Key takeaways
- Ahrefs pricing in 2026 has five tiers: Starter at $29, Lite at $129, Standard at $249, Advanced at $449, and Enterprise from $1,499 a month. Annual billing saves about 17 percent.
- Every plan includes one user. Extra users cost $40 a month on Lite, $60 on Standard, and $80 on Advanced, with a cap on how many you can add.
- Ahrefs Webmaster Tools is free and gives you the site audit and backlink report for sites you own.
- There is no free trial of the paid plans. The $29 Starter plan is the cheapest way to test the full data.
- Ahrefs is worth it for backlink and keyword research. For rank tracking, 750 keywords on a $129 plan is expensive per keyword.
Ahrefs pricing is simpler than most SEO tools and still confuses buyers, mostly because of the Starter plan's credits and the per-user fees above it. This guide lists every plan as of September 16, 2026, what each one includes, where the extra costs are, and how to decide whether Ahrefs is worth it for your work. Prices are in US dollars from the Ahrefs pricing page.
We build Zutrix, a rank tracking and SEO platform that costs far less than Ahrefs and competes with it on tracking. We say that up front. This guide aims to be accurate about Ahrefs first, with our own pricing in one marked section. For head to head comparisons, see Semrush vs Ahrefs and Ahrefs alternatives.
Ahrefs pricing at a glance
| Plan | Monthly | Annual, per month | Projects | Tracked keywords | History | Extra users |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starter | $29 | $29 | Limited | Limited | Limited | None |
| Lite | $129 | $107.57 | 5 | 750 | 6 months | $40 each, up to 2 |
| Standard | $249 | $206.58 | 20 | 2,000 | 2 years | $60 each, up to 5 |
| Advanced | $449 | $372.92 | 50 | 5,000 | 5 years | $80 each, up to 10 |
| Enterprise | From $1,499 | Annual only | Custom | Custom | Unlimited | Custom |
Lite is the plan most people mean when they say "Ahrefs". Standard is where agencies land, because 5 projects on Lite runs out fast. Advanced adds history and volume for large teams. Enterprise is a contract with uncapped API access. Starter sits apart from the rest as a credit-based plan for light use.
$29
Starter plan per month
$129
Lite plan per month
17%
Saving on annual billing
What each Ahrefs plan includes
Starter, $29 a month
The Ahrefs Starter plan gives one person access to Site Explorer, Keywords Explorer, and a limited Site Audit on a credit system. Each report you open uses credits, and the monthly allowance suits a few checks a day, not all-day research. It is the cheapest way to see Ahrefs data. It is not a small version of Lite. Heavy users run out of credits in the first week.
Lite, $129 a month
One user, 5 projects, 750 tracked keywords, 6 months of history, and 100,000 crawl credits for Site Audit. Most tools have generous limits at this tier, with some credit caps on the heaviest reports. For a freelancer or a small in-house team, Lite covers daily research. For an agency, five projects is the wall.
Standard, $249 a month
Twenty projects, 2,000 tracked keywords, 2 years of history, 500,000 crawl credits, and access to Content Explorer and more of the Site Explorer reports. This is the working agency plan. Extra users are $60 a month each, up to five.
Advanced, $449 a month
Fifty projects, 5,000 tracked keywords, 5 years of history, 1.5 million crawl credits, and the deepest reports. Extra users are $80 each. Mid-size agencies and enterprise in-house teams live here.
Enterprise, from $1,499 a month
Annual contract only. Everything in Advanced plus uncapped API access, unlimited history, custom limits, and account management. Priced for companies that build on Ahrefs data.
Users, credits, and add-ons
Seats are the biggest hidden cost. A three person team on Lite pays $129 plus $80, or $209 a month. On Standard it is $249 plus $120, or $369. Ahrefs also caps extra users per plan, so a six person team cannot stay on Lite at any price. Credits are the second cost. Starter runs on credits alone. Lite and up have credit limits on some heavy reports, and you can buy more.
| Extra | Price | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Additional user, Lite | $40 a month | Up to 2 extra |
| Additional user, Standard | $60 a month | Up to 5 extra |
| Additional user, Advanced | $80 a month | Up to 10 extra |
| Brand Radar AI tracking | From $199 a month | AI answer mentions across models |
| Extra tracked AI prompts | Varies | Lite includes 5, Standard 10, Advanced 20 |
| API access | Enterprise, or metered on lower plans | Check current API pricing |
Ahrefs free options: Webmaster Tools and free tools
Ahrefs does not offer a free trial of the paid plans. What it offers instead is better for site owners. Ahrefs Webmaster Tools is free for any site you can verify and includes a scheduled Site Audit and the full backlink report from the Ahrefs index. There is also a set of free tools on the website, including a keyword generator, a backlink checker with a limited view, and a SERP checker.
- Ahrefs Webmaster Tools: free site audit and backlinks for verified sites, no time limit.
- Free keyword generator: top 100 ideas for any seed keyword.
- Free backlink checker: top 100 backlinks for any domain.
- Starter plan: $29 a month, the practical "trial" of the full data.
Is Ahrefs worth it?
For backlink research, competitor analysis, and keyword research, yes. The index is the best in the industry and the interface is fast. For rank tracking, no. Lite tracks 750 keywords for $129, which is 17 cents per keyword per month. Dedicated trackers charge under 10 cents and update daily. For site audits on your own site, Webmaster Tools does it free.
- You research competitor backlinks or keywords most days.
- You sell link building or content strategy.
- You need Content Explorer or deep historical data.
- You have one or two users and can absorb seat fees.
- Rank tracking is a side task, not your main report.
Three or more ticks and Ahrefs is a fair buy at Lite or Standard. One tick, and you probably want Starter plus a cheaper tracker. Our cheap SEO tools guide covers that route.
How to pay less for Ahrefs
- 1
Start with Webmaster Tools
Free audit and backlinks for your own sites. Many small businesses need nothing else.
- 2
Try Starter before Lite
At $29 you see the full data. If you run out of credits every week, upgrade with confidence.
- 3
Pay annually
Annual billing saves about 17 percent, or $260 a year on Lite.
- 4
Keep seats to a minimum
Share exports and reports rather than logins. Each seat is $40 to $80.
- 5
Track rankings elsewhere
Buy the smallest Ahrefs plan for research and use a dedicated tracker for daily positions.
- +Price your team size on each plan before choosing.
- +Export reports before downgrading, because history limits shrink.
- +Use the free tools for one-off checks.
- xExpect Starter to behave like a small Lite. Credits run out.
- xBuy Advanced for rank tracking volume alone.
- xAssume there is a free trial. There is not.
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