Semrush alternatives: 6 open-source picks
Semrush costs $139/mo — $1,668 a year. These 6 alternatives replace it for $0, led by Claude SEO, Qiaomu SEO and Plausible. All 6 are open source. License, stars and last commit checked by hand on 2026-08-29. No trials, no crippled tiers.
Claude SEO is a free, open-source SEO toolkit for Claude Code — with **25 sub-skills, 18 specialist agents, 32 commands, and 8 optional extensions.** Run `/seo setup`, check `/seo doctor`, and start your audit.
licenseMIT
runsyour server
setupnot verified by us yet — check the repo README
facts verified 2026-08-29
AI-powered SEO skill for Claude Code, Cursor, and Codex covering technical audits, research, planning, implementation, and verification across Google, Bing, and AI search.
licenseMIT
runsyour server
setupnot verified by us yet — check the repo README
facts verified 2026-08-29
Lightweight, privacy-friendly, cookieless web analytics in a single Docker deployment
licenseAGPL-3.0
runsyour server
setupnot verified by us yet — check the repo README
facts verified 2026-08-29
The veteran GA alternative: full-fat web analytics, heatmaps, no data sampling, and the data stays on your server.
licenseGPL-3.0
runsyour server
setupnot verified by us yet — check the repo README
facts verified 2026-08-29
Full marketing automation: segments, drip campaigns, lead scoring, landing pages. Heavy PHP stack, but it replaces a very expensive tool.
licenseGPL-3.0
runsyour server
setupnot verified by us yet — check the repo README
facts verified 2026-08-29
Search-engine position tracking for your keywords, self-hosted with email notifications.
licenseMIT
runsyour server
setupnot verified by us yet — check the repo README
facts verified 2026-08-29
What each one is, in full: Claude SEO · Qiaomu SEO · Plausible · Matomo · Mautic · SerpBear
last updated 2026-08-29 · no votes, no pay-to-list · just what's real
the usual suspects · recommended everywhere, rejected here
OpenSEOCovers organic SEO basics, but no serious PPC corpus, advertising history or content suite; DataForSEO is compulsory besides.
SEO PowerSuite FreeA respectable SEO toolbox that cannot save free projects and never had Semrush's PPC, content or AI-visibility breadth.
how to choose a Semrush alternative
Easiest to get running
Qiaomu SEO — a one-click install, no server to maintain.
Most proven
Plausible, with 23,000 GitHub stars — the largest community of the 6, which usually means more answers when something breaks.
Needs real ops to self-host
Mautic is capable but expects someone to run a server, updates and backups. Budget for that before choosing it.
what you give up by leaving Semrush
- keyword database
- competitor intelligence
- backlink/PPC data
- AI visibility data
- reports
- integrations
- data freshness
None of the picks above covers all of it. The full verdict says which gaps matter.
Semrush alternatives at a glance
| tool | license | running it | platforms | stars | active |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Claude SEO | MIT | docker to self-host | self-hosted, web | 14,000 | 2026-08 |
| Qiaomu SEO | MIT | one-click install | self-hosted, web | 386 | 2026-08 |
| Plausible | AGPL-3.0 | one-click install | self-hosted, web | 23,000 | 2026-08 |
| Matomo | GPL-3.0 | docker to self-host | self-hosted, web | 20,000 | 2026-08 |
| Mautic | GPL-3.0 | self-host, real ops | self-hosted, web | 8,000 | 2026-08 |
| SerpBear | MIT | one-click install | self-hosted, web | 5,000 | 2026-08 |
why people still pay for Semrush
They pay for market data and competitive intelligence that a solo builder cannot cheaply recreate. If none of that applies to you, any pick above saves $1,668 a year.
questions about switching from Semrush
Is there an open-source alternative to Semrush?
Yes: Claude SEO, Qiaomu SEO, Plausible and 3 more. Every tool on this page is open source: no trials, no crippled tiers.
Can open source really replace Semrush?
Our verdict is YES. Plausible (23k stars), Matomo (20k stars), Claude SEO (14k stars) are mature open-source replacements for Semrush — self-host in one command and stop paying $139/mo. The full verdict, and what you give up by switching, is at caniopensourceit.online/semrush.
What is the easiest open-source Semrush alternative to set up?
Qiaomu SEO — a one-click install, no server to maintain.
What is the most popular open-source Semrush alternative?
By GitHub stars, Plausible (23,000). Matomo is next with 20,000.
