The best Ahrefs alternatives in 2026

Ahrefs is best known for its backlink index, and for a lot of SEO work it is still a strong choice. But it is also one of the harder SEO tools to buy. There is no free trial, the company says it never runs discounts, refunds are rare, and the entry plan meters your usage with credits. Add a second person or a reporting add-on and the bill climbs quickly.

This guide is for people who are weighing that bill against what they actually use. It is written with three readers in mind: the solo consultant or site owner who mostly needs keyword research, rank tracking and a look at competitors' links; the small agency that needs several seats and 20 or more client projects; and anyone whose main job in the tool is backlink research and who wants to know which index they would be moving to.

We compare Ahrefs with six alternatives: Semrush, Moz Pro, SE Ranking, Mangools, Ubersuggest and Serpstat. All prices are in US dollars as published on each vendor's pricing page in October 2026.

Why People Look for Ahrefs Alternatives

None of the points below mean Ahrefs is a bad product. They are the buying terms that push people to compare, taken from Ahrefs' own pricing page and FAQ.

• No free trial. Ahrefs does not offer a trial of its paid plans. The closest thing is Ahrefs Free (the product formerly called Ahrefs Webmaster Tools), which covers Site Explorer, Site Audit and Web Analytics, but only for sites you have verified you own.
• No discounts. The FAQ states plainly: "We never run discounts." The only way to pay less is annual billing, which the page says saves up to 17%.
• Refunds are close to zero. Ahrefs says it "does not issue refunds in general". On monthly plans you can ask for one if you have not used the service, but it may decline if it sees "material activity".
• Credit limits on Lite. The $129 Lite plan gives each user 1,000 credits per month. Standard and higher plans have unlimited credits. If your work is mostly ad hoc research, the credit meter is the thing you will notice first.
• Seats cost extra and are capped. Every plan includes one user. Lite can add up to 2 more at $40/month each, Standard up to 5 more at $60, Advanced up to 10 more at $80, and Enterprise any number at $100.
• Add-ons for content, reports and AI. Content Kit starts at $99/month, the Report Builder add-on is $99/month, Brand Radar AI starts at $199/month, and Project Boost costs $20 or $200 per project per month.
• Weekly rank tracking on every plan. Rank Tracker updates weekly on all plans according to the pricing table. Several alternatives update daily, some at lower prices.

If none of these bother you, Ahrefs remains a strong choice. If one or two of them do, the tools below handle them differently.

Comparison Table

Backlink Data: What You Gain and Lose by Switching

Backlink research is the main reason many people pay for Ahrefs, so it is worth looking at what each vendor says about its own link data before switching. These are the vendors' own figures. Each company counts links differently (live links, historic links, deduplicated links), so the numbers are not directly comparable. Use them as a rough sense of scale.

Two practical points matter more than the headline numbers:

1. How much of the data you can see. Mangools Basic shows 100,000 backlink rows a month, and Ubersuggest Individual shows 2,000 backlink rows. Ahrefs Lite caps you by credits (1,000 per user a month) and 2,500 rows per report. Semrush's SEO plan allows 3,000 analytics requests a day, and SE Ranking lists backlink research as unlimited on Core.
2. Which features sit behind higher plans. On Ahrefs, broken backlinks, outgoing links and linking authors in Site Explorer start at Standard ($249/month). If you need those on a budget, check what the lower tier of the alternative includes before you move.

If you rely on link data for client audits or outreach, the closest alternatives in scale are Semrush and Moz Pro. If you mostly check a competitor's top links now and then, Mangools (via Majestic) or SE Ranking is likely enough.

Ahrefs Alternatives in Detail

1. Ahrefs (the baseline)

Ahrefs is an all-in-one SEO suite built around Site Explorer, Keywords Explorer, Site Audit, Rank Tracker and Web Analytics. It has added Brand Radar AI and AI prompt tracking to its pricing page.

Pricing. Ahrefs Free costs nothing and covers verified sites only. Starter is $29/month with 200 credits a month, monthly renewal only, no extra users and no add-ons (terms from Ahrefs' 2024 blog post announcing the plan). Lite is $129/month for 5 projects, 750 tracked keywords, 6 months of history and 1,000 credits per user. Standard is $249/month for 20 projects, 2,000 tracked keywords, 2 years of history and unlimited credits. Advanced is $449/month for 50 projects, 5,000 keywords and 5 years of history. Enterprise is $1,499/month with an annual commitment. Annual billing totals are $1,290 for Lite, $2,490 for Standard and $4,490 for Advanced.

Strengths. A large backlink index, 16 years of historical data, and Content Explorer and Batch Analysis on Standard. API and MCP access starts on Lite. Unlimited verified-ownership projects on every paid plan.

Weaknesses. No trial, no discounts and almost no refunds. Lite's credit meter. Weekly rank tracking on every plan. Content Kit, Report Builder add-on and Brand Radar AI all cost extra.

Who should stay. Link builders and SEO teams who use Site Explorer every day and can justify Standard or higher.

2. SE Ranking

SE Ranking is a full SEO platform covering rank tracking, keyword and competitor research, backlink research, site audits, local SEO and content tools. It has renamed its plans: Essential, Pro and Business are gone, replaced by Core, Growth and Enterprise. Local Marketing and Content Marketing, which used to be extras, are now built into both paid plans.

Pricing. Core is $129/month or $103.20/month billed annually. It includes 10 projects, 1 manager seat, 2,000 keywords tracked daily, 100 AI prompts tracked daily and 250,000 audit pages a month. Growth is $279/month or $223.20/month annually, with 30 projects, 3 manager seats, 5,000 daily keywords and 250 daily AI prompts. Extra manager seats start at $16. Enterprise is priced by sales. White label for the platform and reports comes in the Agency Pack, an annual-only add-on from $69/month.

Trial and refunds. A 14-day free trial with no credit card. Payments are otherwise non-refundable unless the service was not delivered as promised.

Strengths. For the same $129 as Ahrefs Lite, Core tracks 2,000 keywords daily (Lite: 750 weekly), covers 10 projects (Lite: 5), and lists keyword, competitor and backlink research as unlimited. Local Marketing with 3 locations, listing management and Google Business Profile posts is included. Annual plans include free migration.

Weaknesses. The backlink index is far smaller than Ahrefs' by SE Ranking's own figures (2.7 trillion versus 35 trillion). Core keeps only 6 months of history; all-time history needs Growth. Only one active session per login, so sharing a login does not work.

Who it is for. Freelancers and small agencies whose daily work is rank tracking, audits and client reporting. Skip it if deep historical link data is the core of your work.

3. Semrush

Semrush is the broadest suite here: SEO, PPC research, content, local, social, market research and AI search visibility. Semrush is now an Adobe company: the acquisition closed on 28 April 2026, and Semrush says existing contracts and agreements are unchanged for now. The old Pro, Guru and Business plan names have gone from the pricing page.

Pricing. The current lineup is Free, SEO, Starter, Pro+, Advanced and Enterprise. SEO is $139/month ($117.33/month billed annually) for 5 projects and 500 tracked keywords. Starter (SEO + AI Search) is $199/month ($165.17 annually) and adds AI prompt tracking and MCP access. Pro+ is $299/month ($248.17 annually) for 15 projects, 1,500 keywords, historical data and content optimization. Advanced and Enterprise are custom-priced. Each plan includes one user seat; extra users cost $45 (Starter), $80 (Pro+) or $100 (Advanced) a month. White-label reports need the Pro Report add-on at $20/month. Local, Content, AI Visibility and Traffic & Market are separate paid toolkits.

Trial and refunds. A 7-day free trial, with a small card verification charge that is refunded. The Free plan needs no card. Semrush offers a one-time 7-day money-back guarantee only on initial annual subscriptions; monthly plans are not refundable.

Strengths. One of the largest vendor-stated backlink counts in this guide (43 trillion) and a 29.2 billion keyword database across 142 geo databases. Daily position tracking. Separate toolkits for local SEO, content, advertising and traffic and market research if you need them.

Weaknesses. It is not cheaper than Ahrefs at similar limits. More than 15 projects pushes you to custom pricing. Several features most agencies want are separate toolkits or add-ons.

Who it is for. Teams that want one vendor for SEO, PPC and content and are willing to pay for it. Skip it if your goal in leaving Ahrefs is to spend less.

4. Mangools

Mangools is a bundle of five simple tools: KWFinder (keyword research), SERPChecker (SERP analysis), SERPWatcher (rank tracking), LinkMiner (backlinks) and SiteProfiler (domain metrics), plus AI Search Watcher. Its pricing page no longer shows an Entry plan, so the plans are now Basic, Premium and Agency.

Pricing. Basic is $61/month or $37.70/month billed annually ($452.40/year): 100 keyword lookups per 24 hours, 200 tracked keywords, 100,000 backlink rows a month, weekly rank updates and no extra seats. Premium is $81/month or $52.70/month annually ($632.40/year): 500 lookups, 700 tracked keywords, 500,000 backlink rows and 3 extra seats. Agency is $141/month or $97.70/month annually ($1,172.40/year): 1,200 lookups, 1,500 tracked keywords, 1.2 million backlink rows, 5 extra seats and daily rank updates. Domains for tracking are unlimited on every plan. API and MCP access are listed on all plans, and AI Search Watcher PRO (500 prompts) is included.

Free plan and refunds. A free plan with no card: KWFinder allows 5 lookups per 24 hours. A paid-plan trial is not stated. Mangools offers a 48-hour money-back guarantee on payments (not for 2 consecutive subscriptions).

Backlink data. LinkMiner's data comes from Majestic. Mangools states 9.5 trillion backlinks, covering Majestic's fresh and historic index. That makes it one of the cheapest ways to look at a third-party link index that is not Ahrefs, Semrush or Moz.

Strengths. Low price, five focused tools and clear limits. Extra seats on Premium and Agency share the plan's limits at no stated extra cost.

Weaknesses. Its five tools do not include a technical site audit. Weekly rank tracking below Agency. Basic tracks only 200 keywords. Lookups are counted per 24 hours, so heavy research days hit the cap.

Who it is for. Bloggers, solo consultants and small site owners who need keyword research and a look at competitor links. Skip it if you need technical audits or more than 1,500 tracked keywords.

5. Moz Pro

Moz Pro, from Moz (part of Ziff Davis), offers keyword research, link research, rank tracking, site crawls and AI visibility tracking. Its plans are now called Standard, Medium and Large, with an unnamed $49 entry plan for individuals managing a single website. Moz does not publish that plan's limits on the pricing page.

Pricing. Standard is $99/month or $79/month paid yearly ($950 for the first year): 1 user, 3 campaigns, 300 tracked keywords. Medium is $179/month or $143/month yearly ($1,719 first year): 2 users, 10 campaigns, 1,500 keywords. Large is $299/month or $239/month yearly ($2,868 first year): 3 users, 25 campaigns, 3,000 keywords. The yearly totals are labeled "first year", and Moz does not state the renewal price. Add-ons include $49/month per extra seat, $10 per extra campaign and $20 per extra 200 keywords.

Free account and trial. A free Moz Community account gives limited use of MozBar, Keyword Explorer and Link Explorer (10 Link Explorer queries a month). A 7-day free trial requires a card. Moz says you can cancel or change plans at any time; it does not publish a refund policy.

Strengths. Seats are included on Medium and Large, which makes Moz Large cheaper than Ahrefs Standard plus two seats for a team of three. Link Explorer and Keyword Explorer have a free tier, so you can try them before paying. From Standard, plans track AI prompts across GPT, Gemini, Google AI Mode and Perplexity.

Weaknesses. Standard is tight: 150 keyword queries a month and 300 tracked keywords. Branded reports and site re-crawls start on Medium. Moz states different link index sizes on different pages (40, 44 and 45.5 trillion).

Who it is for. Small in-house teams and agencies of two or three people. Skip it if you are a solo user who needs heavy keyword research on a small budget.

6. Ubersuggest

Ubersuggest, from Neil Patel's NP Digital, covers keyword research, rank tracking, site audits, competitor analysis and backlinks. Its pricing page has moved to app.neilpatel.com; the old pricing URL now returns a 404.

Pricing. Individual is $29/month, $16/month yearly ($192), or $290 one time for lifetime access: 1 user, 1 project, 125 tracked keywords per project, 150 searches a day and 2,000 backlink rows. Business is $49/month, $27.17/month yearly ($326) or $490 lifetime: 2 users, 7 projects, 150 keywords per project. Enterprise is $99/month, $54.75/month yearly ($657) or $990 lifetime: 5 users, 15 projects, 300 keywords per project. Add-ons are $5/month each for an extra project, user, 250 tracked keywords or 500 daily searches.

Free account and trial. A free account exists. There is a one-time 7-day free trial on monthly subscriptions. Lifetime purchases are final and non-refundable.

Strengths. Among the lowest prices in this guide, a lifetime option, and $5 add-ons that let you grow in small steps. Users are included (2 on Business, 5 on Enterprise).

Weaknesses. Backlink rows are capped (2,000 to 10,000 by plan) and Ubersuggest does not publish its backlink index size. No API. The pricing page gives conflicting credit counts, and its weekly rank updates differ from the daily updates on the product page, so check the plan details at checkout.

Who it is for. Site owners and very small businesses that want basic SEO data without a big monthly bill. Skip it if backlink depth matters to you.

7. Serpstat

Serpstat is a full SEO platform first built by Netpeak in 2013 and independent since 2015 as part of Fractal. Its pricing page is now at serpstat.com/pay and includes a new Team x2 plan.

Pricing. Individual is $50/month: 5 projects, 100 searches a day, 10,000 rank position checks a month, 30,000 audit pages. Team is $100/month: unlimited projects, 3 users, 500 searches a day, 50,000 rank checks. Team x2 is $169/month for 6 users and 100,000 rank checks. Agency is $410/month for 30 users and 500,000 rank checks. Annual billing saves up to 27%; the page shows the saving per plan ($228 a year on Individual, $348 on Team) rather than the annual price.

Trial and refunds. A 7-day free trial of Individual or Team, with a $1 card verification charge that is returned. A refund policy is not stated on the pricing page.

Strengths. Daily rank tracking on every plan. API access and MCP from Team, with 200,000 API credits a month. Team includes 3 users for $100.

Weaknesses. Serpstat does not publish its backlink index size. API is not available on Individual. White-label reports need Agency at $410/month.

Who it is for. Small teams that want daily rank tracking, an API and multiple users at a low price. Skip it if your main work is backlink research and you need to know how large the index is.

What It Costs: Two Worked Examples

These examples use only the prices published on each vendor's pricing page. They count list prices before tax. Where a plan does not cover the scenario and the vendor does not publish a price for the gap, we say so.

Freelancer: 5 sites, about 500 tracked keywords, 1 user

Notes on the arithmetic:

• Moz Pro Standard includes 3 campaigns and 300 keywords. Two extra campaigns at $10 each and one extra block of 200 keywords at $20 brings it to 5 sites and 500 keywords.
• Mangools Basic ($61) tracks only 200 keywords, so Premium is the first plan that fits.
• Ubersuggest Individual has 1 project. Adding 4 projects at $5 each costs $29 + $20 = $49, the same as Business, which also adds a second user.
• Serpstat Individual includes 10,000 rank position checks a month. If each daily check of one keyword counts as one check, 500 keywords checked daily use about 500 x 30 = 15,000 checks a month, which is more than Individual allows. In that case Team ($100) with 50,000 checks is the fit.
• Ahrefs Lite adds the 1,000-credit monthly limit, which the other plans in this table do not have in the same form.

For this buyer, SE Ranking Core matches Ahrefs Lite's price and tracks 2,000 keywords daily instead of 750 weekly. Mangools Premium ($81) and Ubersuggest Business ($49) cut the monthly bill by about 37% and 62% if weekly tracking and lighter data are acceptable.

Small agency: 20 sites, 2,000 tracked keywords, 3 users

Notes on the arithmetic:

• Ahrefs on annual billing would be $2,490 for Standard. Ahrefs does not show whether extra users get the annual saving, so the $60 seats are counted at the monthly rate: $2,490 + ($120 x 12) = $3,930 a year.
• SE Ranking Growth on annual billing is $223.20 x 12 = $2,678.40 a year.
• Moz Pro Large yearly is $2,868 for the first year. Building the same setup from Medium would cost more: $179 + 10 extra campaigns ($100) + 1 seat ($49) + 3 blocks of 200 keywords ($60) = $388 a month.
• Semrush: 20 projects exceed Pro+ (15), and Semrush does not publish a price for Advanced. For reference, Pro+ plus 2 extra users would be $299 + ($80 x 2) = $459 a month, still 5 projects short.
• Mangools Agency tops out at 1,500 tracked keywords, and Mangools does not publish an add-on for more.
• Serpstat: 2,000 keywords checked daily would use about 60,000 rank checks a month on the same assumption as above, more than Team's 50,000. Team x2 at $169 covers it.

For this agency, Ahrefs Standard plus seats costs $369 a month. SE Ranking Growth ($279) and Moz Pro Large ($299) both cover the scenario for less, with daily rather than weekly rank updates in SE Ranking's case.

How to Choose an Ahrefs Alternative

Start with the reason you are leaving, then match it to the tool.

If price is the main issue. Decide whether you need daily rank tracking. If weekly is fine, Mangools Premium ($81, or $52.70 annually) and Ubersuggest Business ($49) cover a small portfolio for well under Ahrefs Lite. If you need daily tracking, Serpstat Individual ($50) or SE Ranking Core ($129) are the options.

If you want to try before you pay. SE Ranking's 14-day trial needs no card. Semrush, Moz Pro and Serpstat offer 7-day trials with a card. Mangools and Ubersuggest have free plans or accounts you can use indefinitely within limits.

If you are a solo user. Ahrefs Lite's credit limit and Starter's 200 credits are the main pain points. Mangools and SE Ranking Core both suit one person well; Mangools is simpler and cheaper, SE Ranking covers audits, local SEO and more keywords.

If you have a team. Look at included seats. Moz Pro Large includes 3 users, SE Ranking Growth 3 manager seats, Serpstat Team 3 users and Ubersuggest Enterprise 5. Ahrefs (below Enterprise) and Semrush include one user on each plan and charge for every additional seat.

If backlink research is your main job. Semrush and Moz Pro are the closest in scale to Ahrefs by their own figures. Mangools gives cheap access to Majestic's index through LinkMiner. SE Ranking's index is smaller. Serpstat and Ubersuggest do not publish index sizes.

If you need an API. Ahrefs includes API and MCP access from Lite. SE Ranking includes MCP and a Projects API on all plans, plus Research API credits. Serpstat includes API from Team. Mangools lists API and MCP on all plans. Ubersuggest has no API plans.

If you sell to clients. White label is an add-on or higher tier almost everywhere: SE Ranking's Agency Pack (annual only, from $69/month), Semrush's Pro Report add-on ($20/month), Serpstat's Agency plan ($410/month) and Moz Pro's branded reports from Medium.

Is Ahrefs Still Worth It?

For some people, yes. If you use Site Explorer daily for link audits, outreach or competitive research, Ahrefs Standard gives unlimited credits, 2 years of history and Content Explorer, and its index is among the largest available. The weekly rank tracking and lack of a trial matter less when backlink data is what you are paying for.

For most freelancers and small agencies, though, the numbers favor switching. SE Ranking matches Ahrefs Lite's price with daily tracking and more projects. Moz Pro and SE Ranking cover a three-person agency for less than Ahrefs Standard plus two seats. And Ahrefs Free remains available for your own verified sites whichever paid tool you choose, so you can keep it running alongside an alternative for site audits and your own backlink profile.

How We Compared

We checked every price, plan limit, trial and refund term in this guide on the vendors' own websites on 17 October 2026. G2 ratings and review counts come from g2.com, checked on 17 October 2026.