Side-by-side comparison · SEO & Analytics
Clearscope vs Frase vs Semrush
Everything that matters when choosing between them, in one place: our rating, what each can do, what they cost, and the trade-offs.
Comparing 3 tools, the maximum.
At a glance
Pick it if: Content teams and agencies publishing SEO articles every week who want writers to hit a clear quality bar.
Pick it if: Small marketing teams, freelancers and agencies who write SEO content and want research, briefs and drafts in one place.
Pick it if: Agencies and marketers who do both search ads and SEO and want one subscription for both.
Overview
| Attribute | Clearscope | Frase | Semrush |
|---|---|---|---|
| In one line | Grades your content against what ranks and tracks whether AI search mentions you. | Researches, briefs and drafts SEO articles, and tracks if AI search cites you. | Keyword, competitor and ad research with a bigger toolbox and a bigger bill. |
| Pricing model | Paid | Paid | Freemium |
| Starting price | $129/mo | $49/mo | $139/mo |
| Free plan | No | No | Yes |
| Works with Claude Code | No | Yes | Yes |
Rating breakdown
Our scores out of 5. The higher bar in each row is highlighted.
| Attribute | Clearscope | Frase | Semrush |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall rating | 3.9 | 4.0Winner | 3.9 |
| Ease of useHow quickly someone non-technical gets value from it. | 4.5 | 4.0 | 3.5 |
| FeaturesHow completely it covers its own job, and how well the pieces fit together. | 4.0 | 4.5 | 5.0 |
| Output qualityHow good the results are before you fix them. | 4.5 | 3.5 | 4.0 |
| Value for moneyWhat you get for the price, including the free plan. | 2.5 | 4.0 | 3.0 |
| Speed & reliabilityHow fast it is and how often it falls over. | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 |
Feature comparison
A tick means it does this today. A dash means we haven't checked.
| Attribute | Clearscope | Frase | Semrush |
|---|---|---|---|
| Access & platform | |||
| Free plan | No | No | Yes |
| Mobile app | – | – | Yes |
| Desktop app | – | – | No |
| Browser extension | No | – | Yes |
| API access | – | Yes | Yes |
| Teams & business | |||
| Team workspace | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Enterprise plan or SSO | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Connects to other apps | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Open source or self-hosted | No | No | No |
| AI abilities | |||
| Works with your files | – | – | Yes |
| Understands images | – | – | No |
| Makes images | No | No | No |
| Makes video | No | No | No |
| Writes code | No | No | No |
| Runs agents or automations | – | Yes | No |
| Learns your brand or style | – | Yes | – |
| Works in many languages | – | Yes | Yes |
| Capabilities score | 3/ 17 | 7/ 17 | 9/ 17 |
Pricing
Plans as listed on each vendor's site when we last checked. Confirm before you buy.
| Attribute | Clearscope | Frase | Semrush |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plans | EssentialsOur pick $129/mo Small content teams publishing weekly. | Starter $49/mo, or $39/mo billed yearly One person writing a few articles a month. | Free Free A quick look before you commit. |
Business $399/mo Larger teams and agencies. | ProfessionalOur pick $129/mo, or $103/mo billed yearly Small teams publishing weekly. | SEO $139/mo, or $117.33/mo billed yearly A business that wants classic SEO research without the AI extras. | |
Enterprise Custom Big publishers with security needs. | Scale $299/mo, or $239/mo billed yearly Agencies running several sites. | StarterOur pick $199/mo, or $165.17/mo billed yearly Marketers who want SEO plus AI visibility and the Claude connection. | |
Enterprise Custom Large teams needing white-label and SSO. | Pro+ $299/mo, or $248.17/mo billed yearly Agencies managing several clients. | ||
Advanced Custom Large teams and enterprise accounts. | |||
| Which plan to pick | Essentials is enough for most teams; buy extra pages or drafts as add-ons before jumping to Business. Use the 14-day trial on real articles to see if the grades change your results. | Professional is the plan most teams settle on, because Starter's 10 articles a month runs out quickly. Try the 7-day trial on two or three real articles before paying. | The free account is only good for a look around. If you want the Claude connection and AI visibility tracking, Starter is the one; the SEO plan is cheaper but leaves both out. Budget for extra users too, which start at $45 a month each. |
Key features
| Attribute | Clearscope | Frase | Semrush |
|---|---|---|---|
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Pros and cons
| Attribute | Clearscope | Frase | Semrush |
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Who each one is for
| Attribute | Clearscope | Frase | Semrush |
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Questions people ask
Which is better, Clearscope, Frase or Semrush?
Frase scores highest overall in our ratings (Clearscope 3.9/5, Frase 4.0/5 and Semrush 3.9/5). Clearscope is best for making sure articles cover a topic fully and keeping a team of writers consistent. Frase is best for Building SEO content briefs fast and drafting articles from a brief. Semrush is best for Competitor Google Ads research and keyword gap reports.
Which is cheaper, Clearscope, Frase or Semrush?
Clearscope: There's no free plan. Paid plans start at $129/mo. Frase: There's no free plan. Paid plans start at $49/mo. Semrush: There's a free plan, and paid plans start at $139/mo.
Which is easier to use, Clearscope, Frase or Semrush?
Clearscope rates highest for ease of use in our scores. Content teams and agencies publishing SEO articles every week who want writers to hit a clear quality bar.
How we compare
Ratings are our own, from using each tool, across ease of use, features, output quality, value for money, speed & reliability.
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