Home › Software › SE Ranking › Pricing
Last updated: October 29, 2026
TechCurato is reader-supported. Some links are affiliate links: we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Learn more.
SE Ranking Pricing 2027: Core, Growth and What You Really Pay
SE Ranking costs $129 a month on Core, or $103.20 a month on annual billing, with 2,000 keywords tracked daily. Growth costs $279 a month, or $223.20 on annual billing, with 5,000 tracked keywords. Both come with a 14-day free trial. That makes SE Ranking's Core plan about $14 cheaper per month than Semrush's SEO plan on annual billing, and a popular choice for freelancers and agencies that track many keywords.
- Core: $129/month, or $103.20/month on annual billing; 2,000 keywords tracked daily.
- Growth: $279/month, or $223.20/month on annual billing; 5,000 keywords tracked daily.
- Annual billing saves 20%.
- 14-day free trial; no free plan.
- Core annual vs Semrush SEO annual: $103.20 vs $117.33 per month.
SE Ranking plans compared
| Plan | Monthly billing | Annual billing (per month) | Per year (annual) | Tracked keywords | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Core | $129 | $103.20 | $1,238.40 | 2,000 | Small businesses and freelancers |
| Growth | $279 | $223.20 | $2,678.40 | 5,000 | Agencies and in-house teams with several sites |
SE Ranking also offers higher-volume options for larger agencies; check the subscription page for custom limits.
Annual or monthly billing?
Annual billing saves 20% on both plans: $309.60 a year on Core and $669.60 a year on Growth. That's one of the larger annual discounts among SEO tools; Semrush's is about 16%, and Ahrefs says annual billing saves up to 17%.
SE Ranking vs Semrush vs Ahrefs on price
| Tool | Entry full toolkit (monthly) | Annual billing (per month) | Free option | Trial |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SE Ranking | Core $129 | $103.20 | No free plan | 14 days |
| Semrush | SEO $139 | $117.33 | Free plan | 7 days |
| Ahrefs | Lite $129 (Starter $29 for keyword research) | Up to 17% off | Ahrefs Free for your own site | Starter trial |
On annual billing, SE Ranking Core is the cheapest of the three full toolkits. Its longest trial (14 days) also gives you more time to test with real projects. See Ahrefs vs Semrush, Semrush pricing and Ahrefs pricing.
What a real team pays
| Situation | Plan | Monthly (annual billing) | Per year |
|---|---|---|---|
| A small business tracking 300 keywords for one site | Core | $103.20 | $1,238.40 |
| A freelancer tracking 1,500 keywords for 5 clients | Core | $103.20 | $1,238.40 |
| An agency tracking 4,000 keywords for 15 clients | Growth | $223.20 | $2,678.40 |
For the agency, Growth works out to about $14.88 per client per month on annual billing.
Cost per tracked keyword
Rank tracking is SE Ranking's core strength, so cost per keyword is a useful benchmark:
| Plan | Tracked keywords | Annual price per month | Cost per keyword per month |
|---|---|---|---|
| Core | 2,000 | $103.20 | about 5.2 cents |
| Growth | 5,000 | $223.20 | about 4.5 cents |
Growth is cheaper per keyword, but only if you actually need more than 2,000 tracked keywords.
3-year cost compared
On annual billing, for one plan held for three years:
| Tool and plan | Per year | 3-year total |
|---|---|---|
| SE Ranking Core | $1,238.40 | $3,715.20 |
| Semrush SEO | $1,407.96 | $4,223.88 |
| SE Ranking Growth | $2,678.40 | $8,035.20 |
| Semrush Pro+ (SEO + AI Search) | $2,978.04 | $8,934.12 |
Over three years, SE Ranking Core saves about $509 against Semrush SEO.
Three real-world scenarios
A local business doing its own SEO
One website, a few hundred keywords, a monthly site audit. Core on annual billing costs $103.20 a month. If budget is very tight, start with free tools (Google Search Console, Ahrefs Free) and add SE Ranking once you publish content regularly.
A freelancer with five clients
Each client gets a project with tracked keywords, a site audit and a monthly report. Core's 2,000 keywords covers about 400 per client. Cost: $20.64 per client per month on annual billing.
A growing agency with 15 clients
At 4,000 keywords, Growth is the right plan: $223.20 a month on annual billing. Compare it with Semrush Pro+ ($248.17 annual) if clients ask about AI search visibility.
Start SE Ranking's 14-day trial → Track 2,000 keywords daily on Core · Affiliate link
Hidden costs and limits to check
- Keyword limits: tracked keywords are the main constraint; count yours before buying.
- Project and audit limits: check how many sites and pages you can audit on each plan.
- Add-ons: some features, such as content tools or extra seats, may be sold separately.
- Monthly billing: costs 25% more than annual (the annual price is 20% lower).
How to pay less for SE Ranking
- Use the 14-day trial with your real keyword list before paying.
- Track only keywords that drive decisions: rankings you'll act on, not every variation.
- Switch to annual billing after one or two months of monthly use.
- Remove keywords for pages you no longer care about each quarter.
What to test during the free trial
- Add your domain and three competitors.
- Import the keywords you care about most (start with 100 to 300).
- Run a site audit and check whether the top issues are clear and fixable.
- Compare tracked positions with what you see in Google Search Console.
- Build one client-style report and decide whether you'd send it as is.
SE Ranking terms explained
- Tracked keyword: a keyword whose position SE Ranking checks daily.
- Project: one website you monitor, with its own keywords and audits.
- Site audit: a crawl of your website that lists technical SEO issues.
- Competitor research: estimates of the keywords and pages driving a competitor's traffic.
What SE Ranking includes
- Rank tracking: daily position checks for 2,000 keywords on Core and 5,000 on Growth, across Google and other search engines, by location and device.
- Site audit: a crawl that lists technical issues such as broken links, slow pages, missing tags and duplicate content.
- Competitor research: estimates of competitors' keywords, top pages and paid ads.
- Keyword research: search volume, difficulty and related ideas.
- Backlink monitoring: a view of the links pointing to your site.
- Reports: scheduled reports for clients or managers.
Feature limits differ between plans; check the comparison table on SE Ranking's subscription page for projects, audit pages and report limits.
Who SE Ranking is best for
SE Ranking fits best when rank tracking is your main job: freelancers and agencies reporting positions to clients, and in-house marketers tracking hundreds of keywords across several locations. Teams whose strategy depends on deep backlink research often prefer Ahrefs, and teams that want SEO, content and AI visibility tools under one brand often prefer Semrush. If you're unsure, run SE Ranking's 14-day trial and Semrush's 7-day trial in parallel on the same domain and compare the results side by side.
Our verdict
SE Ranking is the best-value full SEO toolkit for freelancers, small agencies and small businesses: Core at $103.20 a month on annual billing is cheaper than Semrush SEO and Ahrefs Lite, with 2,000 keywords tracked daily and a 14-day trial. Choose Semrush if you want a free plan, AI search visibility tools or the broadest marketing toolkit, and Ahrefs if backlink research is your priority.
How we compiled this page
Prices and tracked-keyword limits come from SE Ranking's official subscription page, checked October 29, 2026. Semrush and Ahrefs prices come from their official pricing pages on the same date. See also our best SEO tools for small business.
FAQ
How much does SE Ranking cost?
Core costs $129 a month ($103.20 on annual billing) and Growth costs $279 a month ($223.20 on annual billing).
Does SE Ranking have a free plan?
No, but it offers a 14-day free trial.
Is SE Ranking cheaper than Semrush?
Yes, on annual billing: $103.20 a month for Core versus $117.33 for Semrush SEO.
How many keywords can I track with SE Ranking?
2,000 keywords tracked daily on Core and 5,000 on Growth.
Is SE Ranking good for agencies?
Yes. Its rank tracking, client reports and Growth plan's 5,000 keywords make it popular with small and mid-size agencies.
How much does annual billing save on SE Ranking?
20% on both Core and Growth: $309.60 a year on Core and $669.60 on Growth.
Can I cancel SE Ranking anytime?
Monthly plans can be cancelled at the end of the billing month. Annual plans are paid upfront for the year, so start monthly if you're unsure, then switch once the tool has proved useful.
Is SE Ranking accurate?
Like all SEO tools, it estimates traffic and volumes; its rank tracking checks real positions daily. Compare its positions with Google Search Console during the trial.
Sources
seranking.com/subscription.html, semrush.com/prices and ahrefs.com/pricing, checked October 29, 2026.