Head to head
Semrush vs Profound
Short answer. These are different categories doing different jobs: Semrush is a seo suite, Profound is a ai visibility tracker. Comparing them is really a question of which job you need done first. Profound is the cheaper way in at $99/mo (billed yearly) against from $139/mo ($117.33/mo annual). On AI search visibility Profound is ahead (Native against Tracking). Choose Semrush if you match its target profile: sEO professionals, marketers and agencies that need the deepest data and competitive analysis available. Choose Profound if you match its: brands treating AI visibility as a reportable marketing channel with budget attached.
Semrush
The broadest SEO and competitive-intelligence suite, now split into an SEO plan and higher tiers that bundle AI search visibility tracking.
from $139/mo ($117.33/mo annual)7-day free trial, plus a permanent free plan
Visit Semrush (opens in a new tab)
Profound
Enterprise-leaning answer-engine analytics platform that tracks how AI systems describe your brand and which sources they pull from.
$99/mo (billed yearly)Free trial offered on the Growth plan (duration not published)
Visit Profound (opens in a new tab)
Side by side
| Semrush | Profound | |
|---|---|---|
| Category | SEO suite | AI visibility tracker |
| Entry price | from $139/mo ($117.33/mo annual) | $99/mo (billed yearly) |
| Free trial | 7-day free trial, plus a permanent free plan | Free trial offered on the Growth plan (duration not published) |
| AI search (GEO) | Tracking | Native |
| Best for | SEO professionals, marketers and agencies that need the deepest data and competitive analysis available. | Brands treating AI visibility as a reportable marketing channel with budget attached. |
| Integrations | Google Search Console, Google Analytics, WordPress, Looker Studio, API, MCP | API, Slack |
| Languages | Multilingual | Multilingual |
Where they actually differ
Ten capabilities, same definition for both tools, taken from each vendor's published documentation. The rows below are only the ones where the two disagree, because those are the rows that decide the purchase.
| Capability | Semrush | Profound |
|---|---|---|
| Writes content | Partial | No |
| Keyword research | Yes | No |
| On-page optimization | Yes | Partial |
| Technical audit | Yes | No |
| Backlinks | Yes | No |
| Rank tracking | Yes | No |
| Internal linking | Partial | No |
| Free tier | Yes | No |
Pricing compared
Semrush: The $139 SEO plan does not include AI visibility. Prompt tracking starts with the $199/mo Starter plan (50 prompts daily), rising to 100 on Pro+ and 200 on Advanced. A free plan exists with no card required.
| Plan | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0/mo | Limited daily lookups, no credit card required. |
| SEO | $139/mo ($117.33 annual) | 5 websites, 500 keywords tracked daily, position tracking, site audit. |
| Starter (SEO + AI Search) | $199/mo ($165.17 annual) | Adds AI visibility tracking, 50 prompts tracked daily across Google, ChatGPT, Perplexity and Gemini. |
| Pro+ | $299/mo ($248.17 annual) | 100 prompts tracked daily plus expanded limits. |
| Advanced | $549/mo ($455.67 annual) | 200 prompts tracked daily, largest limits. |
Profound: Starter tracks ChatGPT only. Multi-engine coverage starts at $399/mo. Yearly billing gives two months free.
| Plan | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Starter | $99/mo yearly | ChatGPT only, 50 prompts tracked, 100 agent credits per month, email support. |
| Growth | $399/mo yearly | 3 answer engines, 100 prompts tracked, 400 agent credits, email support. |
| Enterprise | Custom | Up to 9 answer engines, multiple companies tracked, dedicated Slack support, SSO/SAML, SOC 2. |
Entry price is the wrong number to compare on its own. Add seats, add the tier that unlocks the feature you came for, and the gap usually moves. Run both through the stack cost calculator to see the annual figure.
Semrush in detail
The broadest SEO and competitive-intelligence suite, now split into an SEO plan and higher tiers that bundle AI search visibility tracking. AI visibility is a paid tier rather than an add-on: the $139 SEO plan excludes it, and prompt volume scales with price from 50 to 200 daily.
Strengths
- Deepest dataset and competitive analysis in the category
- Free plan and 7-day trial make evaluation cheap
- AI visibility is native to the platform, not a separate subscription
Limits
- Expensive once you need AI search: the real entry point becomes $199/mo
- Many features gated behind higher tiers or paid add-ons
- Extra seats start at $45/mo
Read the full Semrush review →
Profound in detail
Enterprise-leaning answer-engine analytics platform that tracks how AI systems describe your brand and which sources they pull from. This is a pure GEO product. Growth covers ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google AI Overviews; Enterprise extends to as many as nine engines including Gemini, Copilot, Grok, DeepSeek and Claude.
Strengths
- The deepest citation and source analysis in the category
- Enterprise controls (SOC 2, SSO) that most GEO startups lack
- $99 entry makes the category testable
Limits
- The $99 tier watches ChatGPT and nothing else
- Real multi-engine coverage costs $399/mo
- Analytics only: nothing here produces content
Read the full Profound review →
How to choose between them
Go with Semrush when
- Deepest dataset and competitive analysis in the category
- Free plan and 7-day trial make evaluation cheap
- AI visibility is native to the platform, not a separate subscription
Go with Profound when
- The deepest citation and source analysis in the category
- Enterprise controls (SOC 2, SSO) that most GEO startups lack
- $99 entry makes the category testable
Whichever way you lean, run the trials on the same brief before you commit: Semrush gives you 7-day free trial, plus a permanent free plan and Profound gives you free trial offered on the growth plan (duration not published). Judging output on your own topic beats any comparison table, including this one.
Frequently asked questions
Semrush vs Profound: which is better?
Neither is better in the abstract. Semrush suits seo professionals, marketers and agencies that need the deepest data and competitive analysis available. Profound suits brands treating ai visibility as a reportable marketing channel with budget attached. Match the tool to the job you actually need done and the answer is usually obvious; if it is not, our tool finder narrows it in about a minute.
Is Semrush cheaper than Profound?
Profound has the lower entry price: $99/mo (billed yearly) against from $139/mo ($117.33/mo annual). Entry price is not total cost though, because both vendors gate features by tier. Compare full plan tables on the pricing comparison.
Which one is better for AI search visibility?
Profound. This is a pure GEO product. Growth covers ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google AI Overviews; Enterprise extends to as many as nine engines including Gemini, Copilot, Grok, DeepSeek and Claude.
Can I use Semrush and Profound together?
Yes, and plenty of teams do. The common stack pairs a tool that produces work with a tool that measures or researches it, because those two jobs rarely live in the same product. Before you stack, price the combined subscription in the stack cost calculator: two mid-tier tools often cost more than one plan that covers both.
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Last verified 2 August 2026. Prices, plans and features on this page were read on each vendor's own site on that date. Vendors change pricing often, so confirm before you buy. Spotted an error? Tell us and we will fix it.