Key takeaways
- Ahrefs charges $129 a month for one seat and 750 tracked keywords. Extra users cost $40 to $80 each. That is why people search for Ahrefs alternatives.
- For rank tracking, Zutrix tracks 250 keywords daily for $29 a month, and 2,500 for $149. Ahrefs tracks 750 for $129.
- For backlinks, Majestic and Semrush are the only indexes close to Ahrefs in size. Everyone else licenses data or crawls less.
- The free Ahrefs alternative for your own site is Ahrefs Webmaster Tools itself, plus Google Search Console.
- The $29 Ahrefs Starter plan is a fair deal for light use. Compare it before you switch tools just to save money.
Ahrefs is the tool most SEOs learn on and the one most small businesses cannot justify. The Lite plan is $129 a month for one person. This guide compares nine Ahrefs alternatives on price, tracked keywords, backlink data, and fit. Every price was checked on the vendor's pricing page on September 16, 2026.
A quick note on bias. We make Zutrix, and it is on this list. We show our limits in the same table as everyone else, and we say plainly where Ahrefs is still the better tool. For the full cost picture, see our Ahrefs pricing breakdown.
Why people look for Ahrefs alternatives
Three complaints come up again and again. The price for a single seat. The low rank tracking limits for that price. And the credit system on cheaper plans, which makes people nervous about opening a report. None of these are about data quality. Ahrefs has the best backlink index in the business.
So the question is what you use Ahrefs for. If it is backlinks, only a few Ahrefs competitors come close. If it is rank tracking or keyword research, almost every tool below does the job for less. If it is your own site, the free option is better than you think.
$129
Ahrefs Lite per month, one user, 750 keywords
$40+
Per extra user each month
$29
Ahrefs Starter plan for light, single-user use
How we compared them
- Price for one user and for a three person team on monthly billing.
- Rank tracking: keywords included and how often positions refresh.
- Backlink data: own index or licensed, and how deep the reports go.
- Keyword research: database size and whether volumes look right against Google Keyword Planner.
- Free tier: what you get without paying.
Ahrefs alternatives at a glance
| Tool | Best for | Starts at | Tracked keywords | Backlink index |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zutrix | Daily rank tracking, AI visibility | $19 weekly checks, $29 daily | 250 to 10,000 | Backlink monitoring included |
| Semrush | The other full suite | $139 per month | 500 | Large, own index |
| SE Ranking | Agency all-in-one | $129 per month | 2,000 | Own index |
| Majestic | Backlinks only | $49.99 per month | None | Large, own index |
| Moz Pro | Beginners, Domain Authority | $49 per month | 300 on Standard | Own index |
| Mangools | Keyword research | $29 per month | 200 | Licensed |
| Serpstat | Budget suite with API | $50 per month | Varies | Own index |
| SpyFu | Competitor PPC research | $39 per month | 5,000 weekly | Licensed |
| Ahrefs Webmaster Tools | Your own site, free | $0 | None | Ahrefs index, your site only |
The best Ahrefs alternatives, reviewed
1. Zutrix
Zutrix
Rank tracking first, with keywords, backlinks, audits, and AI visibility
- Price from
- $19 a month weekly checks, $29 daily checks
- Keywords
- 250 on Starter, 1,000 on Pro, 2,500 on Agency
- Users
- 2 to 20 seats included, no per-seat fee
- Backlinks
- 10,000 rows a month on Starter, 75,000 on Agency
- Free option
- 7 day trial for $7, 7 day money-back
If Ahrefs is mostly a rank tracker for you, Zutrix does that job for a quarter of the price. It is cheaper than Ahrefs on every plan. The Rank Tracker refreshes daily, tracks any city, covers desktop and mobile, and saves a screenshot of every result page. You also get a backlink monitor that alerts you when a link appears or disappears, a keyword tool, a site audit, and AI search tracking across 8 models.
Where Ahrefs wins: raw backlink data on sites you do not own. If you sell link building and audit competitor profiles all day, keep Ahrefs or add Majestic. For everything else, Zutrix is the cheaper daily driver.
Zutrix: pros and cons
Pros
- 250 daily-tracked keywords for $29, versus 750 for $129
- Screenshots of every SERP
- AI visibility tracking on every plan
- No per-user pricing
Cons
- Backlink index is smaller than Ahrefs
- No content explorer
- Bing tracking not yet live
2. Semrush
Semrush
The other big suite
- Price from
- $139 a month, $117.33 on annual billing
- Keywords
- 500 tracked daily, 5 projects
- Users
- 1 included, $45 a month each extra
- Free option
- Free account with 10 requests a day, 7 day trial
Semrush is the only tool that matches Ahrefs on breadth. Keyword research, backlinks, audits, rank tracking, plus PPC, social, and content tools. It is not cheaper. It is a sideways move that makes sense if you want the extra toolkits or your team already knows it. Our Semrush vs Ahrefs guide goes feature by feature.
Semrush: pros and cons
Pros
- Largest keyword database
- PPC and social tools Ahrefs lacks
- Free tier exists
Cons
- Costs more than Ahrefs Lite
- Per-user pricing
- Interface has a learning curve
3. SE Ranking
SE Ranking
Agency suite with generous rank tracking
- Price from
- $129 a month on Core, $103.20 on annual
- Keywords
- 2,000 tracked daily on Core
- Users
- 1 seat on Core, 3 on Growth
- Free option
- 14 day trial
Same price as Ahrefs Lite, nearly three times the tracked keywords, plus a backlink checker, a site audit, and content tools. The backlink index is smaller but fine for checking your own profile and a few competitors. It is the safest all-in-one swap for an agency that does not live in Site Explorer. Read SE Ranking vs Ahrefs if you are choosing between the two.
4. Majestic
Majestic
Backlinks only, and a big index
- Price from
- $49.99 a month on Lite, $99.99 on Pro
- What you get
- Backlink data, Trust Flow, Citation Flow, no rank tracking
- Free option
- 7 day money-back guarantee
Majestic is the honest answer to "where else can I get backlink data at Ahrefs depth". It has crawled the web since 2004 and its Trust Flow metric is used across the industry. There is no rank tracker, no keyword tool, and the interface looks its age. Pair it with a rank tracker and you have replaced Ahrefs for less. Our Majestic vs Ahrefs comparison covers the index differences.
Majestic: pros and cons
Pros
- Backlink index comparable to Ahrefs
- Trust Flow and Citation Flow are respected metrics
- Under $50 a month
Cons
- Backlinks only
- Dated interface
- API costs $399.99 a month
5. Moz Pro
Moz Pro
Domain Authority and gentle onboarding
- Price from
- $49 a month on Starter, $99 on Standard
- Keywords
- 300 tracked on Standard, 1,500 on Medium
- Free option
- Free trial and free MozBar extension
Moz has a smaller backlink index than Ahrefs and lower tracking limits than most tools here. What it has is Domain Authority, a friendly interface, and a large help library. Good for a marketer who is learning. Weak for an agency. See Ahrefs vs Moz for a direct comparison.
6. Mangools
Mangools is $29 a month, or $19.90 on annual billing, for KWFinder plus four small tools. The backlink tool licenses data and shows less than Ahrefs. The keyword tool is excellent for beginners. Pick it if keyword research is the job and backlinks are a side task. Our Mangools alternatives guide covers what to do when you outgrow it.
7. Serpstat
Serpstat starts at $50 a month and includes rank tracking, keywords, backlinks, audits, and an API. It is the cheapest suite with its own backlink index. Data is strongest for European markets. If you need Ahrefs-style reports for a US site on a budget, test it in the 7 day trial first.
8. SpyFu
SpyFu is $39 a month and shows the keywords and ads a competitor has used for years. Rank tracking is weekly and the backlink data is licensed. Buy it for competitor research alongside a rank tracker, not as a full Ahrefs replacement.
9. Ahrefs Webmaster Tools and Google Search Console (free)
This is the free Ahrefs alternative most people miss. Ahrefs Webmaster Tools gives you the real Ahrefs backlink index and site audit for any site you verify, at no cost. Google Search Console adds real clicks and average positions. The gap is competitor data, which needs a paid tool. Together they cover most of what a small site owner opens Ahrefs for.
Free Ahrefs alternatives by job
| Job | Free tool | Limit |
|---|---|---|
| Backlinks to your own site | Ahrefs Webmaster Tools | Verified sites only |
| Rankings for your own site | Google Search Console | Averaged across locations and devices |
| One live position check | Zutrix free SERP checker | One keyword per check |
| Keyword volumes | Zutrix free keyword planner | Daily lookup cap |
| Competitor backlinks | None worth using | Needs a paid index |
Which Ahrefs alternative should you pick?
- +Check the $29 Ahrefs Starter plan before you leave. It may be all you need.
- +Verify your sites in Ahrefs Webmaster Tools. It stays free after you cancel.
- +Export your tracked keyword lists and backlink reports before the plan ends.
- xExpect any $30 tool to match the Ahrefs backlink index.
- xJudge a rank tracker on a weekly refresh. Test it against a live search.
- xPay for seats one at a time when several tools include them.
FAQ
Common questions
Written by the Zutrix team
Last reviewed September 16, 2026
Zutrix has built rank tracking and SEO software for more than eight years. Our guides come from the same team that runs the product, and every how-to is checked against what we see in real ranking data across the keywords our customers track. We write them for people who are new to SEO and for agencies who want a clear answer fast.
Search volume and difficulty figures come from live Google results and third-party keyword data.
Sources and further reading