Ahrefs vs LinkResearchTools (2026): which should you pick?
As of Oct 23, 2026, Ahrefs grades higher than LinkResearchTools: 2.0 against 1.8 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 the free plan. LinkResearchTools grades higher on features. They get the same grade on value for money, ease of use 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
LinkResearchTools
Backlink audits, disavow files and link risk checks from 25+ sources
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 LinkResearchTools if
- Fits if a site has a Google penalty and you need to find the links behind it
- Works for agencies auditing link risk across many client domains
Look elsewhere if
- Pricey if you're one person, at $599 a month or $5,799 a year with no smaller plan
- Not for you if you want a free look, as the 7-day trial costs $17, can't export and leaves out Link Detox Boost
- Tight if you audit big link profiles, as each report uses the plan's crawl budget and large ones need extra
- Skip it if you need phone support, which only comes with Enterprise; Superhero Small gets email only
- Too light for link builders who pitch, as there's no outreach and pitches go out from another tool
How we grade them
| 2.0GPAAhrefsFair | 1.8GPALinkResearchToolsWeak | |
|---|---|---|
| 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. | DSuperhero Small is $599 a month, or $5,799 a year, by far the dearest way into this category. Users and domains are unlimited, so a team of five works out near $120 a head, but there's no smaller plan for one person. |
| 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. | FNothing free. The only way in is a 7-day trial that costs $17, can't export data and leaves out Link Detox Boost, and then rolls on at $599 a month. |
| 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. | BRisk audits with disavow files, link data merged from 25+ sources and recrawled, competitor research, prospecting methods, a Link Simulator, monitoring and broken-link recovery. Short of sending the emails, it covers the job. |
| 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. There are dozens of tools, a monthly link crawl budget that every report draws on, and its own risk scores to learn. This is a specialist's tool. |
| 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 Chrome and Firefox extensions, pulling data from Ahrefs, Semrush, SISTRIX, Search Console and Google Analytics, and working with Pitchbox. No desktop or phone app, and no API on record. |
| Best for | backlink and competitor research | backlink audits and cleaning up risky 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 LinkResearchTools. How we grade
Where they differ
- Ahrefs also covers keyword research, rank tracking and site audit.
- LinkResearchTools also covers reports.
At a glance
| Ahrefs | LinkResearchTools | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Paid |
| Starts at | $29 per month, billed monthly | $599 per month, 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 | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Browser extension | ||
| Made by | Ahrefs Pte. Ltd. | LinkResearchTools GmbH |
| Price read from | ahrefs.com | linkresearchtools.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.
LinkResearchTools
- There is no free plan or free trial: a 7-day trial of Superhero Small costs $17, cannot export data and leaves out Link Detox Boost.
- Domains and users are listed as unlimited, but each report uses the plan's link crawl budget, and large profiles need extra budget.
- Phone support comes only with Enterprise; Superhero Small has email support only.
- Plans can also be paid quarterly, every six months or yearly, and are priced at the same figures in euros.
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.
LinkResearchTools
- Link Detox audits
- Rates the risk of every backlink to a site and helps build and manage disavow files for Google's Disavow Tool.
- Combined, recrawled link data
- Pulls links from more than 25 data sources, recrawls each one to check it is still live and adds over 150 SEO metrics per link.
- Competitor research
- Compares domains, finds backlinks that several competitors share and tracks how fast rivals gain links.
- Link building methods
- Tools for SERP research, missing links, broken link building and finding sites that link to competitors' strongest pages.
- Link Simulator
- Estimates a planned link's likely effect and risk before it is built, using LRT's own risk scoring.
- Monitoring and link repair
- Link Alerts flags new links, the link checker verifies existing ones, and Link Recover finds broken inbound links to fix with redirects.
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.
LinkResearchTools
Superhero Small$599
per month, billed monthly
1 million links crawled a month, Link Detox, Link Simulator, link monitoring and prospecting and the 25 classic tools. Email support.
Superhero Standard$999
per month, billed monthly
6 million links crawled a month and larger tool quotas, with live chat and email support.
Superhero Plus$2,499
per month, billed monthly
18 million links crawled a month and the largest standard quotas, with live chat and email support.
EnterpriseCustom
Phone support, purchase orders and invoices, custom contracts and development, team training, SEO consulting and SSO.
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.
LinkResearchTools
- Annual discount
About 19% off with yearly billing
LRT's pricing page sells Superhero Small at $5,799 a year against $599 a month, and Standard at $9,499 a year against $999 a month.
- Other savings
7-day trial of Superhero Small for $17
The pricing page offers a limited 7-day trial for $17, after which the plan continues at $599 a month.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Ahrefs or LinkResearchTools?
As of Oct 23, 2026, Ahrefs is cheaper to start with: $29 a month, against $599 a month for LinkResearchTools. Ahrefs starts at $29 per month, billed monthly, and LinkResearchTools starts at $599 per month, billed monthly.
Which has a free plan, Ahrefs or LinkResearchTools?
As of Oct 23, 2026, only Ahrefs has a free plan. LinkResearchTools does not.
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.