SEMrush vs Serpstat vs SpyFu – An Ultimate Comparison 2024
Are you struggling to choose the right SEO tool between SEMrush vs Serpstat vs SpyFu? All of these great SEO tools used for keyword research and competitor analysis. As a blogger who has been in digital marketing for several years, I’ve used all these tools with both free and premium versions.
Based on my experience with these SEO tools, I can help you decide which tool will be best for you and how.
In this article, I’m going to compare three top-rated SEO and marketing analytics tools. This detailed comparison guide will help make a wise decision according to your needs.
We’ll discuss their features, pricing, and how you can use them to perform competitor analysis.
Let’s dive into the details.
Before we thoroughly compare SEMrush vs Serpstat vs SpyFu, here’s a quick summary of each tool:
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 |
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| Price | $119.95/mo | $69/mo | $39/mo |
| Backlink Analysis | ★★★★★ | ★★★★★ | ★★★★★ |
| Performance | Very Good | Good | Average |
| Rank Tracking | ★★★★★ | ★★★★★ | ★★★★★ |
| Visit SEMrush | Visit Serpstat | Visit Spyfu |
SEMrush vs Serpstat vs SpyFu: Inroduction
Before we start comparing SEMrush, Serpstat, and SpyFu, let’s start with a little bit of introduction.
SEMrush
SEMrush is a world’s leading all-in-one SEO toolkit used by many SEO experts and digital marketers. This tool lets you perform keyword research, backlink analysis, SEO audit, and much more.
Here’re some features SEMrush offers:
- Keyword Research
- Domain Analytics
- Site Audit
- Display Advertising
- Position Tracking
- SEO Content Template
- Social Media Tracker
- Brand Monitoring
- PPC Keyword Tool and more…
Serpstat
Serpstat is a comprehensive SEO tool that came into limelight recently. Like SEMrush, Serpstat also loaded with lots of features like SEO, PPC, content marketing, and competitor research to take your website SEO to the next level.
Here’re some features Serpstat offers:
- Keyword Research Tool
- Backlink Analysis Tool
- Rank Tracking
- Keyword Rank Checker
- Site Audit Tool
- Competitor Analysis
- Market Intelligence
- Content Marketing Ideation
- PPC Research Tool, etc.
SpyFu
SpyFu is another fantastic SEO tool that has been around on the web for quite a long time. You can use SpyFu to spy on your competitors to find high-profitable and long-tail keywords.
Here are some features this tool offer:
- SEO Competitor Analysis
- Keyword Research
- Competitor Backlink Research
- Rank Tracker
- PPC Keyword Research
- SEO Reports
- SERP Checker and more…
SEMrush vs Serpstat vs SpyFu: User Interface
When it comes to the user interface, I don’t think a newbie will face any difficulties getting around all of these three SEO tools. All of these tools have a pleasing and easy-to-use interface.
SEMrush Dashboard
Here’s how the SEMrush dashboard looks like:
As you can see from the above image, SEMrush offers everything on dashboard, including domain analytics, backlink analysis, position tracking, site audit and other features at one place.
To use SEMrush dashboard, all you need to do is just enter your page URL, domain or a keyword into search bar and you’ll see a comprehensive view of page with truckloads of information.
Serpstat Dashboard
Now, let’s have a look at Serpstat dashboard:
When you log in to your account, you’ll notice that Serpstat offers a more refined user interface. The first thing you’ll see on the dashboard is the “List of Projects” where you can see every website you’ve saved as a project.
Like SEMrush, Serpstat also lets you analyze domain name, a keyword, or a URL just by entering it in the search bar and hit the “Search” button.
As you can see, Serpstat provides you an overview of the domain’s estimated organic traffic, ranking keywords, and backlinks information.
SpyFu Dashboard
Now, let’s see how SpyFu’s user interface looks like:
As you can see from the above image, the SpyFu dashboard offers you a great set of metrics for every domain you search for. These metrics include organic search results, paid search results, organic competitors, a list of paid competitors, and so on.
Verdict: All of these three tools offer tons of useful features including keyword research, backlink analysis, competitor research. However, Serpstat provides you more streamlined and responsive interface which makes it a better choice for beginners.
SEMrush vs Serpstat vs SpyFu: Keyword Research
Keyword research is the main reason why bloggers and digital marketers use tools like SEMrush, Serpstat, and SpyFu.
With this, you can find a lot of profitable keywords to write content on your blog in order to gain some organic traffic.
To make the comparison fair, we’ll use the same keyword to test on all of three tools i.e. SEMrush vs Serpstat vs SpyFu.
SEMrush Keyword Research
To get started with SEMrush, just put your keyword in the search bar and hit the enter button. You’ll see a keyword analytics overview loaded with lots of helpful insight like this:
On the Keyword Overview page, you’ll see helpful information like keyword volume, keyword difficulty, SERP features, long-tail keywords, etc.
Apart from this, SEMrush offers an amazing keyword research tool called “Keyword Magic Tool” that provides you a bunch of profitable keyword ideas you need to write SEO optimized content.
As you can see, Keyword Magic Tool offers you different types of keyword choices including:
- Broad match keywords
- Phrase match keywords
- Exact match keywords, and
- Related keywords
All these keywords include data like monthly search volume, search trends, keyword difficulty, CPC, competition, etc.
Now, let’s see how you can use the Serpstat keyword analysis tool.
Serpstat Keyword Research Tool
Like SEMrush, the Serpstat keyword research tool also provides you useful data like search volume, keyword difficulty, PPC competition, and CPC, etc.
For this, you need to enter in your seed keyword inside the search bar.
You can expand your keyword list by clicking on the “Show All” button. Here’s how it looks:
The great thing about Serpstat is that it also gives you information on SERP features such as featured snippet, video thumbnail, related keywords, carousel, knowledge panels, etc.
Now, let’s have a look at the SpyFu keyword research tool.
SpyFu Keyword Research Tool
The SpyFu keyword research tool is pretty good that provides you a list of highly profitable keywords and traffic generating keyword ideas for your blog content. You just need to enter your seed keyword in the search bar to get detailed report.
From the above image, you can see the metrics SpyFu provides you for the specific keyword which include data like monthly search volume, estimated clicks, similar keywords, question-based keywords, and so on.
When you scroll down a bit, you’ll see an organic ranking history of the top 10 positions for that particular keyword.
The traffic spikes in the above graph image showing how you can easily find your competitor’s organic ranking history from the last 6 months, 1 year, 2 years, and so on.
Verdict: Well, all these three tools perform well in this aspect, but I’ll go for SEMrush as it has more robust data collection to find high-profitable keyword ideas.
SEMrush vs Serpstat vs SpyFu: Backlink Analysis
Backlink analysis is a great way to find link building opportunities and spying on your competitors to exploit their weaknesses. Let’s discuss in detail which tool performs better in backlink analysis.
Note: We’ll compare the data for the same domain to find out which tool provides more in-depth metrics and information.
SEMrush Backlink Analysis
To use SEMrush backlink analytics, enter a domain of your choice and you’ll get a detailed overview of that particular website. Here’s how it looks like:
SEMrush backlink analysis gives you a lot of useful data like:
- Domain authority score
- Number of referring domains
- Total number of backlinks
- Monthly visits
- Competitors and so on…
If you click on the “Backlinks” tab, you’ll see all the backlinks data along with their sources so you can easily figure out which websites are linking to your competitors.
You can also filter out those backlinks according to follow, nofollow, and new or lost tags.
Serpstat Backlink Analysis Tool
Like SEMrush, Serpstat also has its own backlink analysis tool to analyze the backlink profile of your competitors, although it’s quite lagging behind the tools like SEMrush and Ahrefs as it has less backlink database compared to them.
To use this tool, head over to the “Backlink Dashboard” under the “Backlink Analysis” tab in the left sidebar.
Serpstat provides you a lot of backlink data including:
- Serpstat domain rank (SDR)
- Referring domains and IPs
- Total number of backlinks (including follow and nofollow links) and so on…
If you click on the “Referring Domains” tab, you’ll see a list of domains that have external links leading to your analyzed domain.
Serpstat also lets you see competitor’s malicious liked sites, active backlinks, lost and external backlinks, anchors and top pages, etc.
SpyFu Backlink Analysis Tool
Like SEMrush and Serpstat, SpyFu also displays the backlinks of a particular domain. It has managed to provide you a decent number of backlinks for the domain you analyze.
SpyFu also offers a “Backlink Kombat” feature that lets you find the backlinks your competitor gets bu you do not. However, the backlinks data provided by SpyFu is very less when compared to SEMrush.
Verdict: When it comes to backlink analysis, SEMrush clearly wins here because it provides more detailed data for a competitor’s research.
Serpstat and SpyFu are not bad either but they have less backlinks database compared to SEMrush.
SEMrush vs Serpstat vs SpyFu: Rank Tracker
All of these three tools come with rank tracking features that let you monitor your keyword rankings in search engines.
Let’s find out which tool performs better in terms of rank tracking.
SEMrush Rank Tracker
SEMrush rank tracking feature provides you more robust data that Serpstat and SpyFu. It offers helpful metrics like visibility score, estimated traffic, average position, and ranking distribution graph to help you improve your search analysis.
SEMrush updates their data on a daily basis and also sends a monthly report of the performance of your website’s SEO audit.
Similar to SEMrush, Serpstat also offers rank tracking feature. Let’s see how it works.
Serpstat Rank Tracker
The Serpstat rank tracker lets you track your domain for the keywords. To use this feature, you’ll need to create a project where you’ll have to add your domain and other required information. Here’s how Serpstat rank tracker looks like:
As you can see, Serpstat shows you keyword ranking positions in a graph view, this helps you easier to determine which content in your site is performing well and which needs improvement.
Now, let’s have a look at the SpyFu rank tracker tool.
SpyFu Rank Tracker
Like SEMrush and Serpstat, you’ll also need to create a project to use the SpyFu rank tracker feature. The rank tracker also sends you a weekly update of your rankings.
From the above image, you can see SpyFu allows you to track both organic keyword rankings and PPC keyword rankings.
Verdict: SEMrush, Serpstat, and SpyFu all tools perform the same task in terms of rank tracking, but I prefer SEMrush from them because it offers more advanced features and in-depth data.
SEMrush vs Serpstat vs SpyFu: Site Audit
Site audit and website tracking is an important SEO tool that helps you know the SEO health status of your website.
Note: Please note that from all three tools, only SEMrush and Serpstat offer SEO audit functionality to perform a regular audit of your website. Here, we’ll explain how both tools perform in terms of site audit.
SEMrush SEO Audit
To use the SEMrush SEO audit feature, you’ve to add your website to the project, and then you’ll see a total health score of your website based on issues detected on your website.
As you can see, SEMrush will instantly show you an overview of your site’s health including information like Site Health, Errors, Warnings, Notices, etc.
If you click on the issue, you’ll find what these errors are and how to fix them.
Now, let’s see how Serpstat technical SEO audit works.
Serpstat Site Audit
To use this tool, go to “Audit Summary” under the “Site Audit” tab and select the website you want to audit.
As you can see, Serpstat analyzes some of the on-page SEO factors like HTTP status code, length of the title, length of description, and so on.
After scrolling a little bit, you’ll see a full list of errors with recommendations on how to fix them.
Verdict: Ultimately, SEMrush bags the medal in site audit, because it provides more detailed recommendations on how to fix the issues. Whereas SpyFu lack site audit feature.
SEMrush vs Serpstat vs SpyFu: Pricing
At this point, you may be wondering what these tools will cost you. As it turns out, each involves a fairly different pricing structure.
SEMrush Pricing
SEMrush offer four different plans which include:
- SEMrush Pro – $119.95 per month. Ideal for freelancers, startups, and in-house marketers. You’ll get 10,000 results per report, up to 500 keywords to track, create up to 3 projects and 3000 reports per day, etc.
- SEMrush Guru – $229.95 per month. Ideal for SMB and growth marketing agencies. You’ll get 30,000 results per report, up to 1500 keywords to track, create up to 50 projects and 5000 reports per day, etc.
- SEMrush Business – $449.95 per month. Ideal for big marketing agencies. You’ll get 50,000 results per report, up to 6000 keywords to track, create unlimited projects and 10,000 reports per day, etc.
- SEMrush Enterprise – To get this plan, you’ll need to contact the SEMrush team for custom volume and pricing that fit the marketing needs of your business.
Serpstat Pricing
Like SEMrush, Serpstat also offers four different pricing plans which include:
- Serpstat Lite: $69 per month. It includes 10,000 results per report, 4,000 queries per day, create up to 10 projects, etc. It allows only 1 user access.
- Serpstat Standard: $149 per month. It includes everything from the ‘Lite’ plan, plus 30,000 results per report, 5,000 queries per day, and can create up to 50 projects, etc. It allows up to three team members to get access.
- Serpstat Advanced: $299 per month. It comes with all features from the ‘Standard’ plan, plus 50,000 results per report, 8,000 queries per day, and can create up to 75 projects, etc. It allows you to add up to five team members.
- Serpstat Enterprise: $499 per month. It includes everything from the ‘Enterprise” plan plus 75,000 results per report, 12,000 queries per day, and can create up to 100 projects, etc. It allows you to add up to seven team members.
SpyFu Pricing
SpyFu offers three types of pricing option which include:
- SpyFu Basic: $39 per month. It includes 10k top lists results, unlimited search results, unlimited domain overview, etc. Ideal for individuals.
- SpyFu Professional: $78 per month. It includes 50k top lists results, 15k weekly tracked keyword rankings, and more.
- SpyFu Team: $299 per month. Ideal for teams who need 5 user accounts.
Verdict: In terms of pricing, SpyFu is the cheaper option from all three SEO tools. However, I’ll prefer to buy SEMrush because, under a single roof, it provides a plethora of valuable features including backlinks, keywords, website traffic, PPC campaigns, content SEO, and much more.
Conclusion: Who is the Winner?
Well, we have discussed everything about SEMrush, Serpstat, and SpyFu in detail, so you might come to a conclusion to decide which tool is best for you. However, I’d say that the best SEO tool remains the one that will be best suited to your technical level, your aspirations, and your needs.
If you’re still confused between them, then I will give you some ideas so that you can make your final choice in an informed way:
- If you’re on a low budget and looking for an affordable SEO tool then SpyFu will be an ideal choice for you.
- If you’re looking for a budget-friendly and comprehensive SEO toolkit, then Serpstat may be a great choice for you.
- If performance is your number one choice criterion over budget, then SEMrush is undoubtedly one of the best all in one SEO tool for you.
So, what do you think of these three SEO tools? Which one do you use or intend to use?
Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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Hi there,
I just wanted to say how much I enjoyed this insightful comparison of SEMrush and SpyFu! The detailed analysis of their features, pricing, and usability was enlightening. It’s clear that both tools have their unique strengths, and your breakdown makes it easier for readers to determine which platform might best suit their needs.
I especially appreciated the real-world examples you provided – they really brought the information to life! If possible, it would be great to hear more about any user experiences or case studies that highlight the effectiveness of each tool in various scenarios.
Thanks for sharing such valuable content; I look forward to your future posts!