SE Ranking used to be the budget pick. Not anymore. Its cheapest plan, Core, now costs $129 a month.
That's the same price as Ahrefs Lite. Yet one page that ranks for this search still says SE Ranking starts around $39 to $59.
On 26 October 2026 we checked the pricing page of every tool in this guide. We also ran this exact search through our own free tools.
Here's what each alternative really costs, which job it fits, and when SE Ranking is still the right choice.
For audits, keywords, backlinks and rank tracking in one account on a small budget, start with seotools.pro. Pro is $49 a month and includes the Rank Tracker and Backlink Analyzer.
Pick Semrush for the biggest marketing suite, Ahrefs for backlinks, Serpstat for a small team, Mangools for simple research and Ubersuggest for the tightest budget.
Stay with SE Ranking if you track thousands of keywords every day. For that job, it's still hard to beat.
- SE Ranking Core is $129 a month, or $103.20 a month billed yearly. It includes 1 manager seat and 2,000 keywords tracked daily.
- The next plan, Growth, is $279 a month with 3 seats. Extra seats start at $16 a month.
- For 1 user on monthly billing, a year of the plans in this guide ranges from $348 (Ubersuggest) to $1,668 (Semrush). SE Ranking Core is $1,548. seotools.pro Pro is $588.
- In our keyword data, "se ranking pricing" gets about 590 US searches a month. "se ranking alternatives" gets about 70.
- 8 of the top 10 Google results for "se ranking alternatives" were written by companies selling SEO or marketing software, SE Ranking included. We sell SEO tools too, so we show our sources.
SE Ranking alternatives at a glance
| Tool | Plan in this guide (monthly) | Rank tracking on that plan | Extra users | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| seotools.pro | $49 (Pro) | Rank Tracker included | Not listed on the pricing page | Small businesses that want audits, keywords, links and rankings in one account |
| Semrush | $139 (SEO) | 500 keywords, daily | From $45 a month | A full marketing suite |
| Ahrefs | $129 (Lite) | 750 keywords, weekly | $40 a month (up to 2 more) | Deep backlink research |
| Moz Pro | $99 (Standard) | 300 keywords | $49 a month per seat | Teams that report on Domain Authority |
| Serpstat | $69 (Individual) | Rank Tracker included | Team plan: $129 for 3 users | Small teams on a budget |
| Mangools | $49 (Basic) | 200 keywords, weekly | Premium ($69) has 3 seats | Beginners and simple research |
| SpyFu | $39 (Basic) | 5,000 keywords, weekly | $15 a month each | Competitor keyword and ad history |
| Ubersuggest | $29 (Individual) | 125 keywords, weekly (1 project) | $5 a month each | Solo site owners on the smallest budget |
| SE Ranking (for reference) | $129 (Core) | 2,000 keywords, daily | From $16 a month | Daily tracking at volume, agencies |
Why People Look for an SE Ranking Alternative
SE Ranking is a good tool. Its Trustpilot score was 4.2 out of 5 from 714 reviews when we checked. People leave for practical reasons.
1. It isn't the cheap option anymore
Today the pricing page lists Core at $129, Growth at $279 and a custom Enterprise plan. There's no lower plan.
A reviewer in Spain, who gave 4 stars in December 2025, put it simply:
"Over time, prices have increased quite a lot."
— Albert S., Trustpilot review, December 20252. Plan migrations
Some older customers say they were moved from legacy plans to new, pricier ones. One wrote in January 2026:
"But then they decided to MOVE people from Legacy accounts to a new one."
— Simon L, Trustpilot review, January 2026Another, in June 2026, said they were "Migrated—without my consent—to a significantly more expensive plan."
These are individual reviews, not a full picture. But they explain why people search for options.
3. Seats and add-ons
Core includes 1 manager seat. SE Ranking's FAQ says only one session can be active at a time, so a shared login won't work well.
Extra seats start at $16 a month. Some features are paid add-ons:
- Agency Pack (white-label reports): +$69 a month, annual billing only.
- AI Search (tracking in AI Overviews, AI Mode and ChatGPT): +$89 a month, or $71.20 billed yearly.
- API add-on: +$45 a month, annual billing only.
A reviewer in the Philippines summed up the complaint in February 2026: "they ask for added charges as add-ons and not included in the package."
4. Refunds
The FAQ is clear: "Payments are non-refundable, except in cases where the service wasn't delivered as promised." Use the 14-day free trial before you pay.
What People Actually Search For
We ran these terms through our free Keyword Research tool on 26 October 2026 (United States):
- "se ranking": about 6,600 searches a month.
- "se ranking pricing": about 590 searches a month, difficulty 22.
- "se ranking alternatives": about 70 searches a month, difficulty 16, about $8.93 a click.
So in this data, about 8 times more people check SE Ranking's price than search for alternatives. Price is the main question. That's why every tool below comes with today's price.
Who Writes the Top Results
We checked the live Google top 10 for "se ranking alternatives" with our free Rank Tracker (US, desktop, 26 October 2026).
- 8 of 10 results were pages by companies selling SEO or marketing software. Most pitch their own product first.
- SE Ranking itself ranked 4th, with a page about being a Semrush alternative.
- Only 2 came from elsewhere: a Reddit r/bigseo thread and a LinkedIn article.
One vendor page in that top 10 says SE Ranking "starts around $39–59/month". SE Ranking's own pricing page starts at $129.
We're a vendor too, and we list seotools.pro first. So check our numbers against the sources at the end.
How We Compared the Tools
- Prices: taken from each vendor's own pricing page on 26 October 2026, in USD, before tax.
- Plan: the plan most people would compare with SE Ranking Core, for 1 user.
- Jobs: rank tracking, keyword research, backlinks, audits and team use.
- Not tested: we didn't run paid trials of every tool. Limits are as the vendors list them.
The 8 Best SE Ranking Alternatives
1. seotools.pro: the all-in-one pick for small budgets
seotools.pro covers the main jobs people use SE Ranking for, in one account. Pro is $49 a month, or $41 a month billed yearly.
- Pro includes: 30 projects, 100,000 keywords, a full site audit, the Content Optimizer (50 docs a month), the Rank Tracker and the Backlink Analyzer.
- Business ($99 a month): 100 projects, Rank Tracker + Local, Backlink Analyzer & Gap, and API access.
- Lite ($24 a month): 10 projects and a basic site audit. Rank tracking isn't listed on Lite.
- Trial: 7 days free on Lite, Pro and Business.
You can try the core tools free first. Run a free Website Audit on your homepage, or check 3 keywords at a time in the free Rank Tracker.
Limits to know: the pricing page doesn't state seats per plan. Our database is smaller than Semrush's or Ahrefs'. If you need white-label reports, that's on Enterprise.
2. Semrush: the biggest marketing suite
Semrush covers SEO, ads, content and AI search in one place. The SEO plan is $139 a month, or $117.33 billed yearly.
- 5 websites to monitor and 500 keywords tracked daily.
- Additional users start at $45 a month.
- A 7-day free trial, plus a free plan with 10 reports a day.
Watch out: 500 tracked keywords is a quarter of SE Ranking Core's 2,000. If tracking is your main job, compare carefully.
More options: Semrush alternatives for small teams.
3. Ahrefs: the backlink specialist
Ahrefs is the choice when links are your main job. Lite costs $129 a month, the same as SE Ranking Core.
- Lite includes 1,000 credits per user a month. Reports use these credits.
- 750 tracked keywords, updated weekly, not daily.
- No free trial. A Starter plan costs $29 a month, and Ahrefs Free covers site owners' own sites.
More options: Ahrefs alternatives for backlinks and content gaps.
4. Moz Pro: for Domain Authority reports
Domain Authority is Moz's own metric. If your clients report on it, Moz Pro is the source. Standard is $99 a month, or $79 a month billed yearly (first year).
- 1 user seat, 3 tracked sites and 300 keyword rankings.
- Extra seats are $49 a month each.
- An entry Starter plan costs $49 a month, for one website.
Watch out: 300 tracked keywords is low next to SE Ranking. Moz fits reporting more than heavy tracking.
5. Serpstat: for small teams
Serpstat is a budget all-in-one. Individual is $69 a month, or $50 billed yearly, with 5 projects.
- Core features include keyword research, rank tracker, site audit and backlink analysis.
- Team is $129 a month for 3 users. That's the same price as SE Ranking Core, which has 1 seat.
- 7-day free trial. Serpstat charges $1 to verify your card, then returns it.
6. Mangools: the simplest to learn
Mangools is a set of simple tools, including KWFinder and SERPWatcher. Basic is $49 a month, or $29.90 billed yearly.
- Basic tracks 200 keywords.
- Premium ($69 a month) tracks 700 and includes 3 seats.
- Its link data includes Majestic's index, according to Mangools.
Watch out: it's built for research, not big tracking projects or client reporting.
7. SpyFu: for competitor keyword and ad history
SpyFu shows what competitors ranked and bid on for years. Basic is $39 a month, or $33 billed yearly.
- 5,000 tracked keyword rankings, updated weekly.
- Extra seats are $15 a month each.
- A 30-day money-back guarantee.
Its pricing page also shows a "limited time offer" with lower prices. The terms weren't clear, so we used the regular prices.
8. Ubersuggest: the smallest budget
Ubersuggest, from Neil Patel, is the cheapest plan in our table. Individual is $29 a month, $192 a year, or $290 once for lifetime access.
- 1 project on Individual. Extra users cost $5 a month each.
- A one-time 7-day free trial on monthly plans.
- Lifetime purchases are final and non-refundable.
Watch out: it suits one site and simple checks. Its data is lighter than the bigger suites.
When SE Ranking Is Still the Right Choice
Don't switch just because a list told you to. SE Ranking still wins in some cases:
- You track a lot of keywords daily. Core tracks 2,000 a day. Semrush SEO tracks 500, Ahrefs Lite 750 weekly.
- You run an agency. Growth, the Agency Pack and guest links are built for client work.
- You want a long, card-free trial. The 14-day trial needs no credit card.
- You need local tracking. Core includes 3 locations and 1,500 local and map keywords.
Even unhappy users rated its value. A UK user wrote on Trustpilot in September 2026 that "it has always been the cost-effective solution to rank tracking". He cancelled after its tracking became unreliable that month.
Its own SEO is strong too. In our check, SE Ranking's backlink checker page ranked 4th in Google's US top 10 for "backlink checker".
How to Choose in 4 Questions
| Question | If yes |
|---|---|
| 1. Do you track over 1,000 keywords every day? | Stay with SE Ranking, or compare Semrush's bigger plans |
| 2. Are backlinks your main job? | Ahrefs, or seotools.pro Pro for a lighter budget |
| 3. Do 2 to 3 people need their own logins? | Serpstat Team, Mangools Premium, or SE Ranking Growth |
| 4. Do you want audits, keywords, links and rankings for $50 a month or less? | seotools.pro Pro, Serpstat Individual (yearly) or Ubersuggest Individual |
These are rules of thumb. Run a trial on your own site before you switch, and export your ranking history first.
Need Someone to Do the SEO Work?
A tool shows the problems. It doesn't fix them. If your team has no time, our SEO and GEO services do the work for you.
Each project covers research, pages and backlinks, with no long lock-in. Pricing depends on your site and goals.
Book a free consultation with Anatolii Ulitovskyi to see what your site needs.
See every position your site holds in Google's top 10 for 3 keywords, in seconds. No sign-up.
- Free rank check in 24 countries, desktop or mobile
- Free homepage audit with a fix list
- Pro: Rank Tracker and Backlink Analyzer for $49 a month
- 7-day free trial on Lite, Pro and Business
The Verdict
If you want one affordable account for audits, keywords, backlinks and rankings, start with seotools.pro Pro at $49 a month.
If you need the biggest suite, pick Semrush. For backlinks, pick Ahrefs. For a small team, Serpstat. For the lowest price, Ubersuggest.
And if you track thousands of keywords every day, SE Ranking may still be your best deal. Just check the add-ons before you renew.
FAQ
How much does SE Ranking cost in 2026?
On 26 October 2026, Core was $129 a month ($103.20 billed yearly) and Growth $279 a month ($223.20 yearly). Enterprise is custom.
What is the cheapest SE Ranking alternative?
Of the plans in our table, Ubersuggest Individual is cheapest at $29 a month. seotools.pro Pro ($49) includes a rank tracker, backlink analyzer and full site audit.
Is there a free SE Ranking alternative?
No free tool matches it fully. seotools.pro has free rank checks, keyword research and a homepage audit. Semrush has a free plan with 10 reports a day.
Does SE Ranking have a free trial?
Yes. 14 days, no credit card. It includes up to 10 projects and 750 tracked keywords a day.
Is SE Ranking better than Semrush?
For daily rank tracking, Core tracks 2,000 keywords against 500 on Semrush SEO. Semrush has more tools and data beyond SEO.
Sources
Pricing pages checked on 26 October 2026: SE Ranking, Semrush, Ahrefs, Moz Pro, Serpstat, Mangools, SpyFu, Ubersuggest and seotools.pro.
Reviews: SE Ranking on Trustpilot (pages 1 and 2, read 26 October 2026).
Search data: seotools.pro Keyword Research and Rank Tracker, United States, 26 October 2026. Prices change often, so check before you buy.