Ahrefs alternatives, including cheaper ones (2026)

The short answer: Ahrefs is known for backlink data, and from €119 a month it is priced as a full suite. For the closest suite, Semrush, or SE Ranking for less. For backlinks and Domain Authority at a lower entry price, Moz Pro. For competitor keywords and ads, SpyFu. For keyword research on a budget, Mangools or Ubersuggest. If the research is only the first step and you need the content that comes after it, that is what AltoRank does. Eight tools below, each with its price and the job it wins.

By Mike Cecconello · Published October 1, 2026 · Every price below carries the date and source it was read from

Why people look for an Ahrefs alternative

Mostly price. Lite is €119 a month for one user, 5 projects and 750 tracked keywords, with usage credits capped per user; unlimited credits start on Standard at €229. Each extra user costs from €37.4 a month, and content tools are a separate add-on from €89.

Ahrefs has answered some of that with a €27 Starter plan and Ahrefs Free, both below Lite. They cover a slice of the product, not the backlink research most people pay Ahrefs for.

The other reason is scope. If research was never the goal, only a means to producing content, a suite of any size leaves the actual work to you.

The eight alternatives

1. AltoRank: when the research is a means to content

Ours, and not a suite in Ahrefs' sense, so read the rest before weighing it. AltoRank researches the questions a site's buyers search, then drafts the article in the site's voice with sources attached and holds it for a named person to approve before it publishes. No backlink index, no site audit to browse, no rank tracker, and its AI-mention tracker is built but not yet switched on. Open source under AGPL-3.0, free to self-host, €69/mo managed for 100 articles, €199/mo on Agency for unlimited client workspaces.

2. Semrush: the broadest suite

Keyword, competitor and backlink research, site audit, rank tracking, AI visibility and reporting in one login. SEO €134/mo (€112.52 billed yearly) for 5 websites and 500 daily tracked keywords; Starter SEO + AI Search €190; Pro+ €286; Advanced €526. A free plan covers one demo project. Read from semrush.com/pricing on 30 September 2026. Adobe completed its acquisition of Semrush on 28 April 2026. It has its own roundup of alternatives.

3. SE Ranking: a full suite for less

Rank tracking, keyword, competitor and backlink research, site audit and AI prompt tracking. Core €109/mo (€87.20 billed yearly) for 10 projects, 1 seat, 2,000 keywords and 100 AI prompts tracked daily; Growth €235 (€188) for 30 projects and 3 seats. A 14-day trial with no card. Read from seranking.com on 30 September 2026. Its own roundup ranked first for "Ahrefs alternatives" on Google US on 1 October 2026.

4. Moz Pro: backlinks and Domain Authority

Keyword Explorer, rank tracking, site crawl, backlinks and Domain Authority, with AI prompt tracking across GPT, Gemini, Google AI Mode and Perplexity from Standard up. Standard $99/mo ($79 billed yearly) for 3 sites, 300 tracked keywords and 5,000 backlink queries a month; Medium $179 ($143), which carries a free trial; Large $299 ($239); a $49/mo Starter for a single site. Read from moz.com/products/pro/pricing on 1 October 2026.

5. SpyFu: competitor keywords and ads

Built around seeing which keywords and ads a competitor has run, with 10+ years of history. Basic $39/mo for 10,000-row results; Pro + AI $59 for the first month, then $119, for unlimited results and exports; Team / Agency $249 for 5 users. A 30-day money-back guarantee. Read from spyfu.com/pricing on 30 September 2026.

6. Mangools: an easier keyword suite

Keyword research, SERP checks, rank tracking, backlinks (LinkMiner) and site metrics, with an API, an MCP server and AI prompt monitoring on every plan. Basic €37.70/mo billed yearly with 100,000 backlinks a month, Premium €52.70, Agency €97.70; a 48-hour money-back guarantee instead of a trial. Read from mangools.com on 25 September 2026. It has its own roundup of alternatives.

7. Ubersuggest: the cheapest suite

Keyword research, a site audit, rank tracking, backlinks and a few AI prompts and articles a month. Individual €29/mo for one project, Business €49, Enterprise €99, billed monthly with a one-time 7-day trial; lifetime licences from €290, which its pricing page says are non-refundable. Read from app.neilpatel.com/en/pricing on 30 September 2026. See the Ubersuggest alternatives.

8. Keywords Everywhere: volume in your browser

A browser extension that shows search volume, CPC and trend next to Google results, billed on credits: Bronze $84/yr for 100,000 credits, up to Platinum $1,440/yr for 8 million. The REST API and an MCP server share the same credits. Read from keywordseverywhere.com/compare-plans on 25 September 2026. No backlink index, but often all a writer needed Ahrefs for.

Not listed: Majestic and Serpstat, whose pricing we have not read, and Similarweb, a traffic-intelligence platform rather than an SEO suite.

When Ahrefs is the better choice

If backlinks are the job. Ahrefs describes its crawler as the world's second-most active, and its link data is what most people are paying for. The cheaper tools above cover keywords and tracking; for backlink research at the same scale, the usual comparison is Semrush, at a similar price.

Other tools people compare this one against

Same format, same tests, a different tool under the microscope.

• Mangools alternatives

  A keyword list vs the content that comes after it.

• Surfer alternatives

  Scoring content you bring vs researching and drafting it for you.

• Jasper alternatives

  A whole marketing platform vs ranking one site, open source.

All 23 comparisons, listed by what each tool is actually for.