SE Ranking vs Semrush: Which Is Cheaper Once You Track AI Search? (October 2026)

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SE Ranking is the tool we ranked first in our best blogging tools leaderboard, on one argument: it tracks four times as many keywords as Semrush for slightly less money. That argument still holds on 3 October 2026. What has changed is the question bloggers are now asking, which is how their site shows up in ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google’s AI answers. Price that in and the cheaper tool changes.

The figures below come from our dated logs for SE Ranking and Semrush, re-read today from a United States connection.

The verdict

For classic rank tracking, SE Ranking Core is the better buy by a wide margin. If AI-search tracking is part of the job, Semrush Starter at $199 undercuts SE Ranking Core plus its AI add-on at $218. SE Ranking gives you four times the prompts for that extra $19.

SE Ranking: $129 a month or $103.20 yearly for 2,000 daily keywords. AI Search add-on +$89 a month for 200 prompts.

Semrush: $139 for 500 keywords. Starter at $199 adds 50 AI prompts a day.

Prices read on 3 October 2026 from each vendor’s own pricing page · US dollars unless marked

Where we stand. The SE Ranking and Semrush links on this page may earn us commission. That matters, because we have measured how often tool advice is shaped by exactly that. We have used SE Ranking on this site for over a year, as our review explains. The Semrush side of this page is drawn from its published plans.

Table of Contents show

At a glance

	SE Ranking Core	Semrush SEO
Month-to-month	$129	$139
Billed yearly	$103.20 a month ($1,238.40)	$117.33 a month ($1,407.96)
Tracked keywords	2,000 daily	500 daily
Cost per keyword	6.45 cents	27.8 cents
Projects	10	5 websites
Extra seat	From $16	From $45
AI-search tracking	+$89 a month add-on, 200 prompts, any plan	Starter tier at $199, 50 prompts
Annual-only extras	Agency Pack +$69, API +$45	None listed

When AI tracking flips the price

Track rankings only and this is not close. SE Ranking charges 6.45 cents per keyword row and Semrush 27.8, so Semrush costs about four times as much for the same unit of work. A second seat widens it again: $16 on SE Ranking, $45 on Semrush.

Now add AI-search monitoring, which both vendors now sell. SE Ranking sells it as an add-on at $89 a month, or $71.20 on annual billing, covering 200 prompts across AI Overviews, AI Mode, Perplexity and ChatGPT. Semrush folds it into its Starter tier at $199, which is the SEO plan plus 50 prompts a day.

With AI tracking	SE Ranking Core + AI Search	Semrush Starter
Month-to-month	$218	$199
Billed yearly, per year	$2,092.80	$1,982.04
Keywords tracked daily	2,000	500
AI prompts	200	50
Cost per prompt	44.5 cents (the add-on price over 200)	$1.20 (the $60 step from SEO to Starter over 50)

So the headline flips: with AI tracking included, Semrush is $19 a month cheaper. The unit cost does not flip. Each SE Ranking prompt costs less than half of what the Semrush upgrade charges per prompt, and you keep four times the keyword rows. A blogger who wants to track ten or twenty prompts pays less on Semrush. One who wants a hundred pays less per prompt on SE Ranking. Semrush states its prompts are tracked daily; SE Ranking’s pricing page does not give a frequency for the add-on, so check that before you compare like for like.

Who each one is for

Pick SE Ranking if rank tracking is most of what you do, if you run several sites, or if you want broad AI-prompt coverage. Read our SE Ranking review for what a year of use looks like, and confirm today’s numbers on the SE Ranking pricing page. Be aware that SE Ranking geolocates its prices: on 29 August a UK browser was shown pounds.

Pick Semrush if you want a small amount of AI tracking without bolting on an add-on, or you need its larger plans for 15 or 40 websites. The Semrush pricing page has current figures, and our Semrush vs Ahrefs page compares it with the other big name.

Price history from our logs

Date	Tool	Plan	What we read	Notes
20 July 2026	Semrush	SEO	$139.95/mo month-to-month, $117.33/mo billed yearly	Ground-truth capture for our Teaser Rate Test study
29 August 2026	SE Ranking	Core and Growth	Core $129/$103.20, Growth $279/$223.20, Agency Pack +$69, API +$45	Price sweep. Nine wrong prices corrected on our own SE Ranking review the same day
29 August 2026	Semrush	SEO	$139/mo month-to-month, $117.33/mo billed yearly	Read in-browser with the dollar symbol confirmed. The old Pro tier at $149.95 had gone
3 September 2026	SE Ranking	Core	$129/mo, $103.20 billed yearly	Cost Index build
3 September 2026	Semrush	SEO	$139/mo entry price	Cost Index build
4 September 2026	SE Ranking	Core and Growth	Unchanged	Our SE Ranking pricing page
4 September 2026	Semrush	SEO	$139/mo month-to-month, $117.33/mo billed yearly	Our Semrush pricing page
3 October 2026	SE Ranking	Core and Growth	Core $129 or $103.20 billed yearly, Growth $279 or $223.20. AI Search add-on +$89 a month, or +$71.20 billed yearly, for 200 prompts	Read from a United States connection
3 October 2026	Semrush	All tiers	SEO $139, Starter $199, Pro+ $299, Advanced $549 month-to-month; $117.33, $165.17, $248.17, $455.67 billed yearly	Read from a United States connection. A UK browser was shown £113, £161, £242 and £444 for the same tiers

Neither entry price has moved since 29 August. The AI Search add-on first appears in our log on 3 October and is the line to watch on our next reading.

Questions people ask

The three questions this comparison gets asked most, answered from the 3 October readings.

Is SE Ranking cheaper than Semrush?

For keyword tracking, by a wide margin. SE Ranking Core is $129 a month for 2,000 daily keywords and Semrush SEO is $139 for 500, read on 3 October 2026. With AI-search tracking added, Semrush Starter at $199 is $19 cheaper than SE Ranking Core plus its $89 AI Search add-on, though SE Ranking includes 200 prompts against 50.

Does SE Ranking track ChatGPT and AI Overviews?

Yes, through its AI Search add-on at $89 a month, or $71.20 billed yearly, which covers 200 prompts across Google AI Overviews, AI Mode, Perplexity and ChatGPT.