The 6 Best Surfer SEO Alternatives (Tested and Reviewed)

Let's be real, Surfer SEO is a big deal in the content world, and for good reason. It has helped many users improve their on-page SEO with its data-heavy Content Editor and SERP analyzer. However, users may seek alternatives for various reasons, such as pricing or the need for a different feature set.

Surfer is the one tool I’d want to keep above almost any other. But their pricing has ratcheted up as they’ve added more features.

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Finding the right tool involves more than just keyword optimization. It's about finding a tool that supports the creation of high-quality content for both readers and search engines. This guide provides a breakdown of six popular Surfer SEO alternatives to help you choose the right one for your needs.

What is a content optimization tool?

To begin, it's helpful to define what a content optimization tool is. It analyzes top-ranking pages for a target keyword and provides data-backed recommendations for creating content. These tools identify commonalities among top-ranking results to provide actionable insights. They usually look at hundreds of signals, which can be broken down into four main categories, as shown in this graphic.

• Keywords and Topics: Pointing out the important terms and related ideas you need to cover to be thorough.

• Content Structure: Suggesting things like word count, how many headings to use, and paragraph length based on what's already ranking.

• Links: Recommending relevant internal links to build your site's authority and external links to back up your claims.

• Readability: Giving your content a grade for clarity to make sure it’s easy for your audience to read.

While tools like Surfer are great for polishing a draft, a new wave of platforms is taking it a step further. They can generate the entire article from scratch, complete with images, links, and a more natural tone.

Criteria for selecting Surfer SEO alternatives

Each tool was evaluated based on a set of criteria. The evaluation focused on platforms that offer core content optimization features along with unique functionalities.

To provide a clear comparison, here are the five key criteria I looked for in each tool:

• Quality of Output: This refers to the tool's ability to produce well-researched, readable articles that require minimal editing.

• Ease of Use: This considers the user-friendliness of the interface and the simplicity of the workflow from content creation to completion.

• Core Features: This includes standard features like SERP analysis, keyword suggestions, content briefs, and real-time content scoring, as well as additional features like AI article generation, asset creation, and tracking for AI answer engines.

• Value for Money: This assesses the tool's pricing in relation to its features, user limits, and overall return on investment.

• Integrations: This evaluates the tool's ability to integrate with other common platforms, such as Google Docs and WordPress.

Quick comparison of the top Surfer SEO alternatives

A closer look at 6 top Surfer SEO alternatives

Here’s a detailed breakdown of each tool, including what makes it stand out and who it's best for.

1. eesel AI blog writer

Many AI writers generate a first draft that requires significant editing. The eesel AI blog writer is designed to address this by taking you from a single keyword to a complete, SEO-optimized, and publish-ready blog post in just a few minutes.

It generates a complete article, including various assets. It creates AI images, infographics, and tables, and even finds and embeds relevant YouTube videos and Reddit quotes to add context and social proof. The content is also optimized for AEO (Answer Engine Optimization), so it’s ready for things like Google AI Overviews and Perplexity. Users provide a topic and website for context, and the tool generates the content.

A key benefit is its ability to generate content quickly. It creates a complete piece of content with assets. The tool is focused on generating entire posts rather than serving as a real-time editor for existing drafts.

Pricing is simple: $99 for 50 blogs. A free trial is available, allowing users to test the output quality.

2. SE Ranking

SE Ranking is a comprehensive option for users seeking an all-in-one SEO tool. While Surfer is laser-focused on content, SE Ranking is a full SEO suite with rank tracking, site audits, backlink analysis, and more. Its Content Marketing platform is the component that directly compares with Surfer.

The Content Editor analyzes the SERPs and gives you suggestions on keywords, word count, and structure, along with a content score. It also has an AI writer to help with outlines and paragraphs. A notable feature is its AI Visibility Tracker, which shows you if your brand is appearing in Google AIOs, ChatGPT, and other answer engines. This is particularly useful for agencies or teams managing their entire SEO strategy in one spot.

The primary advantage of SE Ranking is its wide range of functionalities. However, the content features may not be as specialized as those in a dedicated content tool, and the interface can be complex for new users.

Pricing is flexible. The Essential plan starts at $52/month (paid annually), but you have to buy the Content Marketing tool as an add-on, which costs another $23.20/month for 15 articles.

3. Frase

Frase excels at the research and content briefing stages of writing. Its standout feature is how quickly it can analyze the top search results and generate a detailed content brief. This brief is packed with competitor outlines, common questions from places like Reddit and Quora, key topics, and stats, saving users hours of manual research.

Heck, even Frase is way better than Surfer.

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A feature that makes Frase stand out is its dual focus on SEO and GEO (Generative Engine Optimization). This means it not only helps you rank on Google but also helps you create content that gets cited by AI platforms like ChatGPT. Its editor scores your text and suggests terms, just like Surfer, and it has AI writing features to help you draft faster.

Frase's main advantage is its speed in generating research and briefs. Its focus on GEO helps prepare content for future search trends. On the other hand, some people find its AI-generated text needs a bit more editing than other tools.

The pricing is competitive, with the Starter plan at $38 per month if you pay annually, making it a solid option for freelancers and small businesses.

4. Clearscope

Clearscope is often seen as the premium, enterprise-level option in this space. It's used by many content teams because its keyword and entity suggestions are high-quality. The platform uses natural language processing (NLP) to give you highly relevant term recommendations that help you write truly comprehensive content.

Its content editor is clean and simple, with a unique grading system. Instead of a number score, it gives you a letter grade (from F to A++), which some users find more intuitive. Clearscope also has features for tracking your visibility on Google and in AI chatbots and finding good topics for building out content clusters.

Clearscope's main strength is the quality of its recommendations and its straightforward editor. It also has great collaboration features and integrates with Google Docs and WordPress. The biggest drawback is the price. At $129 per month for the Essentials plan, it’s a bigger investment and may be outside the budget for solo creators.

5. MarketMuse

MarketMuse is a comprehensive platform aimed at enterprises that need a full content strategy solution. It was one of the first tools of its kind and is known for its powerful topic modeling and planning features. The big difference from Surfer is its focus on building topical authority across your whole website, not just optimizing one page at a time.

One of its unique features is the Personalized Difficulty score. Instead of a generic score, MarketMuse tells you how hard it would be for your specific website to rank for a keyword, based on your existing authority. This is particularly helpful for deciding where to focus your energy. The platform also has tools for content audits, competitor analysis, and creating data-driven briefs.

A key advantage of MarketMuse is its strategic, site-wide approach. However, its extensive features can result in a steeper learning curve. Its high price is also a major consideration, with paid plans starting at $149 per month, putting it out of reach for most small teams.

6. Semrush

If your team is already using the Semrush ecosystem, its content marketing tools are a logical choice. The SEO Writing Assistant isn't a standalone product but a feature included in their higher-tier plans. It works directly inside Google Docs and WordPress, bringing SEO suggestions right where you write.

The tool gives you real-time feedback on readability, SEO, originality, and tone of voice. It pulls all its keyword and competitor data from Semrush's database, which is a comprehensive data source.

The primary benefit is the seamless integration. If you’re already a heavy Semrush user, it creates a smooth workflow. Conversely, the tool itself is more basic than dedicated platforms and doesn't generate full briefs. However, access requires a fairly expensive Semrush plan. Access requires a Semrush One Pro+ plan, which will set you back $248.17 per month (billed annually).

Key considerations for choosing a Surfer SEO alternative

Before selecting a tool, consider what is most important for your workflow. Switching tools can be a significant decision, so here are a few things to keep in mind.

First, consider your main goal. Are you looking for a helper to optimize drafts you've already written? Or do you want a tool that can generate a complete article? A tool like Clearscope is perfect for the first scenario, while a platform like the eesel AI blog writer is built for the second.

Second, evaluate your budget and team size. A solo blogger has different needs than a 20-person content team. Tools like Frase are great on a budget, while MarketMuse and Clearscope are aimed at companies with larger budgets. It is practical to choose a plan that aligns with the features you will use.

Finally, consider how the tool fits into your existing workflow. If you spend all day in Google Docs, an integration like the ones from Semrush or Clearscope is essential. If your goal is to publish faster with fewer manual steps, a tool that generates text, images, and everything else in one go will be highly beneficial.

For a visual comparison of how some of these tools stack up against each other, the video below provides a detailed walkthrough of several top contenders, including Clearscope and Frase, offering insights into their user interfaces and optimization workflows.

A video breakdown comparing several popular Surfer SEO alternatives, exploring their features and costs for content optimization.

Which Surfer SEO alternative is right for you?

There is no single "best" tool; the right choice depends on your specific needs.

If you're an agency or a big team already paying for Semrush, its Writing Assistant is a useful add-on. For those with a bigger budget who need advanced help optimizing existing drafts, Clearscope is a strong option. And if you're working with a limited budget and mostly need help with research and briefs, Frase offers significant value.

For users whose primary goal is to scale content production and generate complete blog posts from a keyword quickly, the eesel AI blog writer is designed for this purpose. It is a tool designed to deliver a complete article rather than just an initial draft. You can try it for free to evaluate its performance.

Learn more about Surfer SEO: Surfer SEO review, Surfer SEO pricing, what is Surfer SEO, Surfer SEO free trial, Surfer SEO Chrome extension, and Surfer SEO AI humanizer. For comparisons, see Surfer SEO vs Ahrefs, Surfer SEO vs Semrush, Surfer SEO vs Clearscope, Surfer SEO vs SEO.ai, Surfer SEO vs Anyword, Frase vs Surfer SEO, Rytr vs Surfer SEO, Copy.ai vs Surfer SEO, and Writesonic vs Surfer SEO.