many others trust Semrush just as much as SurferSEO and consider it a far more sophisticated system than its rival.

This is precisely why we compiled a list of the pros and cons of each search engine optimization tool:

SurferSEO and SEMrush Pricing for 2023

Semrush and SurferSEO are known to be the leaders in the online marketing sphere when it comes to content writing. Because of this, neither SEO tool allows free usage of all their features.

Both SurferSEO and Semrush operate on a subscription model and offer three different payment plans. However, you can easily see that Semrush prices are notably higher than those of SurferSEO premiums.

The reason for this is simple – the number of features provided. We already mentioned that Semrush offers more than just keywords and content writing. For these additional resources, users are required to pay more. Ultimately, it’ll be up to you to decide whether it’s worth it or not.

To help with that decision, here is a detailed look at the current subscription plans and pricing for both platforms.

SurferSEO Pricing

SurferSEO offers three different pricing plans:

• Basic – $49/mo;
• Pro – $99/mo;
• Business – $199/mo.

If none of these suit your needs, you can also contact the SurferSEO team to discuss a custom plan for your business.

You get 17% off any subscription if you pay annually instead of monthly. SurferSEO also has a 7-day money guarantee if you find that you’re unsatisfied with the product.

Basic Plan

The Basic plan is priced at $49 per month, or if you pay annually, it comes at $49 per month. All SurferSEO plans include a content planner and SERP analyzer. On top of this, the Basic plan comes with:

• A content editor feature for up to 10 articles per month;
• 20 audits a month;
• NLP-enhanced guidelines (only free for the 1st month);
• 1 team member invite.

This plan grants users access to most, but not all, of Surfer’s features. It can be perfectly suitable for small businesses or freelance copywriters who are on a budget and don’t require additional features or a greater number of audits and content editor queries.

Pro Plan

The Pro plan costs $119 a month and $99 per month when paid yearly. It includes:

• A content editor tool with 30 queries per month;
• 60 audits each month;
• Access to NLP-enhanced guidelines;
• The ability to invite 3 team members.

This service caters to small and medium businesses. SEO and content agencies of this size may find that the Pro plan offers all the features they need at the best price.

Business Plan

SurferSEO’s Business plan is $239 each month, or $199 a month if you decide to pay annually. This subscription offers everything the Pro plan does, as well as some bonus features. It contains:

• 70 content editor queries;
• 140 audits per month;
• Access to NLP analysis;
• The ability to invite up to 10 members;
• White Labeling;
• API access.

This is the best SurferSEO plan since it offers the most tools to work with, but it isn’t always worth the extra price. The Business plan is mainly meant for larger businesses and enterprises. 

If this plan still doesn’t seem large enough for your needs, contact SurferSEO to create a custom one.

Semrush Pricing

Semrush also offers three different pricing plans:

• Pro – $119.95/mo;
• Guru – $229.95/mo;
• Business – $449.95/mo.

Again, same as with SurferSEO, if your business has larger needs and no plan seems to cover you well enough – you can contact Semrush’s team to get a custom plan.

Another similarity is that Semrush encourages users to pay on a yearly basis by offering a 17% discount whenever they do.

Semrush also offers a 7-day free trial, which gives you the chance to test out any of the plans. On top of this, the platform has a completely free plan that gives you limited access to certain features forever.

Let’s look at all the pricing plans in greater detail.

Free Version

First, let’s talk about what Semrush’s free plan offer. Where the 7-day free trial allows you to try out a plan for a week free of charge – with the ability to cancel before the 7 days are up – a free plan is something different.

The free version doesn’t require any credit card info, so you’ll never be charged for using the account. You simply sign up and get access to Semrush features, to a limited extent, for as long as you like. The free plan allows users:

• 1 project;
• 10 keyword searches per day (10 results per research);
• To analyze 10 domains per day;
• Position tracking for up to 10 keywords;
• 1 SEO Content Template;
• 1 use of the SEO Writing Assitant;
• Complete access to the Social Media toolkit.

This version is ideal for marketing newbies or hobbyists and can be a good way to try Semrush and see if you want to upgrade to a paid plan.

Pro Plan

Once you switch over and upgrade to a paid plan, expect to all see the same features already mentioned, plus some additions. The Pro plan is the lowest subscription fee and starts at $119.95 per month or $99.95 monthly if you pay the entire year upfront. It includes:

• 5 projects;
• 500 keyword searches per day (10,000 results per research);
• 3,000 reports per day
• 5 scheduled PDF reports;
• Mobile rankings;
• Keywords with CPC & volume data for PPC campaigns.

The Pro plan is for those a couple of steps beyond novice and with a bit more experience under their belt. Freelancers and in-house marketers on a limited budget can make the most of this subscription.

Guru Plan

The Guru plan costs $229.95 each month and amounts to $191.62 per month if paid annually. For a higher price, it includes more features than the Pro plan, such as:

• 15 projects;
• 1500 keyword searches (30,000 results per report);
• 5,000 reports per day;
• 20 scheduled PDF reports;
• Google Data Studio integration;
• Historical data;
• The content marketing platform.

This plan works best for growing agencies and small to mid-size businesses.

Business Plan

The Business plan is the most expensive one at $449.95 a month or, if you decide to pay for the whole year, $374.95 a month. It comes with:

• 40 projects;
• 5,000 keyword searches (30,000 results per report);
• 50,000 reports per day;
• 50 scheduled PDF reports;
• Product Listing Ads;
• Share of Voice metric;
• API access.

This is quite a higher price than previous plans but comes with many more features and is meant for large agencies and enterprises with extensive presence and projects. And if even the Business plan doesn’t seem comprehensive enough, you can contact Semrush for a custom plan.

Add-ons

Users can also purchase certain features separately, but this will come with an additional price on top of the subscription fee. These include:

• Listing Management (Local SEO) – to accurately track local rankings (starting from $20 per month);
• Semrush.Trends – give access to Traffic Analytics and Market Explorer to gain insight into competitors’ strategies ($200 a month per user);
• Agency Growth Kit – automate and organize tasks and data ($150 monthly);
• ImpactHero – an AI tool to create an impactful copy ($200 a month);
• Additional users – all Semrush plans come with only one active user, and you have to pay to add any extra ($45 monthly per user on Pro, +$80 each month per user on Guru, or $100 per month per user on Business)