Best Clearscope Alternatives & Competitors for 2023 [Compared]

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12 Clearscope Alternatives to Help you Optimise Content in 2023

As content optimisation tools become an essential in any marketer’s toolkit, we’re looking at Clearscope alternatives that you can use instead of the sometimes pricey platform.

The days of stuffing keywords into your content and hoping for the best are over. Today, high ranking content is about providing relevant and engaging content that answers users’ questions and concerns.

Content is no longer about who creates the most but who creates the highest quality content that’s most relevant to searchers.

Google’s ultra-advanced algorithms now know when you’re trying to game the system and will always reward those pieces of content that actually address users’ concerns with satisfactory answers.

That’s where content optimization tools come in - they help you create relevant and useful content that is fully optimized.

Harnessing the power of AI and machine learning, content optimization tools are smart and deliver impressive results when it comes to topping organic search results.

If you thought it was too early for AI to have an impact on digital marketing habits, think again.

According to recent research, when quizzed on expectations for marketing software providers to have native AI capabilities, more than 50% of surveyed marketers said it was important or essential.

Yep, AI is making an impact now and it’s hard to ignore its presence in the content optimization sphere.

Here we’re looking at one of the market leaders - Clearscope as well as what its top 12 competitors are offering.

12 Clearscope Alternatives and Competitors to Consider

Harnessing powerful AI technology, Clearscope helps you produce relevant and engaging content that search engines love.

Instead of spending hours of time guessing what your users want to hear from you, Clearscope offers you data-driven results. Say goodbye to time-consuming keyword research and the high cost of paid search.

The product’s key feature “Optimize” assesses your content based on “comprehensiveness and content relevance”.

Scanning for LSI keywords, that Google considers related to your target keywords. You then receive a letter grade based on how well your content is optimized for SEO.

Price: A Standard Plan is $170/month while a customizable Agency Plan for 10+ users is priced individually.

Pros	Cons
Content grade system makes it easy to understand how your content is performing now based on your targeted keywords.	The keyword research tool has very limited data. Providing a basic list of keyword suggestions, it doesn’t come close to other SEO platforms like SEMrush or Ahrefs.
Rework and update old content using the editor to ensure correct formatting, good usage of keywords, and thorough research.	No feature to determine what kind of backlinks to look for or what internal links to add.
Integration with WordPress via an easy to use plugin.	No collaboration tools or content briefs. Clearscope will give you the information you need to create better content but won’t support you during the actual process. Clearscope doesn’t offer any kind of collaborative editing or writing assistance.
Multiple team members can use the platform with the correct permissions meaning you can have content writers using the editor directly.	Reduced SEO feedback for webpages, can’t compete with SEMrush or Ahrefs.
Save reports so you can assess team members' use of the platform and their scores for content writing.	No website SEO audits.

Before you commit to a pricey subscription with Clearscope, check out the features of the competitors.

1. Frase

Frase identifies content most relevant to your research by sorting through search results based on your query.

The platform processes your content and analyzes the top 20 search results for your chosen keyword to compare the topics mentioned in the articles against yours.

You receive a content score that you can improve by including some of the topics mentioned in the ranking articles.

Treat Frase like any other word processor like Google Docs or Microsoft Word and write your copy directly into the platform. As you write, a bunch of smart insights will pop up next to your document.

Explore the most relevant search results related to your chosen topics - no more changing between open tabs and windows.

Price: A Basic Plan starts at $44.99/month, a Growth Plan is $99.99/month, and a top Answer Engine Plan is $199.99/month. There are discounts for yearly billing options.

Frase vs. Clearscope

Pros	Cons
View what people are asking about your topic on popular Q&A sites like Reddit and Quora with the “questions” feature. Use this information to answer users’ questions, making your content more relevant.	Sometimes researched content can seem too niche or too broad for certain industries. Users often recognize what is the most relevant content for their business and question what Frase provides.
See the top ranking headlines for your topic - very helpful for inspiration and for understanding what makes a high performing headline.	No writing assistance. Frase doesn’t make suggestions for how you write, only makes research suggestions while you’re writing.
Access the topics feature showing the number of times your chosen topics are mentioned in each article. See your content score and the target score achieved by top-performing articles for your keyword.	Can feel more like a research tool as opposed to fully optimizing your content process.
Create content briefs including the top 10 Google search results and relevant topics to speed up and automate your research process.	Platform can feel buggy - eg. options to extend your free trial will pop up at random when you’re in the middle of a task.
Monitor any topic on the web and receive regular summarized feeds of the content so that you’re up to date with the latest and most relevant information.	Very limited help and support available which can make it a challenge if you’re finding it difficult to navigate the platform.

Best for: Small businesses and agencies looking to get started with content optimization, speed up their research process, and understand who’s ranking for their chosen keywords and why.

2. Surfer SEO

Getting started with Surfer SEO is easy - simply enter your chosen keyword or keyword phrase you want to rank for into the dashboard.

Surfer SEO then creates guidelines based on your main keyword and localization.

The platform analyzes up to ten competitors and their content to provide you with tips to help with the length, structure, and topics you use in your content to help boost your ranking.

Guidelines can be shared with anyone so you can ensure the rest of your marketing team is up to speed with the requirements for each piece of content.

Price: A Basic Plan is $59/month, a Pro Plan is $99/month and a Business Plan is $199/month. There’s a 20% discount for plans billed annually.

Surfer SEO vs. Clearscope

Pros	Cons
Download a spreadsheet including all of the keyword suggestions, the number of times it appears, and whether you should cut any keywords or phrases.	No content inventory makes it unusable for content planning.
Customize the guidelines which is useful if you want to rank for more difficult phrases.	Limited data provided for competitors’ content making it difficult to identify competitors’ content gaps.
View vital information like if your content is too long or if you should be bolding more words.	Content outlines can seem a little simplistic, lacking in key data and information, unlike Clearscope which provides many more detailed metrics.
Audit feature optimizes old pieces of content, shows you which keywords are working and evaluates your landing pages.	Surfer utilizes NLP more as a secondary feature, employing the services of third party APIs, unlike Clearscope which uses it as a fundamental feature.
Discover common missing backlinks so you can aim to include them and fully optimize past pieces of content.	Spreadsheets aren’t always easy to read or follow.

Best for: Agencies looking to create guidelines for their content strategy to ensure communication is consistent across the site. Surfer SEO could be particularly invaluable for outsourcing projects to freelance content writers.

3. MarketMuse

MarketMuse is all about making “content your competitive advantage”. Using AI, the platform will change the way you research, plan, and build your content.

Predicting the success of your content, MarketMuse determines the topics for which your site will most likely rank and gives you a personalized difficulty score based on the rest of your site.

Detailed content briefs provide everything from topics to include, to word count and KPIs helping streamline your strategy.

Their market-leading natural language generation engine analyzes huge numbers of pages on your chosen topic before creating an original piece of long-form content on the chosen topic.

Price: A Pro Plan starts at $499/month. Bronze, silver, and gold tiers are customizable following a product demo.

MarketMuse vs. Clearscope

Pros	Cons
Unique content briefs save writers time by finding keywords, and the right sub-topics to include in content.	Keyword Research Tool doesn’t offer search volume or competition metrics.
Suggests internal link building opportunities, which Clearscope does not.	Long load times. The Reports and Optimize applications can take a few moments to load.
Reporting tools are more detailed than Clearscope.	Some keyword recommendations are random and irrelevant to the content you’re developing. Not including MarketMuse’s suggestions impacts your content score which can be off-putting.
VVisual heat map feature helps users clearly view the content landscape for their chosen topic.	No free trial. Given the high cost, taking the plunge can feel like a risk without a free trial.
Stores content already on your site and suggests ways of how to rank better in search engines, making it ideal for helping you perform content audits.	User interface can be overwhelming. While tools are labeled, descriptions aren’t provided, so it can take some time before you find your way around the platform.

Best for: Medium to large agencies looking to get a competitive edge on their content and streamline their content writing process. Smaller businesses that might not produce a lot of content may find the pricing too high and the features a little overwhelming.

4. Semrush Content Assistant

It’ll come as no surprise that SEMrush, one of the big powerhouses of SEO, has developed a powerful writing assistant designed to give you instant suggestions for optimizing your content based on analysis of top-ranking content in Google organic search results.

Install the Content Assistant to your website by downloading the browser plugin and you’re all set. If you’re used to using Yoast’s popular plugin, the checklist and real-time updates feel very similar.

Price: Pro Plans are $119.95/month. A Guru Plan is $229.95/month while a Business Plan is $449.95/month. Discounts are available for annual billing.

Semrush's Content Assistant vs. Clearscope

Pros	Cons
Install a WordPress plugin and use the text editor on Google Docs for seamless integration.	Content suggestions can seem a little basic compared to other platforms, it can feel like the Content Assistant felt like an afterthought to SEMrush who added it to their more technical SEO tools.
Analyzes content in real-time, providing suggestions as you write.	User interface looks old and can feel clunky.
Free to use if you’re already a SEMrush user - no need to invest in another tool.	Generating reports can be slow and the data provided can be simplistic.
Track which keywords you’ve included in your content by following the platform’s visual color-coding system - listed keywords turn from grey to green once included.	No capacity to save settings and templates - you must reenter the same blog checklist each time.
Check overall readability with the Flesch Kincaid reading ease score, and tone of voice is in keeping with the desired level of formality.	Many of the included tools - readability, keyword suggestions, WordPress integration are available for free from other providers.

Best for: Agencies who already had a subscription to SEMrush for their advanced SEO tools looking for a content optimization add-on. Subscription to the writing assistant alone probably isn’t worth it.

5. GrowthBar

GrowthBar is the best Clearscope alternative for you if you’re looking for an AI-driven Content Generation tool and SEO tool all-in-one.

With GrowthBar you can create content faster. Enter any keyword and get a content outline that will tell you exactly what to write so you can rank fast.

Save a ton of time by handing these helpful outlines over to your writers to use as a guide.

Powered by Open AI technology, the GrowthBar Content Generator will generate content outlines in one minute for your blog or website with keywords, word counts, headers, images, links and more.

Price: GrowthBar is free to use for 5 days and then plans start at $29/mo.

GrowthBar vs. Clearscope

Pros	Cons
Enter any keyword and instantly generate an AI powered outline for an article using GPT-3.	Pricing increases based on content outlines generated per month.
Perform content generation, keyword research, competitive analysis, and rank tracking all in one dashboard.	No tools for identifying content issues on already published website pages.
Get optimal titles, headers, images, links, word counts and more.	It can take 24 hours to hear back from their support team.
Download content outlines into Google Docs and share with your team.	No technical SEO tools.
Created by the SEO experts and founders of Growth Marketing Pro, the largest growth marketing blog on the internet.	AI suggested headlines can occasionally be a little unrelated to the chosen topic.

Best for: Marketers and bloggers who are looking to ramp up content creation and want to save time creating outlines.

6. WebSite Auditor (SEO PowerSuite)

SEO PowerSuite’s content optimization tool WebSite Auditor promises to take the frustration out of using multiple tools to find target keywords, write copy, optimize content, and perform analysis.

Instead, their content editor combines all of these processes into a one-stop shop for managing your website’s content.

The unique Custom Search helps you zone in and target ultra-specific pieces of content like text, code, and HTML.

Using this, Identify content that hasn’t been performing as well as it could and use the platform to bring it up to speed with the rest of your website.

Price: A Free Plan offers limited access to some features to get you started. An Enterprise Plan starts at $299/year and an Professional Plan is $699/year.

Website Auditor (SEO Powersuite) vs. Clearscope

Pros	Cons
Create content in an editor which will give you real-time pointers on how to optimize the content.	Requires a memory consuming desktop installation, there’s no browser interface available.
Subscribe to WebSite Auditor as a standalone tool or also opt for all of the technical SEO tools available with SEO Powersuite.	Only one account per subscription can access the tool.
Discover content issues including duplicate pages, empty sections, too long titles or meta descriptions, and less detailed content pages.	Sometimes data isn’t fully up to date or 100% accurate.
Compare the frequency of your target keywords you’re trying to rank for with that of competitors.	Exporting reports is limited to the enterprise plan.
Correct keyword errors in previously created content - if they appear too often, not frequently enough, WebSite Auditor will correct them.	Reports can be highly technically advanced and difficult to understand if you’re not already well-versed in SEO.

‍Best for: Freelance specialists or small teams looking to assess their current level of content optimization across the site before making changes to their content strategy.

7. ArticleInsights

ArticleInsights promises that you’ll “write SEO optimized content without the headache”. We all know that doing SEO content research is time-consuming, so how can ArticleInsights take some of that strain away and make your content creation process quicker and more efficient?

Essentially an advanced keyword tool, it’s best for understanding what your competitors are getting right to rank and how you can use that information to drive traffic to your site.

For each piece of content, ArticleInsights shows the top 25 keywords to target - you can then get specific and target the most relevant keywords that will boost your content.

Price: A Free Plan offers 5 searches per month with a limited analysis history. A Starter Plan is $12/month and an Advanced Plan is $24/month.

ArticleInsights vs. Clearscope

Pros	Cons
View the keywords that other users are over including in their content.	No internal link building tools or backlink research options.
See keywords that are segmented into understandable topics that concentrate on potential traffic and search visibility.	No reporting tool available, unlike Clearscope.
Track and categorize sentences for easy access to information at a later date.	Doesn’t create detailed content briefs, only provides insights to get you started.
Reduce your research time - ArticleInsights crawls the web for related articles and gives you the most important words and talked about topics for your keyword before you start typing.	No real-time writing assistance.
Produce more content. It’s much easier to get started when you receive a list of the 25 most important words, 10+ article topics, and some example sentences.	Doesn’t generate any original content - it’s up to the user to properly incorporate the keywords and research suggested by ArticleInsights.

Best for: Small businesses or freelance specialists looking to optimize their content with a solid keyword research tool without many technical SEO features. ArticleInsights would suit someone looking to experiment with content optimization without spending a huge monthly fee.

8. Searchmetrics Content Experience

Searchmetrics focuses on helping marketers create better content that will knock the competition out of the water.

Backed by data, Searchmetrics helps marketers write top quality SEO friendly content that makes it to the top SERP position.

The platform aims to encourage relevant optimized content that will engage the target audience and will help guide them through the sales funnel, whatever industry you’re in.

Trusted by a whole host of big-name brands, Lufthansa, Nivea, and eBay have all used Searchmetrics to boost their content. ‍

‍Price: Plans start at $69/monthly and increase depending on what features you want to include.

Searchmetrics Content Experience vs. Clearscope

Pros	Cons
Avoid unnecessary and potentially harmful repetition with the in-built repetition score to keep your content focused and unique.	The keyword research tool doesn’t suggest alternative search terms when there are no results for a specific search term.
Protect your brand by checking for duplicate content to ensure content is 100% your own.	Users must copy and paste text out of their word processor and into Searchmetrics which can feel time-consuming.
Use the Search Intent tool to discover what exactly your audience is looking for in content.	Limited filtering in keyword reports makes them seem less detail-oriented.
Measure your content against top performers for each topic so you know when it’s ready to publish.	Numerous extra charges for add on features.
Assess the quality of your content with Content Score. Check if your content properly addresses the topic, incorporates keywords, and is the right length.	User interface can seem confusing and complicated at first.

Best for: Marketing teams looking to streamline workflow between content writers and other members of the team by using the Content Experience Tool.

9. Page Optimizer Pro

Page Optimizer Pro is the solution for users looking to gain an “unfair competitive advantage” over competing businesses.

If you’re concerned the competition is doing something right while you’re lagging behind, this tool will show where to put your time and energy.

Trusted by brands like SurveyMonkey, Salesforce, Hubspot, and Springer, customers love how easy it is to use the platform.

The main approach of Page Optimizer Pro is to optimize your on-page elements based on 350+ tests on the Google algorithm and the Scientific On-Page Method. You’ll find out incredibly useful insights along the way like multiple H2 tags are far more beneficial than one H1 tag.

You’ll need some SEO knowledge to truly use the potential of the tool since it’s better to already know which keyword you’d like to rank for.

Price: Basic Plans are $20/month, Premium Plans are $30/month and Unlimited Plans are $39/month. Pay-as-you-go report packs are also available. Agencies follow a different pricing structure.

Page Optimizer Pro vs. Clearscope

Pros	Cons
Pay-as-you-go pricing structure means you pay for a pack of reports which may be preferable to those working on a strict budget.	Keyword suggestions can seem irrelevant and random to the chosen topic.
Access robust competitor analysis so you quickly identify what they’re getting right and what you may be getting wrong so you know where to optimize.	Users need some knowledge of SEO and their competitors to make full use of the tool. If you identify the wrong competitors this will impact your overall score and following strategy.
Target specific geographic locations - select keyword variations from Europe, the US, Canada, UK, South America, and Australia.	Some SEO knowledge required to navigate the platform and understand competitor analysis data.
Select up to 10 competitors or allow the tool to identify them itself.	Keyword research tool is limited as it doesn’t provide the best potential keywords or provide traffic potential metrics.
Design the ideal page structure for your content incorporating things like the right word count, number of headings, bolded, and italicized words as well as images and alt descriptions.	No backlink opportunities or internal link building suggestions.

Best for: Agencies and professionals looking to identify what the competition is getting right so they can incorporate it in their own structure. Emphasis on page structure makes it a great tool for those just getting started in content optimization.

10. Textmetrics

Textmetrics homepage - Clearscope Alternatives

Textmetrics is one of the easiest tools to use to boost your content and steadily improve your rankings.

Providing on-page suggestions as you write, Textmetrics helps you create SEO friendly copy from the beginning.

There’s no need to reload, copy or paste, since Textmetrics grades your updates and edits live. You can also analyze how your competitors are beating you in Google SERP.

If you’re used to using Yoast in WordPress, Textmetrics operates in a similar way, providing you with on-page assistance as you create content.

Price: Textmetrics provides custom pricing for each customer based on the number of users and usage.

Textmetrics vs. Clearscope

Pros	Cons
On-page assistance makes it an easy tool to navigate.	Editor can be slow or inaccurate resulting in the need to manually copy and paste the text into the box.
Optimize content as you write instead of waiting until the piece of content is complete.	No full-screen editor option which can be distracting for some writers.
Analyze the use of white space across your content to ensure good readability.	WordPress plugin has size constraints making it easier to copy and paste the text into the editor.
Track your pages for rankings and generate reports of your search results.	Limited keyword research tool with less available keyword suggestions.
Integrated with WordPress with a plugin for easy analysis of your WordPress based content.	Only useful for blog posts and articles - cannot be used on landing pages.

Best for: Small businesses and agencies looking to improve their content writing process using in the moment assistance while receiving technical SEO advice to optimize their content.

11. SimilarContent

SimiliarContent feature - Clearscope Alternatives

Instead of using the “publish and pray” approach that many content writers and bloggers go for, SimilarContent promises to improve your content’s overall performance by making it more relevant to users.

By measuring content performance, you remove the risk of spending hours of time and money on content that may or may not rank.

SimilarContent allows you to optimize your content live with the editor and discover whether your content is sufficiently in-depth and what could do with some improvement.

Consistent use of the tool should mean that the content you’ve created will almost definitely rank on page one of Google search results.

Price: A Starter Plan is $9.99/month, a Business Plan is $19.99/month and an Agency Plan is $49.99/month. Free 7 day trials are available.

SimilarContent vs. Clearscope

Pros	Cons
Measure the relevancy of your content with a unique score comparing competitors who are currently ranking on Google page 1 for a particular search query.	User interface appears a bit dated and could be more responsive.
Access a prediction percentage of how much Google will rank the text.	Doesn’t provide a content brief. It’s up to the user to correctly interpret the insights and relevancy scores provided.
Discover how many backlinks you need on average to compete with the top 10 pages.	No generation of unique content, the user has to write the content based on suggestions made by the platform.
Improve your TF-IDF score, words with a high score suggest a relationship with the target keyword, which makes it easier for Google to identify your article’s subject and relevancy.	No monitoring tools for staying up to date with recently published content on the web.
Analyzes the top 100 results on Google - other tools only analyze the top 10 or 20.	The site can feel buggy and appears to need a few updates.

Best for: Businesses with poorly optimized articles that want to see a quick and efficient boost to the rankings. If you don’t have marketing experts looking at incorporating keywords, SimilarContent is a smart choice.

12. Dashword

Dashword homepage - Clearscope Alternatives and Competitors

Dashword is the right content optimization tool for businesses looking to knock their competition out of the water when it comes to superior content.

Using a simple letter grade system it’s easy to see where the competition falls short, what they’re doing right and how you can improve your own site’s content.

Simply enter the keyword and after a few moments Dashword pulls up a report detailing the average word count of the top 10 results, readability levels and the top 10 SERP results along with their content grade.

You can also view a list of the relevant terms including their importance and frequently asked questions searched by users.

The on-page-assistant allows you to copy and paste your content into the platform and Dashword will give you a grade based on your incorporation of the primary and related keywords.

Price: Dashword offers a Hobby subscription at $29/month and a Professional Plan at $99/month.

Dashword vs. Clearscope

Pros	Cons
Handy to have a list of keyword suggestions next to the content while you’re writing or editing.	When reviewing your letter grade for a piece of content, it’s not clear as to how you can improve the score aside from incorporating more of the suggested keywords.
Keywords are highlighted as you write the content giving you a clear idea of whether the piece is headed in the right direction.	The letter grade system can seem a little simplistic.
Optimize content as you write instead of waiting until the piece is finished.	Doesn’t provide a list of suggestions for optimizing the piece of content.
Clean and well-presented user interface is intuitive and easy to use.	No assistance with adding backlinks or internal links.
Target the specific geographical location for your keyword choice - choose from Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Singapore, United Kingdom, and the United States.	No content briefs, only on-page-assistance.

Best for: Businesses beginning their content strategy who want some clear guidance as to how to properly incorporate keywords and create competitive content.

Which Clearscope Alternative Is Right for Your Business?

Clearscope is often considered a pioneer of AI-powered content optimization tools.

However, its positioning at the top end of the price scale means it’s worth considering if its features are truly worthwhile or if there might be alternatives that can offer you more for less.

Before taking the plunge, take advantage of any free demos or trials so you can put the tools into practice and find out which works best for your business’s content optimization needs.