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Side-by-side comparison · SEO & Analytics

Frase vs Google Search Console 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.

Frase

4.0

From $49/mo

Google Search Console

4.0

Free to start

Semrush

3.9

From $139/mo

Comparing 3 tools, the maximum.

At a glance

Pick it if: Small marketing teams, freelancers and agencies who write SEO content and want research, briefs and drafts in one place.

Best value

Pick it if: Anyone with a website. There's no reason not to set it up.

Pick it if: Agencies and marketers who do both search ads and SEO and want one subscription for both.

Overview

AttributeFraseGoogle Search ConsoleSemrush
In one lineResearches, briefs and drafts SEO articles, and tracks if AI search cites you.Google's free report on how your site shows up in search, AI results included.Keyword, competitor and ad research with a bigger toolbox and a bigger bill.
Pricing modelPaidFreeFreemium
Starting price$49/moFree$139/mo
Free plan No Yes Yes
Works with Claude Code Yes Yes Yes

Rating breakdown

Our scores out of 5. The higher bar in each row is highlighted.

AttributeFraseGoogle Search ConsoleSemrush
Overall rating4.04.03.9
Ease of useHow quickly someone non-technical gets value from it.
4.0
4.0
3.5
FeaturesHow completely it covers its own job, and how well the pieces fit together.
4.5
3.0
5.0
Output qualityHow good the results are before you fix them.
3.5
4.5
4.0
Value for moneyWhat you get for the price, including the free plan.
4.0
5.0
3.0
Speed & reliabilityHow fast it is and how often it falls over.
4.0
3.5
4.0

Feature comparison

A tick means it does this today. A dash means we haven't checked.

AttributeFraseGoogle Search ConsoleSemrush
Access & platform
Free plan No Yes Yes
Mobile app– No Yes
Desktop app– No No
Browser extension– No Yes
API access Yes Yes Yes
Teams & business
Team workspace Yes Yes Yes
Enterprise plan or SSO Yes No Yes
Connects to other apps Yes Yes Yes
Open source or self-hosted No No No
AI abilities
Works with your files– No Yes
Understands images– No No
Makes images No No No
Makes video No No No
Writes code No No No
Runs agents or automations Yes No No
Learns your brand or style Yes No–
Works in many languages Yes Yes Yes
Capabilities score7/ 175/ 179/ 17

Pricing

Plans as listed on each vendor's site when we last checked. Confirm before you buy.

AttributeFraseGoogle Search ConsoleSemrush
Plans

Starter

$49/mo, or $39/mo billed yearly

One person writing a few articles a month.

FreeOur pick

Free

Every website owner, with no exceptions.

Free

Free

A quick look before you commit.

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.

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 pickProfessional 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.There's only one plan and it costs nothing. Verify every site you own, including subdomains, and add your marketing person or agency as a user so they can see the data too.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

AttributeFraseGoogle Search ConsoleSemrush
Standout features
  • SERP research and briefs
  • AI drafting in your voice
  • Content scoring
  • Content Guard
  • AI visibility tracking
  • API, MCP and CLI
  • Performance report
  • Indexing report
  • URL inspection
  • Issue alerts
  • Core Web Vitals
  • API access
  • Domain Overview
  • Keyword Gap
  • Advertising Research
  • AI Search tracking
  • Position Tracking
  • Semrush MCP

Pros and cons

AttributeFraseGoogle Search ConsoleSemrush
Pros
  • Fast, thorough content briefs
  • Cheaper than Clearscope and Surfer at the entry level
  • Covers Google and AI search in one tool
  • API, MCP and CLI on every plan
  • Real data from Google rather than estimates
  • Completely free with no traffic or user limits
  • Catches indexing and mobile problems you'd never notice yourself
  • Shows when your pages appear in AI Overviews and AI Mode
  • An official API that Claude Code can read
  • Organic and paid search research in one subscription
  • The best Google Ads competitor data of the big suites
  • Strong local SEO and listings tools
  • AI visibility tracking built into the main plans
  • Official MCP connection for Claude
Cons
  • AI drafts need editing to sound human and be accurate
  • Starter limits are tight
  • Rebuilt in 2026, so the newer features have little track record
  • Past complaints about slow replies on billing issues
  • Only covers your own site, so no competitor research
  • Data lags by one to two days
  • The reports assume you know SEO terms like impressions and canonical
  • Query data is sampled and hides some long-tail searches for privacy
  • Cluttered interface with a steep learning curve
  • Expensive, and add-ons and extra users push the bill up fast
  • The free account is too limited to do real work
  • Backlink data is a step behind Ahrefs
  • Plan names and bundles change often, which makes comparing hard

Who each one is for

AttributeFraseGoogle Search ConsoleSemrush
Best for
  • Building SEO content briefs fast
  • Drafting articles from a brief
  • Answering the questions searchers ask
  • Tracking citations in AI search
  • Seeing which searches bring visitors
  • Finding indexing problems
  • Seeing when you appear in AI Overviews
  • Submitting sitemaps
  • Competitor Google Ads research
  • Keyword gap reports
  • Content briefs
  • Local listings management
You'll find it used by
  • Content marketers
  • SEO freelancers
  • Agencies
  • Small business owners
  • B2B software teams
  • Business owners
  • Marketers
  • Agencies
  • Developers
  • Agencies
  • Performance marketers
  • In-house SEO teams
  • Content marketers

Questions people ask

Which is better, Frase, Google Search Console or Semrush?

They tie on our overall rating (Frase 4.0/5, Google Search Console 4.0/5 and Semrush 3.9/5). Frase is best for Building SEO content briefs fast and drafting articles from a brief. Google Search Console is best for seeing which searches bring visitors and finding indexing problems. Semrush is best for Competitor Google Ads research and keyword gap reports.

Which is cheaper, Frase, Google Search Console or Semrush?

Frase: There's no free plan. Paid plans start at $49/mo. Google Search Console: It's free to use. Semrush: There's a free plan, and paid plans start at $139/mo.

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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