5 Decent Ahrefs Alternatives

There’s no denying that Ahrefs has become one of the best and most popular SEO tools out there. But the problem is that not everyone can afford it. It also comes with heaps of functionalities and tools that might take some time to get used to. 

In this post, we’ll look at some paid and free alternatives to Ahrefs. Before you get a plan to any of these, though, we advise you to take as much time to research each tool. Many of them aren’t as generous as Ahrefs when it comes to what you can do with them, but they’re still worth considering. 

Ahrefs alternatives

If you want to compare any other SEO tools with Ahrefs, you should look at what they can give you in terms of the following:

• Link profiles
• Search engine results pages
• Site audits & keyword research

These are merely the most important features that Ahrefs can offer you, as there are many more that you can use to your advantage, especially in analyzing your competitors. 

1. SEMRush

SEMRush is the best rank tracking software if you don’t want to get an Ahrefs subscription. It’s really good and it incorporates new and useful features on a regular basis. 

The tool gives you the following (but also a lot more):

• SEO site audits
• Traffic analytics
• On-page SEO analysis
• Rank tracking
• Backlink analytics

If you’re going to be the only person using this tool, you might want to consider it, since its Lite subscription costs $99. 

In terms of user experience, there are people out there who prefer either Ahrefs or SEMrush. Still, Ahrefs often has technical problems, leaving you incapable of checking any data for up to half a day and more. 

As a downside, the sidebar in Ahrefs makes it easy for you to check everything with just one click. By comparison, the SEMRush sidebar merely displays the features, which means that you will have to do some investigating on your own to find just what you’re looking for. 

2. Moz Pro

If your focus is analyzing your competition as best as possible, you might have to look into Moz Pro. There are people out there who say that Ahrefs and SEMrush are way better than Moz, but the truth is that the platform is quite easy to use. 

One of its main advantages is its browser extension, The Moz Bar. You can use the tool to check anything from Domain and Page Authority to traffic, rankings, and visibility. The basic plan costs $99, as is the case with Ahrefs and SEMRush, so there’s no difference there. 

3. Monitor Backlinks

While there aren’t that many Ahrefs free alternatives out there simply because they can’t offer you the same features, you could give Monitor Backlinks a shot just to test it out. The free trial will give you access to the basic plan, but we have to be honest and say that this particular SEO tool doesn’t even begin to compare with Ahrefs.

What can you use it for, though? Well, you can analyze your own links, those of your competitors, and even use the disavow tool included in the platform. Unfortunately, you aren’t going to get any domain comparisons, keyword tool, or organic traffic reporting, which is a considerable downside.

The basic paid plan costs just under $50, though, but we advise you to use the free trial and see whether you like it. 

4. Majestic

If backlink analysis is what you’re most focused on, Majestic is one of the perfect Ahrefs alternatives for you. According to some SEOs, Majestic is a little dated, but it’s still a winner in terms of backlink reports.

On the other hand, the user experience really isn’t something worth writing home about as there are so many buttons and features that you might feel baffled as to what you’re supposed to click to do what. 

We might argue that Ahrefs is way better than Majestic in many respects, but once again, if you want a good link building tool and you are on a budget, the basic plan costs less than 40 pounds (that’s approximately $50).

5. Serpstat

Serpstat has a plethora of helpful features from backlink analysis to organic rankings reports. To date, this tool shares most of its features with Ahrefs, and a monthly plan costs about $30 less. 

It does come with a considerably lighter keyword tool, though, and there have been some users claiming that the keyword data isn’t exactly accurate. However, the tool did improve significantly, and you can always rely on its backlink dashboard, which always gives accurate information. 

It might be worth giving a try if you’re looking for a cheaper Ahrefs alternative, and you want one that’s quite easy to use. 

Other alternatives to Ahrefs

It would have been nearly impossible for us to include all of the other SEO tools that you have at your disposal if you don’t want to invest in a basic Ahrefs plan. So here are several that you should look into before making your final decision. 

• Mangools
• SEO PowerSuite
• Long Tail Pro
• BuzzSumo
• UberSuggest

While SEMRush is by far the best Ahrefs alternative out there, there shouldn’t be anything stopping you from checking out the others, too. 

Do consider that Ahrefs has a 7-day $7 trial that you can give a shot to if you’ve never used the tool before, and you want to see how it works and how it can help you. 

Want to learn more about SEO tools and SEO in general? We have many different plans available and we also offer consultancy. Use the button below to reach out.

Craig Campbell

I am a Glasgow based SEO expert who has been doing SEO for 22 years. In this time I have gained extensive knowledge in the subject of SEO and have build up a wealth of experience in SEO and other digital marketing services.

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