The short answer
Yes for most in-house teams, small businesses and small agencies, especially if AI search matters to you. Not yet for agencies that track thousands of keywords a day, need directory listings, or want the whole app under their own brand.
Switch to Ranking if you
- Track up to about 160 keywords a day, where paying per check costs less than $129 a month
- Want to see how ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, Claude, AI Overviews and AI Mode talk about your brand
- Use SEO tools in bursts and don’t want to pay for idle months
- Want an API or MCP server without buying credit packs
Stay with SE Ranking if you
- Track thousands of keywords a day across many sites
- Need directory listings or Google Business Profile posting
- Want the whole app, not just reports and client login, under your own brand
- Audit sites of tens of thousands of pages, or need a native Looker Studio connector
We make Ranking, so read this with that in mind. We have tried to be fair: SE Ranking is a mature, broad platform, and where it is ahead we say so plainly. SE Ranking details come from its own pricing page, FAQ and help centre, read on 23 October 2026. Its prices and limits change, and in a few places its own pages disagree with each other; we note where. Check seranking.com before deciding.
At a glance
 SE Ranking |  Ranking | |
|---|---|---|
| How you pay | Monthly or annual subscriptionCore $129/mo, Growth $279/mo, Enterprise custom. 20% off paid annually. | Prepaid credit, per checkTop up from $1. No subscription. Credit never expires. |
| Free trial | 14 days, no card | No trial. $1 to start; site audits are free |
| Search engines for rank tracking | Google, Bing, Yahoo, YouTube | Google, Bing, Yahoo, YouTube |
| AI engines tracked | AI Overviews, AI Mode, ChatGPT, GeminiPerplexity in the separate SE Visible product. Claude planned. | ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, Claude, AI Overviews, AI Mode |
| Rank check frequency | Daily, plus manual rechecks | Daily, plus manual rechecks |
| Projects | 10 on Core, 30 on Growth | Unlimited |
| Keywords | 2,000 a day on Core, 5,000 on Growth | Up to 500 per project, paid per check |
| Local SEO suite | Yes: map grid, GBP, listings, reviews | Map grid, profile check and reviews; no listings |
| White label | Yes, with the Agency Pack (from $69/mo, annual) | Logo, colours, reports and client login on your domain, free; the app stays Ranking-branded |
| Team seats | 1 on Core, 3 on Growth, extra from $16/mo | Unlimited team and client seats, free |
| API and MCP | Yes, on credits (25K a month on Core) | Yes, same prices as the app, no minimum |
| Years on the market | Since 2013, large customer base | New, in early access |
Feature scoreboard
Every feature in the eleven comparison tables below, added up. Ranking now edges ahead overall: it leads on AI search visibility, pricing flexibility and seats, and matches the core SEO jobs. SE Ranking still wins on audit size, directory listings and a few polished extras, and those rows are marked as losses for Ranking.
SE Ranking 103 of 113Ranking 104.5 of 113- Rank tracking
- AI search visibility
- Keyword research
- Competitor research
- Backlinks
- Site audit
- Content tools
- Local SEO
- Reports, teams, agencies
- API and MCP
- Integrations and data
One point for a full “Yes”, half for “Partly”, counted over the 113 features marked for both tools in the tables below. A count of features, not a measure of how good each one is.
Full feature list
Every feature from the area tables further down, in one list. Filter by area, or show only the rows where the two tools differ.
| Feature | SE Ranking | Ranking |
|---|---|---|
| Rank tracking | ||
 Google, top 100 | Yes | Yes |
   Bing, Yahoo, YouTube | Yes | YesPositions, ads and competitors on all three |
| Desktop and mobile | Yes | YesChosen per project |
| Location | YesCountry, city or postcode | YesCountry, city or postcode |
| Google Ads positions | YesNeeds a city or postcode | YesYour ad position and every advertiser, from the same check |
| Local pack | Yes | YesRecorded as a SERP feature |
| Daily automatic check | Yes | Yes |
| Recheck on demand | Yes | Yes |
| Keyword limits | 2,000 a day on Core, 5,000 on GrowthCounted per keyword per engine | Up to 500 per project, unlimited projects |
| History kept | Partly6 months on Core, all time on Growth | YesAll time on every account; views for 30 days, 90 days, a year or all |
| Position, ranking URL, change | Yes | Yes |
| SERP features present and owned | Yes35+ features | Yes |
| AI Overview shown, and whether it cites you | Yes | YesPlus the full list of sources it cited |
| Competitor positions on the same keyword | Yes | Yes |
| Cannibalisation flag | YesDaily check on the top 30 keywords | YesEvery URL of yours in the top 100 |
| Saved snapshot of the results page | Yes | YesFor every day checked |
| Search volume, difficulty, CPC, intent | Yes | Yes |
| Tags and groups | Yes | YesTags |
| Summary, keyword table, by-date grid | Yes | Yes |
| Share of voice and visibility rating | Yes | Yes |
| Traffic forecast | Yes | Yes |
| All projects on one dashboard | Yes | Yes |
| AI search visibility | ||
| Google AI Overviews and AI Mode | Yes | Yes |
 ChatGPT | Yes | Yes |
 Gemini | Yes | Yes |
 Perplexity | PartlyIn SE Visible and the API, not the main plans | Yes |
 Claude | NoListed as planned | Yes |
| Prompts without a daily cap | Partly100 a day on Core, 250 on Growth. More with the AI Search add-on: 200 / 450 / 1,000 checks for $89 / $179 / $345 a month | YesNo limit; pay per answer. One prompt on all six engines ≈ $0.142 |
| Choose which engines each prompt runs on | PartlySet per project | YesPer project, and per run; you pay only for those engines |
| Brand mention rate | Yes“Mention presence” | Yes“Visibility” |
| Link / citation rate | Yes“Link presence” | Yes |
| Position when named | Yes | Yes |
| Confidence interval on each rate | NoNot shown | Yes95% Wilson interval, so 10 prompts can’t pass as a precise number |
| Rate on prompts that don’t mention you | NoNot shown | YesStops “you vs X” prompts flattering the score |
| Share of voice against competitors | Yes | YesPer engine |
| Organic–AI overlap | Yes | Yes |
| Full answer text for each date | Yes | Yes |
| Brands in the order the answer named them | Yes | Yes |
| Cited sources per answer | Yes | YesLabelled as your site, review site, comparison page and so on |
| Re-read old answers when you add a competitor | — | YesFree, no new checks |
| Sources that cite rivals but not you | Yes“Competitor-only mentions” | Yes“Pages to pitch”, page by page |
| Platform recommendations (Reddit, YouTube, Wikipedia…) | Yes | YesPlatforms the engines cite, the exact threads, and what to do on each |
| AI research on any domain, not just your projects | Yes5 domains on Core, 15 on Growth | YesAny domain, up to 10 prompts per run |
| Prompt suggestions | Yes | YesFree |
| Prompt search volume and intent | Yes | PartlyAI search volume and intent per prompt; long prompts often show no volume |
| Keyword research | ||
| Related keywords and ideas | Yes | Yes |
| Question keywords | Yes | Yes |
| Keywords a domain already ranks for | Yes | Yes |
| Volume, difficulty, CPC, intent, 12-month trend | Yes | Yes |
| Send to the rank tracker in one click | Yes | Yes |
| Turn keywords into AI prompts | Yes“Track prompts” from research | YesFrom question keywords |
| Keyword lists manager | Yes | Yes |
| Keyword grouping (clustering) | YesPaid from account balance | PartlyBy shared Google results, up to 200 keywords a run |
| Search volume checker, bulk | Yes | YesUp to 1,000 keywords a run |
| Organic results history and ads history | Yes | PartlyFull organic history; ads shown today plus each advertiser’s ad history |
| Autocomplete and index status checkers | Yes | PartlyIndex status is estimated from Google results |
| Research limits | Unlimited on paid plans | Pay per search; repeats within 7 days are free |
| Competitor research | ||
| Organic traffic and keyword estimate for any domain | Yes | Yes |
| You and competitors side by side | Yes | Yes |
| Ranking spread (top 3, 10, 100) | Yes | Yes |
| Top keywords and top pages | Yes | YesTop 100 of each |
| Domains that compete with you in Google | Yes | Yes |
| Keyword gap | Yes | YesKeywords they rank top 20 for and you don’t |
| Paid search: ad keywords and ad copy | Yes | PartlyKeywords, ad copy and spend; no ad timeline |
| Traffic by country, subdomains, ranking-change lists | Yes | Yes12 key countries |
| Months of historical data | Yes | Yes24 months |
| Backlinks | ||
| Backlink summary for any domain | Yes | Yes |
| Referring domains and backlinks lists | Yes | YesFull lists with filters and CSV export |
| Anchor texts | Yes | YesTop 50 |
| New and lost referring domains over time | Yes | Yes12 months |
| Link gap: sites linking to rivals, not you | YesUp to 5 competitors | Yes |
| Spam / toxicity signals | Yes | Yes |
| Backlink monitor for your own links | Yes | PartlyWeekly new and lost on your top 1,000 domains, plus watched links checked daily |
| Disavow file and Search Console import | Yes | YesSearch Console import is a file upload |
| Site audit | ||
| Pages per crawl | YesUp to 250,000 per project on Core, 1M on Growth | PartlyUp to 200 |
| Cost | Inside plan limits | Free |
| Number of checks | About 130 | 135 |
| Health score, issues by severity, how to fix | Yes | Yes |
| Compare two crawls: new and fixed issues | Yes | Yes |
| Page changes between crawls | YesPage Changes Monitor, Growth plan only | YesBetween audits |
| Separate AI-readiness score | No | Yes |
| AI crawler access in robots.txt | NoNot a separate check we could find | YesGPTBot, OAI-SearchBot, PerplexityBot, ClaudeBot, Google-Extended |
| Content hidden behind JavaScript | PartlyRenders JavaScript | YesFlags content crawlers can’t see |
| Answer-first headings, FAQ and Organization schema | — | Yes |
| Single-page check against a keyword | YesOn-Page SEO Checker, 50 on Core | Yes |
| Scheduled audits | Yes | YesWeekly or monthly |
| Content tools | ||
| Brief from the live top 10 | Yes | YesWord count, headings, terms, questions |
| Score a draft against the brief | Yes | Yes |
| AI writer | Yes | YesOutline, draft and meta tags, scored in the editor |
| Google Docs add-on, WordPress publishing | Yes | PartlyWordPress drafts; Google Docs by export, no add-on |
| Content idea finder (topic clusters) | Yes | Yes |
| Articles without a monthly cap | Partly25 a month on Core, 50 on Growth | Yes |
| SEO task plan | YesMarketing Plan | YesSEO + GEO plan in 7 steps; tasks tick themselves when the data proves them |
| Insights feed | Yes | YesCannibalisation, rank moves, rivals entering the top 10, AI Overview citations gained or lost |
| Local SEO | ||
| Map-grid rank tracking | Yes | Yes3×3 to 7×7, paid per point |
| Google Business Profile insights and posts | Yes | PartlyPublic profile insights; no posting |
| Directory listings and NAP accuracy | Yes | PartlyChecks your profile against your site; no directory listings |
| Review monitoring and replies | Yes | PartlyWeekly review monitoring; reply in Google |
| Local pack in Google results | Yes | Yes |
| Reports, teams, agencies | ||
| Client report | YesDrag-and-drop builder, 12 templates | YesSection builder, 3 templates plus your own, scheduled emails |
| Scheduled report emails | Yes10 on Core, 30 on Growth | YesWeekly or monthly |
| Read-only share link | YesGuest links on Growth | Yes |
| Your agency name on reports | Yes | Yes“Prepared by” |
| White label: logo, colours, custom domain, login page | YesAgency Pack, from $69/mo on annual billing | PartlyLogo, colours, reports and login on your domain, free; the app itself stays Ranking-branded |
| Lead generator widget | YesAgency Pack | YesFree |
| Team seats and client seats | Yes | Yes |
| Seats at no extra cost | Partly1 on Core, 3 on Growth, then $16 a month each | YesUnlimited |
| Projects without a cap | Partly10 on Core, 30 on Growth | Yes |
| CSV export of tables | Yes50,000 rows on Core | YesEvery table |
| Mobile app | YesiOS and Android | PartlyInstallable web app, not a store app |
| API and MCP | ||
| REST API | Yes | Yes |
| Remote MCP server | Yes180+ tools | Yes15 tools: rankings, AI answers, research, backlinks, audits, your projects |
| How calls are paid | Credits: $50 wallet for 250K, or an annual add-on. 25K credits a month on Core | Same price per check as the app |
| No minimum spend | No$50 wallet, or a plan | YesTop up from $1 |
| Reading your own projects | Uses plan limits | Free |
| Failed calls charged | No | No |
| Credits expire | Annual credits expire at the end of the cycle | Never |
| Integrations and data | ||
| Google Search Console, GA4 | Yes | PartlySearch Console queries and pages, GA4 organic and AI-assistant visits |
| Looker Studio connector | Yes | PartlyThrough a Google Sheets feed |
| Zapier, Make, n8n | Yes | YesSigned webhooks for 7 events, plus the REST API |
| Own keyword and backlink database | YesProprietary crawlers | NoLicensed from an established SEO data provider |
| Live Google results | Yes | YesEvery rank check is a live search |
| Live AI answers | Yes | YesEvery AI check is a live answer with web search on |
How each one charges
SE Ranking sells subscriptions. Core is $129 a month ($103.20 a month paid annually) and Growth is $279 ($223.20 annually). Each plan buys a bundle of limits: projects, keywords checked per day, AI prompts per day, audit pages, report slots and API credits. Some tools (Keyword Grouper, Search Volume Checker) draw from a separate account balance. More AI tracking is an add-on from $89 a month, white label is the Agency Pack from $69 a month on annual billing, and extra seats are from $16 a month. Payments are non-refundable except where the service wasn’t delivered.
Ranking has no plans. You top up credit with a card, from $1, and every check has a fixed price that is listed up front and logged after it runs. The same prices apply in the app, the API and the MCP server.
| SE Ranking | Ranking | |
|---|---|---|
| Google rank check (top 100 + AI Overview) | Included in plan limits | $0.027 per keyword, per check |
| AI answer: AI Overview or AI Mode | Included in plan prompts | $0.006 |
| AI answer: Perplexity | Not in the main plans | $0.011 |
| AI answer: Claude | Not tracked | $0.02 |
| AI answer: ChatGPT | Included in plan prompts | $0.048 |
| AI answer: Gemini | Included in plan prompts | $0.051 |
| Competitor overview | Unlimited on paid plans | $0.018 per domain |
| Backlink summary | Unlimited on paid plans | $0.037 per domain |
| Keyword research | Unlimited on paid plans | $0.02–0.07 per search |
| Site audit | 250,000 pages a month on Core | Free, up to 200 pages per crawl |
| Repeat research within 7 days | — | Free (cached) |
What $1 buys on Ranking: about 37 Google rank checks, or about 160 AI Overview checks, or about 20 ChatGPT answers. When credit runs out, checks pause and nothing is charged automatically. Each account also has a daily safety limit, by default about 1,100 rank checks a day; tell us if you need more.
Compare your plan
Pick the SE Ranking plan you pay for, add the add-ons on your invoice, then enter what you actually use. We price the same usage on Ranking with our list prices. If your plan works out cheaper, it says so.
Your SE Ranking bill
$129.00
Same usage on Ranking
$0
Plan against plan
What each SE Ranking plan includes, next to how Ranking handles the same thing. The plan you picked above is highlighted.
| Core | Growth | Ranking | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | $129/mo$103.20/mo billed yearly | $279/mo$223.20/mo billed yearly | Pay per check, from $1No plan, no minimum spend |
| Projects | 10 | 30 | Unlimited |
| Keywords tracked | 2,000 a day | 5,000 a day | Up to 500 per project, checked daily |
| AI prompts tracked | 100 a day | 250 a day | As many as you add, run weekly |
| AI engines | 5 (AI Overviews, AI Mode, ChatGPT, Gemini…) | 5 (AI Overviews, AI Mode, ChatGPT, Gemini…) | 6 (ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, Claude, AI Overviews, AI Mode) |
| Site audit | 250,000 pages a month | 2,000,000 pages a month | 200 pages per crawl, free, any number of crawls |
| Seats | 1 (extra from $16) | 3 (extra from $16) | Unlimited team and client seats, free |
| Client reports | 10 report builder reports | 30 report builder reports | Report builder, branded share links, scheduled emails, client portal |
| Ranking history | 6 months | All time | All time, kept as long as the project |
| API | 25K credits a month | 100K credits a month | Same prices as the app, no minimum |
| Local SEO | 3 locations | 3 locations | Map grid, profile check and reviews, paid per check |
| Content writing | 25 articles a month | 50 articles a month | AI writer, brief and score, WordPress and .doc export |
SE Ranking limits and prices from seranking.com/subscription.html, 23 October 2026. AI Search add-on prices are the monthly-billing prices; on yearly billing we apply the same 20% saving the plans get.
How much you save
Subscriptions win when usage is steady and heavy. Paying per check wins when usage is light, bursty, or focused on AI answers. Here are six common setups, priced with Ranking’s list prices (30 days a month, weekly AI runs counted as 4.3 a month) against SE Ranking’s monthly billing. Where SE Ranking is cheaper, we say so.
$915saved a year
A small business tracking 50 keywords a day and 20 AI prompts a week pays about $52.71 a month on Ranking, against $129 for SE Ranking Core. That is 59% less, with Perplexity and Claude included.
Occasional research
10 competitor overviews, 20 keyword searches and 5 backlink checks a month; no tracking
Ranking$1.37SE Ranking$129Save $128 a month$1,532 a year · 99% less
Ranking: 10 × $0.018 + 20 × ~$0.05 + 5 × $0.037. SE Ranking: Core, billed monthly.
AI visibility only
50 buyer prompts on all six AI engines, every week
Ranking$31SE Ranking$129Save $98 a month$1,182 a year · 76% less
Ranking: 50 × $0.142 × 4.3. SE Ranking: Core (4–5 engines, no Claude), billed monthly.
Small business site
50 keywords checked daily, plus 20 prompts on six engines weekly
Ranking$53SE Ranking$129Save $76 a month$915 a year · 59% less
Ranking: 50 × 30 × $0.027 + 20 × $0.142 × 4.3. SE Ranking: Core, billed monthly.
Break-even
≈ 160 keywords checked daily, nothing else
Ranking$130SE Ranking$129About the same
Ranking: 160 × 30 × $0.027. SE Ranking: Core, billed monthly.
Growing site
300 keywords daily, plus 50 prompts weekly
Ranking$274SE Ranking$129SE Ranking is $145 a month cheaper$1,734 a year · 53% less than Ranking
Ranking: 300 × 30 × $0.027 + 50 × $0.142 × 4.3. SE Ranking: Core, billed monthly.
Agency, 10 clients
2,000 keywords daily across client sites (needs a raised daily limit on Ranking)
Ranking$1,620SE Ranking$129SE Ranking is $1,491 a month cheaper$17,892 a year · 92% less than Ranking
Ranking: 2,000 × 30 × $0.027. SE Ranking: Core; white label is +$69–86, billed monthly.
The break-even is about 160 keywords checked every day. Below it, Ranking costs less than SE Ranking Core even before you add AI tracking. Above it, SE Ranking’s flat price wins, and by a wide margin at agency volumes. If you pay SE Ranking annually, Core drops to $103.20 a month and the break-even falls to about 130 keywords.
Two things the table doesn’t show. SE Ranking’s plan includes unlimited keyword, competitor and backlink research, so heavy researchers get more from a subscription. And Ranking charges nothing in a month you don’t use it, which matters for seasonal sites and one-off projects.
Rank tracking
Both track the top 100 Google results daily, on desktop or mobile, with competitors and SERP features. Both now cover Google, Bing, Yahoo and YouTube, city and postcode locations, paid ad positions and full history. Ranking lets you pick engines per keyword, keeps history as long as the project, and goes deeper on Google’s AI Overview for each keyword.
| SE Ranking | Ranking | |
|---|---|---|
| Coverage | ||
| Google, top 100 | Yes | Yes |
| Bing, Yahoo, YouTube | Yes | YesPositions, ads and competitors on all three |
| Desktop and mobile | Yes | YesChosen per project |
| Location | YesCountry, city or postcode | YesCountry, city or postcode |
| Google Ads positions | YesNeeds a city or postcode | YesYour ad position and every advertiser, from the same check |
| Local pack | Yes | YesRecorded as a SERP feature |
| Checking | ||
| Daily automatic check | Yes | Yes |
| Recheck on demand | Yes | Yes |
| Keyword limits | 2,000 a day on Core, 5,000 on GrowthCounted per keyword per engine | Up to 500 per project, unlimited projects |
| History kept | Partly6 months on Core, all time on Growth | YesAll time on every account; views for 30 days, 90 days, a year or all |
| What you see per keyword | ||
| Position, ranking URL, change | Yes | Yes |
| SERP features present and owned | Yes35+ features | Yes |
| AI Overview shown, and whether it cites you | Yes | YesPlus the full list of sources it cited |
| Competitor positions on the same keyword | Yes | Yes |
| Cannibalisation flag | YesDaily check on the top 30 keywords | YesEvery URL of yours in the top 100 |
| Saved snapshot of the results page | Yes | YesFor every day checked |
| Search volume, difficulty, CPC, intent | Yes | Yes |
| Tags and groups | Yes | YesTags |
| Views | ||
| Summary, keyword table, by-date grid | Yes | Yes |
| Share of voice and visibility rating | Yes | Yes |
| Traffic forecast | Yes | Yes |
| All projects on one dashboard | Yes | Yes |
AI search visibility (GEO and AEO)
- ChatGPT
- Perplexity
- Gemini
- Claude
- AI Overviews
- AI Mode
This is where the two differ most. SE Ranking added AI tracking to a mature SEO suite. Ranking was built around it: every prompt runs on up to six engines with web search on, and every answer is kept so you can read exactly what the engine said.
| SE Ranking | Ranking | |
|---|---|---|
| Engines | ||
| Google AI Overviews and AI Mode | Yes | Yes |
| ChatGPT | Yes | Yes |
| Gemini | Yes | Yes |
| Perplexity | PartlyIn SE Visible and the API, not the main plans | Yes |
| Claude | NoListed as planned | Yes |
| Limits and cost | ||
| Prompts without a daily cap | Partly100 a day on Core, 250 on Growth. More with the AI Search add-on: 200 / 450 / 1,000 checks for $89 / $179 / $345 a month | YesNo limit; pay per answer. One prompt on all six engines ≈ $0.142 |
| Choose which engines each prompt runs on | PartlySet per project | YesPer project, and per run; you pay only for those engines |
| Measurement | ||
| Brand mention rate | Yes“Mention presence” | Yes“Visibility” |
| Link / citation rate | Yes“Link presence” | Yes |
| Position when named | Yes | Yes |
| Confidence interval on each rate | NoNot shown | Yes95% Wilson interval, so 10 prompts can’t pass as a precise number |
| Rate on prompts that don’t mention you | NoNot shown | YesStops “you vs X” prompts flattering the score |
| Share of voice against competitors | Yes | YesPer engine |
| Organic–AI overlap | Yes | Yes |
| Evidence | ||
| Full answer text for each date | Yes | Yes |
| Brands in the order the answer named them | Yes | Yes |
| Cited sources per answer | Yes | YesLabelled as your site, review site, comparison page and so on |
| Re-read old answers when you add a competitor | — | YesFree, no new checks |
| Acting on it | ||
| Sources that cite rivals but not you | Yes“Competitor-only mentions” | Yes“Pages to pitch”, page by page |
| Platform recommendations (Reddit, YouTube, Wikipedia…) | Yes | YesPlatforms the engines cite, the exact threads, and what to do on each |
| AI research on any domain, not just your projects | Yes5 domains on Core, 15 on Growth | YesAny domain, up to 10 prompts per run |
| Prompt suggestions | Yes | YesFree |
| Prompt search volume and intent | Yes | PartlyAI search volume and intent per prompt; long prompts often show no volume |
Why the confidence interval matters: if 3 of 10 answers name you, the honest reading is “somewhere between 11% and 60%”, not “30%”. A tool that shows 30% without the range invites you to celebrate or panic over noise. Ranking shows the range on every rate.
Keyword research
SE Ranking has its own keyword database (it states 5.4–5.5 billion keywords across 188 locations) and a family of side tools. Ranking covers the core research loop and links it to AI prompts, but has fewer extras.
| SE Ranking | Ranking | |
|---|---|---|
| Related keywords and ideas | Yes | Yes |
| Question keywords | Yes | Yes |
| Keywords a domain already ranks for | Yes | Yes |
| Volume, difficulty, CPC, intent, 12-month trend | Yes | Yes |
| Send to the rank tracker in one click | Yes | Yes |
| Turn keywords into AI prompts | Yes“Track prompts” from research | YesFrom question keywords |
| Keyword lists manager | Yes | Yes |
| Keyword grouping (clustering) | YesPaid from account balance | PartlyBy shared Google results, up to 200 keywords a run |
| Search volume checker, bulk | Yes | YesUp to 1,000 keywords a run |
| Organic results history and ads history | Yes | PartlyFull organic history; ads shown today plus each advertiser’s ad history |
| Autocomplete and index status checkers | Yes | PartlyIndex status is estimated from Google results |
| Research limits | Unlimited on paid plans | Pay per search; repeats within 7 days are free |
Competitor research
| SE Ranking | Ranking | |
|---|---|---|
| Organic traffic and keyword estimate for any domain | Yes | Yes |
| You and competitors side by side | Yes | Yes |
| Ranking spread (top 3, 10, 100) | Yes | Yes |
| Top keywords and top pages | Yes | YesTop 100 of each |
| Domains that compete with you in Google | Yes | Yes |
| Keyword gap | Yes | YesKeywords they rank top 20 for and you don’t |
| Paid search: ad keywords and ad copy | Yes | PartlyKeywords, ad copy and spend; no ad timeline |
| Traffic by country, subdomains, ranking-change lists | Yes | Yes12 key countries |
| Months of historical data | Yes | Yes24 months |
Backlinks
SE Ranking runs its own link index (it quotes 2.7–2.9 trillion backlinks) and a monitor for your own links. Ranking covers research and outreach targeting, not ongoing link management.
| SE Ranking | Ranking | |
|---|---|---|
| Backlink summary for any domain | Yes | Yes |
| Referring domains and backlinks lists | Yes | YesFull lists with filters and CSV export |
| Anchor texts | Yes | YesTop 50 |
| New and lost referring domains over time | Yes | Yes12 months |
| Link gap: sites linking to rivals, not you | YesUp to 5 competitors | Yes |
| Spam / toxicity signals | Yes | Yes |
| Backlink monitor for your own links | Yes | PartlyWeekly new and lost on your top 1,000 domains, plus watched links checked daily |
| Disavow file and Search Console import | Yes | YesSearch Console import is a file upload |
Site audit
SE Ranking’s audit is built for scale: hundreds of thousands of pages, JavaScript rendering and scheduled runs. Ranking’s is built for small and mid-sized sites and adds checks for AI assistants, and it doesn’t use credit.
| SE Ranking | Ranking | |
|---|---|---|
| Pages per crawl | YesUp to 250,000 per project on Core, 1M on Growth | PartlyUp to 200 |
| Cost | Inside plan limits | Free |
| Number of checks | About 130 | 135 |
| Health score, issues by severity, how to fix | Yes | Yes |
| Compare two crawls: new and fixed issues | Yes | Yes |
| Page changes between crawls | YesPage Changes Monitor, Growth plan only | YesBetween audits |
| Separate AI-readiness score | No | Yes |
| AI crawler access in robots.txt | NoNot a separate check we could find | YesGPTBot, OAI-SearchBot, PerplexityBot, ClaudeBot, Google-Extended |
| Content hidden behind JavaScript | PartlyRenders JavaScript | YesFlags content crawlers can’t see |
| Answer-first headings, FAQ and Organization schema | — | Yes |
| Single-page check against a keyword | YesOn-Page SEO Checker, 50 on Core | Yes |
| Scheduled audits | Yes | YesWeekly or monthly |
Content tools
| SE Ranking | Ranking | |
|---|---|---|
| Brief from the live top 10 | Yes | YesWord count, headings, terms, questions |
| Score a draft against the brief | Yes | Yes |
| AI writer | Yes | YesOutline, draft and meta tags, scored in the editor |
| Google Docs add-on, WordPress publishing | Yes | PartlyWordPress drafts; Google Docs by export, no add-on |
| Content idea finder (topic clusters) | Yes | Yes |
| Articles without a monthly cap | Partly25 a month on Core, 50 on Growth | Yes |
| SEO task plan | YesMarketing Plan | YesSEO + GEO plan in 7 steps; tasks tick themselves when the data proves them |
| Insights feed | Yes | YesCannibalisation, rank moves, rivals entering the top 10, AI Overview citations gained or lost |
Local SEO
SE Ranking includes three local locations on every plan with a map-grid rank tracker, Google Business Profile insights and posts, listings in 100+ directories and review management. Ranking now has the map grid, public profile insights with a check of your name, address and phone against your site, and weekly review monitoring, all paid per check. It does not submit directory listings or post to your profile, so heavy local agencies still get more from SE Ranking.
| SE Ranking | Ranking | |
|---|---|---|
| Map-grid rank tracking | Yes | Yes3×3 to 7×7, paid per point |
| Google Business Profile insights and posts | Yes | PartlyPublic profile insights; no posting |
| Directory listings and NAP accuracy | Yes | PartlyChecks your profile against your site; no directory listings |
| Review monitoring and replies | Yes | PartlyWeekly review monitoring; reply in Google |
| Local pack in Google results | Yes | Yes |
Reports, teams and agencies
| SE Ranking | Ranking | |
|---|---|---|
| Client report | YesDrag-and-drop builder, 12 templates | YesSection builder, 3 templates plus your own, scheduled emails |
| Scheduled report emails | Yes10 on Core, 30 on Growth | YesWeekly or monthly |
| Read-only share link | YesGuest links on Growth | Yes |
| Your agency name on reports | Yes | Yes“Prepared by” |
| White label: logo, colours, custom domain, login page | YesAgency Pack, from $69/mo on annual billing | PartlyLogo, colours, reports and login on your domain, free; the app itself stays Ranking-branded |
| Lead generator widget | YesAgency Pack | YesFree |
| Team seats and client seats | Yes | Yes |
| Seats at no extra cost | Partly1 on Core, 3 on Growth, then $16 a month each | YesUnlimited |
| Projects without a cap | Partly10 on Core, 30 on Growth | Yes |
| CSV export of tables | Yes50,000 rows on Core | YesEvery table |
| Mobile app | YesiOS and Android | PartlyInstallable web app, not a store app |
API and MCP
Both let you call the data from your own code and from AI assistants such as Claude, Cursor and Codex through MCP. The models differ: SE Ranking sells credits; Ranking charges each call at the app price.
| SE Ranking | Ranking | |
|---|---|---|
| REST API | Yes | Yes |
| Remote MCP server | Yes180+ tools | Yes15 tools: rankings, AI answers, research, backlinks, audits, your projects |
| How calls are paid | Credits: $50 wallet for 250K, or an annual add-on. 25K credits a month on Core | Same price per check as the app |
| No minimum spend | No$50 wallet, or a plan | YesTop up from $1 |
| Reading your own projects | Uses plan limits | Free |
| Failed calls charged | No | No |
| Credits expire | Annual credits expire at the end of the cycle | Never |
See the API and MCP docs for the full list of endpoints and their prices.
Integrations and data
| SE Ranking | Ranking | |
|---|---|---|
| Google Search Console, GA4 | Yes | PartlySearch Console queries and pages, GA4 organic and AI-assistant visits |
| Looker Studio connector | Yes | PartlyThrough a Google Sheets feed |
| Zapier, Make, n8n | Yes | YesSigned webhooks for 7 events, plus the REST API |
| Own keyword and backlink database | YesProprietary crawlers | NoLicensed from an established SEO data provider |
| Live Google results | Yes | YesEvery rank check is a live search |
| Live AI answers | Yes | YesEvery AI check is a live answer with web search on |
Where SE Ranking is ahead
- Price at volume. Above about 160 keywords a day, its flat subscription is cheaper, and at agency volumes much cheaper.
- Polish on side tools. Keyword grouping, index checker, autocomplete and ads history are deeper and longer-established.
- Local listings. Directory submissions in 100+ directories and Google Business Profile posting.
- Full white label. The whole app on your domain with the Agency Pack; Ranking brands reports and client login only.
- Native connectors. A Looker Studio connector of its own; Ranking feeds Looker through Google Sheets.
- Scale and history. Audits of hundreds of thousands of pages and its own large keyword and backlink databases.
- Maturity. More than ten years on the market, a mobile app, onboarding, and a free 14-day trial.
Where Ranking is ahead
- No subscription. Start with $1, pay per check, stop any time, credit never expires. Light and seasonal users pay a few dollars a month.
- Six AI engines. Including Perplexity and Claude, without a second product or an add-on.
- Honest AI numbers. Confidence intervals on every rate, and a separate rate for prompts that don’t mention you.
- Evidence you can act on. Every answer kept in full, with the pages that cite your rivals but not you.
- AI-readiness audit, free. AI crawler access, content hidden behind JavaScript, answer-first structure and schema.
- API and MCP at app prices. No credit packs, no minimum, project reads free.
- Seats included. Unlimited team and client seats at no extra cost, where SE Ranking charges from $16 a seat.
- Unlimited projects. Add a project for every client or side site without moving up a plan.
How to switch
- Export from SE Ranking. Download your tracked keywords, competitors and, if you want to keep it, your ranking history. History does not transfer.
- Top up Ranking. $1 activates the account. A month of 50 daily keywords costs about $41.
- Create a project. Enter your domain, brand name, competitors, country and device. Choose which AI engines to track.
- Paste your keywords. One per line, up to 500 per project. Volume and difficulty fill in, and the first check runs straight away.
- Add AI prompts. Use the free suggestions or turn question keywords into prompts. Each prompt runs on the engines you chose, then weekly.
- Run the site audit. It is free and adds the AI-readiness score.
- Run both for a month. Compare positions and costs before you cancel anything. SE Ranking subscriptions are non-refundable, so time the switch to your renewal date.
Keep both? Some agencies keep SE Ranking for directory listings or very large audits and use Ranking for AI visibility, where it is broader and cheaper than the AI add-on.
Questions
Can Ranking fully replace SE Ranking?
For rank tracking on Google, AI search visibility, keyword and competitor research, backlink lookups and technical audits, yes. It now also covers Bing, Yahoo and YouTube tracking, map-grid local rankings, team and client seats, a white-label client portal, and Search Console and GA4. Where it is still thinner: no directory listings or Google Business Profile posting, the app itself is not white-labelled, audits stop at 200 pages per crawl, and very heavy daily tracking costs less on a subscription.
Is Ranking cheaper than SE Ranking?
Below about 160 keywords checked daily, usually yes, because you pay per check instead of $129 a month. Above that, SE Ranking’s Core plan (2,000 keywords a day) costs less. If you mainly need AI visibility or occasional research, Ranking is far cheaper.
Which AI engines does each tool track?
Ranking tracks six: ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, Claude, Google AI Overviews and Google AI Mode. SE Ranking’s plans track Google AI Overviews, AI Mode, ChatGPT and Gemini (its pages list between three and five engines); Perplexity is in its separate SE Visible product and API, and Claude is listed as planned.
How often are rankings checked?
Both check Google rankings daily, and both let you recheck on demand. Neither offers a weekly schedule for the main rank tracker. Ranking reruns AI prompts weekly by default; you can run any prompt again at any time.
Can I move my keywords from SE Ranking?
Yes. Export your keyword list from SE Ranking, paste it into Ranking (one keyword per line, up to 500 per project), add your competitors, and the first daily check runs straight away. History from SE Ranking does not transfer, so keep an export of it.
Is there a free trial?
SE Ranking offers 14 days free without a card. Ranking has no free trial; you start with a $1 top-up, which covers about 37 rank checks or 20 ChatGPT answers. The site audit costs nothing.
Do I need a subscription for the API or MCP?
Not with Ranking: the API and the MCP server use the same per-check prices as the app, with no minimum beyond your balance. SE Ranking’s API runs on credits: a $50 wallet (250,000 credits) or an annual add-on, and its MCP server draws on those credits.
Try it on your own site
Top up from $1. Run a free site audit, check your keywords on Google, and ask six AI engines about your category.