# DataForSEO vs Semrush API + MCP (slim)

> DataForSEO scores 64.9 (B) on agent readiness against Semrush API + MCP's 53.1 (D), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. Semrush API + MCP leads on security & auth. Both do seo keywords. Category scores, facts, verdicts and agent notes side by side.

- Full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/dataforseo-vs-semrush.md (~2,150 tokens) · this version ~780 tokens · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/dataforseo-vs-semrush.json · canonical https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/dataforseo-vs-semrush
- Index: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt · API: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json · Updated: 2026-10-08

DataForSEO scores 64.9 (B) on agent readiness against Semrush API + MCP's 53.1 (D), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. Semrush API + MCP leads on security & auth. Both do seo keywords.

- DataForSEO: B 64.9, rank #244 of 629 · https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/dataforseo.min.md
- Semrush API + MCP: D 53.1, rank #487 of 629 · https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/semrush.min.md
- DataForSEO, good for Agents and products that need raw SEO data in bulk at a low unit price, across SERPs, keyword volumes, backlinks, ranked keywords and traffic estimates, and that can work with a task queue. Ahead on Reliability, 84 against 34; Schema & documentation, 86 against 70; Agent ergonomics, 84 against 77; Payments & pricing, 40 against 17; Maintenance & community, 82 against 57; Transparency & trust, 74 against 67. Also Runs on your own machine.
- Semrush API + MCP, good for Teams already paying for Semrush who want an agent to pull keyword, backlink, ranking and traffic estimates in one place, mainly through the MCP server. Ahead on Security & auth, 54 against 45. Also No incidents deducted, where DataForSEO loses 6 points for them.

| Category | DataForSEO | Semrush API + MCP |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability (16%) | 84 | 34 |
| Performance (10%) | pending | pending |
| Schema & documentation (13%) | 86 | 70 |
| Agent ergonomics (13%) | 84 | 77 |
| Security & auth (14%) | 45 | 54 |
| Payments & pricing (10%) | 40 | 17 |
| Task success (10%) | pending | pending |
| Maintenance & community (7%) | 82 | 57 |
| Transparency & trust (7%) | 74 | 67 |

| Fact (where they differ) | DataForSEO | Semrush API + MCP |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Vendor | DataForSEO OÜ | Semrush Inc. (an Adobe company) |
| Hosted endpoint | `https://api.dataforseo.com/v3/` | `https://api.semrush.com` |
| Transports | HTTP, Streamable HTTP, stdio | HTTP, Streamable HTTP |
| Pricing | Pay per use | Paid |
| Price for seo keywords | $0.06 per call | not published |
| Licence | Proprietary service under DataForSEO's terms of service. The MCP server is Apache-2.0 and the Python client is MIT | Proprietary service under the Semrush terms of service |
| Tools exposed | 4 | 14 |
| Read-only variant documented | no | yes |
| Last release | 2026-10-06 | 2026-09-04 |
| Terms last updated | 2026-06-12 | 2026-08-25 |
| Privacy policy last updated | 2026-07-24 | 2025-10-13 |
| Terms restrict automated access | not found in the text | yes |
| Terms restrict benchmarking | not found in the text | yes |
| Arbitration or class-action waiver | not found in the text | yes |
| Popularity | 251 stars, 32k npm/wk, 50k PyPI/wk | none |