Ahrefs vs BacklinkScan (2026): which should you pick?
As of Oct 23, 2026, BacklinkScan grades higher than Ahrefs: 2.4 against 2.0 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 17, 2026 and Oct 23, 2026 · graded Oct 17, 2026 and Oct 23, 2026 by ToolGPA
Ahrefs grades higher on platforms. BacklinkScan grades higher on value for money. They get the same grade on the free plan, features and ease of use.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Ahrefs
SEO toolset for backlinks, keyword research, audits and rank tracking
BacklinkScan
Low-cost backlink monitor with spam scoring and disavow files
Which one is for you
Pick Ahrefs if
- Fits if most of your SEO time goes on backlinks and what's ranking for rivals
- Works for site owners who only need data on their own verified site, which Ahrefs Free covers
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want daily rankings, as Rank Tracker updates weekly on every plan
- Pricey if you're a small business, at about $107.50 a month for Lite even paid yearly
- Tight if you research a lot on Lite, where each user gets 1,000 credits a month; Starter gets 200
- Pricey if you add people: each plan has one user, and extras cost $40 to $80 a month, capped at 2, 5 or 10
- Watch out: AI writing tools start at $99 a month on top, and there's no trial of any paid plan
Pick BacklinkScan if
- Fits if you run a small site or freelance and want backlink alerts for a few dollars a month
- Works for anyone cleaning up spammy links who wants the disavow file kept current
Look elsewhere if
- Not for you if you want to try monitoring free, as the free plan has no daily checks, alerts or exports
- Watch out: the FAQ says no refunds once you upgrade, so the free plan is your only try-out
- Tight if you need competitor analysis, which starts on Pro at $18 a month billed annually
- Watch out: PDF reports are listed as coming soon, and the pricing table doesn't say which plans get the AI brand visibility checker
- Watch out: the $99 lifetime deal is shown under a countdown, and the FAQ says it may not always be offered
How we grade them
| 2.0GPAAhrefsFair | 2.4GPABacklinkScanFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | DLite, the plan Ahrefs aims at small businesses, is $129 a month, or $1,290 a year (about $107.50 a month) with the yearly saving. That's nearly three times this category's middle, for one user. Starter is $29, but it's monthly only with 200 credits. | ALite is $6 a month billed annually ($8 monthly) for 50,000 backlinks and 5 projects, under 60% of this category's cheaper quarter. Pro is $18 for 250,000, and a $99 one-time lifetime deal is shown for a limited time. |
| Free plan and trial | CAhrefs Free gives you Site Explorer, Site Audit and Web Analytics for sites you can prove are yours, with 5,000 crawl credits a month. That covers your own site, but there's no keyword research or rank tracking, and no trial of the paid plans. | CA free plan for 1 project and 1,000 backlinks with 6 months of history, but no daily monitoring, alerts, CSV reports or disavow export, which are the reasons to use it. Support is community only. |
| Features | CIts own link index, Site Explorer for any domain, keyword research, audits for 170+ issues, AI prompt tracking, and API and MCP access from Lite. The gap is rank tracking: the listing says it updates weekly on every plan, and Lite caps reports at 1,000 credits a month. | CDaily checks with new and lost link alerts, AI scoring for quality and spam risk, rule-based disavow files, Search Console keywords, an internal link checker and an AI brand visibility checker. The gaps: competitor analysis waits on Pro and PDF reports are listed as coming soon. |
| Ease of use | CNo rating on record. Credits, projects and crawl budgets take some learning before you know what each click costs you. | CNo rating on record. You add projects, connect Search Console and set your disavow rules before it runs on its own. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb plus a browser toolbar, linked to Search Console, Looker Studio and Google Business Profile, with an API and an MCP server from Lite. No desktop or phone app. | CWeb only, with Google Search Console as the one connection on record. No API, desktop or phone app. |
| Best for | backlink and competitor research | daily backlink alerts and disavow files on a small budget |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Ahrefs and BacklinkScan. How we grade
Where they differ
- Ahrefs also covers keyword research, rank tracking and site audit.
- BacklinkScan also covers reports, AI search visibility and link outreach.
At a glance
| Ahrefs | BacklinkScan | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $29 per month, billed monthly | $6 per month for 50,000 backlinks, billed annually ($8 billed monthly) |
| Free plan | Ahrefs Free: Site Explorer, Site Audit (5,000 crawl credits a month per project) and Web Analytics for verified sites, plus the SEO Toolbar and 1 AI Content Helper doc a month. | 1 project, 1,000 backlinks and 6 months of history, with no daily monitoring, alerts, reports or disavow file export. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Browser extension | ||
| Made by | Ahrefs Pte. Ltd. | BacklinkScan |
| Price read from | ahrefs.com | backlinkscan.com |
| Checked | Oct 17, 2026 | Oct 23, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Ahrefs
- Rank Tracker updates rankings weekly on every plan the pricing page lists.
- Lite caps each user at 1,000 credits a month for reports; Starter has 200 and cannot add users or add-ons.
- Each plan includes one user; extra users cost $40, $60 or $80 a month and are capped at 2, 5 or 10.
- AI writing tools (Content Kit) start at $99 a month, and Project Boosts cost $20 or $200 a month per project.
BacklinkScan
- The pricing FAQ says refunds are not given once a plan is upgraded; the free plan is the way to try it.
- The free plan has no daily monitoring, alerts, CSV reports or disavow export, and gets community support only.
- Competitor analysis needs Pro, and PDF reports are listed as coming soon.
- The pricing table does not say which plans include the AI brand visibility checker.
Key features
Ahrefs
- Site Explorer
- See the backlinks, organic keywords and top pages of any website, with history going back 6 months to 5 years by plan.
- Keywords Explorer
- Find keyword ideas with volume and difficulty; Standard and above add AI suggestions, clusters, search intents and translations.
- Site Audit
- Crawl your sites for 170+ technical and on-page SEO issues, using 100,000 to 1.5 million crawl credits a month by plan.
- Rank Tracker
- Track 750 to 5,000 keywords on the self-serve plans, with rankings updated weekly.
- Brand Radar and AI prompts
- Plans track 5 to 20 of your own prompts in AI chat tools daily. Brand Radar AI, for researching any brand's AI mentions, starts at $199 a month.
- API and MCP server
- Every plan from Lite includes API and MCP access, capped at 100 to 500 rows per request below Enterprise.
BacklinkScan
- New and lost link alerts
- Backlinks are checked daily, with email alerts when links are gained or lost and a weekly summary, on the paid plans.
- AI link scoring
- Each backlink gets an AI rating for quality, relevance and risk, alongside link type, DR and referring domain details.
- Disavow automation
- Set rules by authority or spam score and links that match are added to a disavow file that is regenerated on a schedule.
- Search Console keywords
- Connect Google Search Console to see clicks, impressions, CTR and rankings for your pages and keywords, with history.
- Internal link checker
- Finds broken internal links and shows anchors, attributes and status codes across your own pages.
- AI brand visibility
- Asks AI models questions like a user would and records whether your brand appears, its rank, sentiment and competitors. ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini are named.
Plans
Ahrefs
Ahrefs Free$0
Limited Site Explorer and Site Audit for websites you verify as yours. No Keywords Explorer or Rank Tracker.
Starter$29
per month, billed monthly
200 report credits a month, with Keywords Explorer, Rank Tracker and Site Audit. Monthly only; no extra users or add-ons.
Lite$129
per month, billed monthly
1 user, 5 projects, 750 tracked keywords, 6 months of history, 1,000 credits a month, 100,000 crawl credits, API and MCP access.
Standard$249
per month, billed monthly
1 user, 20 projects, 2,000 tracked keywords, 2 years of history, unlimited credits, Content Explorer and keyword clusters.
Advanced$449
per month, billed monthly
1 user, 50 projects, 5,000 tracked keywords, 5 years of history, 1.5 million crawl credits and Looker Studio integration.
Enterprise$1,499
per month, annual commitment required
From 3 users, 100 projects, unlimited history, uncapped API, SSO and audit log. Sold through sales.
BacklinkScan
Free$0
1 project, 1,000 backlinks and 6 months of history, without daily monitoring, alerts, exports or link research.
Lite$6
per month for 50,000 backlinks, billed annually ($8 billed monthly)
5 projects, 1 year of history, daily monitoring, new and lost link alerts, 10 link searches a day, bulk outreach, CSV and disavow exports.
Pro$18
per month for 250,000 backlinks, billed annually ($24 billed monthly)
20 projects, 5 years of history, 100 link searches a day and competitor analysis, plus everything in Lite.
Lifetime Deal$99
one-time payment
Unlimited projects and tracked links, daily monitoring, lost link alerts and AI analysis, paid once. Shown as a limited-time offer.
Ways to pay less
Ahrefs
- Annual discount
Save up to 17% by paying annually
Ahrefs' pricing page offers up to 17% off for annual billing on Lite, Standard and Advanced. Existing monthly customers switch by contacting support.
BacklinkScan
- Annual discount
Save 25% with annual billing
BacklinkScan's pricing page lists Lite at $6 a month billed annually instead of $8 monthly, and Pro at $18 instead of $24.
- Lifetime license
Lifetime deal for a one-time $99
The pricing page shows a $99 one-time lifetime deal with unlimited projects and links, under a countdown; the FAQ says it may not always be offered.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Ahrefs or BacklinkScan?
As of Oct 23, 2026, BacklinkScan is cheaper to start with: $6 a month, against $29 a month for Ahrefs. Ahrefs starts at $29 per month, billed monthly, and BacklinkScan starts at $6 per month for 50,000 backlinks, billed annually ($8 billed monthly).
Which has a free plan, Ahrefs or BacklinkScan?
As of Oct 23, 2026, both Ahrefs and BacklinkScan have a free plan.
Which platforms do Ahrefs and BacklinkScan run on?
As of Oct 23, 2026, only Ahrefs lists a browser extension. Both list a web app. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.