Ahrefs vs Telescope (2026): which should you pick?
As of Oct 23, 2026, Ahrefs grades higher than Telescope: 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 and platforms. Telescope grades higher on value for money and features. They get the same grade on 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
Telescope
Low-cost SEO toolkit with pay-per-request keyword and backlink data
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 Telescope if
- Fits if you do keyword research now and then and would rather pay per search
- Works for small teams sharing one site's tracking, since seats aren't charged for
Look elsewhere if
- Not for you if you want to try it first, as there's no trial, only a money-back guarantee
- Skip it if you need rank tracking or audits on the $0 plan, as they start with Growth at $29 a month
- Tight if you run more than one site, since Growth covers 1 website and 200 keywords and Scale is $99 for 5
- Watch out: research costs 3 to 6 credits a request, and use beyond a plan's monthly credits is paid on top
- Watch out: no integrations or API are on record, so the data stays in Telescope
How we grade them
| 2.0GPAAhrefsFair | 1.8GPATelescopeWeak | |
|---|---|---|
| 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. | CGrowth is $29 a month for 1,000 research credits, 200 tracked keywords and 30 audits, between this category's cheaper quarter and its middle. Seats are unlimited. The $0 plan charges per request: about $3 for 50 keyword pages and 20 keyword overviews. |
| 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 $0 plan only runs on credits you buy first, and there's no trial. The money-back guarantee and refunds on unused credits within 30 days aren't a trial. |
| 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. | BKeyword research from a database it puts at over 5 billion keywords, clustering, competitor and backlink gaps, daily rank tracking, scheduled site audits and internal linking. It covers the whole job, though the $0 plan has no tracking or audits. |
| 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. Research costs 3 to 6 credits a request, so there's a meter to watch, and tracking and audits need a project set up first. |
| 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 | paying per search for keyword and backlink data |
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 Telescope. 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. Telescope starts at $29 a month and scores 2.3.
On this chart the two sit in the same place: the same score for the same starting price. Of the other SEO tools on the chart, 6 score higher than Ahrefs for less, and 6 score higher than Telescope 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
- Telescope also covers internal linking.
At a glance
| Ahrefs | Telescope | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Paid |
| Starts at | $29 per month, billed monthly | $29 per month for 1,000 research credits |
| 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. | Blank Page Studio |
| Price read from | ahrefs.com | withtelescope.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.
Telescope
- Research costs 3 to 6 credits a request; the pricing page estimates 50 keyword pages plus 20 keyword overviews at about $3.
- Rank tracking, site audits, competitor tracking and internal linking need Growth at $29 a month or Scale at $99.
- There is no free trial; the FAQ offers a money-back guarantee, and unused credits can be refunded within 30 days of purchase.
- Growth covers one website and 200 tracked keywords; more projects need Scale, which allows 5.
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.
Telescope
- Keyword research and clustering
- Search a database Telescope puts at over 5 billion keywords, see difficulty, volume and the live SERP, and group saved keywords into clusters.
- Competitor and backlink research
- Overview any website's keywords and backlinks, find keyword and backlink gaps against rivals, and follow competitors over time on paid plans.
- Rank Tracker
- Daily positions for up to 500 keywords per project, organized with tags, with history charts and a breakdown by ranking bucket.
- Site Audit
- Crawls every page on a manual or scheduled basis and reports a health score, errors and warnings, each with an explanation of how to fix it.
- Internal Linking Tool
- Finds internal linking opportunities across a website; it is included on the Growth and Scale plans.
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.
Telescope
Pay as you go$0
per month, plus research credits bought in advance
1 project and 1 seat with every research tool, paid per request; no rank tracking, site audits or competitor tracking.
Growth$29
per month for 1,000 research credits
1 project, unlimited seats, 200 tracked keywords updated daily, 30 site audits a month, 10 competitors and the internal linking tool.
Scale$99
per month for 3,000 research credits
5 projects, 500 tracked keywords per project (2,500 in all), 150 audits a month, 15 competitors per project, Slack support and onboarding.
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.
Telescope
No public discounts listed.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Ahrefs or Telescope?
As of Oct 23, 2026, they start at the same price. Ahrefs starts at $29 per month, billed monthly, and Telescope starts at $29 per month for 1,000 research credits.
Which has a free plan, Ahrefs or Telescope?
As of Oct 23, 2026, only Ahrefs has a free plan. Telescope does not.
Which platforms do Ahrefs and Telescope 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.