Ahrefs vs Semrush

Prices below are taken from the Ahrefs pricing page and the Semrush SEO and AI search pricing page, fetched on November 4, 2026. They are monthly prices in US dollars, billed monthly unless the row says otherwise. Both vendors change plans often, so confirm on their sites before you buy.

On paper the entry plans are close: $129 for Ahrefs Lite against $139 for the Semrush SEO plan. The real cost depends on three things the headline price hides.

• Seats. Ahrefs prices extra users at $40, $60 or $80 a month depending on the plan and caps how many you can add. Semrush starts extra users at $45 a month and scales the price with your tier. A team of three can add more to the bill than the plan difference.
• Usage. Ahrefs Lite includes 1,000 credits per user, while Standard and Advanced include unlimited credits per user. Heavy daily users tend to outgrow Lite.
• Add-ons. Semrush sells advertising research, local listing management and AI visibility as separate toolkits, and the Advertising, Local and AI Visibility prices on Semrush's own pages are quoted as billed annually. Ahrefs sells Brand Radar AI and Report Builder separately.

Price the plan you will actually run, with the seats and add-ons your team needs, not the cheapest tier on the page.

Database size is the number every comparison quotes, and both sets of figures come from the vendors themselves, so treat them as claims rather than independent audits. On its big data page, Ahrefs reports crawling 5 million pages every minute, 35 trillion external backlink records, and 29 billion filtered keywords across 217 locations. In its data overview, Semrush reports 28.8 billion keywords, 43 trillion backlinks and 808 million domains across 142 geographic databases.

The two backlink numbers are not measured the same way, so a straight comparison is not meaningful. What matters more is how fresh the links are, how well each tool filters spam, and whether it finds the links that actually point at your competitors.

Ahrefs started as a backlink tool, and link research is still where it feels most complete. If your program lives on link building, Ahrefs is the safer default. If links are one input among many, either tool works. For keyword research both offer search volume, difficulty scores, intent labels and keyword gap reports; their difficulty scores use different formulas, so a 40 in one tool is not a 40 in the other. The keyword difficulty entry explains how each one calculates it.

Both include a rank tracker on every paid SEO plan. Ahrefs allows 750, 2,000 or 5,000 tracked keywords on Lite, Standard and Advanced. Semrush lists 500 keywords tracked daily on its SEO and Starter plans, 1,500 on Pro+ and 5,000 or more on Advanced.

Either tool will show you trends by location and device, which is what rank tracking is for. Neither one replaces Google Search Console, which reports real impressions and average position from actual searches. For a setup that combines both, see how to track keyword rankings accurately.

Older comparisons often say Ahrefs has no PPC data. That is out of date. The Ahrefs PPC page describes paid keywords and ad copy across 200+ countries, competitor CPCs and ad positions, and how much competitors invest in Google Ads. That is enough to see what rivals bid on and how their ads are written.

Semrush goes further for dedicated paid teams. Its Advertising toolkit costs $99 a month for Base and $220 a month for Pro, billed annually. Base includes competitor keyword analysis and Google Shopping ads research; Pro adds display, video and social ad intelligence and competitor landing page views. If you run Shopping campaigns or buy display and social, the Semrush toolkit is the stronger option.

Both vendors now sell tracking for how often a brand shows up in AI answers, and this is the fastest-changing part of either product. Ahrefs paid plans include 150, 300 or 600 checks on AI prompts, and Brand Radar AI is an add-on from $199 a month. Semrush's AI Visibility toolkit costs $99 a month per domain, billed annually, and includes 25 custom prompts with daily AI rankings and mentions across ChatGPT, Google AI, Gemini and Perplexity.

Both products are young. If AI answers already matter in your category, test each one on your own brand for a month before paying for a year.

Yes, in different ways. Ahrefs Free, formerly Ahrefs Webmaster Tools, is a permanent free account rather than a trial. It includes Site Explorer, Site Audit, Web Analytics and other tools, and Site Explorer, Site Audit and Web Analytics need you to verify ownership of your site first. It is a good way to see Ahrefs data on your own domain, not a way to research competitors at depth.

Semrush offers a free plan with 10 reports per day and a 7-day free trial on most paid toolkits, per its subscriptions guide. The trial is the better way to judge Semrush's competitor data before you pay.

• Solo SEO or consultant on a budget: Ahrefs Lite, or Ahrefs Starter if you only need keyword and competitor lookups. Watch the 1,000 credit limit on Lite.
• Content and link-building team: Ahrefs Standard, for unlimited credits, 2,000 tracked keywords and two years of history.
• In-house team running Google Ads and SEO: Semrush, with the Advertising toolkit if paid research is a weekly job.
• Multi-location or local business: Semrush, if you want Google Business Profile management and map rank tracking from the same vendor through its Local toolkit.
• Agency with many clients: either. Compare the cost of the seats and tracked keywords you need, since those add up faster than the base plan.

Most teams do not need both. Pick the one whose strengths match the work you do every week, and use the free account or trial to confirm it on your own domain.

What is the difference between Ahrefs and Semrush?

Ahrefs is a depth-first SEO tool known for backlink and keyword data. Semrush is a broader marketing suite that sells advertising, local and AI visibility toolkits as add-ons. Both cover keyword research, rank tracking, link analysis and site audits.

Which is cheaper, Ahrefs or Semrush?

As of November 2026, Ahrefs Lite is $129 a month and the Semrush SEO plan is $139 a month. Ahrefs also has a $29 Starter plan for basic lookups. Total cost depends on extra users and add-ons, which both vendors charge for separately.

Does Ahrefs have a free trial?

No. Ahrefs offers Ahrefs Free, formerly Ahrefs Webmaster Tools, which it describes as not a trial. Some of its tools require you to verify ownership of your site. Semrush offers a 7-day free trial and a free plan with 10 reports per day.

Is Ahrefs or Semrush better for backlinks?

Ahrefs started as a backlink tool and link research is still its strongest area, so it is the safer pick for link-building programs. Semrush also reports a very large backlink database, and for most audits either tool finds the links that matter.

Is Semrush better than Ahrefs for PPC?

For dedicated paid teams, usually yes. The Semrush Advertising toolkit costs $99 or $220 a month billed annually and adds Google Shopping, display and social ad research. Ahrefs shows competitor paid keywords, ad copy, CPCs and how much competitors invest in Google Ads.

Do I need both Ahrefs and Semrush?

Rarely. Most teams are well served by one. Choose based on whether paid search is in scope and which interface your team works in faster, then test it on your own domain with Ahrefs Free or the Semrush trial.