Fe/male Switch: Your Startup Facilitator & Incubator for Women

Free Semrush Alternatives: 10 Open Source and Free SEO Tools (2027)

Is There an Open Source Semrush Alternative?

Free Semrush alternatives work best as a small stack, one free tool for each Semrush job: Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools for your own clicks, rankings and indexing, Google Keyword Planner for keyword ideas, SerpBear for open-source rank tracking, Screaming Frog SEO Spider for site audits (free up to 500 URLs per crawl, according to its website) and Matomo or Umami for analytics. Below are 10 picks, 6 of them open source, with what each one does and what it costs.
Semrush itself is not open source. It does have a free plan: 1 demo project and 10 reports per day, with no credit card needed. Paid plans start at €134 a month on monthly billing (as listed in euros in October 2026). No single open-source tool replaces the whole Semrush suite, so most people combine two or three of the tools below.
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Open Source SEO Tools

1. Google Lighthouse

  • Performance: Measures metrics like page load speed and time to interactive.
  • Accessibility: Checks for issues that might hinder users with disabilities.
  • SEO: Analyzes for SEO best practices, such as meta descriptions and mobile friendliness.
  • Best Practices: Checks if the website follows industry best practices, like HTTPS usage.
  • Actionable Insights: Provides specific recommendations for improvements.
  • Learn more about Google Lighthouse

2. SerpBear

  • Unlimited Keywords: Allows tracking of unlimited keywords across unlimited domains.
  • Email Notifications: Sends alerts for changes in keyword positions.
  • SERP API: Offers an API for integration with other marketing tools and reporting.
  • Google Search Console Integration: Pulls visit counts and impressions for tracked keywords.
  • Mobile App: Provides a PWA (Progressive Web App) for better mobile accessibility.
  • Explore SerpBear
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3. Matomo (formerly Piwik)

  • Detailed Visitor Reports: Tracks search engines, keywords, and languages used by visitors.
  • Popular Pages: Identifies high-performing pages on your site.
  • 100% Data Ownership: Ensures full control over your analytics data.
  • Real-time Analytics: Provides up-to-date information.
  • Customizable Dashboards: Allows for personalized data viewing.
  • Learn more about Matomo

4. Umami

  • Custom Event Tracking: Monitors specific user actions.
  • Trend Analysis: Identifies patterns in website traffic and user behavior.
  • Privacy-Focused: Does not use cookies for tracking.
  • Real-time Insights: Provides up-to-date information.
  • Free Usage (Limited): Free up to a certain number of events per month.
  • Explore Umami
  • Find it on GitHub

5. Open Web Analytics (OWA)

  • Self-Hosted: Offers full control over data.
  • Customizable: Highly adaptable and flexible.
  • Real-time Data: Provides up-to-date stats on visitors.
  • Privacy Compliant: Keeps user data secure and private.
  • Downloadable: Free to download and use.
  • Discover Open Web Analytics
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  • Unlock High-Potential Keywords: Receive a curated list of top-performing keywords directly from Google Search Console data.

  • Estimate Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC): Gain financial foresight with an estimated CAC based on real keyword performance data.

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6. Lighthouse Chrome Extension

  • Performance Audit: Checks for page load speeds.
  • Accessibility Audit: Tests for usability for disabled users.
  • SEO Audit: Checks for SEO best practices.
  • PageSpeed Insights Report: Provides specific suggestions for improvements.
  • In-Browser Tool: Run directly from the browser.
  • Learn more about Lighthouse Chrome Extension

Free Semrush Alternatives

The next four tools are not open source, but each gives you some SEO data without a Semrush subscription. If you have a budget and want one paid suite instead, see our comparison of paid Semrush competitors.

7. Bing Webmaster Tools

  • Cost: Free with a Microsoft account.
  • Search Performance: Clicks, impressions and average positions on Bing.
  • Keyword Research: Keyword ideas with Bing search volume data.
  • Site Scan: Crawls your site and lists technical SEO issues.
  • Backlinks: Shows which sites link to yours.
  • URL Submission and IndexNow: Ask Bing to crawl new pages quickly.
  • Website: bing.com/webmasters

8. Screaming Frog SEO Spider

  • Broken Link Detection: Identifies broken links on the website.
  • Redirect Analysis: Checks for faulty redirects.
  • Duplicate Content Check: Detects duplicate content issues.
  • Page Title and Meta Data Audit: Verifies correct usage of metadata.
  • Free for Small Sites: Free for sites with fewer than 500 pages.
  • Discover Screaming Frog

9. Google Search Console

  • Performance Monitoring: Tracks search traffic and rankings.
  • URL Inspection: Checks how Google crawls and indexes your pages.
  • Coverage Report: Identifies crawl errors and indexing issues.
  • Sitemap Submission: Allows you to submit sitemaps to Google.
  • Mobile Usability: Checks mobile friendliness of your site.
  • Learn more about Google Search Console

10. Google Keyword Planner

  • Keyword Discovery: Provides a list of related keywords to your seed keyword.
  • Search Volume Analysis: Shows the average monthly searches for keywords.
  • Competition Level: Displays competition levels for each keyword.
  • Keyword Ideas Based on Website URL: Analyzes competitors' keywords.
  • Bid Ranges: Provides potential bid ranges for PPC campaigns.
  • Explore Google Keyword Planner
Important Considerations:
  • Self-Hosting: Some of these open-source tools require you to host them on your own server, which may require technical expertise and costs.
  • Third-Party Services: Some tools rely on third-party APIs for data, which may have costs.
  • Feature Gaps: While these are excellent alternatives, they might not provide the same breadth of functionality as SEMrush. You may need to use a combination of tools to achieve similar results.
  • Data Accuracy: The data provided by free tools may not be as accurate as paid services.

More Free Semrush Alternatives

  • Ahrefs Webmaster Tools: replaces Site Audit and Backlink Analytics for sites you verify, with 5,000 crawl credits per project a month and 1,000 backlinks and keywords visible, per Ahrefs’ Webmaster Tools page.
  • Ubersuggest: replaces keyword research and rank tracking. A free account gets 3 searches a day, 25 tracked keywords and a 150-page weekly audit, per Ubersuggest’s help center.
  • SEOquake: Semrush’s own free Chrome extension audits any open page with 28 checks, plus keyword density and links, per Semrush’s SEOquake relaunch post.
  • Moz Keyword Explorer: replaces the Keyword Magic Tool, with limited queries on a free Moz Community account, per Moz’s pricing page.
  • AnswerThePublic: replaces Topic Research with the questions people search. A free sign-up gives 3 searches a day, per Neil Patel’s blog (he owns the tool).
  • HubSpot Website Grader: a free stand-in for a site health score, grading performance, SEO and mobile in under 60 seconds, per HubSpot’s free tools page.

Semrush Alternatives: Comparison Table

ToolWhat it doesOpen source?Cost
Google LighthousePage audits: performance, accessibility, SEO, best practicesYes (Apache 2.0)Free
SerpBearKeyword rank trackingYes (MIT)Free software; you host it
MatomoWeb analyticsYes (GPL v3)Free to self-host
UmamiPrivacy-focused web analyticsYes (MIT)Free to self-host
Open Web AnalyticsWeb analyticsYes (GPL v2 or later)Free to self-host
Lighthouse Chrome ExtensionLighthouse audits in the browserYes (part of Lighthouse)Free
Bing Webmaster ToolsBing search data, keyword research, site audits, backlinksNoFree
Screaming Frog SEO SpiderSite crawler for technical SEONoFree for up to 500 URLs; paid licence for more
Google Search ConsoleYour site's Google search performance and indexingNoFree
Google Keyword PlannerKeyword ideas and search volumesNoNeeds a Google Ads account with billing details set up
Semrush (for comparison)All-in-one SEO suiteNoFree plan: 1 demo project, 10 reports/day; paid plans from €134/month
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FAQ

1. What is Google Lighthouse used for?
Google Lighthouse is an open-source, automated tool for improving the quality of web pages, focusing on performance, accessibility, SEO, and best practices. Learn more about Google Lighthouse
2. How can SerpBear help with keyword tracking?
SerpBear is an open-source search engine position tracker designed for monitoring keyword rankings in Google, offering features like unlimited keyword tracking, email notifications, and API integration. Learn more about SerpBear
3. What makes Matomo different from other analytics tools?
Matomo is an open-source web analytics platform providing detailed reports on website visitors while ensuring 100% data ownership and real-time analytics, making it a privacy-focused alternative. Discover Matomo
4. What is the advantage of using Umami for web analytics?
Umami is a simple, privacy-focused, open-source analytics tool for websites, offering features like custom event tracking and trend analysis without using cookies. Explore Umami | Learn more about Umami on GitHub
5. How does Open Web Analytics (OWA) ensure data privacy?
OWA is a self-hosted web analytics framework, providing real-time data and customizable options while keeping user data secure and private. Learn more about OWA
6. What SEO features does Bing Webmaster Tools offer for free?
Bing Webmaster Tools gives you search performance data for Bing, keyword research, a Site Scan audit for technical SEO issues and a backlink report, all free with a Microsoft account.
7. What SEO issues can Screaming Frog SEO Spider detect?
Screaming Frog SEO Spider is a website crawler that identifies broken links, duplicate content, and faulty redirects and verifications for correct metadata usage. Learn more about Screaming Frog SEO Spider
8. How does Google Search Console assist website owners?
Google Search Console is a free tool that monitors and maintains a website's presence in Google Search results, offering features like performance monitoring and URL inspection. Explore Google Search Console
9. What data does Google Keyword Planner provide?
Google Keyword Planner offers keyword discovery, search volume analysis, competition levels, and bid ranges for PPC campaigns, making it a useful tool for keyword research. Learn more about Google Keyword Planner
10. What makes the Lighthouse Chrome Extension useful?
The Lighthouse Chrome Extension is a free, open-source tool that provides quick PageSpeed Insights reports directly from the browser, helping with performance, accessibility, and SEO audits. Explore the Lighthouse Chrome Extension

References

About the Author

Violetta Bonenkamp, also known as MeanCEO, is an experienced startup founder with an impressive educational background including an MBA and four other higher education degrees. She has over 20 years of work experience across multiple countries, including 5 years as a solopreneur and serial entrepreneur. She’s been living, studying and working in many countries around the globe and her extensive multicultural experience has influenced her immensely.
Violetta is a true multiple specialist who has built expertise in Linguistics, Education, Business Management, Blockchain, Entrepreneurship, Intellectual Property, Game Design, AI, SEO, Digital Marketing, cyber security and zero code automations. Her extensive educational journey includes a Master of Arts in Linguistics and Education, an Advanced Master in Linguistics from Belgium (2006-2007), an MBA from Blekinge Institute of Technology in Sweden (2006-2008), and an Erasmus Mundus joint program European Master of Higher Education from universities in Norway, Finland, and Portugal (2009).
She is the founder of Fe/male Switch, a startup game that encourages women to enter STEM fields, and also leads CADChain, and multiple other projects like the Directory of 1,000 Startup Cities with a proprietary MeanCEO Index that ranks cities for female entrepreneurs. Violetta created the "gamepreneurship" methodology, which forms the scientific basis of her startup game. She also builds a lot of SEO tools for startups. Her achievements include being named one of the top 100 women in Europe by EU Startups in 2022 and being nominated for Impact Person of the year at the Dutch Blockchain Week. She is an author with Sifted and a speaker at different Universities. Recently she published a book on Startup Idea Validation the right way: from zero to first customers and beyond and launched a Directory of 1,500+ websites for startups to list themselves in order to gain traction and build backlinks.
For the past several years Violetta has been living between the Netherlands and Malta, while also regularly traveling to different destinations around the globe, usually due to her entrepreneurial activities. This has led her to start writing about different locations and amenities from the POV of an entrepreneur. Here’s her recent article about the best hotels in Italy to work from.

About the Publication

Fe/male Switch is an innovative startup platform designed to empower women entrepreneurs through an immersive, game-like experience. Founded in 2020 during the pandemic "without any funding and without any code," this non-profit initiative has evolved into a comprehensive educational tool for aspiring female entrepreneurs.The platform was co-founded by Violetta Shishkina-Bonenkamp, who serves as CEO and one of the lead authors of the Startup News branch.

Mission and Purpose

Fe/male Switch Foundation was created to address the gender gap in the tech and entrepreneurship space. The platform aims to skill-up future female tech leaders and empower them to create resilient and innovative tech startups through what they call "gamepreneurship". By putting players in a virtual startup village where they must survive and thrive, the startup game allows women to test their entrepreneurial abilities without financial risk.

Key Features

The platform offers a unique blend of news, resources,learning, networking, and practical application within a supportive, female-focused environment:
  • Skill Lab: Micro-modules covering essential startup skills
  • Virtual Startup Building: Create or join startups and tackle real-world challenges
  • AI Co-founder (PlayPal): Guides users through the startup process
  • SANDBOX: A testing environment for idea validation before launch
  • Wellness Integration: Virtual activities to balance work and self-care
  • Marketplace: Buy or sell expert sessions and tutorials

Impact and Growth

Since its inception, Fe/male Switch has shown impressive growth:
  • 3,000+ female entrepreneurs in the community
  • 100+ startup tools built
  • 5,000+ pieces of articles and news written

Partnerships

Fe/male Switch has formed strategic partnerships to enhance its offerings. In January 2022, it teamed up with global website builder Tilda to provide free access to website building tools and mentorship services for Fe/male Switch participants.

Recognition

Fe/male Switch has received media attention for its innovative approach to closing the gender gap in tech entrepreneurship. The platform has been featured in various publications highlighting its unique "play to learn and earn" model.
2025-08-20 08:42 Top Alternatives