By Bike HawleyPrices checked October 23, 2026No test results yet
Most of these Ahrefs alternatives cost less per month or per tracked keyword, and most let you try before you pay, which Ahrefs never allows. The best-value swap on published prices is SE Ranking: the same $129 a month as Ahrefs Lite buys 2,000 keywords checked daily instead of 750 checked weekly, with a 14-day trial and no card. Prices are as of October 23, 2026.
Several of these pay us a commission (each plate says what); Ahrefs pays nothing. None has been tested yet, so picks rest on published prices, limits, trials and refund terms.
We compared each Ahrefs alternative on its cheapest plan, trial or refund terms and the Ahrefs job it covers, against Ahrefs Lite at $129 a month with no trial (see Ahrefs pricing and rank tracker prices).
SE Ranking is the Ahrefs alternative with the easiest free trial: 14 days, no card, up to 750 tracked keywords.
Test pending
SE Ranking
Cheapest plan: Core$129/mo$103.20/mo billed yearly
Core adds 10 projects, 100 AI prompts, keyword research, backlinks and site audits. Trade-off: one seat on Core, no refunds unless the service isn't delivered as promised, and its status page reported delayed Google updates in September 2026.
Semrush is the Ahrefs alternative with a 7-day trial and the most similar published data size, though not a lower price.
Semrush claims 43 trillion backlinks and 29 billion keywords, enough to stand in for Site Explorer and Keywords Explorer. Trade-off: the trial needs a card, monthly plans get no refunds, and extra users start at $45. Semrush vs Ahrefs compares them plan by plan.
Mangools is a cheaper Ahrefs alternative for keyword research, built around KWFinder.
Test pending
Mangools
Cheapest plan: Basic$49/mo$29.90/mo billed yearly
Basic allows 100 keyword lookups a day and the free plan 5, and refunds run 48 hours from payment. Trade-off: no site-audit crawler, and backlink lists come from Majestic's index rather than its own.
SpyFu is the cheapest Ahrefs alternative per tracked keyword, at $39 a month for 5,000 keywords, or $0.008 each.
Test pending
SpyFu
Cheapest plan: Basic$39/mo$29/mo billed yearly
Basic searches cap at 10,000 rows, and the strength is Google Ads research: the keywords rivals buy and their ads, with 10 years of history from Pro + AI. A 30-day money-back guarantee applies. Trade-off: weekly-only tracking and estimated click and spend figures. More in SpyFu vs Semrush.
Moz Pro pricing starts at $49 a month for Starter, an Ahrefs alternative for buyers who report link metrics like Domain Authority.
Moz doesn't publish Starter's limits, so the useful entry is Standard at $99 ($79 billed yearly) for three sites and 300 tracked keywords. Its Domain Authority, Spam Score and Link Explorer stand in for Ahrefs' backlink reports. Trade-off: only 150 keyword queries a month on Standard, seats at $49, and Moz's pages disagree on the trial (checkout says 7 days).
Search Atlas plans start at $99 a month for Starter, an Ahrefs alternative that also edits your site through OTTO.
Test pending
Search Atlas
Cheapest plan: Starter$99/mo
Starter's 50,000 credits cover one project and one seat; OTTO pushes meta tag, schema and on-page fixes through a script on your site. Trade-off: the 7-day trial needs a card, refunds need a request within 48 hours and under 10% usage, and Starter's tracking depth cap isn't published.
Nightwatch pricing starts at €99 a month for 500 keywords tracked daily, a fit only if you want Ahrefs' rank tracking part instead of the whole suite.
Test pending
Nightwatch
Cheapest plan: Starter€99/mo€79/mo billed yearly
It prices in euros only, tracks six engines including Google Maps down to ZIP code, and lists no backlink tool. Trade-off: Starter lacks the API access, white-label reports and unlimited seats of higher plans, and the Terms allow no refunds. The page advertises a 14-day trial with no card, yet its FAQ says unconverted trials bill monthly, so confirm before you start.
These buying questions about Ahrefs alternatives come from what people ask before they switch.
The best free Ahrefs alternative for your own site is Ahrefs Free, the renamed Ahrefs Webmaster Tools; for keyword research, Mangools' free plan gives 5 lookups a day.
SE Ranking is the Ahrefs alternative with a free trial and no card, for 14 days; Nightwatch advertises the same terms with the billing caveat above.
Semrush is not cheaper than Ahrefs at entry, since its SEO plan costs $139.95 a month against $129 for Ahrefs Lite, though it updates rankings daily.
These Ahrefs alternatives pricing sources are vendor pages we read on October 23, 2026.