The Semrush Alternative That Won't Break the Bank

Get actionable SEO insights and AI visibility monitoring for 85% less than Semrush — with a free scan in 60 seconds.

Pricing comparison

BEST VALUE

Lumio SEO

$19/mo or $190/year

40+ SEO checks, AI Visibility Score, weekly automated scans, AI-powered recommendations, unlimited pages

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Semrush

$139.95/mo (Pro) or $249.95/mo (Guru)

Full SEO suite including keyword research, backlink analysis, site audit, position tracking, content tools

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Save $1,400+ per year with Lumio SEO

Why choose Lumio SEO over Semrush?

Semrush is one of the most comprehensive SEO platforms on the market, and for good reason. It offers an enormous suite of tools covering keyword research, competitive analysis, backlink auditing, content marketing, and more. For agencies and enterprise teams running complex multi-site SEO campaigns, Semrush is hard to beat.

But here's the reality: most small business owners, freelancers, and solo marketers don't need 50+ tools. They need to know if their pages are properly optimized, whether search engines can crawl their content, and how they show up in AI-powered search results. They're paying $139.95/month or more for a handful of features they actually use.

Lumio SEO was built for exactly this use case. For $19/month, you get 40+ on-page SEO checks, an AI Visibility Score that monitors your presence across ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, and Perplexity, plus automated weekly scans that catch issues before they hurt your rankings. No steep learning curve, no feature bloat — just the insights you need to improve your search visibility.

See the difference yourself

Scan your website free with Lumio SEO and compare the results to what you get from Semrush.

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No signup required. Results in 60 seconds.

Feature-by-feature comparison

Feature
Lumio SEO
Semrush
On-Page SEO
On-Page SEO Audit
40+ checks
200+ checks
Meta Tags Analysis
Content Optimization
AI-powered recommendations
SEO Writing Assistant
AI & Visibility
AI Visibility Score
Built-in (ChatGPT, Perplexity, AI Overviews)
Not included (third-party integration required)
LLM Mention Tracking
Performance
Core Web Vitals
Page Speed Analysis
Visual UX Analysis
Monitoring
Automated Weekly Monitoring
Position tracking (separate tool)
SEO Score (0-100)
Site Health score
Ease of Use
Instant Scan (60 seconds)
No Signup Required for First Scan
Research
Keyword Research
Extensive database (25B+ keywords)
Backlink Analysis
Comprehensive backlink database
Pricing
Starting Price
$19/mo
$139.95/mo

Key advantages of Lumio SEO

85% Lower Cost

Lumio SEO costs $19/month compared to Semrush's $139.95/month Pro plan. Over a year, that's $190 vs $1,679 — a savings of nearly $1,500 that you can put toward content, ads, or other growth initiatives.

Built-in AI Visibility Score

Lumio monitors how your pages appear in ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, and Perplexity out of the box. Semrush doesn't offer native AI visibility tracking — you'd need third-party tools at additional cost.

Instant Results, No Learning Curve

Run your first scan in 60 seconds without even creating an account. Semrush has a steep learning curve with dozens of tools, dashboards, and settings that can overwhelm new users.

Automated Weekly Monitoring

Lumio automatically rescans your pages every week and alerts you to changes. No need to manually set up and manage projects — your SEO health is tracked effortlessly.

Visual Page Analysis

Lumio provides visual UX analysis of your pages, helping you understand how layout and design impact SEO performance. This is something Semrush's technical audit doesn't cover.

When Semrush might be the better choice

Semrush is a full-stack SEO platform, and there are many things it does that Lumio doesn't. If you need in-depth keyword research with a database of over 25 billion keywords, competitive intelligence to spy on your competitors' strategies, or a comprehensive backlink audit tool, Semrush is the better choice.

Semrush also excels at PPC research, social media management, content marketing workflows, and agency-level reporting. If you're managing SEO for multiple clients or running large-scale campaigns, Semrush's breadth of tools is genuinely hard to match. Lumio is focused specifically on on-page SEO health and AI visibility — it's a sharper, more affordable tool for a narrower job.

The bottom line

Choose Lumio SEO if you're a small business owner, freelancer, blogger, or solo marketer who needs affordable, actionable on-page SEO monitoring with AI visibility insights. Choose Semrush if you're an agency, enterprise team, or advanced SEO professional who needs keyword research, backlink analysis, competitive intelligence, and a full marketing toolkit.

Frequently asked questions

Can Lumio SEO replace Semrush completely?

For on-page SEO monitoring and AI visibility tracking, yes. But if you rely on Semrush for keyword research, backlink analysis, or competitive intelligence, you'll still need a tool for those. Many users keep a lighter research tool alongside Lumio and save significantly compared to a full Semrush subscription.

Does Lumio SEO have a free plan like Semrush?

Lumio offers a free scan with no signup required — just enter your URL and get results in 60 seconds. This gives you a full SEO audit with 40+ checks. Semrush offers a limited free account with restricted daily queries. For ongoing monitoring, Lumio Pro is $19/month vs Semrush Pro at $139.95/month.

What is the AI Visibility Score that Semrush doesn't have?

Lumio's AI Visibility Score measures how your pages appear in AI-powered search experiences like ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, and Perplexity. As more users get answers from AI instead of clicking search results, this score helps you understand and optimize your visibility in these new channels.

Is Lumio SEO good enough for professional SEO work?

Lumio is excellent for on-page SEO auditing, monitoring, and AI visibility tracking. For professional SEO consultants who also need backlink analysis, keyword research, and rank tracking, Lumio works well as a complement to more specialized tools — and at $19/month, it's easy to justify alongside other investments.

Check your site for free

Lumio SEO scans your website in 60 seconds with 40+ checks and gives you a clear action plan.

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