8 SEO tools compared on the things that decide a switch from Ahrefs: what the entry plan really costs, how projects and keywords are capped, whether backlink data is the point, and what each vendor's own pricing page said on 14 September 2026.
8 tools compared · Last reviewed
Ahrefs is the backlink index the industry checks against, and its pricing page on 14 September 2026 listed Starter at $29 a month, Lite at $129, Standard at $249, Advanced at $449 and Enterprise at $1,499 on an annual commitment, with extra users at $40 to $80 each and AI brand tracking from $199. People look elsewhere for three reasons: $129 a month for one user is steep for a freelancer, keyword caps and user fees make agencies pay twice, and many people only need one of the jobs Ahrefs bundles.
The alternatives split by job. Semrush and Moz are the other suites. SE Ranking is the agency platform. SEO PowerSuite removes the caps by running on your desktop. SpyFu and Ubersuggest are cheap research tools. Mangools is the simplest keyword toolset. LowFruits finds keywords you can win and does nothing else.
Every price here was read from the vendor's pricing page on 14 September 2026 where the page could be read; SE Ranking and Mangools render prices client-side, and their entries quote our listings and say so.
Ahrefs Lite is $129 a month for one user, with the next two seats at $40 each. Moz Standard is $99 or $79 paid yearly, SEO PowerSuite Professional $29.10 a month on a yearly licence, and Ubersuggest Individual $29.
Caps on projects and keywords
Lite tracks 5 projects and 6 months of history. SEO PowerSuite has no project or keyword caps at any tier because the software runs on your machine; SE Ranking scales its price by tracked keywords instead.
You only need one job done
Competitor keyword research is SpyFu at $29 billed annually; keyword opportunity is LowFruits at $20.75 billed yearly; simple keyword research is Mangools. Paying for the Ahrefs index to do one of those is the expensive way.
AI search tracking costs extra
Ahrefs Brand Radar starts at $199 a month on top of the plan. Moz Medium bundles AI search and GEO tools at $179, and SE Ranking sells AI-visibility trackers inside its platform.
How we chose
We added SEO PowerSuite to our directory and re-priced Ahrefs, Moz Pro and SpyFu with their full ladders from 14 September 2026; Semrush, SE Ranking, Ubersuggest, Mangools and LowFruits were already listed. Vendors we checked and could not price honestly are left out: Serpstat's pricing URLs returned 404, and Similarweb publishes enterprise pricing only. Four of the ten Google results for "ahrefs alternatives" are vendor-written (SE Ranking, SEO PowerSuite, Mangools and Zapier); the rest are affiliate publishers.
Best for: The other all-in-one suite, with content marketing and a free tier
The direct rival. Keyword research, site audit, backlinks, rank tracking and a content toolkit. Our listing carries Pro at $139.95 a month with 5 projects and 500 tracked keywords, Guru at $249.95 with 15 projects and the Content Marketing Toolkit, and Business at $499.95 with API access, annual billing 17% off and a 7-day trial on Pro and Guru.
Free tier: Yes — a free plan with limited daily queries.
Watch out: Per-user seats are extra on every plan, and the interface is the busiest here. Our Semrush alternatives page has the reverse comparison.
Best for: A friendlier suite with Domain Authority and AI-search tools
The approachable suite. Its pricing page on 14 September 2026 listed Starter at $49 a month, Standard at $99 or $79 paid yearly, Medium at $179 or $143 with AI search and GEO tools, and Large at $299 or $239, with extra keyword blocks from $10 and campaigns at $15.
Free tier: No — a free trial and a limited free toolset.
Watch out: The link index and keyword database are smaller than Ahrefs', and the yearly figures shown were first-year totals.
Best for: A full platform for agencies that also sells white-label reports
The agency platform. Rank tracking, audits, keyword research, backlinks, a content editor and AI-visibility trackers in one subscription. It ranks third on Google for "ahrefs alternatives" with its own page. Our listing records that its headline tier prices render client-side and could not be read on 14 September 2026; only add-on keyword blocks from $16 were readable.
Free tier: No — a free trial.
Watch out: You cannot budget it from the page source; confirm the tier price for your keyword count on seranking.com.
Best for: Competitor keyword and ad research on a small budget
The competitor spy. Its pricing page on 14 September 2026 listed Basic at $39 a month or $29 billed annually, Pro + AI at $119 or $89 billed annually (with a $59 first-month promotion), and Team / Agency at $249 or $187 with five users.
Free tier: No — limited free lookups without an account.
Watch out: It is a research tool, not an audit or backlink platform, and the promotional first-month price is not the price.
Best for: Beginners who want keyword ideas and site audits for under $30
The budget suite. Its pricing page on 14 September 2026 listed Individual at $29 a month, Business at $49 and Enterprise at $99, with add-ons at $5 a month each.
Free tier: Yes — a limited free tier.
Watch out: Data depth trails every other tool here, and the free tier is a few searches a day.
Best for: Keyword research with the simplest interface in SEO
The simple toolset. KWFinder, SERPChecker, SERPWatcher, LinkMiner and SiteProfiler in one login. It ranks sixth on Google for "ahrefs alternatives" with a page calling itself the best free alternative. Our listing records that its plan prices rendered client-side and could not be read on 14 September 2026.
Free tier: No — historically a free trial; confirm.
Watch out: No readable prices in the page source, so confirm Basic, Premium and Agency on mangools.com before comparing.
Best for: Unlimited projects and keywords on a desktop licence
The desktop alternative. Four installed apps with no project or keyword caps. Its pricing page on 14 September 2026 listed Professional at $60 a month or $29.10 billed $349 a year, Enterprise at $140 or $49.95 billed $599, and Max+ at $200 or $74.95 billed $899, with two-year terms cheaper still. It ranks fourth for "ahrefs alternatives" with its own page.
Free tier: Yes — a free edition with limits on saving and exporting.
Watch out: Desktop software with a smaller backlink index; monthly billing is twice the yearly rate.
Best for: Finding low-competition keywords, and nothing else
The specialist. It scans SERPs for weak pages you can outrank and prices by credits. Its pricing page on 14 September 2026 listed Standard at $25 a month billed monthly or $20.75 billed yearly, with a higher Premium tier.
Free tier: Yes — free credits on signup.
Watch out: It replaces one Ahrefs job, keyword opportunity, not the suite; the Premium price was not readable.
Partly. Semrush and Ubersuggest have limited free tiers, SEO PowerSuite has a free edition that cannot save or export, LowFruits gives free credits and SpyFu allows limited free lookups. Ahrefs' own Webmaster Tools is free for sites you verify, which covers audits and your own backlinks.
What is the cheapest Ahrefs alternative?
On 14 September 2026, LowFruits Standard at $20.75 a month billed yearly (one job only), then SpyFu Basic at $29 billed annually, Ubersuggest Individual at $29 and SEO PowerSuite Professional at $29.10 on a yearly licence. Ahrefs Starter is $29 but limited; Lite is $129.
Which alternative has the best backlink data?
Semrush and Moz run the largest indexes after Ahrefs; SEO PowerSuite's SpyGlass and SE Ranking are usable but smaller. If backlinks are the whole reason you pay, Ahrefs or Semrush.
Which alternative is best for agencies?
SE Ranking, with white-label reports and pricing that scales by keywords, or SEO PowerSuite Enterprise at $49.95 a month billed yearly with unlimited projects. Semrush Business adds API access at $499.95.
What does Ahrefs cost?
Starter $29, Lite $129, Standard $249, Advanced $449 a month, Enterprise $1,499 a month on an annual commitment, extra users $40 to $80 each, Brand Radar from $199, as listed on 14 September 2026. Ahrefs Webmaster Tools is free for verified sites.
Will my Ahrefs projects move?
Keyword lists and tracked keywords export as CSV and import into every tool here; historical rank data does not transfer, so your new tool starts its history on day one. Backlink data is each vendor's own index.
