SEO platform for backlink analysis, keyword research, rank tracking and site audits.
Key facts
- Lowest listed plan
- $29/moStarter plan
- Billing
- Month-to-month billing
- Free plan
- Yes, Ahrefs Free
- Free trial
- No
- Prices last verified
- 26 Oct 2026
- Verification
- Vendor-checkedVerified 26 Oct 2026 against vendor documentation. Not independently tested.
What Ahrefs does
An SEO platform for backlink research, keyword research, site audits and rank tracking, with features aimed at brand visibility in AI search.
Built for (vendor-stated)
- Small businesses
- Freelancers and consultants
- Enterprises
- Agencies
- Ecommerce brands
SEOFinder editorial summary
Best suited for
- Competitor research on paid plans.
- Teams tracking up to a few thousand keywords (750 on Lite, 5,000 on Advanced).
Strengths
- Backlink analysis, keyword research, rank tracking and site audits.
- Ahrefs Free includes site audits and backlink data for sites you verify you own.
Trade-offs
- No free trial; Ahrefs Free is offered instead.
- Full AI visibility (Brand Radar) is a paid add-on from $199/mo; plans include 150–600 custom AI prompt checks.
- The $29 Starter plan's included capabilities have not been fully verified.
- Lite, Standard and Advanced include one user; extra users cost $40, $60 or $80 a month each.
Strengths, trade-offs and fit are SEOFinder's editorial summary of Ahrefs's own documentation, reviewed on 27 Oct 2026. They are not user reviews, and SEOFinder has not tested the product.
Ahrefs pricing and plans
Vendor documentation, 26 Oct 2026. Checked against the vendor's own pages on the date shown. Not independently tested.Prices as listed by Ahrefs; annual totals only where the vendor lists them. Lowest plans differ in limits between tools, so compare what each plan includes. How we check prices
| Plan | Month-to-month | Billed annually | Limits and inclusions (vendor-listed) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ahrefs Free | Free | Requires verifying ownership of your website for Site Explorer, Site Audit and Web Analytics; Site Audit 5K crawl credits/month per project; 1K backlinks & keywords visible at once. | |
| Starter | Month-to-month$29/mo | Billed annuallyNot listed | Listed separately from the core plans. |
| Lite | Month-to-month$129/mo | Billed annuallyNot listed | 5 non-verified projects, 6 months history, 750 tracked keywords, 150 AI prompt checks, 100,000 crawl credits. Annual price not listed. 1 user included; up to 2 more at $40/mo each. |
| Standard | Month-to-month$249/mo | Billed annually$2,490/yr | 20 non-verified projects, 2 years history, 2,000 tracked keywords, 300 AI prompt checks. 1 user included; up to 5 more at $60/mo each. |
| Advanced | Month-to-month$449/mo | Billed annuallyNot listed | 50 non-verified projects, 5 years history, 5,000 tracked keywords, 600 AI prompt checks. Annual price not listed. 1 user included; up to 10 more at $80/mo each. |
| EnterpriseAnnual commitment | Month-to-monthNot listed | Billed annually$1,499/mo | Annual commitment required (monthly-equivalent price shown). Uncapped API access, custom API endpoints, SSO, unlimited history. From 3 users included; additional users $100/mo each. |
Paid add-ons
- AI visibility monitoring · Add-on from LiteFull Brand Radar AI (research any brand across 505M+ prompts) is a paid add-on from $199/mo. Plans include a small number of custom AI prompt checks (Lite 150, Standard 300, Advanced 600). Brand Radar page (EUR view) shows 'AI Visibility Index' from €179/mo and '€654/MO FOR ALL MODELS'.
Ahrefs capabilities
Checked against Ahrefs's documentation on 26 Oct 2026 unless a row says otherwise; not independently tested. The plan column shows where a capability is confirmed, not that lower plans lack it.
- Offered15
- Partial1
- Paid add-on1
- Not offered0
- Unknown2
- * Not yet verified
| Capability | Availability | Confirmed plan | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| AI visibility11 | |||
| AI visibility monitoringTracks brand mentions or citations in AI assistants and AI search answers. | Availability: Paid add-on | Confirmed plan: Add-on from LiteAvailability on lower plans not verified. | Vendor documentation. Checked against the vendor's own pages on the date shown. Not independently tested., details for AI visibility monitoringChecked against vendor documentation on 26 Oct 2026. Not independently tested. Vendor wording: “Brand Radar AI ... from $199/mo” Notes: Full Brand Radar AI (research any brand across 505M+ prompts) is a paid add-on from $199/mo. Plans include a small number of custom AI prompt checks (Lite 150, Standard 300, Advanced 600). Brand Radar page (EUR view) shows 'AI Visibility Index' from €179/mo and '€654/MO FOR ALL MODELS'. |
| ChatGPT trackingMonitors answers from ChatGPT. | Availability: Offered | Plan not specified | Vendor documentation. Checked against the vendor's own pages on the date shown. Not independently tested., details for ChatGPT trackingChecked against vendor documentation on 26 Oct 2026. Not independently tested. Vendor wording: “AI Overviews, AI Mode, Gemini, Perplexity, Copilot, ChatGPT” Notes: Via Brand Radar (add-on / custom prompts). |
| Google AI Overviews trackingMonitors Google AI Overviews. | Availability: Offered | Plan not specified | Vendor documentation. Checked against the vendor's own pages on the date shown. Not independently tested., details for Google AI Overviews trackingChecked against vendor documentation on 26 Oct 2026. Not independently tested. Vendor wording: “AI Overviews, AI Mode, Gemini, Perplexity, Copilot, ChatGPT” Notes: Via Brand Radar. |
| Google AI Mode trackingMonitors Google AI Mode answers. | Availability: Offered | Plan not specified | Vendor documentation. Checked against the vendor's own pages on the date shown. Not independently tested., details for Google AI Mode trackingChecked against vendor documentation on 26 Oct 2026. Not independently tested. Vendor wording: “AI Overviews, AI Mode, Gemini, Perplexity, Copilot, ChatGPT” Notes: Via Brand Radar. |
| Perplexity trackingMonitors Perplexity answers. | Availability: Offered | Plan not specified | Vendor documentation. Checked against the vendor's own pages on the date shown. Not independently tested., details for Perplexity trackingChecked against vendor documentation on 26 Oct 2026. Not independently tested. Vendor wording: “AI Overviews, AI Mode, Gemini, Perplexity, Copilot, ChatGPT” Notes: Via Brand Radar. |
| Gemini trackingMonitors Google Gemini answers. | Availability: Offered | Plan not specified | Vendor documentation. Checked against the vendor's own pages on the date shown. Not independently tested., details for Gemini trackingChecked against vendor documentation on 26 Oct 2026. Not independently tested. Vendor wording: “AI Overviews, AI Mode, Gemini, Perplexity, Copilot, ChatGPT” Notes: Via Brand Radar. |
| Claude trackingMonitors Claude answers. | Availability: Offered | Plan not specified | Vendor documentation. Checked against the vendor's own pages on the date shown. Not independently tested., details for Claude trackingChecked against vendor documentation on 26 Oct 2026. Not independently tested. Vendor wording: “All platforms (Claude available)” Notes: Custom prompts only; 'Claude consumes 8 checks per update.' |
| Microsoft Copilot trackingMonitors Microsoft Copilot answers. | Availability: Offered | Plan not specified | Vendor documentation. Checked against the vendor's own pages on the date shown. Not independently tested., details for Microsoft Copilot trackingChecked against vendor documentation on 26 Oct 2026. Not independently tested. Vendor wording: “AI Overviews, AI Mode, Gemini, Perplexity, Copilot, ChatGPT” Notes: Via Brand Radar. |
| Citation and source trackingShows which pages AI answers cite as sources. | Availability: Offered | Plan not specified | Vendor documentation. Checked against the vendor's own pages on the date shown. Not independently tested., details for Citation and source trackingChecked against vendor documentation on 26 Oct 2026. Not independently tested. Vendor wording: “Find valuable AI citations and secure new mentions to boost your visibility in LLM answers.” Notes: Via Brand Radar. |
| AI competitor benchmarkingCompares brand visibility against competitors in AI answers. | Availability: Offered | Plan not specified | Vendor documentation. Checked against the vendor's own pages on the date shown. Not independently tested., details for AI competitor benchmarkingChecked against vendor documentation on 26 Oct 2026. Not independently tested. Vendor wording: “Benchmark your brand against competitors in AI search and spot the big players.” Notes: Via Brand Radar. |
| Prompt trackingTracks a defined set of prompts over time. | Availability: Offered | Confirmed plan: Confirmed from LiteAvailability on lower plans not verified. | Vendor documentation. Checked against the vendor's own pages on the date shown. Not independently tested., details for Prompt trackingChecked against vendor documentation on 26 Oct 2026. Not independently tested. Vendor wording: “Free for every paid Ahrefs Lite plan and above” Notes: Custom Prompts: Lite 150 checks/5 prompts, Standard 300/10, Advanced 600/20; extra prompt packages Basic $50/mo (2,500 checks), Growth $100/mo (7,000), Scale $250/mo (25,000). 'Claude consumes 8 checks per update.' |
| Content2 | |||
| Automated content generationGenerates drafts or full articles with AI. | Availability: Partial | Plan not specified | Vendor documentation. Checked against the vendor's own pages on the date shown. Not independently tested., details for Automated content generationChecked against vendor documentation on 26 Oct 2026. Not independently tested. Vendor wording: “a content editor that acts like a real writing assistant” Notes: Inline Ask AI rewrites, shortens or expands text. |
| Content optimizationScores or guides content against ranking competitors. | Availability: Offered | Confirmed plan: Confirmed on the free plan | Vendor documentation. Checked against the vendor's own pages on the date shown. Not independently tested., details for Content optimizationChecked against vendor documentation on 26 Oct 2026. Not independently tested. Vendor wording: “AI Content Helper grades your content against top-ranking pages” Notes: Free: 1 document/month; AI Content Helper €89/mo (50 docs); Content Kit from $99/mo marked 'Soon' on pricing page. |
| Research2 | |||
| Keyword researchKeyword discovery with volume or difficulty data. | Availability: Offered | Plan not specified | Vendor documentation. Checked against the vendor's own pages on the date shown. Not independently tested., details for Keyword researchChecked against vendor documentation on 26 Oct 2026. Not independently tested. Vendor wording: “Learn what your customers are searching for.” Notes: Keywords Explorer. |
| Rank trackingMonitors positions in traditional search results over time. | Availability: Offered | Confirmed plan: Confirmed from LiteAvailability on lower plans not verified. | Vendor documentation. Checked against the vendor's own pages on the date shown. Not independently tested., details for Rank trackingChecked against vendor documentation on 26 Oct 2026. Not independently tested. Vendor wording: “Monitor your rankings in search engines.” Notes: Rank Tracker; 750 / 2,000 / 5,000 tracked keywords on Lite / Standard / Advanced. |
| Technical SEO1 | |||
| Technical site auditCrawls a site to find technical and on-page issues. | Availability: Offered | Confirmed plan: Confirmed on the free plan | Vendor documentation. Checked against the vendor's own pages on the date shown. Not independently tested., details for Technical site auditChecked against vendor documentation on 26 Oct 2026. Not independently tested. Vendor wording: “Audit & optimize your website.” Notes: Free plan limited to verified sites, 5K crawl credits/month per project. |
| Backlinks1 | |||
| Backlink analysisExplores referring domains and link profiles. | Availability: Offered | Confirmed plan: Confirmed on the free plan | Vendor documentation. Checked against the vendor's own pages on the date shown. Not independently tested., details for Backlink analysisChecked against vendor documentation on 26 Oct 2026. Not independently tested. Vendor wording: “See which sites and pages link to you.” Notes: Free plan: own verified sites, '1K backlinks & keywords visible at once'. Competitor analysis via Site Explorer on paid plans ('Study your competitors' websites'). |
Unknown: 2 capabilitiesNo vendor documentation found either way. Unknown is not the same as Not offered.
Publishing
- Automated publishingPushes content directly to a CMS such as WordPress.
Backlinks
- Backlink buildingHelps acquire new backlinks, for example through outreach tooling or link exchanges.
Integrations
3 verified in vendor documentation, 0 not yet verified.
- Vendor documentation. Checked against the vendor's own pages on the date shown. Not independently tested.Google Search Console
- Vendor documentation. Checked against the vendor's own pages on the date shown. Not independently tested.Looker Studio
- Vendor documentation. Checked against the vendor's own pages on the date shown. Not independently tested.Public API
Sources
Official Ahrefs pages read on 26 Oct 2026. These are the vendor's own claims; SEOFinder has not independently tested them.
- ahrefs.com/pricing
- help.ahrefs.com/en/articles/3493211-how-does-2-months-free-discount-work-with-a-yearly-plan
- ahrefs.com/free
- help.ahrefs.com/en/articles/1406260-do-you-offer-any-discounts-or-free-trials
- ahrefs.com/brand-radar
- ahrefs.com/
- ahrefs.com/ai-content-helper
- help.ahrefs.com/en/articles/9229306-how-can-i-use-ahrefs-with-looker-studio
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