Ahrefs Alternatives 2026: 7 Tools Tested for AI Search

TL;DR

When you search for alternatives to Ahrefs, you'll mostly find lists from companies that want to sell you their own tools. We looked into this and found that half of the top results are from companies trying to promote their own products. So, we decided to create our own list of Ahrefs alternatives, focusing on what matters most to B2B marketing teams in 2026. We considered four key things: AI search tracking, AI content features, data depth, and price. We checked the prices on October 27,2026. The bottom line is that Semrush is the best overall replacement, now with AI visibility tracking in its plans. If you want a more affordable option with SEO and AI search tracking, SE Ranking is the way to go. Moz Pro, Similarweb, and Mangools are great for specific tasks. And if you're on a tight budget, Ahrefs' own Starter plan or free version might be the cheapest alternative. But here's the thing: when we tested Ahrefs and Semrush with the same domain, their keyword counts differed by over 20 times. So, when choosing a tool, look at the trend lines, not just the numbers.

Why B2B Teams Look for an Alternative to Ahrefs in 2026

There are three reasons why B2B teams are looking for an Ahrefs alternative. They are:

price per seat
AI search tracking sold as a separate line
data that disagrees across tools

When considering the reasons, the first two are mainly about money, while the third is about trust. It's easier to understand each reason when you compare numbers, and that's exactly what we're doing here. If you want to look at more options, our guide has a lot of other SEO tools beyond the seven we're talking about.

Price, Seats and Credits Changed the Math

Ahrefs prices run on a ladder:

Starter at $29 a month
Lite at $129
Standard at $249
Advanced at $449

The top plan is called Enterprise and it costs $1,499 per month, but you have to commit to a whole year.

Annual billing saves up to 17 percent, and Ahrefs Free covers limited data for a site you own.

So, let's break it down - the prices we mentioned earlier are just for one person. But, if you've got a team, it's a different story. On top of the main cost, you're looking at extra fees: $40, $60, or $80 per month, depending on whether you're on the Lite, Standard, or Advanced plan. To give you a better idea, imagine a team of four people, all on the Standard plan - that's $429 per month, based on the regular prices. And that's $180 more than what you might have initially thought, before you even consider adding any AI extras.

Here's what happened with Semrush around that time. So, Adobe bought Semrush on April 28, 2026, and now Semrush is a part of Adobe. This matters for teams that already use Adobe's tools, and also for those who care about who owns the software they use. It's a big deal because it can affect how you choose the tools you work with.

AI Search Tracking Became a Budget Line

When you look at the big players in the market, you'll notice that they all offer extra features like AI visibility tracking, but they price them differently. For instance, Ahrefs includes a set number of AI-powered checks in each of its packages - 150 in the Lite package, 300 in the Standard, and 600 in the Advanced. If you go for the Enterprise package, you get a whopping 2,500 and more.

On top of that, Ahrefs also offers the Brand Radar AI service for an extra $199 per month. Semrush, on the other hand, throws in basic search tracking with AI even in its entry-level $139 SEO package. However, if you want daily query tracking, you'll need to opt for the Semrush One offering. Meanwhile, SE Ranking has an AI search plugin that'll set you back $89 per month.

Each of these tools has its own way of pricing these AI-powered features, so it's worth exploring what each one has to offer. For tools built around this specific field, see our guide to AI SEO tools.

How We Rated Each Ahrefs Alternative

Breakdown of the top 10 Google results for Ahrefs alternatives, showing tool vendors, independent publishers, forums, and publishers with unverified ownership

Most of the top results for this search term are from companies that sell tools - five out of ten, to be exact. Some of these tools, like SE Ranking and Mangools, are pretty well-known and show up again later on, so we'll keep an eye on how they affect the rankings.

Most of the other results come from independent publishers or bloggers, with one being a forum chat and another from a publisher we couldn't quite identify. What's interesting is that none of these sources say when they checked the prices, and they don't actually try out the data on a real domain - which is why we're taking a different approach here.

Four Criteria: AI Search Tracking, AI Content, Data Depth and Price

Criterion	What we checked	Strong means
AI search tracking	Which AI answers it tracks, how many prompts per plan, and what it costs	ChatGPT, AI Overviews and AI Mode at least, prompts included in the plan
AI content features	Briefs, drafting, optimization and audits that use AI	Useful for a content team, not a chatbot bolted on
Data depth	Keyword and backlink coverage, history, and our same-domain check where we ran it	Large index, long history, consistent trends
Price	The vendor's own page on [date], per seat and for a real team	Clear published pricing that does not double with seats

We ranked each tool based on four criteria:

AI search tracking covers which answers a tool tracks, how many prompts each plan includes, and what the tracking costs.
AI content features cover briefs, drafting, optimization, and audits that use AI.
We took a closer look at the tools and checked how well they covered keywords and backlinks. When possible, we also compared them to others in the same domain to see how they stacked up.
The cost is taken from the supplier's website on the specified date, and it's for a single user and a actual team.

Here's the thing - when we talk about our conclusions, there's one important thing to keep in mind. Veza is a company that helps B2B SaaS teams with SEO and AEO optimization, and we use tools like Ahrefs, Semrush, and Surfer to get the job done. We actually pay for these tools, so we're not just talking about them - we're using them every week.

On the other hand, we don't use SE Ranking, and none of the tools on our list are paying us to say nice things about them. We also don't use affiliate links, so you don't have to worry about us trying to sell you something.

The fact that we use these tools all the time definitely shapes our opinions, but it's also worth noting that it might introduce some bias - so take that into account when you're reading what we have to say.

Same Domain, Two Tools: Backlink Data and Keyword Counts

linear.app, United States, [re-run date]
Metric (linear.app, US)	Ahrefs	Semrush
Authority metric	Domain Rating 85	Authority Score 50
Referring domains	16,423	21,293
Backlinks	298,536	480,433
US organic keywords	355	9,309
US organic traffic, estimated per month	11,247	102,318

Pulled through each tool's API on 19 and 20 October 2026. Replace with interface numbers from the re-run.

Screenshot S1: Ahrefs Site Explorer, Overview, linear.app

Screenshot S2: Semrush Domain Overview, linear.app

We took a closer look at linear.app, a B2B SaaS domain, using Ahrefs and Semrush to get some numbers for the US market. We pulled the data from each tool's API on October 19 and 20, 2026. What we found was interesting - the backlink data from both tools was pretty similar. Ahrefs said there were 16,423 referring domains, while Semrush reported 21,293. But when it came to keywords, the numbers were all over the place. Ahrefs counted 355 US organic keywords, while Semrush found a whopping 9,309 - that's a difference of more than 20 times! The estimated monthly US organic traffic followed the same pattern, with Ahrefs showing 11,247 and Semrush showing 102,318. It's clear that there are some big discrepancies between the two tools.

When it comes to tools, there's no right or wrong - each one has its own way of deciding what rankings to consider, how far to dig into the results, and which keywords are worth including based on search volume. Since these rules vary, it's not possible to directly compare the totals across different tools. So, what's the best approach? Focus on tracking trends within a single tool, and stick with the same tool from one quarter to the next when reporting. The numbers we share come from APIs, and they might not match what you see in the tool's interface - think of them as a rough guide to understanding the gap, rather than a precise benchmark.

The 7 Best Ahrefs Alternatives

Here's what you need to know about each entry: we'll cover what it is, who it's for, and then dive into its AI search tracking, AI content features, how deep its data goes, the cost, the main downside, and our final verdict. We made sure to check all the prices on the vendors' own websites as of October 27, 2026.

Semrush: Best All in One SEO Alternative, Now With AI Visibility

Screenshot S4: Semrush AI Visibility overview

Semrush is a great alternative to Ahrefs, offering a complete replacement for its features. With Semrush One, you get both the SEO Toolkit and the AI Visibility Toolkit all in one plan. But if you're a team that doesn't need AI tracking, you can still opt for the SEO Classic plans, which come in Pro, Guru, and Business options. This makes Semrush a good fit for marketing teams looking for a single subscription that covers both SEO and AI search.

AI search tracking: Basic AI search tracking and custom prompt monitoring come with the SEO plan. Semrush One Starter tracks 50 prompts a day, Pro+ tracks 100 a day, and Advanced tracks an unlimited number.
AI content features: Content optimization is included on Pro+, the Pro plan lists MCP access, and every plan lists an AI Search Site Audit. The Keyword Magic Tool covers keyword research.
Data depth: In our same-domain check, Semrush counted more referring domains, more backlinks, and far more US organic keywords than Ahrefs.
Price: The SEO plan costs 139amonth(117.33 billed annually). Semrush One Starter costs 199amonth(165.17 annually), Pro+ costs 299(248.17 annually), and Advanced is custom-priced. A free plan and a 7-day trial exist, and extra users start at $45 a month. Prices vary by region, and these are US dollars.
Limitation: Cost rises with seats, and the top plan is sold through sales. Ownership changed when Adobe completed its acquisition on 28 April 2026.

Verdict: the strongest single replacement if you want SEO and AI tracking in one place and can absorb the price as the team grows.

SE Ranking: Best Value for SEO and AI Search Tracking

Screenshot: SE Ranking pricing page

SE Ranking is an all-in-one suite that positions itself as SEO plus GEO. It suits marketing teams and agencies that want rank tracking, site audit, and AI search tracking without paying Semrush or Ahrefs prices. Its lower entry cost is the reason for the value rating.

AI search tracking: Sold as an AI Search add-on at 89amonth(71.20 billed annually), so AI tracking is a second purchase on top of the base plan.
AI content features: We did not test these for this article, so treat vendor claims as unverified.
Data depth: Not part of our same-domain check.
Price: Core costs 129amonth(103.20 billed annually), and Growth costs 279(223.20 annually). An Agency Pack adds $69 and API access adds $45.
Limitation: AI tracking costs extra, and SE Ranking publishes one of the articles that competes for this keyword, so its own coverage of itself deserves the discount we apply to any vendor.

Verdict: the best value if you want rank tracking and AI search tracking for the lowest combined cost, with the add-on priced in.

Moz Pro: Best for Authority Metrics and Backlink Analysis

Screenshot: Moz Pro pricing page

Moz Pro is the tool behind Domain Authority, with keyword research, rank tracking, and Link Explorer for backlink analysis. It suits teams that report on authority metrics and want an interface simpler than the larger suites.

AI search tracking: Moz AI Explorer provides AI visibility with tracked prompts. Extra prompts cost $50 per 100, and extra AI visibility dashboards cost $20 each.
AI content features: Not tested for this article.
Data depth: Not part of our same-domain check.
Price: Starter costs $49 a month and covers one website. Standard costs $99, Medium $179, and Large $299 a month, or $79, $143, and $239 billed yearly.
Limitation: The lower tiers cap keywords and seats, so a growing team moves up the ladder faster than the starting price suggests.

Verdict: a good fit when authority and link reporting matter to leadership, and less of a fit if you need broad AI features in one tool.

Similarweb: Best for Competitor Analysis and Market Traffic

Screenshot: Similarweb pricing page

Similarweb is not an SEO toolkit like the others here. It is a market and traffic intelligence platform for competitor analysis across channels, which makes it a fit for marketing leaders who need share of traffic and channel mix and not page-level SEO.

AI search tracking: The Competitive Intel & SEO & AEO plan includes 150 tracked prompts, sentiment and citation analysis, and AI traffic. Similarweb also sells a separate AI Search Intelligence product.
AI content features: It is not a content tool.
Data depth: Strong on traffic and market data, weak on backlinks, and not part of our same-domain check.
Price: Competitive Intelligence costs 125amonthbilledannually(199 monthly). Competitive Intel & SEO & AEO costs 333amonthbilledannually(399 monthly). Enterprise plans go through sales.
Limitation: It has no backlink depth, and it is priced for market intelligence, so teams that only need SEO data pay for more than they use.

Verdict: worth it for competitor and market questions, and a poor substitute if the main job is page-level SEO.

Mangools: Best Budget Pick, With AI Search Watcher

Screenshot: Mangools pricing page

Mangools offers five lightweight tools, KWFinder, SERPChecker, SERPWatcher, LinkMiner, and SiteProfiler, plus AI Search Watcher on paid plans. A free account exists. It suits small teams and founders who do basic keyword research and rank tracking on a limited budget.

AI search tracking: Every paid plan includes AI Search Watcher PRO with 500 monitored prompts, plus API and MCP access.
AI content features: Not tested for this article.
Data depth: Lighter than the larger suites, with a smaller backlink database. Not part of our same-domain check.
Price: Basic costs 18.85amonthbilledannually(30.50 monthly), Premium costs 26.35(40.50), and Agency costs 48.85(70.50).
Limitation: Lookup limits apply, and the backlink database is smaller. Mangools also publishes one of the articles competing for this keyword, so its own claims about being the best free Ahrefs alternative are a vendor's opinion.

Verdict: the lowest-cost route to AI prompt tracking and basic SEO data, suited to small teams.

Ahrefs Starter or Ahrefs Free: The Cheapest Alternative to Ahrefs Is Ahrefs

Screenshot: Ahrefs pricing page

If the real problem is cost, the cheapest alternative may be a smaller Ahrefs plan. Starter costs $29 a month and covers keyword and competitor research. Ahrefs Free gives limited Site Explorer and Site Audit data for a site you have verified. It suits teams that like Ahrefs' data but pay for more than they use.

AI search tracking: Brand Radar AI starts at $199 a month and is also sold standalone with an Ahrefs Free account, so a team can keep AI tracking without a full plan.
AI content features: Limited on these tiers.
Data depth: The Ahrefs index, limited by plan. In our check it counted fewer referring domains, backlinks, and keywords than Semrush for the same domain, which is a difference in counting and not necessarily in quality.
Price: $29 a month for Starter, and free for Ahrefs Free. Ahrefs does not run discounts, per its pricing page.
Limitation: Starter and Free remove much of what made Ahrefs worth paying for in the first place.

Verdict: the right answer for teams whose complaint is the bill and not the data.

Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools: Best Free Ahrefs Alternative

Screenshot: Google Search Console performance report

Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools give first-party data for free: clicks, impressions, queries, and indexing for your own site. Google Keyword Planner adds search volume, and Google Analytics shows what happens after the click. This is the baseline every team should have, and the only data that comes from the search engines themselves.

AI search tracking: None.
AI content features: None.
Data depth: Complete for your own site and absent for everyone else's.
Price: Free.
Limitation: No competitor data, no backlink index, and no AI prompt tracking.

Verdict: the best free starting point, though it cannot replace a paid tool for competitor research.

Also considered and not ranked: Search Atlas, Serpstat, SpyFu, and Ubersuggest. We make no claims about them here.

Ahrefs Alternatives Compared Side by Side

Prices verified on each vendor's page on [date].
Tool	Starting price	AI search tracking	AI content features	Data depth	Best for
Semrush	SEO $139/mo; Semrush One from $199	Basic on SEO; 50 prompts a day to unlimited on Semrush One	Content optimization on Pro+	Deepest in our check	Full replacement
SE Ranking	$129/mo; AI Search $89	Add-on	Not tested	Not tested	Value with AI tracking
Moz Pro	$49/mo	Moz AI Explorer, tracked prompts	Not tested	Not tested	Authority metrics
Similarweb	$125/mo billed annually	150 prompts on the SEO and AEO plan	Not a content tool	Traffic, not backlinks	Market intelligence
Mangools	$18.85/mo billed annually	AI Search Watcher	Not tested	Lighter	Small budgets
Ahrefs Starter / Free	$29/mo / free	Brand Radar AI from $199	Limited	Ahrefs index, limited	Cutting cost
Search Console + Bing	Free	None	None	Your site only	The baseline

Prices in the table were verified on each vendor's page on 20 October 2026. Reading across, Semrush leads on data depth in our check and bundles AI tracking into Semrush One, SE Ranking leads on value once its add-on is counted, and Mangools offers AI prompt tracking at the lowest price. Moz Pro wins on authority metrics, Similarweb on market and traffic intelligence, and the free tools on cost.

The trade-offs follow from those strengths. The tools with the broadest AI tracking cost more as the team grows, and the cheapest options trade away backlink depth or AI features. No single row leads on all four criteria, which is why the choice depends on the team and not on a universal ranking.

AI Search Visibility: Tracking It Is Not the Same as Winning It

What AI Visibility Trackers Actually Measure

AI visibility trackers measure prompts, mentions, citations, and share of voice across assistants such as ChatGPT and Google's AI Overviews. They work by sampling a list of prompts, so the results depend on which prompts you choose and are never a complete picture. Two tools tracking different prompt lists will report different scores for the same brand.

That makes a tracker a measurement instrument and not a result. For tools built around this job, see our guides to AI brand visibility tools and AI Overview monitoring tools. Measuring the traffic AI answers send is a separate task, covered in our guide to tracking AI traffic.

What Moves the Number: The Site Itself

A tracker reports the score, and the site shapes it. AI systems cite pages they can read, extract, and trust, which favors clear structure, fast pages, and answers that stand on their own. A site that fails those basics gives a tracker little to report, whatever the subscription costs.

That is the problem WAIO, Veza's framework for Webflow sites, is built to address. The proof below is as published on Veza's own case study pages, and these are our results and not an industry benchmark. Grata grew LLM key events by 106 percent, and Concordium grew LLM sessions by 363 percent, both verified in GA4 per those pages.

Our guide to LLM optimization tools covers the tooling side. If you want help with the work itself, our answer engine optimization service covers it.

Which Is the Best Ahrefs Alternative for Your Team?

By Team Size, Budget and Enterprise SEO Needs

If you are	Choose	Why
A marketing team that wants one tool for everything	Semrush One	SEO and AI visibility in one plan
A lean team or agency watching cost per seat	SE Ranking with AI Search	Lower entry price, AI tracking as an add-on
Reporting authority and links to leadership	Moz Pro	Domain Authority and Link Explorer
A CMO who needs market share, not page-level SEO	Similarweb	Traffic and channel intelligence
A founder or small team	Mangools, or Search Console plus Ahrefs Free	Low cost or no cost
Happy with Ahrefs but over budget	Ahrefs Starter, or Ahrefs Free plus Brand Radar AI	Keep the data, pay for less

A marketing team that wants one tool for everything should look at Semrush One, which puts SEO and AI visibility in one plan. A lean team or agency watching cost per seat gets a lower entry price from SE Ranking with its AI Search add-on. A team that reports authority and links to leadership fits Moz Pro, and a CMO who needs market share and not page-level SEO fits Similarweb.

A founder or small team can start with Mangools, or with Search Console plus Ahrefs Free, at low or no cost. A team that likes Ahrefs but pays for more than it uses can drop to Starter, or pair Ahrefs Free with Brand Radar AI to keep tracking. Teams that want to know where they stand in AI answers before buying a tracker can start with an AI search visibility audit.

Content Optimization and Rank Tracking: Build a Stack, Not a Subscription

Few teams end up with one tool. A common pattern combines a suite for research and rank tracking, a content optimization tool for writing, and free first-party data as the baseline. Surfer is the content optimization tool Veza uses in its own content work.

The cost of a stack depends on what it includes.

A free stack of Search Console, Bing Webmaster Tools, and Ahrefs Free costs nothing.A lean stack of SE Ranking Core with the AI Search add-on costs $218 a month at list prices, and Semrush One Starter costs $199 a month.

Ahrefs Lite with Brand Radar AI costs more, and the exact add-on price on top of Lite should be confirmed with Ahrefs, since its pricing page shows Brand Radar AI from $199 a month standalone. Reporting is the next layer, and our guides to SEO reporting tools and website audit tools cover it.

Closing

A tracker shows where you stand in AI answers. Your site decides whether you get cited.

We run SEO and AEO for B2B SaaS teams with the tools on this list, and every site we build ships on WAIO, our framework for being read and cited by AI systems. If you want to know where you stand before you buy another subscription, start with an audit.

Work With Veza

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FAQs

Is there a free alternative to Ahrefs?

Yes: Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools give first-party data for your own site, and Ahrefs Free gives limited Ahrefs data for a verified site. None covers competitors or AI tracking.

Can I use Ahrefs for free?

Partly. Ahrefs Free gives limited Site Explorer and Site Audit access for sites you verify. Ahrefs does not run discounts, per its pricing page.

Who are Ahrefs' main competitors?

Semrush, SE Ranking, Moz Pro and Similarweb, with Mangools at the budget end.

Is Semrush or Ahrefs better?

Neither for everyone: Semrush bundles AI visibility tracking into Semrush One; Ahrefs sells it through tracked prompts and Brand Radar AI. Link the Semrush vs Ahrefs article once live.

What is the cheapest Ahrefs alternative?

Free tools first; among paid ones, Ahrefs' own $29 Starter plan, then Mangools from $18.85/mo billed annually, which includes AI Search Watcher.

Is Ahrefs more accurate than Moz?

No tool is accurate in absolute terms; all estimate. Compare trends inside one tool and keep the tool you report from consistent.

What is the best free keyword research tool?

Google Keyword Planner for volumes and Google Search Console for the queries you already rank for.

Which Ahrefs alternatives track AI search?

Semrush (AI Visibility Toolkit), SE Ranking (AI Search add-on), Mangools (AI Search Watcher), Moz Pro (Moz AI Explorer), Similarweb on its SEO and AEO plan, and Ahrefs itself through tracked prompts and Brand Radar AI.

Why do SEO tools show different numbers for the same site?

Different crawlers, keyword databases and counting rules. In our check, keyword counts for one domain were more than 20 times apart.

Do we need a separate AI visibility tool?

Not if your suite includes AI tracking that covers your prompts. A dedicated tool makes sense when AI answers are a board-level metric; link /post/ai-brand-visibility-tools.

7 Best Ahrefs Alternatives for 2026, Rated on AI Search Tracking and Price