Compare Ahrefs and Semrush 
At a Glance
Market Segments
Small-Business (64.8% of reviews)
Small-Business (66.7% of reviews)
Entry-Level Pricing
Free
$0.00 Per Month
Ahrefs
Star Rating
(554)4.5 out of 5
Market Segments
Small-Business (64.8% of reviews)
Entry-Level Pricing
Free
Free Trial is available
Browse all 6 pricing plansSemrush
Star Rating
(2,529)4.5 out of 5
Market Segments
Small-Business (66.7% of reviews)
Entry-Level Pricing
$0.00 Per Month
Free Trial is available
Browse all 5 pricing plansSummary
AI Generated Summary
AI-generated. Powered by real user reviews.
- Users report that Ahrefs excels in SEO Auditing with a score of 8.7, while Semrush outshines in SEO Change Tracking with a score of 9.1, indicating that Semrush may provide more robust tracking features for ongoing SEO efforts.
- Reviewers mention that Ahrefs has a strong focus on Link Building with a score of 9.2, which is significantly higher than Semrush's score of 8.2, suggesting that users looking for effective link-building tools may prefer Ahrefs.
- G2 users highlight that Semrush offers superior Keyword Research capabilities, scoring 9.1 compared to Ahrefs' 8.7, indicating that Semrush may provide more comprehensive keyword insights for content strategy.
- Users on G2 report that Ahrefs provides a more user-friendly experience with an ease of use score of 8.8, while Semrush scores 8.4, suggesting that those new to SEO tools might find Ahrefs easier to navigate.
- Reviewers say that Semrush's Custom Reports feature is highly praised with a score of 9.0, compared to Ahrefs' 8.3, indicating that users may find Semrush's reporting capabilities more flexible and tailored to their needs.
- Users report that both platforms have strong Social Analytics features, but Semrush's overall score of 8.8 in this area suggests it may offer more comprehensive tools for managing and analyzing social media campaigns compared to Ahrefs.
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Pricing
Entry-Level Pricing
Ahrefs
Ahrefs Webmaster Tools
Free
Free lifetime plan for any website owner to monitor their website health, keywords, backlinks, and website sessions.
- Site Explorer
- Site Audit
- Website Analytics
Semrush
Free
$0.00
Per Month
You can use Semrush with a free account, but the number of features and amount of data will be limited.
- Position Tracking: 10 keywords, updated daily
- Site Audit: 100 pages per month
- Social Media profiles: track 5, post to 2 (schedule 10 posts)
Free Trial
Ahrefs
Free Trial is available
Semrush
Free Trial is available
Ratings
Meets Requirements
9.0
444
8.9
2,019
Ease of Use
8.8
444
8.4
2,036
Ease of Setup
9.0
185
8.6
1,253
Ease of Admin
8.8
166
8.6
1,051
Quality of Support
8.3
371
8.6
1,748
Has the product been a good partner in doing business?
8.7
159
8.8
1,035
Product Direction (% positive)
8.8
419
8.9
1,929
Features by Category
Metrics
Not enough data
8.3
340
Not enough data
8.3
335
Not enough data
7.9
321
Not enough data
7.7
295
Not enough data
7.4
284
Not enough data
7.6
281
Not enough data
7.5
282
Not enough data
7.6
292
Not enough data
7.2
277
Reporting
Not enough data
8.1
332
Not enough data
8.2
320
Not enough data
7.9
304
Not enough data
7.8
307
Not enough data
7.8
303
Not enough data
7.7
283
Not enough data
8.2
319
Other
Not enough data
7.8
295
Not enough data
8.1
308
Not enough data
7.7
298
Not enough data
8.0
300
Not enough data
7.5
268
Not enough data
7.1
249
Not enough data
7.7
267
Administration
Not enough data
7.7
275
Not enough data
7.5
267
Not enough data
8.5
319
Not enough data
8.3
310
Social Analytics
Not enough data
8.8(won by default)
259
Not enough data
8.5(won by default)
241
Not enough data
8.8(won by default)
246
Not enough data
8.2(won by default)
215
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
8.1(won by default)
185
Not enough data
8.1(won by default)
182
Reports & Dashboards
Not enough data
8.4(won by default)
245
Not enough data
8.9(won by default)
252
Not enough data
8.7(won by default)
239
Not enough data
7.9(won by default)
177
Content Creation
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Optimization
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Logistics
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Grammar
Not enough data
8.8
96
Not enough data
8.5
97
Not enough data
8.6
95
Formatting
Not enough data
8.3
94
Not enough data
8.2
90
Not enough data
8.0
86
Content
Not enough data
8.7
103
Not enough data
8.4
96
Not enough data
7.7
81
Product Type
Not enough data
8.5
90
Not enough data
8.0
89
Generative AI
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Listing Management
Not enough data
8.6
199
|
Verified
Not enough data
8.2
195
|
Verified
Not enough data
8.4
198
|
Verified
Not enough data
8.5
210
|
Verified
Performance
Not enough data
8.3
216
|
Verified
Not enough data
8.7
219
|
Verified
Local Search Optimization
Not enough data
8.9
460
|
Verified
Not enough data
8.5
422
|
Verified
Not enough data
8.5
394
|
Verified
Not enough data
8.4
405
|
Verified
Not enough data
8.1
395
|
Verified
Not enough data
8.9
450
|
Verified
Platform Basics
8.4
81
8.5
421
8.4
87
8.7
437
Platform Data
Feature Not Available
Feature Not Available
Feature Not Available
Feature Not Available
7.9
73
8.2
396
Platform Content
Feature Not Available
7.5
340
Platform Reporting
7.7
80
8.1
410
8.4
83
8.4
420
Platform Basics
Not enough data
8.7
88
Not enough data
8.2
85
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
8.2
77
Not enough data
8.5
88
Content Planning
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
8.3
81
Not enough data
8.8
91
Marketing Campaign Performance
Not enough data
8.4
65
Not enough data
8.7
67
Other Features
Not enough data
8.5
89
Not enough data
8.9
75
SEO Auditing & Monitoring
8.2
161
8.8
712
8.7
146
9.2
563
8.6
145
9.0
549
8.5
144
9.0
550
SEO Content & Rankings
9.2
351
8.2
1181
8.8
343
9.1
1280
8.5
322
8.8
1207
7.7
146
8.3
630
8.2
135
8.6
540
SEO Reporting
9.0
341
8.9
1257
8.2
166
8.6
711
7.9
150
8.4
667
Feature Not Available
8.0
552
Generative AI
6.1
37
Feature Not Available
6.1
36
Feature Not Available
Content & Collaboration
Not enough data
8.8
172
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
8.1
160
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
8.2
142
Social Management
Not enough data
8.7
206
Not enough data
8.8
200
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
8.5
197
Not enough data
7.9
174
Not enough data
8.0
148
Not enough data
7.7
120
Media Channels
Feature Not Available
Feature Not Available
Feature Not Available
Feature Not Available
8.4
30
8.6
98
Geographic Coverage
8.1
26
Feature Not Available
7.5
25
8.2
84
7.7
26
8.1
76
Reporting
8.9
31
8.9
115
8.8
29
Feature Not Available
8.3
11
9.0
104
8.5
11
9.1
113
Generative AI
7.2
9
Feature Not Available
6.5
9
Feature Not Available
Platform Interoperability
Not enough data
8.5
72
Social Functionality
Not enough data
8.8
84
Campaign Management
Not enough data
9.1
82
Not enough data
8.8
81
Not enough data
8.7
82
Not enough data
8.6
75
Not enough data
8.6
76
Not enough data
8.5
77
Not enough data
8.5
75
Not enough data
8.4
77
Not enough data
8.4
76
Not enough data
8.6
80
Not enough data
8.5
76
Not enough data
8.2
74
Not enough data
8.3
77
Targeting
Not enough data
8.6
79
Not enough data
8.5
76
Not enough data
8.5
74
Not enough data
8.7
74
Platform
Not enough data
8.5
77
Not enough data
8.7
84
Not enough data
9.0
83
Not enough data
9.0
84
Not enough data
8.8
80
Not enough data
8.6
79
Not enough data
8.4
74
Not enough data
8.6
76
Not enough data
8.6
79
Grammar Tools
Not enough data
8.4
18
Not enough data
9.0
21
Not enough data
8.0
17
Writing Support
Not enough data
7.4
19
Not enough data
8.3
18
Not enough data
7.4
19
Not enough data
7.7
19
Software Availability
Not enough data
8.5
19
Not enough data
8.3
18
Not enough data
7.1
19
Generative AI
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Data collection
Not enough data
7.8
146
Not enough data
8.3
173
|
Verified
Not enough data
8.3
164
|
Verified
Not enough data
7.7
146
|
Verified
Not enough data
8.3
164
Segment Trending
Not enough data
8.7
194
|
Verified
Not enough data
8.2
184
|
Verified
Not enough data
8.4
189
|
Verified
Not enough data
7.6
152
Analysis
Not enough data
8.4
183
Not enough data
8.7
205
|
Verified
Not enough data
8.4
166
|
Verified
Platform
Not enough data
8.8
207
|
Verified
Not enough data
8.4
187
|
Verified
Not enough data
7.7
163
|
Verified
Not enough data
8.4
185
|
Verified
Not enough data
8.1
160
|
Verified
Not enough data
8.3
156
Platform Basics
Not enough data
8.7
109
Not enough data
7.8
94
Not enough data
8.4
110
Platform Data
Not enough data
8.3
98
Not enough data
8.5
104
Not enough data
8.8
112
Not enough data
8.4
99
Planning
Not enough data
7.8
159
Publishing
Not enough data
7.8
163
Social Media
Not enough data
7.6
162
Planning
Not enough data
7.9
282
Generative AI
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Tools
Feature Not Available
Feature Not Available
8.3
78
8.2
556
Feature Not Available
Feature Not Available
Metrics
Feature Not Available
Feature Not Available
8.2
71
8.2
547
Feature Not Available
8.3
536
7.2
61
8.1
478
Feature Not Available
7.9
474
9.0
79
8.9
609
Marketing Operations
Not enough data
7.9
281
|
Verified
Not enough data
8.5
299
|
Verified
Not enough data
8.2
294
|
Verified
Not enough data
8.1
271
|
Verified
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Campaign Activity
Not enough data
8.5
284
|
Verified
Not enough data
8.7
321
|
Verified
Not enough data
7.9
260
|
Verified
Not enough data
8.2
274
|
Verified
Not enough data
8.3
296
|
Verified
Not enough data
8.0
250
|
Verified
Platform
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Categories
Categories
Shared Categories
Ahrefs and Semrush are categorized as Competitive Intelligence, Content Analytics, Media Monitoring, SEO Tools, Digital Analytics, Paid Search Intelligence, and AI Writing Assistant
Unique Categories
Ahrefs has no unique categories
Reviews
Reviewers' Company Size
Ahrefs
Small-Business(50 or fewer emp.)
Mid-Market(51-1000 emp.)
Enterprise(> 1000 emp.)
Semrush
Small-Business(50 or fewer emp.)
Mid-Market(51-1000 emp.)
Enterprise(> 1000 emp.)
Small-Business
(50 or fewer emp.)
Mid-Market
(51-1000 emp.)
Enterprise
(> 1000 emp.)
Reviewers' Industry
Marketing and Advertising
36.6%
Computer Software
12.1%
Information Technology and Services
9.6%
Internet
8.1%
Financial Services
2.1%
Other
31.5%
Marketing and Advertising
30.4%
Information Technology and Services
8.7%
Computer Software
7.8%
Internet
4.4%
Retail
3.5%
Other
45.1%
Most Helpful Reviews
Ahrefs
Most Helpful Favorable Review
Kathryn C.
Verified User in Marketing and Advertising
The filtering filtering capabilities for backlinks and referring domains is amazingly helpful. It is easy to determine how many links are followed, .edus, .govs, etc. It saves me so much time because I don't have to export all the data and filter it myself....
Most Helpful Critical Review
Narek S.
Verified User in Design
Once one of the most excellent SEO tools, it became a tool that confused customers with complicated pricing schemes and tried to charge as much as possible. We have been AHREFS customers for almost five years, and their recent changes have made us...
Semrush
Most Helpful Favorable Review
Stephen D.
Verified User in Internet
Well I use it mostly for keyword research to find more keywords that my client should be focusing on that they may have missed by looking at what their competitors are doing. However I think my favorite thing is the ability to find quality back-links that...
Most Helpful Critical Review
MacKenzie B.
Verified User in Mechanical or Industrial Engineering
In my years of using SEO tools, I've seen various changes and adaptations to platforms, but SEMrush's latest move to increase fees by 110% in one month left me highly disappointed. SEMrush's UI is cluttered and feels like it was designed in the 1990's....
Kathryn C.
Verified User in Marketing and Advertising
The filtering filtering capabilities for backlinks and referring domains is amazingly helpful. It is easy to determine how many links are followed, .edus, .govs, etc. It saves me so much time because I don't have to export all the data and filter it myself....
Stephen D.
Verified User in Internet
Well I use it mostly for keyword research to find more keywords that my client should be focusing on that they may have missed by looking at what their competitors are doing. However I think my favorite thing is the ability to find quality back-links that...
Narek S.
Verified User in Design
Once one of the most excellent SEO tools, it became a tool that confused customers with complicated pricing schemes and tried to charge as much as possible. We have been AHREFS customers for almost five years, and their recent changes have made us...
MacKenzie B.
Verified User in Mechanical or Industrial Engineering
In my years of using SEO tools, I've seen various changes and adaptations to platforms, but SEMrush's latest move to increase fees by 110% in one month left me highly disappointed. SEMrush's UI is cluttered and feels like it was designed in the 1990's....
Discussions
Ahrefs KD is different from Moz
6 comments
AP
Go for Ahrefs. Ahrefs is a far better tool than Moz. Ahrefs has better crawlers and shows more accurate results.Read more
Can I use Ahrefs for free?
5 comments
QM
For the basic level information of your desire website you can use it you'll have some sort of idea about it. Read more
Is Ahrefs worth the money?
5 comments
RL
Definitely. It'll give valuable data necessary for a executing successful SEO.Read more
Nuclear Power & Lighting Electrical Engineers Ltd
3 comments
HM
Nuclear Power Lighting Electrical EngineeringRead more
What can SEMrush do?
3 comments
SR
SEMrush can help you to optimize your website for search engines, including keyword research, site audits, and link building. It offers a variety of features...Read more
Does SEMrush have a free plan?
3 comments
BB
Yes they have a free plan where you can add 1 website.Read more
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