Semrush
Semrush Inc., Boston (Delaware), owned by Adobe since 28 April 2026 ·www.semrush.com· As of: 2026-08-18
Work through this tool with an AI
Our verdict
Without measuring rankings and backlinks you notice too late that a demand channel is drying up, and you steer content by feel. With it you have not yet won a single extra enquiry. The data comes from public sources, the interface sits in almost every marketing department, and competitors buy the same one. The edge only comes from what you change afterwards in the content and in which sources cite you. Since the Adobe acquisition closed on 28 April 2026 a second question applies that appears on no feature list: which parts of the offering will keep being developed on their own, and which will be folded into a group product line.
Evidence:Plan names, monthly and annual prices, limits for domains, keywords and tracked prompts, add-on prices for extra seats and reports, single sign-on and audit logs only in the Enterprise offeringOpen sourceContracting entity Semrush Inc. based in Boston, governing law depending on the customer's location, reference to the data processing agreement, 30-day period to back up data in the event of a suspension, dated 19 February 2026Open sourceStandard contractual clauses under Implementing Decision (EU) 2021/914 Module Two, UK International Data Transfer Agreement A1.0, Czech law under clause 17, deletion or return on request without a deadline, dated July 2025Open sourceNine approved sub-processors with service and country, without a single AI provider among them, dated November 2025Open sourceExclusion of model training on user input extending to third-party providers, usage right to improve the functions, transfer to OpenAI, Stable Diffusion and Midjourney, AI Regulation obligation placed on the customer, document carrying no dateOpen sourceService data in data centres in the United States at Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud Platform and Digital Realty, pointing to the data centre operators' certifications instead of its ownOpen sourceAnnouncement of the acquisition on 19 November 2025 at 12.00 US dollars per share and an equity value of roughly 1.9 billion US dollars, closing on 28 April 2026Open sourcePrivacy policy with retention governed only by the necessity principle, dated 13 October 2025Open source
Who it fits
Solo
suitable with caveats
Entry is 139 US dollars a month for five monitored domains and 500 keywords tracked daily, or 117.33 paid annually. That pays off as soon as search brings enquiries at all. Anyone selling through network and referral is paying for reports nobody turns into work. Each additional seat costs from 45 US dollars on top.
Mid-market
suitable
Pro+ covers 15 domains and 1,500 keywords for 299 US dollars, Advanced adds share of voice and the data interface for 549. At this size there is usually someone who turns the numbers into editorial work. Without that person it stays a report. Per-seat charges add up faster than the step into the next plan.
Enterprise
suitable
Single sign-on, role management and an auditable log exist only in the Enterprise offering, which carries no list price and runs through sales. The security page names the United States as the location of service data, and no European region is offered anywhere. For public competitive data and your own keywords that is workable. For the connected analytics accounts and the AI features it belongs in the vendor assessment.
Buy, switch or build
Off-the-shelf
Ahrefs or Sistrix
Ahrefs maintains its own backlink index, Sistrix its own visibility index with a focus on the German-speaking market. Both answer the same question with different numbers, and that is the catch: visibility index, backlink count and estimated search volume are each vendor's own metrics and come from no shared source. Large organisations usually stay where they are for exactly that reason. The metric has been built into reports, objectives and agency contracts over years, and after a switch nobody can say with confidence for two quarters whether things got better or worse.
AI-native
Peec AI and the other measurement tools for AI answers
The AI-native vendors in this class emerged in 2024 and 2025 and measure only whether a brand appears in answers. According to our profile of 30 July 2026, Peec AI starts at 85 euros a month for 50 prompts; here the first tier with AI visibility costs 199 US dollars and brings keywords, backlinks and the site audit with it. Anyone who only wants the AI question answered pays less with the young vendors and gets more models and countries. Anyone who wants it alongside classic search pays once here and accepts that the young metric sits right beside the established ones, which invites confusion.
Build it yourself
Buy the data feed, build the evaluation yourself
Building this does not fail at the interface. Rankings, search volumes and backlinks come from a data feed you buy, because you cannot build your own index. On top of it you write a fetching service with Claude Code that writes the values into your own database daily, put the evaluation on Cloudflare Pages and log the AI query runs with Langfuse. Assuming two person-days for the first run and a daily rate of 1,200 euros, that is roughly 2,400 euros plus the ongoing data feed. After that comes operation, and that is where it usually fails: the data feed is billed per query and the invoice grows with every country and every device, the time series has to stay methodically stable over years or you end up measuring your own rebuilds, and once the builder leaves nobody maintains the query logic. Worth it only when the measurement itself is part of the product or the consulting offer.
Our advice
- Solo: First check whether search brings enquiries at all.
- Mid-market: Buy, but first name the person who turns the numbers into content.
- Enterprise: Buy, and settle storage location, audit logging and the AI sub-processors in writing before any rollout.
Who is behind it
Staying power: Established
The vendor has belonged entirely to Adobe since 28 April 2026 and was listed on the New York Stock Exchange until then. Corporate ownership answers the question of longevity. What stays open is which parts of the offering keep being developed on their own and which move into a group product line, and with an acquisition four months old that is exactly the point to settle in writing at purchasing.
- Acquisition agreement: Announced on 19 November 2025, 12.00 US dollars per share in cash, an equity value of roughly 1.9 billion US dollarsAnnouncement of the acquisition on 19 November 2025 at 12.00 US dollars per share and an equity value of roughly 1.9 billion US dollars, closing on 28 April 2026Open source · As of 2026-08-18
- Closing of the acquisition: Completed on 28 April 2026, Semrush has traded as an Adobe company since then, and the vendor announces continued development of the offeringnews.adobe.com/news/2026/04/adobe-completes-semrush-acquisitionOpen source · As of 2026-08-18
- Contracting entity and governing law: Semrush Inc., a Delaware corporation with its principal place of business at 800 Boylston Street, Suite 2475, Boston; for customers in the European Economic Area the terms are governed by Irish law with venue in Dublin, terms of service last changed on 19 February 2026Contracting entity Semrush Inc. based in Boston, governing law depending on the customer's location, reference to the data processing agreement, 30-day period to back up data in the event of a suspension, dated 19 February 2026Open source · As of 2026-08-18
- Upkeep of the legal documents: Privacy policy dated 13 October 2025, data processing agreement dated July 2025, sub-processor list dated November 2025, terms for the AI functionality carrying no date at allNine approved sub-processors with service and country, without a single AI provider among them, dated November 2025Open source · As of 2026-08-18
Cost of leaving: Moderate
Cancelling itself is simple: a subscription ends with the prepaid period, and under the terms prepaid amounts are as a rule not refunded. What costs you is what is missing after the export. Visibility scores, position histories and the histories of the tracked AI prompts are this vendor's own metrics, and with the next tool the time series restarts at zero. Add the projects, report templates and analytics-account connections built up over years. In the event of a suspension the terms promise paying customers 30 days to back up their data; for an ordinary cancellation no such period is stated there.
Regulation and data
| Data processing agreementdocumented, no condition attached: Auftragsverarbeitungsvertrag öffentlich abrufbar und ohne weitere Bedingung Bestandteil des Vertrags; oder er entfällt nachvollziehbar begründet, weil kein Anbieter Kundendaten verarbeitet.documented, tied to a condition: Vertrag existiert, ist aber an einen Tarif gebunden, nur nach Anfrage einsehbar oder allein in den Nutzungsbedingungen geregelt statt als eigenes Dokument.documented, but unfavourable: Kein Auftragsverarbeitungsvertrag im üblichen Sinn: entweder weil der Anbieter für das Kerngeschäft eigenständig Verantwortlicher ist und stattdessen eine andere Konstruktion gilt, oder weil öffentlich offen bleibt, ob überhaupt einer angeboten wird.open on a point that decides usability: Weder ein Vertrag noch ein dokumentierter Weg zu einem Vertrag; der Einkauf hätte nichts, worauf er sich stützen kann. | documented, no condition attachedyes, a separate document, dated July 2025Standard contractual clauses under Implementing Decision (EU) 2021/914 Module Two, UK International Data Transfer Agreement A1.0, Czech law under clause 17, deletion or return on request without a deadline, dated July 2025Open sourceA separate data processing agreement exists and becomes part of the contract through the terms of service as soon as customer content contains personal data. Getting there is the weak spot: the footer lists only the privacy policy and the terms of service, and the 39 usual addresses from /dpa to /legal/dpa all returned nothing on 18 August 2026. Anyone looking for the agreement finds it through a reference in the body text of the terms.As of 2026-08-18 |
|---|---|
| Storage locationdocumented, no condition attached: EU-Speicherort ohne Zusatzkosten und ohne Tarifbindung, oder der Ort ist vollständig selbst bestimmbar, weil das Werkzeug im eigenen Betrieb läuft.documented, tied to a condition: EU-Speicherort möglich, aber an einen Tarif, einen gesondert zu aktivierenden Zusatz oder einen Umzug in eine getrennte Umgebung gebunden; oder die EU-Region ist nicht die Voreinstellung.documented, but unfavourable: Kein EU-Speicherort, der Ort ist aber eindeutig benannt, sodass die Folgen bewertbar sind.open on a point that decides usability: Der Speicherort ist öffentlich nicht benannt oder vom Kunden nicht steuerbar, sodass sich die Verarbeitung nicht verorten lässt. | documented, but unfavourableUnited States, no European region offeredService data in data centres in the United States at Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud Platform and Digital Realty, pointing to the data centre operators' certifications instead of its ownOpen sourceThe security page states that service data sits in data centres in the United States and names Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud Platform and Digital Realty as the operators. No European region is offered anywhere, not even in the Enterprise offering. The sub-processor list additionally shows Ireland for Amazon Web Services without saying which processing happens there.As of 2026-08-18 |
| Subprocessorsdocumented, no condition attached: Vollständige öffentliche Liste der Unterauftragnehmer mit Zweck und Land; oder es gibt keine, weil das Werkzeug im eigenen Betrieb läuft.documented, tied to a condition: Liste existiert und ist benannt, aber nur nach Anfrage oder nach Zugang zu einem Vertrauensportal einsehbar, oder sie nennt Zweck und Land nicht vollständig.documented, but unfavourable: Keine geführte Liste; namentlich stehen nur einzelne Dienste in der Datenschutzerklärung, überwiegend solche der eigenen Website.open on a point that decides usability: Weder eine Liste noch eine Nennung der Verarbeiter des Produkts, und kein dokumentierter Weg, sie zu erfahren. | documented, tied to a conditionpublic list of nine entries, dated November 2025Nine approved sub-processors with service and country, without a single AI provider among them, dated November 2025Open sourceThe list names service and country for each entry, among them Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud Platform, Google BigQuery, Equinix, Amplitude, Intercom, Salesforce and Salesloft, all but one located in the United States. What stands out is who is missing: the terms for the AI functionality name OpenAI, Stable Diffusion and Midjourney as providers that user input is passed to. None of them appears on the list of approved sub-processors. The list is therefore public and dated, but visibly incomplete.As of 2026-08-18 |
| Third-country transferdocumented, no condition attached: Keine Übermittlung in ein Drittland, oder die Übermittlung findet statt und die Grundlage ist benannt und im Vertrag verankert, etwa Standardvertragsklauseln, Angemessenheitsbeschluss oder EU-US-Datenschutzrahmen.documented, tied to a condition: Übermittlung findet statt, eine Grundlage ist genannt, aber ohne Zuordnung, welcher Empfänger auf welcher Grundlage arbeitet.documented, but unfavourable: Übermittlung findet statt und die eigenen Unterlagen widersprechen sich, oder die genannte Grundlage bezieht sich erkennbar nur auf einen Randbereich wie die Marketing-Website.open on a point that decides usability: Übermittlung findet erkennbar statt und eine Grundlage wird nirgends genannt. | documented, no condition attachedyes, to the United States, standard contractual clauses anchored in the contractStandard contractual clauses under Implementing Decision (EU) 2021/914 Module Two, UK International Data Transfer Agreement A1.0, Czech law under clause 17, deletion or return on request without a deadline, dated July 2025Open sourceFor transfers from the European Economic Area and Switzerland to the United States the contract incorporates the standard contractual clauses under Implementing Decision (EU) 2021/914 in the Module Two version. For the United Kingdom the International Data Transfer Agreement version A1.0 applies in addition. Under clause 17 the clauses are governed by Czech law.As of 2026-08-18 |
| Training on customer datadocumented, no condition attached: Vertraglich oder in der Datenschutzerklärung ausdrücklich ausgeschlossen, mit Erstreckung auf die eingesetzten Modellanbieter; oder es gibt keine Datenübertragung an einen Anbieter.documented, tied to a condition: Ausschluss ab einem bestimmten Tarif, oder die Zusage steht nur auf einer Dokumentationsseite statt im Vertrag, oder die Frage stellt sich für das Werkzeug sachlich kaum und der Anbieter schweigt dazu.documented, but unfavourable: Nutzung ist die Voreinstellung und nur ein Widerspruch beendet sie; oder der Anbieter trainiert eigene Modelle auf bereinigten Kundendaten.open on a point that decides usability: Keine Aussage, obwohl das Werkzeug KI-Funktionen auf Kundeninhalten betreibt. | documented, tied to a conditioncontractually excluded, improvement clause in the same document left openExclusion of model training on user input extending to third-party providers, usage right to improve the functions, transfer to OpenAI, Stable Diffusion and Midjourney, AI Regulation obligation placed on the customer, document carrying no dateOpen sourceThe terms for the AI functionality exclude the vendor from training its own models on user input and expressly extend that exclusion to the third-party providers it uses. Two paragraphs later in the same document the customer grants the right to use input to improve those functions and to pass it on to third-party AI providers. What improvement without training covers is left open, and that gap costs the commitment its clarity. The document carries no date, so changes to it cannot be dated from the outside.As of 2026-08-18 |
| Retention and deletiondocumented, no condition attached: Löschfristen nach Vertragsende beziffert und die Löschung oder Rückgabe zugesagt; oder die Fristen bestimmt der Betreiber selbst, weil das Werkzeug im eigenen Betrieb läuft.documented, tied to a condition: Löschung ist zugesagt, die Fristen sind aber nur teilweise beziffert, oder Sicherungskopien sind ausdrücklich ausgenommen.documented, but unfavourable: Nur der Grundsatz der Erforderlichkeit ohne jede Frist nach Vertragsende, oder Fristen sind allein für Randbereiche wie Website-Protokolle genannt.open on a point that decides usability: Keine Aussage zu Aufbewahrung und Löschung. | documented, but unfavourabledeletion or return promised on request, without any deadlineStandard contractual clauses under Implementing Decision (EU) 2021/914 Module Two, UK International Data Transfer Agreement A1.0, Czech law under clause 17, deletion or return on request without a deadline, dated July 2025Open sourceDeletion, destruction or return of customer personal data after the contract ends is promised in the agreement, on written request. No deadline is stated there, and the vendor reserves additional charges for the return. For its own data the privacy policy names only the necessity principle. Anyone who needs a deletion concept they can plan around has to negotiate the deadline into the contract.As of 2026-08-18 |
| Certificationsdocumented, no condition attached: Mehrere anerkannte Nachweise, benannt mit Norm, Fassung und Geltungsbereich, und bezogen auf den Anbieter selbst.documented, tied to a condition: Ein anerkannter Nachweis für den Anbieter belegt, der Bericht aber nur auf Anfrage, oder der Nachweis hängt an einem Tarif, oder der Geltungsbereich bleibt teilweise offen.documented, but unfavourable: Nur pauschale Nennung ohne Norm-Fassung und Geltungsbereich, oder bloße Selbstauskunft, oder die Nachweise gehören dem Infrastrukturanbieter statt dem Anbieter, oder der Prüfzeitraum ist erkennbar veraltet, oder die eigenen Angaben widersprechen sich.open on a point that decides usability: Kein Nachweis genannt und keine Sicherheits- oder Vertrauensseite vorhanden. | documented, but unfavourablenone named for the vendor itselfService data in data centres in the United States at Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud Platform and Digital Realty, pointing to the data centre operators' certifications instead of its ownOpen sourceThe security page names no certification of its own. On ISO/IEC 27001 and SOC 2 there is no statement there, on the legal pages or in the knowledge base, checked on 18 August 2026. Instead the page says all data centres hold the relevant certificates and links to the pages of the three operators. A certificate held by the infrastructure provider does not cover the vendor's own procedures.As of 2026-08-18 |
| EU AI Act, Article 50documented, no condition attached: Der Anbieter macht eine belegte Aussage, die die eigene Pflicht trägt, etwa Modelldokumentation und Zertifizierung nach ISO/IEC 42001; oder das Werkzeug enthält nachvollziehbar begründet kein KI-System im Sinne der Verordnung.documented, tied to a condition: Der Anbieter äußert sich zur Verordnung oder ordnet die eigene Funktion ein, eine benannte Zusage zu den Transparenzpflichten aus Artikel 50 fehlt aber; oder das Werkzeug enthält kein KI-System, das gegenüber Menschen auftritt, und der Anbieter schweigt.documented, but unfavourable: Das Produkt enthält KI-Funktionen, der Anbieter schweigt dazu oder trägt ein Selbstetikett ohne Nachweis; die Kennzeichnung ist vom Betreiber aber selbst setzbar.open on a point that decides usability: KI spricht im Produkt unmittelbar mit Endkunden und der Anbieter sagt zu Artikel 50 nichts; die Kennzeichnung lässt sich ohne Zusage des Anbieters nicht sicher setzen. | documented, but unfavourableunclearExclusion of model training on user input extending to third-party providers, usage right to improve the functions, transfer to OpenAI, Stable Diffusion and Midjourney, AI Regulation obligation placed on the customer, document carrying no dateOpen sourceThe terms for the AI functionality mention the European AI Regulation exactly once, in the obligation on the customer not to use the tool or its outputs in high-risk or prohibited systems. On its own transparency duties under Article 50 the vendor says nothing anywhere. The tool generates text for the customer and does not itself face the customer's end users, so the labelling can be applied by the operator.As of 2026-08-18 |
| Audit loggingdocumented, no condition attached: Nachvollziehbares Protokoll über Zugriffe und Änderungen in allen Tarifen enthalten, mit benannter Frist und Ausleitung in eigene Systeme; oder die Nachvollziehbarkeit liegt vollständig in eigener Hand, weil das Werkzeug im eigenen Betrieb läuft.documented, tied to a condition: Protokoll vorhanden, aber an einen höheren Tarif oder einen kostenpflichtigen Zusatz gebunden, oder die Ausleitung fehlt in den unteren Stufen; Reichweite und Frist sind benannt.documented, but unfavourable: Protokolle sind nur anbieterseitig beschrieben, oder Reichweite und Frist bleiben offen, sodass sich Nachweispflichten nicht planen lassen.open on a point that decides usability: Öffentlich nicht belegt, ob der Kunde überhaupt ein auswertbares Protokoll erhält. | documented, but unfavourableonly in the Enterprise offering, scope and retention left openPlan names, monthly and annual prices, limits for domains, keywords and tracked prompts, add-on prices for extra seats and reports, single sign-on and audit logs only in the Enterprise offeringOpen sourceThe pricing page lists single sign-on, team governance and audit logs only for the Enterprise offering, which carries no list price. In the feature table for the four self-service plans an audit log does not appear at all. Which events are captured, how long they are kept and whether they can be exported into your own systems is not stated publicly.As of 2026-08-18 |
What it really costs
Entry price
Four self-service plans, all quoted in US dollars. SEO costs 139 a month for five monitored domains and 500 keywords tracked daily. Starter costs 199 and adds AI visibility with 50 prompts tracked daily plus MCP access. Pro+ costs 299 for 15 domains, 1,500 keywords and 100 prompts; Advanced costs 549 for 40 domains, 5,000 keywords, 200 prompts, share of voice and the data interface. Paid annually the four tiers drop to 117.33, 165.17, 248.17 and 455.67 a month.Plan names, monthly and annual prices, limits for domains, keywords and tracked prompts, add-on prices for extra seats and reports, single sign-on and audit logs only in the Enterprise offeringOpen source
As of 2026-08-18
What gets expensive
In three places. First the seats: each additional one costs from 45 US dollars a month, so a team of five nearly doubles the bill for a mid-tier plan. Second the reports, which are charged as add-ons: 10 US dollars for the basic report, 20 for the white-labelled one with the external connections, 90 for the entry in the agency directory. Third the step upwards: single sign-on, team governance and audit logs only begin with the Enterprise offering, which carries no list price and runs through sales. Anyone who needs those three for compliance reasons negotiates and does not know the price in advance.
What it displaces
- Looking up rankings by hand in one browser after another
- Maintaining third-party backlinks in a spreadsheet
- Reading visibility off the visitor count although the answer now arrives before the click
Interfaces
- Connections to Google Analytics and Google Search Console
- MCP access from the Starter plan upwards
- Data interface from the Advanced plan upwards, under its own terms of use
- Reports as PDF, scheduled and white-labelled through the reporting add-on
- Single sign-on, team governance and audit logs only in the Enterprise offering
Matching methods
- Demand Creation vs. Demand CaptureThe method separates created from captured demand, and Semrush measures the capture side: which questions get asked, who is found for them and whether the channel still routes existing demand to you.
- The 95:5 RuleThe method says only a small part of a market is ready to buy at any moment, and the search volumes and prompts in the tool show how narrow that part actually is in your own market.
- Brand as Repeated PairingThe method wants the name to come to mind at the moment of purchase, and the AI modules measure exactly that in third-party systems: whether a brand gets named at all for the matching question, and in what tone.
Alternatives
Sources
- 1.Plan names, monthly and annual prices, limits for domains, keywords and tracked prompts, add-on prices for extra seats and reports, single sign-on and audit logs only in the Enterprise offering (opens in a new tab)semrush.com/pricing/seo-ai-search · As of 2026-08-18
- 2.Contracting entity Semrush Inc. based in Boston, governing law depending on the customer's location, reference to the data processing agreement, 30-day period to back up data in the event of a suspension, dated 19 February 2026 (opens in a new tab)semrush.com/company/legal/terms-of-service · As of 2026-08-18
- 3.Standard contractual clauses under Implementing Decision (EU) 2021/914 Module Two, UK International Data Transfer Agreement A1.0, Czech law under clause 17, deletion or return on request without a deadline, dated July 2025 (opens in a new tab)semrush.com/company/legal/dpa · As of 2026-08-18
- 4.Nine approved sub-processors with service and country, without a single AI provider among them, dated November 2025 (opens in a new tab)semrush.com/company/legal/sub-processors · As of 2026-08-18
- 5.Exclusion of model training on user input extending to third-party providers, usage right to improve the functions, transfer to OpenAI, Stable Diffusion and Midjourney, AI Regulation obligation placed on the customer, document carrying no date (opens in a new tab)semrush.com/…/semrush-artificial-intelligence-services-terms · As of 2026-08-18
- 6.Service data in data centres in the United States at Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud Platform and Digital Realty, pointing to the data centre operators' certifications instead of its own (opens in a new tab)semrush.com/company/security · As of 2026-08-18
- 7.Announcement of the acquisition on 19 November 2025 at 12.00 US dollars per share and an equity value of roughly 1.9 billion US dollars, closing on 28 April 2026 (opens in a new tab)news.adobe.com/news/2025/11/adobe-to-acquire-semrush · As of 2026-08-18
- 8.Privacy policy with retention governed only by the necessity principle, dated 13 October 2025 (opens in a new tab)semrush.com/company/legal/privacy-policy · As of 2026-08-18
- 9.news.adobe.com/news/2026/04/adobe-completes-semrush-acquisition (opens in a new tab)As of 2026-08-18
Last reviewed: 2026-08-18 by Dr. Oliver Gausmann, Convios GmbH
Details out of date? Let us know.