Semrush

AI-powered SEO and digital marketing platform for visibility, content, and competitive intelligence

Smartly.io

AI-powered advertising platform for automating creative production and media buying at scale

Semrush

Moderate

13/25

Smartly.io

Moderate

16/25

Score Breakdown

DimensionSemrushSmartly.io

Data Residency

Where is your data stored and processed?

Semrush: Infrastructure spans US and EU; no dedicated per-customer data residency selection; standard DPA available for GDPR compliance

Smartly.io: Primary hosting in Germany (Hetzner + AWS EU regions). Cross-border transfers to US/APAC offices covered by EU SCCs. Strong EU data residency posture for core platform operations.

2/5

Infrastructure spans US and EU; no dedicated per-customer data residency selection; standard DPA available for GDPR compliance

4/5

Primary hosting in Germany (Hetzner + AWS EU regions). Cross-border transfers to US/APAC offices covered by EU SCCs. Strong EU data residency posture for core platform operations.

Legal Jurisdiction

Which laws govern the company and your data?

Semrush: US-incorporated public company, now a subsidiary of Adobe Inc.; subject to US jurisdiction and CLOUD Act; GDPR DPA available

Smartly.io: Finnish Oy (EU company), but majority owned by Providence Equity Partners (US PE firm). Finnish/EU law governs the entity, though US parent introduces CLOUD Act considerations.

2/5

US-incorporated public company, now a subsidiary of Adobe Inc.; subject to US jurisdiction and CLOUD Act; GDPR DPA available

3/5

Finnish Oy (EU company), but majority owned by Providence Equity Partners (US PE firm). Finnish/EU law governs the entity, though US parent introduces CLOUD Act considerations.

Data Retention & Training

Is your data used for model training?

Semrush: Primarily processes public web data; customer project and account data retained per privacy policy; no known use of customer data for AI model training

Smartly.io: Privacy policy mentions retention of training data but lacks clarity on what 'training data' encompasses. Internal AI uses on-prem Llama models. No explicit 'we don't train on your data' commitment found publicly.

3/5

Primarily processes public web data; customer project and account data retained per privacy policy; no known use of customer data for AI model training

3/5

Privacy policy mentions retention of training data but lacks clarity on what 'training data' encompasses. Internal AI uses on-prem Llama models. No explicit 'we don't train on your data' commitment found publicly.

Certifications

ISO 27001, SOC 2, Cyber Essentials, etc.

Semrush: SOC 2 Type II certified; GDPR and CCPA compliant; no ISO 27001 publicly confirmed

Smartly.io: ISO 27001 certified. SOC 2 appears to be in progress. Infrastructure providers (Hetzner, AWS, Cloudflare) carry their own certifications.

3/5

SOC 2 Type II certified; GDPR and CCPA compliant; no ISO 27001 publicly confirmed

3/5

ISO 27001 certified. SOC 2 appears to be in progress. Infrastructure providers (Hetzner, AWS, Cloudflare) carry their own certifications.

Regulatory Fit

Suitability for regulated industries and professional services

Semrush: Suitable for marketing and SEO teams across regulated industries; primary risk is account data jurisdiction rather than sensitive data processing

Smartly.io: GDPR DPA available. EU data hosting. Finnish legal entity. Suitable for European marketing teams. The US PE ownership is a consideration for the most sovereignty-sensitive buyers.

3/5

Suitable for marketing and SEO teams across regulated industries; primary risk is account data jurisdiction rather than sensitive data processing

3/5

GDPR DPA available. EU data hosting. Finnish legal entity. Suitable for European marketing teams. The US PE ownership is a consideration for the most sovereignty-sensitive buyers.

Total Score

13/25

16/25

Best For

Semrush

Best for teams that prioritise data retention & training (scores 3/5) and need a bronze-tier tool.

Smartly.io

Best for teams that prioritise data residency (scores 4/5) and need a bronze-tier tool.

Detailed Comparison

Semrush vs Smartly.io: Trust & Compliance Comparison

Semrush (Semrush, US) scores 13/25 overall with a Bronze (Moderate) trust badge. AI-powered SEO and digital marketing platform for visibility, content, and competitive intelligence. Smartly.io (Smartly.io, FI) scores 16/25 with a Bronze (Moderate) trust badge. AI-powered advertising platform for automating creative production and media buying at scale.

Dimension-by-Dimension Breakdown

#### Data Residency

Smartly.io leads with 4/5 vs 2/5.

●Semrush (2/5): Infrastructure spans US and EU; no dedicated per-customer data residency selection; standard DPA available for GDPR compliance

●Smartly.io (4/5): Primary hosting in Germany (Hetzner + AWS EU regions). Cross-border transfers to US/APAC offices covered by EU SCCs. Strong EU data residency posture for core platform operations.

#### Legal Jurisdiction

Smartly.io leads with 3/5 vs 2/5.

●Semrush (2/5): US-incorporated public company, now a subsidiary of Adobe Inc.; subject to US jurisdiction and CLOUD Act; GDPR DPA available

●Smartly.io (3/5): Finnish Oy (EU company), but majority owned by Providence Equity Partners (US PE firm). Finnish/EU law governs the entity, though US parent introduces CLOUD Act considerations.

#### Data Retention & Training

Both score equally at 3/5.

●Semrush (3/5): Primarily processes public web data; customer project and account data retained per privacy policy; no known use of customer data for AI model training

●Smartly.io (3/5): Privacy policy mentions retention of training data but lacks clarity on what 'training data' encompasses. Internal AI uses on-prem Llama models. No explicit 'we don't train on your data' commitment found publicly.

#### Certifications

Both score equally at 3/5.

●Semrush (3/5): SOC 2 Type II certified; GDPR and CCPA compliant; no ISO 27001 publicly confirmed

●Smartly.io (3/5): ISO 27001 certified. SOC 2 appears to be in progress. Infrastructure providers (Hetzner, AWS, Cloudflare) carry their own certifications.

#### Regulatory Fit

Both score equally at 3/5.

●Semrush (3/5): Suitable for marketing and SEO teams across regulated industries; primary risk is account data jurisdiction rather than sensitive data processing

●Smartly.io (3/5): GDPR DPA available. EU data hosting. Finnish legal entity. Suitable for European marketing teams. The US PE ownership is a consideration for the most sovereignty-sensitive buyers.

Certifications at a Glance

Certification	Semrush	Smartly.io
ISO 27001	No	Yes
SOC 2 Type II	Yes	No

Overall Verdict

Smartly.io has a clear trust advantage, scoring 16/25 compared to Semrush's 13/25. Smartly.io particularly excels in data residency, legal jurisdiction.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is better for EU compliance, Semrush or Smartly.io?

Semrush has a TrustKit score of 13/25 while Smartly.io scores 16/25. Smartly.io currently rates higher across data residency, legal jurisdiction, data retention, certifications, and regulatory fit.

How do Semrush and Smartly.io compare on data residency?

Semrush scores 2/5 for data residency (Infrastructure spans US and EU; no dedicated per-customer data residency selection; standard DPA available for GDPR compliance), while Smartly.io scores 4/5 (Primary hosting in Germany (Hetzner + AWS EU regions). Cross-border transfers to US/APAC offices covered by EU SCCs. Strong EU data residency posture for core platform operations.).

Are Semrush and Smartly.io GDPR compliant?

Both tools are assessed across five compliance dimensions. Semrush has a regulatory fit score of 3/5 and Smartly.io scores 3/5. Check the full comparison above for a detailed breakdown.

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