Ahrefs vs SE Ranking
Ahrefs and SE Ranking both sell published monthly plans, but they size them differently. Ahrefs counts users, projects and crawl credits, with extra seats billed. SE Ranking counts projects, manager seats and daily keywords, and adds an agency pack and API as annual add-ons.
Sebastiaan SmitsFounderVendors can pay for more visibility on this website, for example a higher place in a ranking or more room on a page. Commercial relationships can also affect which products we feature and how prominently. Every vendor link is marked the same, whatever the arrangement behind it. How that works.
Choose Ahrefs ifyou want a single-vendor suite with a clear headquarters in Singapore and more users included as you move up plans.
Choose SE Ranking ifyou work per client project, want to try it for 14 days without a card, and need white-label reporting through an add-on.
Ahrefs and SE Ranking side by side
| Ahrefs | SE Ranking | |
|---|---|---|
| Our SEO tool rank | #8 of 15 | #9 of 15 |
| Established in | Singapore | Not stated by the vendor |
| List price, 2 November 2026 | Starter 27; Lite 119, Standard 229, Advanced 419 euros per month; Enterprise 1,394 euros annual commitment | Core 109 euros monthly (87.20 annual), Growth 235 monthly, Enterprise custom |
| Free tier | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Self-hostable | — | — |
| Built for | Established SEO teams who want one suite with transparent plan limits | Small agencies who bill clients per project and need white-label reporting |
| Not for | Solo users who only need a few keyword lookups a month | Buyers who need one named country of establishment on the contract |
Both are reviewed in full in our SEO tool ranking: Ahrefs and SE Ranking.
Where they differ
Ahrefs 2 · SE Ranking 1 · open 1- 01
Entry plans
Ahrefs lists Lite at 119 euros per month and a cheaper Starter at 27 euros. SE Ranking Core is 109 euros monthly, 87.20 on annual billing. SE Ranking is a little lower at the first full tier, while Ahrefs has the lower very first rung.
Depends on the buyer
- 02
What is counted
Ahrefs Lite gives one user, 5 projects, 750 tracked keywords and 100,000 crawl credits. SE Ranking Core gives 10 projects, one manager seat and 2,000 daily keywords. If you track more keywords per euro, SE Ranking looks stronger at this level.
Edge: SE Ranking
- 03
Growing a team
Ahrefs Standard has up to 6 users and Advanced up to 11, with extra users from 37.40 euros a month. SE Ranking Growth has 3 seats and 30 projects at 235 euros monthly. Ahrefs lets bigger teams share one plan with more seats.
Edge: Ahrefs
- 04
Company and contract
Ahrefs Pte. Ltd. states a Singapore headquarters and calls itself bootstrapped. SE Ranking names no single home: a London company or a Delaware one provides the service, and California law applies. For a clear contracting country, Ahrefs is simpler.
Edge: Ahrefs
When neither fits
If your main need is content scoring or a lighter keyword tool, look at Surfer SEO or Mangools instead.
Ahrefs or SE Ranking: questions
3 answersWhich is cheaper, Ahrefs or SE Ranking?
SE Ranking Core is 109 euros monthly against 119 for Ahrefs Lite, but Ahrefs also has a 27 euro Starter plan.
Does SE Ranking offer a trial?
Yes, it runs 14 days and asks for no credit card.
Are extra users billed at Ahrefs?
Yes, between 37.40 and 74.80 euros a month depending on the plan.
Sources
Checked 2 November 2026- Ahrefs pricing page: plans, users, projects, keywords, credits, extra user cost.
- Ahrefs about page: Singapore, bootstrapped.
- SE Ranking subscription page: Core and Growth prices and limits, trial, add-ons.
- SE Ranking terms of service: service entities and California law.