Top 10 Free Alternatives to SEMrush in 2025

In 2025, several robust SEO tools offer considerable value without the high price tag of SEMrush. Here is an updated list of free alternatives in detail, each with a unique set of features and capabilities.

Boost Your SEO by Getting Featured in Our Blogs and get a backlink.

We publish content about startups, education, tech, funding, etc. that ranks well not only in Google but also in Perplexity, ChatGPT, Grok and other AI tools.

👉 Get featured now!

1. Google Search Console

Website: Google Search Console
Data Points:
Performance: Tracks website performance on Google Search, including clicks, impressions, CTR, and average position.
URL Inspection: Allows you to inspect specific URLs to see how Google sees and indexes them.
Sitemap Submission: Enables submission of XML sitemaps to Google for improved crawling.
Core Web Vitals: Monitors site performance metrics crucial for user experience, like loading speed and responsiveness.
Mobile Usability: Identifies mobile usability issues.
Free: Yes, completely free.
Details: Essential for any website owner, providing insights directly from Google. Helps in diagnosing technical SEO issues and understanding how Google perceives the site.

2. Google Keyword Planner

Website: Google Keyword Planner
Data Points:
Keyword Research: Discover new keywords related to your business or topic.
Search Volume: Provides average monthly search volumes for keywords.
Competition: Displays the competition level for keywords.
Keyword Ideas: Generates related keyword ideas.
Location Targeting: Target keywords based on specific locations.
Free: Yes, with a Google Ads account (no ad spend necessary to use the planner).
Details: Designed for advertisers but equally useful for SEO. Discover search terms, check volumes, and analyze competition. It is a very powerful free tool for keyword research.

Get your FREE Landing Page Analysis!

Insert your landing page link and get a super useful analysis and easy fixes to get more clicks!

👉 Get Your Analysis Here!

3. Ahrefs Webmaster Tools

Website: Ahrefs Webmaster Tools
Data Points:
Site Audit: Analyze your website for SEO health and find issues to fix.
Backlink Checker: See the top 100 backlinks to your site.
Keyword Explorer: Discover related keywords and questions (limited functionality).
Keyword Rank Checker: Check where your site ranks for a specific keyword.
Broken Link Checker: Find broken links on your site.
Free: Yes, with limited functionality compared to paid plans.
Details: Ahrefs is known for its robust features, especially backlink analysis. While the free tools are limited, they provide valuable insights, offering a glimpse into the full power of their paid services.

4. Ubersuggest

Website: Ubersuggest
Data Points:
Keyword Research: Discover keyword ideas with search volume.
Site Audit: Identify SEO issues on your website.
Competitor Analysis: Analyze competitor's websites and strategies.
Content Ideas: Get ideas for content creation.
Backlink Analysis: See the backlinks for your site.
Free: Freemium model with a limited number of free searches per day.
Details: Ubersuggest provides great insights into keywords, site audits, and competitor analysis in a user friendly interface. A great option for small businesses that are looking for a free tool.

5. SEOquake

Website: SEOquake
Data Points:
On-Page SEO Audit: Audits pages for SEO parameters.
Keyword Analysis: Analyzes keyword density on web pages.
SERP Overview: Gives detailed SERP data on the fly.
Export Data: Exports data for further analysis.
Browser Extension: Works as a toolbar on the browser.
Free: Yes, as a browser extension.
Details: This browser toolbar lets you audit any website on the fly and provides valuable data for competitor research. It has a large number of parameters and the ability to export that data.

Validate your startup idea with the unique borrowed authority approach: we publish articles about your product in our blog and you get traffic and testers for your MVP

Prove Market Demand: See real organic traffic and waitlist conversions

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.

🔗 Start validating your startup now

6. Moz Keyword Explorer (Limited Free)

Website: Moz Keyword Explorer
Data Points:
Keyword Research: Find keyword ideas and their difficulty.
Domain Authority: See the Domain Authority of a site.
Rank Tracking: Track your site's ranking (limited).
Link Analysis: Check for link building opportunities (limited).
SERP Analysis: See other websites ranking for specific keywords.
Free: Limited free access with some restrictions on searches and data.
Details: Known for its user-friendly interface, Moz's free tools are a solid start for SEO beginners, allowing you to use a limited version of their keyword explorer.

7. AnswerThePublic

Website: AnswerThePublic
Data Points:
Content Ideation: Generates questions and phrases related to keywords.
Visualizations: Presents data visually for easy understanding.
Search Queries: Shows queries people are using on search engines.
Content Planning: Helps to come up with new content topics.
Audience Insights: Gives an insight into what people are searching for.
Free: Limited free searches per day.
Details: Answer the Public is perfect for finding long-tail keywords and question-based queries for your content, helping you understand what your audience is looking for. It is an excellent tool for generating content ideas.

8. Screaming Frog SEO Spider

Website: Screaming Frog SEO Spider
Data Points:
Website Crawling: Crawls websites to find SEO issues.
Broken Link Detection: Detects broken links on a website.
Duplicate Content: Finds duplicate content issues on a site.
Metadata Check: Checks meta descriptions and titles on a site.
Redirect Analysis: Looks at faulty redirects on a site.
Free: Yes, for sites with 500 pages or less.
Details: Screaming Frog is an essential tool for technical SEO. With the free version, you can analyze small sites and look for the most important SEO problems.

9. Website Grader (HubSpot)

Website: Website Grader
Data Points:
SEO Audit: Provides a quick SEO audit and score.
Performance Analysis: Gives feedback and ways to improve.
Website Score: Provides a grade out of 100.
Detailed Feedback: Gives feedback for areas to improve.
Free: Yes, a free online tool.
Details: Website grader is a simple tool from HubSpot that performs a quick SEO audit and provides a score out of 100, with detailed feedback and suggestions.

10. Semrush (Limited Free)

Website: Semrush
Data Points:
Keyword Research: Perform 10 keyword research reports daily.
Position Tracking: Track up to 10 keywords.
Site Audit: Analyze your site for technical issues (100 URLs max).
Domain Overview: Check up to 10 competitor domains daily.
SEO Writing Assistant: Get tips for content optimization (1 template).
Free: Yes, but has daily and functionality limitations.
Details: Semrush offers a limited free plan that lets you perform some keyword research, track some keywords and perform some site audits. This free plan gives you a glimpse into the power of their paid plans.

Important Considerations:

Limitations: The "free" plans often come with limitations on the number of searches, data points, and features compared to paid plans.
Account Required: Many of these tools require a free account signup to use.
Accuracy: While these tools are helpful, remember that SEO data can vary across platforms, so it's good practice to use a combination of tools.

Join ElonaHunt (like ProductHunt but for women) and explore the coolest women-focused startups out there!

Discover your next big inspiration and connect with like-minded female entrepreneurs!

👉 Join the Hunt Here

FAQ

1. What is Google Search Console and what features does it offer?

Google Search Console is a free tool by Google that helps track website performance, URL inspections, sitemap submission, core web vitals, and mobile usability issues. Learn more about Google Search Console.

2. How can Google Keyword Planner help with keyword research?

Google Keyword Planner helps you discover new keywords, analyze search volume and competition, and generate keyword ideas based on specific locations, making it a powerful free tool for keyword research. Explore Google Keyword Planner.

3. What functionalities are available with Ahrefs Webmaster Tools for free?

Ahrefs Webmaster Tools offer a free site audit, top 100 backlinks analysis, keyword exploration, rank checking, and broken link detection. Learn more about Ahrefs Webmaster Tools.

4. What does Ubersuggest provide for free users?

Ubersuggest offers free keyword research, site audits, competitor analysis, content ideas, and backlink analysis with a limited number of searches per day. Check out Ubersuggest.

5. What can SEOquake do as a free browser extension?

SEOquake provides a free browser extension that offers on-page SEO audits, keyword density analysis, SERP data, and data exports for further analysis. Discover SEOquake.

6. What features does the free version of Moz Keyword Explorer include?

The free version of Moz Keyword Explorer includes keyword research, domain authority insights, limited rank tracking, link analysis, and SERP analysis. Explore Moz Keyword Explorer.

7. How does AnswerThePublic assist with content ideation?

AnswerThePublic generates questions and phrases related to keywords, providing visualizations, search queries, and content planning insights. Learn more about AnswerThePublic.

8. What can users expect from the free version of Screaming Frog SEO Spider?

The free version of Screaming Frog SEO Spider allows for website crawling, broken link detection, duplicate content checking, metadata analysis, and redirect analysis for up to 500 pages. Discover Screaming Frog SEO Spider.

9. How does Website Grader from HubSpot evaluate websites?

Website Grader is a free online tool that performs an SEO audit, provides a performance analysis, and gives a website score with detailed feedback for improvement. Learn more about Website Grader.

10. What limitations are there in the free plan of Semrush?

The free plan of Semrush includes 10 keyword research reports daily, tracking up to 10 keywords, site audits for 100 URLs, domain overview for 10 competitor domains daily, and one SEO writing assistant template. Explore Semrush.

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.