VOL. XCIV, NO. 247

★ FINANCIAL TOOLS & SERVICES DIRECTORY ★

PRICE: 5 CENTS

Sunday, October 5, 2025

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Head-to-head

Semrush vs USAspending comparison

Compare pricing, supported platforms, categories, and standout capabilities to decide which tool fits your workflow.

Quick takeaways

Semrush adds App & Website Traffic, Sheets / Excel Add-ins, and Blogs coverage that USAspending skips.

USAspending includes Data Visualizations, Videos, and Other categories that Semrush omits.

Semrush highlights: Traffic Analytics tools to examine any website’s visitors, sources, engagement metrics, and competitive benchmarks., Rich API suite: Analytics and Projects APIs (Business plan), Trends API, Listing Management, and Map Rank Tracker. Current versions support API key (v3) and OAuth 2.0 with JSON (v4)., and API consumption billed in ‘units’ per request or per line of data. Historical queries cost more; some APIs like Listing Management and Map Rank Tracker are excluded from unit billing..

USAspending is known for: Advanced Search & profiles across awards, recipients, agencies, federal accounts; filters include date, place of performance, NAICS/PSC, Assistance Listing (formerly CFDA), DEFC for COVID/infrastructure., Spending Explorer and Agency/Federal Account profiles for top‑down views of obligations/outlays and drill‑downs by budget hierarchy., and Public REST API that powers the website (GET & POST endpoints; JSON responses); tutorial and contracts for commonly used endpoints..

Semrush ships a mobile app. USAspending is web/desktop only.

Semrush logo

Semrush

semrush.com

Comprehensive SEO, marketing, and web traffic analytics platform. API access for core Analytics and Projects requires a Business plan, with usage billed in API units. Some APIs—like Listing Management and Map Rank Tracker—don’t consume units. Enterprise security options include SAML SSO on Guru and Business tiers. A 7-day free trial is available for all paid plans.

Platforms

Web
Mobile
API

Pricing

Free
Subscription

Quick highlights

  • Traffic Analytics tools to examine any website’s visitors, sources, engagement metrics, and competitive benchmarks.
  • Rich API suite: Analytics and Projects APIs (Business plan), Trends API, Listing Management, and Map Rank Tracker. Current versions support API key (v3) and OAuth 2.0 with JSON (v4).
  • API consumption billed in ‘units’ per request or per line of data. Historical queries cost more; some APIs like Listing Management and Map Rank Tracker are excluded from unit billing.
  • Flexible exports in CSV, Excel, and PDF across tools. Position Tracking and Site Audit modules generate PDF reports; Position Tracking also supports direct Google Sheets export.
  • Google Sheets integration through the App Center ‘AI Automated Data Connector’ for automated reporting pipelines.

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USAspending logo

USAspending

usaspending.gov

Official U.S. federal spending open‑data portal mandated by the DATA Act and operated by Treasury’s Bureau of the Fiscal Service. The public REST API powers the site (GET/POST endpoints, JSON responses). Data refreshes daily after a nightly pipeline; underlying source systems update on different cadences (e.g., monthly for Files A/B/C via the DATA Act Broker; next‑day for FPDS contracts; FABS within 2 weeks; FSRS subawards by month‑end; GTAS monthly). Bulk downloads and archives are available for awards back to FY2008.

Platforms

Web
API

Pricing

Free

Quick highlights

  • Advanced Search & profiles across awards, recipients, agencies, federal accounts; filters include date, place of performance, NAICS/PSC, Assistance Listing (formerly CFDA), DEFC for COVID/infrastructure.
  • Spending Explorer and Agency/Federal Account profiles for top‑down views of obligations/outlays and drill‑downs by budget hierarchy.
  • Public REST API that powers the website (GET & POST endpoints; JSON responses); tutorial and contracts for commonly used endpoints.
  • Bulk data: Award Data Archive (pre‑generated, by agency/fiscal year), Custom Award Data, Custom Account Data, and full Database Download.
  • Award coverage: contracts, contract IDVs, grants, direct payments, loans, insurance, other financial assistance; prime awards and subawards (FSRS).

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Overlap

Shared focus areas

2 overlaps

Mutual strengths include Data APIs, and APIs & SDKs.

Where they differ

Semrush

Distinct strengths include:

App & Website Traffic
Sheets / Excel Add-ins
Blogs
  • Traffic Analytics tools to examine any website’s visitors, sources, engagement metrics, and competitive benchmarks.
  • Rich API suite: Analytics and Projects APIs (Business plan), Trends API, Listing Management, and Map Rank Tracker. Current versions support API key (v3) and OAuth 2.0 with JSON (v4).
  • API consumption billed in ‘units’ per request or per line of data. Historical queries cost more; some APIs like Listing Management and Map Rank Tracker are excluded from unit billing.
  • Flexible exports in CSV, Excel, and PDF across tools. Position Tracking and Site Audit modules generate PDF reports; Position Tracking also supports direct Google Sheets export.

USAspending

Distinct strengths include:

Data Visualizations
Videos
Other
  • Advanced Search & profiles across awards, recipients, agencies, federal accounts; filters include date, place of performance, NAICS/PSC, Assistance Listing (formerly CFDA), DEFC for COVID/infrastructure.
  • Spending Explorer and Agency/Federal Account profiles for top‑down views of obligations/outlays and drill‑downs by budget hierarchy.
  • Public REST API that powers the website (GET & POST endpoints; JSON responses); tutorial and contracts for commonly used endpoints.
  • Bulk data: Award Data Archive (pre‑generated, by agency/fiscal year), Custom Award Data, Custom Account Data, and full Database Download.

Feature-by-feature breakdown

AttributeSemrushUSAspending
Categories

Which research workflows each platform targets

Shared: Data APIs, APIs & SDKs

Unique: App & Website Traffic, Sheets / Excel Add-ins, Blogs

Shared: Data APIs, APIs & SDKs

Unique: Data Visualizations, Videos, Other

Asset types

Supported asset classes and universes

Other

Other

Experience levels

Who each product is built for

Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced

Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced

Platforms

Where you can access the product

Web, Mobile, API

Web, API

Pricing

High-level pricing models

Free, Subscription

Free

Key features

Core capabilities called out by each vendor

Unique

  • Traffic Analytics tools to examine any website’s visitors, sources, engagement metrics, and competitive benchmarks.
  • Rich API suite: Analytics and Projects APIs (Business plan), Trends API, Listing Management, and Map Rank Tracker. Current versions support API key (v3) and OAuth 2.0 with JSON (v4).
  • API consumption billed in ‘units’ per request or per line of data. Historical queries cost more; some APIs like Listing Management and Map Rank Tracker are excluded from unit billing.
  • Flexible exports in CSV, Excel, and PDF across tools. Position Tracking and Site Audit modules generate PDF reports; Position Tracking also supports direct Google Sheets export.
  • Google Sheets integration through the App Center ‘AI Automated Data Connector’ for automated reporting pipelines.
  • Native integrations with Google Analytics and Google Search Console to combine marketing and search performance data.

Unique

  • Advanced Search & profiles across awards, recipients, agencies, federal accounts; filters include date, place of performance, NAICS/PSC, Assistance Listing (formerly CFDA), DEFC for COVID/infrastructure.
  • Spending Explorer and Agency/Federal Account profiles for top‑down views of obligations/outlays and drill‑downs by budget hierarchy.
  • Public REST API that powers the website (GET & POST endpoints; JSON responses); tutorial and contracts for commonly used endpoints.
  • Bulk data: Award Data Archive (pre‑generated, by agency/fiscal year), Custom Award Data, Custom Account Data, and full Database Download.
  • Award coverage: contracts, contract IDVs, grants, direct payments, loans, insurance, other financial assistance; prime awards and subawards (FSRS).
  • Entity identifiers: UEI (replaced DUNS on Apr 4, 2022) used for recipients as the governmentwide identifier (via SAM.gov).
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Frequently Asked Questions

Which workflows do Semrush and USAspending both support?

Both platforms cover Data APIs, and APIs & SDKs workflows, so you can research those use cases in either tool before digging into the feature differences below.

Do Semrush and USAspending require subscriptions?

Both Semrush and USAspending keep freemium access with optional paid upgrades, so you can trial each platform before committing.

Which tool has mobile access?

Semrush ships a dedicated mobile experience, while USAspending focuses on web or desktop access.

What unique strengths set the two platforms apart?

Semrush differentiates itself with Traffic Analytics tools to examine any website’s visitors, sources, engagement metrics, and competitive benchmarks., Rich API suite: Analytics and Projects APIs (Business plan), Trends API, Listing Management, and Map Rank Tracker. Current versions support API key (v3) and OAuth 2.0 with JSON (v4)., and API consumption billed in ‘units’ per request or per line of data. Historical queries cost more; some APIs like Listing Management and Map Rank Tracker are excluded from unit billing., whereas USAspending stands out for Advanced Search & profiles across awards, recipients, agencies, federal accounts; filters include date, place of performance, NAICS/PSC, Assistance Listing (formerly CFDA), DEFC for COVID/infrastructure., Spending Explorer and Agency/Federal Account profiles for top‑down views of obligations/outlays and drill‑downs by budget hierarchy., and Public REST API that powers the website (GET & POST endpoints; JSON responses); tutorial and contracts for commonly used endpoints..

Keep exploring

Stay on top of related tools

Browse the categories and profiles that overlap most with this comparison to round out your shortlist.

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.