Ahrefs vs MarketMuse Pricing (2026)
How do these two stack up on price? Here's what each one costs, what you get, and where the value sits.
| Ahrefs | MarketMuse | |
|---|---|---|
| Starts at | $129/mo | Custom |
| Number of plans | 4 | 4 |
| Free plan | ||
| Free trial | — | |
| Pricing model | hybrid | custom |
Lite
- 5 projects
- 6 months of historical data
- 750 tracked keywords
- 5 tracked AI prompts
- 100,000 crawl credits
- API and MCP access
- 1,000 credits per user
- 1 user included
- Add 2 more users at $40/mo each
- Dashboard
- Site Explorer
- Keywords Explorer
- Brand Radar
- Tracked AI prompts
- Site Audit
- Always-on audit
- Rank Tracker
- Competitive Analysis
- SERP history
- Page Inspect
- Web Analytics
- API access
- MCP Server
- Report Builder
- Social Media Manager (Beta)
- GBP Monitor (Beta)
Standard
- 20 projects
- 2 years of historical data
- 2,000 tracked keywords
- 10 tracked AI prompts
- 500,000 crawl credits
- API and MCP access
- Unlimited credits per user
- 1 user included
- Add 5 more users at $60/mo each
- Portfolios
- Content Explorer
- Batch Analysis
- SERP comparison
- Brand Radar
- Web visibility
- Site structure
- Broken backlinks
- Broken links
- Outgoing links
- Calendar view
- Linking authors
- AI suggestions
- Keyword clusters
- Search intents
- Translations
- SERP updates
- Site structure
Advanced
- 50 projects
- 5 years of historical data
- 5,000 tracked keywords
- 20 tracked AI prompts
- 1,500,000 crawl credits
- API and MCP access
- Unlimited credits per user
- 1 user included
- Add 10 more users at $80/mo each
- Looker Studio integration
- Search type distribution
- Agency directory listing
- Segmentation (Soon)
- HTTP authentication
Enterprise
- Uncapped API access
- SSO & enterprise-grade security
- Access management & audit log
- Unlimited historical data
- Forecasting & trends
Free
- 1 user
- Export for saved writing only
- 10 queries/month
- Access to Topic Navigator
- Access to Keywords, SERP x-ray & SERP Heatmap
- Access to Site Heatmap & Connect
Optimize
- 1 site inventory
- 1 user
- 100 tracked topics
- 5 Content Briefs/month
- Access to Article Briefs
- 1 Content Strategy Document/month
- Export for saved writing, applications & Documents
- 100 queries/month
- Access to Topic Navigator
- Access to Keywords, SERP x-ray & SERP Heatmap
- Access to Site Heatmap & Connect
Research
Popular- 1 site inventory
- 3 users
- 1000 tracked topics
- 10 Content Briefs/month
- Access to Article Briefs
- 3 Content Strategy Documents/month
- Export for saved writing, applications & Documents
- Unlimited queries/month
- Access to Topic Navigator
- Access to Keywords, SERP x-ray & SERP Heatmap
- Access to Site Heatmap & Connect
Strategy
- 1 site inventory
- 5 users
- 10K tracked topics
- 20 Content Briefs/month
- Access to all 9 Brief types
- 5 Content Strategy Documents/month
- Export for saved writing, applications & Documents
- Unlimited queries/month
- Access to Topic Navigator
- Access to Keywords, SERP x-ray & SERP Heatmap
- Access to Site Heatmap & Connect
Ahrefs vs MarketMuse FAQ
- Which one is cheaper?
- One or both use custom pricing, so it depends on your specific needs.
- Can I use either one for free?
- Both offer free plans, so you can try each without paying. Start with whichever fits your workflow better and upgrade when you hit the limits.
- How do they charge?
- Different approach here. Ahrefs uses hybrid pricing, while MarketMuse goes with custom. That changes the math depending on your team size and usage.
- Which one is a better deal?
- Depends on what you need. Ahrefs: Ahrefs sits firmly in premium territory compared to scrappier SEO tools, but it's priced below Semrush at the equivalent tiers, so it's playing the 'slightly cheaper premium' card rather than undercutting on cost. They're chasing serious SEO teams and agencies who already know the category, not budget-conscious beginners. MarketMuse: MarketMuse plays in the premium content-intelligence bracket alongside Clearscope and Surfer, but hiding all three paid tiers behind a demo signals they're chasing mid-market to enterprise content teams, not solo bloggers or small agencies. The free plan is a taste test, not a real alternative — it's there to get you into their funnel, not to compete on affordability.
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