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BRIGHTLOCAL VS SEMRUSH LOCAL
“I switched from Semrush to BrightLocal because it cost far less and did everything I needed.”
Truly dedicated to local SEO
Get the tools you really need, no fluff
Citations built by people
Smart features that keep costs low
“I switched from Semrush to BrightLocal because it cost far less and did everything I needed. Now the BrightLocal MCP does it all for me. Tasks that used to take me 20 to 30 minutes per client are fully automated. It’s amazing, I’m using it all the time, and I’m really happy with BrightLocal.”
See why businesses choose BrightLocal over Semrush
Custom citation building
Own your listings forever and manage listings
Local rank tracking
Local SEO Services
Local AI visibiliy tracking
Agency features included
Simple pricing and affordable plans
Pay once, no recurring fees.
When you build your listings, you truly own them.
You need a subscription.
You get all your account details and logins.
They aren’t yours.
Semrush owns your account details.
Two types of tracking available, plus local AI visibility.
3 plans, or pay-as-you-go citations
Or get a free account for building citations and only pay once for what you need.
Subscription only + with expensive add-ons
Many features are only available with add-ons.
Citations are only available on subscription.
“BrightLocal has really helped us implement change for our clients, and get them to the top 3 in the Google Map Pack.”
Go beyond automated listings
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Choose from hundreds of directories and citation sites
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Pick from 4 data aggregators to automate submissions
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Get listed on the sites that drive AI visibility
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Push updates to key listings at the click of a button
Local AI visibility at no extra cost
- Available on all Track, Manage, and Grow plans at no extra cost
- Track up to 20 prompts as standard
- See how you’re mentioned, and where you are cited
- See where your competitors are being talked about
Local is everything we do. It’s not just a couple of tools in a bigger box.
- 16 years of local search expertise and 15,000+ customers
- Local is the only thing on our roadmap
Real people, real support
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Our support is available in multiple time zones
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Talk to a real person to get support
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In-depth knowledge and a specialized Academy to help you succeed
Proven results for real businesses
Bryce Paxon, Assistant Director of Comms
Arkansas Baptist Children and Family Ministries
Sergio Salazar, CEO
Staylisted
Nishtha Paryani, Assoc. Marketing Manager
tbk
Jason Collier, Senior Developer
Missional Marketing
A true all-in-one solution for local SEO
Track your presence
Audit your location’s optimization and keep on top of your visibility.
Custom-built tools for auditing and reporting
Over 16 years of local search and location data
Manage your SEO
Monitor reviews, build citations, track listings, find leads, and get insights on what to do next.
Flexible solutions for small businesses
White-labeling available for agencies
Grow your business
Take action right in the platform or work with our fully-managed local SEO services to get found.
Know exactly what you need to do
Tailored recommendations for your business
Additional features and tools
Two local rank tracking solutions
Local Rank Tracker and Local Search Grid cover every aspect of local rankings.
Review management
Monitor, respond and generate reviews in one platform.
Build the citations you need
Our in-house team of citation builders help you build, fix, and claim the citations your business needs.
White-label solutions
We make it simple for agencies to white-label their reporting.
Talk to your data
With our MCP Server and API, you can talk to your data and use it how you want.
Automatic review responses
89% of customers expect businesses to respond to reviews. We make that simple.
Manage your listings
Keep on top of all your listings in one tool. Make updates in one centralised place, then push them out.
Agency lead generation tools
Find new leads to help you win more business.
Frequently asked questions
The main differences are how we offer these services, and the price point.
Semrush only offers listings as part of a subscription, while BrightLocal lets you pay for the citations you need on an adhoc basis.
Semrush also only offers the absolute basics in its cheapest plan, while BrightLocal gives you most of its rank tracking and auditing as standard.
Semrush makes you pay for expensive add-ons to unlock most of its other capabilities, like AI visibility tracking, or extra seats.
The people who do this are likely using Semrush’s general SEO toolkit, rather than Semrush Local.
BrightLocal Pricing
BrightLocal offers Local AI Visibility Tracking in all Track, Manage, and Grow plans.
Local AI Visibility scores each location on Google AI Overviews, Google AI Mode, and ChatGPT, compares it with local competitors, and shows which sites AI cites. It’s included on all plans: Track, Manage, and Grow.
There are only a few instances where you might choose an optional add-on or update:
Data Aggregator Renewals (paid yearly): This is optional but recommended. It keeps your data locked across thousands of sources, so it doesn’t get overwritten by outdated info from third parties.
Manual Updates: If you move offices or change your number and don’t have an active sync or aggregator subscription, we charge a simple, one-off fee of $3.20 (or as low as $2 with bulk credits) per listing to manually update your details.
Active Sync (available on our Manage and Grow plans): If you want the best of both worlds—manual ownership plus the ability to push instant updates to key sites like Google, Facebook, and Apple Maps—you can add Active Sync at any time.
Find out more about how we handle location updates here.
Semrush Local’s white-labeling costs more with an add-on. Plus they may you pay for extra seats and other reporting features.
Local SEO agency software
A Citation Builder account is free. Then, the citations you build are yours to keep.