Semrush starts at £89-129/month per seat, with usage caps and paid add-ons for content tools. Illumae is £40/month per domain, unlimited, with AI content generation built in.
If you're using Semrush mainly for keyword research, site audits, and rank tracking — and writing your content separately, or paying for a second AI writing tool on top — you're likely paying for overlap you don't need. Illumae was built to combine the SEO fundamentals with AI content generation in one subscription, at roughly a third of Semrush's entry price.
This isn't a claim that Illumae replaces every feature Semrush offers. Semrush has years of data depth in areas like competitive intelligence and enterprise reporting. What follows is an honest breakdown of where each tool genuinely fits.
How Illumae and Semrush stack up across the full SEO workflow.
| Feature | IllumaeBest all-round | SemrushCompared | Ahrefs |
|---|---|---|---|
| AI article generation | |||
| AI visibility tracking | |||
| Keyword research | |||
| Site audit | |||
| Position tracking | |||
| Google Search Console | Limited | Limited | |
| Content calendar & autopilot | |||
| Brand voice matching | |||
| Content gap analysis | |||
| Content decay tracking | |||
| Internal link mapping | |||
| Schema markup generator | |||
| Rank change alerts | Limited | Limited | |
| Downloadable SEO reports | |||
| Content quality gate | |||
| Per-domain subscription | |||
| Starting price (GBP) | £40/mo | £100+/mo | £89+/mo |
Comparison based on publicly available pricing and feature information as of 2026. Semrush and Ahrefs pricing varies by plan and usage.
Semrush's Pro plan is £89/month for one user, covering one project (roughly one domain) with capped keyword tracking and limited crawl credits. Add a separate AI writing tool — most cost £20-40/month on their own — and you're at £110-130/month before you've published a single article.
Illumae is £40/month per domain, and that includes unlimited AI article generation, keyword research, site audits, position tracking, and automated publishing. For an agency or business managing 3 domains, that's £120/month total on Illumae versus potentially £330-390/month running Semrush plus a separate content tool across the same 3 sites.
Semrush's keyword and competitive data has been built up over more than a decade, and its enterprise reporting and team collaboration features are more mature than Illumae's. If your primary need is deep competitive intelligence across large enterprise sites, or you need advanced multi-user workflows, Semrush remains the stronger choice today.
If your priority is publishing consistent, well-optimised content without juggling a separate AI writing subscription, Illumae's combined workflow saves both money and time. The AI article generator uses your actual brand voice and target audience, checks its own output for originality and AI-detection risk before publishing, and can schedule content automatically — none of which Semrush does natively.
You can add your existing tracked keywords directly into Illumae's Keyword Research tool, and connect Google Search Console in a couple of clicks to bring in your real performance data immediately. Most users are fully set up within 15-20 minutes.
Semrush has a longer track record and a larger historical dataset built up over more than a decade. Illumae's strength is the combined workflow — keyword research, content generation, audits, and publishing in one place — not a claim of equivalent data depth. If keyword database size is your primary criterion, Semrush remains the stronger choice.
Yes. Illumae is priced per domain at £40/month each, with no per-seat charges. You can manage multiple client domains from a single account, and each domain gets its own keyword tracking, audits, articles, and brand profile. An agency managing 3 client sites pays £120/month total — less than a single Semrush Pro seat plus a separate content tool.
No — not at Semrush's depth. Illumae tracks real backlink data for your own domain (total backlinks, referring domains, and individual backlink details), but its competitive intelligence and competitor backlink research are less mature than Semrush's. Illumae also does not match Semrush's enterprise reporting or multi-user team workflows. What Illumae does offer is AI content generation, brand voice matching, automated publishing, content decay tracking, internal link mapping, and a schema generator — none of which Semrush provides natively.
Writing with ChatGPT means copy-pasting prompts, manually matching your brand voice each time, checking the output yourself, and then copy-pasting into your CMS. Illumae's AI generator uses your stored brand voice and target audience profile, writes the article with SEO structure (title, meta description, headings, internal links), runs its own originality and AI-detection checks before publishing, and can schedule and publish directly to your CMS — all in one workflow.
Yes. Illumae offers a free plan that includes 3 AI article generations, keyword research tools, a content calendar, and a basic dashboard. No credit card is required to sign up.
Yes. You can cancel your subscription at any time directly from your account settings. When you cancel, you keep full Pro access until the end of your current billing period, after which your domain reverts to the free plan. There are no cancellation fees.
Your data belongs to you. Your generated articles, keyword lists, and brand profile remain in your Illumae account. If you decide to return to Semrush, you can export your articles and keyword lists. Removing a domain from Illumae does not affect your Semrush projects.
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