vioscaleAI
Comparison

Semrush vs Surfer SEO

No clear leader: Semrush (57.5) and Surfer SEO (55.4) are within the 5-point margin; treat as a tie. The attribute-by-attribute breakdown below, with a source and date on every value, is the honest way to compare them.

Semrush full profile →Surfer SEO full profile →
Machine formatsMarkdownJSONGraphQLMarkdown is open. JSON and GraphQL need a free key.
Semrush58
Surfer SEO55
Score
vioscaleAI score
Semrush58 / 100medium · 53%
Surfer SEO55 / 100medium · 57%
Pricing
Free tier
Semrush✗
Surfer SEO✓
Model
Semrushcommercial
Surfer SEOfreemium
Price level
Semrushhigh
Surfer SEOhigh
Starting price
Semrush$139.95
Surfer SEO$82
Transparent
Semrush✓
Surfer SEO✓
Integrations
Count
Semrush18
Surfer SEO3
Security
Gdpr
Semrush–
Surfer SEO✓
Iso27001
Semrush–
Surfer SEO✓
Market
Availability
Content
Faq
Semrush6 items
Surfer SEO7 items

Capabilities

Feature-by-feature on the axes that matter for seo tools. “-” means undocumented, not absent.

Pricing
Pricing transparency
SemrushContact-sales
Surfer SEOTransparent
Free tier / free tool
Semrush✓
Surfer SEO✓
Pricing model
SemrushFlat
Surfer SEOFlat
Data
Backlink index
Semrush✓
Surfer SEO✗
Keyword research database
Semrush✓
Surfer SEO✓
Capability
Rank tracking
Semrush✓
Surfer SEO✓
Technical site audit / crawler
Semrush✓
Surfer SEO✓
Content optimisation (SERP-driven)
Semrush✓
Surfer SEO✓
Competitor / SERP intelligence
Semrush✓
Surfer SEO✓
Coverage
Local / mobile SERP support
Semrush✓
Surfer SEO✓
Countries / locales covered
SemrushGlobal; Pro plan covers 30+ markets for advertising data; 142 regional keyword d
Surfer SEOGlobal
Integration
Public API
Semrush✓
Surfer SEO✓
Search Console / GA4 integration
Semrush✓
Surfer SEO✓
Deployment
Deployment
SemrushCloud
Surfer SEOCloud

What each one is

The product in its own terms, so the numbers below have context.

Semrush

Comprehensive SEO and visibility platform that helps businesses understand competitor strategies, track keyword performance, audit technical issues, and monitor how their brand appears in search results and AI-generated answers.

Independently observed

Surfer SEO

A platform for monitoring how AI models mention your brand, researching topics to establish authority, optimizing content for both traditional search and AI responses, and managing your visibility across ChatGPT, Gemini, and other AI systems.

Independently observed

Pricing

List pricing as published by each vendor, with the date we read it. Always verify at the source before you buy.

Semrush

from $139.95/moSubscription7-day trial

From $139.95/month. 7-day free trial.

  • SEO Toolkit Pro$139.95/mo
    • Keyword research
    • Competitor analysis
    • Rank tracking
    • Technical site audit
    • Backlink analysis
  • SEO Toolkit Guru$249.95/mo
    • Everything in Pro
    • SEO Writing Assistant
    • Topic Research
    • Historical Data
    • Multi-targeting in Position Tracking
    • +1 more
  • SEO Toolkit Business$499.95/mo
    • Everything in Guru
    • SEO Share of Voice tracking
    • API Access
as of verify ↗

Surfer SEO

from $82/moSubscriptionFree tier

From $82/month. Free tier. Annual commitment saves up to $720.

  • FreeFree
    • AI visibility tracking
    • Brand knowledge base
    • MCP
  • Track AI Visibility$82/month billed annually; saves $156/year
    • Monitor visibility across ChatGPT, Gemini, AI Overviews
    • Plan, write, and track AI visibility
    • Brand knowledge base
    • MCP
  • Standard$99/month billed annually; saves $240/year
    • 360 documents
    • Integrations
    • 1-click content optimization
    • Team collaboration
    • Plagiarism checker
    • +1 more
  • Pro$182/month billed annually; saves $444/year
    • Everything in Standard
    • 5 brand spaces
    • 1-click internal linking
    • Content ideas and coverage gaps
    • Templates and custom voices
  • EnterpriseContact sales
    • Unlimited optimization
    • API access
    • Dedicated success manager
    • Advanced SERP analysis
    • SSO and enterprise security
    • +1 more
as of verify ↗

Platform & deployment

Where each product runs and how it can be hosted. A dash means undocumented, not unsupported.

Platforms
Web
Semrush✓
Surfer SEO✓
Deployment
Cloud / SaaS
Semrush✓
Surfer SEO✓

Integrations

What each product connects to. Counts come from the vendor's own integration directory where one exists.

In common (2)
  • Google Ads
  • Looker Studio

Semrush

24 total - 22 not shared
  • Google Shopping
  • Meta Ads
  • Microsoft Ads
  • LinkedIn Ads
  • TikTok Ads
  • TikTok Organic
  • CallRail
  • HubSpot
  • Mailchimp
  • Matomo
  • ChatGPT
  • Google AI Overviews
  • Gemini
  • Perplexity
  • Facebook Ads
  • Google Analytics
  • Google Search Console
  • TikTok
  • LinkedIn
  • Lovable
  • Claude
  • Adobe
Independently observed

Surfer SEO

9 total - 7 not shared
  • WordPress
  • Google Docs
  • Contentful
  • Zapier
  • Google Sign-In
  • Jasper
  • Google Analytics 4
Independently observed
Still deciding?

Semrush or Surfer SEO: which one depends on you

A composite score cannot know your constraints. Describe them and both get re-weighted against what you actually need, with the evidence behind every position.

Free to run, no account needed to start. How the evaluation works

Comparison generated from independently-sourced facts. Every value links to its source and retrieval date. See the method.