Semrush vs Ahrefs
Semrush and Ahrefs side by side: what each one is, what it costs to start, and whether you can try it free. Everything below comes from the vendors' own sites and other public sources, not from hands-on testing.
At a glance
| Semrush | Ahrefs | |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Marketing & SEO | Marketing & SEO |
| Starting price | $139/mo (checked October 2026) | Free; paid plans from $29/mo (checked October 2026) |
| Free tier | Yes | Yes |
| Profile | Read profile | Read profile |
Prices are in US dollars unless shown otherwise. Confirm the current price on the vendor's site before you buy.
Key differences
Both list a free tier, so you can try each before paying.
Ahrefs has the lower starting price ($29/mo against $139/mo for Semrush). The cheapest plan rarely has the same limits or features, so compare plans before choosing on price.
Both are in our Marketing & SEO category.
About each tool
Semrush
SEO and marketing suite with keyword, site audit and competitor tools plus AI Visibility tracking. Free plan and paid tiers from $139/mo.
Who it is for
Marketers, SEO specialists, content teams and agencies who monitor websites and search visibility. Larger organisations can use the Enterprise tier, which has custom limits.
Strengths
- A free plan needs no credit card: 1 demo project, 10 reports per day and a limited set of AI Visibility features
- Paid plans have a 7-day free trial that can be cancelled at no charge
- Starter, Pro+ and Advanced plans combine SEO and AI Visibility tools
- Specialist toolkits (Traffic and Market, Local, Content, Social, Advertising, AI PR) can be added or removed at any time
- Monthly or annual billing; Semrush says annual billing saves up to 17%
Limitations
- Every plan includes one user seat; extra seats cost $45 (SEO and Starter), $80 (Pro+) or $100 (Advanced) per month
- The free plan is limited to 1 demo project and 10 reports per day
- The SEO plan does not include AI Visibility; Starter, Pro+ and Advanced track 50, 100 and 200 prompts a day
- Specialist toolkits are priced separately, for example Traffic and Market at $289 per month per added user
- Free trials disable exports
Ahrefs
SEO toolset for keyword research, site audits, rank tracking and backlink analysis. Free account for verified sites; paid plans start at $29 a month (Starter, monthly billing only).
Who it is for
Ahrefs describes Lite as suited to small businesses and personal projects, Standard to freelance SEOs and consultants, and Advanced to lean in-house marketing teams. Starter is aimed at people who want to see what others search and look at competitors, and website owners can use the free account for their own verified sites.
Strengths
- Ahrefs lists a free account with limited Site Explorer and Site Audit access, unlimited verified projects, and 5,000 crawl credits plus 500 additional credits per verified project; sites are verified via Google Search Console, a DNS record, an HTML file or an HTML tag.
- Starter ($29 a month) lists the SEO Dashboard, Site Explorer, Keywords Explorer, Site Audit, Rank Tracker and the SEO Toolbar, per its help page.
- The pricing page lists tracked keywords, history and crawl credits rising by tier: Lite 750 keywords, 6 months and 100,000 crawl credits a month; Advanced 5,000 keywords, 5 years and 1.5 million crawl credits.
- The pricing page says all plans include API and MCP access, with integration units of 200,000 (Lite), 800,000 (Standard), 2 million (Advanced) and 4 million (Enterprise) a month.
- Standard and above list unlimited credits per user; Lite lists 1,000 credits per user a month.
- Enterprise lists SSO, an audit log, access management and no training on your data; Ahrefs' Enterprise page also says it is ISO 27001 certified and that customers can opt out of data use for training.
Limitations
- Each paid plan includes 1 user; extra users cost $40 (Lite, up to 2), $60 (Standard, up to 5), $80 (Advanced, up to 10) or $100 (Enterprise) a month each, and pay-as-you-go credits and data are charged automatically if enabled.
- Add-ons are priced separately: Brand Radar AI from $199 a month, custom prompt packages from $50 to $250 a month, Report Builder $99 a month, and Project Boost Pro $20 or Max $200 a month per project.
- The pricing page says Ahrefs does not issue refunds in general (monthly subscribers may ask if the account is unused). Ahrefs' help articles disagree with each other on some figures, such as Lite credits (1,000 vs 500) and free-account Rank Tracker keywords, and its Webmaster Tools article says anonymized Search Console data may be used to improve its models unless you verify by DNS or HTML.
