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SEO and content optimization platforms · November 2026 Edition

Semrush vs Frase

Gane, the publisher, sells software in this category. Every product here is measured by the same method as in every other category. How the conflict is handled.

Eight of fourteen models named Semrush first on the direct prompt; zero named Frase. Both were named by all fourteen models and Semrush carries 57 labels and Frase 42, so the shares are not directly comparable.

Semrush

accepted challenger

Boston, United States, founded 2008. Named in six categories this edition.

Frase

accepted challenger

Named in three categories this edition.

First-choice share20%6%Of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts, 0 to 100.
Negative rate21%19%Negative labels as a share of the product's labels, 0 to 100.
Rank in category#2#6A position in a field of 14; printed, not drawn.
Labels5742A count; the two differ.
The two percentage rows are drawn on one 0 to 100 track, Semrush reading right to left. Rank and label count are printed, not drawn.Clearscope was named alongside these two in eleven of the fourteen direct answers. Surfer SEO vs Semrush · Surfer SEO vs Frase · Semrush vs Clearscope

Share is the count of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts over all fourteen models, for a mid-market B2B company; rank is within the category; every quote names the model and the prompt it came from. Both figures come from the SEO and content optimization platforms page.

By framing

How many of the fourteen models made each the first choice, per way of asking, and how many argued against it.
SemrushFirst choices, of fourteen modelsFrase
Direct801 against Semrush
Paraphrase21
Comparative71
Budget-constrained024 against Semrush · 1 against Frase
Scale-constrained00
Negative117 against Semrush · 7 against Frase
Bars are first choices, 0 to 14 each sideModels that argued againstA model can name both, so the two sides of a row do not sum to fourteen.

Every model, every framing

The eighty-four answers behind the chart above, one cell each: where Semrush and Frase stood in it.
ModelDirectParaphraseComparativeBudget-constrainedScale-constrainedNegative
Claude Haiku 4.5
GPT-5.4 mini
Gemini 3.5 Flash
Perplexity Sonar
Grok 4.20
Mistral Small
DeepSeek V4 Flash
Llama 4 Maverick
Qwen 3.7 Flash
Kimi K2
GLM 4.7 FlashX
MiniMax M2.5
GPT-6 Luna
Muse Glimmer 30B
Semrush Frase first choice named as an alternative argued againstblank: not namedEach cell is one answer, Semrush on the left and Frase on the right.

The direct prompt

The plain question, one answer per model, grouped by where Semrush and Frase stood in it.

Semrush first, Frase an alternative

8 of 14 modelsFrase was named in the answer but not as the choice, or not at all.
Perplexity SonarSemrush alternatives: Ahrefs, Clearscope, Google Analytics 4, Google Search Console, HubSpot Marketing Hub, SE Ranking, Search Atlas
Grok 4.20Semrush, Surfer SEO alternatives: Ahrefs, Clearscope, Frase, LowFruits, MarketMuse, RankUp, Search Atlas
Mistral SmallSemrush alternatives: Ahrefs, HubSpot Marketing Hub, Surfer SEO
DeepSeek V4 FlashSemrush alternatives: Ahrefs, Clearscope, MarketMuse, Similarweb, Surfer SEO
Llama 4 MaverickSemrush
Qwen 3.7 FlashSemrush alternatives: Clearscope, HubSpot Content Hub, Surfer SEO, xSeek
GLM 4.7 FlashXSemrush alternatives: Ahrefs, Clearscope, Surfer SEO
MiniMax M2.5Ahrefs, Semrush alternatives: Clearscope, Frase, Surfer SEO

Neither was the first choice, one was named

4 of 14 modelsThe answer put something else first and named one of the two as an alternative.
Claude Haiku 4.5Surfer SEO alternatives: Clearscope, MarketMuse, SE Ranking, Semrush
Gemini 3.5 FlashClearscope alternatives: Ahrefs, Conductor, Frase, MarketMuse, Semrush, Surfer SEO
Kimi K2Surfer SEO alternatives: Clearscope, MarketMuse, Semrush
Muse Glimmer 30BSurfer SEO alternatives: Clearscope, MarketMuse, Semrush

Neither was named

2 of 14 modelsThe answer made no first choice from these two in this category.
GPT-5.4 miniConductor alternatives: BrightEdge
GPT-6 LunaSemrush AI Visibility Toolkit alternatives: Clearscope, Conductor

Bold names in an answer are the products the judge labeled a first choice; a model naming several gives each of them that label. The full answer text for every row is in the record.

By buyer segment

The same question asked on behalf of a different buyer. Each standing is computed within its segment and they are never added together. The figures above are the mid-market standing, which is the one the category orders by.
Small business
Semrush leads by seven points.
Semrush18%#2 of 14
Frase11%#4 of 14
The full small business standing →
Mid-marketThe figures above
Semrush leads by fourteen points.
Semrush20%#2 of 14
Frase6%#6 of 14
The full mid-market standing →
Enterprise
Semrush leads by eight points.
Semrush10%#3 of 11
Frase2%#7 of 11
The full enterprise standing →

What the models said about Semrush

Every negative label with a quote, up to three, then the highest-weighted positives, up to three. Four of four in this category shown.

“Don't pay for expensive tools like Semrush ($139+/month)” MiniMax M2.5 · budget prompt · hard negative
“the best overall SEO and content optimization platform is a combination of Semrush (or Ahrefs) for research/strategy + Surfer SEO (or Clearscope) for content optimization” Grok 4.20 · direct prompt · first choice
“Best for: Full digital marketing suites, agencies, power users ... Largest keyword database (26.6B Google keywords)” Kimi K2 · comparative prompt · first choice
“For most mid-market B2B companies, Semrush is the best overall SEO and content optimization platform” Perplexity Sonar · direct prompt · first choice

What the models said about Frase

Every negative label with a quote, up to three, then the highest-weighted positives, up to three. Six of eight in this category shown.

“Avoid premium-heavy tools like Clearscope, SurferSEO, or Frase” Grok 4.20 · budget prompt · hard negative
“for example, Surfer, Clearscope, or Frase. They can help with research and coverage, but don’t treat a score, suggested word count, or list of terms as a ranking formula.” GPT-6 Luna · negative prompt · soft negative
“Frase has no backlink analysis, technical SEO auditing, or AI writing, so you'd need additional tools for comprehensive SEO work.” Claude Haiku 4.5 · negative prompt · soft negative
“Best Overall for Budget: Frase is the most affordable tool that combines research, brief generation, AI writing, and optimization” Claude Haiku 4.5 · budget prompt · first choice
“Content Workflow: Frase or Surfer (research → brief → write → optimize)” GLM 4.7 FlashX · comparative prompt · first choice
“NeuronWriter and Frase are the best choices for a limited budget” Mistral Small · budget prompt · first choice
Also compared

Comparisons are drawn for the top eight products in each category, each against each. The output is the models' output; nothing here is a recommendation by the index.