Overview
Ahrefs is a comprehensive SEO and AI marketing platform that combines large-scale search and backlink databases with workflow tools for keyword research, competitor analysis, site auditing, rank tracking, content discovery, and brand monitoring. The platform provides cross-tool AI features (content generation, AI research presets, AI-driven overviews), developer APIs, and integrations to help marketers plan, execute, and measure growth across search, AI-driven discovery, and social channels. Ahrefs is built on proprietary infrastructure with extensive historical datasets and features aimed at freelancers, in-house teams, and enterprises. It also offers add-ons for reporting, brand monitoring, and accelerated project crawls.
Key Features
Site Explorer
Deep backlink and organic traffic research for any domain or URL; shows referring domains, anchor text, top pages, and historical trends.
Keywords Explorer
Large keyword database with intent signals, SERP analysis, traffic potential, difficulty scores, and historical comparison.
Site Audit
Automated website crawler to find technical SEO issues, prioritize fixes, and monitor site health over time.
Rank Tracker
Keyword rank monitoring with historical trends, daily/weekly updates (depending on plan), and competitor tracking.
Content Explorer & Content Tools
Discovery tools for content ideas, competitor content analysis, traffic potential, and broken-link/link-building opportunities.
Ahrefs AI
Cross-tool AI presets for keyword idea generation, content outlines/writing assistance, content comparison against top-ranking pages, localization, and AI-based audits.
Who Can Use This Tool?
- SEO Professionals:Perform in-depth competitor analysis, backlink research, and keyword discovery for clients.
- Content Marketers:Discover content opportunities, use AI-driven outlines and graders, and optimize content for intent.
- Agencies:Manage multiple client projects with Project Boost, reporting add-ons, and team access controls.
- Enterprises:Scale SEO and brand monitoring with SSO, API access, custom limits, and enterprise-grade controls.
Pricing Plans
Essential data for small businesses and personal projects.
- ✓Included users: 1
- ✓Add users: up to 2 at $40/mo per user
- ✓Projects (unverified ownership): 5
- ✓Verified ownership: Unlimited
- ✓Historical data: 6 months
- ✓Tracked keywords: 750
- ✓Crawl credits /mo: 100,000
- ✓Credits per user /mo: 500
Perfect for freelance SEOs and marketing consultants.
- ✓Included users: 1
- ✓Add users: up to 5 at $60/mo per user
- ✓Projects (unverified ownership): 20
- ✓Verified ownership: Unlimited
- ✓Historical data: 2 years
- ✓Tracked keywords: 2,000
- ✓Crawl credits /mo: 500,000
- ✓Credits per user /mo: Unlimited (on core paid plans)
More tools and data for lean in-house marketing teams.
- ✓Included users: 1
- ✓Add users: up to 10 at $80/mo per user
- ✓Projects (unverified ownership): 50
- ✓Verified ownership: Unlimited
- ✓Historical data: 5 years
- ✓Tracked keywords: 5,000
- ✓Crawl credits /mo: 1,500,000
- ✓Credits per user /mo: Unlimited
Scale with advanced customization, automation, and enterprise-grade controls.
- ✓From 3 included users (higher included users available)
- ✓Additional users: unlimited at $100/mo per user (or customizable enterprise terms)
- ✓Unlimited historical data (or much deeper historical windows)
- ✓Personalized higher limits and data exports
- ✓API access, SSO & enterprise-grade security, access management & audit logs
- ✓Forecasting & trends, advanced automation
- ✓Crawl credits /mo: from ~5M
- ✓Tracked keywords: from ~10,000
Entry-level, credit-based plan for beginners and light users.
- ✓100 credits / month (credits consumed for many core reports)
- ✓Access to core Ahrefs tools (Site Explorer, Keywords Explorer limited, Site Audit/Rank Tracker under separate limits)
- ✓No additional users or add-ons on Starter
Free limited access to Site Explorer & Site Audit for site owners.
- ✓Free limited Site Explorer and Site Audit access for verified site owners
- ✓Intended for website owners to monitor and fix issues
AI-focused brand visibility & monitoring for AI search.
- ✓AI brand visibility
- ✓Integrations with chatbots
- ✓Custom queries
AI content assistant, grader, and content inventory tools.
- ✓AI Content Helper
- ✓AI Content Grader
- ✓Content Inventory (coming soon)
Report & dashboard builder with widgets and scheduling.
- ✓50 reports
- ✓50 widgets per report
- ✓sharing and scheduling features (some features marked coming soon)
Faster recrawl and advanced audit capabilities for projects.
- ✓Instant recrawl
- ✓IndexNow auto-submit
- ✓AI checks on a limited number of URLs
Maximum update frequency and batch AI in audits.
- ✓Daily updates
- ✓Unlimited AI detection
- ✓High-frequency site audit scanning
Pros & Cons
✓ Pros
- ✓Market-leading backlink index and large keyword database enabling deep competitor analysis.
- ✓Comprehensive toolset: Site Explorer, Keywords Explorer, Site Audit, Rank Tracker, Content & Link discovery.
- ✓Strong API offering and developer endpoints for large-scale access and Looker Studio integrations.
- ✓Rapid product development and AI features that integrate across tools for research, content, and brand insights.
- ✓Enterprise features: SSO, audit logs, API units, and customizable limits for large teams.
✗ Cons
- ✗Can be expensive for freelancers and small teams as usage/data needs grow.
- ✗Credit- and usage-based elements (Starter/API units/PAYG) add complexity to billing.
- ✗Mixed customer feedback on Trustpilot and some complaint threads about support/charges.
- ✗Limited clarity about mobile-first apps (primarily a web product) which may be a drawback for some users.
