Surfer SEO vs Semrush
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.
Four of fourteen models named Surfer SEO first on the direct prompt; eight named Semrush. Both were named by all fourteen models and Surfer SEO carries 63 labels and Semrush 57, so the shares are not directly comparable.
Named in four categories this edition.
Boston, United States, founded 2008. Named in six categories this edition.
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
Surfer SEOFirst choices, of fourteen modelsSemrush
Across every category in the November 2026 Edition, Surfer SEO and Semrush were named in the same answer 119 times, of the 193 answers naming Surfer SEO and the 355 naming Semrush. In those answers Semrush took the first choice thirty times and Surfer SEO twenty.
Every model, every framing
| Model | Direct | Paraphrase | Comparative | Budget-constrained | Scale-constrained | Negative |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | | | | | |
Surfer SEO Semrush first choice named as an alternative argued againstblank: not namedEach cell is one answer, Surfer SEO on the left and Semrush on the right.The direct prompt
Both were the first choice
1 of 14 modelsThe answer named them together, and the judge labeled each a first choice.Surfer SEO first, Semrush an alternative
3 of 14 modelsSemrush was named in the answer but not as the choice, or not at all.Semrush first, Surfer SEO an alternative
7 of 14 modelsSurfer SEO was named in the answer but not as the choice, or not at all.Neither was the first choice, one was named
1 of 14 modelsThe answer put something else first and named one of the two as an alternative.Neither was named
2 of 14 modelsThe answer made no first choice from these two in this category.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
Surfer SEO19%#1 of 14Semrush18%#2 of 14Surfer SEO24%#1 of 14Semrush20%#2 of 14Semrush10%#3 of 11Surfer SEO0%#11 of 11What the models said about Surfer SEO
Every negative label with a quote, up to three, then the highest-weighted positives, up to three. Six of seven in this category shown.
“Avoid premium-heavy tools like Clearscope, SurferSEO, or Frase” Grok 4.20 · budget prompt · hard negative
“Content graders and brief builders—for example, Surfer, Clearscope, or Frase. They can help with research and coverage, but don’t treat a score... as a ranking formula.” GPT-6 Luna · negative prompt · soft negative
“Surfer SEO is the mid-market benchmark for content optimization... For pure page-level NLP scoring, NeuronWriter is the direct, cheaper swap to Surfer.” Muse Glimmer 30B · budget prompt · soft negative
“Surfer SEO is the default recommendation for most content teams because it balances on-page scoring, keyword research, and a content editor in one interface.” Claude Haiku 4.5 · comparative prompt · first choice
“the consensus in 2025-2026 reviews is that Surfer SEO hits the best balance of price, on-page workflow and AI-assisted optimization” Muse Glimmer 30B · direct prompt · first choice
“Surfer SEO is the consensus leader for mid-market companies that want AI-search visibility connected to content briefs” Claude Haiku 4.5 · direct prompt · first choice
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
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.