SEMrush vs Ahrefs Pricing (2026)
How do these two stack up on price? Here's what each one costs, what you get, and where the value sits.
| SEMrush | Ahrefs | |
|---|---|---|
| Starts at | $139/mo | $129/mo |
| Number of plans | 5 | 4 |
| Free plan | ||
| Free trial | — | |
| Pricing model | hybrid | hybrid |
Price is one row. To weigh the features too, use our feature comparison template →
SEO
- 5 websites to monitor
- 500 keywords to track daily
- Basic keyword research and competitor analysis
- Position Tracking
- Site Audit
- Track performance in AI search
- Monitor AI sentiment
- AI visibility reports for any domain
- Monitor custom prompts
Starter
- 5 websites to monitor
- 500 keywords to track daily
- Keyword research and optimization tools
- Competitors insights tools
- MCP access
- 50 prompts to track daily
- 1 domain for AI brand performance
- 300 AI visibility reports per day
- AI-ready Site Audit
Pro+
- 15 websites to monitor
- 1,500 keywords to track daily
- Historical SEO data
- Content optimization
- Keyword cannibalization analysis
- Multi-location/device tracking
- 100 prompts to track daily
Advanced
- 40 websites to monitor
- 5,000 keywords to track daily
- SEO share of voice
- API data integration
- 200 prompts to track daily
Free.
- 1 demo project
- 10 reports per day across all vital tools
- Help Center & Basic Onboarding
- AI Visibility features
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
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
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
Enterprise
- Uncapped API access
- Custom API Endpoints
- SSO & enterprise-grade security
- Access management & audit log
- Unlimited historical data
- Forecasting & trends
SEMrush vs Ahrefs FAQ
- Which one is cheaper?
- Ahrefs is the cheaper option, starting at $129/mo vs $139/mo for SEMrush.
- 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?
- Both use a hybrid model, so the comparison is straightforward — it comes down to features and limits at each price point.
- Which one is a better deal?
- Depends on what you need. SEMrush: This sits toward the premium end of the SEO tool market — well above scrappy point-solutions like Ubersuggest, but positioned against Ahrefs and Moz as a full-suite platform justifying the higher price with breadth (SEO, content, PPC, social) rather than being the cheapest option. They're chasing agencies and mid-market teams who need one tool to cover multiple disciplines, not budget-conscious solo users. Ahrefs: Ahrefs sits firmly in premium territory compared to scrappier tools like Ubersuggest or Mangools, but it's cheaper at entry than Semrush's comparable tiers. They're clearly chasing serious SEOs and agencies who'll pay up for data depth rather than casual users just dipping a toe into keyword research.
Still deciding? See the best SEMrush alternatives or the best Ahrefs alternatives, ranked with verified pricing.
Stop checking your competitors manually.
Outmano watches your competitors' prices and features for you. See how competitor pricing monitoring works.
Try Outmano free »
14-day free trial