Semrush Review 2026: The Biggest SEO Suite Now Tracks AI Answers, Belongs to Adobe, and Charges Separately for Almost Everything
Semrush is still the suite most SEO teams compare everything else against: keyword and backlink data at enormous scale, rank tracking, site audits, and add-on toolkits for content, local, ads, social and PR. In the last year it changed more than at any point in its history. Its plans were rebuilt around Semrush One, which bundles SEO with an AI Visibility Toolkit that tracks how ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, AI Mode and Gemini talk about your brand. Adobe completed its $1.9 billion acquisition on Apr 28, 2026. And its data now flows straight into Claude, ChatGPT and Perplexity through official connectors. This review explains what you actually pay as of Oct 4, 2026, what the AI features measure, the exact refund rule, why so many reviewers are angry about billing, and when SE Ranking, Ahrefs, Moz or Similarweb fit better.
| Made by | Semrush, an Adobe company since Apr 28, 2026 |
| What it is | SEO and AI search visibility platform, plus paid toolkits for content, local, traffic, ads, social and PR |
| Free | Free plan: 1 project, 10 reports a day |
| Cheapest paid | $139.95/mo SEO plan, or $117.33/mo billed annually |
| With AI tracking | Starter $199/mo ($165.17 annual), 50 prompts |
Semrush has the deepest all-round dataset and a real AI visibility product. It also has the most expensive way to add things up, and billing rules you should read before you click "Try for free".
"If your job is to win search, classic and AI, and the budget is not the first question, Semrush is still the default. Start on Starter, not on the cheaper SEO plan, and read the refund rule twice."
Here is how I read it. Semrush's core is unchanged: Keyword Magic Tool, Domain and Backlink Analytics, Position Tracking, Site Audit and a large bank of research reports. What changed is the packaging. Since Oct 29, 2025, the main plans are Semrush One tiers (Starter, Pro+ and Advanced) that add the AI Visibility Toolkit on top of SEO. A plain SEO plan at $139.95 remains, but its AI features stop at reports; it has no prompt-tracking quota. Almost everything else (Traffic & Market, Local, Content, Social, Advertising, AI PR, extra users, white-label reports) is a separate monthly line. The older ContentShake AI writer is now the Content Toolkit, and the Copilot assistant has faded into the background. The other big change is ownership: Adobe closed its acquisition on Apr 28, 2026, and is already folding Semrush data into its own enterprise product, Adobe Brand Visibility. This is a VERIFIED EDITORIAL REVIEW built on Semrush's pricing page (monthly and annual views), help center, refund policy, newsroom and financial releases as of Oct 4, 2026, plus Trustpilot. No controlled hands-on test was run for this article.
One account, one base plan for SEO and AI search, and a shelf of toolkits you rent one at a time.
You pick a base plan (Free, SEO, or a Semrush One tier), create projects for the sites you monitor, and the tracking tools hang off those projects. Research reports work on any domain within a daily report limit. Specialist toolkits sit beside the base plan with their own prices and limits, and extra people need paid seats. The same data is now reachable from AI assistants through Semrush MCP.
Map built from Semrush's pricing page, its Subscriptions and AI Visibility Toolkit help articles, and its MCP page, Oct 4, 2026.
A public SEO company with $443 million in revenue became part of Adobe in just over five months. AI is still a small slice of the business, but it is the fastest-growing one.
Semrush's last annual results, Mar 2, 2026. Revenue, not users.
Up from $4M a year earlier, inside total ARR of $471.4M. Annual recurring revenue as Semrush defines it.
Announced Nov 19, 2025; completed Apr 28, 2026. Semrush no longer reports results on its own.
"28M total Semrush users" on its MCP page. Registered users, including free accounts, not paying customers.
What changed, and when
| When | What changed |
|---|---|
| Mar 2024 | Semrush Copilot, an AI assistant that surfaces alerts across reports, introduced on the Semrush blog. |
| Jan 2025 | Pricing page lists Pro $139.95, Guru $249.95 and Business $499.95 a month (archived copy, Jan 24, 2025). |
| Oct 29, 2025 | Semrush One launches in three tiers (Starter, Pro+, Advanced), bundling SEO with AI visibility tracking. |
| Nov 19, 2025 | Adobe agrees to buy Semrush for $12.00 a share in cash, about $1.9 billion in equity value. |
| Dec 1, 2025 | Enterprise AI Optimization adds Microsoft Copilot tracking. |
| Dec 17, 2025 | Official Semrush app in ChatGPT. |
| Mar 2, 2026 | FY2025 results: revenue $443.6M, ARR $471.4M, AI products ARR $38M, net revenue retention 104%. |
| Apr 28, 2026 | Adobe completes the acquisition. Semrush's customer FAQ promises "no immediate changes" to features, access, support or billing. |
| Jun 3, 2026 | Semrush MCP connector in Perplexity. |
| Jun 17, 2026 | Adobe Brand Visibility launches, combining Semrush AI visibility data with Adobe LLM Optimizer for enterprises. |
| Jul 7, 2026 | Named a Representative Vendor in Gartner's Market Guide for Answer Engine Visibility Tools (per Semrush). |
| Aug 26, 2026 | Official Semrush connector for Claude, for Semrush One and SEO Classic subscribers. |
| Oct 4, 2026 | The public pricing page lists Free, SEO and the three Semrush One tiers. The old Pro, Guru and Business names no longer appear there. |
People praise the data and rarely complain about it. The anger on Trustpilot is almost all about trials, renewals, cancellation and refunds.
A US reviewer called it the "best ever made tool for marketers" (Aug 8). A reviewer in Pakistan wrote "Semrush my fav tool for SEO projects" (Oct 2). Even a US reviewer who gave one star over cancellation began by saying Semrush "has a great reputation for the quality of their information" (Sep 29).
A German user was invoiced EUR 227.10 the same day he started what he thought was a free trial; Semrush replied that he had used a trial before and was not eligible (Sep 29). A US user said cancelling meant "the royal runaround" (Sep 29). A Danish reviewer wrote that the company "uses dark patterns in all aspects" (Sep 23).
A small software company said its plan auto-renewed without a reminder and that the renewal price "had increased by more than 35–40%", with slow replies to its refund request (Sep 25). A UAE reviewer was charged $512.35 for a plan plus a Traffic & Market add-on on the day a trial ended and said the refund was refused (Sep 22).
Four paid plans, up to 17% off for paying a year upfront, and a long list of toolkits and add-ons that each cost extra.
Free
No card required.
- 1 demo project
- 10 reports a day
- 10 tracked keywords
SEO
$117.33/mo billed annually.
- 5 sites, 500 keywords daily
- 3,000 reports a day
- AI reports, no prompt tracking
Starter
$165.17/mo billed annually.
- 5 sites, 500 keywords daily
- 50 AI prompts daily, 1 brand domain
- AI-ready Site Audit, MCP
Pro+
$248.17/mo billed annually.
- 15 sites, 1,500 keywords
- 100 prompts, history
- Content optimization
Advanced
$455.67/mo billed annually.
- 40 sites, 5,000 keywords
- 200 prompts, API access
- SEO share of voice
Limits per plan
Swipe the table sideways to see every column.
| Limit | SEO | Starter | Pro+ | Advanced |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly / annual per month | $139.95 / $117.33 | $199 / $165.17 | $299 / $248.17 | $549 / $455.67 |
| Websites to monitor | 5 | 5 | 15 | 40 |
| Keywords tracked daily | 500 | 500 | 1,500 | 5,000 |
| Results per report | 10,000 | 10,000 | 30,000 | 50,000 |
| Reports per day | 3,000 | 3,000 | 5,000 | 10,000 |
| Pages to crawl a month (per site) | 100,000 (20,000) | 100,000 (20,000) | 300,000 (20,000) | 1,000,000 (100,000) |
| Historical data; JavaScript rendering | No; No | No; No | Yes; Yes | Yes; Yes |
| Keyword metric updates a month | 250 | 250 | 1,000 | 5,000 |
| AI prompts tracked daily | None | 50 | 100 | 200 |
| AI visibility reports a day | None in the table | 300 | 300 | 300 |
| API access; MCP access | No; Yes | No; Yes | No; Yes | Yes; Yes |
| Users included; extra user | 1; $45/mo | 1; $45/mo | 1; $80/mo | 1; $100/mo |
| Looker Studio; share of voice | No; No | No; No | Yes; No | Yes; Yes |
Toolkits and add-ons, monthly and annual
| Toolkit or add-on | Price (Oct 4, 2026) | Trial and notes |
|---|---|---|
| AI Visibility (standalone) | $99/mo per domain; +$99 per extra brand domain; +$60/mo per 50 extra prompts; +$99 per extra user license | No free trial. Includes 25 tracked prompts and 1 brand domain. |
| Traffic & Market | Pro $289/mo; Custom by quote | 7-day trial. Each extra user starts at $289/mo. |
| Local | Base $30/mo, Pro $60/mo, per location; Business by quote | 7-day trial. +$5/mo per 1,000 map credits; +$10/mo per extra campaign. |
| Content (formerly ContentShake AI) | Base $60/mo | 7-day trial. 5 SEO-boosted articles a month; 10 more for $30/mo. |
| Social | Base $20, Pro $40, Business $250 a month | 7-day trial. |
| Advertising | Base $99, Pro $220 a month | 7-day trial. |
| AI PR | Base $149, Pro $279, Business $499 a month | 7-day trial. Extra contacts, mentions and emails sold in packs ($9 to $149/mo). |
| My Reports | Base Report $10/mo, Pro Report (white label) $20/mo, per report | 14-day trial. |
| Lead Generation (Agency Partners listing) | $90/mo | 14-day trial. |
| Additional users | From $45/mo on SEO-based plans; $20 flat for toolkits without SEO | Each account can trial up to 3 extra users. |
What a real setup costs
| Example setup | What you buy | Cost (JAVIS arithmetic) |
|---|---|---|
| Freelancer, classic SEO | SEO plan, monthly | $139.95 a month |
| Same, committed for a year | SEO plan, annual | $1,407.96 upfront ($117.33 a month) |
| SEO plus AI tracking, bought separately | SEO plan + AI Visibility Toolkit | $238.95 a month for 25 prompts: more than Starter ($199) with 50 |
| Two-person in-house team | Pro+ + 1 extra user, monthly | $379 a month |
| Small agency, white-label reporting | Pro+ annual + 2 extra users + 3 Pro Reports | $468.17 a month ($248.17 + $160 + $60) |
| Agency adding traffic intelligence | The setup above + Traffic & Market | $757.17 a month |
| Local business with 10 locations | Local Base for each location | $300 a month, on top of any SEO plan |
Trials, cancellation and refunds, in Semrush's own words
| Rule | Exact wording | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Who gets a refund | "Semrush offers a one-time, 7-day money-back guarantee, limited to (1) initial subscription purchases where the subscription term committed to is twelve months or greater in duration and (2) initial add-on purchases that are incremental to your existing subscription." | Cancellation and Refund Policy, last updated Aug 20, 2025 |
| Monthly plans | "For clarity, refunds are not available for month-to-month subscriptions." | Same policy |
| Deadline | "you must submit a written refund request within 7 calendar days of placing your initial annual subscription order or your initial additional license add-on order." | Same policy |
| After a trial | "If you begin a subscription with a free trial, your first payment will be charged automatically at the end of the trial period unless you cancel beforehand." | Same policy |
| Trial eligibility | "Each toolkit trial is available once per account." Semrush also told a Trustpilot reviewer that "each user is eligible for one 7-day free trial". | Free Trial page; Semrush reply on Trustpilot, Sep 2026 |
| Card check | "We will charge a nominal amount to your credit card to check its validity; once confirmed, it will be immediately refunded." | Pricing page FAQ |
| Pausing | "It is not possible to pause your subscription. Subscriptions can only be canceled." | Billing FAQ |
Decide by whether you need AI answer tracking, how many sites you watch, and how many people need their own login.
Free plan: 10 reports a day and one project. You will hit the wall quickly, but it costs nothing.
SEO plan. Pay monthly for two months before committing to annual, because monthly plans cannot be refunded.
Starter, not SEO plus the AI Visibility Toolkit: Starter is $40 a month cheaper and includes twice the prompts.
Pro+ for history, multi-location tracking and Looker Studio; budget $80 for every extra login.
Advanced, and ask sales about a trial before paying.
Compare SE Ranking (Core includes 2,000 keywords and 100 prompts for $129) and Moz Pro before choosing Semrush.
The headline 2026 feature: how often AI answers mention your brand, which pages they cite, what they say about you, and for which prompts.
Classic rank tracking asks where your page ranks for a keyword. The AI Visibility Toolkit asks fuzzier questions. When someone asks ChatGPT, Google AI Mode, an AI Overview or Gemini about your category, is your brand mentioned, is your site cited as a source, how do you compare with competitors, and is the tone favourable? Semrush splits this into six reports, each refreshed on its own schedule, and its help center spells out what each one measures.
| Report | What it answers | Updated |
|---|---|---|
| Visibility Overview | Any brand's AI Visibility Score, mentions, citations and cited pages, by engine and country | Daily, rolling |
| Competitor Research | Topics and prompts where competitors are cited and you are not ("Missing", "Weak", "Shared", "Strong") | Daily, rolling |
| Prompt Research | "Keyword research for AI": topic volume, intent, brands and source domains behind a theme | Daily, rolling |
| Brand Performance | Share of voice, sentiment, narrative drivers and AI-written recommendations for one domain | Weekly |
| Prompt Tracking | Your daily position, mentions and cited sources for the prompts you choose | Daily |
| AI Search Site Audit | Whether AI crawlers such as ChatGPT-User, OAI-SearchBot, PerplexityBot or Claude-SearchBot are blocked | When you run it |
Brand Performance: what AI says about you, not just whether it mentions you
The weekly Brand Performance reports run a large set of common questions through AI platforms, then score share of voice and sentiment and pull out the "business drivers" behind your reputation. Semrush's help center lists AI Mode, ChatGPT, Perplexity and Gemini as the engines behind these reports. Each report is tied to one domain and one location; more cost $99 each.
Prompt Tracking: daily positions inside AI answers
Prompt Tracking works like Position Tracking, but for prompts. You pick an engine, a location and a list of prompts, and Semrush records AI visibility, mentions, owned sources and average position every day, with snapshots of the actual answer. The quota is the plan's daily prompt count: 25 on the standalone toolkit, then 50, 100 or 200 on Semrush One.
AI Overviews in classic Position Tracking
You do not need the AI Visibility Toolkit to see Google AI Overviews. Position Tracking, Organic Research, Keyword Overview, Keyword Magic Tool and Sensor all flag them. One counting rule matters: when your domain is cited in an AI Overview, Position Tracking "records this as a #1 ranking", whatever your organic position below it, so a jump to position one may be an AI citation rather than a classic ranking gain.
Watch: measuring traffic lost to AI Overviews
This six-minute video from Semrush's official YouTube channel (Sep 29, 2026) shows a live workflow by SEO expert Kevin Indig: measuring a site's exposure to AI Overviews with Semrush data pulled through Semrush MCP. It is a useful preview of the AI Overview and MCP features described in this section and in Integrations.
AI visibility does not replace the SEO toolkit. The useful loop runs through both, and a person still has to judge the answers.
Workflow drawn from Semrush's help-center guides to the AI Visibility Toolkit, Site Audit and My Reports, Oct 4, 2026.
The classic half of the product is still where most hours go. The SEO dashboard pulls together Authority Score, organic traffic estimates, keywords, backlinks and Position Tracking, and Semrush's keyword and backlink databases remain its biggest advantage: its Claude connector announcement cites 28.8 billion keywords and 43 trillion backlinks (vendor figures, Aug 26, 2026).
ContentShake AI grew into the Content Toolkit: a $60 add-on that writes, scores and repurposes articles with Semrush data behind it.
The ContentShake name is gone; its old page now leads to the Content Toolkit. For $60 a month you get unlimited standard AI articles (the pricing page puts the cap at 10,000 a month), 5 "SEO-boosted" articles with deeper SERP analysis (10 more cost $30 a month), topic ideas, SEO briefs, an optimizer that now scores for "AI SEO" as well as classic SEO, up to 50 brand voices, AI images, and one-click publishing to up to 100 WordPress sites. It is a separate toolkit: Semrush One does not include it, although, per Semrush's FAQ, higher Semrush One tiers can include two older content tools, SEO Writing Assistant and Topic Research.
Reports are sold per report, the AI summaries are genuinely useful, and Copilot is no longer something to buy Semrush for.
My Reports builds PDF and link-shared reports from Semrush data plus Google Analytics and Search Console. Every SEO and Semrush One plan includes 3 Base reports; each extra Base Report is $10 a month, and a white-label Pro Report with 20+ outside integrations is $20 a month. The AI Summary writes a narrative at the top of a report, with choices for format, goals, reader persona and tone.
Semrush data now lives inside Claude, ChatGPT and Perplexity. That changes who on the team actually uses it.
Semrush MCP connects AI assistants to Semrush's SEO and competitive data. It is available as an official app in ChatGPT (Dec 17, 2025), a connector in Perplexity (Jun 3, 2026) and a connector in Claude (Aug 26, 2026), and works with Cursor, VS Code, Gemini and Claude Code. If you are new to the protocol, our Claude MCP and Connectors guide explains how connectors work, and the Claude Code setup guide covers the developer side.
| Question | Answer from Semrush's help center |
|---|---|
| Which plans include MCP? | Semrush One Starter and Pro+, and SEO Classic Pro and Guru, with 50,000 MCP API units that refresh at renewal. Semrush One Advanced and SEO Classic Business can add unit packages of 2, 5, 10 or 20 million. |
| How do you connect? | OAuth or an API key, set up from the AI assistant's connector or app settings. |
| Can the assistant change anything? | No. "The connection uses read-only access", so assistants can retrieve Semrush data but not modify or delete it. |
| What data? | Keyword metrics, organic and paid positions, competitor overlap, domain and backlink metrics. Traffic and market data need a separate Trends API plan. |
| What does it cost to use? | Every MCP query consumes API units; narrower questions ("top 50 keywords in the US") use fewer. |
Semrush counts almost everything in units: keywords, pages, reports, prompts, users and API requests. Watch the meters, not just the price.
Your Subscription Info page shows every unit type by toolkit, with a Buy button beside each. Two economics points stand out. First, the classic Semrush API is only on Advanced (and Enterprise), while MCP units come with Starter and Pro+. Second, extra capacity is sold as monthly add-ons that renew with your plan; on an annual plan, anything you add mid-year is charged upfront, prorated to the end of your term.
| Meter | How it is counted | What to watch |
|---|---|---|
| Tracked keywords | Per plan: 500 to 5,000, one account-wide pool | Admins can split the pool per user or leave it shared |
| Tracked prompts | 25 (standalone) or 50 to 200 (Semrush One), daily | +50 prompts for $60/mo; Brand Performance domains are separate at $99 each |
| Reports a day | 3,000 to 10,000; Free is 10 | Research-heavy days on SEO or Starter can hit the cap |
| MCP API units | 50,000 on Starter and Pro+, refreshed at renewal | Broad prompts ("all keywords globally") burn units fast |
| Users | 1 included; by default one email can be logged in at a time | Each extra person needs a seat: $45 to $100 a month |
| AI Visibility for teammates | Extra users do not get the AI Visibility Toolkit automatically | Semrush's toolkit article prices each extra sub-user license at $99; confirm how this applies to your plan |
Roles are sensible and MCP is read-only. The real risk is billing: anyone on the account can buy seats on the owner's card.
| Role | Can do | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Owner | Pays; manages all units, folders and users; can turn on Full Sharing | One per account |
| Admin | Allocates limits, edits and deletes any folder, sees all users' search queries and the account change history | Granted by the owner |
| User | Own login, dashboard and folders; shares the plan's limits | No Traffic & Market or AI Visibility access without separate purchase |
| Guest | Views specific shared folders, documents or lists | Needs a paid seat to edit |
| AI assistant via MCP | Reads Semrush data through OAuth or an API key | Read-only; spends API units |
For larger companies, Semrush's Enterprise tier lists SSO, team governance and audit logs, a dedicated account manager and an SLA; self-serve plans do not. We have not reviewed Semrush's security certifications or its data processing terms for this article; if you plan to connect Google Analytics, Search Console or ad accounts, ask for them during the trial. And because Semrush now belongs to Adobe, check whether your procurement team treats it as an Adobe vendor.
Semrush pays off when you use its data breadth every week. If you only track rankings, you are paying for a library you never open.
| Work pattern | Fit | Likely plan |
|---|---|---|
| In-house SEO lead who also gets asked about ChatGPT and AI Overviews | Strong | Starter, then Pro+ when history or more markets matter |
| Agency running competitive research for pitches and clients | Strong | Pro+ with extra users and Pro Reports |
| Brand or PR team watching what AI says about the company | Good | Starter or the $99 AI Visibility Toolkit; AI PR for outreach |
| Freelancer tracking a few hundred keywords | Weak on value | SEO plan, or a cheaper tool |
| Local multi-location business | Good with Local | Local Base or Pro per location, often without a big SEO plan |
| Large enterprise, several brands and regions | Good, via sales | Semrush Enterprise; also look at Adobe Brand Visibility |
The data is rarely the problem. Cost stacking, trial and refund rules, and a few inconsistent help pages are.
| Limitation | Who it hurts | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Costs stack fast. Users ($45 to $100), toolkits ($20 to $499), reports and prompts are all separate lines. | Teams and agencies | Price your whole setup before the trial ends, using the table above. |
| Monthly plans are never refundable. Refunds cover only first annual orders and first add-ons, within 7 days. | Anyone trying it out | Cancel before day 7 of a trial; start monthly, not annual, until sure. |
| One free trial per person, per toolkit. A second trial starts a paid plan at once. | Returning users | Ask support or use the Free plan instead. |
| Trustpilot 1.7, driven by renewal and cancellation complaints. | Small businesses | Turn off auto-renew if you are unsure, and keep cancellation confirmations. |
| Small AI prompt quotas. 50 to 200 daily prompts is modest next to SE Ranking (100 to 250) and Moz (150 to 600, weekly). | Agencies selling AI reports | Pick prompts carefully; budget $60 per 50 more. |
| Help pages disagree on engines per report, Advanced's trial, and the SEO plan's prompts. | Careful buyers | Confirm the exact engines and limits in the trial. |
| Ownership change. Adobe is building the biggest AI features for its enterprise suite first. | Long-term planners | Avoid multi-year commitments until the roadmap is clearer. |
The first plan with prompt tracking is $199 a month; SE Ranking's Core is $129 with more prompts and keywords.
Historical data, JavaScript rendering and Looker Studio start at Pro+ ($299).
Semrush's Billing FAQ: subscriptions can only be cancelled, not paused.
Semrush wins on data breadth and the number of toolkits. Others win on price, simplicity or a specific job.
| If you mostly need... | Compare Semrush with... | Why |
|---|---|---|
| An all-in-one SEO and AI tracking suite for less money | SE Ranking | Core at $129 includes 2,000 keywords and 100 daily prompts; 14-day trial with no card |
| Backlink research as the main job | Ahrefs | Strong link data and API and MCP on every plan; only 5 to 20 tracked AI prompts on base plans |
| A simpler suite with weekly AI prompt tracking | Moz Pro | Standard at $99 ($79 yearly) with 150 prompts; Medium includes 2 users |
| Traffic and market intelligence for strategy teams | Similarweb | Business packages are sold through sales; strong on traffic, audience and AI brand visibility |
| AI writing rather than SEO data | Jasper | Content generation first; pair with any rank tracker |
Swipe the table sideways to see every column.
| Entry pricing (Oct 4, 2026) | Monthly | Annual (per month) | Tracked keywords | AI prompts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Semrush SEO | $139.95 | $117.33 | 500 daily | None tracked |
| Semrush One Starter | $199 | $165.17 | 500 daily | 50 daily |
| SE Ranking Core | $129 | $103.20 | 2,000 daily | 100 daily |
| Ahrefs Lite | $129 | up to 17% off | 750 | 5 |
| Moz Pro Standard | $99 | $79 | 300 | 150, weekly |
| Similarweb (business) | By quote | By quote | Rank tracker in SEO suite | AI Brand Visibility in Gen AI suite |
This review contains no affiliate links.
JAVIS has no affiliate arrangement with Semrush, and every link to Semrush in this article is a plain link to its official site. The score, drawbacks and alternatives here were written from Semrush's own pricing page, help center, refund policy and newsroom, and from public user reviews, not from any deal with the company.
Start on the Free plan or a Starter trial, add one real project, and set a reminder for day 6 so you decide before the first charge.
Open SemrushRead the guide that matches your real question.
Choose the next articleSemrush now sits between classic SEO, the AI engines it measures and the AI assistants that read its data.
Every card below links to a published JAVIS article.
Card images are official product images.
Questions people are actually asking
How much does Semrush cost in October 2026?
SEO is $139.95 a month ($117.33 billed annually). The Semrush One plans with AI tracking are Starter $199 ($165.17), Pro+ $299 ($248.17) and Advanced $549 ($455.67). Annual plans are paid upfront. Extra users start at $45, and toolkits such as Content ($60), Local ($30 per location) or Traffic & Market ($289) cost extra.
What happened to Pro, Guru and Business?
They no longer appear on the public pricing page, which now lists SEO plus three Semrush One tiers. The SEO plan keeps the old Pro price and limits, and Pro+ and Advanced carry Guru's and Business's site and keyword limits at $49.05 more a month, with AI tracking. Semrush's help center still refers to SEO Classic Pro, Guru and Business, so existing subscribers may still hold them.
Does Semrush track ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews?
Yes. Position Tracking and the keyword reports flag AI Overviews, and the AI Visibility Toolkit (included in Semrush One, or $99 alone) tracks ChatGPT, Google AI Mode, AI Overviews and Gemini, with Perplexity in Brand Performance reports. Claude answers are not listed as tracked.
Is there a free trial, and can I get a refund?
Most plans have a 7-day trial, available once per account for each toolkit; the AI Visibility Toolkit has none. Refunds are limited to first annual orders and first add-ons, requested in writing within 7 days. Monthly plans are not refundable.
Is ContentShake AI still available?
Not under that name. It became the Content Toolkit, $60 a month with unlimited standard articles and 5 SEO-boosted articles.
Can I use Semrush inside Claude or ChatGPT?
Yes. Official connectors exist for Claude, ChatGPT and Perplexity, and MCP works with Cursor and VS Code. Starter and Pro+ include 50,000 MCP units; access is read-only.
Did the Adobe acquisition change my plan?
Semrush's customer FAQ (Apr 28, 2026) says there are "no immediate changes" to features, access, support or billing. New enterprise products, such as Adobe Brand Visibility, are being built on Semrush data.
Is Semrush better than SE Ranking or Ahrefs?
It has broader data and more toolkits than SE Ranking, and far more AI prompts than Ahrefs' base plans, but costs more to start with AI tracking and for extra users. Compare on your own keywords during the trials.
Where this came from, and when it was checked.
Pricing and plans: semrush.com Plans & Pricing (www.semrush.com/pricing/seo-ai-search/ and each toolkit selector) in Monthly and Annually views, with the plan comparison expanded and the FAQ; Semrush help center articles Subscriptions, AI Visibility Toolkit, Semrush One, Content Toolkit Pricing and Plans, Local Toolkit, Advertising Toolkit and AI PR Toolkit pricing, Billing FAQ and User Management; the Free Trial page; and the Cancellation and Refund Policy (last updated Aug 20, 2025); all as of Oct 4, 2026. Earlier plan prices from an archived copy of semrush.com/pricing (Internet Archive, Jan 24, 2025).
Product and features: help center articles for Visibility Overview, Competitor Research, Prompt Research, Brand Performance, Prompt Tracking, AI Search Health in Site Audit, SERP Features: AI Overview, Content Toolkit, My Reports, SEO Toolkit and MCP; the semrush.com/mcp and Content Toolkit pages; the Semrush blog post on Copilot (Mar 19, 2024).
Company and market: Semrush newsroom releases on Semrush One (Oct 29, 2025), the Adobe agreement (Nov 19, 2025), Microsoft Copilot tracking in Enterprise AIO (Dec 1, 2025), the ChatGPT app (Dec 17, 2025), FY2025 results (Mar 2, 2026), the completed acquisition and customer FAQ (Apr 28, 2026), the Perplexity connector (Jun 3, 2026), Adobe Brand Visibility (Jun 17, 2026), the Gartner Market Guide mention (Jul 7, 2026) and the Claude connector (Aug 26, 2026).
Users: Trustpilot page for semrush.com (1.7 from 1,406 reviews, Oct 4, 2026) and reviews dated Aug 8 to Oct 2, 2026, with Semrush's replies; G2 and Capterra ratings as displayed on Semrush's Free Trial page. Individual G2 and Capterra reviews and Reddit discussions are not covered.
Alternatives: pricing pages of SE Ranking, Ahrefs, Moz Pro and Similarweb, Oct 4, 2026.
Official video: youtube.com/watch?v=fKM2o3F5Feg from Semrush's official YouTube channel (@semrush, the channel linked from semrush.com), Sep 29, 2026.
JAVIS Fit Score (80/100): editorial composite of data depth and toolkit breadth (excellent), AI visibility features (strong, but modest prompt quotas and engine coverage that varies by report), pricing value (weak: costs stack per user and toolkit), billing transparency and support sentiment (poor in 2026, per Trustpilot), MCP and integrations (strong) and ownership stability (uncertain after the Adobe deal). Weighted by editorial judgement.
