Looking for the right ad agency? Try Pick an Agency.
Get Matched for FreeHonest comparison. No SaaS lock-in. No paid placement.
Semrush's agencies directory at agencies.semrush.com is one of the most overlooked agency listings on the web. It ranks well on Google because Semrush has massive domain authority. The catch: the directory exists partly to retain agencies as paying Semrush SaaS customers, and the ranking criteria favor agencies inside that ecosystem. If you want a more neutral way to evaluate agencies, here are 5 alternatives ranked by independence and review integrity.
The headline trade-off: Semrush wins on platform integration (useful if you're already a Semrush user), Pick an Agency wins on independence, catalog size, and breadth of marketing services beyond SEO.
| Feature | Semrush Agencies | Pick an Agency |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing for buyers | Free | Free |
| Pricing for agencies | Free list + Semrush SaaS ($$$/mo) | Free, always |
| Independence | SaaS-ecosystem bound | Fully independent |
| Catalog size | ~15,000 | 47,000+ |
| Review verification | Platform-verified | Email + manual mod |
| AI matching for buyers | No | Yes (free) |
| Service coverage breadth | SEO/SEM-heavy | Full marketing |
We run Pick an Agency, so the obvious caveat: we're biased. The interesting thing about Semrush's agency directory is that most buyers don't realize it's tied to a SaaS company that sells tools to those same agencies. That creates a subtle conflict that pure-play review directories (like Pick) don't have. This list walks through 5 alternatives ranked by how independent they are from agency monetization.
About Pick an Agency: A free marketing agency directory founded in 2026, headquartered in San Francisco, with 47,000+ agencies indexed globally and zero paid placement of any kind.
Free for everyone, fully independent. 47,000+ agencies indexed globally, ranked purely by client-review data. The structural difference from Semrush: we don't sell any SaaS to the agencies we list. There's no upsell layer, no ecosystem lock-in, no incentive to rank agencies who pay us monthly fees because there are no monthly fees. Just review data, full stop.
You also get a free AI matching service (Get Matched) that takes a 60-second brief and returns 5 agencies fitted to your services, budget, location, and industry. The trade-off vs Semrush: if you're already deep in the Semrush ecosystem, their tool-integrated workflows (sharing reports with agencies, white-labeling, etc.) won't exist on Pick.
About Clutch (clutch.co): A B2B agency review platform founded in 2013, headquartered in Washington DC, with 200,000+ agencies and a paid "Sponsored" placement tier for top category slots.
The global market leader with 200,000+ listings. Independent of any SaaS company. Their phone-interview review verification is the most rigorous in the directory market. The catch is the paid "Sponsored" tier: the top 3-5 slots of every category page are paid placements, not pure rankings.
Use it if: you need the deepest possible catalog and you care more about review verification quality than ordering integrity. See our full Clutch comparison.
About Sortlist: A Brussels-based agency marketplace founded in 2014, with approximately 40,000 agencies and the strongest European catalog. Uses a lead-resale model charging agencies €50-150 per qualified lead.
European market leader. Different from Semrush, Sortlist doesn't sell SaaS to agencies. Instead they sell qualified leads: when you submit a brief, 3-5 agencies pay €50-150 each to receive your contact info. Cleaner UX than Semrush for buyers, but the lead-resale dynamic creates its own ordering bias.
Use it if: you're hiring in Europe. See our full Sortlist comparison.
About DesignRush: A US-based marketing agency directory founded in 2017, with approximately 25,000 agencies, known for sponsored top-of-page placements and design-led editorial content.
US-focused, best-looking UI of the directories. Independent of SaaS companies but heavily monetizes via sponsored placement, so the top 3-5 slots of every category page are paid.
Use it if: you're hiring design-led work and want curated "Top X" lists. See our full DesignRush comparison.
About GoodFirms: An India-based B2B research and reviews platform listing both IT services and marketing agencies. Operates a pay-for-badges monetization model.
Hybrid IT-services + marketing directory. Independent of SaaS companies but monetizes via paid trust badges that agencies buy. Reviews skew thinner than Clutch.
Use it if: you need a hybrid IT-services + marketing directory, especially for Indian or South Asian agencies.
Three real scenarios where Semrush wins:
For everything else, especially if you want a directory not tied to an SEO/SEM SaaS vendor, the alternatives above are stronger.
Get Matched takes a short brief and returns 5 agencies fitted to your services, budget, and location. Free, independent, no paid placement.
Yes, browsing the Semrush agencies directory at agencies.semrush.com is free for buyers. The model monetizes on the agency side: listed agencies are typically paying Semrush SaaS subscribers, and the directory exists partly to retain them as customers.
The most common reasons: you want a directory that's not tied to an SEO/SEM SaaS company (so the ordering isn't influenced by which agencies pay for Semrush subscriptions), you need a larger catalog than Semrush's ~15,000 agencies, or you want a directory with deeper non-SEO marketing coverage (Semrush's directory leans heavily into agencies that match its own SaaS toolset).
Rankings are based on a combination of factors including agency profile completeness, Semrush certifications, client reviews, and engagement with the Semrush platform. The criteria are not fully transparent, and agencies that are paying Semrush customers tend to have stronger positioning than those that are not.
Pick an Agency is the most independent free alternative with no SaaS lock-in or paid placement. 47,000+ agencies indexed globally, ranked purely on verified client review data. For phone-verified reviews, Clutch is stronger. For European hiring, Sortlist has the deepest local catalog.