Alternatives
Howseen vs Semrush (2026), and 5 other alternatives
A side-by-side comparison on AI visibility, the limits written in Semrush's own documentation, and the dedicated tools that close them. Every claim is sourced.
By Raphaël Aubry, founder of Howseen AI · Updated October 21, 2026
Free trial: 3 days, plans from €39 per month. Cancel anytime from your settings.
Howseen is our product, and Semrush is a suite many teams already pay for, so weigh this page with that in mind. Every Semrush fact below was read on its own pricing page and knowledge base on October 6, 2026, and its prices were re-checked on October 21, 2026.
In short
The short answer
Semrush is a full SEO suite that now sells AI visibility as a toolkit: $99 per month for 25 tracked prompts, or inside its SEO + AI Search plans from $199 per month. Howseen does one job: AI visibility, then the content that fixes the gaps.
Keep Semrush if your team lives in an SEO suite and AI is one more report. Pick a dedicated tool if AI answers are the priority, or if you do not want to pay for a suite to see them.
Head to head
Howseen and Semrush, compared
The Semrush column comes from its pricing page and two knowledge base articles, the Howseen column from our own plan. Where Semrush publishes no detail on a row, the cell says so plainly.
| Dimension | Semrush (AI visibility) | Howseen |
|---|---|---|
| Product type | Full SEO suite with an AI Visibility Toolkit | Dedicated to AI visibility (GEO) |
| AI engines | Prompt database: ChatGPT, Gemini, AI Overviews, AI Mode. Brand Performance adds Perplexity. Prompt Tracking: AI Mode, AI Overviews, Gemini, ChatGPT Search | ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews, Google AI Mode |
| Questions analysed | Semrush's database of over 317 million prompts, plus your tracked prompts | Real buyer questions for your market |
| Tracked prompts | 25 in the $99 toolkit; 50 or 100 in the $199 and $299 plans; unlimited on Advanced (custom price) | 20 (Starter) or 50 (Pro) per site, 100 to 300 shared on Business |
| Classic SEO (keywords, backlinks, audits) | Yes, its core strength | No, Howseen is not an SEO suite |
| Writes and publishes content | Content optimization on Pro+ and a separate Content toolkit; CMS publishing not shown on the pages we read | Writes and publishes to WordPress, Shopify, Ghost, BigCommerce, webhook or a hosted blog |
| White-label for agencies | Branding and white-labeling in a reports add-on at $20 per month | White-label client reports |
| API and MCP | Semrush MCP; API data integration on the Advanced plan (custom price) | MCP server with 26 tools plus REST API, on Pro and Business |
| Try before paying | Free $0 plan with a demo project; no free trial on the AI Visibility Toolkit | 3-day free trial, cancel in 1 click |
| Price | Toolkit $99 per month; SEO + AI Search from $199 per month, up to 17% off yearly | Plans from €39 per site per month (Pro at €79) |
Sources: Semrush pricing page (semrush.com/prices) and Knowledge Base article 1493 (AI Visibility Toolkit), read on October 21, 2026, and article 1607 (where the AI visibility data comes from), read on October 6, 2026. Semrush prices are in US dollars.
What users say
What Semrush users point to as gaps
Two kinds of evidence here: hard limits written in Semrush's own documentation, and themes that come back in public reviews of Semrush as a whole. The first two rows are facts, the last three are opinions.
| Gap | What we found | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Costs stack up | 25 prompts for $99, then $60 per 50 extra prompts, $99 per extra user and $99 per extra domain | Semrush KB 1493 (official) |
| No trial on the AI toolkit | “the AI Visibility Toolkit does not offer a free trial” | Semrush KB 1493 (official) |
| Price for small teams | “Expensive” is a recurring con, with add-ons that add up | G2, Semrush pros and cons (indexed) |
| Learning curve | A steep learning curve for beginners comes back in reviews | G2, Semrush pros and cons (indexed) |
| Cancelling add-ons | Some reviewers report friction cancelling add-ons and getting refunds | Trustpilot, Semrush reviews (indexed, mixed) |
The two official rows quote Semrush's knowledge base word for word. G2 and Trustpilot refuse automated reading, so the three review rows summarise what their indexed Semrush pages show: a direction, not a headcount.
What users like
Give Semrush its due
Semrush is the reference SEO suite for a reason, and its AI work is real. If you already pay for it, these strengths matter more than any comparison table.
- →One login for keyword research, backlinks, site audits, rank tracking and AI visibility, with the SEO plans starting at $139 per month (pricing page).
- →Prompt Research works like keyword research for AI, on a database of over 317 million prompts updated daily (KB 1607).
- →AI Search checks in Site Audit flag issues that can stop AI crawlers from reading your pages (KB 1493).
Who switches
Who leaves Semrush for a dedicated AI visibility tool
A dedicated tool makes sense once AI answers become a project of their own: the toolkit includes 25 prompts, each extra block of prompts, user or domain adds a fee, and there is no trial. Semrush stays the better fit if you use it daily for keywords, backlinks and audits.
Howseen: the dedicated route, with the content step
Up to six AI surfaces tracked on real buyer questions, depending on plan, then the articles written and published to your CMS, for plans from €39 per site per month. Honest limit: no keyword, backlink or site audit tooling, so keep Semrush for classic SEO.
Otterly.AI
The cheapest dedicated start we found, at $29 per month against $99 for the Semrush toolkit; Gemini and AI Mode cost extra. See Howseen vs Otterly.AI.
Peec AI
For analytics without a suite around it: reviewers single out its interface and support. See Howseen vs Peec AI.
AthenaHQ
If four tracked engines feel thin: 11 models on its Starter plan, paid in credits at $295 per month. See Howseen vs AthenaHQ.
Scrunch
If AI agents visiting your site matter more than prompt counts: agent traffic analysis from $250 per month. See Howseen vs Scrunch.
Profound
For enterprise teams trading a suite for a specialist: up to nine engines on its top plan. See Howseen vs Profound.
Gap by gap
Which option covers which gap
Each row starts from a Semrush limit, then shows what Howseen does about it and the question to put to any other vendor before you add one more subscription.
| Gap with Semrush for AI visibility | Howseen | What to check elsewhere |
|---|---|---|
| Costs stack up per prompt, user and domain | One price per site: €79 per month | What does the plan cost once you add prompts and seats? |
| No trial on the AI toolkit | 3-day free trial, cancel in 1 click | Can you see your own result before paying? |
| Analysis on a generic prompt database | Real buyer questions for your market | Are the tracked questions yours, or a database sample? |
| Content and publishing | Writes and publishes to your CMS or a hosted blog | Does the tool publish, or only recommend? |
| Learning curve of a full suite | One job, one dashboard, an action plan | How long until a non-SEO teammate can use it? |
Why it matters
Rankings and AI answers are not the same report
A Semrush rank report and an AI answer measure different things. Two public sources show why a team that ranks well still has to read the answers themselves.
- →Google says its usual SEO best practices still apply to AI Overviews and AI Mode, and a page has to be indexed to appear as a supporting link (Google Search Central). Your SEO work keeps its value; it is just not the whole picture.
- →Clicks drop once the summary shows up: with a Google AI summary on the page, 8% of visits led to a click on a classic result, against 15% without one (Pew Research Center, 68,879 searches).
“GEO can boost visibility by up to 40% in generative engine responses.”
Aggarwal et al., GEO: Generative Engine Optimization, KDD 2024
New to the topic? Read what generative engine optimization is. Comparing dedicated tools? The buyer's guide to AI visibility tools lists what to check, and the ranked list of GEO tools puts names and prices on it.
Howseen vs Semrush, answered
Does Semrush track AI visibility?+
Yes. Its AI Visibility Toolkit covers ChatGPT, Gemini, Google AI Overviews and AI Mode, with Perplexity in Brand Performance. It costs $99 per month for 25 tracked prompts, or comes inside the SEO + AI Search plans from $199 per month (Semrush pricing page and KB, October 21, 2026).
Is Howseen a Semrush alternative?+
Only for AI visibility. Howseen tracks up to six AI surfaces, depending on plan, on real buyer questions, and writes and publishes the content to close gaps. It is not an SEO suite and does not replace Semrush for keywords, backlinks and audits.
Does the Semrush AI Visibility Toolkit have a free trial?+
No. Semrush's knowledge base says the AI Visibility Toolkit does not offer a free trial. Semrush does offer a free $0 plan with a demo project.
What are the best Semrush alternatives for AI visibility?+
Dedicated tools: Howseen for tracking plus published content, plans from €39 per site per month, Peec AI for analytics, Otterly.AI for a low entry price, AthenaHQ and Scrunch for wider engine coverage, Profound for enterprise.
How does Howseen's price compare with the Semrush toolkit?+
Howseen plans start at €39 per site per month; the €79 Pro plan covers five AI surfaces. The Semrush AI Visibility Toolkit is $99 per month for 25 prompts, before extra prompts, users or domains. Howseen also offers a 3-day free trial, cancellable in 1 click.
Check your AI answers before adding another toolkit
Run the free trial on your own brand: 3 days, cancel in 1 click. Then set it next to what your Semrush project shows.
