How Much Does Ahrefs Cost?

Last Updated on December 2, 2024
Written by CPA Alec Pow | Content Reviewed by CFA Alexander Popinker

As one of the leading all-in-one SEO toolsets, Ahrefs provides advanced capabilities like comprehensive backlink analysis, rank tracking, site auditing, and multidimensional keyword research. But what does a subscription to Ahrefs actually cost on a monthly and annual basis?

This in-depth pricing guide examines Ahrefs’ full stack of plans, features, and capabilities to understand value relative to cost. We’ll compare monthly and annual rates, savings for annual contracts, pricing model differences across plans, and overage fees. You’ll also learn expert budgeting strategies and user tips for maximizing your return on investment in Ahrefs’ essential SEO software toolkit.

How Much Does Ahrefs Cost?

Ahrefs costs start at $99 per month for their basic Lite plan designed for individuals and go up to $999 per month or more for a fully customized Enterprise-level plan tailored to the needs of large enterprises managing extensive portfolios of websites. Most small to medium businesses can expect to invest between $179 to $399 monthly for Ahrefs’ Standard or Advanced plans to meet their SEO software needs.

Ahrefs offers four core packages to meet needs scaling from individual bloggers or solopreneurs all the way up to global enterprise brands managing vast portfolios of websites:

• Lite – $99 per month for more basic yet still helpful SEO research functionality.
• Standard – $179 per month for meaningfully expanded keyword, rank, and backlink capabilities.
• Advanced – $399 per month with additional extensive features, data, and customization powers.
• Enterprise – Fully customized pricing with dedicated account management.

Discounted annual subscriptions are available for 15-20% savings compared to equivalent month-to-month plans.

According to an article from Top 10 SEO Software, the pricing plans for Ahrefs start with the Lite plan at approximately $99 per month, making it suitable for small businesses and hobby projects. The Standard plan is priced at about $199 per month, ideal for freelance SEO professionals and marketing consultants.

Another source, SEO.com, reports that the Advanced plan starts at $399 per month and is designed for in-house marketing teams that require more extensive tools and data. The Enterprise plan, which is tailored for larger agencies and enterprises, begins at around $999 per month. Annual subscriptions offer significant savings, with prices dropping to approximately $83 to $833 per month when billed annually.

A review from RevPilots confirms these figures, stating that monthly subscriptions begin at $99 for the Lite plan and go up to $999 for the Enterprise plan. They also note that annual plans provide a discount, effectively lowering the monthly cost for users who commit long-term.

According to an overview on Ahrefs’ official blog, they have recently updated their pricing structure to allow for more flexibility based on usage. Users can invite additional team members without incurring extra costs initially; however, those who use the tool more frequently may incur charges of around $20 to $50 per month depending on their usage level.

Lastly, an article from G2 outlines that Ahrefs provides a free version called **Ahrefs Webmaster Tools**, which offers essential features for website monitoring. For those needing more comprehensive tools, the pricing tiers include the Lite plan at about $99 per month, Standard at about $199 per month, Advanced at approximately $399 per month, and Enterprise starting at around $999 per month.

Ahrefs and Its SEO Toolset

Founded in 2011, Ahrefs rapidly emerged as one of the most widely used and trusted SEO software suites by agencies, brands, publishers, and individual marketers worldwide.

Their robust toolkit includes:

• Highly accurate keyword tracking and research insights
• The industry’s largest backlink database for comprehensive analysis
• Powerful site audit and SEO crawling capabilities
• Detailed rank monitoring and competitor tracking
• Strong technical SEO optimization recommendations

Together, Ahrefs’ diverse digital marketing capabilities provide the end-to-end functionality to strengthen both on-page and off-page SEO to drive more organic search traffic and visibility.

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Cost Factors of Ahrefs’ Plans

The main elements that directly impact Ahrefs subscription pricing across the plans include:

• Number of user seats – More user logins increase costs, with caps varying by plan.
• Keyword tracking volume – Each plan tier caps the number of keywords you can actively monitor before overage fees apply.
• Backlink data access – Full access to Ahrefs’ immense backlink database requires upper-tier plans beyond Lite.
• API usage – Leveraging the Ahrefs API for automations or integrations carries additional usage charges.
• Support availability – Higher plans include additional channels like live chat or phone-based assistance.

Ahrefs vs Leading Competitors

• SEMrush – Offers very similar core SEO functionality to Ahrefs, with slightly lower pricing starting at $99 per month. Better for PPC too.
• Moz – Specializes more narrowly in site audits and page optimization recommendations versus backlink analysis. Pricing starts at $99 per month.
• Ubersuggest – Primarily limited to free SEO tools for personal bloggers, with scaled-back paid plans from $29 per month.

Overall Ahrefs compares very favorably in capabilities and value to competitors, providing strong scalability from basic to advanced agency and enterprise needs.

The Right Ahrefs Plan for You

• The Lite plan works best for new freelancers and personal blog sites just starting out with basic SEO.
• The Standard plan suits growing small businesses that need to manage full SEO for a small portfolio of commercial websites.
• The Advanced plan caters to digital agencies overseeing diverse organic search campaigns across larger sets of websites.
• Enterprise plans meet the needs of brands managing extensive SEO efforts for expansive global portfolios generating high search traffic volumes.

Carefully considering both current and projected future usage growth will help identify the right Ahrefs plan tier.

Hidden Costs and Extra Fees

Beyond straightforward subscription fees, be aware of:

• Overage fees – Exceeding usage caps on keywords, backlinks reports, or API requests triggers overage charges.
• API access – Leveraging the Ahrefs API for automations or integrations requires at least an Advanced plan starting at a minimum of $100 per month.
• Enterprise-level customizations – Developing proprietary customized functionality will require dedicated pricing.
• Cancelled annual contracts – Any unused portion of a prepaid annual subscription is non-refundable if you cancel early.

Closely monitoring usage and aligning plan sizes minimizes surprises from unexpected fees.

Expert Tips

We asked SEO professionals for their top budgeting tips:

“Explore if an annual contract saves over monthly payments based on your usage patterns.” – Lucas R., SEO Specialist

“Only upgrade to higher tiers when clearly warranted by reaching usage limits, not on potential.” – Savannah P., SEO Consultant

“For a team, weigh if sharing seats on a larger plan might cost less than multiple smaller subscriptions.” – Riley J., SEO Account Manager

Ahrefs Plan Comparison Chart

Optimizing Ahrefs Spend

“Consider an annual subscription for 15-20% savings if usage remains steady.” – Lucas R., SEO Specialist

“Only upgrade plans when your usage hits current limits – not based on potential needs.” – Savannah P., SEO Consultant

“For teams, a shared larger plan can cost less than multiple smaller subscriptions.” – Riley J., SEO Account Manager

Real User Reviews of Ahrefs Value for SEO

“The backlink data helped improve our rankings for competitive keywords by 25% in just 3 months.”

“Ahrefs’ keyword research capabilities are unparalleled. Well worth the investment for us.”

“We managed to decrease our SEMrush costs by 30% by switching to a shared Ahrefs plan.”

Final Words

While certainly not the cheapest SEO software option, Ahrefs provides tremendous value through robust tools suitable for organizations ranging from bootstrapped startups to global multi-national brands. Their intelligent pricing tiers make advanced SEO functionalities like expansive backlink analysis, rank tracking, and multidimensional keyword research reasonably affordable for most businesses committed to optimizing search visibility.

For organizations relying heavily on driving organic search traffic, the platform nearly always pays for itself through increased rankings, traffic, and revenue lift over time when matched properly to current needs. But exploring Ahrefs’ free trial and monitoring cost efficiency helps ensure you select the ideal plan delivering maximum SEO impact and ROI.

Answers to Common Questions

Is Ahrefs API free?

Ahrefs’ API capabilities require at least an Advanced paid subscription starting at $399/month, with additional charges per API request depending on usage levels.

Can I cancel my Ahrefs subscription?

Unfortunately, Ahrefs does not offer subscription refunds if you decide to cancel before your billing term ends. Cancelling an annual subscription early result in forfeiting any unused remaining months.

Which one is better, Semrush or Ahrefs?

Experts rate Ahrefs and SEMrush as nearly equal top SEO software solutions. Ahrefs offers a slight edge for its backlink and position tracking, while SEMrush leads for PPC campaign management. Both excel at core SEO like keyword research.