KeySearch is an affordable, simple alternative to Semrush.

KeySearch vs Semrush: Which is the Better Keyword Research Tool?

Your SEO tools can either make or break your results, giving you clear insights that empower you to rank for the most important keywords or leaving you floundering and never quite finding your footing in the SERPs.

It can get overwhelming trying to find the right solution amidst a sea of options. But now that Ahrefs has become virtually unusable from a cost and functionality perspective, you more or less have two solid choices: KeySearch vs Semrush.

So, what are the differences? Which is right for you? We’re here to help you find out with an in-depth breakdown of their respective keyword research capabilities, other SEO tools, pricing, and more.

However, if you just want to hit the ground running with the best free SEO tools, look no further than KeySearch.

It’s the most affordable keyword research tool that actually works, trusted by more than 10,000 active users and backed by a 4.9-star rating across hundreds of testimonials. See it in action today, or learn more about why it’s a better choice than Semrush below!

KeySearch Overview

Let’s begin with an overview of both solutions on their own before we compare and contrast them side by side, starting with KeySearch.

This is an all-in-one SEO tool for content creators, marketers, and small to medium-sized business owners looking to boost digital visibility without a steep learning curve or high costs associated with more comprehensive SEO platforms.

What makes it unique is that it simplifies complex SEO data into clear, actionable insights that help you make your next steps with confidence.

You simply put a keyword into the search bar - be it your product, a topic, or even a niche as a whole.

You’re then given a detailed analysis complete with keyword viability, competition scores, and search trends. From there, you can quickly gauge the feasibility of chosen keywords and strategize accordingly.

Key Features and Tools:

KeySearch is one of the few solutions that actually offers everything you need in one single subscription. This simplifies your SEO tech stack and saves you money, all while empowering you to reach your full SEO potential:

• Keyword Research: Get extensive data on keyword difficulty, search volume, and CPC rates. It specifically uncovers low-competition keywords that provide niche sites the opportunity to rank higher. Other tools include a keyword clustering tool, keyword density checker, keyword difficulty checker, and even a niche finder.
• Competitive Analysis: KeySearch provides insights into competitors’ keyword usage, site performance, and ranking strategies. This enables you to identify gaps in your own strategy and discover new opportunities for growth.
• Backlink Analysis: A strong backlink profile is crucial for SEO success, which is why KeySearch developed a backlink checker. This helps you explore and analyze the backlink profiles of your own or competitor sites.
• Rank Tracking: You can track the performance of keywords over time, offering visibility into the effectiveness of your SEO efforts and allowing for timely adjustments.
• YouTube SEO: Optimizing YouTube content comes with its own unique set of challenges. The YouTube keyword tool provides keywords, tags, and titles designed to enhance video visibility and engagement.
• Enhance Product Listings: Whether you’re selling on eBay, Amazon, Etsy, or Pinterest you can pull in the most accurate, relevant search information. From there you can even gain insights into how best to optimize product titles, descriptions, meta data, and more.
• Content Assistant: KeySearch doesn’t just help you find high-quality keyword opportunities, it helps you capitalize on them through a content assistant. Upload existing content and leverage AI insights to give yourself the best chance at ranking in the top 3!

Pricing and Plans:

Part of what makes KeySearch the #1 alternative to Ahrefs, Semrush, and every other choice at your disposal is how affordable it is. In fact, your whole first month is free. From there, you can choose one of two plans based on your needs:

• Starter Plan: Priced at $24 per month or $240 annually, this plan offers up to 200 daily searches and analyses, 80 rank tracker keywords, 2,000 monthly site audits, and 5,000 AI credits.
• Pro Plan: At $48 per month or $480 annually, the Pro Plan expands the offering to 500 daily searches and analyses, 200 rank tracker keywords, 5,000 monthly site audits, and 15,000 AI credits.

KeySearch is an excellent choice for solopreneurs trying to grow a blog, digital marketing teams, and thriving businesses alike. But how does it compare to Semrush? Let’s highlight the other half of the KeySearch vs Semrush conversation below.

Semrush Overview

Semrush is a comprehensive digital marketing toolkit designed for SEO, PPC, content marketing, competitor analysis, and social media marketing.

It has a much broader range of offerings than KeySearch, which makes it better suited to generic digital marketing rather than SEO specialists. You know what they say - a jack of all trades is a master of none.

Still, Semrush is trusted by over 10 million marketing professionals worldwide for delivering extensive data and competitive advantages in various digital marketing arenas.

Just like KeySearch, you can get started fast by simply entering your URL, a competitor URL, or a keyword to begin gathering information to inform your SEO strategy.

Key Features and Tools:

• Keyword Research: Semrush offers a variety of keyword research tools, including the Keyword Overview, which provides data on search volume, keyword difficulty, CPC, and SERP features. The Keyword Magic Tool generates thousands of keyword suggestions from a single seed keyword so you can build out a list of opportunities in just a click.
• Organic Research: Allows users to uncover competitors' keyword strategies. From there you can put your own spin on the strategy to overtake the SERPs and funnel that traffic to your own site.
• Technical SEO and Site Audits: Semrush’s technical SEO tools check a website's health and identify flaws that could be hindering performance, supplemented by comprehensive site audits.
• Backlink Analysis: You can develop and refine your link-building strategy with detailed backlink analysis tools that map out a site’s backlink profile - either your own or a competitor's.
• SERP Tracking and Analytics: Semrush offers advanced SERP tracking tools that monitor and report on a site's rankings across different regions and devices. You can have a set number of projects based on your plan, which allows you to test different strategies simultaneously.

Pricing and Plans:

There’s no question that Semrush is a robust SEO toolkit - but you will have to pay a premium to harness its full potential. It’s its lowest plan is more than 4x the cost of KeySearch’s lowest plan:

• Pro Plan: This plan starts at $129.95 per month and is geared towards newcomers and small teams. It includes access to 5 projects, 500 keywords to track, and up to 10,000 results per report. Features include competitor analysis, keyword research, website audit, backlink analysis, and advertising tools.
• Guru Plan: At $249.95 per month, this plan is suited for agencies and mid-size businesses. You can manage up to 15 projects, track 1,500 keywords, and retrieve up to 30,000 results per report. This tier also unlocks additional features like the Content Marketing Toolkit and historical data.
• Business Plan: This $499.95 plan is designed for large agencies and enterprises, supporting 40 projects, 5,000 keywords to track, and up to 50,000 results per report. It includes enhanced features such as API access and extended limits.

There are also plans specifically for conducting local SEO, social marketing, and even an Agency Growth Kit for those managing a number of sites at once. You also have the option to set up our own custom plan if the scale of your needs demands it.

KeySearch vs Semrush: Comparing Features, Pricing, and More

Still not sure whether you should go with Semrush or KeySearch? We get it, this is a big decision that will influence your SEO success rate while also affecting the costs associated with your efforts.

So, let’s get into our side-by-side comparison of KeySearch vs Semrush below. We’ll assess where each has an edge based on keyword research, other SEO tools, cost, usability, and support, along with other important factors.

Keyword Research and Analysis

Given the role keyword research plays in the rest of your SEO strategy, this is perhaps the most important consideration. You need a tool you can rely on to deliver accurate data - but more importantly, actionable data.

KeySearch is built on advanced algorithms that uncover relevant, low-competition keywords based on real-time analysis. These “quick win” opportunities for your business will deliver a rapid ROI. After you put a word into the tool (a keyword, niche, product, etc.) you’re presented with information like search volume, trend analysis, authority, links, and other proprietary data that supports clear, calculated decision-making.

As we said earlier, though, what’s really unique about KeySearch’s keyword research functionality is that you can analyze opportunities on specific marketplaces ranging from eBay to Amazon, Etsy, Pinterest, and YouTube to make sure the data you’re working with is as accurate and reliable as possible.

If you don’t know where to start, just take the URL of one of your most successful competitors and plug it into the competitive analysis in KeySearch. You’ll be presented with an in-depth look at where they’re performing well so you can mirror that strategy and improve upon it, sweeping the rankings rug right out from under their feet.

On the other end of the spectrum, Semrush offers its own comprehensive approach to keyword research which is more suited for advanced users and larger enterprises that require a depth of data and a broad scope of analysis.

Its Keyword Overview tool delivers extensive details on a keyword’s performance, including trend data, search volume, competition, and variations of the keywords, enriched with insights into organic and paid search outcomes.

You can also leverage Keyword Gap analysis, which compares your own keyword profile against competitors to see where you’re leaving room for growth on the table. It gives you a look at your market position and sets you up to exploit weaknesses in competitors’ strategies.

Semrush has other keyword research capabilities as well, including a Keyword Cluster manager that saves you time and streamlines your strategy by grouping keywords together.

The key takeaway is that both KeySearch and Semrush do a great job of helping you find the best opportunities for your specific website. The only question is, which better aligns with your preferences? This is something you’ll have to answer yourself.

If you don’t mind digging through complex data, Semrush will be fine - but if you want simpler, more seamless SEO research, stick with KeySearch.

Other SEO Tools

Both KeySearch and Semrush do more than help you uncover winning opportunities. They help you capitalize on these opportunities and manage your strategy with a holistic suite of SEO tools.

For example, KeySearch has a unique SEO content editor that helps you create the best product descriptions, landing pages, or blog posts based on the specific keyword you’re targeting. You can also check your content for plagiarism and assess how unique it is to make sure you’re avoiding duplicate content.

Meanwhile, its backlink analysis tool helps you explore and evaluate the link-building strategies of competitors, offering insights that can guide your own link acquisition efforts. You can also keep track of keyword rankings over time to see how your strategy is performing and make adjustments as needed.

Other unique features within the KeySearch suite of offerings include a niche ideas generator, robots.txt generator, top keywords list, site audits, SERP simulators, and much, much more.

On the other hand, Semrush is backed by a much broader toolkit. It does many of the same things KeySearch does, like auditing your site. You can uncover issues that could impact SEO performance, from technical SEO to on-page optimizations.

The software also offers advanced backlink analysis tools that not only track the quantity and quality of backlinks but also provide an in-depth look at the types of links and the authority of linking domains. Semrush even has its own Content Analyzer that assesses the performance of content across the web, providing actionable insights on engagement metrics and social shares.

But begin a more general, all-purpose digital marketing platform, Semrush also offers features like social media management, content distribution, market analysis, paid advertising, PPC research, website monetization, and competitor PR monitoring.

That’s all great...but make no mistake, you’re going to pay for these extra features! So be realistic with yourself about what you really need in your keyword research tool.

If you don’t envision yourself actually leveraging these features, they may not be worth paying for - and you may realize that the KeySearch lineup is more than enough at a fraction of the price. Speaking of price...

Cost Considerations

You know what they say - you get what you pay for. On paper, you would think that Semrush is the better service at a whopping $130/month for their lowest tier. Meanwhile, KeySearch’s highest plan starts at only $34/month.

That being said, you actually may find that KeySearch offers better value for the money. The Pro plan includes 500 daily searches and analyses, 200 rank tracker keywords, and up to 5,000 monthly site audits, along with 15,000 AI credits monthly for content assistance.

For small to medium-sized businesses or individual marketers, this is plenty of functionality to conduct detailed keyword research, competitive analysis, and continuous site monitoring.

In contrast, Semrush's Pro Plan allows up to 5 projects, 500 keywords to track, and 10,000 results per report, along with SEO, PPC, and content marketing tools such as site audits, competitor analysis, and social media tracking.

While Semrush provides a broader range of features and supports larger-scale operations, the cost may be prohibitive for smaller businesses or individuals just starting with SEO. As we said earlier, consider what exactly you need in your keyword research tool and determine if you can justify spending 4x the price for the same performance.

Usability and Support

You can reasonably expect a learning curve no matter which software you choose between KeySearch vs Semrush. That being said, which can you master quicker?

There is a clear advantage to KeySearch here. Its interface is far more straightforward and intuitive. The dashboard and toolset are designed for ease of use, with clear navigation and instructions that allow you to hit the ground running fast.

This simplicity is particularly appealing to smaller businesses or individual bloggers who need to manage their SEO directly without the need for extensive training.

Given the broader set of features you’ll have at your disposal with Semrush, its interface is much more complex. It’ll take some time for you to get used to where all the key functionalities live and how to best use them as part of your SEO workflow.

However, once you get the hang of things, you’ll find that either Semrush or KeySearch can be a seamless tool that empowers you to dominate the SERPs. Both solutions are backed by extensive databases with support resources and tutorials.

Further to that point, you can rest assured you’ll have access to world-class customer service whether you go with Semrush or KeySearch. That being said, KeySearch has an obvious edge here given its constantly available live chat and email support.

Semrush falls short here in requiring you to schedule a meeting with a support agent, leaving customers feeling as if they have to jump through hoops to get help.

Final Thoughts on KeySearch vs Semrush

As we draw our comparison of KeySearch vs Semrush to a close we hope you have a solid grasp of the differences between these solutions and a strong understanding of which better aligns with your needs. Make no mistake, Semrush is a powerful solution that grants you access to an extensive array of tools and data. It’s great for SEO professionals and large agencies that need comprehensive analytics and a multifunctional platform.

However, the complexities and costs associated with Semrush can be hard to justify for smaller businesses or individual marketers - especially when considering that KeySearch offers an all-in-one solution for less!

Our solution gives you everything you need to plan and execute a calculated SEO strategy based on the most accurate data available. With its user-friendly interface, responsive customer support, and a strong focus on cost-effectiveness, KeySearch not only meets the fundamental needs of most SEO practitioners but does so in a way that is accessible and budget-friendly.

It’s trusted by 10,000 bloggers, agencies, and individuals around the world, including the likes of Shopify, Ezoic, Mediavine, Raptive, Search Engine Journal, and more. With a 30-day free trial just a few clicks away, why not experience the difference firsthand? Get started today.