Ahrefs vs Semrush
Which seo & content tool is right for you? Compare features, pricing, and user reviews to make the best choice.
Ahrefs
SEO teams and link builders who use backlink research every day and can justify the Standard plan or higher.
Semrush
Teams that want one vendor for SEO, content, local and market research and want a backlink database at least as large as Ahrefs by vendor figures.
Side by side
| Ahrefs | Semrush | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free for your own sites; paid from $29/month (Starter) | Free plan; paid from $139/month ($117.33/mo billed annually) |
| G2 Rating | 4.5 (720 reviews) | 4.4 (4,275 reviews) |
| Best For | SEO teams and link builders who use backlink research every day and can justify the Standard plan or higher. | Teams that want one vendor for SEO, content, local and market research and want a backlink database at least as large as Ahrefs by vendor figures. |
Pros and cons
Ahrefs
Pros
- One of the largest vendor-stated backlink indexes, with 16 years of history
- Unlimited credits from Standard
- API and MCP access included from Lite
- Free plan for your own verified sites
Cons
- No free trial, no discounts and refunds generally not issued
- Lite caps each user at 1,000 credits a month
- One user on Lite to Advanced; extra seats cost $40 to $80/month and are capped
- Rank Tracker updates weekly on every plan
Semrush
Pros
- One of the largest vendor-stated backlink counts in this comparison (43T)
- 7-day free trial and a permanent free plan
- Daily rank tracking
- 29.2B keywords across 142 geo databases
Cons
- Not cheaper than Ahrefs at similar limits
- More than 15 projects requires custom-priced Advanced
- Extra users cost $45 to $100/month each
- Monthly plans are not refundable
Related comparisons
Ahrefs alternatives
SE Ranking is the best Ahrefs alternative for most people: the same $129/month as Ahrefs Lite buys daily tracking of 2,000 keywords across 10 projects, with a 14-day trial and no card. Pick Semrush if backlink data volume matters most, Mangools if you work alone on a small budget, and Moz Pro if you need three seats without paying per user.
Sarah ChenUpdated October 2026Best Link Building Tools
Ahrefs is the best link building tool for finding prospects, with Content Explorer and broken backlinks on its $249/month Standard plan, but it has no outreach features. Pair it with Hunter for contacts, BuzzStream for month-to-month relationship tracking, or Pitchbox if you run outreach at agency scale.
Sarah ChenUpdated October 2026Best SEO Software for Agencies
SE Ranking is the best SEO software for most agencies: Growth plus the Agency Pack covers 30 projects, 5,000 daily keywords, 3 staff and full white label for $292.20/month billed annually. Semrush has deeper data but charges per user and has no published price above 15 projects. Add AgencyAnalytics if clients want one branded portal for all channels.
Sarah ChenUpdated October 2026