Compare Searchmetrics vs Semrush for European teams. Discover 2026 pricing, AI search visibility tracking, team seat costs, and GDPR data compliance.
In the searchmetrics vs semrush decision, most European teams should start with Semrush. You can see the price, sign up today and cancel later. Searchmetrics only makes sense if you are a large organisation ready for a custom quote. Below: cost, AI search tracking and GDPR terms.
Searchmetrics vs Semrush at a Glance
TL;DR.
- Semrush suits marketing teams and agencies that want self-serve access, public prices from US$117.33 per month (billed annually) and AI prompt tracking. It does not suit buyers who want a bespoke, advisory-led enterprise setup.
- Searchmetrics suits large corporations that run multi-department workflows and can handle a sales-led purchase. It does not suit teams that need a price or a login this week.
The main contrast is how you get in. According to Semrush's pricing page, checked October 2026, there is a permanent free plan (1 demo project, 10 reports a day) and a 7-day trial on paid plans. Searchmetrics, which G2 lists as a Conductor product, shows no public entry price. The seoClarity comparison says you book a consultation with a representative.
That matters if you are weighing total cost of ownership and speed. With Semrush you can judge the product before anyone asks you to commit. With Searchmetrics the commercial conversation comes first.
Which SEO Platform Fits Your European Workflow
It depends on how you buy software and how many markets you cover. Three situations come up most often.
- You run client or in-house sites across the UK, France, Spain or Germany. Semrush fits. Plans track 500 to 5,000+ keywords daily, and multi-location tracking arrives on Pro+. Nobody needs to approve a procurement process first.
- You are an enterprise already working with Conductor. Searchmetrics is worth a conversation. You get a four-module suite built around market research and content analysis, rather than standard software seats.
- You want raw data, not another dashboard. Look at an API source such as DataForSEO, or at Surfer SEO for content optimisation. Either can sit beside an enterprise platform.
Speed deserves a fair look. G2 respondents report about one month to implement for both tools (10 responses for Searchmetrics, 783 for Semrush). So the gap is not the rollout itself, but the start. Semrush lets you run reports on day one, while Searchmetrics begins with a sales call.
Searchmetrics vs Semrush Pricing and Plans
Semrush publishes every tier except its top ones. Searchmetrics publishes none.
| Plan | Monthly | Billed annually (per month) | Websites | Keywords tracked daily |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SEO | US$139 | US$117.33 | 5 | 500 |
| Starter | US$199 | US$165.17 | 5 | 500 |
| Pro+ | US$299 | US$248.17 | 15 | 1,500 |
| Advanced | Custom quote | Custom quote | 40+ | 5,000+ |
Source: Semrush's pricing page, checked October 2026. Prices are in US$, before VAT.
Seats and reports cost extra
Additional users start at US$45 per month. The Base Report add-on is US$10 per month, covering data from 20+ tools, scheduling and PDF export. The Pro Report is US$20 per month and adds white-labelling, AI summaries and 20+ external integrations. If your agency sends branded reports to clients, budget for that second add-on.
Semrush Enterprise is quote-only. It covers unlimited projects, SSO, audit logs, a dedicated account manager and an enterprise SLA.
Free access and the Searchmetrics quote
Semrush's free plan needs no credit card. Searchmetrics does not list pricing on its website, according to seoClarity, so you have no figure to put in a budget until you have spoken to sales.
Core Features and AI Search Visibility
Semrush puts AI search tracking next to classic rank tracking. The SEO tier lists AI search performance and sentiment monitoring. Starter then adds a clear allowance: 50 prompts tracked daily, 1 domain for AI brand performance and 300 AI visibility reports a day, plus MCP access.
Pro+ doubles the prompts to 100. Advanced lists unlimited daily prompts. A French retailer could, for example, track a set of product-category questions each day and compare the results with its normal keyword positions in one account.
Searchmetrics works differently. According to seoClarity, its Suite has four parts:
- Research Cloud: market research, competitive intelligence and content performance.
- Content Experience: content analysis.
- Search Experience: SEO performance and monitoring.
- Site Experience: a website crawler and internal link validation.
Nothing in the sources lists prompt tracking for Searchmetrics, and G2 has too little data on its AI features to compare. G2 reviewers do score Searchmetrics slightly higher on content insights and data visualisation. They score Semrush higher on keyword research, link building, rank tracking and competitor analysis.
Both tools report on search, they do not change your pages. If you want software that applies on-page changes, Alli AI is built for that, with plans from US$249 per month billed yearly (US$299 monthly), per its pricing page checked October 2026. If you want other options around Semrush, see Semrush alternatives.
European GDPR Compliance and Data Handling
Semrush documents its GDPR position, according to its DPA page checked October 2026. It acts as a processor under a formal data processing agreement. That agreement includes the EU Standard Contractual Clauses (Decision 2021/914) and the UK transfer mechanism, and the Clauses are governed by Czech law.
That gives you a clear legal anchor inside the EU. But Semrush Inc. is a Delaware corporation headquartered in Boston, so your data is handled by a US company. Its hosting locations are not confirmed in the documents we rely on, which matters if your policy requires EU-only storage. Only Semrush's terms are documented in the sources behind this comparison, so the same checks cannot be made for Searchmetrics here.
For budgeting, Semrush prices are listed in US$ before VAT. Your finance team should plan for currency exposure when you pay from the UK, Ireland, France, Spain or Italy.
If EU-hosted data is a hard requirement for a side tool, Surfer SEO states processing within the EU (Poland and Germany), and DataForSEO is an Estonian company. Neither replaces a full suite, though.
The Good and the Bad Compared
Semrush
The good:
- Public prices from US$117.33 per month billed annually.
- A free plan with 10 reports a day, and a 7-day trial on paid plans.
- Daily keyword tracking and AI prompt tracking in one account.
- A DPA with Standard Contractual Clauses governed by Czech law.
The bad:
- The jump from Starter to Pro+ is US$83 per month on annual billing, and Advanced is quote-only.
- Extra seats start at US$45 per month each.
- White-labelled reporting costs US$20 per month more.
- Historical SEO data starts at Pro+.
- G2 reviewers most often name price among the drawbacks (540 and 468 mentions for "expensive" and "high pricing").
- The vendor is US-headquartered, and hosting location is not confirmed.
Searchmetrics
The good:
- A four-module suite aimed at enterprise research and content analysis.
- Higher G2 scores for content insights and data visualisation.
- Per 6sense, its customer base leans towards Germany.
The bad:
- No public pricing, and a consultation before any figure.
- Only 48 G2 reviews against 4,286 for Semrush, so there is less public feedback.
- G2 reviewers score its ease of use and product direction below Semrush.
Frequently Asked Questions About Both Platforms
What happened to Searchmetrics?
It is still listed. G2 shows Searchmetrics as a product by Conductor, so you are dealing with Conductor's enterprise sales process rather than a standalone vendor.
Can our team use Semrush for free first?
Yes. The free plan gives you 1 demo project and 10 reports a day across the main tools, with no credit card. Paid plans come with a 7-day trial.
How do seat costs compare?
Semrush charges from US$45 per month for each additional user, and the Advanced plan lists team users among its features. Searchmetrics has no published per-seat price, because pricing runs through a consultation.
Which is better for tracking brand visibility in AI search?
Semrush documents it. The Starter plan (US$165.17 per month billed annually) tracks 50 prompts daily with 300 AI visibility reports a day. If you only need a snapshot of Semrush against another tool, our Similarweb vs Semrush comparison is a useful next read, and the Semrush page keeps the current plan details.
The verdict for your team
If you want a price today and a self-serve login, pick Semrush. If you're a large organisation already tied to Conductor and happy with a sales call, Searchmetrics is worth that conversation. Everyone else, especially smaller agencies in the UK, France, Spain or Italy, gets more done starting with Semrush's free plan.
Next step: open the Semrush section above, check the plan that matches your keyword volume, and sign up before you request a Searchmetrics quote.