Backlinko
Worth it
Confidence: Medium
Use it if you want to learn SEO and link building . the guides, checklists, and free tools cost nothing and are widely respected.
New check
Comparison
Backlinko vs Semrush
Backlinko lands on Worth it, and Semrush lands on Depends.
Semrush
Depends
Confidence: High
Buy if you run serious, ongoing SEO or agency work and will use most of the toolkit.
| Compare | ||
|---|---|---|
| Verdict | Worth it | Depends |
| Best for | DIY founders learning SEO | SEO agencies and consultants |
| Who it's not for | Teams needing actual backlink data or rank tracking | Hobby sites and side projects |
| Privacy | No known public vulnerabilities found in the sources reviewed.⁸ | One CSRF CVE in its WordPress Content Toolkit plugin; no platform breach reported, but scammers heavily impersonate Semrush. |
| Public sentiment | Practitioners on Reddit and Quora have long treated Backlinko as required-reading SEO material, with recent chatter noting its Semrush ownership.⁷ | Reviewers consistently praise its data depth but split hard on whether the price and billing practices justify it. |
| Biggest gotcha | Guides funnel you toward paid Semrush plans; budget for that separately | 7-day money-back guarantee reportedly honored inconsistently; one user charged $21113 |
Pick Backlinko when
- DIY founders learning SEO
- Solo marketers and bloggers
- Content teams wanting link-building playbooks
- Beginners needing structured checklists
When Backlinko is not a fit
- Teams needing actual backlink data or rank tracking
- Anyone wanting software support, SLAs, or onboarding
- Buyers seeking a tool to replace Ahrefs or Semrush
- Enterprises needing audited, SOC2-style vendors
Pick Semrush when
- SEO agencies and consultants
- In-house teams running SEO full-time
- Brands tracking AI search visibility
- Multi-site enterprises
When Semrush is not a fit
- Hobby sites and side projects
- Anyone needing only basic keyword lookups
- Teams that will use two features max
- Small businesses without dedicated SEO staff
Sources
- Backlinko homepagebacklinko.comofficial
- The Complete SEO Checklistbacklinko.comofficial
- Free Reddit SEO Opportunity Toolbacklinko.comofficial
- How Brian Dean sold Backlinko, with 500K monthly visitorstheygotacquired.comnews
news
- Trustpilot reviews of backlinko.comtrustpilot.comreview
- Backlinko security pagebacklinko.comsecurity
security
- Semrush Reviews 2026: G2, Trustpilot, Capterra, Pricingpiperocket.digitalreview
review
- Semrush New Prices from 139 to 199reddit.comreview
- Semrush Pricing 2026: New Plans & Cost Breakdowndemandsage.comofficial
- Semrush Pricing: Does It Make Sense in 2026?explodingtopics.comofficial