findalternative.to
Submit

Ahrefs vs Semrush (2026)

By Noahlast updated

Verdict: Choose Ahrefs if you want backlink and keyword research on a proprietary index of 170 trillion crawled pages, with a free tier, a $29/mo Starter plan and API and MCP access on every paid plan. Choose Semrush if you want AI-answer tracking and paid advertising research bundled into one dashboard. The deciding factor is entry cost against scope: Ahrefs starts free or at $29/mo, while Semrush starts at $117.33/mo billed annually with a mandatory AI Search component in every paid tier.

Ahrefs

SEO software for backlink analysis, keyword research, and rank tracking, built for marketers and agencies.

Pricing
Free tier · paid from $29/mo
License
Freemium

Best for SEO professionals and content marketers who need backlink analysis, keyword research, and rank tracking in one platform, at scale rather than for occasional single-page checks

Visit ahrefs.comRead our review

Semrush

An all-in-one SEO, content, and AI-visibility platform for marketers and agencies tracking search and AI-answer rankings.

Pricing
From $117.33/mo
License
Paid

Best for Agencies and in-house marketers who need one dashboard to track both Google rankings and brand mentions inside AI answers like ChatGPT and Perplexity.

Visit semrush.comRead our review

Which should you choose?

Choose Ahrefs if…

wins 3/6 use cases

  • You want a free or cheap way in: Ahrefs Free checks your own site, and Ahrefs Starter costs $29/mo
  • You need API and MCP access without buying a top tier; Ahrefs includes both on every paid plan, while Semrush adds API data integration at Advanced ($455.67/mo billed annually)
  • You want more projects and tracked keywords at mid-tier prices: Ahrefs Standard ($249/mo) covers 20 projects and 2,000 keywords, Semrush Pro+ ($248.17/mo billed annually) 15 sites and 1,500
  • You want keyword research on the larger keyword index, 41.9 billion keywords against Semrush's 28 billion
  • You only want classic SEO tools; Semrush bundles a mandatory AI Search component into every paid tier

Choose Semrush if…

wins 3/6 use cases

  • You need AI-answer tracking on every plan, from 50 prompts a day on Starter to 200 on Advanced, with brand share of voice across ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini and Google AI Overviews
  • You also research paid advertising, local and social, which Semrush bundles as toolkits alongside SEO
  • You want content optimization and keyword cannibalization analysis included from Pro+ ($248.17/mo billed annually)
  • You run an agency that wants white-labeled reports as an add-on
  • You need an enterprise plan with a dedicated account manager and 24/7 SLA support

Ahrefs vs Semrush: feature comparison

FeatureAhrefsSemrush
Free tierYesAhrefs Free, limited tools for your own siteNotime-limited free trial only
Starting priceYesfrom $29/mo (Starter, feature-limited)Yesfrom $117.33/mo billed annually or $139/mo monthly (SEO)
Entry full-featured planYes$129/mo (Lite): 5 projects, 750 tracked keywordsYes$165.17/mo billed annually (Starter): 5 sites, 500 keywords
Mid tierYes$249/mo (Standard): 20 projects, 2,000 keywordsYes$248.17/mo billed annually (Pro+): 15 sites, 1,500 keywords
Advanced tierYes$449/mo: 50 projects, 5,000 keywordsYes$455.67/mo billed annually: 40 sites, 5,000 keywords
EnterpriseYes$1,499/mo, annual commitment; uncapped API, SSO, unlimited historyYescustom pricing; SSO, dedicated account manager, 24/7 SLA support
Extra usersPartial1 seat included; extra seats $40-80/mo eachPartialextra users from $45/mo each
PlatformsYesweb appYesweb app
Data indexYes170 trillion crawled pages, 41.9 billion keywordsYes43 trillion backlinks, 28 billion keywords, 142 geo databases
AI-answer visibilityYesBrand Radar and Custom PromptsYesbundled in every tier; 50-200 prompts/day from Starter
API accessYesAPI and MCP on every paid plan; uncapped on EnterprisePartialAPI data integration from $455.67/mo billed annually (Advanced)
Site auditYes100,000 crawl credits on Lite, up to 1,500,000 on AdvancedYesSite Audit on every tier
Content toolsYesContent Explorer for content and competitor researchYescontent optimization and cannibalization analysis from Pro+
Paid advertising researchUnknownYesAdvertising toolkit
White-label reportsUnknownYespaid add-on

Ahrefs vs Semrush: pricing

Every tier both tools publish, as we last checked them — not just the entry price.

Ahrefs

  • Ahrefs FreeLimited free tools for checking your own site's SEO data.Free
  • StarterEntry plan for keyword research and competitor snooping, feature-limited vs. full plans.$29/mo
  • Lite5 projects, 750 tracked keywords, 100,000 crawl credits, 1 user included.$129/mo
  • Standard20 projects, 2,000 tracked keywords, 500,000 crawl credits, 1 user included.$249/mo
  • Advanced50 projects, 5,000 tracked keywords, 1,500,000 crawl credits, 1 user included.$449/mo
  • EnterpriseAll Advanced features plus uncapped API access, SSO, and unlimited historical data; requires annual commitment.$1499/mo
Verified October 1, 2026Latest pricing

Semrush

  • SEO5 sites to monitor, 500 tracked keywords, basic keyword research, Position Tracking, Site Audit, plus baseline AI-search tracking; $117.33/mo billed annually or $139/mo billed monthly.$117.33/mo
  • Starter5 sites, 500 keywords, full keyword research and competitor tools, 50 AI prompts tracked daily, 1 domain for AI brand performance; $165.17/mo billed annually or $199/mo billed monthly.$165.17/mo
  • Pro+15 sites, 1,500 keywords, historical SEO data, content optimization, keyword cannibalization analysis, 100 AI prompts/day; $248.17/mo billed annually or $299/mo billed monthly.$248.17/mo
  • Advanced40 sites, 5,000 keywords, SEO share of voice, API data integration, 200 AI prompts/day; $455.67/mo billed annually or $549/mo billed monthly.$455.67/mo
  • EnterpriseCustom pricing: unlimited projects, custom AI prompt tracking scale, multi-brand AI visibility, SSO, dedicated account manager, 24/7 SLA support.Custom
Verified September 23, 2026Latest pricing

Ahrefs vs Semrush pricing: which costs less?

Ahrefs costs less to start, with a free tier, a $29/mo Starter plan and a $129/mo Lite plan, while Semrush has no free tier and starts at $117.33/mo billed annually ($139/mo monthly).

Higher up, the prices converge. Ahrefs Standard is $249/mo for 20 projects and 2,000 tracked keywords; Semrush Pro+ is $248.17/mo billed annually ($299/mo monthly) for 15 sites and 1,500 keywords. Ahrefs Advanced is $449/mo for 50 projects and 5,000 keywords; Semrush Advanced is $455.67/mo billed annually ($549/mo monthly) for 40 sites and 5,000 keywords. Ahrefs includes one user per plan, with extra seats at $40-80/mo each; Semrush charges from $45/mo per extra user. Ahrefs Enterprise is $1,499/mo on an annual commitment; Semrush Enterprise is custom-priced.

Which is better for AI search visibility, Ahrefs or Semrush?

Semrush goes further on AI search visibility, bundling prompt tracking into every paid tier (50 prompts a day on Starter, 100 on Pro+, 200 on Advanced) with brand share of voice across ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini and Google AI Overviews, while Ahrefs offers Brand Radar and Custom Prompts as newer modules.

Semrush added AI-answer tracking with its 2025 product line, including a native AI Visibility Index, and Semrush Enterprise adds custom prompt-tracking scale and multi-brand AI visibility. The trade-off is cost: the AI Search component is mandatory in every Semrush paid tier, so buyers who only want classic SEO tools still pay for it. Ahrefs' Brand Radar tracks brand visibility in LLM answers, and Ahrefs Custom Prompts monitors specific AI queries.

Which has the bigger data index, Ahrefs or Semrush?

Ahrefs reports more keywords, 41.9 billion against Semrush's 28 billion, while the link figures measure different things: Ahrefs cites 170 trillion crawled pages and Semrush cites 43 trillion backlinks across 142 geo databases.

Both sets of figures come from the vendors. Ahrefs builds its index from its own continuous crawling, so its backlink and keyword data do not depend on third-party sources, and the same index feeds Brand Radar. Semrush's own stats page lists its 28 billion keywords and 43 trillion backlinks across 142 geo databases. Because Ahrefs counts pages crawled and Semrush counts backlinks, the two link numbers cannot be compared directly; the keyword counts can.

Which is easier to use, Ahrefs or Semrush?

Neither Ahrefs nor Semrush is easy to learn: both carry a steep learning curve, with Semrush spreading its features across separate SEO, Content, Local, Advertising, Social and AI PR toolkits and Ahrefs asking users to budget crawl credits and tracked-keyword caps.

Ahrefs groups its core work into Site Explorer for backlinks, Keywords Explorer, Site Audit, rank tracking and Content Explorer in one dashboard. Semrush offers dozens of individual tools, such as Site Audit, Position Tracking, Keyword Magic and Backlink Analytics, bundled into tiered plans. Ahrefs plans cap crawl credits (100,000 on Lite up to 1,500,000 on Advanced) and tracked keywords, so larger sites need active budgeting. Semrush's entry plans cap monitoring at 5 sites and 500 keywords, which pushes agencies with many clients toward Pro+ or Advanced.

Strengths and weaknesses

Ahrefs

Pros

  • Large proprietary backlink and keyword index (41.9B keywords, 170T pages) not dependent on third-party data
  • Combines backlink analysis, keyword research, site audit, rank tracking, and content research in one dashboard
  • Newer AI-visibility tools (Brand Radar, Custom Prompts) track brand mentions across LLM answers, not just classic search
  • API and MCP access included on every paid plan

Cons

  • Full plans start at $129/month, notably pricier than budget SEO tools
  • Only one user seat included per plan; additional seats cost $40-80/month each
  • Crawl-credit and tracked-keyword caps require active budgeting for larger sites
  • Enterprise tier requires an annual commitment rather than month-to-month billing

Semrush

Pros

  • Single platform covers keyword research, backlink analysis, site audits, rank tracking, and AI-answer visibility
  • Large underlying dataset: 28 billion keywords and 43 trillion backlinks across 142 geo databases per the vendor's own stats page
  • Native AI Visibility Index and prompt tracking are ahead of most legacy SEO tools on AI-search reporting
  • Add-ons (extra users, white-labeled reports) let agencies scale a single account instead of buying multiple seats

Cons

  • Cheapest plan is $117.33/mo billed annually ($139/mo monthly) — no permanent free tier, only a time-limited free trial
  • Adding team members costs extra starting at $45/mo per user on top of the base plan
  • Keyword and site-monitoring limits (e.g., 500 keywords, 5 sites on entry plans) are restrictive for agencies with many clients and force upgrades to Pro+ or Advanced
  • Steep learning curve given the number of separate toolkits (SEO, Content, Local, Advertising, Social, AI PR) bundled into one interface

Which fits your use case?

Use casePickWhy
Freelancer or small site owner on a tight budgetAhrefsAhrefs has a free tier for your own site and a $29/mo Starter plan; Semrush has no free tier and starts at $117.33/mo billed annually.
Agency tracking client brands inside ChatGPT, Perplexity and Gemini answersSemrushSemrush bundles 50-200 tracked AI prompts a day into Starter, Pro+ and Advanced, with share of voice across ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini and Google AI Overviews.
Developer team pulling SEO data into internal toolsAhrefsAhrefs includes API and MCP access on every paid plan; Semrush adds API data integration only at Advanced ($455.67/mo billed annually).
Marketing team researching organic and paid search togetherSemrushSemrush includes paid advertising research in its Advertising toolkit; Ahrefs' tools center on backlinks, keywords, audits, rank tracking and content research.
Agency that needs many projects on a mid-range budgetAhrefsAhrefs Standard ($249/mo) covers 20 projects and 2,000 tracked keywords; Semrush Pro+ ($248.17/mo billed annually) covers 15 sites and 1,500 keywords.
Agency sending branded reports to clientsSemrushSemrush sells white-labeled reports as an add-on, and extra Semrush users start at $45/mo each.

Neither a match?

Both lists carry verified pricing and honest weaknesses for every option.

9 alternatives to Ahrefs9 alternatives to Semrush

Ahrefs vs Semrush: migration FAQ

Should I use Ahrefs or Semrush?

Use Ahrefs if you want backlink and keyword research on a proprietary index with a free tier, a $29/mo entry plan and API access on every paid plan; use Semrush if you want AI-answer tracking and paid advertising research in the same dashboard.

Is Ahrefs cheaper than Semrush?

Yes at the low end — Ahrefs has a free tier, a $29/mo Starter plan and $129/mo Lite, while Semrush starts at $117.33/mo billed annually with no free tier. At the mid tier the prices are close: $249/mo for Ahrefs Standard against $248.17/mo billed annually for Semrush Pro+.

Can Semrush replace Ahrefs?

Yes for most SEO work, since Semrush covers keyword research, backlink analysis, site audits and rank tracking. Teams that depend on Ahrefs' API and MCP access on lower tiers should note that Semrush adds API data integration only at Advanced.

Does Semrush have a free plan?

No — Semrush has no permanent free tier, only a time-limited free trial, while Ahrefs offers Ahrefs Free with limited tools for checking your own site.

Do Ahrefs and Semrush track AI search results?

Yes, both do: Semrush bundles AI prompt tracking into every paid tier and reports share of voice across ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini and Google AI Overviews, while Ahrefs offers Brand Radar and Custom Prompts for LLM answers.