Ahrefs vs Clicks.so (2026): which should you pick?
As of Oct 23, 2026, Ahrefs and Clicks.so share a 2.0 GPA, and only Ahrefs has a free plan.
Checked Oct 17, 2026 and Oct 23, 2026 · graded Oct 17, 2026 and Oct 23, 2026 by ToolGPA
Ahrefs grades higher on the free plan and platforms. Clicks.so grades higher on value for money. They get the same grade on 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
Clicks.so
Budget SEO suite with keyword, backlink, audit and AI visibility tools
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 Clicks.so if
- Fits if the big SEO suites cost more than you want to pay
- Works for freelancers checking keywords and backlinks for a handful of client sites
Look elsewhere if
- Watch out: the 7-day trial rolls into the plan you chose automatically, so cancel in time if you don't want it
- Skip it if you need daily rankings, as positions refresh every 48 hours
- Tight if you track a lot, since rank tracking runs on 50 credits a month on Solo and 250 on Agency
- Watch out: the pricing page promises a 100% money-back guarantee, but the refund policy only allows requests within 48 hours
- Watch out: the AI page still shows a beta waitlist, so how much AI tracking is live isn't clear
How we grade them
| 2.0GPAAhrefsFair | 2.0GPAClicks.soFair | |
|---|---|---|
| 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. | BSolo is $15 a month billed yearly for 5 projects and 100 keyword, site stats and backlink reports a month each, inside this category's cheaper quarter. Monthly billing is $25. |
| 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. | DNo free plan. The 7-day trial has full access, but the plan you picked starts and is charged automatically when it ends, so it's a trial you have to remember to cancel. |
| 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. | CKeyword research, site traffic estimates, backlink reports, site audits and rank tracking, with AI visibility scoring. The gaps the listing names: rankings refresh every 48 hours, not daily, and the AI page still shows a beta waitlist. |
| 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. It's aimed at beginners, but reports, audits and rank tracking each run on their own monthly allowance or credits. |
| 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 no integrations or API on record, and no desktop or phone app. |
| Best for | backlink and competitor research | low-cost keyword, backlink and audit reports |
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 Clicks.so. How we grade
Price against what you get
Ahrefs starts at $29 a month and scores 2.3 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Clicks.so starts at $15 a month and scores 2.0.
Ahrefs scores higher, and starts $14 a month higher: the question is whether the extra is worth that to you. Of the other SEO tools on the chart, 6 score higher than Ahrefs for less, and 4 score higher than Clicks.so for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- Clicks.so also covers AI search visibility.
At a glance
| Ahrefs | Clicks.so | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free trial |
| Starts at | $29 per month, billed monthly | $15 per month, billed annually ($25 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 | 7-day free trial with full access; the chosen plan starts automatically when it ends |
| Web | ||
| Browser extension | ||
| Made by | Ahrefs Pte. Ltd. | Clicks.so |
| Price read from | ahrefs.com | clicks.so |
| 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.
Clicks.so
- There is no free plan: the free option is the 7-day trial, after which the chosen plan is charged automatically.
- Rankings update every 48 hours rather than daily, and tracking is capped by monthly credits: 50 on Solo up to 250 on Agency.
- The pricing page shows a 100% money-back guarantee, but the refund policy limits refunds to requests within 48 hours of ordering.
- The AI page still shows a beta waitlist next to the AI visibility features, so how much of that tracking is live is not clear.
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.
Clicks.so
- Keyword research
- Each report returns up to 500 to 1,000 related and phrase-match keywords by plan, with the competitors ranking for each and AI keyword suggestions.
- Site stats
- Estimate any site's top keywords and top pages and see its competing domains, with up to 1,000 rows per report on the Agency plan.
- Backlink analysis
- Backlink, top-page and anchor reports for any domain, plus the domains that link to competitors.
- Site audits
- 10 to 40 audits a month depending on plan, crawling up to 1,000, 4,000 or 6,000 pages each.
- Rank tracking
- Rankings refresh every 48 hours, with bulk keyword import, suggested keywords to track and position history.
- AI visibility
- Scores how likely ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini and others are to recommend a site, and tracks prompts and citations with a checklist of fixes.
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.
Clicks.so
Solo$15
per month for 5 projects, billed annually ($25 billed monthly)
100 keyword, site stats and backlink reports a month each, 10 audits of up to 1,000 pages, and 50 rank tracking credits.
Freelancer$30
per month for 10 projects, billed annually ($50 billed monthly)
250 keyword reports, 200 site stats and backlink reports, 20 audits of up to 4,000 pages, and 100 rank tracking credits.
Agency$45
per month for 15 projects, billed annually ($75 billed monthly)
500 keyword reports, 400 site stats and backlink reports, 40 audits of up to 6,000 pages, and 250 rank tracking credits.
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.
Clicks.so
- Annual discount
Save 40% with yearly billing
Clicks.so's pricing page lists yearly billing at 40% less: Solo is $180 a year ($15 a month) instead of $25 a month.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Ahrefs or Clicks.so?
As of Oct 23, 2026, Clicks.so is cheaper to start with: $15 a month, against $29 a month for Ahrefs. Ahrefs starts at $29 per month, billed monthly, and Clicks.so starts at $15 per month, billed annually ($25 billed monthly).
Which has a free plan, Ahrefs or Clicks.so?
As of Oct 23, 2026, only Ahrefs has a free plan. Clicks.so does not, though it has a free trial.
Which platforms do Ahrefs and Clicks.so 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.