Semrush vs Similarweb Comparison: Which Tool is Better?

With the release of Semrush .Trends – a repackaged version of the suite’s market and competitive research tools – we’ve decided to revisit the good old Semrush vs Similarweb discussion.

If you’re looking for a market and competitive intelligence tool that would uncover all you need to know before entering a new market, thinking of a business expansion, or when you simply need to stay on top of emerging trends and competition, you will probably end up choosing between Semrush and Similarweb.

These are the two tools that are considered to be the industry’s golden standard. However, you really have to do some research before making the final choice. 

This is exactly what we will embark on in this post – to help you make an informed decision and enjoy the workflow and results.

Semrush vs Similarweb: Traffic Data Quality

The very first criteria we’ll look at is, of course, data quality.

The key use case of both tools has to do with getting intel on competitors’ traffic and growth trends.

Folks from OWOX have run an in-depth analysis of Semrush and Similarweb traffic data quality across 750+ sites across 10 industries. 

They found that while both tools’ accuracy levels are somewhat similar, Semrush shows better results within sites with medium-sized and 1M+ traffic range. 

Also, Similarweb tends to underestimate traffic counts in more cases than Semrush. Hence, in regard to data accuracy, Semrush’s Traffic Analytics tool (a part of the Semrush .Trends platform) gets an upper hand. 

Note: No third-party tool can ever be as accurate as Google Analytics. So, when looking at competitors’ traffic numbers, you have to get into the comparative mode, rather than look at absolute numbers.

Feature Comparison

Now, the most important decision-makers are features available or absent across the tools. Let’s see which solution offers the fullest market and competitive data coverage across the board.

Mobile data

Having access to mobile data is crucial, especially now when we live in the world of mobile-first and when 66% of all site visits come from mobile devices.

Whatever plan you’re on, Semrush gives access to mobile data to all users.

Conversely, Similarweb’s mobile data comes at a separate price and you have to purchase mobile databases on top of everything else.

Semrush vs Similarweb: Historical data

Once again, Semrush’s historical data insights are available for all users – the data starts from April 2016.

Similarweb, however, differentiates between subscription types. While the tool offers data that goes back to 37 months, the basic plan only gives you a 12-month data coverage.

Geographical coverage

While Similarweb includes data across 90 countries, they each come at a separate cost.

Semrush’s package has geo coverage for 190 countries and regions, and they are all included within any subscription. 

Detailed Traffic Insights

One of the main purposes of market and competitive research is to take a glimpse into how rivals go about their traffic acquisition strategy – to avoid mistakes, maximize your marketing strategy efficiency, and get higher ROI.

Both solutions offer impressive channel-by-channel traffic breakdowns:

Similarweb’s traffic sources include two more channels – mail and display ads. However, all the data is available for desktop only (unless you separately purchase mobile data coverage). Semrush’s Traffic Analytics tool already includes cross-device intel. 

Also, the Traffic Analytics tool provides a detailed view of any competitors’ most visited pages, as well as user behavior stats. 

This should help you get an idea of your rivals’ most attractive products, and uncover which services/items they place the biggest bets on.

This feature is also available within Similarweb, but…once again, it comes at an additional cost.

Audience Insights

As for in-market audience insights, both solutions reveal users’ basic characteristics:

• Demographics (age and gender);
• Geo (countries users come from); 
• Interests;
• Also visited sites.

However, once again Similarweb’s audience insights come at a separate cost, while in Semrush, everything audience-related is already included within the package.

Moreover, Semrush offers additional audience features you will find really useful and helpful when it comes to the strategic aspects of audience insights.

The Market Explorer tool uncovers the in-market audience’s social media preferences in a convenient widget that reveals which social media channels bring in the largest shares of users across the market:

The Traffic Analytics tool allows you to go down to a more granular level and stack your audience up against 5 competitors to assess the level of audience overlap with each rival. This should help you better estimate the maximum audience potential or even evaluate marketing partners based on the extent of a shared audience.

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Market/Industry Analysis Capabilities

On top of traffic and audience insights, both tools are instrumental to online market analysis. Benchmarking, market research, trends analysis – all of these areas of market analysis can’t be performed without access to industry insights. 

Both tools allow you to benchmark yourself against the overall market by:

• Uncovering the key market players;
• Showing the market’s total traffic counts; and
• Reflecting device-specific traffic share.

However, Semrush’s Market Explorer tool goes even beyond this data.

First of all, Semrush’s solution allows you to pick the way you want to look at your industry: you can choose to get insights based on key organic market players (think SEO competitors) or key industry players.

On top of showing the market players’ current audience stats, Semrush’s Market Explorer also unveils each competitors’ growth rate – QoQ, or YoY.

Pricing

Now, the most important feature of pricing is its transparency. And in this regard, Semrush is an absolute winner. 

The Semrush .Trends solution can only be purchased if you have an existing Semrush plan. It will cost you extra $200, and all the amazing features we mentioned (and didn’t mention) here will be included. 

In this case, on top of everything we talked about here, you will have access to 50+ tools that offer everything from advanced SEO coverage and content marketing to PPC and social media management, as well as reporting.  

So, topped with a regular Semrush plan, the pricing will look like this:

Navigate to this page for more details about the Semrush pricing and features.

Similarweb, however, does not come at a fixed price. 

In any case, you will need to speak to their sales manager before even getting a ballpark figure on the pricing. Also, so many features included within Semrush – mobile data, historical data, rivals’ top pages, geo databases, and more – will most certainly have to be purchased separately. 

For a full Similarweb feature overview, go to this page (sorry, it doesn’t mention any pricing, but as we said, you’d have to talk to their sales team first).

Similarweb vs Semrush: Final Verdict

We hope you’ll find this thorough comparison of Semrush vs Similarweb’s capabilities comprehensive enough to make your own judgment.

Yet as for us, it seems like a no-brainer that Semrush offers the best value per dollar when it comes to market and competitive data coverage. With more features, more accurate data, and a myriad of other digital marketing tools included in the package, Semrush comes with transparent pricing and top-notch customer support.