SEO and content optimization platforms · September 2026 Edition
Semrush vs Ubersuggest
Seven of twelve models named Semrush first on the direct prompt; zero named Ubersuggest. Semrush was named by twelve of the twelve models and Ubersuggest by nine and Semrush carries 43 labels and Ubersuggest 15, so the shares are not directly comparable.
Boston, United States, founded 2008. Named in seven categories this edition.
By Neil Patel. Named in three categories this edition.
First-choice share20%12%Of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts, 0 to 100.
Negative rate23%20%Negative labels as a share of the product's labels, 0 to 100.
Rank in category#2#3A position in a field of 16; printed, not drawn.
Labels4315A count; the two differ.
The two percentage rows are drawn on one 0 to 100 track, Semrush reading right to left. Rank and label count are printed, not drawn.Surfer SEO was named alongside these two in ten of the twelve direct answers. Surfer SEO vs Semrush · Surfer SEO vs Ubersuggest
Share is the count of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts over all twelve models, for a mid-market B2B company; rank is within the category; every quote names the model and the prompt it came from. Both figures come from the SEO and content optimization platforms page.
By framing
How many of the twelve models made each the first choice, per way of asking, and how many argued against it.
SemrushFirst choices, of twelve modelsUbersuggest
Direct70
Paraphrase20
Comparative70
Budget-constrained064 against Semrush
Scale-constrained101 against Semrush
Negative105 against Semrush · 3 against Ubersuggest
Bars are first choices, 0 to 12 each sideModels that argued againstA model can name both, so the two sides of a row do not sum to twelve.
The direct prompt
The plain question, one answer per model, grouped by where Semrush and Ubersuggest stood in it.
Semrush first, Ubersuggest not the choice
7 of 12 modelsUbersuggest was named in the answer but not as the choice, or not at all.GPT-5.4 miniSemrush alternatives: Ahrefs, Clearscope, Conductor
Gemini 3.5 FlashSemrush, Surfer SEO alternatives: Ahrefs, Clearscope, SE Ranking
Perplexity SonarSemrush alternatives: Ahrefs, Clearscope, Surfer SEO
DeepSeek V4 FlashSemrush alternatives: Ahrefs, Clearscope, MarketMuse, Surfer SEO
Qwen 3.7 FlashAhrefs, Semrush alternatives: Clearscope, HubSpot, SE Ranking, Screaming Frog, Sitebulb, Surfer SEO
Kimi K2Semrush alternatives: Ahrefs, Clearscope, MarketMuse, Screaming Frog, Surfer SEO
GLM 4.7 FlashXSemrush alternatives: Ahrefs, Clearscope, NeuronWriter, Surfer SEO
Neither was the first choice, one was named
4 of 12 modelsThe answer put something else first and named one of the two as an alternative.Claude Haiku 4.5Sight AI alternatives: Intero Digital, Stratabeat, Ubersuggest, Virayo, Writesonic
Grok 4.1 FastSurfer SEO alternatives: Ahrefs, Clearscope, Frase, MarketMuse, Semrush
Mistral SmallHubSpot Content Hub, HubSpot Marketing Hub alternatives: Clearscope, MarketMuse, Semrush, Surfer SEO
Llama 4 MaverickKeygrip alternatives: Ahrefs, Clearscope, Screaming Frog, Semrush, Surfer SEO
Neither was named
1 of 12 modelsThe answer made no first choice from these two in this category.MiniMax M2.5Surfer SEO alternatives: Ahrefs, MarketMuse
Bold names in an answer are the products the judge labeled a first choice; a model naming several gives each of them that label. The full answer text for every row is in the record.
By buyer segment
The same question asked on behalf of a different buyer. Each standing is computed within its segment and they are never added together. The figures above are the mid-market standing, which is the one the category orders by.
Small business
Semrush leads by fifteen points.
Semrush21%#2 of 13Ubersuggest6%#7 of 13Mid-marketThe figures above
Semrush leads by eight points.
Semrush20%#2 of 16Ubersuggest12%#3 of 16Enterprise
Semrush leads by twelve points.
Semrush12%#3 of 13Ubersuggest0%#– of 13What the models said about Semrush
Every negative label with a quote, up to three, then the highest-weighted positives, up to three. Six of eight in this category shown.
“SEO Tools to Avoid or Use with Caution | Semrush | 40/100 (High) | 3 documented complaints; recurring billing issues” GLM 4.7 FlashX · negative prompt · hard negative
“Avoid: Enterprise tools (Ahrefs/Semrush $99–$139); overkill for small budgets.” Grok 4.1 Fast · budget prompt · hard negative
“Semrush ($140+/mo) — great but overkill for most small budgets” DeepSeek V4 Flash · budget prompt · hard negative
“Semrush is the strongest all-in-one SEO platform for keyword research, site audits, rank tracking, competitive analysis, PPC, and content marketing workflows.” Perplexity Sonar · comparative prompt · first choice
“Choose Ahrefs or Semrush if you need a baseline tool for overall website health, backlink tracking, and competitor espionage.” Gemini 3.5 Flash · comparative prompt · first choice
“If you want one platform only, Semrush is often the best balance of capability, breadth, and cost for mid-market teams.” GPT-5.4 mini · direct prompt · first choice
What the models said about Ubersuggest
Every negative label with a quote, up to three, then the highest-weighted positives, up to three. Six of seven in this category shown.
“Ubersuggest | 42/100 (High) | Persistent quality complaints; often criticized for outdated features” GLM 4.7 FlashX · negative prompt · hard negative
“Persistent data quality complaints ... Don't make strategic decisions based on its data alone.” DeepSeek V4 Flash · negative prompt · soft negative
“Persistent quality complaints; data accuracy issues | Moderate” Kimi K2 · negative prompt · soft negative
“I’d pick Ubersuggest for most budget-conscious companies because it gives the broadest useful feature set at a relatively low entry price” Perplexity Sonar · budget prompt · first choice
“Ubersuggest stands out as the top overall pick for most small businesses needing both SEO and content optimization under $30/month” Grok 4.1 Fast · budget prompt · first choice
“My top recommendation: Start with Ubersuggest ($29/month) if you need keyword research and competitor analysis” Mistral Small · budget prompt · first choice
Comparisons are drawn for the top three products in each category. The output is the models' output; nothing here is a recommendation by the index.