Is Semrush Worth $99/Month? Honest Review for Small Businesses
Semrush Pro costs $99/month. For small businesses, that’s a significant commitment. After 18 months using Semrush for a real small business SEO program, here’s whether it’s worth it.
What You Get with Semrush Pro
- Keyword research: 25B+ keyword database, difficulty scores, volume estimates
- Site audit: Technical SEO analysis with actionable recommendations
- Position tracking: Monitor your rankings for target keywords
- Competitor analysis: See competitor organic keywords, backlinks, ads
- Backlink analysis: Track your link profile
- Content marketing tools: Topic research, SEO writing assistant
The ROI Calculation
The value of Semrush depends entirely on how seriously you’re doing SEO.
Scenario A: Replacing an SEO consultant ($500-2000/month)
If Semrush replaces 2 hours of paid SEO consultant time per month, it pays for itself. For businesses actively producing SEO content, this is easily achievable.
Scenario B: Casually using it
If you log in twice a month to check rankings, $99/month is too much. Use Google Search Console (free) + Ubersuggest ($29/month) instead.
Who Should Get Semrush
Yes to Semrush if:
- You’re actively doing content marketing (3+ articles/month)
- You do competitive research regularly
- You run SEO for multiple clients
- You need comprehensive keyword research beyond what free tools provide
No to Semrush if:
- You’re not doing regular content creation
- Budget is tight — use GSC + limited free tools first
- You only need basic rank tracking
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