The Ahrefs Insider’s Guide
Everything we know about Ahrefs in one document: what it costs, its grades, getting a refund, getting help and what else to look at. Read it here, or keep a copy.
Ahrefs
The Insider’s Guide
SEO toolset for backlinks, keyword research, audits and rank tracking
Every plan, grade, refund rule and rival among SEO tools, read from Ahrefs’s own pages.
Made by Ahrefs Pte. Ltd. · checked Oct 17, 2026 · toolgpa.com
Contents
- 01WelcomeWhat it is, who it suits, its grades and the ten things to know first
- 02What it costsEvery plan, the free plan, ways to pay less and how prices have moved
- 03What it doesIts main features, where it runs, what it works with and who makes it
- 04Where it standsIts grades against its category, and whether to keep it or make your own
- 05The alternativesThe tools it is most often weighed against, side by side
- 06Quick answersThe questions people ask about it, each answered in a line or two
- 07About ToolGPAWho made this guide, what else is on the site, and how to cite it
ToolGPA put this guide together from Ahrefs’s own pages, its app-store listings and our grades. Every fact in it is on Ahrefs’s page too, where it is kept up to date. Checked Oct 17, 2026.
Part 01 · Overview
Welcome
What it is, who it suits, its grades and the ten things to know first
2.0
GPA, above 1 of the 21 other SEO tools we grade
Ahrefs is a web-based SEO toolset built on its own crawler's index of pages and links. Site Explorer shows any site's backlinks, ranking keywords and top pages, alongside keyword research, site audits, rank tracking and tracking of how brands appear in AI answers. A free account covers sites you can prove you own.
To get you started, here are 9 things to know about Ahrefs, taken from its own pages and our grades.
The reports are clean, but credits, projects and crawl budgets take some learning before you know what each click costs you.
- 1
Best for backlink and competitor research
Ahrefs is the one SEO people reach for when they want to see a rival's links and best pages, because it runs its own crawler and index.
- 2
Paid plans start at $29 a month
As its pricing page puts it: $29 per month, billed monthly.
- 3
There is a 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.
- 4
It runs on Web
Web, with a browser extension too.
- 5
Site Explorer
See the backlinks, organic keywords and top pages of any website, with history going back 6 months to 5 years by plan.
- 6
Keywords Explorer
Find keyword ideas with volume and difficulty; Standard and above add AI suggestions, clusters, search intents and translations.
- 7
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.
- 8
A 2.0 GPA, above 1 of 21
That is against the other SEO tools we grade, on value, the free plan, features, ease of use and platforms.
- 9
Keep it
To replace Ahrefs you would be making search volumes for millions of keywords, gathered and kept up to date. That is not a weekend's work, with an AI app builder or without one.
Ahrefs at a glance
- Pricing
- Free plan, from $29 per month, billed monthly
- Free plan
- Yes
- Free trial
- None stated
- Runs on
- Web, Browser extension
- Made by
- Ahrefs Pte. Ltd.
- Category
- SEO Tools
- Our grade
- 2.0 GPA, fair
The report card
Best for backlink and competitor research
Ahrefs is the one SEO people reach for when they want to see a rival's links and best pages, because it runs its own crawler and index. Lite is $129 a month, or about $107.50 on yearly billing, for one user. But rankings update weekly on every plan, and Lite caps each user at 1,000 report credits a month.
| Subject | Grade | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | D | Lite, 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. |
| Free plan and trial | C | Ahrefs Free gives you Site Explorer, Site Audit and Web Analytics for sites you can prove are yours, with 5,000 crawl credits a month. Handy for your own site, but there's no keyword research or rank tracking, and no trial of the paid plans. |
| Features | C | Its 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. |
| Ease of use | C | No rating on record. The reports are clean, but credits, projects and crawl budgets take some learning before you know what each click costs you. |
| Platforms and integrations | B | Web 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. |
An A is worth 4 points, a B 3, a C 2, a D 1 and an F nothing. The GPA is the average of the five.
Who Ahrefs is for
- Great if most of your SEO time goes on backlinks and what's working for rivals
- Handy when you only need data on your own site, which Ahrefs Free covers
- Good for freelancers who work alone, since each plan includes one user
Who it is not for
- Skip it if you want daily rankings, as Rank Tracker updates weekly on every plan
- Pricey if you're a small business on a budget, at about $107.50 a month even paid yearly
- Tight if you research a lot on Lite, where each user gets 1,000 credits a month
Good to know
Good for
- SEOs who spend most of their time on backlinks and competitor research
- Site owners who want free audits and ranking data for their own sites
- Freelancers and consultants who can work within one included user
Worth knowing
- 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.
Part 02 · Pricing
What it costs
Every plan, the free plan, ways to pay less and how prices have moved
$29
A month to start. There is a free plan too
Ahrefs has a free plan. Paid plans start at $29 per month, billed monthly.
That's nearly three times this category's middle, for one user.
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.
The 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.
Read from ahrefs.com on Oct 17, 2026.
Ways to pay less
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.
Stated on ahrefs.com
Part 03 · Features
What it does
Its main features, where it runs, what it works with and who makes it
2
Places it runs: Web and Browser extension
SEO toolset for backlinks, keyword research, audits and rank tracking. Here is what it does, as its own site describes it, and what it covers: public API, AI features, keyword research, rank tracking, site audit, backlink analysis.
Web plus a browser toolbar, linked to Search Console, Looker Studio and Google Business Profile, with an API and an MCP server from Lite.
- 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.
Where it runs
- Web
- Browser extension
What it works with
- Google Search Console
- Looker Studio
- Google Business Profile
Ahrefs is made by Ahrefs Pte. Ltd.
Part 04 · Standing
Where it stands
Its grades against its category, and whether to keep it or make your own
1/21
Other SEO tools it is graded above
Ahrefs's GPA of 2.0 is higher than 1 of the 21 other SEO tools we grade, and level with 4.
It stands best on platforms and integrations (B, above 6 of 21) and worst on value for money (D, above 0).
Its paid plans start at $29 a month, against a middle price of $34.45 for the category: 8 of the 21 others that charge start lower.
On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 2.3 out of 4. 4 tools score higher and cost less.
Each grade against the category
Every bar is all 22 SEO tools we grade, cut by the letter each got. Ahrefs’s own letter is outlined.
- DValue for moneyAbove 0 of 21
- CFree plan and trialAbove 2 of 21
- CFeaturesAbove 0 of 21
- CEase of useAbove 0 of 21
- BPlatforms and integrationsAbove 6 of 21
Price against what you get
Each dot is one of 22 SEO tools. Further left costs less; higher up scores better on features, ease of use and platforms. Ahrefs is the marked dot.
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
Keep it, or make your own?
Whether this is something you could build for yourself with an AI app builder, and what you would give up.
Keep it
To replace Ahrefs you would be making search volumes for millions of keywords, gathered and kept up to date. That is not a weekend's work, with an AI app builder or without one.
That makes this kind of software worth paying for, not this one in particular: 16 of the 21 other SEO tools grade higher. It costs $348 a year.
What you could not
- Search volumes for millions of keywords, gathered and kept up to date.
- An index of the links between billions of web pages.
- Daily checks of where your pages rank in search results.
- A crawler that checks every page of a site.
- It plugs into other products, Google Search Console, Looker Studio and Google Business Profile among them, and has an API.
- AI features, unless you pay a model provider for each request yourself.
What this rests on. Ahrefs’s listing: what it does, where it runs, what it plugs into and what it costs. It is a judgement about the kind of software this is. We have not built a replacement for it, and making your own means looking after it too. How we decide, and every tool’s verdict.
Part 05 · Alternatives
The alternatives
The tools it is most often weighed against, side by side
Semrush, SE Ranking, Moz Pro, Serpstat and Mangools
The 5 tools Ahrefs is most often weighed against, with where each one differs from it.
- 2.2GPA
Semrush
Free plan · from $117.33/mo
SEO suite for keyword research, rank tracking and AI search visibility.
- Only Ahrefs lists a browser extension.
- Semrush also covers reports.
- 2.2GPA
SE Ranking
Free trial · from $103.20/mo
SEO platform for rank tracking, audits, research and AI visibility.
- Ahrefs has a free plan. SE Ranking does not, though it has a free trial.
- Only Ahrefs lists a browser extension.
- SE Ranking also covers reports.
- 1.8GPA
Moz Pro
Free plan · from $49/mo
SEO toolkit for keyword and link research, site crawls and rankings.
- 2.0GPA
Serpstat
Free trial · from $50/mo
All-in-one SEO platform for research, rank tracking and site audits.
- Ahrefs has a free plan. Serpstat does not, though it has a free trial.
- Serpstat also covers reports.
- 2.0GPA
Mangools
Free plan · from $37.70/mo
Bundle of five SEO tools led by the KWFinder keyword research app.
- Ahrefs also covers site audit.
Part 06 · Questions
Quick answers
The questions people ask about it, each answered in a line or two
14
Questions, each answered in a line or two
The short version of everything above, for when you only need the answer. Each one is told in full in its part of the guide.
Is Ahrefs free?
Ahrefs has a 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.
How much does Ahrefs cost?
Ahrefs lists 6 plans. Ahrefs Free: $0.
What platforms does Ahrefs work on?
Ahrefs is available on Web. It also has a browser extension.
Does Ahrefs offer any discounts?
Ahrefs publicly lists the following: Save up to 17% by paying annually.
Does Ahrefs have an Android app?
No Android app was listed when its pages were read on Oct 17, 2026. Ahrefs is listed for Web.
Does Ahrefs have an iPhone app?
No iPhone app was listed when its pages were read on Oct 17, 2026. Ahrefs is listed for Web.
Is Ahrefs open source?
Ahrefs is not described as open source on its own site, as read on Oct 17, 2026.
Does Ahrefs have an API?
Yes. Ahrefs offers a public API, according to its own site.
What does Ahrefs integrate with?
Ahrefs's listing names Google Search Console, Looker Studio and Google Business Profile.
Who makes Ahrefs?
Ahrefs is made by Ahrefs Pte. Ltd.
What are the alternatives to Ahrefs?
The closest alternatives to Ahrefs in our directory are Semrush, SE Ranking, Moz Pro, Serpstat and Mangools.
How does Ahrefs compare with other SEO tools?
Ahrefs's GPA of 2.0 is higher than 1 of the 21 other SEO tools we grade, and level with 4.
Is Ahrefs good value for money?
ToolGPA grades Ahrefs D for value for money. Its paid plans start at $29 a month, against a middle price of $34.45 for the category: 8 of the 21 others that charge start lower.
Could I make my own version of Ahrefs?
To replace Ahrefs you would be making search volumes for millions of keywords, gathered and kept up to date.
Where this guide comes from
The prices, plans, platforms and features were read from Ahrefs’s own pages on Oct 17, 2026, and the grades were given on Oct 17, 2026. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from Ahrefs's own pages on 17 October 2026. Not based on using the product, and shorter than our full reviews.
Every tool we list gets five grades, A to F, each with its reason, and a GPA that averages them. How each is decided is at toolgpa.com/grades. This guide is ToolGPA’s own work; it is not made, paid for or approved by Ahrefs Pte. Ltd. Prices change, so check ahrefs.com before you buy.
Part 07 · About
About ToolGPA
Who made this guide, what else is on the site, and how to cite it
1,880
Tools graded, in 47 categories
ToolGPA grades software the way a school report grades a pupil: five subjects, a letter for each with the reason written beside it, and a GPA that averages them. Prices, plans and platforms are read from each maker’s own pages and dated, so you always know how fresh a figure is.
ToolGPA is free to read. It may earn a commission from affiliate links and it works with sponsors, but anything paid for is labelled and no one can pay for a grade. Every tool on the site has a guide like this one, free to download and pass on. It all lives at toolgpa.com.
1,880
tools graded
47
categories
426
price changes on record
579
apps priced in 12 countries
What else is on toolgpa.com
- Ahrefs, kept up to dateEverything in this guide, with prices and grades as they are todaytoolgpa.com/tools/ahrefs
- How grades are givenThe rules behind every letter and every GPAtoolgpa.com/grades
- Value chartsWhat each tool costs against what it scores, for every categorytoolgpa.com/charts
- CompareAny two tools side by side, plan by plantoolgpa.com/compare
- Price changesEvery price rise and cut on record, each with its sourcetoolgpa.com/price-changes
- Prices by countryWhat apps cost on the App Store in 12 countriestoolgpa.com/prices-by-country
- Pay lessEvery public discount: yearly billing, students, nonprofitstoolgpa.com/save
- Keep or makeWhich tools are worth paying for, and which you could build yourselftoolgpa.com/keep-or-make
Scan for the live page
Prices and grades as they are today
Quoting this guide?
Please name ToolGPA and link to the live page, so readers can check the figures for themselves:
ToolGPA, "Ahrefs: The Insider's Guide", checked Oct 17, 2026. https://toolgpa.com/tools/ahrefs
Know someone choosing between SEO tools?
Send them this guide: toolgpa.com/tools/ahrefs/guide
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See our other guides
The best-graded SEO tools after Ahrefs, each with an Insider's Guide of its own.
- SEO Tools Insider's GuideEvery one of the 22 SEO tools we grade, compared
- Rank Math Insider's GuideWordPress SEO plugin for meta tags, schema, sitemaps and rank tracking3.0 GPA
- Keywords Everywhere Insider's GuideBrowser extension that shows search volume on the sites you browse2.8 GPA
- NeuronWriter Insider's GuideContent editor that scores drafts against the pages already ranking2.8 GPA
Choosing software? Every tool graded, every price dated.
Compare tools at toolgpa.com ›Everything in this guide is ToolGPA’s own summary of what Ahrefs’s pages, its app-store listings and public reviews said on the dates shown. Grades are our judgement under the rules at toolgpa.com/grades. ToolGPA uses affiliate links and may earn a commission from them, and it works with sponsors; anything paid for is labelled, and no one can pay for a grade. Ahrefs is a trademark of its owner, and this guide is not made, paid for or approved by Ahrefs Pte. Ltd. Prices and plans change: check ahrefs.com before you buy.