Choose an AI SEO Tool for Your Small Business
Compare the best AI SEO tools for small businesses, freelancers and WordPress site owners. Each row shows pricing, free access, plan limits, named features and who the tool may suit.
The fact matrix
Read across each row to compare free access, price, stated limits, named features and the intended business fit. Under each cell is the vendor page we read and the date. The order of the rows is not a ranking.
| Tool | Free plan | Price | Stated limits | Features named on the page |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SemrushSemrush | Free plan at US$0/month with 1 demo project and 10 reports per day; paid plans show a free 7-day trial. semrush.com checked 2 Oct 2026 | SEO plan US$139/month billed monthly, or US$117.33/month billed annually. Starter (SEO + AI Search) US$199/month monthly. semrush.com checked 2 Oct 2026 | SEO plan: 5 websites to monitor and 500 keywords to track daily. Extra users start at US$45/month. semrush.com checked 2 Oct 2026 | SEO plan lists tracking performance in AI search, monitoring AI sentiment, AI visibility reports for any domain and custom prompt monitoring, alongside Position Tracking and Site Audit. semrush.com checked 2 Oct 2026 |
| AhrefsAhrefs | Ahrefs Free gives website owners free limited access to Site Explorer and Site Audit. No free trial of paid plans; the vendor says it never runs discounts. ahrefs.com checked 2 Oct 2026 | Lite US$129/month; Standard US$249/month; Advanced US$449/month (annual billing saves up to 17%). A Starter plan is listed at US$29/month. ahrefs.com checked 2 Oct 2026 | Lite: 5 projects, 750 tracked keywords, 5 tracked AI prompts, 100,000 crawl credits, 1,000 credits per user, 1 user included. ahrefs.com checked 2 Oct 2026 | Lite includes Brand Radar tracked AI prompts and an MCP Server; AI Content Helper is a paid add-on (Content Kit from US$99/month); Keywords Explorer AI suggestions start on Standard. ahrefs.com checked 2 Oct 2026 |
| SurferSurfer (Positive) | Not verified Pricing page shows a 'Start for Free' button on each plan; the page text read does not state a free plan or the trial length. surferseo.com tried 2 Oct 2026 | Discovery US$49/month billed yearly (saves US$120); Standard US$99/month billed yearly (saves US$240). Monthly-billing prices were not in the text read. surferseo.com checked 2 Oct 2026 | Discovery: create or optimize 120 documents, track 10 pages. Standard: 360 documents and 25 AI prompts refreshed weekly. surferseo.com checked 2 Oct 2026 | Vendor names AI SEO Optimization Guidelines, Surfy (AI SEO Assistant) and Humanizer, AI Detector, and AI visibility tracking for ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Mode, AI Overview and Gemini. surferseo.com checked 2 Oct 2026 |
| SE RankingSE Ranking | Free 14-day trial, no credit card required; trial includes up to 10 projects, 750 tracked keywords per day and 20 AI prompts per day. No permanent free plan stated. seranking.com checked 2 Oct 2026 | Core US$129/month on monthly billing, or US$103.20/month on annual billing (annual saves 20%). Growth US$279/month monthly. seranking.com checked 2 Oct 2026 | Core: 10 projects and 1 manager seat, 2k keywords and 100 prompts tracked daily, 5 domains in GEO research, 250k audit pages per month. seranking.com checked 2 Oct 2026 | Vendor names AI Search Toolkit, AI Overviews Tracker, AI Mode Tracker, AI Writer, MCP access, and scheduled reporting with AI summaries. seranking.com checked 2 Oct 2026 |
| MangoolsMangools | Page offers 'Create a FREE account'; free-account limits are not stated on the pricing page. Full refund within 48 hours of payment is stated. mangools.com checked 2 Oct 2026 | Mangools Basic US$452.40/year on annual billing (shown against US$732.00, save US$279.60), about US$37.70/month. Monthly-billing price not read. mangools.com checked 2 Oct 2026 | Basic: 100 keyword lookups per 24h, 100 SERP lookups per 24h, 200 tracked keywords with weekly rank updates, 100k backlink rows per month, no extra seats. mangools.com checked 2 Oct 2026 | Bundle includes AI Search Watcher PRO (AI search monitoring, 500 prompts monitored on Basic) with API and MCP included; free AI Search grader tool is also listed. mangools.com checked 2 Oct 2026 |
| Yoast SEOYoast | Free WordPress plugin; vendor says it stays free and includes SEO analysis, XML sitemaps and schema markup. yoast.com checked 2 Oct 2026 | Yoast SEO Premium US$118.80/year (ex VAT). 30-day money-back guarantee on Premium. yoast.com checked 2 Oct 2026 | One Premium subscription covers one site or domain. Google Docs add-on includes one seat; extra seats US$5 (excl. VAT) per month each. yoast.com checked 2 Oct 2026 | Premium: AI drafts SEO titles and meta descriptions by page or in bulk, a Content Planner that suggests post ideas, internal link suggestions, redirects, schema aggregation and an AI bot blocker. yoast.com checked 2 Oct 2026 |
Scroll the table sideways to see every column.
About the prices. Vendor pages were read on 1 and 2 October 2026 from a connection in Australia. Where a vendor shows local prices, we took the US-dollar figure from its United States page or its help centre and link to that page. Where we could not read a US-dollar price, the cell says so and names the currency we saw. Prices in other countries can differ.
Who each one suits, and who it does not
These lines are drawn only from the facts we could read on vendor pages. We have not run our own tests, so nothing here ranks the tools on the quality of their output.
SemrushSource: semrush.com
- Best for
- Small businesses and freelancers that want keyword research, site audit and rank tracking for up to 5 websites in one subscription.Based on: stated limits, features named on the page
- Not ideal for
- Businesses that want a low monthly cost, since the first paid plan is US$139/month on monthly billing.Based on: price
AhrefsSource: ahrefs.com
- Best for
- Small businesses that want backlink, keyword and site-audit data with a few tracked AI prompts included from the Lite plan.Based on: stated limits, features named on the page
- Not ideal for
- Anyone who wants to try the paid plans first, as the vendor offers no free trial and Lite is US$129/month.Based on: free plan, price
SurferSource: surferseo.com
- Best for
- Teams whose main job is writing and optimising articles, with a set number of documents per plan.Based on: stated limits, features named on the page
- Not ideal for
- Businesses that need daily AI prompt tracking on a lower plan, as Standard refreshes its 25 prompts weekly.Based on: stated limits
SE RankingSource: seranking.com
- Best for
- Small teams that want rank tracking for 2k keywords plus 100 AI prompts across up to 10 projects on the first plan.Based on: stated limits
- Not ideal for
- Businesses wanting a permanent free plan, as only a 14-day trial is stated.Based on: free plan
MangoolsSource: mangools.com
- Best for
- Solo marketers and freelancers who want keyword research and rank tracking for 200 keywords at a lower yearly price.Based on: price, stated limits
- Not ideal for
- Teams, since the Basic plan has no extra seats and updates ranks weekly.Based on: stated limits
Yoast SEOSource: yoast.com
- Best for
- WordPress site owners who want on-page SEO guidance inside the editor, starting with the free plugin.Based on: free plan, features named on the page
- Not ideal for
- Businesses running several sites on one licence, as each Premium subscription covers one site.Based on: stated limits
How to choose from this table
Start with the SEO work you need. Choose Mangools for keyword research and rank tracking, or Yoast SEO for guidance inside the WordPress editor. Surfer focuses on writing and optimising articles, while Semrush, Ahrefs and SE Ranking are presented as all-in-one SEO suites.
Set your budget before choosing a plan. Semrush SEO is US$139/month on monthly billing. Ahrefs Lite is US$129/month, while SE Ranking Core is US$129/month on monthly billing. Surfer Discovery is US$49/month billed yearly, and Mangools Basic is US$452.40/year on annual billing.
Check limits before your projects grow. Semrush SEO covers 5 websites and 500 keywords tracked daily. Ahrefs Lite includes 5 projects and 750 tracked keywords, while SE Ranking Core includes 10 projects and 2k keywords tracked daily. Surfer Discovery allows 120 documents and 10 tracked pages.
Match the plan to your team and sites. Mangools Basic has no extra seats, so it suits solo users. SE Ranking Core includes 1 manager seat and 10 projects. One Yoast SEO Premium subscription covers one site or domain, with a separate Google Docs add-on seat and extra seats costing US$5 (excl. VAT) per month each.
Treat not verified as a reason to check, not a mark against the product. It means the vendor page did not show us the detail on the day. Every figure, with its source and date, is also in the fact ledger.
Related: AI tools compared by task, price and usage limits, How to compare AI tools for your business.
Questions people ask
Which AI SEO tool has a free plan?
Mangools offers a free account, but its free-account limits were not stated. Surfer shows a "Start for Free" button, but the page text did not confirm a free plan or trial length. SE Ranking offers a free 14-day trial, while no permanent free plan is stated.
Which tool includes rank tracking for AI prompts?
Semrush SEO includes custom prompt monitoring, while Ahrefs Lite includes 5 tracked AI prompts. SE Ranking Core tracks 100 prompts daily, and Mangools Basic says AI Search Watcher PRO monitors 500 prompts. Surfer Standard refreshes 25 AI prompts weekly.
What is included in Surfer's Discovery plan?
Surfer Discovery is US$49/month billed yearly and allows users to create or optimise 120 documents and track 10 pages. Named features include AI SEO Optimization Guidelines, Surfy, Humanizer, AI Detector and AI visibility tracking for several search services.
Can one Yoast SEO Premium licence cover several websites?
No. One Yoast SEO Premium subscription covers one site or domain. The Google Docs add-on includes one seat, with extra seats available for US$5 (excl. VAT) per month each.