Ahrefs vs BuzzSumo (2026): which should you pick?
As of Oct 23, 2026, BuzzSumo grades higher than Ahrefs: 2.2 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
BuzzSumo grades higher on ease of use. They get the same grade on value for money, the free plan, features and platforms.
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
BuzzSumo
Content research, media monitoring and journalist outreach
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 BuzzSumo if
- Fits if you look for topics and formats that already earn shares and links
- Works for digital PR teams finding journalists and tracking their coverage
Look elsewhere if
- Pricey if you're one person, at $159 a month on yearly billing for one user
- Skip it if you want articles written or scored, as it does research only
- Tight if you need the journalist database or the API: one starts at PR & Comms for $239, the other is priced on request
- Watch out: cancelling isn't refunded, and plans run to the end of the paid term
- Not for you if you want a free plan, gone since February 2023; the trial is 50 searches
How we grade them
| 2.0GPAAhrefsFair | 2.2GPABuzzSumoFair | |
|---|---|---|
| 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. | DContent Creation is $159 a month on yearly billing, $199 monthly, for one user, well past where this category's dearest tenth starts ($99). The journalist database needs PR & Comms at $239, and the API is priced on request. |
| 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. | CNo free plan since February 2023. New users get a trial of Suite limited to 50 searches, and nothing on record says it needs a card. |
| 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. | CThe Content Analyzer, idea, topic and question tools, a brief generator, keyword and backlink tools, alerts and a Chrome extension. It does content research, but that's only part of this category's job: it writes, scores and publishes nothing. |
| Ease of use | CNo rating on record. Credits, projects and crawl budgets take some learning before you know what each click costs you. | BNo rating on record, but there's nothing to set up to start: type a topic, URL or domain and it lists the most shared content. |
| 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. | BWeb plus a Chrome extension, with no desktop or phone app. It sends alerts to Slack, has an RSS feed for Zapier or IFTTT on Enterprise, and offers Account and Search APIs priced separately. |
| Best for | backlink and competitor research | finding content that already earns shares and links |
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 BuzzSumo. How we grade
Where they differ
- Ahrefs also covers rank tracking and site audit.
- BuzzSumo also covers research, reports and link outreach.
At a glance
| Ahrefs | BuzzSumo | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free trial |
| Starts at | $29 per month, billed monthly | $159 per month, billed annually ($199 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. | None |
| Free trial | None listed | Free trial of the Suite plan, limited to 50 searches |
| Web | ||
| Browser extension | ||
| Made by | Ahrefs Pte. Ltd. | BuzzSumo Ltd |
| Price read from | ahrefs.com | buzzsumo.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.
BuzzSumo
- There has been no free plan since February 2023; new users get a trial of Suite limited to 50 searches.
- Cancelling stops renewal but is not refunded: annual and monthly plans run to the end of the paid term.
- The journalist database starts at PR & Comms, and the API is priced on request.
- Invoicing is only for Enterprise plans paid yearly; all other plans are paid by card.
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.
BuzzSumo
- Content Analyzer
- Search any topic, URL or domain to see its most shared and linked content, with up to five years of engagement history depending on plan.
- Content ideas and briefs
- The Content Ideas Generator, Topic Explorer and Question Analyzer surface topics, headlines and forum questions, and the Brief Generator turns them into briefs.
- Keyword and backlink tools
- A keyword tool with search volume and cost per click, and a Backlink Analyzer that follows new links to a domain or URL over time.
- Journalist database
- From PR & Comms up, find journalists writing on a topic, build media lists of 20 to 600 journalists by plan, and draft pitches with an AI tool.
- Monitoring alerts
- Alerts for brand, keyword, content, backlink, competitor and journalist mentions by email, and into Slack from PR & Comms up.
- Chrome extension and API
- A Chrome extension shows engagement and backlinks for any article while you browse, and Account and Search APIs are priced separately.
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.
BuzzSumo
Content Creation$159
per month, billed annually ($199 billed monthly)
1 user, unlimited searches, 2 alerts, Content Analyzer, trending feeds, Question Analyzer and 2 years of history.
PR & Comms$239
per month, billed annually ($299 billed monthly)
5 users and 5 alerts, plus the journalist database and outreach, coverage reports, Slack alerts and 3 years of history.
Suite$399
per month, billed annually ($499 billed monthly)
10 users and 10 alerts, plus the YouTube Analyzer, the advanced Chrome extension, article uploads and 5 years of history.
Enterprise$999
per month, billed annually only
30 users, 50 alerts, an RSS feed for Zapier or IFTTT, journalist search by state and early access to new features.
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.
BuzzSumo
- Annual discount
Save 20% with annual billing
BuzzSumo's pricing page lists a 20% saving for paying annually: Content Creation is $159 a month billed yearly against $199 billed monthly.
- Nonprofit
Discounts for NGOs and charities
BuzzSumo's pricing FAQ says it offers discounts to NGOs and registered charitable non-profits; buyers are asked to contact the team.
- Education
Discounts for classroom use
The same FAQ offers discounts to educational institutions that use BuzzSumo in the classroom, arranged by contacting BuzzSumo.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Ahrefs or BuzzSumo?
As of Oct 23, 2026, Ahrefs is cheaper to start with: $29 a month, against $159 a month for BuzzSumo. Ahrefs starts at $29 per month, billed monthly, and BuzzSumo starts at $159 per month, billed annually ($199 billed monthly).
Which has a free plan, Ahrefs or BuzzSumo?
As of Oct 23, 2026, only Ahrefs has a free plan. BuzzSumo does not, though it has a free trial.
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.