Ahrefs vs Semrush

Ahrefs

Ahrefs is the backlink index most SEO teams treat as the reference, and the rest of the suite — keywords, rank tracking, audits — is strong enough that it usually replaces two or three cheaper tools. The entry prices mislead: Starter at $29 is a taster, and Lite at $129 is a single seat with credit limits, so a small agency lands at Standard plus extra users before it feels unconstrained. Buy it for the data; price it on your real seat count.

Pros

• +Backlink index built on Ahrefs' own crawler, with trillions of links and years of history
• +Keyword research, rank tracking, site audit and AI-answer visibility in one subscription
• +API and MCP access included from the Lite plan, not sold as a separate product
• +Free tier for your own verified sites and a $29 Starter for light use

Cons

• −Lite caps usage at 1,000 credits per user and six months of history
• −Every plan includes one user; additional seats are a per-month surcharge
• −Enterprise at $1,499 requires an annual commitment
• −Brand Radar AI and prompt-check packages are paid add-ons on top of the plan

Semrush

Semrush is still the broadest single subscription for anyone who needs competitor traffic estimates, keyword gaps, rank tracking and a site crawler in one login, and its 2026 plans fold AI-answer tracking into the same projects. It is priced for marketing teams and agencies: at $139 a month before extra users and add-ons, a solo site owner pays for a great deal they will never open, and the Adobe acquisition makes the roadmap and pricing a question for a much larger company.

Pros

• +Keyword, traffic-estimate and backlink databases are Semrush's own, with historical data back to 2012 on higher tiers
• +AI-visibility tracking (ChatGPT, AI Overviews, AI Mode) is in the same project as keyword rankings from the $199 Starter plan
• +An API, a Chrome extension and an official Claude connector let the data leave the dashboard
• +A $0 plan and a seven-day trial on paid tiers mean the interface can be judged before paying
• +Terms name a single Delaware entity at a Boston address and were updated in August 2026 after the Adobe deal

Cons

• −Every plan is single-user; each extra seat starts at $45 per month on top
• −Keyword and prompt caps (500 keywords on the $139 and $199 plans) run out quickly across several sites
• −Traffic figures are estimates from clickstream models, and the gap from real analytics can be wide on small sites
• −Now part of Adobe, so pricing, packaging and data-sharing terms may change with the parent's enterprise strategy

Is Ahrefs cheaper than Semrush?

On published entry prices, Ahrefs starts lower — $29/mo against $139/mo for Semrush. Entry price is the lowest paid plan as we last verified it; what each plan includes differs.

Does Ahrefs or Semrush have a free tier?

Both: Ahrefs has a free tier, and Semrush has a free tier.

Which has a public API, Ahrefs or Semrush?

Both ship a public API, so either can be built on; the fact table above shows the platforms each one runs on.