Ahrefs vs SEMSTORM (2026): which should you pick?
As of Oct 23, 2026, SEMSTORM 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
SEMSTORM 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
SEMSTORM
Polish SEO suite for rank tracking, keywords and content writing
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 SEMSTORM if
- Fits if you do SEO for Polish websites
- Works for you if you track rankings and AI Overviews city by city
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if your sites aren't Polish, as domain analysis only covers Polish-language sites
- Tight if you're on Basic, with no subusers, API, Looker Studio or white label, which starts at 599 zł
- Not for you if you want prices in dollars or euros, as it's billed in złoty plus VAT
- Too light for link work, as there's no backlink tool
- Watch out: after the 14-day trial, the free account can't open campaigns, documents or reports
How we grade them
| 2.0GPAAhrefsFair | 2.2GPASEMSTORMFair | |
|---|---|---|
| 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. | CBasic is 129 zł a month excluding VAT, about $33, for 150 tracked keywords and 10 reports a day. Just above this category's cheapest quarter. There are no subusers or API on Basic, and white label starts at Business for 599 zł. |
| 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, but a 14-day trial of Premium features with no credit card. Afterwards the account turns into a free one with no access to campaigns, documents or reports. |
| 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. | CRank tracking by city with AI Overviews, domain and competitor analysis, keyword ideas in 20+ languages, a content assistant and Lighthouse checks. The gaps the listing names: domain data for Polish-language sites only, and there's no backlink tool. |
| 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. Rank campaigns and competitor reports need setting up, and the daily report limits take some planning. |
| 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 only, connected to Google Analytics and Search Console, with a Looker Studio connector in beta for some partners and an API from Premium. No desktop or phone app. |
| Best for | backlink and competitor research | SEO for Polish websites |
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 SEMSTORM. How we grade
Where they differ
- Ahrefs also covers site audit and backlink analysis.
- SEMSTORM also covers AI search visibility, content optimization and page speed.
At a glance
| Ahrefs | SEMSTORM | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free trial |
| Starts at | $29 per month, billed monthly | 129 zł per month for 150 tracked keywords, excluding VAT |
| 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 | 14-day free trial of Premium features, no credit card required |
| Web | ||
| Browser extension | ||
| Made by | Ahrefs Pte. Ltd. | SEMSTORM International sp. z o.o. |
| Price read from | ahrefs.com | app.semstorm.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.
SEMSTORM
- Prices are in Polish złoty and exclude VAT; the pricing page shows no dollar or euro prices.
- Domain analysis covers Polish-language sites only; keyword suggestions and the content editor work in other languages.
- Basic has no subusers, API or Looker Studio access, and white label starts at Business for 599 zł a month.
- After the 14-day trial the account reverts to a free one with no access to campaigns, documents or reports.
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.
SEMSTORM
- Rank tracking with AI Overviews
- Checks rankings in a real browser by province, city, street or zip code, on desktop and mobile, tracks every competitor automatically and records AI Overview and AI Mode results.
- Domain and competitor analysis
- Shows the keywords any Polish-language site ranks for, compares up to 5 sites at once and lists keywords rivals rank for that you do not.
- Keyword suggestions
- Up to 10 seed words at once in 20+ languages, filtered by country, city and currency, with search volume, trends, CPC and competition.
- Content Assistant
- Analyzes the pages ranking for a keyword and suggests phrase counts, headings and length, flags hard-to-read passages, and drafts text or whole articles with AI.
- Lighthouse audits
- Runs Google Lighthouse checks for speed, accessibility and SEO, with the connection speed, processor and device type adjustable.
- API and data connections
- Campaigns can pull in Google Analytics and Search Console data. The API starts at Premium, and a Looker Studio connector is in beta for selected partners.
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.
SEMSTORM
Basic129 zł
per month for 150 tracked keywords, excluding VAT
15 AI Mode keywords, Polish domain data to the top 20, 10 reports a day, 5 Content Assistant keywords and 5,000 AI words. No subusers or API.
Premium249 zł
per month for 1,000 tracked keywords, excluding VAT
100 AI Mode keywords, 2 subusers, 100 reports a day, 100 Content Assistant keywords, 50,000 AI words and 100,000 API points.
Business599 zł
per month for 5,000 tracked keywords, excluding VAT
500 AI Mode keywords, 10 subusers, 250 reports a day, white label, technology detection and 5 million API points.
Agency899 zł
per month for 10,000 tracked keywords, excluding VAT
1,000 AI Mode keywords, 20 subusers, 500 reports a day, 1,000 Content Assistant keywords, 200,000 AI words and 10 million API points.
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.
SEMSTORM
- Annual discount
Two months free with yearly billing
SEMSTORM's pricing page offers two months free when a plan is paid yearly instead of monthly.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Ahrefs or SEMSTORM?
As of Oct 23, 2026, Ahrefs starts at $29 per month, billed monthly, and SEMSTORM starts at 129 zł per month for 150 tracked keywords, excluding VAT.
Which has a free plan, Ahrefs or SEMSTORM?
As of Oct 23, 2026, only Ahrefs has a free plan. SEMSTORM does not, though it has a free trial.
Which platforms do Ahrefs and SEMSTORM 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.