Semrush vs Similarweb – Which SEO Tool is Right for You?

Semrush and Similarweb both are prominent names in the marketing and SEO space. 

While both of these SEO tools for bloggers are very powerful, I know it becomes quite difficult for everyone to choose the right tool between these two.

To help you with that, In this post, I’m going to compare Semrush vs Similarweb side by side and figure out which online SEO software would be the best choice for you.

So without wasting any further time, let’s dive in…

Semrush Overview

Semrush is not like any other ordinary SEO & marketing tool.

It’s the most popular all-in-one marketing tool used by over 7 million+ marketers and SEO professionals around the world.

It was organically started in 2008 with a tiny group of SEO and IT experts and since then they have grown exponentially…

…And eventually became the market leader in a very short period of time.

In the beginning, it started with only 2 kinds of tools but fast forward today, it has over 50 tools on the platform.

Starting from keyword research, referral traffic, social traffic, target keywords, keyword variations, advertising research, audience insights, content strategy rank tracking, competitor analysis to paid advertisement research – it’s packed with almost everything that you would need to succeed in SEO and as well as in online marketing.

And if we talk about the database of semrush, it currently has a gigantic database of 20B+ keywords, 43T+ backlinks, and 808M+ domain profiles.

That is unbelievably huge!

I personally started using semrush around 3 years back and at that time, I was only using the keyword research tool of semrush for finding out some golden keyword nuggets.

But now, it has kind of become a lifeline for my marketing career and business.

Currently, I’m using most of the Semrush tools (except a few that I don’t need) and I must admit that it has immensely helped me to supercharge my marketing and SEO game.

Similarweb Overview

Similarweb on the other hand is a killer site audit tool specially used for market research, Website traffic analysis, and competitive analysis.

It’s not an all-in-one marketing platform like SEMRush and has a very limited set of tools.

Ranging from small businesses to big BRANDS like Google, Adobe, Pepsico, Adidas, and Walmart, it has a huge base of customers using the tool on a daily basis for their marketing efforts.

If we talk about the numbers:

Similarweb analyzes over 100M+ websites, 1B+ search terms, 3M+ brands, 550M+ keywords daily, and 1B+ events every single day.

The numbers are obviously not as huge as the database of SEMRush.

And as per my experience, I have a bit of doubt about the accuracy of their data as well.

Still, I think It’s better not to come to a conclusion before we get into the real nuts and bolts of the tool.

So let’s move to the actual comparison.

Which Tool is Best For Traffic Analysis?

Let’s start off with this Semrush vs Similarweb comparison with traffic analysis because it’s one of the core features of both of these tools.

Semrush

Semrush has a powerful traffic analysis feature that lets you check the traffic performance of any website with just a click of a button.

And not only you’ll be able to check the traffic stats of any particular website, but you can also compare the traffic stats of different domains and even analyze in bulk (up to 200 websites) at the same time.

To get started, just put the domain name of the website that you want to analyze and hit search.

It will quickly pull off the data and you’ll see a page like this.

On this page, you can see some basic traffic metrics right off the bat like:

• How many visits the website got.
• How many unique visitors the website attracted.
• Average visit duration
• Bounce rate 
• Pages / Visit

And if you scroll down a bit, you’ll be able the see the top traffic-driving pages of the website, traffic share by device, top traffic-driving sources, and traffic distribution by countries.

Besides that, if you want to get some specific traffic metrics of any website then Semrush also gives you an option to filter out the traffic stats based on device type, location, and date.

If you dig deep into the traffic insights, you can see the traffic driving sources of that website.

And from which countries or continents that website is getting the traffics

Similarweb

The most popular feature of Similarweb is traffic analysis.

For using this feature you just have to put a domain name and click on search.

Then within a few seconds, it’ll gather all the necessary data and you’ll see a page like this.

It shows you all the basic traffic matrics of the website like:

• How many total visitors a website is getting
• The bounce rate of that website
• Average visit duration
• Pages per visit

It also shows you the traffic sources from where the website is getting the traffic and the traffic driving countries.

Apart from that, you can see the top referring sites and top traffic driving organic keywords.

But wait the list of not over yet…

If you scroll down a bit more, you’ll be able to see:

• Which social media platforms are driving the most traffic
• Display advertising of the website
• Audience interest
• Competitors or similar websites

Overall if you observe, both of these tools have in-depth metrics for analyzing the traffic.

And there’s no doubt that both Semrush and Similarweb are quite powerful in terms of traffic analysis.

However, as I’ve said earlier, the data Similarweb provides is not that accurate (especially when you’re analyzing a small or mid-level website).

While on the other hand, Semrush is much more reliable in terms of accuracy even if you’re analyzing a small or mid-level website.

Which Tool is Good For Keyword Research?

Keyword research is the most important part of SEO.

In fact, keyword research plays a very crucial role in search advertising as well.

In simple words:

Whether you want to rank your website on Google using SEO or search advertising – your keywords will decide your destiny.

But now the main question that pops up is:

Which is the best tool for keyword research between Semrush and Similarweb?

Let’s find out.

Semrush

Hands down!

Semrush has the best keyword research tool on the planet.

In fact, I started using Semrush just because of the keyword research tool it has.

Under the Semrush keyword research tool, it has five different kinds of features:

• Keyword overview
• Keyword magic tool
• Keyword manager
• Position tracking
• Organic traffic insights

The keyword overview gives you in-depth data of the keyword like keyword difficulty, search volume, CPC, number of search results, PPC competition, ads appearing on that keyword, SERP breakdown, and much more.

While the keyword magic tool helps you to find out some related keyword opportunities around your seed keyword.

For example, I have tried to search for the term “marketing”.

As you can see, It has given me plenty of new keyword opportunities around the terms “marketing”.

You can also filter the keywords based on keyword difficulty, volume, CPC, and many other metrics.

The keyword manager helps you to manage your keywords in a systematic manner.

And with the position tracking feature, you can also track down your keyword rankings on a daily basis.

Besides all of these, Semrush has a keyword gap analysis feature that helps you compare your existing keywords with the keywords of your competitors so that you can find out what keywords your competitor is targeting but you are missing out.

Similarweb

Similarweb has a keyword research tool that lets you perform competitive keyword research and analyze keywords.

With the Similarweb keyword research tool, you can see the important metrics of any keywords such as search volume, search visits, CPC, top competing websites, and many more.

Like SEMRush, Similarweb also comes with a keyword gap analysis feature that helps you find out the keywords your website is missing out but your competitors are targeting.

This feature is really a life-saver because you can easily identify the keyword opportunities your website is lacking but your competitors are utilizing.

Apart from that, using the keyword generator, you can generate hundreds and thousands of new keyword ideas based on trends, phrase matches, and question queries.

And you can even see the top organic and paid keywords of your competitor.

Overall, it has everything that you would need for conducting keyword research.

But that’s being said, I personally think the interface of Semrush is much more user-friendly than Similarweb.

And since Semrush has a huge keyword database, the data would be much more accurate on Semrush.

Not to forget, Semrush also comes with additional features such as rank tracking and keyword manager that you won’t get on Similarweb.

Which Tool to Choose For Paid Advertising?

Both Semrush and Similarweb have specific features for paid advertisement research.

But which one would be better?

Let’s have a look.

Semrush

Semrush has plenty of powerful features for paid advertisement research.

With the advertising research feature of SEMRush, you can see the PPC keywords, paid traffic and estimated traffic cost of any website.

It also shows you the paid search keyword position of that website along with URL, CPC, and estimated search volume.

Semrush also monitors your PPC keyword positions over time and you can see the position changes from the dashboard itself.

One thing I really like about the advertising research feature of Semrush is that it even shows you all the ad copies of the particular website as well.

If your business heavily depends upon PPC advertising, then this feature will help you to figure out how your competitors are writing their ad copies and you can ultimately take inspiration from that while writing your own ad copies.

Along with that, you will get to see the paid competitors, Ad history, and advertising pages of the website.

That’s being said, SEMRush does have a few other features as well for paid advertising like the PPC Keyword tool for managing your PPC keywords, ad tracking, and social media toolkit that lets you create and manage your social media ads for better performance.

Similarweb

Similarweb is kind of different from Semrush especially in terms of advertising research.

It helps you discover the video and display ad creative, ad copy, keywords, and landing pages your competitors are using for paid advertisement.

The tool analyzes display & paid traffic trends and even identifies when your competitor launches new campaigns.

The highlighted feature of this tool is – it finds out and targets the top-performing keywords of your ad campaigns for better ROI and performance.

Finally, it also reveals your competitor’s search ads copies and PLA’s for any given period of time.

It obviously does not have as many features as Semrush but if you’re just starting out in paid advertising then it’s not a bad choice either.

However, if you’re an experienced ad buyer or marketer then I would highly recommend Semrush.

Market Analysis: Semrush Vs SimilarWeb

Market Analysis is one of the most important and foundational parts of marketing.

Market research helps to get insights into your audience, competitors, and consumer trends so that you can craft your marketing strategy more efficiently.

Semrush and Similarweb both have market analysis features inside the tools.

But which tool does it better?

Let’s compare…

Semrush

Using the Market Explorer of Semrush, you can get a quick overview of the market.

Once you enter your domain and click on “research a market”, it shows you:

• The market share your business has
• Market traffic
• Growth Quadrant
• Traffic trends
• Share of visits
• Market Geo distribution
• Traffic generation channels
• Your website’s audience insights compared with the market

And many other metrics…

It also shows the market demographics, social media preferences, and interest of your target audience.

In the end, you can also see all the industry domains or competitors along with the market share and estimated traffic.

Similarweb

Similarweb is one of the most popularly used tools for market research.

It has a great market analysis feature that shows you all the important market insights and data in a non-complicated way.

The tool helps to monitor industry leaders, reveals top traffic channels, and analyze market trends.

It also evaluates the market size and product launch strategies of other companies.

Overall it’s a simple yet powerful tool for doing market research.

Even though SEMRush provides more insights than Similarweb, both tools are quite amazing and it’s a tie.

Competitor Analysis: Semrush Vs SimilarWeb

The last feature we will compare today between Semrush and Similarweb is the – competitive analysis feature.

Analyzing your competitors is one of the major keys to success in marketing and SEO.

But which tool is capable of doing better competitor analysis?

Let’s find that out.

Semrush

Semrush works like a double-edged sword in terms of competitor analysis.

It has a large number of features that will enable you to analyze and research your competitors like a boss.

Using the competitive research toolkit of Semrush, you can analyze the traffic of your rival’s website, get a deep insight into their audience, and what type of marketing efforts working for your competitors.

In terms of SEO, you can see the top-performing keywords & pages, analyze the backlink profile and see what are SEO strategies work for your competitors that you can eventually apply on your own website.

Besides that, you can also see the paid keywords that your competitors are bidding on for PPC advertising.

And you can even go further to see the ad copies and creatives that your competitors are using.

Similarweb

With Similarweb, you can analyze the traffic of your competitors on a deep level along with other metrics like average visit duration, page per visit, and bounce rate.

It also shows you the traffic top sources of your competitors, from which countries they are getting the traffic, and top referring sites.

If you’re into SEO, then it reveals the top-performing keywords of your competitors along with metrics like keyword search volume, competitiveness, CPC, and the amount of traffic that keyword is driving to your competitor’s website.

Apart from that, using this tool you can see the PPC and display advertising campaign, the keywords they are using for PPC, ad creatives, and the ad copies of your competitors.

Both tools are great for competitive research but SEMRush comes with additional features and benefits that will help you to really deep dive into your competitor’s marketing strategy.

Why You Should Choose Semrush Over SimilarWeb? (Top 5 Reasons)

#1 Semrush is a Truly All-In-One Marketing Tool

Semrush is a truly all-in-one marketing platform that lets you perform all the major marketing tasks like Local SEO, content marketing, paid advertisement, social media marketing, and competitor research – everything from a single platform.

Starting with just 2 sets of tools, Semrush currently has more than 50+ different kinds of powerful tools on the platform that will completely blow your mind.

Although a few years back, Semrush was actually popular because of the SEO features, now it’s recognized as the one-stop solution for all marketing needs.

I personally started using Semrush because of its outstanding keyword research tool.

But now totally depend on most of their tools.

#2 Packed With Advanced SEO Features That You Won’t Get on SimilarWeb

If you’re into SEO and looking for a tool that will truly help you grow your search engine rankings then Semrush is way ahead of Similarweb.

In fact, Similaweb was not really created for SEO purposes.

In simple words:

Similarweb is more of market research and competitive research tool.

Yes, it does have a few good SEO features but if you’re really serious about your website’s SEO, the features are just not enough.

It lacks in so many aspects.

For example, the keyword data of Semrush is much more accurate and it also gives you significantly more keyword insights than Similarweb.

And Semrush also comes with additional SEO features such as rank tracking, keyword manager, website audit, backlink gap analysis, on-page SEO checker, and more that you won’t get on Similarweb.

#3 More Accurate Data And Large Database Than SimilarWeb

Semrush truly has a gigantic database that most tools could not ever think of.

Currently, SEMRush has a database of 20B keywords, 43T backlinks, 1.6B referring domains, 500TB of raw data, 5.2M advertisers, 310M ads, and 3.5M publishers.

That is insanely huge!

And top of that, Semrush crawls 25B URLs every single day.

While on the flip side, Similarweb does not have any public data in terms of their database.

However, as per my experience of using both of these tools over the last few years, I found the data of Semrush to be much more reliable and accurate than Similarweb in so many aspects.

#4 Transparent Pricing

One of the most irritating things about Similarweb is that they don’t publicly show their pricing structure and plans.

You have to contact their team to actually the know pricing structure of the tool.

I personally think this is a bit time-consuming and also confusing for people who want to purchase the tool.

Wheres, Semrush likes to keep the pricing transparent for the users and have different kinds of plans for different sets of users.

You can simply know the pricing of Semrush by visiting their pricing page.

Or else, you can skip to the end of this article to know how much Semrush actually cost.

#5 Popular And Trusted By Millions of Marketing Professionals

Semrush is probably the most popular all-in-one marketing tool on planet earth right now.

More than 7 million marketers and SEO professionals are using this tool for their marketing efforts.

And there’s no doubt that it’s the most trusted tool among marketers.

Even companies like Tesla, Apple, IBM, P&G, Amazon, Forbs, and Walmart use SEMRush for their day-to-day marketing work.

Name any big company or marketer, there’s a high chance that they are already a proud user of SEMRush.

Why You Should Consider Choosing SmilarWeb Over Semrush?

#1 The Free Version is Decent Enough

Similarweb has a free version and free chrome extension that will help you with basic marketing research.

If you’re just getting started and new to the marketing world, the Similar web could be a great tool for you to understand how these marketing tools work and the basics of marketing metrics.

However, Semrush has a free version with limited usage and even provides a 7 day free trial to the premium plans.

#2 Great For Traffic Analysis

Similarweb is an excellent tool for conducting traffic analysis of any website.

It provides plenty of insights like total website visits, bounce rate, average visit duration, traffic by country, traffic sources, top referring websites, top traffic driving keywords, audience interest, and a lot more things that will help you gain insight into any website.

You can literally see, what are the strategies they are using, and then eventually you can use the same for your business to grow it at a much faster rate.

Semrush vs SimilarWeb: Pricing

Right now Semrush has three different pricing plans: 

• Pro – $119.95/mo
• Guru – $229.95/mo
• Business – $449.95/mo

Each of these plans comes with different sets of benefits and certain limitations as well.

Semrush also has a free version that you can access without paying anything but keep in mind that it has a hell of a lot of limitations as well.

If you want to experience the premium features without purchasing the subscription, then Semrush has a solution for that as well.

You can sign up for 14 days free trial and if by chance you don’t like the tool, then you can cancel it anytime you want.

Last but not least, if you purchase any of the Semrush premium plans, annually instead of monthly basis, then you can get up to a 17% discount on the regular pricing.

On the other hand, Similarweb does not have a clear and transparent pricing structure listed on its website.

You have to contact their team personally using a form to know the actual pricing.

I don’t exactly know what is the main reason behind it but to be honest this is extremely time-wasting for the user and confusing at the same time.

I personally contacted their team to know the pricing and they have given me a custom pricing based on the features and database I wanted.

Though the pricing they quoted me was pretty expensive but I’m not going to mention the exact amount here because the pricing could be different for you as well.

In simple words:

The pricing of Similarweb depends on your needs and it’s unpredictable.

Overall, if you ask me, I found the Semrush pricing to be much more reliable, transparent, and not confusing at the same time.

Semrush Vs SimilarWeb: Which Tool You Should Choose?

It’s a bit difficult for me to say which tool is best between Semrush vs Similarweb since both tools are not only popular but powerful as well.

However, as per my experience with these tools and based on this Semrush vs Similarweb comparison – Semrush is the best choice to go with.

Because not only does Semrush have far more features and a great interface…

…But the pricing of Semrush is quite reasonable and transparent compared to Similarweb as well.