★ BEST INVESTING TOOLS COMPARISON ★
VOL. XCIV, NO. 247
Tool comparison edition
Tool Comparison
OpenCorporates vs Semrush
Pick OpenCorporates instead if
OpenCorporates
Best for regulatory filings monitoring and other
Free • From £225/mo · Web · API
- You care about regulatory filings monitoring and other, things Semrush doesn't offer
Start here
Semrush
Best for app & website traffic and sheets / excel add-ins
Free • From $139.95/mo · Web · Mobile · API
- You do a lot of your research from your phone
- You want the cheaper way in: plans start at $139.95/mo instead of $298/mo
- You care about app & website traffic, sheets / excel add-ins, and blogs, things OpenCorporates doesn't offer
Skip both if: Neither one clicks with how you research; there are strong third options.
See alternativesOutbound links may include affiliate or sponsor codes.
The verdict
The bottom line
The real difference is focus: only OpenCorporates gives you regulatory filings monitoring and other, and only Semrush gives you app & website traffic and sheets / excel add-ins. On paper they're closely matched, so let pricing, platform fit, and the details below break the tie.
Key differences at a glance
- Mobile app
- Semrush
- Cheaper paid plan
- Semrush$139.95/mo vs $298/mo
- Free trial
- Semrush7 days
- Free plan
- Both
Comparison snapshot
| Attribute | ||
|---|---|---|
| Pricing & plans | ||
Starting price | Free • From £225/mo | Free • From $139.95/mo |
Free tier | Yes | Yes |
Free trial | — | 7 days |
Plan limits | Essentials (API): api calls per month: 500 and Essentials (API): api calls per day: 200 | — |
| Platforms & access | ||
Web app | Yes | Yes |
Mobile app | No | Yes |
API access | Yes | Yes |
Broker sync | No | — |
Integrations | OpenRefine | Google Analytics, Google Search Console +1 more |
| Audience & fit | ||
Experience level | Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced | Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced |
Best for | — | — |
Categories covered | 3 | 4 |
Regions | North America, Europe, APAC, LatAm, Middle East, Africa | North America, Europe, APAC, LatAm, Middle East, Africa |
| Data & capabilities | ||
Data quality | Latency: End of Day and Granularity: EOD | — |
Security | Status page | Data residency: US and SSO: SAML |
| Try it | Visit OpenCorporates | Visit Semrush |
Standout features
What OpenCorporates does best
- Search a public legal-entity database advertised at 200M+ company records aggregated from official registries with provenance and source links.
- Use the versioned REST API with API-key authentication and JSON or XML output for company and officer data workflows.
- Use OpenRefine Reconciliation API to match company names to legal identifiers during entity-resolution work.
- Access enterprise bulk data through SFTP-delivered CSV datasets for companies, officers, addresses, alternative names, identifiers, and relationships.
- Use relationship data for subsidiaries, branches, control statements, shareholdings, and ownership-mapping workflows.
What Semrush does best
- Analyze website traffic, visitor sources, engagement, keywords, competitors, backlinks, SEO performance, paid search, and market benchmarks.
- Use Semrush One and AI visibility products to monitor brand and content visibility across AI search and classic SEO workflows.
- Use the Standard API for eligible SEO Toolkit Business users, with separately purchased API units and request or line-based consumption.
- Use separate API paths for Trends, Listing Management, and Map Rank Tracker, noting that local APIs and map rank APIs have their own access and billing rules.
- Export data and reports through CSV, Excel, PDF, JSON, Google Sheets, Position Tracking, Site Audit, and App Center connector workflows.
Data & access details
| Attribute | ||
|---|---|---|
| Coverage & fit | ||
Asset types | Other | Other |
Experience | BeginnerIntermediateAdvanced | BeginnerIntermediateAdvanced |
Regions | North AmericaEuropeAPACLatAmMiddle EastAfrica | North AmericaEuropeAPACLatAmMiddle EastAfrica |
| Data | ||
Data freshness | End of Day | Not specified |
Data granularity | EOD | Not specified |
| Access & integrations | ||
API protocols | REST | REST |
API auth & delivery | Auth: APIKey | Auth: APIKey and OAuth2 |
Integrations | OpenRefine | Google AnalyticsGoogle Search ConsoleGoogle Sheets |
Export formats | CSVJSON | CSVExcelPDFJSON |
| Plans & trust | ||
Security & compliance | Status page | Data residency: USSSO: SAML |
Vendor & support | OpenCorporates LtdCountry: United KingdomFounded 2010Support: Email | Semrush Inc.Country: United StatesSupport: Email |
Curation ratings | Not specified | Methodology 4/5Reliability 4/5UX 4/5 |
Green tags are exclusive to that tool in this comparison.
Pricing breakdown
£225/mo
Starting price
Plans & pricing
- api calls per month: 500
- api calls per day: 200
$139.95/mo
Lower starting price
Plans & pricing
Coverage overlap
Shared categories
1Where the two tools cover the same ground.
OpenCorporates strengths
2What you only get with OpenCorporates.
Semrush strengths
3What you only get with Semrush.
Community category leaders
Vote sentiment comparison
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Frequently Asked Questions
What's the difference between OpenCorporates and Semrush?
OpenCorporates leans toward APIs & data feeds, regulatory filings monitoring, and other, while Semrush puts more weight on app & website traffic, APIs & data feeds, and sheets / excel add-ins. They overlap in 1 categories, so for most people it comes down to workflow preference and price.
How much do OpenCorporates and Semrush cost?
Good news: both OpenCorporates and Semrush have free plans, so you can run them side by side and only pay if you hit a wall.
Can I use OpenCorporates or Semrush on my phone?
Semrush lists a dedicated mobile app, so it travels better. OpenCorporates doesn't list a dedicated mobile app; its documented access is web and API.
Do OpenCorporates and Semrush have APIs?
Yes, both offer API access, so developers and quants can pull data programmatically or wire up their own integrations.
Should I choose OpenCorporates or Semrush?
It depends on what you're after. Pick OpenCorporates if regulatory filings monitoring and other matter to you; go with Semrush if you'd rather have app & website traffic and sheets / excel add-ins. And if you only need the basics both share, let price decide.
Can I export data from OpenCorporates and Semrush?
Yes, both export to spreadsheets (CSV), which is handy if you like running your own numbers.
Other tools you might like
These profiles share overlapping coverage with both sides of this matchup.
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Curation & Accuracy
This directory blends AI‑assisted discovery with human curation. Entries are reviewed, edited, and organized with the goal of expanding coverage and sharpening quality over time. Your feedback helps steer improvements (because no single human can capture everything all at once).
Details change. Pricing, features, and availability may be incomplete or out of date. Treat listings as a starting point and verify on the provider’s site before making decisions. If you spot an error or a gap, send a quick note and I’ll adjust.