12 AnswerThePublic Alternatives for SEO Content Ideation

AnswerThePublic is a pop‌ular tool for content ideation, but it’s far from perfect.

So people often leave it for other alternatives that might be better suited to their needs. Some of the common reasons people leave AnswerThePublic are: 

• The free account provides limited data on search volume and competition
• No competitor analysis or content gap tools
• No keyword difficulty data

So if you are looking for better alternatives to AnswerThePublic, you are in luck. 

In this article, I’ll show you twelve tools that can help you find more content ideas for your niche, based on real user queries and data. 

A quick pricing comparison of AnswerThePublic alternatives

AnswerThePublic Alternative	Pricing	Website
Semrush Keyword Magic Tool	Pro: $119.95 Guru: $229.95 Business: $449.95	semrush.com/
AlsoAsked	Starter: $15 Pro: $29 Agency: $59	alsoasked.com
Keyword Chef	Basic: $29/month Pro: $69/month Premium: $119/month	keywordchef.com
Ahrefs Keyword Explorer	Lite: $99/month or $82/month billed annually Standard: $199/month or $166/month billed annually Advanced: $399/month or $332/month billed annually Agency: $999/month or $832/month billed annually	ahrefs.com
Keysearch	Monthly: $17 for Starter plan, $34 for Pro plan Annual: $169 for Starter plan, $279 for Pro plan	keysearch.co
KeywordTool.io	Basic: $89/month or $69/month billed annually Plus: $99/month or $79/month billed annually Business: $199/month or $159/month billed annually	keywordtool.io
Surfer Keyword Research Tool	Basic: $59/month Pro: $99/month Business: $199/month Business+: $650/month	surferseo.com
Google Keyword Planner	Free (requires Google Ads account)	ads.google.com/home/tools/keyword-planner/
Google’s People Also Ask (PAA)	Free	google.com
Moz	Standard: $99 per month or $948 per year Medium: $179 per month or $1,716 per year Large: $299 per month or $2,868 per year Premium: $599 per month or $5,748 per year	moz.com
WordStream Free Keyword Tool	Free	wordstream.com/keywords
Ubersuggest	Monthly: $12 for individual plan, $20 for business plan, $40 for enterprise plan Lifetime: $120 for individual plan, $200 for business plan, $400 for enterprise plan	neilpatel.com/ubersuggest/

12 powerful alternatives to AnswerThePublic

Here are twelve of the top SEO tools that’ll easily pass as powerful AnswerThePublic alternatives:

1. Semrush Keyword Magic Tool

Semrush’s Keyword Magic Tool is an all-in-one keyword research tool that gives you access to a database of over 24 billion keywords for your SEO and content marketing campaigns. 

Of course, you don’t need all those billions of keywords. That number simply shows the extent of the keyword database available for your use.

Once you enter a topic (the same way you’d do it with AnswerThePublic), Semrush will provide you with related keywords, topics, and questions people are asking about your topic. And then each keyword suggestion comes with search volume data, keyword difficulty scores, CPC figures, and more!

You can also research keywords in thematic subgroups, filter them by various metrics and intent, and export them to other Semrush tools or CSV and XLS files.

Pros of using Semrush Keyword Magic Tool:

• A large and updated keyword database that covers many niches and geographies.
• User-friendly interface that makes it easy to navigate and customize your keyword lists.
• A keyword gap tool that helps you identify keywords where your competitors are performing better or worse than you are.
• Keyword difficulty scores that help you estimate how hard it is to rank for a specific keyword based on various factors.
• Integrates with Google Analytics and other Semrush tools to provide more insights and data for your SEO strategy.

Cons of using Semrush Keyword Magic Tool:

• Can be expensive for some users, especially if they need access to multiple databases or features.
• Might have some discrepancies in the keyword data, especially for long-tail or low-volume keywords.

Semrush’s pricing & free trial info

You can try the Keyword Magic Tool for free for 7 days by signing up for a Semrush account. You can also use a limited free version of the tool with up to 10 keyword queries per day.

The Keyword Magic Tool is included in all Semrush plans. The monthly pricing for the plans is: 

• Pro ($119.95)
• Guru ($229.95)
• Business ($449.95)

The annual pricing for the plans is:

• Pro ($99.95 per month, billed annually)
• Guru ($191.62 per month, billed annually)
• Business ($374.95 per month, billed annually)

2. AlsoAsked

AlsoAsked is another AnswerThePublic alternative that helps you discover the questions that people are asking on search engines. 

It allows you to enter a keyword and see the related “People Also Ask” questions from Google, organized into a visual tree structure, so it’s visually pleasing and super easy for you to use. You can also filter the results by country and language, and export them to CSV or PDF files.

Pros of using AlsoAsked:

• Helps you understand the search intent and the topics that interest your audience.
• Live and geo-specific data that is updated regularly.
• Easy to use and has a simple and intuitive interface.
• Saves time and effort by showing you questions in a hierarchical order, so you can see how they are connected and what level of detail they cover.
• It offers a free plan that lets you perform up to three searches per day.

Cons of using AlsoAsked:

• Doesn’t show you the volume or the difficulty of the keywords, which are important metrics for SEO and content planning.

• Only allows three free searches per day; this is often problematic because you might need more before deciding whether to buy the tool.

AlsoAsked’s pricing & free trial info

AlsoAsked has a free trial that gives you three free searches per day. After that, you can choose from three paid plans: 

• Starter ($15 per month)
• Pro ($29 per month)
• Agency ($59 per month)

The main difference between the plans is the number of searches and exports you can perform per day and per month.

3. Keyword Chef

To put it simply, Keyword Chef is a keyword research tool that helps you find low-competition keywords that are easy to rank for. The tool focuses on providing long-tail keywords with low search volume and is especially useful when targeting high-converting keywords.

But here are some of the pros and cons of using Keyword Chef, based on real user reviews:

Pros of using Semrush Keyword Chef:

• Finds long-tail keywords quickly and filters out any junk keywords.
• Supports the use of wildcard characters to make discovery even easier.
• Analyzes the SERPs to give you an idea of how obtainable each keyword is.
• Finds keywords that other tools miss or overlook.
• Cost-effective and has a simple pricing structure.

Cons of using Semrush Keyword Chef:

• Doesn’t show the keyword difficulty or the number of backlinks for each keyword.
• Doesn’t have advanced features like rank tracking or competitor analysis.

Keyword Chef’s pricing & free trial info

Keyword Chef offers a free trial for 20 searches and 1000 keywords per search. After that, you can choose between a monthly plan for $29, $69, or $119. You can also pay as you go for $0.01 per credit. (A credit represents a keyword in each search).

4. Ahrefs Keyword Explorer

Ahrefs Keyword Explorer helps you discover thousands of keyword ideas for any topic, analyze their ranking difficulty and traffic potential, and find out what content ranks well for them. But the tool is mostly known for its advanced features such as rank tracking, backlink analysis, and competitor research. 

Pros of using Ahrefs Keyword Explorer:

• Generate keyword ideas for various search engines, like Google, YouTube, Amazon, Bing, etc.
• See advanced SEO metrics for each keyword (monthly search volume, clicks, keyword difficulty, parent topic — aka seed keyword, and more)
• Filter and sort keywords by various criteria, like SERP features, word count, CPC, and more.
• Identify long-tail keywords and subtopics that have low competition and high traffic potential.
• Analyze the top-ranking pages for any keyword and see their SEO metrics, backlinks, and content quality.

Cons of using Ahrefs Keyword Explorer:

• Doesn’t provide a free trial that lets you explore it upfront. You need to pay a subscription fee to access it. But there’s a free basic plan with limitations.

• It has a high price compared to many other SEO tools. Many users have complained that Ahrefs is too expensive for small businesses or freelancers who need a comprehensive SEO solution.

Ahrefs’ pricing & free trial info

You can choose from four pricing plans: 

• Lite ($99/month or $82/month billed annually)
• Standard ($199/month or $166/month billed annually)
• Advanced ($399/month or $332/month billed annually)
• Agency ($999/month or $832/month billed annually)

5. Keysearch

Keysearch is a powerful keyword research and competitive analysis tool that helps you find keywords with good search volume, track your keyword performance, and optimize your content. You can also use it to spy on your competitors’ keywords and backlinks.

It offers an easy-to-use interface, accurate keyword research data, and comprehensive reporting features.

Here are some major pros and cons of using Keysearch for content ideation:

Pros of using Keysearch:

• Simple to use and uncomplicated
• Effective color coding difficulty score to easily differentiate difficulty level of each keyword
• Free trial available
• Competitor gap analysis feature
• Inexpensive & great value for money

Cons of using Keysearch:

• Poor content assistant feature
• Reduced data accuracy compared to premium tools
• Limited support

Keysearch’s pricing & free trial info

Keysearch offers a one-month free trial with a basic level of access to the tool.

After that, they have these plans:

• Monthly: $17 for Starter plan, $34 for Pro plan
• Annual: $169 for Starter plan, $279 for Pro plan

6. KeywordTool.io

If you are looking for a reliable and easy-to-use keyword research tool, check out KeywordTool.io. It helps you find relevant keywords for your SEO and PPC campaigns by using Google Autocomplete data. And you can also use it to discover keywords for other platforms like YouTube, Instagram, Pinterest, etc.

Pros of using KeywordTool.io:

• Easy to use and has a user-friendly interface.
• Supports multiple languages and domains for localized targeting.
• Provides keyword suggestions for various platforms, such as YouTube, Amazon, Instagram, Twitter, etc.
• Shows search volume, trend, CPC, and competition data for keywords.
• Offers a free version that can generate up to 750 keywords per search term.

Cons of using KeywordTool.io:

• Does not provide keyword difficulty or SEO analysis features.
• Only 1 free search before you have to subscribe to a paid plan.

KeywordTool.io’s pricing & free trial info

KeywordTool.io offers a free trial for 7 days, after which you can choose from three plans: 

• Basic ($89/month or $69/month billed annually)
• Plus ($99/month or $79/month billed annually)
• Business ($199/month or $159/month billed annually)

Each plan differs in the number of keywords, search volume data, and API requests available per day.

7. Surfer Keyword Research Tool

Surfer Keyword Research Tool helps you find relevant topic clusters based on your primary keyword and analyze the search intent, volume, and difficulty of each keyword. You can also use Surfer to create and optimize content based on data-driven guidelines.

Pros of using Surfer:

• Saves time and effort by providing you with dozens of content ideas in minutes.
• Helps you establish topical authority and prove your expertise in your niche using topic clusters.
• Create high-quality, relevant, and engaging content that your audience and Google will love.
• Integrates with Google Docs and WordPress for seamless content creation and editing.
• A free Chrome extension that shows you search volume, CPC, keyword suggestions, and more in search results.

Pros of using Surfer:

• It can be overwhelming to use at first because of the amount of data and features it provides.
• Does not provide link building or outreach features, so you may need to use another tool for that.

Surfer’s pricing and free trial info:

Surfer Keyword Research Tool offers a 7-day free trial that gives you access to all the features and 25 queries. After that, you can choose from four pricing plans: 

• Basic ($59/month)
• Pro ($99/month)
• Business ($199/month)
• Business+ ($650/month) 

The main difference between the plans is the number of queries, audits, and content editor analysis you can perform per month. You can also save 20% if you opt for annual billing.

8. Google Keyword Planner 

Google Keyword Planner is another popular and free tool that helps you find keywords for your SEO and PPC campaigns. It is part of Google Ads; it lets you explore new keywords, see key metrics like search volume, trends, CPC, and competition score, and set your budget and bids. 

Pros of using Google Keyword Planner:

• Free to use and easy to access through your Google Ads account.
• Shows key metrics like search volume, trends, CPC, etc. for each keyword.
• Helps you discover new keyword ideas based on your seed keywords or website URL.
• Lets you filter and refine your keyword results by various criteria such as location, language, date range, etc.
• Allows you to export your keyword data to a spreadsheet or download it as a CSV file.

Cons of using Google Keyword Planner:

• Does not provide in-depth insights for each keyword besides search volume.
• Requires you to brainstorm and sort your keywords manually, which can be time-consuming and tedious.

Google Keyword Planner’s pricing & free trial info

It’s free to use. But to use it fully, you need to have an active Google Ads campaign. And the pricing of Google Ads depends on various factors such as your bid amount, quality score, competition, etc.

9. Google’s People Also Ask (PAA)

One of the most popular and useful features that Google offers is the People Also Ask (PAA) box. 

This is a Search Engine Result Page (SERP) feature that shows a list of questions related to the user’s search query, along with quick answers from various web pages. The PAA box can help you find more information about your topic, refine your search, and discover new ideas for content creation. 

But here are some of the pros and cons of using Google’s People Also Ask feature for content ideation:

Pros of using PAA:

• Helps you understand the search intent and pain points of your audience better. By looking at the questions that people also ask, you can get a sense of what they are looking for, what problems they are trying to solve, and what gaps they have in their knowledge.

• It can help you generate relevant and engaging content ideas that answer your audience’s questions. You can use the PAA questions as inspiration for blog posts, articles, videos, podcasts, ebooks, or any other type of content that provides value to your audience. You can also use them as subheadings or sections within a larger piece of content.

• It can help you optimize your content for SEO and increase your chances of ranking in the PAA box. By answering the PAA questions in your content, you can signal to Google that your content is relevant and helpful for the user’s query. You can also use keywords, formatting, and schema markup to make your content more appealing and visible in the PAA box.

Cons of using PAA:

• Often time-consuming and tedious to research and analyze the PAA questions for each topic. You may have to click on multiple questions to see more related ones and determine if they’re relevant.

• Might be challenging to create original and unique content that stands out from the competition. Since the PAA questions are based on popular and common queries, you may find that many other websites have already covered them in their content. You may have to dig deeper and find more specific or niche questions that your competitors have not answered yet.

10. Moz

If you’re looking for an all-in-one SEO toolset that can help you improve your rankings, increase your traffic and gain more visibility in search results, Moz is a great keyword research tool to consider.

It’s a comprehensive solution that offers keyword research, rank tracking, backlink analysis, site audit, and more. But here are some benefits and drawbacks of using Moz:

Pros of using Moz:

• A user-friendly interface that makes it easy to generate beautiful reports for yourself and your clients.

• A unique metric called Search Visibility that helps you understand how your website and specific product categories perform against your competitors.

• Helpful suggestions to fix technical issues on your site and optimize your content for SEO.

• A large and active community of SEO experts and enthusiasts who share their knowledge and insights on the official Moz blog and forum.

• Integrates with Google Analytics, Google Search Console, and other popular tools to give you a holistic view of your SEO performance.

Cons of using Moz:

• Relatively expensive compared to some of its alternatives. The cheapest plan starts at $99 per month or $950 per year.

• Moz Pro is not very innovative and sometimes lags behind the industry trends. For example, it does not offer any AI-powered features or tools for content creation or analysis.

If you want to try Moz Pro for yourself, you can sign up for a free 30-day trial and get access to all the features and tools. After the trial period, you can choose from four pricing plans:

Moz’s pricing & free trial info

• Standard: $99 per month or $948 per year
• Medium: $179 per month or $1,716 per year
• Large: $299 per month or $2,868 per year
• Premium: $599 per month or $5,748 per year

11. Ubersuggest

Ubersuggest is a powerful SEO tool that helps you find the best keywords for your website, analyze your competitors, and optimize your content. Whether you want to rank higher on Google, increase your organic traffic, or generate more leads, Ubersuggest can help you achieve your goals.

Pros of using Ubersuggest:

• Very affordable compared to other SEO tools. You can use it for free with some limitations, or upgrade to a premium plan for as low as €29 per month.

• A user-friendly interface and a Chrome extension that makes it easy to access SEO data and insights while browsing the web.

• Comprehensive set of features, such as keyword research, competitor analysis, SEO audit, backlink monitoring, rank tracking, content ideas, and more.

• Accurate and up-to-date data from reliable sources, such as Google, Moz, Majestic, and others.

• A supportive and responsive customer service team that is always ready to help you with any issues or questions.

Cons of using Ubersuggest:

• Some users have reported that the tool gets stuck or clunky once in a while, or that its crawlers get confused sometimes.

• It does not have some advanced features that other SEO tools offer, such as local SEO, social media analytics, content marketing tools, etc. For example, some users have complained that the tool does not give out stats for individual pages or keywords, only for the entire site.

Ubersuggest’s pricing & free trial info

If you want to try Ubersuggest for yourself, you can sign up for a free trial that gives you access to all the features for 7 days. After that, you can choose from three pricing plans:

• Monthly: $12 for individual plan, $20 for business plan, and $40 for enterprise plan
• Lifetime: $120 for individual plan, $200 for business plan, and $400 for enterprise plan

12. WordStream Free Keyword Tool

If you’re looking for an AnswerThePublic alternative that can help you optimize your Google Ads campaigns, alongside helping you with content research, WordStream is worth considering. 

WordStream’s software helps you optimize your campaigns and promote them more effectively, so you can get the most out of every dollar you spend on Google Ads. The platform also provides detailed reports and analytics to help you measure the performance of your campaigns and identify areas for improvement.

Pros of using WordStream:

• A free keyword research tool.
• Saves time and money by automating and streamlining your online advertising tasks.
• Simplifies Google Ads and makes it easy to find the best keywords and optimize your bids and budgets.
• Analytics and reports that are insightful and easy to understand.
• Quality customer support and expert advice from dedicated account managers.
• Integrates with other platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Microsoft Advertising, and more.

Cons of using WordStream:

• Can be hard to figure out all the features and functionalities of the software at first.
• Might be expensive for some small businesses or solo marketers who have a limited budget.

WordStream’s pricing isn’t published publicly, so you might have to speak with a sales rep to get an exact quote.

FAQs on AnswerThePublic alternatives

Let’s look at some of the frequently asked questions around AnswerThePublic:

Pick an AnswerThePublic alternative that works for you

So far, we’ve highlighted the most popular AnswerThePublic alternatives, but there are still plenty of other keyword research tools out there.

If none of these appeal to you, consider testing some others until you find one that works best for your needs.

No matter which tool you end up using, it’s important to remember that keyword research is just the beginning. The next step is to use the data you’ve gathered to create content that your target audience will love and your business will benefit from.