The short answer
- Moving from Semrush SEO to OpenSEO (hosted) saves $1,495 in the first year, after setup and upkeep time (Stackcut's model: modeled, not measured).
- OpenSEO's official guide covers setting up, but nothing carries over from Semrush automatically; 5 things stay behind. Details
- 3 public accounts of making this switch: 2 evaluated, 1 switched. Read them
- 3 comparison pages checked, each labeled with who wrote it. What they claim
What Semrush and OpenSEO cost
List prices from each vendor's pricing page, as stored in the Stackcut catalog. Each price links its source.
| Plan | Billed monthly | Billed yearly (per month) | What you get |
|---|---|---|---|
| Semrush SEO | $139/mo | $117.33/mo | 5 websites, 500 tracked keywords; position tracking, site audit |
| Semrush Starter (SEO + AI Search) | $199/mo | $165.17/mo | 5 websites, 500 keywords; plus 50 AI prompts tracked daily |
| Semrush Pro+ | $299/mo | $248.17/mo | 15 websites, 1,500 keywords; historical data, multi-location |
| Semrush Advanced | $549/mo | $455.67/mo | 40 websites, 5,000 keywords; API access |
- Semrush free plan: 1 demo project, 10 reports per day across tools semrush.com
- OpenSEO free plan: Self-host free; pay DataForSEO per request openseo.so
OpenSEO's plans aren't in the Stackcut catalog yet; check OpenSEO's own site.
What comparison pages say
Each claim as the page makes it, and who it favors. Vendor pages are labeled; weigh them accordingly.
3 pages compared, 0 of them written by one of the two vendors. Claims are the pages' own, paraphrased; prices in them may be older than the catalog prices above.
| About | The page says | Favors | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | OpenSEO is pay-as-you-go via DataForSEO, while Semrush costs from a few hundred euros a month. | OpenSEO | CloudLinux independent |
| Features | Semrush is a full marketing suite (advertising, social, PR, content); OpenSEO covers only keywords, rankings, audit and backlinks. | Semrush | CloudLinux independent |
| Data portability | OpenSEO keeps data with the user; Semrush keeps it in the Semrush cloud. | OpenSEO | CloudLinux independent |
| Support | Semrush needs zero administration with no server to maintain, unlike self-hosted OpenSEO. | Semrush | CloudLinux independent |
| Price | For a solo developer tracking 50 keywords monthly, OpenSEO's total cost is $5 to $10 versus Semrush's $119. | OpenSEO | Open Source Alternatives affiliate page |
| Features | OpenSEO omits Semrush's advertising research, social media listening, and content marketing tools. | Semrush | Open Source Alternatives affiliate page |
| Data portability | OpenSEO keeps SEO data self-hosted rather than locked into a vendor's cloud account. | OpenSEO | Open Source Alternatives affiliate page |
| Price | OpenSEO costs $10/month usage-based, or is free self-hosted, versus roughly $130/month for Semrush. | OpenSEO | Toolsplorer affiliate page |
| Features | OpenSEO uniquely offers self-hosting, usage-based pricing, an open-source codebase, and AI-agent/MCP integration versus Semrush. | OpenSEO | Toolsplorer affiliate page |
| Support | The review notes OpenSEO has no enterprise support and needs self-hosting know-how, unlike Semrush. | Semrush | Toolsplorer affiliate page |
Moving from Semrush to OpenSEO
What OpenSEO's importer carries over, what it leaves behind, and any help it offers switchers.
To OpenSEO
Official guide github.com · Tools: Docker Compose, DataForSEO API
Doesn't move: keyword lists & tracked rankings; Semrush keyword rankings history; Semrush backlink index; Scheduled PDF reports; Any Semrush/Ahrefs project data - no importer exists as of v0.1.5. github.com
Watch out for:
- No Semrush or Ahrefs importer as of the Aug 2026 v0.1.5 release github.com
- Self-hosted Docker mode ships with authentication disabled by default github.com
- You pay DataForSEO directly in addition to any OpenSEO hosted fee github.com
From each destination's own migration docs and switching pages, plus community write-ups where no official guide exists, each checked against its page. Confirm terms on the linked page before you rely on an offer.
People who moved from Semrush to OpenSEO
3 public accounts of leaving Semrush: 2 evaluated, 1 switched. Summaries are ours; each links the original, and each was checked against its page before it appeared here.
A DataForSEO-affiliated reviewer tested OpenSEO against Semrush, Ahrefs and direct DataForSEO access; likes the rank tracking and audit crawler but flags the 28% data markup and single-developer risk. Ryan Doser
A developer's Medium post frames OpenSEO as an escape from Semrush/Ahrefs' high prices and cluttered interfaces, praising its pay-as-you-go pricing, MCP integration and self-hosting options. Medium
A blogger who used Ahrefs and Semrush now runs OpenSEO with Claude's MCP for keyword research, preferring it despite a thinner backlink index and no agency-grade support. Lewis Lovelock
How to leave Semrush
Export first, then cancel. Every step links the vendor's own help page, checked on the date shown.
How to leave Semrush
Export first
- Position Tracking (rankings, pages, competitors, devices, featured snippets): Position Tracking → each tab → Export (XLSX, CSV, Google Sheets, PDF). Historical date-range export not verified; SE Ranking can import Semrush ranking history. semrush.com
- Keyword lists (Keyword Strategy Builder, formerly Keyword Manager): Keyword Strategy Builder → list → Export (XLSX, CSV). semrush.com
- Site Audit (crawled pages, issues, compare crawls): Site Audit → Export (PDF, data exports (format not stated)). semrush.com
- Projects as a whole: No bulk project export found: export each tool separately.
What you lose
- Semrush's own keyword and backlink index and its history
- Ads, social, PR and content suites
- Scheduled PDF reports
Cancel
- Export everything you want to keep first (see export).
- Logged in, open semrush.com/cancel (also reachable from Subscription Info → Contact us).
- Choose "All Semrush subscriptions" to cancel everything; add-ons need a separate Contact Form request, apps are cancelled under My Apps → Settings.
- Confirm through the emailed link within 24 hours.
- Check Subscription Info shows "Recurring: Inactive".
- Takes effect
- At the end of the committed term; the account then drops to a free account.
- Refunds
- 7-day money-back guarantee only for initial subscriptions with a term of 12 months or more (and initial add-ons); ask for it in the cancellation form's comment field. No refunds for month-to-month plans.
- Notice
- None beyond cancelling before the renewal date.
- After you cancel
- Website Monitoring folders are kept for a 30-day grace period, then deleted.
FAQ
Is OpenSEO cheaper than Semrush?
Modeled, not measured: moving from Semrush SEO to OpenSEO (hosted) saves $1,495 in the first year, after setup and upkeep time at $50/hour. It depends on your plan, seats and usage. the math
Can I move my Semrush data to OpenSEO?
It doesn't move: keyword lists & tracked rankings; Semrush keyword rankings history; Semrush backlink index; Scheduled PDF reports. github.com
What do I lose when I leave Semrush?
Per Semrush's own pages, leaving or downgrading loses: Semrush's own keyword and backlink index and its history; Ads, social, PR and content suites; Scheduled PDF reports. semrush.com
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find_alternatives({"vendor": "Semrush"})