Semrush vs Ahrefs
Both are full SEO suites sold by plan, and both bill extra users on top. Semrush has a free plan and a wider set of add-ons, and our data now lists it as a unit of Adobe. Ahrefs describes itself as bootstrapped, publishes crawl credits per plan and starts at a lower Starter price.
Hannah ReiterSenior Analyst, Business Applications
Niels Abrahamsen
Sebastiaan SmitsVendors can pay for visibility on this site; it never changes what we say about a product. How that works.
Choose Semrush ifyou want a free plan to try first, accept a large parent company, and are happy to add users, reports and lead generation as separate lines.
Choose Ahrefs ifyou want an independent vendor, plan limits that are printed per tier, and a cheap Starter plan before committing to a full suite.
Semrush and Ahrefs side by side
| Semrush | Ahrefs | |
|---|---|---|
| Our SEO tool rank | #12 of 12 | #8 of 12 |
| Established in | United States | Singapore |
| Pricing | Free plan; per month per plan, published; extra users and add-ons billed | Per month per plan, published; extra users billed |
| List price, 8 October 2026 | Free plan; Pro+ EUR 286, Advanced EUR 526 per month billed monthly; extra users from EUR 43 a month | Starter EUR 27; Lite EUR 119, Standard EUR 229, Advanced EUR 419 per month; extra users EUR 37.40 to EUR 74.80 a month |
| Free tier | Yes | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Self-hostable | — | — |
| Built for | Marketing teams who accept a large vendor and want everything in one place | Established SEO teams who want one suite with transparent plan limits |
| Not for | Buyers who want an independent supplier without add-on billing | Solo users who only need a few keyword lookups a month |
Both are reviewed in full in our SEO tool ranking: Semrush and Ahrefs.
Where they differ
Semrush 0 · Ahrefs 1 · open 4- 01
Entry point
Semrush has a free plan with one demo project and 10 reports per day. Ahrefs lists a free tier of its free tools, a Starter plan at EUR 27 a month, and Lite at EUR 119 a month. Semrush's lowest paid plan we read is EUR 134 a month billed monthly. A buyer who wants to test before paying has more to try at Semrush, and one who wants a cheap paid start has it at Ahrefs.
Depends on the buyer
- 02
What a plan includes
Semrush limits websites and daily tracked keywords: 15 websites and 1,500 keywords on Pro+, 40 and 5,000 on Advanced. Ahrefs limits projects and crawl credits: 5 projects and 100,000 credits on Lite, 20 and 500,000 on Standard, 50 and 1,500,000 on Advanced. The two meter different things, so compare against your own site count and crawl size, not the plan names.
Depends on the buyer
- 03
Adding colleagues
Both charge for extra users. Semrush lists additional users from EUR 43 a month. Ahrefs lists EUR 37.40 on Lite, EUR 56.10 on Standard and EUR 74.80 on Advanced for each extra user. For a team of five on a mid plan, the seat line is a real part of the bill at either vendor.
Depends on the buyer
- 04
Ownership and independence
Our category data records that Semrush completed its acquisition by Adobe on 28 April 2026, so it is no longer independent. Ahrefs Pte. Ltd. is listed under Singapore and describes itself as bootstrapped. For a buyer who weighs supplier independence, that decides it.
Edge: Ahrefs
- 05
Add-ons and extras
Semrush sells lead generation, base report and pro report packs as separate monthly lines, so its list price is a starting point. Ahrefs sells Brand Radar AI and custom prompt packages separately too, but its plan tiers print the main limits plainly. Neither is all-inclusive.
Depends on the buyer
When neither fits
If you need a crawler rather than a suite, or a European supplier, a smaller tool fits better. Sistrix is first in our SEO tools ranking, and Mangools is built for small teams and occasional use.
Semrush or Ahrefs: questions
3 answersIs Ahrefs cheaper than Semrush?
Not at every point. Ahrefs lists Lite at EUR 119 a month and a Starter plan at EUR 27, while Semrush's lowest paid plan we read was EUR 134 a month billed monthly.
The totals diverge once you add users, reports and credits, so price the exact setup.
Does either have a free plan?
Semrush has a free plan with one demo project and 10 reports per day. Ahrefs lists a free offering alongside its paid plans, limited to its free tools.
Who owns Semrush now?
Our category data records that Semrush was acquired by Adobe, completed on 28 April 2026. We did not re-verify that on Adobe's own pages for this comparison.
Sources
Checked 8 October 2026- Semrush pricing page: plan prices, website and keyword limits, free plan, extra user and add-on prices.
- Ahrefs pricing page: plan prices, project and crawl credit limits, extra user prices, Starter plan.