SEO data · Receipts from our lab

Keyword data per call vs a $139 Semrush seat: what we measured

We ran the same 10 keywords from one of our own sites through Semrush and 3 per-call data providers, and read the cost off the balance after each call. Here are the volumes side by side, the gaps, the cost per keyword, and where a Semrush seat still makes sense.

By Stackcut · Published · Catalog of 2026-09-25 · Vendor prices checked 2026-09-25

Modeled, not measured. Savings use public prices and planning assumptions: the bill you stop paying, minus the new tool, your upkeep time and your setup time at $50/hour, over the first 12 months. Results marked Tested by Stackcut are Stackcut's own test, not a customer. Every price links the page it came from.

What we measured

  • Coverage: DataForSEO had volumes for 9/10 keywords, Serpstat 7/10, SE Ranking 6/10, Semrush 10/10. our test
  • Cost: $0.09 per DataForSEO call of up to 1,000 keywords, and about $0.0018 a keyword on SE Ranking, against a flat $139/mo for Semrush SEO. our test
  • The numbers disagree: one keyword read 480 in Semrush and 5,400 in DataForSEO. Pick one provider and compare trends, not absolute numbers. our test
  • Verdict: a good replacement for occasional keyword-volume lookups, not for rank tracking, backlinks or site audits. our test

Stackcut's own test, not a customer. One run on 2026-09-25.

The setup

Question. Can an occasional keyword-volume lookup move from a Semrush seat to per-call data through treg, and do the numbers hold up?

Tested on. leakcheckme.com: A real site with real rankings: 10 keywords it ranks for or targets.

How we tested

  1. Baseline: Semrush keyword overview (batch of 10, US database) through the Semrush API.
  2. Same 10 keywords through treg with its CLI (treg 0.14.0): SE Ranking, Serpstat and DataForSEO (Google Ads) volume endpoints.
  3. Cost measured from the treg balance before and after each call.

The numbers

Stackcut's own test, not a customer. Every figure links the lab report.

DataForSEO, per call
$0.09

Up to 1,000 keywords per call; 9 of 10 keywords had data.

SE Ranking, 10 keywords
$0.0179

About $0.0018 a keyword; 6 of 10 keywords had data.

Serpstat and DataForSEO, 10 keywords
$0.0935

Both providers together, read off the treg balance.

Semrush, the baseline
$139/mo

Our 10-keyword batch through Semrush's own API used 100 Semrush API units (plan-dependent price).

US monthly search volume for 10 keywords that leakcheckme.com ranks for or targets, 2026-09-25. “No data” means the provider returned nothing for that keyword. Stackcut's own test, not a customer. our test
KeywordSemrushSE RankingSerpstatDataForSEO (Google Ads)
results about you google1,900no data2,4002,400
google results about you3,600no data4,4003,600
google results about you tool720no datano data1,300
results about me590208801,000
myactivity.google.com/results-about-you260no datano datano data
data broker removal8807601,3001,300
remove personal information from internet1,0005901,3001,000
delete me review4801605,4005,400
incogni review9,9006,600no data8,100
people search removal70707070
Keywords with data10/106/107/109/10
  • Serpstat and Google Ads data merge close variants, which is why a phrase like “delete me review” reads higher there. our test

What lookups cost at 300, 3,000 and 30,000 a month

Our per-call prices multiplied by the volume, against Semrush and Moz list prices. Batching decides the per-call cost: one DataForSEO call takes up to 1,000 keywords.

  • Break-even against a Semrush seat is in the tens of thousands of lookups a month, by our measurements. our test
Flat plans at list price billed monthly. Per-call rows multiply what we paid in our own test (Stackcut's own test, not a customer) by the volume.
Keyword lookups a month3003,00030,000
Semrush SEO today$139flat, 1 user$139flat, 1 user$139flat, 1 user
Moz Pro Standard$99flat, 1 user$99flat, 1 user$99flat, 1 user
SE Ranking data via treg$0.54per keyword$5.37per keyword$53.70per keyword
DataForSEO via treg, 1,000 keywords per call$0.091 call$0.273 calls$2.7030 calls
DataForSEO via treg, 10 keywords per call$2.7030 calls$27300 calls$2703,000 calls

What we found

  • treg's Semrush endpoints need your own Semrush API credential ("no semrush credential in this org yet"): Semrush's API needs its own subscription, so "Semrush data via treg" does not remove the Semrush bill. The per-call replacement is other providers' data through treg.
  • Volumes disagree by provider, sometimes by 10x: "delete me review" is 480 (Semrush), 160 (SE Ranking), 5,400 (Serpstat and Google Ads, which merge close variants). Pick one provider and stay on it; compare trends, not absolute numbers across tools.
  • Coverage gaps: SE Ranking had no data for 4 of 10 (branded Google queries), Serpstat 3, DataForSEO 1.
  • Cost: about $0.0018 per keyword (SE Ranking) to $0.09 per batch of up to 1,000 (DataForSEO) versus a $139/mo Semrush SEO seat. Break-even is tens of thousands of lookups a month. our test
  • Setup took about 5 minutes: sign in, `treg call <endpoint>`; the CLI shows each endpoint's price and observed reliability before you call it.

The verdict

Works, with caveats Good replacement for occasional keyword-volume lookups (not for rank tracking, backlinks or audits). Use DataForSEO for batches (cheapest per keyword, best coverage here) and expect different absolute numbers than Semrush.

Good fit when

  • You look up keyword volumes a few times a month
  • Relative volume is enough to prioritise content

Not a fit when

  • You need Semrush's own numbers (clients report in Semrush)
  • You rely on Position Tracking, backlinks or Site Audit

What we changed in the recipe

The test changed the catalog. The current recipe is Occasional keyword or rank lookups.

  • Renamed the path from "Semrush data via Treg" to "Keyword data per call via treg", with DataForSEO, SE Ranking and Serpstat as the providers.
  • Coverage is now keyword research only; rank tracking, backlinks and site audit are listed as missing.
  • Re-costed at $0.009 per keyword (DataForSEO, batches of 10) instead of $0.006. our test

Receipts and disclosures

Evidence we kept

  • Raw JSON responses kept in the Stackcut lab archive (not published: provider data).

Disclosures

  • Stackcut's own test on one of our own sites, leakcheckme.com, not a customer: 10 keywords, the US database, one run on 2026-09-25. our test
  • treg's Semrush endpoints need your own Semrush API credential, so what we measured through treg is other providers' data, not Semrush's. our test
  • We keep the raw JSON responses in our lab archive but don't publish them, because they're provider data. our test

FAQ

Why are the volumes so different between providers?

Providers measure volume differently, and Serpstat and Google Ads data merge close variants. In our test one keyword ranged from 480 to 5,400. Stackcut's own test, not a customer. our test

Which provider should I use?

For batches, DataForSEO: the cheapest per keyword in our test, with data for 9 of 10 keywords. SE Ranking cost about $0.0018 a keyword but had no data for 4 of 10. Stackcut's own test, not a customer. our test

When does a Semrush seat make more sense?

When clients report in Semrush's own numbers, when you rely on Position Tracking, backlinks or Site Audit, or when you look up tens of thousands of keywords a month. our test

How long did setup take?

About 5 minutes: sign in and call an endpoint with the treg CLI, which shows each endpoint's price and observed reliability before you call it. our test

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