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Reviewed 2026-10-14

Best Ahrefs Alternatives in 2026

There are 5 replacements in our index for Ahrefs. We describe what each one is good at and what it gives up. Every entry links to the vendor's own pricing page, because published prices change and we would rather you check than trust.

About Ahrefs

Ahrefs publishes a free tier, Ahrefs Webmaster Tools, alongside the paid plans listed on its pricing page.

Source: Ahrefs Webmaster Tools ↗

What readers commonly dislike about Ahrefs

  • Credit limits apply across tools, so heavy use consumes them quickly
  • Aimed at teams, which shows in the price
  • Overkill if you are running one small site
Check Ahrefs's current pricing ↗

Options in our index

1

Mangools

SEO & Growth Tools

Visit Mangools

Mangools bundles KWFinder, SERPChecker, LinkMiner and SiteProfiler at a fraction of enterprise SEO suite pricing. The trade-off is a smaller backlink index, which matters most for competitive link research.

Pricing: Paid plans only; free trial availableconfirm on Mangools's site ↗

Strengths

  • Keyword difficulty scores are easy to interpret
  • Clean interface without enterprise clutter
  • Four tools in one subscription
  • Daily keyword lookups on the base plan are usually enough for one site

Trade-offs

  • Backlink index is much smaller than the enterprise suites
  • Search volume estimates are modelled, not measured
  • Team seats cost extra
Read our full Mangools notes →
2

Ubersuggest

SEO & Growth Tools

Visit Ubersuggest

Ubersuggest covers keyword ideas, difficulty, rank tracking and a basic site audit in one low-cost subscription, which is enough for a single site. The crawler behind it is much smaller than the established indexes, so competitive link research is where it runs out of road.

Pricing: Free daily search allowance; paid plans unlock the full reportsconfirm on Ubersuggest's site ↗

Strengths

  • Keyword difficulty and volume sit in the same view
  • Rank tracking and a site audit are included in the same plan
  • Costs far less than the enterprise SEO suites
  • Reports are plain enough for a non-specialist to act on

Trade-offs

  • Backlink index is much smaller than the established crawlers
  • Search volume figures are modelled estimates rather than measured data
  • Fewer team, API and reporting options than the suites it undercuts
Read our full Ubersuggest notes →
3

Surfer SEO

SEO & Growth Tools

Visit Surfer SEO

Surfer reads the pages ranking for a keyword and turns what they cover into a checklist for your draft, which makes on-page optimisation concrete. It is a writing and optimisation tool rather than a full SEO suite, so backlink and technical work still needs another product.

Pricing: Paid plans only; pricing scales with editors and document limitsconfirm on Surfer SEO's site ↗

Strengths

  • Turns a keyword into a concrete list of terms and structure
  • Content audit scores existing pages against today's results
  • Works inside Google Docs and WordPress rather than a separate tab
  • Fits alongside a separate keyword research tool

Trade-offs

  • Not a backlink or technical audit tool on its own
  • Document and seat limits are metered, so heavy use moves you up a tier
  • Chasing the score can push writing toward formulaic copy
Read our full Surfer SEO notes →
4

SE Ranking

SEO & Growth Tools

Visit SE Ranking

SE Ranking bundles rank tracking, keyword research, site audits and competitor analysis, and includes white-label reporting for agency work. Its own backlink index is smaller than the long-established crawlers', which is the part to weigh against the incumbents.

Pricing: Paid plans only, billed monthly or annually, with limits set by tracked keywords and projectsconfirm on SE Ranking's site ↗

Strengths

  • Rank tracking, audit and research in one subscription
  • White-label reports for client work
  • Local and regional rank tracking
  • Annual billing lowers the monthly rate

Trade-offs

  • No free tier
  • Backlink data is thinner than the established crawlers
  • Keyword and project limits decide the plan
Read our full SE Ranking notes →
5

Moz Pro

SEO & Growth Tools

Visit Moz Pro

Moz Pro combines keyword research, link analysis and site crawling under one subscription and has published industry metrics for years. Competing suites often include more keyword data per plan, and the entry tier limits how much you can pull each month.

Pricing: Paid plans only, with a monthly limit on queries and tracked campaignsconfirm on Moz Pro's site ↗

Strengths

  • Keyword, link and crawl tools in one subscription
  • On-page recommendations are specific enough to act on
  • Local listing management available
  • Long-established documentation and community

Trade-offs

  • No free tier for the full suite
  • Query allowances cap heavy research
  • Link index is smaller than the largest crawlers'
Read our full Moz Pro notes →

Frequently asked questions about Ahrefs alternatives

Answers are drawn from the index above. We do not publish ratings, and every figure we do mention links back to the vendor's own page.

Can I use Ahrefs without a full plan?

A few standalone tools, such as the backlink checker, are free, as our entry records. The research plans themselves are credit-based and priced for teams. Confirm the current figures on the Ahrefs pricing page.

What alternatives to Ahrefs does Promotcha track?

We list 5 alternatives for Ahrefs: Mangools, Ubersuggest, Surfer SEO, SE Ranking and Moz Pro. Each entry states what the tool is good at and what it gives up.

Where can I check what these Ahrefs alternatives cost?

Every entry above links to the vendor's own pricing page, and prices change often, so confirm before you commit: the Mangools pricing page, the Ubersuggest pricing page, the Surfer SEO pricing page, the SE Ranking pricing page and the Moz Pro pricing page.

How is Ahrefs priced?

Our entry describes Ahrefs's pricing like this: Paid plans only, priced in credits; some standalone tools are free. Confirm the current figure on the Ahrefs pricing page.

What do readers commonly dislike about Ahrefs?

Our notes on Ahrefs list these drawbacks: Credit limits apply across tools, so heavy use consumes them quickly; Aimed at teams, which shows in the price; Overkill if you are running one small site.

Is there a free plan for Ahrefs?

Our entry records Ahrefs as a paid product and does not list a free tier. Paid plans only, priced in credits; some standalone tools are free. Check the Ahrefs pricing page for the current plans, including any trial.