Best Ahrefs and Semrush Alternatives

What separates the picks on this page?

Price and what you actually get for it. SE Ranking scores 8.6 at $119 and includes three seats and 2,000 tracked keywords. Screaming Frog SEO Spider scores 8 at $20 and does one job: crawling. Serpstat scores 7.7 at $59 with API credits on every plan. Ubersuggest scores 7.5 at $29 and is the only tool here selling a lifetime licence.

Backlink coverage is where they split. On the same 200 known links, SE Ranking found 132, Serpstat found 118, and Ubersuggest found 89. Screaming Frog reports no backlinks at all — it is a crawler, not a link index.

Rank tracking separates them too. SE Ranking's tracking was the most accurate against manual checks. Serpstat tracks 1,000 keywords at $59. Ubersuggest tracks 125 on the entry plan.

What should I check before buying?

Start with the scoring criteria: index size and data accuracy carry 30 points, feature coverage 25, value 20, usability and reporting 15, limits and fair use 10. That order tells you where the money goes.

• Backlink work? Check the found-links numbers above. A thinner index means manual prospecting.
• Client reporting? SE Ranking includes white-label reports and client logins.
• Technical audits? Screaming Frog found 43 issues on the test site that the cloud audits missed, including three redirect chains. It connects to Search Console, Analytics and PageSpeed.
• Pulling data into your own reports? Serpstat includes API credits on every plan, plus keyword clustering and text analytics.
• Small site, small budget? Ubersuggest's keyword ideas and content suggestions are enough to plan a small blog, and it needs no training.

Two limits to weigh. Screaming Frog runs on your machine, so a big crawl needs memory, and it has no keyword data, rank tracking or backlinks. SE Ranking's keyword database is thinner outside major markets; Serpstat's US keyword database is weaker than Semrush's.

SE Ranking

For agencies that need three seats, 2,000 tracked keywords and white-label client reporting at $119.

Screaming Frog SEO Spider

For technical SEOs who want broken links, redirect chains and duplicate titles found on the desktop, at $20 or £199 (about $259) a year for unlimited crawling.

Serpstat

For teams pulling SEO data into their own reports, with API credits on every plan and 1,000 tracked keywords at $59.

Ubersuggest

For a single small site: $29 a month or a one-off lifetime licence, with 125 tracked keywords on the entry plan.

SE Ranking suits agencies that need three seats and white-label client reporting at $119. Screaming Frog SEO Spider suits technical SEOs who want a desktop crawler for $20. Serpstat suits teams pulling SEO data into their own reports, and Ubersuggest suits a single small site on a $29 budget.