SpyFu vs Semrush: Historical Competitor Data or a Full Suite
SpyFu vs Semrush comes down to the job: SpyFu lists Google Ads campaign history and scores 7.7 on 1 tagged review. Semrush lists backlink analysis and AI visibility tracking, and scores 7.6, the site average, on no tagged review.
Semrush7.6
vs
SpyFu7.7
Every score on this page validated by the site owner · latest validation Oct 16, 2026 · How we score
Semrush and SpyFu, side by side
Neither card is tinted: the scores are less than 0.3 points apart, or the tagged reviews are too few to compare them.
- Trial 7-day free trial against none for SpyFu
Pick Semrush if you need backlink analysis: Semrush publishes a 7-day free trial.
Pick SpyFu if you want competitor Google Ads history: Basic is $29 a month, billed annually.
Line by line
A value is marked only when it is clearly higher: by 0.3 on the score or 0.5 on a dimension, with at least 30 tagged reviews behind each of the two values. The fifth dimension changes with the category and stays out of this table.
| Semrush |
SpyFu |
|
|---|---|---|
| Our score | 7.6* | 7.7* |
| Four dimensions, same grid | ||
| Ease of setup | 8.4* | 8.6* |
| Feature depth | 7.5* | 7.8* |
| Value for money | 8.3* | 8.5* |
| Support quality | 7.3* | 7.3* |
| Price and plan | ||
| Entry price | $139.95/mo | $29/mo billed annually |
| Free plan | Free plan | Free plan |
| Free trial | 7-day free trial | No free trial |
| Fit | ||
| Team size | Solo · Team · Agency | Agency |
| Public reviews | 7,700+ | 810+ |
* Under 10 tagged reviews: the score is weighted toward the site average; with none, it comes from the averages of the tools we score.
Semrush is a general-purpose tool: its public review count covers every use; tagged reviews about other uses are left out of its scores.
SpyFu is a general-purpose tool: its public review count covers every use; tagged reviews about other uses are left out of its scores.
Team size comes from tagged reviews, or from the vendor's own pages when reviews name none.
Neither is clearly higher on our grid: Semrush 7.6, SpyFu 7.7 overall. Entry prices: Semrush $139.95/mo, SpyFu $29/mo billed annually.
Entry prices read on each vendor's public pricing page; the older of the two readings dates from Sep 29, 2026. Some of these prices have not been read again for 6 months. Check the vendors' pages before you buy.
What separates the two, in the tagged reviews
SpyFu vs Semrush pricing: $29 and $117.33 a month, both billed annually
Prices and limits were read on each vendor's pages between Sep 29 and Oct 5, 2026. SpyFu's Basic plan is $29 a month, billed annually, with 10k row search results; its Pro + AI plan is $89 a month, billed annually, with unlimited search results. Semrush's SEO plan is $139.95 a month, billed monthly, or $117.33 a month billed annually, for 5 websites to monitor. Semrush lists a Free plan at $0 a month for 1 website, and SpyFu lists a free version with no time limit.
SpyFu lists Google Ads campaign history; Semrush lists competitor analysis and historical SEO data
SpyFu lists competitor SEO and PPC keywords and a competitor's complete Google Ads campaign history, read on Sep 29, 2026; its Pro + AI plan includes 10 live tracking projects, and its keyword data comes from Google only. Semrush lists competitor analysis of how competitors get traffic, rank for keywords and run ads, and its Pro+ plan, with 15 websites to monitor, lists historical SEO data. This page holds no ad-history figure for Semrush, so it does not say which tool holds more.
Semrush lists backlinks and site audit; SpyFu's audit scans for 100+ issues
Semrush lists backlink analysis, daily rank tracking across locations, devices and search engines, and a technical site audit, read on Sep 29, 2026; its SEO plan includes 500 keywords to track daily. SpyFu lists SEO keyword rank tracking and an AI-powered site audit that scans for 100+ technical and on-page issues, read on Sep 29, 2026. This page holds no backlink analysis feature for SpyFu, so it does not compare the two on backlinks.
Semrush publishes a 7-day free trial, and SpyFu publishes no free trial
Semrush publishes a 7-day free trial, read on Sep 29, 2026. Semrush disables data export during the trial, and each trial can be activated once per account. SpyFu publishes no free trial, and lists a free version with no time limit instead; it lists a 30-day money-back guarantee. Neither score rests on enough reviews to rank the two, so this page ranks neither.
Before you choose
SpyFu's Basic plan is $29 a month, billed annually; Semrush's SEO plan is $117.33 a month, billed annually, and it lists a Free plan at $0 a month for 1 website.
SpyFu lists a competitor's complete Google Ads campaign history; Basic is $29 a month, billed annually. Semrush lists ad analysis, plus historical SEO data on Pro+ at $299 a month; no ad-history figure is read for it.
This page reads no country count from either vendor, so it cannot say. It covers plans, listed features and scores, not the countries each tool's data covers.
Semrush lists backlink analysis and a site audit; its SEO plan has 5 websites to monitor. SpyFu's audit scans 100+ issues on Basic, $29 a month billed annually, but no backlink analysis is read for it.
Semrush publishes a 7-day free trial, read on Sep 29, 2026. SpyFu publishes no free trial; its Basic plan is $29 a month, billed annually, and a free version has no time limit.
Where to go next
Each tool's review and alternatives, the pages this duel links to, and the method.