On smaller screens, scroll sideways to compare both tools.
| Compare features | Screaming Frog SEO Spider | Semrush |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | A desktop website crawler for Windows, macOS and Linux, useful for inspecting URLs, links and page metadata. | An SEO platform for keyword research, competitor analysis, and site audits. Check which AI search capabilities are included in your selected package. |
| Category | SEO & marketing | SEO & marketing |
| Paid entry price | Check official pricingMonthly equivalent, billed annually · Annual licence The free crawl is capped at 500 URLs. Paid licences run for a year; verify currency, tax and required users at checkout. | US$139 / mo+Billed monthly · SEO Shown for the SEO plan billed monthly. Annual equivalents, additional users, other toolkits, and tax are excluded. |
| Free plan | Supported | Supported |
| Japanese support | Unverified | Unverified |
| Deployment | Desktop | Cloud |
| Reasons to choose |
|
|
| Before you subscribe |
|
|
| Pricing checked | 2026-10-27 | 2026-10-26 |
| Official pricing | Check pricing | Check pricing |
Prices exclude tax, currency conversion and introductory discounts. Different currencies and billing periods are not directly comparable. Japanese support can apply to input, output or the interface; check each tool’s scope.
For migration checks, start with URLs
A migration review begins with old URLs and their intended destinations. A crawler such as Screaming Frog can be assessed against that inspection task. A broad research package does not, by its breadth, demonstrate that your redirect mapping is correct.
For a new market, examine research coverage
Crawling your own existing pages cannot fully explain demand in a topic you do not cover. Assess research features for the relevant market, then compare proposed topics with your content inventory. A new keyword is not automatically a reason to create another page.
Justify overlap using a missing job
If you already pay for Semrush, test whether its selected package completes the audit before adding a second subscription. Conversely, a working crawl process does not eliminate a recurring competitor-research bottleneck. Overlap is justified by an unmet job, not by collecting differently named dashboards.
Example: research and release checks in the same month
A month with both new-category planning and a URL migration contains two distinct deliverables. One needs audience and market research; the other needs old-to-new validation. Test whether existing access completes both and fill only the unmet job. Record owners and outcomes separately, then reconsider the setup when one temporary job ends instead of keeping the whole stack by habit.
Separate recurring access from temporary inspection needs
A migration’s inspection workload may disappear after the project ends. At renewal, list the investigations and research still expected. Do not assume that a dedicated crawler is now unnecessary or that a suite must cover everything; test the remaining job. The purpose is to prevent a temporary project stack from becoming an unexplained permanent expense. Retain evidence needed for support and handover before changing access to either tool.
Keep tool activity separate from implemented work
URLs inspected and keywords generated describe activity. Resolved faults, clearer page purposes and useful audience behavior describe different outcomes. Test one inspection and one planning task, then keep the combination that produces work your team is able to implement.
Official sources
Pricing, availability and feature limits can change. Check the linked official pages before subscribing.
- Screaming Frog SEO SpiderInformation checked: 2026-10-28
- Semrush SEO + AI Search pricingInformation checked: 2026-10-26
- Google crawlable link guidanceInformation checked: 2026-10-27
- Screaming Frog pricingInformation checked: 2026-10-28
- Semrush free account guideInformation checked: 2026-10-26
- Semrush Keyword Magic ToolInformation checked: 2026-10-26
- Semrush AI Visibility ToolkitInformation checked: 2026-10-26