Rank 1: Google Search Console
Best for first-party search data on your own site
License: Freeware
- Web
Status: Verified
Free with a Google account after you verify ownership. It reports what Google sees about your site, not your competitors.
Free alternatives to Semrush
Best free option: Google Search Console (Strong). Switching saves about $1,408 USD a year.
About Semrush
- Semrush, SEO plan, cheapest paid plan
$1,408 USDa year
≈$2,007.39 CAD (converted from USD)
Every pick below has a free version.
- Runs on
- Web
- Key file formats
- Not listed
Filter alternatives
4 alternatives
Strong
2 toolsCovers most of the same work, with trade-offs noted on each card.
Rank 2: Ahrefs
Best for free site audits and backlinks on your own sites
License: Free tier- Web
Status: VerifiedThis is Ahrefs Free (formerly Ahrefs Webmaster Tools). It works only for sites you verify as your own. Needs an Ahrefs account. Free version: Ahrefs Free (formerly Webmaster Tools) covers Site Audit, Site Explorer and Web Analytics for sites you verify as your own.
Situational
2 toolsRight for specific needs, or not yet mature enough to recommend widely.
Rank 3: Bing Webmaster Tools
Best for Bing search data and a free site scan
License: Freeware- Web
Status: VerifiedFree with a Microsoft account. Data covers Bing and its partners, which have a much smaller share than Google.
Rank 4: Google Keyword Planner
Best for free keyword ideas and volume ranges
License: Freeware- Web
Status: VerifiedPart of Google Ads and needs a Google Ads account with billing details entered. It covers keyword research only.
Sponsor this page: $149 for 30 days. Sponsors appear above the ranking, labeled; the ranking itself is not for sale.
Feature parity
How each alternative covers what people use Semrush for. Numbers link to editor notes.
| Feature | Google Search Console | Ahrefs | Bing Webmaster Tools | Google Keyword Planner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Research | ||||
| Keyword research with search volume | PartialNote 1Queries your site already ranks for; no volume or new ideas | PartialNote 2Organic keywords of your own sites; top 1000 shown | PartialNote 3Search volumes for Bing queries only | PartialNote 4Keyword ideas with estimated monthly volume; built for ad planning |
| Competitor traffic and keyword analysis | NoNote 5Own verified sites only | NoNote 6Competitor analysis needs a paid plan | No | No |
| Links | ||||
| Backlink analysis | PartialNote 7Links report for your own site | PartialNote 8Backlinks to your own sites; top 1000 shown | PartialNote 9Backlink profile for your own verified sites | No |
| Technical | ||||
| Site audit | PartialNote 10Indexing, Core Web Vitals and rich result reports; no crawler | YesNote 11170+ checks and 5000 crawl credits per project each month | PartialNote 12On-demand Site Scan for technical issues | No |
| Monitoring | ||||
| Position tracking | PartialNote 13Average position per query and page | PartialNote 14Organic positions in Site Explorer; no dedicated tracker | PartialNote 15Search performance with average position on Bing | No |
| AI | ||||
| AI search visibility tracking | No | No | NoNote 16No AI answer tracking listed | No |
| Parity score | 33% | 42% | 33% | 8% |
- Google Search Console, Keyword research with search volume: Queries your site already ranks for; no volume or new ideas
- Ahrefs, Keyword research with search volume: Organic keywords of your own sites; top 1000 shown
- Bing Webmaster Tools, Keyword research with search volume: Search volumes for Bing queries only
- Google Keyword Planner, Keyword research with search volume: Keyword ideas with estimated monthly volume; built for ad planning
- Google Search Console, Competitor traffic and keyword analysis: Own verified sites only
- Ahrefs, Competitor traffic and keyword analysis: Competitor analysis needs a paid plan
- Google Search Console, Backlink analysis: Links report for your own site
- Ahrefs, Backlink analysis: Backlinks to your own sites; top 1000 shown
- Bing Webmaster Tools, Backlink analysis: Backlink profile for your own verified sites
- Google Search Console, Site audit: Indexing, Core Web Vitals and rich result reports; no crawler
- Ahrefs, Site audit: 170+ checks and 5000 crawl credits per project each month
- Bing Webmaster Tools, Site audit: On-demand Site Scan for technical issues
- Google Search Console, Position tracking: Average position per query and page
- Ahrefs, Position tracking: Organic positions in Site Explorer; no dedicated tracker
- Bing Webmaster Tools, Position tracking: Search performance with average position on Bing
- Bing Webmaster Tools, AI search visibility tracking: No AI answer tracking listed
Not covered by any free alternative yet: Keyword research with search volume, Competitor traffic and keyword analysis, Backlink analysis, Position tracking, AI search visibility tracking. See all feature gaps
What switching saves
Switching saves about $1,408 USD / ≈$2,007 CAD (estimated from the USD price) a year. Prices checked ; ≈ means converted from USD.
Based on SEO plan, cheapest paid plan. Price source. USD to CAD at 1.4257 as of Oct 7, 2026.
About this page
Last verified . Ranking: tier first, then the published score.
Something wrong or out of date? Report outdated info.
Related
Semrush is a product of Semrush, named here for comparison only. Platforms listed for Semrush: Web.