Semrush vs Ahrefs
By Udayan Ambwani, Co-founder & CTO · 1 Oct 2026
Semrush and Ahrefs are the two SEO suites most teams shortlist first, and both now track AI search. Semrush is the broader marketing suite; Ahrefs is built around its backlink and keyword index.
The verdict
Semrush for AI tracking at volume, daily rank updates, local search and a trial. Ahrefs for backlink research, API and MCP access from the entry plan, and a trust centre listing ISO 27001 and SOC 2.
Choose Semrush if
You want 50 to 200 AI prompts tracked daily, daily rank updates and digital PR in one suite.
Choose Ahrefs if
Backlink research is the core job and you want API access on the entry plan.
How to choose between Semrush and Ahrefs
Both are complete SEO suites, and for everyday keyword research the difference is small: Semrush reports over 27.3 billion keywords and Ahrefs filters 28.7 billion, each by its own count. The choice comes down to what your team checks every day, and how many people check it.
Choose Ahrefs if links are the job. Site Explorer reports 35 trillion live backlinks with more than ten years of history, and API and MCP access start on the $129 Lite plan, where Semrush lists API access only on Advanced. Its trust centre lists ISO 27001 and SOC 2, which some procurement teams require. The costs are weekly rank updates on every plan, no trial, and extra users at $40 to $80 a month.
Choose Semrush if rankings and reporting are the job. Position Tracking updates daily from the $139 SEO plan, for 500 keywords across five sites, and Semrush adds local search visibility, digital PR and a trial of 7 days. Extra users are $45 a month on the SEO plan.
Both write, differently. Semrush’s Content Creation generates full articles from a brief. Ahrefs’ AI Content Helper grades drafts against top-ranking pages, with AI chat and a brand kit, and sits in the Content Kit add-on from $99 a month. Semrush’s features page does not describe citing claims to documents you supply.
Then price your team. With two extra users, Semrush SEO comes to $229 a month and Ahrefs Lite to $209, and a fourth user pushes Ahrefs to Standard at $429 against Semrush’s $274.
Feature by feature
What each tool does today, on the plans named in each row. Not described means the vendor’s pages do not mention it, which is not the same as the product lacking it.
Ahrefs leads on backlink data, API access and security documentation; Semrush on daily rankings, AI tracking volume, local search and a trial.
| Feature | Semrush | Ahrefs |
|---|---|---|
| SEO data | ||
| Keyword database | 27.3B+ keywords | 28.7B filtered keywords |
| Backlink data | Backlink Analysis | 35T live backlinks |
| Rank tracking updates | Daily | Weekly |
| Local search visibility | Yes | Not described |
| AI search and writing | ||
| AI prompts on the cheapest tracking plan | 50 a day, $199 | 5 a day, $129 |
| AI writing | Content Creation | AI Content Helper, add-on |
| Access and buying | ||
| API and MCP | API on Advanced | From Lite |
| Security certification listed | SSO; SOC 2 not stated | ISO 27001 and SOC 2 |
| Free trial | 7 days | None; free plan |
| Additional users | From $45 a month | $40 to $80 a month |
What some rows meanThe plan or limit behind a cell, where it needs saying
- Keyword database. Ahrefs says its 28.7 billion are filtered from 110 billion discovered. The two count differently.
- Backlink data. Vendors count backlinks differently, so test both on your own domains.
- AI prompts on the cheapest tracking plan. Ahrefs checks each prompt on one platform daily; tracking more platforms uses more checks.
- AI writing. Ahrefs sells AI Content Helper in the Content Kit add-on from $99 a month. Semrush’s features page lists Content Creation without naming the plans that include it.
- API and MCP. Semrush also offers a Semrush MCP; its pricing page lists API access on the $549 Advanced plan.
- Free trial. Ahrefs Free gives limited Site Explorer and Site Audit access for sites you verify.
Need cited drafts beside the SEO data?
Veritas, which we build, drafts from a knowledge graph of your own documents with every knowledge-based claim cited, beside keyword research, site audits and AI visibility on four engines.
AI answer tracking
For AI answer tracking, Semrush is the cheaper of the two at every volume we priced. Ten prompts tracked daily cost $2,388 a year on Semrush Starter and $2,988 on Ahrefs Standard, because Ahrefs Lite includes only five. At 50 prompts a day Semrush Starter still covers it for $2,388, while Ahrefs needs its $1,499 Enterprise plan, $17,988 a year.
For a team of five tracking 100 prompts, Semrush Pro+ with four extra users comes to $7,428 a year, and Ahrefs publishes no plan that tracks that many. The engine-by-engine detail and the arithmetic are below.
Veritas is not part of this comparison, but its prices are published if you want to weigh it too.Start a 7-day trialSee pricing
Engine by engine, and what tracking costs a yearWhich engines each tool covers on its tracking plan, and the yearly cost for four team sizes
Which engines each tool covers
On the cheapest plan that tracks AI answers. Most vendors list more engines than that plan includes, so this is what you get at the price shown, not the brochure maximum.
| Tool and plan | ChatGPT | Claude | Gemini | Perplexity | AI Overviews | AI Mode | Copilot |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Semrush Starter | Included | Included | Included | Included | Included | unclear | unclear |
Ahrefs Lite | you choose | you choose | you choose | you choose | you choose | you choose | you choose |
A tick is included. Add-on means an extra monthly fee. You choose means the plan lets you pick a limited number of platforms from this list. Unclear means the vendor’s wording does not say.
The plan behind each row, and what changes on higher plans, are on each tool’s review: Semrush, Ahrefs.
What AI answer tracking costs a year
These setups price one thing: tracking how AI assistants answer about you, for a given number of prompts and people, over twelve months. They are not the cost of the SEO toolkit, which is in the table above. Where no published plan fits, the note says why instead of guessing.
| Tool | Getting started1 seat, 10 tracked prompts, 1 brand | One marketer, one brand1 seat, 50 tracked prompts, 1 brand | Team of five, one brand5 seats, 100 tracked prompts, 1 brand | Agency, three brands10 seats, 300 tracked prompts, 3 brands |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Semrush | $2,388lowest | $2,388lowest | $7,428lowest | No published fit1 |
| Ahrefs | $2,988 | $17,988 | No published fit1 | No published fit1 |
- 1No published plan tracks the prompts this setup needs; larger volumes are arranged with the vendor.
Bars share one scale across the whole table, so cost growth shows as well as rank. A figure far above the rest is marked off scale.
The plan, seats and add-ons behind every figure are worked through on each tool’s review: Semrush, Ahrefs.
What would change our verdict
- Ahrefs raising its tracked AI prompt allowances on self-serve plans, which is where Semrush currently wins most clearly.
- Semrush stating SOC 2 on its security page or moving API access below Advanced, which would narrow Ahrefs’ lead on access and security.
- Adobe repackaging or repricing Semrush after the acquisition, which would change the price comparison on this page.
Questions people ask
Is Semrush or Ahrefs better?
For backlink research and API access on the entry plan, Ahrefs. For AI prompt tracking at volume, daily rank tracking, local search and digital PR, Semrush. Most teams choose by the job they do most often rather than by headline data sizes, which the two count differently.
Which is cheaper?
At entry, Ahrefs Lite is $129 a month against $139 for Semrush SEO, on prices read in September 2026. For AI tracking, Semrush Starter is $199 with 50 prompts a day, while Ahrefs Lite includes 5. Extra users cost $45 to $100 on Semrush, by plan, and $40 to $80 on Ahrefs.
Which has more keywords and backlinks?
Ahrefs reports 28.7 billion filtered keywords and 35 trillion live backlinks; Semrush reports over 27.3 billion keywords. The vendors count differently, so test both on your own domains rather than choosing on the numbers.
Do both track AI search?
Yes. Semrush tracks 50 to 200 prompts a day across five engines from its $199 Starter plan. Ahrefs Brand Radar includes 5 to 20 custom prompts on self-serve plans, each checked daily on one platform unless you trade prompts for platforms, and a Claude update uses 8 checks.
Each tool’s full review
Every feature, price, pro and con for each tool, each fact linked to the vendor page it came from, is on that tool’s own review page.
- Semrush reviewSEO and AI visibility suite
- Ahrefs reviewSEO suite with AI visibility
How the scores are calculatedThe arithmetic behind each score
| Tool | Weighted score | Criteria scored | Strongest criterion |
|---|---|---|---|
| Semrush | 85 | 7 of 8 | Refresh frequency |
| Ahrefs | 61 | 7 of 8 | Refresh frequency |
Eight rules, each applied to the published facts in the reviews and weighted to a total out of 100. The rules and weights are set out in our methodology.
How we researched this pageMethod and the update log
How we researched this page
Every fact about another tool comes from that vendor’s own pages, or from a press report where we say so, listed under Sources with the date we read them. Where a vendor does not describe something, we say so rather than guess.
The scores and cost figures on this page are calculated, not assigned. Our full methodology sets out every rule, what each criterion is worth, and where our evidence runs out.
Disclosure. Veritas is our product. It appears on this page because it competes in this category, and we have tried to state its limits as plainly as anyone else’s. If anything here is wrong or out of date, write to support@getveritas.io and we will correct it and note the change in the log.
Update log
- 1 October 2026Published.
Sources
The pages behind this comparison, most recently read 29 September 2026. Each tool’s review dates its own sources.
- Semrush: Academy · Adobe Completes Semrush Acquisition · Features · Keyword Magic Tool · Local · My Reports · Pricing · Pricing (SEO AI Search) · Security · User Management
- Ahrefs: Academy · AI Content Helper · Brand Radar · Free · Homepage (ahrefs.com) · Homepage (trust.ahrefs.com) · Is there any way to brand… · Keywords Explorer · New features february march 2026 · New Features May 2026 · Pricing · Product announcement ahrefs adds youtube and… · Rank Tracker · SEO MCP · Site Audit · Site Explorer
How this page was made. Veritas is our product. Every fact about another tool is checked against that vendor’s own pages, and scores and costs are calculated by our published rules.
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