I tested the 7 best SE Ranking alternatives

Looking for a better fit than SE Ranking? I went hands-on with the top 7 platforms to see how they stack up for keyword research, AI visibility, content creation, and agency reporting.

Maybe you're tired of SE Ranking's pricing, or you find its interface a bit much. Whatever your reason, I’ve rounded up the 7 best SE Ranking alternatives, from massive all-in-one SEO suites to powerful AI content generators.

SE Ranking is an all-in-one SEO platform, but it may not be the right fit for every user. You might be looking for more specialized features, a different user interface, or a pricing model that better suits your budget. Fortunately, there are many other options available.

The reality is, as the digital world shifts with AI search, our tools have to evolve. It's not enough to just do research anymore; you have to actually create content that performs well in both traditional search and the new AI answer engines.

Many businesses find that while they can identify target keywords, creating the content itself can be a significant challenge. AI-powered tools like the eesel AI blog writer are designed to address this by helping to scale content creation. For example, at eesel, using this tool helped increase daily impressions from 700 to over 750,000 in three months.

This guide will walk you through some of the best SE Ranking alternatives. We will cover comprehensive platforms that handle everything from site audits to backlink analysis, as well as specialized tools designed for content creation.

What is an all-in-one SEO platform?

Think of an all-in-one SEO platform as a Swiss Army knife for anyone trying to rank on Google. It’s a collection of tools designed to handle most, if not all, parts of your SEO strategy from one single dashboard.

Instead of paying for a bunch of different subscriptions for different tasks, these platforms bundle everything you need together. This usually includes tools for:

• Keyword tracking and research
• Technical site audits
• Backlink analysis and building
• Content optimization and planning

And they’re not stopping there. Today, leading platforms like SE Ranking are adding new modules for things like AI Visibility (which tracks your brand's mentions in AI search engines like ChatGPT), Content Marketing, and Local Marketing.

The main idea is to give you a central hub for your entire organic growth strategy. From figuring out what your audience is searching for to peeking at competitor strategies and tracking your own performance, it’s all supposed to be in one place.

Our criteria for selecting the best alternatives

To make this list actually helpful, we didn't just pull names from a hat. We looked at each platform through a consistent lens, focusing on what really matters to marketers, business owners, and creators.

Here’s what we focused on:

• Core SEO functionality: First and foremost, the tool has to nail the basics. We prioritized platforms with strong features for keyword research, rank tracking, backlink analysis, and technical site audits. The size and freshness of their data were big factors.
• Content creation and optimization: Modern SEO is driven by content. We looked for tools with solid content optimization features (like TF*IDF analysis) or specialized solutions that are incredible at what they do, like the eesel AI blog writer, which is built to produce articles that are ready to rank.
• AI and modern search readiness: We're in a new era of search, so we had to see how well each tool is adapting. This includes features for tracking AI Overviews and checking brand visibility in large language models.
• Ease of use and support: A tool is useless if you can't figure out how to use it. We gave extra points for intuitive interfaces and customer support that is genuinely helpful and easy to get ahold of.
• Pricing and value: Does the price match the features and results? We looked at the limits on entry-level plans and the overall value you get for your money.

Comparison of the top alternatives

Here’s a quick side-by-side look at how the top SE Ranking alternatives compare before we get into the details.

The 7 best alternatives to SE Ranking

After a whole lot of testing, here's a detailed look at the platforms that make for great SE Ranking alternatives. Each one has its own personality and strengths.

1. eesel AI blog writer

While many SEO platforms focus on research and analytics, the eesel AI blog writer is a tool designed to act on those insights. It is built for users whose primary challenge is scaling the production of high-quality content. It's the tool used at eesel to grow impressions from 700 to 750,000 per day in three months.

Pros:

• It turns a single keyword into a complete, publish-ready blog post in just a few minutes.
• It automatically creates and adds AI-generated images, infographics, and tables, and even finds relevant YouTube videos to embed.
• It pulls real, relevant quotes from Reddit forums to add a human touch and social proof.
• The content is optimized for AI Answer Engines (AEO), getting you ready for the future of search.
• It learns your brand voice by scanning your website, so any product mentions sound natural.

Cons:

• Its main focus is content generation. It doesn't offer the deep backlink analysis or technical site audits you'd find in an all-in-one platform. It's meant to work alongside your favorite research tools, not replace them.

Pricing:

• You can generate your first blog completely for free to see the quality for yourself.
• Paid plans start at just $99 for 50 blog posts.

2. Semrush

Semrush is a major player in the SEO world and a direct, full-featured competitor to SE Ranking. It bills itself as an all-in-one marketing solution that goes far beyond SEO, covering PPC, content, social media, and market research.

Pros:

• Its database is enormous, with over 27.8 billion keywords and 43 trillion backlinks. You'll never run out of data to dig into.
• It offers a massive range of toolkits, including specific ones for SEO, AI Visibility, Local SEO, and Advertising.
• The Semrush Academy is a fantastic resource with free courses and certifications to help you improve your marketing skills.

Cons:

• With so many features, it can feel pretty complex and overwhelming for newcomers.
• It's one of the pricier options out there, which can be a tough pill to swallow for small businesses.

Pricing (billed monthly):

• Pro: $139.95/month
• Guru: $249.95/month
• Business: $499.95/month
• Note: Semrush also offers a new "Semrush One" bundle starting at $199/month.

3. Ahrefs

Ahrefs is well-known for its backlink analysis. It’s powered by what Cloudflare ranks as the #1 most active SEO crawler on the web, right after Google. While it has expanded into a full SEO suite, its core strength is still its link data and competitor insights.

Pros:

• It has an extensive backlink index, which is perfect for doing a deep dive into your competitors' link profiles.
• The Keywords Explorer tool gives you unique metrics like "Clicks" that help you estimate the real traffic potential of a keyword, not just its search volume.
• Its Site Audit tool is incredibly thorough, scanning for over 170 technical and on-page SEO issues.

Cons:

• There's no free trial, which makes it hard to try before you buy.
• The pricing can be a bit tricky. The higher-tier plans have unlimited credits, but the Lite plan has a 500-credit monthly limit per user, and going over that can get expensive fast.

Pricing (billed monthly):

• Lite: $129/month
• Standard: $249/month
• Advanced: $449/month
• Enterprise: Starts at $1,499/month

4. Moz Pro

Moz Pro has been a staple in the SEO community for a long time. It's known for its user-friendly design and educational content, like the Beginner's Guide to SEO. It offers a solid, dependable set of tools for all your core SEO needs.

Pros:

• Its own metrics, like Domain Authority (DA), have become industry standards for quickly judging a website's authority.
• The platform is clean and easy to navigate, making it a great choice for beginners or teams who want reliable data without the clutter.
• It offers a generous 30-day free trial for its Medium plan, giving you plenty of time to explore.

Cons:

• Some users find its backlink index isn't as large or as fresh as competitors like Ahrefs or Semrush.
• While its features are solid, it might not have the same depth as some of the more expensive competitors.

Pricing (billed monthly):

• Standard: $99/month
• Medium: $179/month
• Large: $299/month

5. Mangools

Mangools is a set of five sleek, interconnected SEO tools (KWFinder, SERPChecker, SERPWatcher, LinkMiner, and SiteProfiler) designed for simplicity and affordability. It's a popular choice with bloggers, freelancers, and small businesses who want powerful tools without the headache.

Pros:

• The interface is incredibly intuitive and looks great. It makes doing SEO feel less like a chore.
• KWFinder is one of the best tools available for finding low-competition, long-tail keywords that are easier to rank for.
• The pricing is very competitive and offers great value for money, a point often praised by experts like Brian Dean of Backlinko.

Cons:

• It's not as extensive as enterprise-level suites. Its backlink database, while impressive at 9.5 trillion backlinks, is smaller than Ahrefs or Semrush, and its site audit tool is less detailed.

Pricing (billed monthly):

• Basic: $49/month
• Premium: $69/month
• Agency: $129/month

6. DinoRANK

DinoRANK is an affordable SEO tool from Spain that packs a surprising number of features into its plans. It’s a very capable all-in-one tool that works for any language and offers features you'd usually find in much pricier platforms.

Pros:

• The value is outstanding. You get rank tracking, keyword research, site audits, and content gap analysis for a fantastic price.
• It includes a TF*IDF and semantic prominence tool for advanced content optimization, which is a great feature at this price.
• The DinoBRAIN feature uses AI to help generate SEO-optimized content and even map out entire website structures.

Cons:

• The backlink data isn't as deep as what you'd get from the top-tier players.
• The user interface and some of the documentation can feel a bit less polished compared to the market leaders.

Pricing (billed monthly):

• Starter: €42/month
• Pro: €72/month
• Business: €159/month

7. AgencyAnalytics

AgencyAnalytics is a platform designed specifically for marketing agencies that need to create automated, comprehensive client reports. Its main strength is its ability to pull data from over 80 different marketing platforms (including SE Ranking) into one clean dashboard.

Pros:

• It makes it incredibly easy to create beautiful, white-labeled reports that show your value and improve client retention.
• The drag-and-drop report editor and the huge number of integrations save countless hours of manual reporting work each month.
• It has its own rank tracker and site auditor, but it also connects with major SEO tools like Ahrefs, Semrush, and Moz.

Cons:

• It's a reporting platform first and an SEO tool second. Its built-in SEO features are more for tracking progress than for deep research.
• You'll likely use it alongside a dedicated research tool rather than as a complete replacement.

Pricing (billed monthly):

• Freelancer: $100/month
• Agency: $240/month
• Agency Pro: $450/month

How to choose the right alternative

With so many great options, the "best" tool really depends on your specific situation and what you're trying to achieve. Here’s a simple way to think about it:

• For a focus on content creation: If your primary challenge is producing optimized content at scale, a tool like the eesel AI blog writer can directly address this need.
• For an all-in-one solution: For large teams or agencies requiring a single platform for SEO, PPC, and more, Semrush offers a comprehensive suite of tools.
• For in-depth backlink analysis: For users who prioritize deep backlink data and competitive research, Ahrefs is a leading option in the industry.
• For beginners or those on a budget: Mangools and DinoRANK offer incredible value. They provide essential tools for growth without the overwhelming features or high costs of larger suites.
• For agency-focused reporting: AgencyAnalytics is built for this purpose. It will streamline your client reporting, save time, and help demonstrate your value.

For a deeper dive into how some of these tools compare head-to-head, particularly the top contenders, check out this video comparison. It provides a visual walkthrough of the user interfaces and core features of platforms like Semrush and SE Ranking, which can help you get a better feel for which one fits your workflow.

This video offers a detailed comparison between Semrush and SE Ranking to help you decide which SEO tool is the better fit for your needs.

Finding the tool that fits your workflow

SE Ranking is a capable platform, but the SEO tool market offers many strong alternatives tailored to different needs, workflows, and budgets. From comprehensive suites like Semrush to budget-friendly options like Mangools, there is a wide range of solutions available.

Ultimately, an SEO tool should help you create content that connects with your audience and improves search visibility. If content creation is a primary focus of your workflow, a specialized tool may be beneficial.

For those interested in AI-powered content generation, the eesel AI blog writer offers a free trial to create a complete, SEO-optimized blog post.