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Semrush vs Surfer
Semrush scores higher overall (7.9 vs 7.7), but the right pick depends on what you need.
Choose Semrush if…
Marketing teams and agencies that want one suite for classic SEO and AI-search visibility
7.9/10★★★★★Full review →Choose Surfer if…
Content teams and writers who want to optimise articles before publishing
7.7/10★★★★★Full review →Side by side
| Semrush | Surfer | |
|---|---|---|
| Overall score | 7.9/10 | 7.7/10 |
| Rank in category | #1 of 10 | #4 of 10 |
| Price | Freemium · from $117.33/month | Paid · from $49/month |
| Free version | 1 project and 10 reports a day | — |
| Platforms | Web, API | Web, Chrome extension, API |
| Made by | Semrush Holdings, Inc. | Surfer |
| SEO insight quality | 8.5 | 7.5 |
| Ease of use | 7 | 8.5 |
| Features | 9 | 7.5 |
| Value for money | 6.5 | 7.5 |
| Platforms | 8 | 7.5 |
Semrush: what the AI does
- AI-visibility tracking across ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini and Google AI answers
- Daily AI prompt tracking with brand sentiment
- Content optimisation and keyword cannibalisation analysis
- MCP access for AI assistants
- Broadest all-in-one toolset in the category
- AI-visibility tracking built into Semrush One plans
- Useful free plan for occasional checks
- Large keyword and competitor database
- Expensive, and only one user per plan before paying for seats
- Two plan families (Classic and One) plus add-ons make pricing confusing
- Hostinger notes AI features are missing from the basic tier
Surfer: what the AI does
- Real-time Content Score in the editor
- AI article writing and humanizer
- Surfy AI assistant
- AI prompt tracking in ChatGPT, Gemini and AI Overviews
- 1-click optimisation with brand knowledge
- Easy, live content scoring while you write
- WordPress and Google Docs integrations
- AI-visibility tracking on Standard plan and up
- Clear published pricing
- A high Content Score measures term coverage, not originality
- No keyword or backlink database to match the big suites
- AI tracking is limited on cheaper plans