Ahrefs review: our take
Ahrefs sells access to its own crawl of the web, and the backlink and keyword data built on that crawl is the reason agencies keep paying for it. The entry price looks like $29 a month for Starter, but the pricing page lists no limits for that plan. The tier that does the full job is Lite at $129: 750 tracked keywords, 5 projects, six months of history and one user.
The small print matters here. There is no free trial and no discount, rank updates on the standard plans run weekly, and two years of history means Standard at $249. A blogger who mainly wants keyword ideas and 80 tracked terms gets there with KeySearch at $24, which also offers a 7-day trial.
What Ahrefs does
Ahrefs is a suite of search marketing tools built on its own web index, covering competitor research (Site Explorer), keyword research (Keywords Explorer), rank tracking and site auditing. It also tracks brand mentions and citations in AI chatbots through Brand Radar, and adds web analytics, reporting and Google Business Profile monitoring.
Who Ahrefs is for
Best for
- SEO agencies and consultants
- in-house marketing teams
- site owners researching competitors and backlinks
Not for
- buyers wanting a free trial: the pricing FAQ says Ahrefs does not offer discounts or free trials
- users needing daily rank updates on standard plans (update frequency listed as weekly)
Ahrefs features
- F1Site Explorer
- F2Keywords Explorer
- F3Rank Tracker
- F4Site Audit
- F5Brand Radar (AI visibility)
- F6Content Explorer
- F7Web Analytics
- F8API and MCP server
Ahrefs pricing and plans (2026)
| Plan | Monthly | Billed yearly, per month | What it includes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ahrefs Free | $0 | — | limited access to Site Explorer and Site Audit for your own verified site |
| Starter | $29 | — | keyword and competitor lookups; limits not listed on pricing page |
| Lite | $129 | — | 5 projects, 6 months history, 750 tracked keywords, 5 tracked AI prompts, 100,000 crawl credits, 1 user |
| Standard | $249 | — | 20 projects, 2 years history, 2,000 tracked keywords, 10 AI prompts, 500,000 crawl credits |
| Advanced | $449 | — | 50 projects, 5 years history, 5,000 tracked keywords, 20 AI prompts, 1.5M crawl credits |
| Enterprise | $1499 | — | annual commitment required; from 3 users, unlimited history, from 10,000 tracked keywords |
Free plan: yes. Prices as listed by the vendor, before tax; they change, so check the pricing page before you buy.
Ahrefs interface
Ahrefs FAQ
- How much does Ahrefs cost?
- Paid plans start at $29/mo. Prices checked on 1 Oct 2026.
- Does Ahrefs have a free plan?
- Yes, Ahrefs has a free plan.
- What are the alternatives to Ahrefs?
- Tools that cover the same jobs include Semrush, Majestic, Moz Pro, SE Ranking.