There are dozens of tools on the Internet, both free and paid, that allow you to manage all the SEO of your website or at least most of the important aspects you need to monitor.
One of the most popular tools is Ahrefs, which many of us have used at some point, whether in its trial version or the paid one.
However, not everyone is convinced or finds Ahrefs suitable, either due to its high price or because it has somewhat technical features designed for experienced SEO professionals.
So in this article, I’ll tell you what the best alternatives to Ahrefs are.
Ahrefs: Pros and Cons
Let’s start by analyzing the pros and cons of this SEO software. From this basis, we can decide what the best alternatives to Ahrefs are.
Pros
First, let’s emphasize that Ahrefs has a vast number of links in its database, which is very useful when looking for competitors and tracking new URLs that might be trying to rank for the same keywords as you.
- Its Keyword Research tool is one of the most comprehensive available today. This is very important, considering that it is the foundation of any SEO action you want to undertake on your website.
- With Ahrefs, you can improve your snippets and featured snippets on Google. Additionally, it allows you to see your competitors’ snippets to understand how they are working.
- Lastly, its backlink tracking is impeccable, especially thanks to the alerts that notify you via email if any of them disappear, as well as if you gain a new one.
Cons
We already know that nothing is perfect (and neither is Ahrefs).
At a minimum, to have Ahrefs, you’ll need to shell out at least $99 per month. And that price is for the most basic plan.
If you want to have Ahrefs in all its glory, you’ll need to shell out more than $300 per month, a figure more accessible for a large SEO and digital marketing agency.
Based on that, Ahrefs has a series of disadvantages that its users commonly mention:
- The main one is that the traffic metrics are not always up to date and sometimes are not very reliable. At least, they do not update as quickly as other alternative tools do.
- On the other hand, although Ahrefs gives you recommendations on which internal links to add to certain pages of your website, it provides its recommendations in a somewhat non-graphical and unintuitive manner. Generally, it can be said that it presents its data in a way that only if you have many years of SEO experience, you will be able to catch on quickly.
- Also, more data filters are often missed, especially when analyzing backlinks, to more accurately identify which ones are most beneficial to us.
Sure, here’s the translated text adapted for a US audience with the original HTML formatting preserved:
So yes, it’s great to brag about having Ahrefs, but is it really worth paying that price for what it gives you? Let’s take a look at other platforms you might not know about:
The Best Free (or Almost Free) Alternatives to Ahrefs
Fortunately, there are alternatives to Ahrefs on the market that have a lower price and can offer you very similar, and in some cases, even better features.
DinoRANK
Although technically not a free tool, we want to talk to you about DinoRANK as the best alternative to Ahrefs, especially with the SEO functionalities implemented in 2023 and 2024, while still maintaining a very low price for everything it offers.
You know it’s essential for an SEO tool to have a keyword research tool and in this, DinoRANK is above many current options.
The main goal of DinoRANK is to democratize the SEO world and ensure that small business owners and website owners can have a powerful SEO tool without breaking the bank.
Next, I want to tell you about some of the standout features that DinoRANK offers and how it directly competes with Ahrefs in terms of managing keywords and both internal and external links.
→ Position Tracking
It allows you to quickly monitor how your keywords are progressing daily on the search engine results page. This way, you can know which ones you need to focus on and take the necessary actions in each case.
→ Cannibalization Detector
When you have multiple URLs on your website competing for the same search intent, you have a serious problem.
The issue is that if one of these URLs has high-quality, relevant content and should rank very high in Google’s rankings, the rest, by competing for the same search intent, will hinder the good organic positioning that the first one could achieve.
DinoRANK has thought of this and offers a specific functionality to detect possible cannibalizations on your site.
Note that I say “possible” because it analyzes your entire website, indicates which URLs might be falling into this SEO problem, and gives you recommendations on how to fix it.
But you should always use common sense and your professional judgment to decide if those pages are indeed competing for the same keywords.
In this regard, DinoRANK is a more than reasonable alternative to Ahrefs, which does not have any module for this. You can detect them, but you would need to use multiple functionalities complementarily and apply your own SEO criteria and experience.
And the latter is something you obviously lack if you are just starting out in the field.
Therefore, it’s one of the reasons why more and more people starting in SEO are choosing DinoRANK.
→ Internal Linking and Internal PageRank
Having a well-structured and hierarchical internal linking helps both Google and your users better understand your site at all times.
It also allows them to know the relationship between the different topics and content you have published.
And since having good On-Page SEO is one of the factors the search engine values most when giving you good positions, these sections can be very useful for you.
The attractive graphical representation that DinoRANK provides of how the pages on your website are linked is something that Ahrefs lacks.
This visual element allows even professionals with little experience to understand which content should be closer or farther from the homepage, which is considered level 0 (zero) in SEO.
As you can see in the image above, it becomes evident when we are clustering or thematically grouping a series of contents on our website.
When Google sees each of these ‘clusters,’ it will understand that they belong to the same thematic family.
But it doesn’t stop there. Right below the graphic, you have a table where you can see:
- The number of clicks from the homepage to each URL (1)
- Additionally, based on this, the internal PageRank (2) of each one of them
In its attempt to be a serious alternative to Ahrefs, DinoRANK tries to make it as easy as possible for you to work on your domain’s SEO.
Ahrefs, on the other hand, offers you a list of internal linking opportunities. This can be helpful, although as always, the final decision should be made by you as a professional.
And if we add to that the fact that your site may have thousands of URLs, it could become an overwhelming and quite tedious task to carry out:
All these features and more are available to you starting at €27/month with their Starter Plan if you opt for the annual subscription, which is quite a bargain compared to the €119/month you would pay for Ahrefs’ minimum plan (Lite).
DinoRANK vs Ahrefs, which is the better SEO tool?
Comparing both tools head to head and taking their unique circumstances into account, these are the conclusions.
If you want to handle the SEO of your business like a PRO and don’t have a large budget, you don’t need to pay over €100 for Ahrefs, trust me.
By using an alternative like DinoRANK, you can achieve very similar and even better results at a much lower cost.
Ubersuggest
Neil Patel’s tool has gained popularity in recent times due to its ease of use and because it is free, although its functions are limited and if you want more information, you need to subscribe to a paid plan.
Thanks to Ubersuggest, you can plan the keywords for your web project and also spy on what your competitors are doing, not only to get ideas but also to know how to surpass them.
Also, you have access to a study of potential quality backlinks so you’ll know which sites to contact to try to get a link.
Additionally, you will know which content is performing best on social media so you can tailor your texts accordingly.
Ubersuggest will recommend the keywords you should use and also the ones to avoid since it shows the difficulty of keywords to rank on Google.
The price is $29 per month (or $290 in a single payment), making it one of the most affordable options on the market.
However, this low price is justified by the limited SEO functionalities it offers, so you might need to use another complementary tool to obtain more extensive data.
Google Keyword Planner
Google Keyword Planner is a keyword planning tool that Google offers to Google Ads users for free.
Other tools like Ahrefs or Semrush extract information from its database about search volumes.
However, Google Keyword Planner has two main issues:
- The only SEO functionality it has is analyzing keywords
- It provides search volume data with a range too broad to base an SEO strategy on
To get a more precise search volume figure, you will need to create a paid campaign with Google Ads, which is more focused on SEM (paid positioning) than SEO.
If your goal is to use it for an SEO project, it can give you an idea of the keywords being searched, but ideally, you should combine it with another more comprehensive SEO tool.
Keyword Surfer
Keyword Surfer is a Google Chrome extension that can serve as a free alternative to Ahrefs (to a certain extent).
To use it, you just need to install the Keyword Surfer extension in your browser and perform a Google search.
Its free feature allows you to know keywords related to your search, as well as the monthly search volume they have.
As you can see in the image, if you perform your search from a computer, it appears as a summary box on the right side of the results page.
The main problem with this tool is that its data is often quite inaccurate or delayed.
For example, the keyword “ahref” (without the s at the end) is detected as having 9,900 monthly searches in Spain, while DinoRANK, Ahrefs, or Semrush indicate it has around 1,900 searches per month.
Additionally, another disadvantage of this tool is that it doesn’t always provide all the related keywords for your search, but rather other terms within its semantic field.
To correct these errors, Keyword Surfer offers the option to subscribe to one of their plans. The cheapest one costs $63 per month, which only includes keyword analysis and no other SEO features. This is not enough to consider it a serious alternative to Ahrefs.
Ideally, you should use it to get an idea of the possible related keywords for each search you perform, but combine it with another more ‘PRO’ tool to achieve a complete SEO analysis.
Google Trends
Google Trends is not a dedicated SEO tool, but when used correctly, it can provide very valuable information for your SEO projects.
It is a free platform provided by Google to help users understand what the trending searches are.
To better understand how to use it, imagine you have a fashion website and you don’t know what your target audience wants.
In Trends, you just need to filter by the “Fashion” category, and it will show you the related trending searches.
This free tool can be very useful at certain times, but you should complement it with a more comprehensive SEO tool to create a strategy that positions your website among the top results.
Ahrefs vs. Free Competitors: Which is Better?
Now you know which free (or nearly free) tools can give Ahrefs a run for its money. To summarize, here is a table:
| Criterion | Ahrefs | DinoRANK | Ubersuggest | Google Keyword Planner | Keyword Surfer | Google Trends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SEO Features | ★★★★★ (5/5) | ★★★★☆ (4/5) | ★★★☆☆ (3/5) | ★★★☆☆ (3/5) | ★★★☆☆ (3/5) | ★★☆☆☆ (2/5) |
| Ease of Use | ★★☆☆☆ (2/5) | ★★★★★ (5/5) | ★★★★☆ (4/5) | ★★★★☆ (4/5) | ★★★★★ (5/5) | ★★★★★ (5/5) |
| Price | ★★★☆☆ (3/5) | ★★★★★ (5/5) | ★★★★★ (5/5) | ★★★★★ (5/5) | ★★★★★ (5/5) | ★★★★★ (5/5) |
| Customer Support | ★★★★☆ (4/5) | ★★★★★ (5/5) | ★★★☆☆ (3/5) | ★★★☆☆ (3/5) | ★★☆☆☆ (2/5) | ★☆☆☆☆ (1/5) |
| Average | ★★★☆☆ (3.5/5) | ★★★★☆ (4.75/5) | ★★★☆☆ (3.75/5) | ★★★☆☆ (3.75/5) | ★★★☆☆ (3.75/5) | ★★★☆☆ (3.25/5) |
The Best Paid Alternatives to Ahrefs
If you are willing to make a significant investment and don’t mind paying for a tool similar to Ahrefs, here are your options among what’s available on the internet today.
Semrush
Semrush is one of the most popular SEO/SEM tools worldwide.
It is considered the main rival to Ahrefs, as they have a very similar market share and offer similar features.
Semrush is better than Ahrefs in:
- Technical SEO analysis
- Visual interface
- Social media and PPC tools
Ahrefs is better than Semrush in:
- Audit creation
- Data depth
- Backlink management
The truth is that it doesn’t lower that of Ahrefs, but rather the opposite, with a cost of €108 per month for its most affordable version.
This makes it an almost unaffordable tool for small professionals and consultants looking to optimize their SEO projects.
But don’t get discouraged, because there are other tools that, at a much lower and affordable price for any budget, can give you results that don’t fall short of those from Semrush.
Some of these options have already been covered in the previous section on (almost) free alternatives to Ahrefs.
Screaming Frog
Screaming Frog is one of the most powerful alternatives to Ahrefs on the market.
Unlike other SEO tools, Screaming Frog is not a web application but works as a desktop program that you need to download due to the amount of resources it requires.
The main difference with Ahrefs is that Screaming Frog is geared towards much more technical SEO analysis and “forgets” about content SEO.
This SEO tool has a free version, but it is quite limited. To access all its features, you will need to pay €239 per year.
Is it expensive? Well, it depends on your budget, but what is clear is that if you are taking your first steps in the SEO world, it is also another complex platform that you won’t be able to fully leverage.
Also, I recommend that if you are not managing several large projects at the same time, you avoid using Screaming Frog, since any other tool will give you what you need in a much more visual and, above all, economical way.
MOZ Pro
MOZ, in its PRO version, is known by most SEOs for its well-known Chrome extension, which informs you about the domain authority (DA) and page authority (PA) of a URL.
But its functions go much further. With MOZ, you can also perform keyword and backlink analysis for a minimum of $79 per month.
The main problem with MOZ as a potential alternative to Ahrefs is that the data it provides is often quite inaccurate and with very broad ranges, which will prevent you from drawing conclusions to apply in your SEO strategies.
Due to its simplicity and visual presentation, it may seem like an attractive tool, but trust me, for that price, there are much more comprehensive and affordable tools available.
Ahrefs vs Paid Competitors: Which Tool is Better?
| Criteria | Ahrefs | Semrush | Screaming Frog | MOZ Pro |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starting Price | €99/month | €108/month | €239/year | $79/month |
| Ease of Use | ★★☆☆☆ (2/5) | ★★☆☆☆ (2/5) | ★★☆☆☆ (2/5) | ★★★★☆ (4/5) |
| SEO Features | ★★★★☆ (4/5) | ★★★★★ (5/5) | ★★★☆☆ (3/5) | ★★★★☆ (4/5) |
| Ideal For | Advanced Professionals | Advanced Professionals | SEO Technicians | Beginners/Intermediate |
The Best AI-Powered Alternatives to Ahrefs
Nowadays, Artificial Intelligence is almost indispensable in many sectors, and SEO is no exception.
Ahrefs is falling a bit behind in integrating artificial intelligence into its system. This is being taken advantage of by other SEO tools that maximize this and also help you rank your website, saving you time and effort.
The best ones so far are:
DinoBRAIN
DinoBRAIN is the Artificial Intelligence of DinoRANK. It can save you hours and hours in writing and curating your SEO-optimized content.
But what sets this tool apart from others on the market, like ChatGPT, is that it can analyze the content published by the top results on the first page of Google, based on the main (or seed) keyword you provide.
What makes it a great alternative to Ahrefs in terms of content generation is that DinoBRAIN provides you with the written content in just a few seconds.
On the other hand, Ahrefs allows you to thoroughly analyze all the factors that contribute to achieving good organic rankings. However, it does not offer pre-written and structured content.
On the other hand, DinoBRAIN’s AI will also help you generate a structure for your website based on the thematic area in which you want to be an authority, thanks to its “Generate architecture” function.
For example, for a website that wants to position itself as a reference in On-Page SEO, its structure could be as follows:
The best part is that, for just €55 per month, you can get DinoBRAIN + DinoRANK, so you won’t need any additional SEO tools to rank your website.
You saw at the beginning of this article that DinoRANK itself is a very good alternative to Ahrefs. And if you add its own AI to the combo, it will far surpass Ahrefs in power.
Escribelo.ai
Escribelo.ai is an SEO tool that uses Artificial Intelligence to generate content based on a series of keywords.
Like DinoBRAIN, its content is much more SEO-friendly than that generated by other AIs such as ChatGPT, which are not adapted for SEO.
Its price of €32 per month makes it an interesting option economically, although the main problem is that you will need to combine it with other more comprehensive SEO tools to get good results.
Additionally, another negative aspect is that it can have errors when asked to generate too much content at once.
I have verified this myself, as I have been a user in the past, so I think it’s worth warning you about it.
Content AI by Rank Math
The WordPress plugin, Rank Math, also didn’t want to be left behind and offers its users “Content AI”.
This module helps you write texts, meta titles, and optimize site structure for a minimum price of $4.99 per month.
It may seem like an attractive alternative to Ahrefs when it comes to optimizing these elements involved in the SEO optimization of your content.
But you should keep in mind that, at the end of the day, it’s still just a plugin for WordPress, so its performance and results are quite limited.
Additionally, it operates on a credit-based system, so if you use up your credits too quickly, you’ll have to keep reloading your balance.
Content Assistant AI by Sistrix
Content Assistant AI is an SEO tool developed by Sistrix aimed at helping you write your texts.
Just like with DinoBRAIN, you can generate SEO-friendly content based on a keyword.
However, you won’t be able to enjoy other AI functions for SEO, such as generating architecture for your website.
Moreover, its price of €99 per month, at minimum, makes it a rather expensive alternative to Ahrefs.
There are powerful alternatives to Ahrefs in the market, which one will you choose?
Ahrefs, although undoubtedly one of the most used tools by SEOs worldwide, is not the only option available for managing the positioning strategy of your projects, whether it’s a personal blog, a niche site, or a corporate website.
You have both free and paid options, each with its pros and cons, so now it’s your turn to try and decide which one best suits your needs.
I once again recommend DinoRANK, as it has a large number of useful tools, many of which are not available in Ahrefs.
Additionally, its affordable price and ease of use make it almost barrier-free, even if you’re just starting out in the world of SEO and your budget is very limited.
