SearchScore vs Semrush

SearchScore vs Semrush

Semrush vs SearchScore: The AI-first alternative

Semrush is a mature, Google-first SEO suite that now tracks AI search through a paid add-on. SearchScore is AI-first: it scores how six AI engines see you, checks your SEO and conversion in the same audit, and starts free with no email.

RH Reviewed by Ronnie Huss, founder of SearchScore  ·  Updated 25 July 2026  ·  Pricing verified June 2026
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In one line: choose Semrush if you're a full-time SEO who lives in keyword and backlink data. Choose SearchScore if you want to know whether AI engines recommend your business, fix what's holding you back, and convert more of the visitors you get, for a fraction of the price.

Semrush is a powerful, Google-first SEO platform that now tracks AI search through a paid add-on (Semrush One, from around $199 per month). SearchScore is AI-first: it scores how six AI engines, including ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, Perplexity, Grok and DeepSeek, see your brand, checks your SEO and conversion in the same report, and starts free with no email. For founders and small businesses who want to be found in AI search without an enterprise budget, SearchScore is the more direct and more affordable choice.

Side by side

SearchScore vs Semrush, feature by feature.

Two different philosophies. Semrush is a Google-first SEO suite with AI bolted on. SearchScore scores three disciplines, AI first, and fixes what is broken.

What you getSearchScoreSemrush
AI citation trackingYes, core to every auditYes, via AI Visibility Toolkit (paid add-on or Semrush One bundle)
AI engines tracked6 (adds Grok and DeepSeek)~5 (ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Claude, Google AI)
Citation tracking over timeWeekly, with full historyYes, updated continually
Sentiment analysisEvery citation scored positive, mixed or negativeYes, sentiment and Narrative Drivers
Competitor / category shareCitation rate vs named competitors in your categoryYes, "Share of Model"
GEO / AI search scoringGEO Score in every auditYes, "Share of Model" (add-on)
SEO scoringSEO Score across 8 categoriesYes, deep and mature
CRO / conversion scoringCRO Score across 38 signalsNo dedicated conversion score
Free accessFull GEO, SEO and CRO audit, no email or cardLimited free plan and 7-day trial; AI features paywalled
Prioritised fix listRanked across all three disciplines, plain English, score-lift projectionsRaw issue lists and dashboards
Published measurement gradeYes, per tier, against the IAB criteria see the gradingNot published
AI prompt tracking depthUp to 100 prompts, each asked up to 3 times, all 6 engines, weeklyAI Toolkit ~25 custom prompts; Semrush One Starter ~50 daily
Entry price for AI visibilityFree, then from $25/mo~$199/mo (Semrush One) or Pro $139.95 + $99 add-on
Keyword and backlink databaseNot the focusIndustry-leading depth
Built forAI search from day oneGoogle-first SEO suite, AI added on
Output stylePlain-English scores and a prioritised fix listDashboards for SEO specialists
Done-for-you fixesManaged AI Visibility Programme, score-improvement guaranteeSeparate managed service
Best suited toFounders and owners who want to be found and convertAgencies and full-time SEO professionals

Pricing and features reflect each company's publicly available information as of July 2026. Semrush figures are based on published plans. We keep this current.

Where each tool leads

Two different answers to the same question.

Semrush answers "how do I rank on Google?" SearchScore answers "do AI engines recommend me, and does my site convert?" Learn the difference between GEO and SEO →

GEO Score · AI search SEO Score · rankings CRO Score · conversion
SearchScore

AI-first, free to start

  • Full AI search, SEO and conversion audit, no email
  • Six AI engines including Grok and DeepSeek
  • CRO Score with 38 conversion signals
  • Prioritised fix list ranked by impact, with score-lift projections
  • Managed AI Visibility Programme with a score-improvement guarantee
Semrush

Deep, Google-first

  • One of the largest keyword and backlink datasets anywhere
  • Mature rank tracking across large keyword sets
  • AI Visibility Toolkit is a genuine, capable product
  • White-label reporting for agencies
  • No conversion scoring; AI features are a paid add-on

Where Semrush wins

Honest about where they lead.

Semrush is the deeper tool for traditional SEO, and it's worth saying so plainly. It runs on one of the largest SEO datasets anywhere, built since 2008, with tens of trillions of backlinks and billions of keywords. For keyword research, competitor backlink analysis, rank tracking across large keyword sets, historical data and white-label client reporting, it is hard to beat. Its AI Visibility Toolkit is a genuine, capable product, and its prompt database gives it scale on AI search volume that smaller tools cannot match. If your job is full-time SEO, or you run an agency managing many client domains, Semrush earns its price.

Choose Semrush if you need…

  • Built-in AI content generation for your team to publish directly.
  • Deep Google rank tracking across thousands of keywords.
  • Historical data and white-label reports for agency clients.
  • An enterprise budget already allocated to an SEO suite.

Where SearchScore wins

AI-first, conversion included.

SearchScore was built for the question Semrush answers as an add-on: are AI engines recommending you, and if not, what do you fix first? That focus shows up in five ways.

It starts free, with no friction

A full audit across AI search (GEO Score), Google (SEO Score) and conversion (CRO Score) runs without an email or a card. Semrush's AI features sit behind a trial, then a paywall.

It covers more AI engines

SearchScore tracks six: ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, Perplexity, Grok and DeepSeek. The last two are where a lot of newer AI search behaviour is heading, and most tools, Semrush included, don't yet cover them.

It scores conversion, not just visibility

Being found is wasted if visitors don't act. SearchScore's CRO Score checks 38 conversion signals, from trust and your above-the-fold area to your forms and calls to action. Semrush has no equivalent conversion score.

It tells you what to do first

Beyond the scores, SearchScore produces a prioritised fix list across all three disciplines: each fix ranked by impact, written in plain English, with a projected score lift and a time estimate. Semrush surfaces issues and data and leaves the "so what do I do first" to you. For a non-technical owner, that ranked list is the difference between knowing something is wrong and knowing where to start.

It tracks deeper on AI search, and it can fix it for you

On the Pro tier, SearchScore's Tracker tracks 50 prompts, asks every one twice across all six engines, weekly, and benchmarks your citation rate against your competitors. And where Semrush hands you data, SearchScore offers a Managed AI Visibility Programme that does the work, with a score-improvement guarantee, for owners who would rather buy the outcome than learn the tool.

New in the Tracker

Numbers you can defend in a review.

Semrush gives you a deep, mature reporting stack. What no SEO suite can hand you is a second opinion on an AI engine's answer, because there is no ranking table to check it against. An engine can name you for a reason that does not survive contact with a sales meeting. Two changes shipped in July 2026 are built for the moment you have to justify the number to someone who is paying for it.

  • The brand-defence question is excluded from your headline rate. Ask any engine a question containing your own brand name and it will usually say your name back. Counting that would inflate the score, so we leave it out of the headline citation rate and the competitor table. The report now prints that note inline rather than hiding it in a dashboard tooltip, so the figure survives a PDF export and a sceptical reader.
  • Corrections are logged, listed and reversible. Mark a heatmap cell as not really cited, a hallucination, or wrong sentiment, and your scores move to match your judgement. Every active mark is listed under the heatmap with the engine, the question and your note, each with a one-click undo, so an adjusted number is always auditable rather than quietly overwritten.

Tracked questions run 5 on Founders, 25 on Starter and 100 on Pro, asked of all six engines every week.

The real cost

What you pay over a year.

SearchScore Free audit, then from $25/mo
vs
Semrush (AI features) From $199/mo ≈ $2,400/yr

Semrush's AI visibility features start at around $199 a month on the Semrush One bundle, or Pro at $139.95 plus the $99 AI add-on. Either way, that's roughly $2,400 a year before you've changed a single thing on your site. SearchScore shows you your three scores and your biggest problems for free, and paid tracking starts at $25 a month. For a small business, that gap is the difference between a tool you trial this afternoon and a tool you take to a budget meeting.

What SearchScore isn't

Clear about the line.

SearchScore is not trying to replace Semrush's keyword and backlink research. Semrush has spent over fifteen years building one of the deepest SEO datasets anywhere, and nothing here matches that. SearchScore does two things Semrush doesn't do as well: it treats AI search visibility as a first-class score across six engines, and it scores conversion. If you need deep Google keyword data, use Semrush. If you need to be found in AI search and turn visitors into customers, that's what SearchScore is for. Compare SearchScore with Profound →

30-day score guarantee

We guarantee your GEO, SEO and CRO scores all improve within 30 days, or we work for free until they do.

Common questions

SearchScore vs Semrush, answered.

Is SearchScore a Semrush alternative?

For AI search visibility, conversion scoring and a fast, free audit, yes. SearchScore is the AI-first alternative to Semrush, built specifically to measure and improve how AI engines see you, and priced for founders and small businesses rather than agencies. It is not a replacement for Semrush's deep keyword and backlink research, which remains Semrush's strength. Many people use both.

Does Semrush track AI search visibility?

Yes. Semrush's AI Visibility Toolkit tracks how AI platforms including ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Claude and Google AI mention and cite your brand. It is a capable product. The main differences from SearchScore are that it is a paid add-on or part of the higher-priced Semrush One bundle, it sits on top of a Google-first suite, and it does not include conversion scoring.

How much does Semrush cost compared to SearchScore?

Semrush's core Pro plan is $139.95 a month. To get its AI visibility features you need either Semrush One, from around $199 a month, or Pro plus the AI Visibility add-on at $99 a month, roughly $2,400 a year either way. SearchScore's full audit is free, and paid tracking starts from $25 a month.

Which is better for getting cited by ChatGPT and other AI engines?

Both track AI citations. SearchScore is built specifically for it: it covers six engines including Grok and DeepSeek, gives you a GEO Score and a prioritised fix list for free, and can carry out the fixes for you through its Managed Programme. Semrush gives you strong measurement data, especially on AI search volume, but functions more as a way to observe the problem than to fix it.

Does SearchScore have a free version?

Yes. SearchScore runs a complete audit across AI search (GEO), Google (SEO) and conversion (CRO) with no email and no card. The full prioritised fix list unlocks with an email. Semrush offers a limited free plan and a 7-day trial, but its AI visibility features require a paid plan.

Can I track my AI visibility over time and against competitors?

Yes. SearchScore tracks your citation rate across all six engines on a weekly schedule, on every paid tier, and keeps the history so you can see it change. It scores the sentiment of each citation as positive, mixed or negative, and benchmarks your rate against the competitors you name, so you can see who AI recommends in your category. Semrush's AI Visibility Toolkit offers comparable tracking; the main differences are engine coverage, cadence and price.

Our full price ladder

The ladder does not stop at Pro.

Comparison pages tend to quote our entry price and leave it there. The Tracker runs from £20 a month on Starter up to £499 a month on Enterprise, so you can weigh SearchScore against Semrush at the tier you would actually buy.

Starter
£20/mo
about $25 a month

25 questions, 6 AI engines, weekly scans, up to 5 competitors.

Pro
£79/mo
about $99 a month

50 questions, each asked twice. Up to 10 competitors.

Scale
£199/mo
about $249 a month

100 questions, each asked twice. Up to 15 competitors, Search Console seeding, rescan on demand every hour.

Enterprise
£499/mo
about $625 a month

100 questions, each asked three times. Up to 20 competitors, Watchlist and Rival Intelligence included, named point of contact.

Billed in GBP. USD figures are display conversions. Every tier scans weekly across all six engines. Full plan detail and the currency toggle are on the pricing page.

See how six AI engines see you. Free, 60 seconds.

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