Is Semrush Free? What You Get for $0 in 2026
Paul VengeonsCo-Founder & SEO ConsultantIn short
Partly. The Semrush Free plan is permanent with no card, but capped at 1 project, 10 reports a day, 10 tracked keywords and a 100-page audit. The free trial lasts 7 days with a card, then paid plans start at $139 a month ($117.33 billed yearly).
Ten Semrush reports show where you stand, not where to start. ChatSEO reads your Search Console and tells you which pages to work on first.
Summarize this blog post with:
Which Semrush option is for you?
Answer 4 questions: free plan, free tools, trial or a paid plan
π¬ How I checked what Semrush gives for free
I went through every page where Semrush talks about free access: the pricing page and its FAQ, the plans article in its knowledge base, its guide to the free account and the free tools page. Every limit and price below was checked on Semrush's official pages on October 31, 2026. ChatSEO appears near the end because it is the tool I co-founded: it is paid, with a trial, and I say so.
My take after years of SEO for clients: the free Semrush is a good way to look, and a poor way to work. Ten reports a day answer a question; they do not run a keyword plan.
π Is Semrush free? The answer at a glance
Yes, Semrush has a permanent free plan, but it stops at 10 reports a day. On top of it you get free tools with no sign-up and a 7-day trial of any paid plan, with a card.
| Option | Price | What you get | The catch |
|---|---|---|---|
| Semrush Free plan | $0, no card | 1 project, 10 reports a day, 10 tracked keywords | You hit the limit in one session |
| Semrush free tools | $0, no sign-up | Quick checkers on any site | A sample of the data |
| 7-day free trial | $0 for 7 days | The paid plan you pick | Card required, no exports |
| Semrush SEO plan | $139/month, or $117.33 billed yearly | 5 websites, 500 tracked keywords, Site Audit | The cheapest paid plan |
| Semrush Starter (SEO + AI Search) | $199/month, or $165.17 billed yearly | Full SEO tools plus AI visibility | 50 AI prompts, MCP access |
π The 3 ways to use Semrush for free
1. The Semrush Free plan: 10 reports a day, for good
The Semrush Free plan is a permanent account with no credit card and no end date. You sign up with an email and a password. Semrush describes it as "for trying out the platform", and the limits say the same:
- 10 reports a day across the main tools: Domain Overview, keyword research, competitor research and backlinks share that budget.
- 1 project, so one site to follow.
- 10 tracked keywords in Position Tracking, with daily updates.
- 100 pages a month in Site Audit.
- A limited set of AI Visibility features.
Ten reports go fast. Every new search in any keyword tool counts, so one research session on a topic can use the whole day. Use it to check your own site and one or two competitors, not to build a keyword list.
2. Semrush free tools: a sample on any site
Semrush also publishes 55+ free tools that work with no sign-up at all. The list covers a Website Traffic Checker, a Keyword Tool, a Backlink Checker, an SEO Checker and an AI Visibility Checker, among others. They work on any domain, competitors included.
They show a sample, not the full report. Use them for one quick number on a site, then move on. If you need the full picture on a competitor for free, our free Semrush alternative guide lists the tools that go further.
3. Google Search Console: the free data Semrush estimates
Search Console is not a Semrush product, but it is the free tool that covers what the Semrush Free plan cannot. Semrush estimates rankings and traffic from its own database; Search Console gives your real Google clicks, impressions and positions for every query, with 16 months of history and no daily limit.
Read a position only with an exact page and an exact query as filters: the site-wide average mixes thousands of queries. For your own site, Search Console plus the Semrush Free plan already covers a lot for $0.
πΈ Is there a Semrush free trial?
Yes: 7 days, on any paid plan, with a credit card. Semrush charges a small amount to check the card and refunds it at once; you are not charged until the trial ends. After 7 days the trial turns into the plan you picked, unless you cancel before.
Two limits most guides skip: exports are disabled during the trial, and each toolkit trial can only be used once per account. Plan what you want to test before you start the clock.
The paid plans start at $139 a month. The SEO plan ($139, or $117.33 a month billed yearly) gives 5 websites, 500 keywords tracked daily, keyword research, competitor analysis and Site Audit. Starter, the "SEO + AI Search" plan, costs $199 ($165.17 yearly) and adds the full keyword and competitor tools, AI visibility tracking and MCP access. Pro+ costs $299 ($248.17 yearly), Advanced is on request. Paying yearly saves up to 17%, and an extra user starts at $45 a month.
What you pay for is volume. Every paid plan lifts the 10-report ceiling and opens full reports on any site. If AI visibility is the reason you look at Starter, track 3 to 5 real prompts by hand first: on a small budget, a paid prompt tracker is the last thing to buy. Our best Semrush alternatives guide covers cheaper paid tools.
Save β¬100+/month on your SEO tool
ChatSEO covers the essentials from β¬29/month. 7-day money-back guarantee.
ChatSEO: best for knowing what to do next
ChatSEO is the tool I co-founded, and it is not free: you get a 7-day trial with 30 credits, then plans start at β¬29 a month, or β¬23 a month billed annually. The card is asked at signup and charged on day 7 unless you cancel, with a reminder 3 days before.
It answers the question ten free Semrush reports leave open: which page to work on first. It reads your Search Console, compares your site with your competitors on live keyword and backlink data, and returns a prioritized list. Do not pick it for a full crawl of a large site or for years of history: Semrush does that, and ChatSEO checks pages one by one.
Results from a ChatSEO customer
From 30 to 600 Google clicks a day
βI tripled my clicks on this site in 3 months.β
TimothΓ©e Tabary Β· Manager, e-commerce stores
β οΈ The limits that catch people out
The 10 reports a day are shared across tools. A Domain Overview, a keyword search and a backlink check each take one from the same budget.
- 1 project only: you follow one site, not your site and a client's.
- 10 tracked keywords: enough for your brand and a few money terms, not for a content plan.
- 100 pages a month in Site Audit: a small site, or the key pages of a larger one.
- No exports on the trial: copy what you need by hand before day 7.
- The card on the trial is real: the plan starts on day 8 if you forget to cancel.
β Scorecard
| Option | Price | Your own site | Competitors | Tells you what to fix first |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Semrush Free plan | β β β β β | β β β ββ | β β βββ | β β βββ |
| Semrush free tools | β β β β β | β β βββ | β β βββ | β ββββ |
| Google Search Console | β β β β β | β β β β β | βββββ | β β βββ |
| Semrush SEO plan | β β βββ | β β β β β | β β β β β | β β β ββ |
| ChatSEO | β β β β β | β β β β β | β β β β β | β β β β β |
βοΈ Should you pay for Semrush?
Stay on the free plan if you check one site now and then. Pay when keyword and competitor research becomes a weekly job.
- β You check your own site and a few competitors β Semrush Free plan
- β You need one number on a site, today β Semrush free tools
- β You track your real Google rankings β Google Search Console
- β You want the full tool for a one-week project β the 7-day trial, with a reminder to cancel
- β You research keywords and competitors every week β Semrush SEO plan
- β You want to know which page to work on next β ChatSEO trial
- β You need unlimited reports for $0 β it does not exist at Semrush
Who should not pay for Semrush: a solo site owner who looks at SEO once a month. $139 a month buys research volume you will not use. Before you pick, our Semrush vs Moz Pro comparison shows what the cheaper suite does well, and our is Moz free guide lists its free options.
β Frequently asked questions
Is Semrush free?
Yes, partly. The Semrush Free plan is permanent and needs no card: 1 project, 10 reports a day across the main tools, 10 tracked keywords and a 100-page audit. Full reports with no daily ceiling need a paid plan, from $139 a month.
Does Semrush have a free trial?
Yes. Semrush offers a 7-day free trial on its paid plans. A card is required; you are not charged until the trial ends, and the plan starts automatically unless you cancel.
Do I need a credit card for the Semrush free trial?
Yes for the trial, no for the Free plan. Semrush charges a small amount to check the card and refunds it immediately.
What are the limits of a free Semrush account?
10 reports a day shared across Domain Overview, keyword research, competitor research and backlinks, 1 project, 10 tracked keywords in Position Tracking and 100 pages a month in Site Audit.
Is Semrush free for students?
Not directly. Semrush has no student plan, but its Semrush for Education program gives educators and students of eligible colleges and universities 3 months of free access.
How much does Semrush cost?
The SEO plan costs $139 a month, Starter (SEO + AI Search) $199 and Pro+ $299. Advanced is on request. Paying yearly saves up to 17%.
Is ChatSEO free?
No. ChatSEO offers a 7-day trial with 30 credits, then plans start at β¬29 a month, or β¬23 a month billed annually.
- Semrush plans and pricing, with the FAQ on the free plan and the trial (Semrush, checked October 31, 2026)
- Semrush subscription plans and toolkits (Semrush knowledge base)
- What can you do with a free Semrush account? (Semrush)
- Semrush free tools (Semrush)
- Google Search Console (Google)
