# Semrush

Semrush (NYSE: SEMR) is an SEO and digital marketing platform rated 4.5/5 on G2 (2,300+ reviews) and 4.7/5 on Capterra. Profile: revenue, pricing, funding, leadership.

**Category:** SEO & digital marketing intelligence platform  
**Vendor:** Semrush Holdings, Inc.  
**Founded:** 2008  
**HQ:** Boston, Massachusetts, US (also offices in Limassol, Cyprus and Prague)  
**Website:** https://www.semrush.com  


## About

Semrush is an online visibility management and digital marketing intelligence platform covering SEO, PPC, content marketing, competitive research, social media, and local SEO. Founded in 2008 in Saint Petersburg, Russia by Oleg Shchegolev and Dmitri Melnikov as a small SEO tool, the company relocated its headquarters to Boston, Massachusetts and listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker SEMR in March 2021. Semrush reported approximately $378 million in full-year 2024 revenue serving more than 95,000 paying customers, and operates the largest keyword database in its category at over 25 billion keywords across 140 international databases. The platform spans SEO auditing, rank tracking, backlink analysis, competitor traffic intelligence, content optimization, and paid search research, making it the most commonly used all-in-one SEO suite among digital marketing agencies.

## Ratings

| Source | Score | Reviews |
|---|---|---|
| G2 | 4.5/5 | 2,341 |
| Capterra | 4.7/5 | 2,318 |
| Gartner Peer Insights | 4.4/5 | 112 |
| TrustRadius | 8.6/10 | 304 |

## Funding

~$40M venture funding before its 2021 IPO (largely bootstrapped)

| Round | Amount | Date | Lead |
|---|---|---|---|
| Series A | $40M | 2018 | Greycroft and e.ventures |
| IPO | ~$140M raised (NYSE: SEMR) | Mar 2021 | Public offering at $14/share |

## Viability

Low risk from a platform continuity standpoint. Semrush is a publicly traded company (NYSE: SEMR) with 95,000+ paying customers, $378M in FY2024 revenue, and a large base of free users creating ongoing conversion pipeline. The company is not yet GAAP profitable but has been narrowing losses, and its revenue diversification across SEO, content, social, local, and agency tools reduces single-product risk. The primary concern for buyers is price anchoring against Ahrefs: Semrush costs more at every tier and the gap between pricing and data quality is a persistent debate. Teams with a specific high-volume keyword research or backlink focus sometimes find Ahrefs better value; Semrush is generally stronger for teams needing the broader digital marketing toolkit.

## Pricing

Semrush's headline pricing is $139.95/mo for Pro, $249.95/mo for Guru, and $499.95/mo for Business, all on an annual subscription basis. Monthly billing runs roughly 17% higher. Pro allows one user and covers core SEO tools. Guru adds content marketing features, historical data, multi-location rank tracking, and more keyword tracking slots (1,500 vs. 500). Business adds white-label reporting, API access, and extended limits. The catch is that additional seats cost $45/user/mo on top of the base plan, and several high-value features (Agency Growth Kit, Local, Trends, Social) are add-on subscriptions rather than included at any tier. An agency managing 10 clients with two SEO staff on the Guru plan plus Agency Growth Kit can easily land at $500-$700/mo total before any add-ons.

| Plan | Price | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | 10 keyword lookups/day, limited backlink data; enough to trial the interface but not run any real campaign |
| Pro | $139.95/mo (annual) or $165.95/mo (monthly) | Freelancers and in-house SEO teams; 5 projects, 500 keywords tracked, core SEO and PPC tools |
| Guru | $249.95/mo (annual) or $292.95/mo (monthly) | Growing agencies and mid-size teams; 15 projects, 1,500 keywords, content marketing tools, historical data |
| Business | $499.95/mo (annual) or $591.95/mo (monthly) | Large agencies and enterprises; 40 projects, 5,000 keywords, white-label reports, API access, extended limits |

## What reviewers say

_2,341 G2 reviews at 4.5/5 and 2,318 Capterra reviews at 4.7/5; among the most-reviewed SEO tools on both platforms_

**Praised:**
- All-in-one breadth is Semrush's defining strength: keyword research, position tracking, site audit, backlink analysis, competitor traffic, PPC data, content optimization, and social scheduling sit inside one login, which matters for agencies managing multiple client services
- The domain overview and traffic analytics tools are consistently praised as the most actionable competitive intelligence in their category; seeing a competitor's estimated traffic, top keywords, and channel mix in one screen saves hours of manual research
- Semrush Academy's free certification program is mentioned frequently as a training moat, both for upskilling in-house teams and for demonstrating tool proficiency to clients

**Complaints:**
- Price is the most common complaint by a wide margin: at $139.95/mo for Pro and $499.95/mo for Business, Semrush is one of the most expensive SEO tools per seat, and agencies report that the per-user add-on cost for additional seats can push total bills significantly higher
- The interface is frequently described as overwhelming for new users; the sheer number of tools and reports makes initial onboarding slow, and teams without a dedicated SEO hire often underuse 80% of what they pay for
- Data accuracy discrepancies versus Google Search Console data are a recurring topic; traffic estimates and keyword volume data can differ materially from GSC actual data, and teams should treat Semrush numbers as directional rather than precise

## Compliance

- **SOC 2:** Yes (SOC 2 Type II)
- **GDPR:** Yes
- **HIPAA:** No
- **SSO:** Yes (SAML SSO on Business plan and above)

## Integrations

- Google Analytics
- Google Search Console
- Google Ads
- WordPress
- Trello
- Zapier
- Majestic
- Screaming Frog
- HubSpot
- Slack

## FAQs

### Is Semrush worth the price compared to Ahrefs?

Semrush is more expensive at every tier and is the better choice if you need the broader marketing toolkit: PPC data, social media scheduling, content optimization, local SEO, and competitive traffic intelligence all in one product. Ahrefs is generally preferred by teams focused primarily on backlink research and technical SEO, where its crawler quality and link data is considered superior by many practitioners. Most agencies end up on Semrush for the breadth; solo SEOs and link builders often prefer Ahrefs. If budget is tight and your use case is primarily keyword research and backlinks, Ahrefs at $129/mo beats Semrush Pro at $139.95/mo on value.

### Can I use Semrush for free?

Yes, with meaningful limits. The free account allows 10 keyword research queries per day, limited backlink lookups, and one active project. It is genuinely useful for occasional research or to evaluate the interface, but it is not functional for running any ongoing SEO campaign. Semrush also offers a 7-day free trial of the Pro plan for new accounts, which is worth taking to evaluate position tracking, site audit, and competitor tools before committing.

### Is Semrush publicly traded?

Yes. Semrush Holdings, Inc. trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker SEMR, having completed its IPO in March 2021 at $14/share. The company reported approximately $378 million in FY2024 revenue, up 23% year over year, with 95,000+ paying customers. Semrush is not yet GAAP profitable but has been narrowing operating losses each year since its IPO.

### How many keywords does Semrush track?

Semrush's database covers over 25 billion keywords across 140 country and regional databases, which is the largest claimed dataset in the SEO tool category. Active keyword tracking (position tracking for your own domains) is limited by plan: 500 keywords on Pro, 1,500 on Guru, and 5,000 on Business, with additional keyword tracking available as an add-on. Keyword volume and difficulty data is available for unlimited lookups on paid plans.

### Who is Semrush best for?

Semrush is best for digital marketing agencies, in-house SEO teams at 10-200 person companies, and content marketers who need to manage SEO, PPC research, and content strategy from a single platform without switching between multiple specialized tools. It is particularly strong for competitive intelligence: understanding where competitors get their traffic, what ads they run, and which keywords are driving growth. Freelance SEOs watching their tool budget, or teams with a very focused backlink-and-technical workflow, often find better value in Ahrefs or Moz.


## Sources

- [G2: Semrush reviews](https://www.g2.com/products/semrush/reviews): rating 4.5/5, 2,341 reviews, read live
- [Capterra: Semrush](https://www.capterra.com/p/114923/SEMrush/): rating 4.7/5, 2,318 reviews, sub-scores and demographics
- [TrustRadius: Semrush](https://www.trustradius.com/products/semrush/reviews): score 8.6/10, 304 reviews
- [Semrush IR: FY2024 full-year results](https://ir.semrush.com/): revenue ~$378M, 95,000+ customers, operating loss figures
- [Wikipedia: Semrush](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semrush): founding, founders, IPO history, product overview
- [Crunchbase: Semrush](https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/semrush): Series A funding, investors, IPO details
- [Semrush pricing page](https://www.semrush.com/prices/): Pro/Guru/Business tiers, annual and monthly billing, add-ons
- [LinkedIn: Semrush company page](https://www.linkedin.com/company/semrush/): employee count, HQ locations, industry, specialties