Ahrefs vs Majestic (2026): which should you pick?
As of Oct 23, 2026, Majestic 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
Majestic grades higher on value for money. They get the same grade on the free plan, features, 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
Majestic
Backlink index with Trust Flow, Citation Flow and link history
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 Majestic if
- Fits if you want to check a site's links before buying the domain or pitching it
- Works for developers who need raw link data and can pay for the API plan
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you stay on Lite, which only sees links from the last 120 days
- Pricey if you need the API or a second user, as both start on the API plan at $399.99 a month
- Not for you if you want a proper look first: the free account gets a few lookups a day and there's no trial
- Watch out: the homepage dates the Historic Index to March 2024, so newer links sit only in the Fresh Index
- Skip it if you want outreach or alerts for lost links, as it only does research, and prices exclude VAT
How we grade them
| 2.0GPAAhrefsFair | 2.2GPAMajesticFair | |
|---|---|---|
| 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. | CLite is $41.67 a month billed yearly ($49.99 monthly), close to this category's middle of $49. Link history and competitor comparisons sit on Pro at $83.33, and the API plan is $399.99 a month ($333.33 yearly). |
| 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 account gets a few Site Explorer lookups a day, a weekly showcase site and basic scores in the browser extension. That's enough for a look, not for real work. There's no trial, just a 7-day money-back guarantee on your first plan. |
| 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. | CBacklinks, referring domains, anchor text, new and lost links and Trust Flow across 800+ topics, for any site. It does link research fully, but that's one part of link building: no outreach, no link alerts, and Lite only sees 120 days. |
| 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. Looking up a site is simple, but analysis units, report units, two indexes and its own scores take a while to make sense of. |
| 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 free Chrome and Firefox extension, Google Sheets and Search Console. The API comes only with the API plan. No desktop or phone app. |
| Best for | backlink and competitor research | a dedicated backlink index with link history |
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 Majestic. How we grade
Where they differ
- Ahrefs also covers keyword research, rank tracking and site audit.
- Majestic also covers reports.
At a glance
| Ahrefs | Majestic | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $29 per month, billed monthly | $41.67 per month, billed annually ($49.99 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. | Free account: a few Site Explorer clicks a day through the free backlink checker, a weekly showcase site with near-Lite access, the Majestic Million list and basic metrics in the browser extension. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Browser extension | ||
| Made by | Ahrefs Pte. Ltd. | Majestic-12 Ltd |
| Price read from | ahrefs.com | majestic.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.
Majestic
- Lite searches only the Fresh Index of the last 120 days; history and the comparison tools need Pro.
- API access, extra users and creating OpenApps start with the API plan at $399.99 a month billed monthly.
- There is no free trial; Lite and Pro have a 7-day money-back guarantee for first-time customers, and prices exclude VAT.
- The homepage gives the Historic Index a date range ending in March 2024; newer links sit in the Fresh Index.
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.
Majestic
- Site Explorer
- Backlinks, referring domains, anchor text, new and lost links and the text around each link for any domain or URL.
- Trust Flow and Citation Flow
- Scores from 0 to 100 for the quality and the quantity of links, with Topical Trust Flow placing a site in over 800 topic categories.
- Fresh and Historic indexes
- The Fresh Index covers links seen in the last 120 days. Pro adds the Historic Index, whose records start in 2006.
- Competitor link prospecting
- Pro tools such as Compare, Clique Hunter and Link Profile Fight show sites that link to competitors but not to you.
- Author Explorer
- A beta tool on Pro that looks up web authors: what they have written, its backlinks and a timeline of their X posts.
- Browser extension and Google Sheets
- A Chrome and Firefox extension shows link counts and flow scores for any page for free; subscribers can also pull data into Google Sheets.
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.
Majestic
Free$0
A few Site Explorer clicks each day, plus the free browser extension, for trying the data.
Lite$41.67
per month, billed annually ($49.99 billed monthly)
1 user, Fresh Index only, 1 million analysis units and 60 report units a month, 5,000 rows per search.
Pro$83.33
per month, billed annually ($99.99 billed monthly)
1 user, Historic Index, comparison tools, raw exports, Author Explorer, 20 million analysis units and 300 report units.
API$333.33
per month for 100 million units, billed annually ($399.99 monthly)
5 users and the full API. 300 million units cost $799.99 a month and 1,000 million $1,599.99, billed monthly.
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.
Majestic
- Annual discount
About 17% off with annual billing
Majestic's pricing page sells Lite at $499.99 for 12 months against $49.99 a month, and Pro at $999.99 against $99.99 a month.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Ahrefs or Majestic?
As of Oct 23, 2026, Ahrefs is cheaper to start with: $29 a month, against $41.67 a month for Majestic. Ahrefs starts at $29 per month, billed monthly, and Majestic starts at $41.67 per month, billed annually ($49.99 billed monthly).
Which has a free plan, Ahrefs or Majestic?
As of Oct 23, 2026, both Ahrefs and Majestic have a free plan.
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.