I’ve Used 5 Ahrefs Alternatives (Paid & Free). What Works
written by
Victoria Kurichenko
posted on
April 9, 2025
Ahrefs was the first SEO tool I ever used, way back in 2015 when I was just starting out.
Since then, they’ve added a bunch of new features, but the overall look and feel remains the same. They’ve also kept my favorite report, Top Pages, which shows the best-performing organic pages for any website. I’m really glad they kept it!
For years, Ahrefs has been one of the top choices for SEO pros. It’s super focused on SEO, unlike Semrush, which is an all-in-one tool for an entire online marketing team.
But lately, I’ve come across some newer tools that you might not have heard of yet. Even with my years of experience, I only recently discovered some solid Ahrefs alternatives like Search Atlas and SEOtoolbox (I’ll tell you more about them below).
I actually stopped using Ahrefs for a while when they introduced a credit system. I remember consuming credits quickly, even though I was on a paid plan. But now, they’ve launched a Starter plan for just $29, which is more affordable, especially if you’re a small site owner or just getting started.
Lately, I’ve noticed some issues with the Ahrefs data. For example, Ahrefs often shows much higher organic traffic than what I actually see in Google Search Console and Google Analytics. Also, tools like Semrush pick up keyword ranking position changes faster.
So, if you’re looking for the best Ahrefs alternatives that are affordable and offer solid data, I’ve got a few great options to share, the ones I’ve actually used myself.
Before we dive in, here’s what I looked for when choosing the top alternatives:
- Data reliability
- Pricing
- User experience
P.S. This post contains a few affiliate links. If you choose to use any of these tools, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. I’m sharing this because I believe in being transparent. Whether or not you use these links, I genuinely support these tools as I’ve personally used all of them. 🙌
My top 5 Ahrefs alternatives
Based on the criteria that I shared above, I’ve picked just a few SEO tools that I believe are the closest alternatives to Ahrefs.
Let me give you a brief overview of each tool for better understanding.
- Semrush – An all-in-one online marketing tool with over 55 tools for SEO, PPC, social media, content marketing, and competitor analysis, to name a few.
- Search Atlas — An affordable alternative to Ahrefs that offers an AI SEO solution for agencies.
- SERanking — SEO software for agencies with an AI Overviews tracker.
- SEOtoolbox —An SEO and project management tool for SEO teams.
- Ubersuggest — My top SEO pick for hobbyists and small site owners.
1. Semrush
- Unique features: Keyword Magic Tool, personalized keyword data for your domain
- Pricing: Starts at $139/month for the Semrush Pro plan
- Free trial: Semrush has a free plan where you can conduct 10 free searches daily. But you can also sign up for a 14-day free trial
Semrush is probably one of the most well-known Ahrefs alternatives that have been on the market since 2008.
Today, it offers 55+ tools for online marketers. It also has extras like ContentShake AI (a content writing tool) and the Agency Growth Kit.
Just like Ahrefs, I’ve been familiar with Semrush since 2015 and used it occasionally.
One feature that makes me choose Semrush over Ahrefs is the Keyword Magic Tool. As an SEO specialist and a content writer, I frequently conduct keyword research for both my site and my clients. And for that, I need robust tools.
Keyword Magic Tool lets me pull up thousands of keyword ideas from just one seed keyword. It’s super efficient. Plus, their filters help me quickly narrow the keyword list down. I can find keywords that are realistic to target and have business value.
I’ve also been positively impressed by Semrush’s Position Tracker tool which detected keyword ranking changes faster than Ahrefs (my case).
Right now, I’m using Semrush’s free plan. It lets you track up to 8 keywords. I use it to keep an eye on my top keywords and compare results with Ahrefs and Ubersuggest (I’ve got a lifetime deal on that one).
Here’s what I like about Semrush’s Position Tracking tool:
- It updates keyword rankings every day
- You get a visibility chart to see how you’re doing over time
- It shows when you add or remove keywords
- You can compare keyword performance weekly, monthly, quarterly, or yearly
- It even emails you regular performance reports
Below is a sample rank tracking report for my site. If you upgrade to Semrush Pro, you can track up to 500 keywords across 5 domains.
Comparing Semrush and Ahrefs organic performance data
I shared my details comparison of both tools in my Semrush vs. Ahrefs post, but I’d like to help you better understand how the data accuracy of both tools compare. Here’s the data from March 2025:
| Category | Semrush | Ahrefs | Google Search Console |
|---|---|---|---|
| Domain authority | 31 | 36 | – |
| Organic traffic | 9.7k | 9.7k | 7.22k |
| Number of keywords | 3.5k | 2.6k | 7.8k (kws with at least one click) |
| Number of referring domains | 514 | 268 | 214 |
| Number of backlinks | 1.8k | 754 | 10.5k (external links in GSC) |
| Number of keywords ranking in the top 3 | 138 | 163 | 10.5k (external links in GSC) |
| Traffic costs | $36.4k | $22.7k | – |
| Top 3 pages based on organic traffic | AI SEO tools, SEO books, Beehiiv review, | AI SEO tools, Vocal.media review, Beehiiv review | AI SEO tools, Beehiiv review, Substack alternatives |
| Organic traffic estimate for the top-ranking page | 5.6k | 5.2k | 3.85k |
| Number of keywords for the top-ranking page | 465 | 719 | – |
| Number of indexed pages | 91 | 94 | 95 |
It’s worth mentioning that Ahrefs’ overall keyword database is bigger (as of March 2025), but Semrush provides more keyword variations for the USA if that’s your target location.
- Semrush keyword database: 26.5 billion keywords in 142 locations, 3.6 billion keywords in the USA alone
- Ahrefs keyword database: 28.7 billion keywords in 217 locations, 2.2 billion keywords in the USA alone
What this means for you is that Ahrefs will potentially be able to identify and show you more keyword opportunities. However, Semrush can offer you more keyword opportunities specifically for the USA.
These numbers can change anytime since both tools always update their databases. That’s why I’ll be checking Ahrefs’ Keyword Explorer page and Semrush’s stats occasionally to keep my article up to date.
You can learn more about the tool in my Semrush review.
Something to keep in mind
Semrush offers a 7-day money-back guarantee if you upgraded to a paid plan but don’t want to keep it for some reason.
I once upgraded to the Semrush Pro plan by mistake, which cost me $139.95. I reached out to their support, and they gave me my money back within a few days.
Just send them a request within 7 days of signing up, and they’ll refund you. It’s that simple.
If you’ve been thinking about trying Semrush Pro, here’s a little perk—my partner link gives you a 14-day free trial to Semrush Pro instead of the usual 7 days. Just a small way to get more time to explore and see if it’s a good fit! 😊
2. Search Atlas
- Unique features: OTTO SEO AI tool, Site Visualization, Keyword Magic Tool
- Pricing: Starts at $99/month for the Starter plan
- Free trial: There’s a 7-day free trial. If you want to keep using the tool, you’ll have to upgrade to a paid plan after the free trial expires
Search Atlas is a powerful SEO software for agencies with an automated AI SEO assistant called OTTO SEO.
I first came across it on social media. Honestly, I kept seeing its ads everywhere. I shared the full story in my Semrush vs. Search Atlas review.
After that, I got curious. I wanted to see if it could be a more affordable alternative to Ahrefs and what it actually offers.
To me, Search Atlas feels like a mix of Semrush and Ahrefs. It has features like both and a similar layout. If you’ve used either of those tools before, Search Atlas will feel pretty familiar.
Here’s a quick look at the Site Overview report inside Search Atlas. It looks a lot like what you’d see in Ahrefs or Semrush.
Search Atlas has a Keyword Magic Tool, just like Semrush. You can use it to get keyword ideas from your seed keyword. It even has the same name as Semrush’s tool. Semrush gives you a few more filter options, but honestly, I don’t think it’s a big deal. Ahrefs doesn’t have this kind of tool at all.
Now, let me quickly show you how Ahrefs and Search Atlas compare in terms of data accuracy. It’s seriously my favorite thing to do – testing and comparing tools’ data accuracy.
| Category | Search Atlas | Ahrefs | Google Search Console |
|---|---|---|---|
| Domain authority | 43 | 36 | – |
| Organic traffic, March 2025 | 7k | 9.7k | 7.22k |
| Number of keywords, March 2025 | 1.4k | 2.6k | – |
| Number of keywords ranking in the top 3, March 2025 | 122 | 163 | 214 |
| Number of backlinks, March 2025 | 1.7k | 754 | – |
| Top 3 pages based on organic traffic, March 2025 | AI SEO tools, Seona review, SEO books | AI SEO tools, Vocal.media review, beehiiv review | AI SEO tools, beehiiv review, substack alternatives |
| Organic traffic estimate for the top-ranking page, March 2025 | 4.5k | 5.25k | 3.85k |
Even though Search Atlas’ data isn’t perfect, it’s still pretty close to the actual numbers from Google Search Console. I agree it’s just an estimate for one month, but it gives you a good idea of what’s going on.
I even tried looking for something like Semrush’s “Stats” page and asked ChatGPT for help. In the end, I found an interesting comment under one of their Facebook ads…
First off, it’s awesome that the Search Atlas team tracks brand mentions and actually responds to people. I don’t see that much with other tools.
This makes me think that Search Atlas probably pulls data from your Google Search Console account to track your site’s performance and give improvement tips. If I find out more about where they get their data, I’ll update this post.
Overall, I think Search Atlas is a great Ahrefs alternative for SEO. It has more features and uses AI-powered insights for site audits.
Something to keep in mind
Search Atlas gives you a 7-day free trial, but you’ll need to link a credit card to activate it. I know it’s a bit of a hassle, but it’s the only way to test the tool. I’ve done it a few times, and I can confirm they won’t charge your card during the trial.
If you cancel the trial early, you’ll lose access to the tool right away. So, it’s best to make the most of the 7 days to see if it works for your business.
Similar to the Ahrefs’ Starter plan for $29, Search Atlas has a limited Community Edition plan for $29 as well. It lets you track up to 40 keywords, crawl 500 pages, link one GSC project, and use AI to generate 18 articles.
If you’re interested, you can learn more about Search Atlas here.
3. SERanking
- Unique features: AI Overviews Tracker, Agency Success Kit, Local SEO toolkit
- Pricing: Starts at $65/month for the Essential plan
- Free trial: There’s a 14-day free trial, after which you have to upgrade to keep using the tool
SERanking is an all-in-one SEO software for agencies, business owners, and SEO professionals.
It offers a wide range of tools for keyword tracking, website audits, competitor analysis, backlink monitoring, and more.
Here’s a brief overview of SERanking features to help you with all kinds of SEO work:
- Keyword Generator — It’s similar to Semrush’s Keyword Magic Tool and helps you generate keyword ideas based on your seed keyword.
- Keyword Grouper — It’s a keyword cluster tool to help you group similar keywords based on search intent.
- Keyword Rank Tracker – Monitors organic keyword positions across search engines and devices.
- AI Overviews Tracker — It’s a new tool to help you analyze AI snippets for your target keywords.
- On-Page SEO Checker – This feature helps you audit your website pages for optimization opportunities.
- Website Audit – Scans your site for technical SEO issues and recommends fixes.
- Backlink Checker – Analyzes backlink profiles for your site and competitors.
- Competitor Analysis Tool – Reveals competitors’ keywords, traffic, and ad strategies.
- AI Content Generator – This feature helps you generate and optimize content based on your target keyword. It also integrates with Google Docs.
- Local Marketing Toolkit — Helps manage local SEO campaigns to reach more customers in your target area.
- Agency Success Toolkit — Designed to help SEO agencies succeed with features like Lead Generator, SEO Reports Generator, and SEO API, to name a few.
I’ve used SERanking when I was searching for a cheaper Ahrefs alternative. Even though I currently use Ubersuggest (more about it later) and Semrush, SERanking is a decent solution if you want a more affordable tool.
For just $65 monthly, you get access to a 4.2 billion keyword and 1.9 billion backlinks databases across 188 countries. Similar to Semrush, you can handle 5 domains and track up to 500 keywords.
If you are an agency with multiple client projects, you can track up to 2,000 keywords for 30 domains with 3 user seats for just $119 monthly.
Something to keep in mind
SERanking doesn’t have a free plan. So, once your 14-day free trial ends, you’ll lose access to all your data. That could be a big deal for your business.
The Agency Success Pack is only available if you upgrade to either the SERanking Pro ($119/month) or Business ($259/month) plans, and you’ll need to commit to a yearly plan.
The good news? You save 20% with the annual subscription.
When it comes to historical data on keywords and domains, you’ll only get 3 months of data with the Pro plan. If you need full historical data, you’ll need the Business plan. I know this could be a bit confusing. From what I’ve seen, having access to historical data is key for analyzing performance and data trends.
4. SEOtoolbox
- Unique features: SEO project management toolkit, Keyword rankings visualization report
- Pricing: Starts at $59 monthly
- Free trial: There’s a 7-day free trial and a limited free plan
I recently discovered SEOtoolbox and, of course, had to try it out for my SEO work. It’s not just another all-in-one SEO tool. It’s more like a project management hub for SEO teams.
You can connect tools like Google Search Console, Meta Ads, Instagram, your Facebook page, and more—all in one place. That’s how I’d describe SEOtoolbox.
If you manage an SEO team, assign tasks, or track progress, you’ll probably find it super useful.
One feature I really like is the Keyword Rank Tracking report. It shows how your keywords rank compared to your competitors over time—past 7 days, 30 days, or last month.
I check it every week because it gives me a clear picture of what’s working. And it’s also available on the free plan.
If you do a lot of SEO writing or content updates, you might like the Content Optimizer too. It’s a solid alternative to Ahrefs’ AI Content Helper.
What makes it different? SEOtoolbox gives you options:
- Generate a full AI article
- Create an AI outline
- Pull content from a specific URL
- Start from scratch
These come in handy, especially when you’re updating an existing page. No need to copy and paste text. SEOtoolbox can fetch the content for you and load it into the tool.
Here’s an example: I used the Content Optimizer to improve my SEO content writing services page. I added a few suggested keywords, fixed the structure, and now that page ranks in the top 10 for a few target keywords.
The Keyword Research tool is missing filters. This makes it harder and slower to find suitable keywords.
Unlike Ahrefs, SEOtoolbox doesn’t show keyword search intent. So, keep that in mind when looking at their data.
I ran into some technical problems when trying to do a site audit. The tool couldn’t generate a report, even after I tried a few times. Maybe it’s fixed now, but I still wanted to give you a heads-up.
I also tried to figure out where SEOtoolbox gets its data from. Couldn’t find anything online. I’m planning to ask their team directly.
One thing that stands out to me is that their keyword search volumes seem a bit high compared to other tools.
For example:
- Ahrefs says “AI SEO tools” has a U.S. search volume of 2,200 and a keyword difficulty of 48.
- SEOtoolbox shows the same keyword with a volume of 9,900 and a difficulty of just 30%.
My AI SEO tools post ranks #1 on Google for this keyword (and many similar ones), and it brings in about 3–5k visits per month. So, I doubt the 9.9k number is correct.
5. Ubersuggest
- Unique features: Top SEO opportunities report, Chrome extension, Keywords by Traffic report
- Pricing: Starts at $29 monthly or $290 lifetime to manage one domain
- Free trial: There’s a 7-day free trial and a limited free plan.
For $290, you could get one or a few monthly subscriptions to SEO tools. But for Ubersuggest, that’s the price for a lifetime plan if you’re managing just one domain.
I grabbed the Individual plan in December 2024 to track my site’s performance, keep an eye on competitors, and do keyword research. I’ve been using it every day since.
I think Ubersuggest is a solid alternative to Ahrefs, especially for small businesses and hobbyists who need a budget-friendly option.
Here’s what you get for $29 a month or $290 lifetime:
- One user seat to manage one domain
- 150 searches daily
- Track 5 competitors
- Analyze competitors’ top-ranking pages and keywords
- Scan 1,000 pages per domain
- Access up to 20,000 keyword suggestions
- Get 200 content ideas
- Track up to 2,000 backlinks from the past 3 years
- See new and lost backlinks over the last 30 days
- SEO training and support
Ubersuggest is good at providing keyword rankings and updates regularly. For some of my top-ranking keywords, it actually gives more accurate updates than Ahrefs.
The Individual plan lets you track up to 125 keywords for one domain, but if you need more, you can purchase an add-on for 250 keywords for just $5 a month.
Unlike Ahrefs, Ubersuggest offers both Keyword Overview and Keyword Ideas tools to generate keywords based on your seed keyword.
You can use Ubersuggest’s Keyword Research Toolkit to check out your keyword ideas and find the best keywords for your target countries. There are filters to help you narrow the keyword list down to the most relevant keywords.
However, I’m not too confident about Ubersuggest’s keyword metrics. I feel like their numbers are often too high.
For example, Ubersuggest shows 9,900 monthly searches for “AI SEO tools,” but Ahrefs shows just 2,200. This makes more sense because my article ranks #1 on Google for that keyword (and many related keywords) and gets around 3–5k visits each month.
On the other hand, Ubersuggest’s keyword difficulty estimates seem pretty accurate, at least when I compare them to Ahrefs and Semrush.
- “Keyword Analysis: We evaluate the monthly search volume of each keyword in our database.
- Rankings and Websites: We analyze website rankings for these keywords and their respective positions.
- Position-Based CTR Analysis: We assess the typical CTR for these positions.
- Comprehensive Traffic Calculation: We aggregate this data with additional information, such as the traffic of each page and, if applicable, data from other countries.”
What’s the best Ahrefs alternative?
After years of DIY SEO and working with lots of different SEO tools, I could say I mainly use Semrush. However, this hasn’t always been the case. Additionally, it took me a lot of time to test the existing solutions and identify those I can rely on based on their data accuracy and features.
If you’ve just started looking for an alternative to Ahrefs, I suggest asking yourself, what exactly do you need it for?
Not all SEO tools do the same thing well. Some are great for niche keyword research, others shine when it comes to backlink tracking, and a few are better for content ideas.
Before jumping into another tool, think about the tasks you do most often. Are you focused on growing organic traffic, spying on competitors, or building links?
Your daily SEO workflow should guide your decision. It also helps to think about how experienced you are—some tools are beginner-friendly, while others, like Screaming Frog, will take time to master.
And, of course, budget plays a role, especially if you’re a freelancer or small business owner. Instead of asking, “What’s the best,” ask, “What’s the best for me right now?” That mindset shift makes the choice a whole lot easier.
Hello there!
My name is Victoria.
I am an SEO expert, Medium top writer, solopreneur, and the founder of Self Made Millennials. I help companies create optimized content and attract potential customers through organic search results. In addition, I share how content creators can monetize their writing skills.
Take a look at my solopreneur journey
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