Growing an audience
Running the business
Both cover research & trends and seo & discovery. Here is what separates them on price, billing, what you can take with you, and coverage.
| Exploding Topics | SE Ranking | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | From $39 | From $129 |
| Pricing model | Free trial, then paid | Free trial, then paid |
| Free tier | No | No |
| Billing | Monthly or annual | Monthly or annual |
| Free trial | 7 days | 14 days |
| API | Not stated | Yes |
| Data export | Not stated | Not stated |
| Their cut | Not stated | Not stated |
| Runs on | Web | Web |
| Covers | Research & Trends, SEO & Discovery | SEO & Discovery, Research & Trends |
| Works with | Nothing in particular | Nothing in particular |
| Founded | Not listed | Not listed |
| Reader rating | No reviews yet | No reviews yet |
| Live deals | 1 | None right now |
Trends spotted before they peak
Exploding Topics watches search and social signals and surfaces subjects on the way up, which is a different job from a keyword tool that tells you what is already big. For somebody choosing what to make next, early is the whole value. It is now a Semrush product, and the cheapest plan holds back the CSV export.
Our note
The $39 plan cannot export, so the research stays in their interface. If the point is feeding a content calendar or a spreadsheet, the real entry price is $99.
The full SEO toolkit at a smaller price
SE Ranking does rank tracking, keyword and competitor research, backlink checks and site audits, and prices them well under what the two market leaders charge for the same list. It has since added tracking for what the AI answer engines say about a brand. Agencies use it because reporting and white labelling are built in rather than sold on.
Our note
SE Ranking is what you buy when Ahrefs and Semrush are right and also twice the price. The add-on list is where the cost creeps back, so price the agency pack in before comparing.
Ratings are the average of reviews readers left. The facts are stated by each tool’s own listing and are not verified by CloutStack. How we make money.