🕷️ Crawler Inspector

URL Lookup

Direct Parameter Lookup

Raw Queries and Responses

1. Shard Calculation

Query:

Response:

Calculated Shard: 42 (from laksa056)

2. Crawled Status Check

Query:

curl -X POST \
  'http://laksa042.int.ahrefs:8124/' \
  -H 'Content-Type: text/plain' \
  -H 'X-ClickHouse-Database: crawler3' \
  -H 'Authorization: Basic YXBpOg==' \
  -d 'SELECT getAhrefsURLFromUnparsed(src_unparsed) AS found_url, ifNull(toUnixTimestamp(download_stamp), 0) AS crawl_time, ifNull(toUnixTimestamp(props_url_first_seen), 0) AS first_indexed_time, download_http_code AS http_code, src_unparsed AS src_unparsed, src_root_hash AS src_root_hash, history_drop_reason AS history_drop_reason, meta_title AS meta_title, meta_descriptions AS meta_descriptions, attrs_boilerpipe_text AS attrs_boilerpipe_text, attrs_markdown AS attrs_markdown, attrs_readable_markdown AS attrs_readable_markdown, meta_canonical AS meta_canonical FROM crawler3.page_info_local FINAL PREWHERE (src_root_hash, src_unparsed) IN ((getAhrefsRootHashFromUnparsed(getAhrefsUnparsedNoserviceFromURL(\'https://selfmademillennials.com/ahrefs-alternatives/\')), getAhrefsUnparsedNoserviceFromURL(\'https://selfmademillennials.com/ahrefs-alternatives/\'))) FORMAT JSONEachRow'

Response:

{"found_url":"https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/ahrefs-alternatives\/","crawl_time":1775494301,"first_indexed_time":1744257673,"http_code":200,"src_unparsed":"com,selfmademillennials!\/ahrefs-alternatives\/ s443","src_root_hash":"7103841330096603242","history_drop_reason":null,"meta_title":"Why I Ditched Ahrefs (+ 5 Better Alternatives for SEO)","meta_descriptions":["After years with Ahrefs, I found better Ahrefs alternatives. Here are 5 SEO tools I personally tested that cost less and show traffic data you can trust."],"attrs_boilerpipe_text":"Ahrefs was the very first SEO tool I ever used. That was way back in 2015, when I was just starting out in digital marketing. Over the years, they’ve added many new features, but honestly, the overall design hasn’t changed much.\nAhrefs has also kept my favorite report —\nTop Pages.\nIt shows the top organic pages for any website. I use it all the time to track which pages perform best on my own site and to peek at what’s working for competitors.\nFor a long time, Ahrefs has been a go-to tool for SEO professionals. It’s very SEO-focused, especially compared to Semrush, which tries to be an all-in-one platform for entire marketing teams.\nWhy I stopped using Ahrefs’ paid plans\nI stopped using Ahrefs Lite when they introduced\nthe credit system.\nI’m still actively using Ahrefs free tool, Webmaster Tool, but that’s basically it. \nI remember consuming credits quickly, and I had to pay extra to continue using the tool. I wasn’t happy with the new payment plans because I could never predict how much their SEO toolkit would cost me each month. I know they’ve updated the credit system since then, but that still wasn’t enough to convince me to come back.\nThere’s also an issue with the Ahrefs data that I don’t see many people talking about:\nAhrefs shows much higher organic traffic numbers than what I see in Google Search Console or Google Analytics.\nFor example, in January 2026, Ahrefs estimated my site was getting 65k organic visits. Meanwhile, Google Analytics showed around 7k organic sessions, and that’s after Google’s December and January algorithm updates.\nThat’s a massive gap. Have you noticed something similar?\nI even tried to bring this up on Reddit in a post by Tim Soulo, but my comment was removed.\nTools like Semrush and SE Ranking provide a more accurate organic traffic estimate. Yes, they’re still estimates, but they’re much closer to what I actually see in my real data.\nSo, if you’re looking for the\nbest Ahrefs alternatives\nthat are affordable and offer solid data, I’ve got a few great options to share, the ones I’ve actually used myself.\nHow I test SEO tools\nHere’s what I usually look at when evaluating a tool:\nPricing first:\nBudget matters. Therefore, I always check if the pricing makes sense for what you’re actually getting.\nPromises vs. reality:\nI compare the marketing promises with how tools actually perform. Sometimes their sales page sounds amazing, but the product doesn’t live up to it.\nTalking to the team:\nI often reach out directly to people working on the tool. Getting answers straight from the source helps me understand how tools actually work.\nReddit deep dives:\nReddit is one of my favorite places for feedback. People are honest there and don’t make up their experiences.\nHands-on testing:\nI’ve personally used every tool mentioned below. I’ve tested the main features and run performance reports.\nI’ve recently come across some newer\nAhrefs alternatives\nfor SEO experts that you might not know about yet, such as Search Atlas and Writesonic (I’ll get into them shortly).\nP.S. This post contains a few affiliate links. If you choose to use any of these tools, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. I’m sharing this because I believe in being transparent. Whether or not you use these links, I genuinely support these tools as I’ve personally used all of them. 🙌\nMy top 5 Ahrefs alternatives\nBased on the criteria that I shared above, I’ve picked a few \nSEO tools\nlike Ahrefs I believe are the best alternatives you can use.\nLet me provide a brief overview of each tool to help you gain a better understanding.\nSemrush SEO Toolkit\n – Has more accurate data than Ahrefs and over 55 SEO features.  If you are looking for an SEO + AI search visibility toolkit, Semrush has recently launched \nSemrush One\n. It’s an AI SEO tool that combines two toolkits under one subscription.\nSearch Atlas\n — An affordable alternative to Ahrefs that offers an AI SEO solution for agencies. \nSERanking\n — SEO software for agencies with an AI Overviews tracker.\nWritesonic \n— An AI-powered SEO agent for all SEO, content writing, and generative engine optimization (GEO) tasks.\nUbersuggest\n — My top SEO pick for hobbyists and small site owners. \nP.S. This post contains a few affiliate links. If you choose to use any of these tools, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. I’m sharing this because I believe in being transparent. Whether or not you use these links, I genuinely support these tools as I’ve personally used all of them. \n \n1. Semrush SEO Toolkit\nUnique features\n: AI assistant providing personalized data for your domain, AI brand insights\nPricing\n: Starts at $139\/month for the Semrush Pro plan. Semrush One, which combines traditional SEO + \nAI search solution\n, starts at $199\/month.\nFree trial\n:  \nSemrush SEO Toolkit\n has a free version where you can conduct 10 free searches daily. But you can also sign up for a \n14-day free trial\n. You can also test \nSemrush One\n for free for 14 days using my partner \nlink\n. \nSemrush is one of the most popular Ahrefs alternatives that has been around since 2008.\nToday, it offers 55 different tools for online marketers.\nOn top of the core SEO Toolkit, Semrush also gives you access to several add-on toolkits, depending on what you need. \nThese extras typically come with a 7-day free trial but incur additional costs on top of your regular SEO Toolkit subscription. Here’s a quick rundown:\nContent Toolkit\n (formerly \nContentShake AI\n) to help you optimize your content production process\nAI Visibility Toolkit\n to help you track your brand’s performance in AI search results \nSocial Media Kit\n helps with social media management across different platforms\nAdvertising Toolkit\n to research, plan, launch, and optimize online ad campaigns\nLocal Business Kit\n to manage your Google Business Profile and online reviews\nTraffic and Market\n Insights to find what works for your competitors and how they grow\nSemrush One\n brings together two toolkits in one plan, giving you all the data, insights, and tools you need to succeed in search on both search engines and AI chat platforms.\nIt’s a pretty robust platform if you’re handling multiple parts of your online marketing in one place. \nFor this article, I’ll mainly talk about Semrush’s SEO and AI Toolkits, since they are solid alternatives to Ahrefs I’d recommend trying. \nJust like Ahrefs, I’ve been familiar with Semrush since 2015 and used it occasionally. \nOne feature that makes me choose Semrush over Ahrefs is the \nKeyword Magic Tool\n. As an SEO specialist and a content writer, I frequently conduct keyword research for both my site and my clients. And for that, I need robust tools.\nKeyword Magic Tool lets you pull up thousands of keyword ideas from just one seed keyword. It’s super efficient. Plus, their filters can help you quickly narrow the keyword list down. I can find keywords that are realistic to target and have business value.\nAlso, Semrush has introduced a unique feature — \na personal AI assistant\n. It gives you keyword suggestions based on your website’s domain authority, so you’re not just guessing what you can rank for. It’s a very helpful feature.\nI’ve also been positively impressed by Semrush’s Position Tracker tool, which detected keyword ranking changes faster than Ahrefs (in my case). \nRight now, I’m using Semrush’s free plan. It lets you track up to 8 keywords. I use it to keep an eye on my top keywords and compare results with Ahrefs and Ubersuggest (I’ve got a lifetime deal on that one).\nHere’s what I like about Semrush’s Position Tracking tool:\nIt updates keyword rankings every day\nYou get a visibility chart to see how you’re doing over time\nIt shows when you add or remove keywords\nYou can compare keyword performance weekly, monthly, quarterly, or yearly\nIt even emails you regular performance reports\nBelow is a sample rank tracking report for my site. If you upgrade to \nSemrush Pro\n, you can track up to 500 keywords across 5 domains.\nHere’s what Akshay Negi, a brand marketing expert, \nsays\n about using Semrush’s Position Tracking tool to boost his online business:\nIf you want to dive deeper into how LLMs see your brand, I recommend checking Semrush’s AI Visibility Toolkit, which includes:\n1 domain for brand performance analysis\n300 daily queries in AI Analysis reports\n25 prompts for prompt tracking\nAI Search Checks in Site Audit for up to 100 pages\n6 new regions for ChatGPT, AI overview, AI mode: US, UK, Canada, Australia, India, Spain, Japan, and Mexico.\nSemrush MCP access is now open to regular Semrush users, not only enterprise accounts like before. So you can use all 50,000 API credits when working with LLMs, such as\nClaude\nor ChatGPT. \nComparing Semrush and Ahrefs organic performance data\nI shared my detailed comparison of both tools in my \nSemrush vs. Ahrefs\npost, but I’d like to help you better understand how the data accuracy of both tools compares.\nHere’s a quick look at my website’s SEO metrics from January 2026:\nCategory\nSemrush\nAhrefs\nGoogle Search Console\nOrganic traffic\n24,295\n64,913\n4,110\nTop 3 pages based on organic traffic\nAhrefs alternatives\nAI SEO tools\n\nSEO books\nAhrefs alternatives\nAI SEO tools\nSemrush vs Ahrefs\nAI SEO tools\n\nAI marketing tools\nAhrefs alternatives\nNumber of keywords\n6,870\n1,500\nReferring domains\n799\n574\nNumber of backlinks\n3,200\n1,600\nIt’s worth mentioning that Ahrefs’ overall keyword database is bigger (as of February 2026), but Semrush provides more keyword variations for the USA if that’s your target location.\nSemrush keyword database\n: 27.9 billion keywords in 142 locations, 3.8 billion keywords in the USA alone\nAhrefs keyword database\n: 28.7 billion keywords in 217 locations, 2.4 billion keywords in the USA alone\nWhat this means for you is that Ahrefs will potentially be able to identify and show you more keyword opportunities. However, Semrush can offer you more keyword opportunities specifically for the USA. \nThese numbers can change anytime since both tools always update their databases. That’s why I’ll be checking Ahrefs’ Keyword Explorer page and Semrush’s stats occasionally to keep my article up to date.\nYou can learn more about the tool in my \nSemrush review\n. \nSemrush offers a 7-day money-back guarantee if you upgrade to a paid plan but don’t want to keep it for some reason. \nI once upgraded to the Semrush Pro plan by mistake, which cost me $139.95. I reached out to their support, and they gave me my money back within a few days.\nJust send them a request within 7 days of signing up, and they’ll refund you. It’s that simple.\nIf you’ve been thinking about trying Semrush Pro, here’s a little perk—my partner link gives you\n a 14-day free trial to Semrush Pro\n instead of the usual 7 days. Just a small way to get more time to explore and see if it’s a good fit! \n2. Search Atlas\nUnique features\n: OTTO SEO AI tool, Site Visualization, Keyword Magic Tool\nPricing\n: Starts at $99\/month for the Starter plan\nFree trial\n: There’s a 7-day free trial. If you want to keep using the tool, you’ll have to upgrade to a paid plan after the free trial expires \nSearch Atlas\nis powerful SEO software for agencies and a solid Ahrefs competitor with an automated AI SEO assistant, called OTTO SEO. \nI first came across it on social media. Honestly, I kept seeing its ads everywhere. I shared the full story in my \nSemrush vs. Search Atlas\n review. \nAfter that, I got curious. I wanted to see if it could be a more affordable alternative to Ahrefs and what it actually offers.\nTo me, Search Atlas feels like a mix of Semrush and Ahrefs.\n It has features like both and a similar layout. If you’ve used either of those tools before, Search Atlas will feel pretty familiar.\nI tested the Search Atlas Growth plan ($199\/month) in March 2026. It comes with a solid set of features, but I noticed that Search Atlas sometimes crashes, and some reports take a while to load.\nHere’s a quick look at the Site Overview report inside Search Atlas. It looks a lot like what you’d see in Ahrefs or Semrush.\nSearch Atlas has a Keyword Magic Tool, just like Semrush.\nYou can use it to get keyword ideas from your seed keyword. It even has the same name as Semrush’s tool. Semrush gives you a few more filter options, but honestly, I don’t think it’s a big deal. Ahrefs doesn’t have this kind of tool at all.\nUnlike Ahrefs, Search Atlas provides you with your consumption stats, so you know when you’ll be running out of keyword checks. \nSearch Atlas Growth plan ($199\/month) provides you with 2,000 keyword checks. Honestly, I don’t think that’s much, especially if you have to conduct keyword research for multiple different websites. \nI’ve also published an in-depth \nSearch Atlas review\n recently to help you get a detailed overview of the tool’s features and data accuracy. \nNow, let me quickly show you how Ahrefs and Search Atlas compare in terms of data accuracy. It’s seriously my favorite thing to do – testing and comparing tools’ data accuracy.\nHere’s the data comparison for my website from March 2026:\nCategory\nSearch Atlas\nAhrefs\nGoogle Search Console\nOrganic traffic\n15.5k\n36k\n1.76k\nTop 3 pages based on organic traffic\nAI SEO tools,\nAI marketing tools,\nAhrefs alternatives\nAI SEO tools,\nAhrefs alternatives,\nAI marketing tools\nAI SEO tools,\nAI marketing tools,\nAhrefs alternatives\nNumber of keywords\n4k\n1.2k\n \nReferring domains\n841\n594\n \nNumber of backlinks\n3.7k\n1.9k\n \nEven though Search Atlas’ data isn’t perfect, it’s still pretty close to the actual numbers from Google Search Console. I agree it’s just an estimate for one month, but it gives you a good idea of what’s going on.\nI even tried looking for something like Semrush’s “Stats” page and asked ChatGPT for help. In the end, I found an interesting comment under one of their Facebook ads…\nFirst off, it’s awesome that the Search Atlas team tracks brand mentions and actually responds to people. I don’t see that much with other tools.\nThis makes me think that Search Atlas probably pulls data from your Google Search Console account to track your site’s performance and give improvement tips. If I find out more about where they get their data, I’ll update this post.\nOverall, I think Search Atlas is a great Ahrefs alternative for SEO. It has more features and uses AI to power its site audit tool. \nI’ve also checked what users say about Search Atlas on the web and stumbled upon a fresh Reddit thread, where one of the Reddit users \nshared\n the following:\nSearch Atlas gives you a 7-day free trial, but you’ll need to link a credit card to activate it.\nI know it’s a bit of a hassle, but it’s the only way to test the tool. I’ve paid for the tool multiple times, and I can confirm they won’t charge your card during the trial.\nIf you cancel the trial early, you’ll lose access to the tool right away. So, it’s best to make the most of the 7 days to see if it works for your business.\nCurious how Search Atlas stacks up against tools like Ahrefs or Semrush?\nTry Search Atlas free for 7 days\n and see how this all-in-one SEO tool works.\nP.S. I actually got to meet Fidan and a few people from the Search Atlas team in person at the\nSEO IRL conference\nin Toronto back in fall 2025.\n3. SE Ranking\nUnique features\n: AI Overviews Tracker, Agency Success Kit, Local SEO toolkit  \nPricing\n: Starts at $65\/month for the Essential plan\nFree trial\n: There’s a \n14-day free trial\n, after which you have to upgrade to keep using the tool\nSE Ranking\n is an all-in-one SEO software for agencies, business owners, and SEO professionals.\nIt offers a wide range of tools for keyword tracking, website audits, competitor analysis, backlink monitoring, and more. \nSE Ranking is a more affordable Ahrefs alternative\n, starting at $65\/month for the core SEO tools except for AI Search, Content and Marketing toolkits, On-page, and SERP analysis. To unlock additional features, you’ll have to upgrade to SE Ranking Pro ($119 monthly) or SE Ranking Business ($259 monthly). \nHere’s a brief overview of SE Ranking’s key features to help you with all kinds of SEO tasks:\nKeyword Generator \n— It’s similar to Semrush’s Keyword Magic Tool and helps you generate keyword ideas based on your seed keyword. \nKeyword Grouper\n — It’s a keyword cluster tool to help you group similar keywords based on search intent.\nKeyword Rank Tracker\n – Monitors organic keyword positions across search engines and devices.\nAI Overviews Tracker\n — It’s a new tool to help you analyze AI snippets for your target keywords. \nOn-Page SEO Checker\n – This feature helps you audit your website pages for optimization opportunities.\nWebsite Audit\n – Scans your site for technical SEO issues and recommends fixes.\nBacklink Checker\n – Analyzes backlink profiles for your site and competitors.\nCompetitor Analysis Tool\n – Reveals competitors’ keywords, traffic, and ad strategies.\nAI Content Generator\n – This feature helps you generate and optimize content based on your target keyword. It also integrates with Google Docs. \nLocal Marketing Toolkit\n — Helps manage local SEO campaigns to reach more customers in your target area.\nAgency Success Toolkit\n — Designed to help SEO agencies succeed with features like Lead Generator, SEO Reports Generator, and SEO API, to name a few. \nI’ve used SE Ranking for over 6 months to track my website’s performance.\nEven though I currently use Ubersuggest (more about it later) and Semrush, SERanking is a decent solution if you want a more affordable tool.\nFor just $65 monthly, you get access to a 4.2 billion keyword and 1.9 billion backlinks databases across 188 countries. \nIf you are an agency with multiple client projects, you can track up to 2,000 keywords for 30 domains with 3 user seats for just $119 monthly. \nSimilar to Semrush, you can manage up to 5 domains and track up to 500 keywords. The user interface reminds me of Semrus. So, if you’ve used Semrush in the past, you’ll quickly get used to the tool. \nNow, let me show you my comparison of Ahrefs’ and SE Rankings’ data from October for my website.\nCategory\nSE Ranking\nAhrefs\nGoogle Search Console\nOrganic traffic\n3,300\n47,400\n8,000\nTop 3 pages based on organic traffic\nAI SEO tools\nAI Marketing tools \nAhrefs alternatives\nAI SEO tools\nAhrefs alternatives\nAI marketing tools\nAI SEO tools\nAI marketing tools \nAhrefs alternatives\nNumber of keywords\n7,400\n3,350\n \nReferring domains\n612\n453\n \nNumber of backlinks\n2,000\n1,300\n \nJust like with Ahrefs, the numbers you see in SE Ranking don’t quite match what’s shown in Google Search Console. It’s still useful as a reference, but keep in mind that your competitors might actually be doing better than what SE Ranking shows.\nI was honestly surprised to see the low organic traffic estimate, only 610 visits a month for my top post on AI SEO tools.\nOn the other side, the backlink data was pretty spot on and almost identical to what Ahrefs shows.\nIf you want to try SE Ranking, keep in mind that it doesn’t have a free plan. \nOnce your \n14-day free trial\n ends, you’ll lose access to all your data. That could be a big deal for your business.\nThe Agency Success Pack is only available if you upgrade to either the SERanking Pro ($119\/month) or Business ($259\/month) plans, and you’ll need to commit to a yearly plan.\nThe good news? You save 20% with the annual subscription.\nWhen it comes to historical data on keywords and domains, you’ll only get 3 months of data with the Pro plan. If you need full historical data, you’ll need the Business plan. I know this could be a bit confusing. From what I’ve seen, having access to historical data is key to analyzing performance and data trends.\nTake a look at my detailed comparison of \nSemrush vs. SE Ranking\n if you are wondering which one is worth using. \n4. Writesonic\nUnique features\n: GEO, Chatsonic (their AI agent), and the AI Article Writer.\nPricing\n: Plans start at $249\/month and include SEO, content tools, plus AI search tracking and optimization.\nFree trial\n: You can try it\nfree for 7 days\n, no credit card required. There’s also a free plan if you just want to test things out.\nWritesonic can help your brand show up in AI search results and speed up your content creation process.\nIt feels more modern than most SEO tools, as if it were designed for AI search first rather than adapted later. I’d compare Writesonic to Semrush’s AI Visibility and Content Toolkits.\nI wrote a detailed\nWritesonic review\nsharing my experience with their content generation workflow, Chatsonic AI agent, and GEO functionality. If interested, take a quick look since I soubt anyone on the web shares that many details. \nHere’s what you can do with Writesonic:\nYou can teach Writesonic’s bot how you write, including your tone, style, and voice. So, it creates content that actually sounds like \nyou\n.\nTrack how your brand shows up across LLMs like ChatGPT, Perplexity.ai, and AI Overviews, including visibility, rankings, and sentiment.\nRun a free site audit for up to 100 pages. If you’re on a paid plan, you can check bigger sites, such as 200 pages or more.\nGet custom content ideas tailored for your website and create an\nSEO content strategy\naround them.\nDo keyword research and find topics your audience is actively searching for, kind of like what Answer the Public does.\nResearch \nkeyword clusters\n to plan out pillar pages and supporting articles.\nCreate different types of content like listicles, how-to guides, or news-style articles.\nGenerate and customize outlines.\nOptimize content for rankings with SEO Checker and Optimizer\nDo competitor research, compare your content performance to your competitors, and get improvement recommendations.\nRewrite or \nhumanize AI-generated content\n.\nLook into which keywords and pages perform best on your site.\nOne thing that really caught my eye is that Writesonic connects with tools like Ahrefs, Google Analytics, and Google Search Console to pull in keyword data, domain overview, and site audit insights.\nEven if you don’t have your own Ahrefs account, you still get access to their insights. \nWritesonic for tracking AI search visibility\nWritesonic has features that can help site owners track how visible their content is in AI search results.\nI’ll be honest, I had a pretty tough experience at first. After I upgraded, the\nGEO\nfeature didn’t work for almost two weeks. I sent an email to the founder, but never got a reply. I also reached out to support, but they don’t have live chat, which was pretty annoying.\nWhen support eventually got back to me, they sent me a list of things to try fixing on my end. The funny thing is, right after they responded, everything started working. So I’m guessing the problem was actually on their side.\nHere’s what you can do with Writesonic GEO: \nYou can check how your website ranks in ChatGPT, Perplexity, and AI Overviews against your competitors.\nSee which LLMs cite your content and which pages they link to.\nKeep track of when your brand gets mentioned.\nTry the suggested prompts for your industry, or add your own custom ones.\nFind relevant prompts through the Topics & Prompts tool.\nMonitor AI bot traffic and errors with AI Bot Analytics (you’ll need a WordPress plugin for this).\nWhen I started checking citation numbers for my website, I noticed that the data doesn’t match what other tools show.\nFor instance, Semrush says I have 117 mentions and 179 cited pages globally. But Writesonic only shows 1 cited page and 0 mentions. I’ll update this if things change later on, but right now, the numbers seem off.\nIf you’re thinking about trying Writesonic, I’d say test it out before you commit to a long subscription. The 7-day free trial is helpful for that.\nAnd if you do give it a shot, just go for the Professional plan. The cheaper options don’t include the AI features, and those are really the main reason to use Writesonic in the first place.\nI upgraded to the Writesonic Professional plan for $249\/m because none of their cheaper plans include AI + SEO + Content functionality.\n5. Ubersuggest\nUnique features\n:\nTop SEO opportunities report, Chrome extension, AI Search Visibility, AI Prompt research.\nPricing\n: Starts at $29 monthly or $290 lifetime to manage one domain\nFree trial\n: There’s a 7-day free trial and a limited free plan.\nFor $290, most SEO tools only give you a month or two of access. But with Ubersuggest, you get lifetime access for managing one website at that price.\nI bought the Individual plan back in December 2024 because I was looking for an affordable SEO tool for my website. It’s now February 2026, and I’m still using it regularly!\nUbersuggest is a cheaper alternative to Ahrefs. It’s perfect if you’re running a small business or just doing SEO for your own website and don’t want to spend a fortune. Neil Patel bought Ubersuggest in 2017 because he wanted to make an SEO tool that could compete with the pricier options out there.\nHere’s what you get for $29 a month or $290 lifetime:\nOne user seat to manage one domain\n150 searches daily\nTrack 5 competitors\nAnalyze competitors’ top-ranking pages and keywords\nScan 1,000 pages per domain\nAccess up to 20,000 keyword suggestions\nGet 200 content ideas\nTrack up to 2,000 backlinks from the past 3 years\nSee new and lost backlinks over the last 30 days\nAbility to track 10 AI prompts per project\nResearch up to 25 prompts at a time\nTrack up to 125 keywords\nSEO training and support\nThat’s a pretty generous pricing plan, isn’t it?\nFor some of my top-ranking keywords, Ubersuggest gives more accurate keyword ranking updates than Ahrefs.\nThe Individual plan lets you track up to 125 keywords for one domain. If you need more, you can purchase an add-on for 250 keywords for just $5 a month. \nUbersuggest has added a new report called\nAI Keyword Overview\nas part of their keyword research tools.\nIt’s basically your typical\nkeyword research\nreport, but with some important data specifically for optimizing your content for AI search.\nSince I’m on the Solo plan, I don’t have access to some features, like the AI summary. However, even with that limitation, the data I can get from this report is really valuable.\nFor instance, you can check which brands pop up most often in AI Overviews and LLMs when people search for keywords like “\nAI SEO\n.” \nYou can also see the top sources that AI uses when answering prompts. My site, Self Made Millennials, actually showed up as the second source, which I’m pretty happy about!\nThe report also lists the top 10 regular search results, and they don’t always match up with what AI Overviews and language models are showing.\nI’d also recommend checking out the AI Prompt Ideas report. It gives you relevant prompt suggestions based on your main keyword. I use this all the time when I’m writing FAQ sections for my blog posts. It saves me so much time because I don’t have to go hunting for these prompt ideas elsewhere.\nFor only $29 a month, Ubersuggest gives you a pretty solid set of SEO and AI tools if you’re managing a website.\nI was curious where Ubersuggest gets its data, so I came across their \npost\n explaining how they estimate organic traffic. Here’s what they consider:\n“Keyword Analysis: We evaluate the monthly search volume of each keyword in our database. \nRankings and Websites: We analyze website rankings for these keywords and their respective positions. \nPosition-Based CTR Analysis: We assess the typical CTR for these positions.\nComprehensive Traffic Calculation: We aggregate this data with additional information, such as the traffic of each page and, if applicable, data from other countries.”\nEven though people have mixed opinions about Ubersuggest on \nReddit\n, I agree with one user who said it’s a solid tool for tracking. If you need \nSEO software for small businesses\n or have a side-project website, it’s definitely worth using.\nWhat’s the best Ahrefs alternative?\nAfter years of \nDIY SEO\n and working with lots of different SEO tools, I could say I mainly use \nSemrush\n. However, this hasn’t always been the case. Additionally, it took me a lot of time to test the existing solutions and identify those I can rely on based on their data accuracy and features. \nIf you’ve just started looking for an alternative to Ahrefs, I suggest asking yourself, “\nWhat exactly do you need it for?”\nNot all SEO tools do the same thing well. Some are great for niche keyword research, others shine when it comes to backlink tracking, and a few are better for content ideas. \nBefore jumping into another tool, think about the tasks you do most often. Are you focused on growing organic traffic, spying on competitors, or building links? \nYour daily SEO workflow should guide your decision. It also helps to think about how experienced you are—some tools are beginner-friendly, while others, like Screaming Frog, will take time to master. \nAnd, of course, budget plays a role, especially if you’re a freelancer or small business owner. Instead of asking, “What’s the best?” ask, “What’s the best for \nme\n right now?” That mindset shift makes the choice a whole lot easier.\nIs Ahrefs free?\nNo, Ahrefs is not free.\nAhrefs Lite plan starts at $129\/month, but if you want access to AI SEO features, that’s part of the Standard plan for $240\/month.\nAhrefs offers a Webmaster Tool for verified domain owners, but it only lets you monitor your website’s performance, but most features aren’t available for free. \nHowever, all the alternatives I’ve reviewed offer either free plans (like Semrush’s limited free version) or free trials (7-14 days) so you can test them before committing.\nUbersuggest is the closest to a free Ahrefs alternative with its lifetime deal at $290.\nDo I recommend the Ahrefs Starter plan?\nAhrefs Starter plan\nis a lighter and more affordable version of Ahrefs. You get access to some of their core SEO tools, including:\nSEO Dashboard\nSite Explorer\nKeywords Explorer\nSite Audit\nRank Tracker (you can track up to 40 keywords)\nAhrefs SEO Toolbar\nWeb Analytics\nOne important thing to know is the credit limit. The Starter plan comes with 100 credits. \nYou use one credit when you open most reports, except Site Audit and Rank Tracker. Once those credits are gone, you lose access to the tools even if your paid month is not over yet.\nIn my opinion, the Ahrefs Starter plan is suitable for small website owners or people who are just starting out. Just be careful with the credit limits because they can disappear faster than you expect.\nDo I recommend Ahrefs Webmaster Tools?\nYes, absolutely.\nAhrefs Webmaster Tools\nis a free option for verified website owners. It gives you access to three core Ahrefs tools:\nWeb Analytics, Site Audit, and Site Explorer.\nYou can only use it for your own website, and you’ll need to verify your domain first. I did this through Google Search Console.\nThe downside is that you can’t analyze competitors or check links for other websites.\nFrom My Desk to Your Inbox\nJoin the newsletter for actionable SEO tips, case studies, and a behind-the-scenes look at my affiliate marketing journey.\nNo spam. Unsubscribe anytime.","attrs_markdown":"[Skip to content](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/ahrefs-alternatives\/#content)\n\n[![Self Made Millennials logo](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Self-Made-Millennials-logo.webp)](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/)\n\n- [AI SEO](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/category\/ai-seo\/)\n  - [AI SEO Tools](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/ai-seo-tools\/)\n  - [AI Marketing Tools](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/ai-marketing-tools\/)\n  - [AI and SEO Trends 2026](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/ai-seo-trends\/)\n  - [Humanize AI Content](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/how-to-humanize-ai-content\/)\n- [Content SEO](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/category\/content-seo\/)\n  - [SEO Tools](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/best-seo-tools\/)\n  - [SEO Content Strategy](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/my-seo-content-strategy\/)\n  - [Keyword Research](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/keyword-research-for-seo\/)\n- [Semrush 101](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/category\/semrush-101\/)\n  - [Semrush Review](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/semrush-review\/)\n  - [AI Visibility Toolkit](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/semrush-ai-seo-toolkit-review\/)\n- [Learn SEO](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/category\/learn-seo\/)\n  - [SEO Resources](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/seo-resources\/)\n  - [Newsletter](https:\/\/news.selfmademillennials.com\/)\n  - [SEO ebook](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/my-ebooks\/)\n- [About](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/about-me\/)\n- [Contact](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/contact\/)\n\n- [AI SEO](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/category\/ai-seo\/)\n  - [AI SEO Tools](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/ai-seo-tools\/)\n  - [AI Marketing Tools](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/ai-marketing-tools\/)\n  - [AI and SEO Trends 2026](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/ai-seo-trends\/)\n  - [Humanize AI Content](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/how-to-humanize-ai-content\/)\n- [Content SEO](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/category\/content-seo\/)\n  - [SEO Tools](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/best-seo-tools\/)\n  - [SEO Content Strategy](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/my-seo-content-strategy\/)\n  - [Keyword Research](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/keyword-research-for-seo\/)\n- [Semrush 101](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/category\/semrush-101\/)\n  - [Semrush Review](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/semrush-review\/)\n  - [AI Visibility Toolkit](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/semrush-ai-seo-toolkit-review\/)\n- [Learn SEO](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/category\/learn-seo\/)\n  - [SEO Resources](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/seo-resources\/)\n  - [Newsletter](https:\/\/news.selfmademillennials.com\/)\n  - [SEO ebook](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/my-ebooks\/)\n- [About](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/about-me\/)\n- [Contact](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/contact\/)\n\n[SEO Tools](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/category\/seo-tools\/)\n\n# Why I Ditched Ahrefs (+ 5 Better Alternatives for SEO)\n![Victoria Kurichenko blog post author](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Victoria-Kurichenko-blog-post-author-1-scaled.webp)\n\nWritten by\n\nVictoria Kurichenko\n\n- Updated February 9, 2026\n\n![](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/dots.webp)\n\nAhrefs was the very first SEO tool I ever used. That was way back in 2015, when I was just starting out in digital marketing. Over the years, they’ve added many new features, but honestly, the overall design hasn’t changed much.\n\nAhrefs has also kept my favorite report —**Top Pages.** It shows the top organic pages for any website. I use it all the time to track which pages perform best on my own site and to peek at what’s working for competitors.\n\nFor a long time, Ahrefs has been a go-to tool for SEO professionals. It’s very SEO-focused, especially compared to Semrush, which tries to be an all-in-one platform for entire marketing teams.\n\n### **Why I stopped using Ahrefs’ paid plans**\nI stopped using Ahrefs Lite when they introduced **the credit system.** I’m still actively using Ahrefs free tool, Webmaster Tool, but that’s basically it.\n\nI remember consuming credits quickly, and I had to pay extra to continue using the tool. I wasn’t happy with the new payment plans because I could never predict how much their SEO toolkit would cost me each month. I know they’ve updated the credit system since then, but that still wasn’t enough to convince me to come back.\n\nThere’s also an issue with the Ahrefs data that I don’t see many people talking about: **Ahrefs shows much higher organic traffic numbers than what I see in Google Search Console or Google Analytics.**\n\nFor example, in January 2026, Ahrefs estimated my site was getting 65k organic visits. Meanwhile, Google Analytics showed around 7k organic sessions, and that’s after Google’s December and January algorithm updates.\n\nThat’s a massive gap. Have you noticed something similar?\n\nI even tried to bring this up on Reddit in a post by Tim Soulo, but my comment was removed.\n\nTools like Semrush and SE Ranking provide a more accurate organic traffic estimate. Yes, they’re still estimates, but they’re much closer to what I actually see in my real data.\n\nSo, if you’re looking for the best Ahrefs alternatives that are affordable and offer solid data, I’ve got a few great options to share, the ones I’ve actually used myself.\n\n### **How I test SEO tools**\nHere’s what I usually look at when evaluating a tool:\n\n- **Pricing first:** Budget matters. Therefore, I always check if the pricing makes sense for what you’re actually getting.\n- **Promises vs. reality:** I compare the marketing promises with how tools actually perform. Sometimes their sales page sounds amazing, but the product doesn’t live up to it.\n- **Talking to the team:** I often reach out directly to people working on the tool. Getting answers straight from the source helps me understand how tools actually work.\n- **Reddit deep dives:** Reddit is one of my favorite places for feedback. People are honest there and don’t make up their experiences.\n- **Hands-on testing:** I’ve personally used every tool mentioned below. I’ve tested the main features and run performance reports.\n\nI’ve recently come across some newer Ahrefs alternatives for SEO experts that you might not know about yet, such as Search Atlas and Writesonic (I’ll get into them shortly).\n\nP.S. This post contains a few affiliate links. If you choose to use any of these tools, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. I’m sharing this because I believe in being transparent. Whether or not you use these links, I genuinely support these tools as I’ve personally used all of them. 🙌\n## My top 5 Ahrefs alternatives\nBased on the criteria that I shared above, I’ve picked a few [SEO tools](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/best-seo-tools\/) like Ahrefs I believe are the best alternatives you can use.\n\nLet me provide a brief overview of each tool to help you gain a better understanding.\n\n1. [**Semrush SEO Toolkit**](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/recommend\/semrush-ahrefs-alternative) – Has more accurate data than Ahrefs and over 55 SEO features. If you are looking for an SEO + AI search visibility toolkit, Semrush has recently launched [Semrush One](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/recommend\/semrush-one-alternative-ahrefs). It’s an AI SEO tool that combines two toolkits under one subscription.\n2. [**Search Atlas**](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/recommend\/search-atlas-ahrefs-alternative) — An affordable alternative to Ahrefs that offers an AI SEO solution for agencies.\n3. [**SERanking**](https:\/\/seranking.com\/?ga=3996377&source=https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/ahrefs-alternatives\/) — SEO software for agencies with an AI Overviews tracker.\n4. [**Writesonic**](https:\/\/writesonic.com\/?fpr=seo-tool&fp_sid=ahrfsalt) — An AI-powered SEO agent for all SEO, content writing, and generative engine optimization (GEO) tasks.\n5. [**Ubersuggest**](https:\/\/neilpatel.com\/ubersuggest\/) — My top SEO pick for hobbyists and small site owners.\n\nP.S. This post contains a few affiliate links. If you choose to use any of these tools, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. I’m sharing this because I believe in being transparent. Whether or not you use these links, I genuinely support these tools as I’ve personally used all of them. ![🙌](https:\/\/s.w.org\/images\/core\/emoji\/16.0.1\/svg\/1f64c.svg)\n\n## 1\\. Semrush SEO Toolkit\n- **Unique features**: AI assistant providing personalized data for your domain, AI brand insights\n- **Pricing**: Starts at \\$139\/month for the Semrush Pro plan. Semrush One, which combines traditional SEO + AI search solution, starts at \\$199\/month.\n- **Free trial**: **Semrush SEO Toolkit** has a free version where you can conduct 10 free searches daily. But you can also sign up for a [14-day free trial](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/recommend\/semrush-ahrefs-alternative). You can also test **Semrush One** for free for 14 days using my partner [link](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/recommend\/semrush-one-alternative-ahrefs).\n\n![Semrush SEO Toolkit](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Semrush-SEO-Toolkit-1024x504.webp)\n\nSemrush is one of the most popular Ahrefs alternatives that has been around since 2008.\n\nToday, it offers 55 different tools for online marketers.\n\n**On top of the core SEO Toolkit, Semrush also gives you access to several add-on toolkits, depending on what you need.**\n\nThese extras typically come with a 7-day free trial but incur additional costs on top of your regular SEO Toolkit subscription. Here’s a quick rundown:\n\n- **Content Toolkit** (formerly [ContentShake AI](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/contentshake-ai-review\/)) to help you optimize your content production process\n- [**AI Visibility Toolkit**](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/semrush-ai-seo-toolkit-review\/) to help you track your brand’s performance in AI search results\n- **Social Media Kit** helps with social media management across different platforms\n- **Advertising Toolkit** to research, plan, launch, and optimize online ad campaigns\n- **Local Business Kit** to manage your Google Business Profile and online reviews\n- **Traffic and Market** Insights to find what works for your competitors and how they grow\n- [**Semrush One**](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/recommend\/semrush-one-alternative-ahrefs) brings together two toolkits in one plan, giving you all the data, insights, and tools you need to succeed in search on both search engines and AI chat platforms.\n\n![Semrush One March 2026](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Semrush-One-March-2026-1024x506.webp)\n\nIt’s a pretty robust platform if you’re handling multiple parts of your online marketing in one place.\n\nFor this article, I’ll mainly talk about Semrush’s SEO and AI Toolkits, since they are solid alternatives to Ahrefs I’d recommend trying.\n\nJust like Ahrefs, I’ve been familiar with Semrush since 2015 and used it occasionally.\n\nOne feature that makes me choose Semrush over Ahrefs is the **Keyword Magic Tool**. As an SEO specialist and a content writer, I frequently conduct keyword research for both my site and my clients. And for that, I need robust tools.\n\nKeyword Magic Tool lets you pull up thousands of keyword ideas from just one seed keyword. It’s super efficient. Plus, their filters can help you quickly narrow the keyword list down. I can find keywords that are realistic to target and have business value.\n\nAlso, Semrush has introduced a unique feature — **a personal AI assistant**. It gives you keyword suggestions based on your website’s domain authority, so you’re not just guessing what you can rank for. It’s a very helpful feature.\n\n![Semrush keyword magic tool March 2026](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Semrush-keyword-magic-tool-March-2026-1024x665.webp)\n\nI’ve also been positively impressed by Semrush’s Position Tracker tool, which detected keyword ranking changes faster than Ahrefs (in my case).\n\nRight now, I’m using Semrush’s free plan. It lets you track up to 8 keywords. I use it to keep an eye on my top keywords and compare results with Ahrefs and Ubersuggest (I’ve got a lifetime deal on that one).\n\nHere’s what I like about Semrush’s Position Tracking tool:\n\n- It updates keyword rankings every day\n- You get a visibility chart to see how you’re doing over time\n- It shows when you add or remove keywords\n- You can compare keyword performance weekly, monthly, quarterly, or yearly\n- It even emails you regular performance reports\n\nBelow is a sample rank tracking report for my site. If you upgrade to [Semrush Pro](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/recommend\/semrush-ahrefs-alternative), you can track up to 500 keywords across 5 domains.\n\n![Semrush Position Tracking March 2026](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Semrush-Position-Tracking-March-2026-1024x664.webp)\n\nHere’s what Akshay Negi, a brand marketing expert, [says](https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/posts\/victoria-kurichenko_seo-seowriter-seoservices-activity-7295132504913494016-9ooH\/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop&rcm=ACoAACLSZ70BlrVpIBhQTJaiYJo1mYzIfqB0_0g) about using Semrush’s Position Tracking tool to boost his online business:\n\n![quote from Linkedin about Semrush position tracking](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/quote-from-Linkedin-about-Semrush-position-tracking.webp)\n\nIf you want to dive deeper into how LLMs see your brand, I recommend checking Semrush’s AI Visibility Toolkit, which includes:\n\n- 1 domain for brand performance analysis\n- 300 daily queries in AI Analysis reports\n- 25 prompts for prompt tracking\n- AI Search Checks in Site Audit for up to 100 pages\n- 6 new regions for ChatGPT, AI overview, AI mode: US, UK, Canada, Australia, India, Spain, Japan, and Mexico.\n\nSemrush MCP access is now open to regular Semrush users, not only enterprise accounts like before. So you can use all 50,000 API credits when working with LLMs, such as [Claude](https:\/\/news.selfmademillennials.com\/p\/i-connected-semrush-to-claude) or ChatGPT.\n\n![Semrush AI Visibility report March 2026](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Semrush-AI-Visibility-report-March-2026-1-1024x541.webp)\n\n### Comparing Semrush and Ahrefs organic performance data\nI shared my detailed comparison of both tools in my [Semrush vs. Ahrefs](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/semrush-vs-ahrefs\/) post, but I’d like to help you better understand how the data accuracy of both tools compares.\n\nHere’s a quick look at my website’s SEO metrics from January 2026:\n\n| Category | Semrush | Ahrefs | Google Search Console |\n|---|---|---|---|\n| Organic traffic | 24,295 | 64,913 | 4,110 |\n| Top 3 pages based on organic traffic | Ahrefs alternatives AI SEO tools SEO books | Ahrefs alternatives AI SEO tools Semrush vs Ahrefs | AI SEO tools AI marketing tools Ahrefs alternatives |\n| Number of keywords | 6,870 | 1,500 |   |\n| Referring domains | 799 | 574 |   |\n| Number of backlinks | 3,200 | 1,600 |   |\n\nIt’s worth mentioning that Ahrefs’ overall keyword database is bigger (as of February 2026), but Semrush provides more keyword variations for the USA if that’s your target location.\n\n- **Semrush keyword database**: 27.9 billion keywords in 142 locations, 3.8 billion keywords in the USA alone\n- **Ahrefs keyword database**: 28.7 billion keywords in 217 locations, 2.4 billion keywords in the USA alone\n\nWhat this means for you is that Ahrefs will potentially be able to identify and show you more keyword opportunities. However, Semrush can offer you more keyword opportunities specifically for the USA.\n\nThese numbers can change anytime since both tools always update their databases. That’s why I’ll be checking Ahrefs’ Keyword Explorer page and Semrush’s stats occasionally to keep my article up to date.\n\nYou can learn more about the tool in my [Semrush review](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/semrush-review\/).\n\n**Semrush offers a 7-day money-back guarantee if you upgrade to a paid plan but don’t want to keep it for some reason.**\n\nI once upgraded to the Semrush Pro plan by mistake, which cost me \\$139.95. I reached out to their support, and they gave me my money back within a few days.\n\nJust send them a request within 7 days of signing up, and they’ll refund you. It’s that simple.\n\nIf you’ve been thinking about trying Semrush Pro, here’s a little perk—my partner link gives you [a 14-day free trial to Semrush Pro](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/recommend\/semrush-ahrefs-alternative) instead of the usual 7 days. Just a small way to get more time to explore and see if it’s a good fit! ![😊](https:\/\/s.w.org\/images\/core\/emoji\/16.0.1\/svg\/1f60a.svg)\n\n![Semrush pricing March 2026](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Semrush-pricing-March-2026-1024x645.webp)\n\n## 2\\. Search Atlas\n- **Unique features**: OTTO SEO AI tool, Site Visualization, Keyword Magic Tool\n- **Pricing**: Starts at \\$99\/month for the Starter plan\n- **Free trial**: There’s a 7-day free trial. If you want to keep using the tool, you’ll have to upgrade to a paid plan after the free trial expires\n\n![Search Atlas SEO tool March 2026](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Search-Atlas-SEO-tool-March-2026-1024x555.webp)\n\n[Search Atlas](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/recommend\/search-atlas-ahrefs-alternative) is powerful SEO software for agencies and a solid Ahrefs competitor with an automated AI SEO assistant, called OTTO SEO.\n\nI first came across it on social media. Honestly, I kept seeing its ads everywhere. I shared the full story in my [Semrush vs. Search Atlas](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/search-atlas-vs-semrush\/) review.\n\nAfter that, I got curious. I wanted to see if it could be a more affordable alternative to Ahrefs and what it actually offers.\n\n**To me, Search Atlas feels like a mix of Semrush and Ahrefs.** It has features like both and a similar layout. If you’ve used either of those tools before, Search Atlas will feel pretty familiar.\n\nI tested the Search Atlas Growth plan (\\$199\/month) in March 2026. It comes with a solid set of features, but I noticed that Search Atlas sometimes crashes, and some reports take a while to load.\n\nHere’s a quick look at the Site Overview report inside Search Atlas. It looks a lot like what you’d see in Ahrefs or Semrush.\n\n![Search Atlas site explorer March 2026](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Search-Atlas-site-explorer-March-2026-1024x553.webp)\n\nSearch Atlas has a Keyword Magic Tool, just like Semrush.\n\nYou can use it to get keyword ideas from your seed keyword. It even has the same name as Semrush’s tool. Semrush gives you a few more filter options, but honestly, I don’t think it’s a big deal. Ahrefs doesn’t have this kind of tool at all.\n\nUnlike Ahrefs, Search Atlas provides you with your consumption stats, so you know when you’ll be running out of keyword checks.\n\nSearch Atlas Growth plan (\\$199\/month) provides you with 2,000 keyword checks. Honestly, I don’t think that’s much, especially if you have to conduct keyword research for multiple different websites.\n\nI’ve also published an in-depth [Search Atlas review](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/search-atlas-review\/) recently to help you get a detailed overview of the tool’s features and data accuracy.\n\n![Search Atlas Keyword Magic Tool March 2026](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Search-Atlas-Keyword-Magic-Tool-March-2026-1024x553.webp)\n\nNow, let me quickly show you how Ahrefs and Search Atlas compare in terms of data accuracy. It’s seriously my favorite thing to do – testing and comparing tools’ data accuracy.\n\n**Here’s the data comparison for my website from March 2026:**\n\n| Category | Search Atlas | Ahrefs | Google Search Console |\n|---|---|---|---|\n| Organic traffic | 15\\.5k | 36k | 1\\.76k |\n| Top 3 pages based on organic traffic | AI SEO tools, AI marketing tools, Ahrefs alternatives | AI SEO tools, Ahrefs alternatives, AI marketing tools | AI SEO tools, AI marketing tools, Ahrefs alternatives |\n| Number of keywords | 4k | 1\\.2k |   |\n| Referring domains | 841 | 594 |   |\n| Number of backlinks | 3\\.7k | 1\\.9k |   |\n\nEven though Search Atlas’ data isn’t perfect, it’s still pretty close to the actual numbers from Google Search Console. I agree it’s just an estimate for one month, but it gives you a good idea of what’s going on.\n\nI even tried looking for something like Semrush’s “Stats” page and asked ChatGPT for help. In the end, I found an interesting comment under one of their Facebook ads…\n\n![Where Search Atlas gets its data from](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Where-Search-Atlas-gets-its-data-from.webp)\n\nFirst off, it’s awesome that the Search Atlas team tracks brand mentions and actually responds to people. I don’t see that much with other tools.\n\nThis makes me think that Search Atlas probably pulls data from your Google Search Console account to track your site’s performance and give improvement tips. If I find out more about where they get their data, I’ll update this post.\n\nOverall, I think Search Atlas is a great Ahrefs alternative for SEO. It has more features and uses AI to power its site audit tool.\n\nI’ve also checked what users say about Search Atlas on the web and stumbled upon a fresh Reddit thread, where one of the Reddit users [shared](https:\/\/www.reddit.com\/r\/SEO\/comments\/1kwi4ju\/anyone_tried_search_atlas\/) the following:\n\n![Search Atlas on Reddit](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Search-Atlas-on-Reddit-1024x327-1.webp)\n\n**Search Atlas gives you a 7-day free trial, but you’ll need to link a credit card to activate it.** I know it’s a bit of a hassle, but it’s the only way to test the tool. I’ve paid for the tool multiple times, and I can confirm they won’t charge your card during the trial.\n\nIf you cancel the trial early, you’ll lose access to the tool right away. So, it’s best to make the most of the 7 days to see if it works for your business.\n\nCurious how Search Atlas stacks up against tools like Ahrefs or Semrush? [Try Search Atlas free for 7 days](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/recommend\/search-atlas-ahrefs-alternative) and see how this all-in-one SEO tool works.\n\nP.S. I actually got to meet Fidan and a few people from the Search Atlas team in person at the [SEO IRL conference](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/seo-irl-2025-recap\/) in Toronto back in fall 2025.\n\n![meeting search atlas team](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/meeting-search-atlas-team.webp)\n\n## 3\\. SE Ranking\n- **Unique features**: AI Overviews Tracker, Agency Success Kit, Local SEO toolkit\n- **Pricing**: Starts at \\$65\/month for the Essential plan\n- **Free trial**: There’s a [14-day free trial](https:\/\/seranking.com\/?ga=3996377&source=https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/ahrefs-alternatives\/), after which you have to upgrade to keep using the tool\n\n![SE Ranking](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/se-ranking.webp)\n\n[SE Ranking](https:\/\/seranking.com\/?ga=3996377&source=https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/ahrefs-alternatives\/) is an all-in-one SEO software for agencies, business owners, and SEO professionals.\n\nIt offers a wide range of tools for keyword tracking, website audits, competitor analysis, backlink monitoring, and more.\n\n**SE Ranking is a more affordable Ahrefs alternative**, starting at \\$65\/month for the core SEO tools except for AI Search, Content and Marketing toolkits, On-page, and SERP analysis. To unlock additional features, you’ll have to upgrade to SE Ranking Pro (\\$119 monthly) or SE Ranking Business (\\$259 monthly).\n\nHere’s a brief overview of SE Ranking’s key features to help you with all kinds of SEO tasks:\n\n- **Keyword Generator** — It’s similar to Semrush’s Keyword Magic Tool and helps you generate keyword ideas based on your seed keyword.\n- **Keyword Grouper** — It’s a keyword cluster tool to help you group similar keywords based on search intent.\n- **Keyword Rank Tracker** – Monitors organic keyword positions across search engines and devices.\n- **AI Overviews Tracker** — It’s a new tool to help you analyze AI snippets for your target keywords.\n- **On-Page SEO Checker** – This feature helps you audit your website pages for optimization opportunities.\n- **Website Audit** – Scans your site for technical SEO issues and recommends fixes.\n- **Backlink Checker** – Analyzes backlink profiles for your site and competitors.\n- **Competitor Analysis Tool** – Reveals competitors’ keywords, traffic, and ad strategies.\n- **AI Content Generator** – This feature helps you generate and optimize content based on your target keyword. It also integrates with Google Docs.\n- **Local Marketing Toolkit** — Helps manage local SEO campaigns to reach more customers in your target area.\n- **Agency Success Toolkit** — Designed to help SEO agencies succeed with features like Lead Generator, SEO Reports Generator, and SEO API, to name a few.\n\n**I’ve used SE Ranking for over 6 months to track my website’s performance.** Even though I currently use Ubersuggest (more about it later) and Semrush, SERanking is a decent solution if you want a more affordable tool.\n\n![SE Rankings dashboard](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/SE-Rankings-dashboard.webp)\n\nFor just \\$65 monthly, you get access to a 4.2 billion keyword and 1.9 billion backlinks databases across 188 countries.\n\nIf you are an agency with multiple client projects, you can track up to 2,000 keywords for 30 domains with 3 user seats for just \\$119 monthly.\n\nSimilar to Semrush, you can manage up to 5 domains and track up to 500 keywords. The user interface reminds me of Semrus. So, if you’ve used Semrush in the past, you’ll quickly get used to the tool.\n\nNow, let me show you my comparison of Ahrefs’ and SE Rankings’ data from October for my website.\n\n| Category | SE Ranking | Ahrefs | Google Search Console |\n|---|---|---|---|\n| Organic traffic | 3,300 | 47,400 | 8,000 |\n| Top 3 pages based on organic traffic | AI SEO tools  AI Marketing tools Ahrefs alternatives | AI SEO tools  Ahrefs alternatives  AI marketing tools | AI SEO tools  AI marketing tools Ahrefs alternatives |\n| Number of keywords | 7,400 | 3,350 |   |\n| Referring domains | 612 | 453 |   |\n| Number of backlinks | 2,000 | 1,300 |   |\n\nJust like with Ahrefs, the numbers you see in SE Ranking don’t quite match what’s shown in Google Search Console. It’s still useful as a reference, but keep in mind that your competitors might actually be doing better than what SE Ranking shows.\n\nI was honestly surprised to see the low organic traffic estimate, only 610 visits a month for my top post on AI SEO tools.\n\nOn the other side, the backlink data was pretty spot on and almost identical to what Ahrefs shows.\n\n![SE Rankings URL check](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/SE-Rankings-URL-check.webp)\n\nIf you want to try SE Ranking, keep in mind that it doesn’t have a free plan.\n\nOnce your [14-day free trial](https:\/\/seranking.com\/?ga=3996377&source=https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/ahrefs-alternatives\/) ends, you’ll lose access to all your data. That could be a big deal for your business.\n\nThe Agency Success Pack is only available if you upgrade to either the SERanking Pro (\\$119\/month) or Business (\\$259\/month) plans, and you’ll need to commit to a yearly plan.\n\nThe good news? You save 20% with the annual subscription.\n\nWhen it comes to historical data on keywords and domains, you’ll only get 3 months of data with the Pro plan. If you need full historical data, you’ll need the Business plan. I know this could be a bit confusing. From what I’ve seen, having access to historical data is key to analyzing performance and data trends.\n\nTake a look at my detailed comparison of [Semrush vs. SE Ranking](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/se-ranking-vs-semrush\/) if you are wondering which one is worth using.\n\n![SE Ranking pricing 2025](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/SE-Ranking-pricing-2025.webp)\n\n## 4\\. Writesonic\n- **Unique features**: GEO, Chatsonic (their AI agent), and the AI Article Writer.\n- **Pricing**: Plans start at \\$249\/month and include SEO, content tools, plus AI search tracking and optimization.\n- **Free trial**: You can try it [free for 7 days](https:\/\/writesonic.com\/?fpr=seo-tool&fp_sid=ahrfsalt), no credit card required. There’s also a free plan if you just want to test things out.\n\nWritesonic can help your brand show up in AI search results and speed up your content creation process.\n\nIt feels more modern than most SEO tools, as if it were designed for AI search first rather than adapted later. I’d compare Writesonic to Semrush’s AI Visibility and Content Toolkits.\n\nI wrote a detailed [Writesonic review](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/writesonic-review\/) sharing my experience with their content generation workflow, Chatsonic AI agent, and GEO functionality. If interested, take a quick look since I soubt anyone on the web shares that many details.\n\n![Writesonic dashoard Feb 2026](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Writesonic-dashoard-Feb-2026-1024x554.webp)\n\nHere’s what you can do with Writesonic:\n\n- You can teach Writesonic’s bot how you write, including your tone, style, and voice. So, it creates content that actually sounds like *you*.\n- Track how your brand shows up across LLMs like ChatGPT, Perplexity.ai, and AI Overviews, including visibility, rankings, and sentiment.\n- Run a free site audit for up to 100 pages. If you’re on a paid plan, you can check bigger sites, such as 200 pages or more.\n- Get custom content ideas tailored for your website and create an [SEO content strategy](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/my-seo-content-strategy\/) around them.\n- Do keyword research and find topics your audience is actively searching for, kind of like what Answer the Public does.\n- Research [keyword clusters](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/keyword-clustering-tools\/) to plan out pillar pages and supporting articles.\n- Create different types of content like listicles, how-to guides, or news-style articles.\n- Generate and customize outlines.\n- Optimize content for rankings with SEO Checker and Optimizer\n- Do competitor research, compare your content performance to your competitors, and get improvement recommendations.\n- Rewrite or [humanize AI-generated content](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/how-to-humanize-ai-content\/).\n- Look into which keywords and pages perform best on your site.\n\nOne thing that really caught my eye is that Writesonic connects with tools like Ahrefs, Google Analytics, and Google Search Console to pull in keyword data, domain overview, and site audit insights.\n\nEven if you don’t have your own Ahrefs account, you still get access to their insights.\n\n![Writesonic integration with other tools](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Writesonic-integration-with-other-tools.webp)\n\n### Writesonic for tracking AI search visibility\nWritesonic has features that can help site owners track how visible their content is in AI search results.\n\nI’ll be honest, I had a pretty tough experience at first. After I upgraded, the **GEO** feature didn’t work for almost two weeks. I sent an email to the founder, but never got a reply. I also reached out to support, but they don’t have live chat, which was pretty annoying.\n\nWhen support eventually got back to me, they sent me a list of things to try fixing on my end. The funny thing is, right after they responded, everything started working. So I’m guessing the problem was actually on their side.\n\n**Here’s what you can do with Writesonic GEO:**\n\n- You can check how your website ranks in ChatGPT, Perplexity, and AI Overviews against your competitors.\n- See which LLMs cite your content and which pages they link to.\n- Keep track of when your brand gets mentioned.\n- Try the suggested prompts for your industry, or add your own custom ones.\n- Find relevant prompts through the Topics & Prompts tool.\n- Monitor AI bot traffic and errors with AI Bot Analytics (you’ll need a WordPress plugin for this).\n\nWhen I started checking citation numbers for my website, I noticed that the data doesn’t match what other tools show.\n\nFor instance, Semrush says I have 117 mentions and 179 cited pages globally. But Writesonic only shows 1 cited page and 0 mentions. I’ll update this if things change later on, but right now, the numbers seem off.\n\n**If you’re thinking about trying Writesonic, I’d say test it out before you commit to a long subscription. The 7-day free trial is helpful for that.**\n\nAnd if you do give it a shot, just go for the Professional plan. The cheaper options don’t include the AI features, and those are really the main reason to use Writesonic in the first place.\n\n![Writesonic citation overview](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Writesonic-citation-overview-1024x555.webp)\n\nI upgraded to the Writesonic Professional plan for \\$249\/m because none of their cheaper plans include AI + SEO + Content functionality.\n\nIt’s honestly a very expensive tool, and the only reason I decided to upgrade was their AI-SEO automated workflows for content creation.\n\nI’ve shared [my experience with using Writesonic AI SEO agent in this post.](https:\/\/news.selfmademillennials.com\/p\/testing-writesonic-for-ai-seo-workflows)\n\n![Writesonic pricing 2025](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Writesonic-pricing-2025.webp)\n\n## 5\\. Ubersuggest\n- **Unique features**: Top SEO opportunities report, Chrome extension, AI Search Visibility, AI Prompt research.\n- **Pricing**: Starts at \\$29 monthly or \\$290 lifetime to manage one domain\n- **Free trial**: There’s a 7-day free trial and a limited free plan.\n\n![Ubersuggest SEO Tool Jan 2026](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Ubersuggest-SEO-Tool-Jan-2026-1024x549.webp)\n\nFor \\$290, most SEO tools only give you a month or two of access. But with Ubersuggest, you get lifetime access for managing one website at that price.\n\nI bought the Individual plan back in December 2024 because I was looking for an affordable SEO tool for my website. It’s now February 2026, and I’m still using it regularly\\!\n\nUbersuggest is a cheaper alternative to Ahrefs. It’s perfect if you’re running a small business or just doing SEO for your own website and don’t want to spend a fortune. Neil Patel bought Ubersuggest in 2017 because he wanted to make an SEO tool that could compete with the pricier options out there.\n\n**Here’s what you get for \\$29 a month or \\$290 lifetime:**\n\n- One user seat to manage one domain\n- 150 searches daily\n- Track 5 competitors\n- Analyze competitors’ top-ranking pages and keywords\n- Scan 1,000 pages per domain\n- Access up to 20,000 keyword suggestions\n- Get 200 content ideas\n- Track up to 2,000 backlinks from the past 3 years\n- See new and lost backlinks over the last 30 days\n- Ability to track 10 AI prompts per project\n- Research up to 25 prompts at a time\n- Track up to 125 keywords\n- SEO training and support\n\nThat’s a pretty generous pricing plan, isn’t it?\n\nFor some of my top-ranking keywords, Ubersuggest gives more accurate keyword ranking updates than Ahrefs.\n\nThe Individual plan lets you track up to 125 keywords for one domain. If you need more, you can purchase an add-on for 250 keywords for just \\$5 a month.\n\n![Ubersuggest rank tracking Feb 2026](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Ubersuggest-rank-tracking-Feb-2026-1024x554.webp)\n\nUbersuggest has added a new report called **AI Keyword Overview** as part of their keyword research tools.\n\nIt’s basically your typical [keyword research](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/keyword-research-for-seo\/) report, but with some important data specifically for optimizing your content for AI search.\n\nSince I’m on the Solo plan, I don’t have access to some features, like the AI summary. However, even with that limitation, the data I can get from this report is really valuable.\n\nFor instance, you can check which brands pop up most often in AI Overviews and LLMs when people search for keywords like “[AI SEO](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/ai-seo-tools\/).”\n\nYou can also see the top sources that AI uses when answering prompts. My site, Self Made Millennials, actually showed up as the second source, which I’m pretty happy about\\!\n\nThe report also lists the top 10 regular search results, and they don’t always match up with what AI Overviews and language models are showing.\n\nI’d also recommend checking out the AI Prompt Ideas report. It gives you relevant prompt suggestions based on your main keyword. I use this all the time when I’m writing FAQ sections for my blog posts. It saves me so much time because I don’t have to go hunting for these prompt ideas elsewhere.\n\nFor only \\$29 a month, Ubersuggest gives you a pretty solid set of SEO and AI tools if you’re managing a website.\n\n![Ubersuggest AI Keyword overview](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Ubersuggest-AI-Keyword-overview-1024x555.webp)\n\nI was curious where Ubersuggest gets its data, so I came across their [post](https:\/\/ubersuggest.zendesk.com\/hc\/en-us\/articles\/4405451545499-Ubersuggest-Traffic-Estimations) explaining how they estimate organic traffic. Here’s what they consider:\n\n- “Keyword Analysis: We evaluate the monthly search volume of each keyword in our database.\n- Rankings and Websites: We analyze website rankings for these keywords and their respective positions.\n- Position-Based CTR Analysis: We assess the typical CTR for these positions.\n- Comprehensive Traffic Calculation: We aggregate this data with additional information, such as the traffic of each page and, if applicable, data from other countries.”\n\nEven though people have mixed opinions about Ubersuggest on [Reddit](https:\/\/www.reddit.com\/r\/SEO\/comments\/kk56z3\/is_ubersuggest_accurate\/?sort=new), I agree with one user who said it’s a solid tool for tracking. If you need [SEO software for small businesses](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/seo-tools-for-small-businesses\/) or have a side-project website, it’s definitely worth using.\n\n![ubersuggest review on reddit](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/ubersuggest-review-on-reddit.webp)\n\n## What’s the best Ahrefs alternative?\nAfter years of [DIY SEO](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/diy-seo\/) and working with lots of different SEO tools, I could say I mainly use [Semrush](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/recommend\/semrush-ahrefs-alternative). However, this hasn’t always been the case. Additionally, it took me a lot of time to test the existing solutions and identify those I can rely on based on their data accuracy and features.\n\nIf you’ve just started looking for an alternative to Ahrefs, I suggest asking yourself, “*What exactly do you need it for?”*\n\nNot all SEO tools do the same thing well. Some are great for niche keyword research, others shine when it comes to backlink tracking, and a few are better for content ideas.\n\nBefore jumping into another tool, think about the tasks you do most often. Are you focused on growing organic traffic, spying on competitors, or building links?\n\nYour daily SEO workflow should guide your decision. It also helps to think about how experienced you are—some tools are beginner-friendly, while others, like Screaming Frog, will take time to master.\n\nAnd, of course, budget plays a role, especially if you’re a freelancer or small business owner. Instead of asking, “What’s the best?” ask, “What’s the best for *me* right now?” That mindset shift makes the choice a whole lot easier.\n## Is Ahrefs free?\nNo, Ahrefs is not free.\n\nAhrefs Lite plan starts at \\$129\/month, but if you want access to AI SEO features, that’s part of the Standard plan for \\$240\/month.\n\nAhrefs offers a Webmaster Tool for verified domain owners, but it only lets you monitor your website’s performance, but most features aren’t available for free.\n\nHowever, all the alternatives I’ve reviewed offer either free plans (like Semrush’s limited free version) or free trials (7-14 days) so you can test them before committing.\n\nUbersuggest is the closest to a free Ahrefs alternative with its lifetime deal at \\$290.\n## Do I recommend the Ahrefs Starter plan?\n[Ahrefs Starter plan](https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/starter-plan\/) is a lighter and more affordable version of Ahrefs. You get access to some of their core SEO tools, including:\n\n- SEO Dashboard\n- Site Explorer\n- Keywords Explorer\n- Site Audit\n- Rank Tracker (you can track up to 40 keywords)\n- Ahrefs SEO Toolbar\n- Web Analytics\n\nOne important thing to know is the credit limit. The Starter plan comes with 100 credits.\n\nYou use one credit when you open most reports, except Site Audit and Rank Tracker. Once those credits are gone, you lose access to the tools even if your paid month is not over yet.\n\nIn my opinion, the Ahrefs Starter plan is suitable for small website owners or people who are just starting out. Just be careful with the credit limits because they can disappear faster than you expect.\n## Do I recommend Ahrefs Webmaster Tools?\nYes, absolutely.\n\n[Ahrefs Webmaster Tools](https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/webmaster-tools) is a free option for verified website owners. It gives you access to three core Ahrefs tools: **Web Analytics, Site Audit, and Site Explorer.**\n\nYou can only use it for your own website, and you’ll need to verify your domain first. I did this through Google Search Console.\n\nThe downside is that you can’t analyze competitors or check links for other websites.\n\n![newsletter green icon](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/newsletter-1.webp)\n\nFrom My Desk to Your Inbox\n\nJoin the newsletter for actionable SEO tips, case studies, and a behind-the-scenes look at my affiliate marketing journey.\n\n[Subscribe](https:\/\/news.selfmademillennials.com\/)\n\nNo spam. Unsubscribe anytime.\n\n![Victoria Kurichenko blog post author](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Victoria-Kurichenko-blog-post-author-1-scaled.webp)\n\nHello there\\!\n\nI’m Victoria Kurichenko, the founder of Self Made Millennials, an SEO specialist, and content creator.\n\nI create content that resonates, inspires, and matches what people are truly searching for.\n\nJoin My Newsletter\n\nGet weekly practical SEO tips, real case studies, and a look inside my affiliate marketing journey.\n\n[Subscribe](https:\/\/news.selfmademillennials.com\/)\n\n[14-Day SEO + AI Trial](https:\/\/semrush.sjv.io\/c\/3301176\/3371085\/13053?subid1=website&sharedid=banner)\n\n[![Semrush One banner](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Semrush-One-banner.gif)](https:\/\/semrush.sjv.io\/c\/3301176\/3371085\/13053?subid1=website&sharedid=banner)\n\n[Grab My SEO Ebook](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/my-ebooks\/)\n\n[![SEO ebook on ipad 2026](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/SEO-ebook-on-ipad-2026-751x1024.webp)](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/my-ebooks\/)\n\nTable of Contents\n\nRelated Posts\n\n[5 SEO Tools for Agencies (Reviewed by an SEO Expert)](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/seo-software-for-agencies\/)\n\n[Top 7 SEO Newsletters In 2026 (Handpicked by an SEO Expert)](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/seo-newsletters\/)\n\n[SE Ranking vs. Semrush (2026): Tested & Compared](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/se-ranking-vs-semrush\/)\n\n[![SEO Software for Agencies](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/seo-software-products.jpg)](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/seo-software-for-agencies\/)\n\n- [SEO Tools](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/category\/seo-tools\/)\n\n- [December 24, 2025](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/2025\/12\/24\/)\n\n### [5 SEO Tools for Agencies (Reviewed by an SEO Expert)](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/seo-software-for-agencies\/)\nIf you landed on this article, chances are you’re looking for the best SEO software for agencies that can actually make your team’s work easier,\n\n[Read Article](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/seo-software-for-agencies\/)\n\n[![seo newsletters](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/SEO-newsletters.jpg)](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/seo-newsletters\/)\n\n- [Learn SEO](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/category\/learn-seo\/)\n\n- [January 3, 2026](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/2026\/01\/03\/)\n\n### [Top 7 SEO Newsletters In 2026 (Handpicked by an SEO Expert)](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/seo-newsletters\/)\nAre you an aspiring SEO professional looking to join the best SEO newsletters? Yes? Then you are in the right place! I’m an SEO expert\n\n[Read Article](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/seo-newsletters\/)\n\n[![SE Ranking vs. Semrush](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/SE-Ranking-vs.-Semrush.jpg)](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/se-ranking-vs-semrush\/)\n\n- [Semrush 101](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/category\/semrush-101\/)\n\n- [January 20, 2026](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/2026\/01\/20\/)\n\n### [SE Ranking vs. Semrush (2026): Tested & Compared](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/se-ranking-vs-semrush\/)\nI’ve been using SE Ranking Pro for about six months, and my subscription officially ended on January 10, 2026. In parallel, I’ve used Semrush for\n\n[Read Article](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/se-ranking-vs-semrush\/)\n\n## One Response\n1. ![](https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/213e65deb158ae7c4e1f6b55970bafce0390fe1ee22be7136bdf4c1b1ac46f98?s=42&d=mm&r=g) **eileen valedz** says:\n   \n   [January 15, 2026 at 3:48 pm](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/ahrefs-alternatives\/#comment-2305)\n   \n   Thanks for sharing nice post\n   \n   [Reply](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/ahrefs-alternatives\/#comment-2305)\n## Leave a Reply [Cancel reply](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/ahrefs-alternatives\/#respond)\n\n[![Self Made Millennials logo](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Self-Made-Millennials-logo.webp)](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/)\n\nEmpowering content creators and SEO professionals to build sustainable organic traffic through proven strategies.\n\nServices\n\n- [SEO Content Writing](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/seo-content-writing-services\/)\n- [Keyword Research](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/keyword-research-services\/)\n- SEO Content Strategy\n\nCategories\n\n- [AI SEO](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/category\/ai-seo\/)\n- [Content SEO](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/category\/content-seo\/)\n- [SEO Tools](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/category\/seo-tools\/)\n- [Semrush 101](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/category\/semrush-101\/)\n- [Learn SEO](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/category\/learn-seo\/)\n- [Creator Tools](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/category\/creator-tools\/)\n- [Writing Side Hustles](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/category\/writing-side-hustles\/)\n\nCompany\n\n- [About](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/about-me\/)\n- [Contact](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/contact\/)\n- [Guest Post Policy](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/guest-post-policy)\n- [Privacy Policy](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/privacy-policy)\n- [Archives](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/archives)\n\nDisclaimer\n\nThe content on this site is for informational and educational purposes only and should not be considered as professional or financial advice. We may be compensated through third-party advertisers; however, the content is based on our objective opinions and analysis.\n\n© 2026 Self Made Millennials. All rights reserved.","attrs_readable_markdown":"Ahrefs was the very first SEO tool I ever used. That was way back in 2015, when I was just starting out in digital marketing. Over the years, they’ve added many new features, but honestly, the overall design hasn’t changed much.\n\nAhrefs has also kept my favorite report —**Top Pages.** It shows the top organic pages for any website. I use it all the time to track which pages perform best on my own site and to peek at what’s working for competitors.\n\nFor a long time, Ahrefs has been a go-to tool for SEO professionals. It’s very SEO-focused, especially compared to Semrush, which tries to be an all-in-one platform for entire marketing teams.\n\n### **Why I stopped using Ahrefs’ paid plans**\nI stopped using Ahrefs Lite when they introduced **the credit system.** I’m still actively using Ahrefs free tool, Webmaster Tool, but that’s basically it.\n\nI remember consuming credits quickly, and I had to pay extra to continue using the tool. I wasn’t happy with the new payment plans because I could never predict how much their SEO toolkit would cost me each month. I know they’ve updated the credit system since then, but that still wasn’t enough to convince me to come back.\n\nThere’s also an issue with the Ahrefs data that I don’t see many people talking about: **Ahrefs shows much higher organic traffic numbers than what I see in Google Search Console or Google Analytics.**\n\nFor example, in January 2026, Ahrefs estimated my site was getting 65k organic visits. Meanwhile, Google Analytics showed around 7k organic sessions, and that’s after Google’s December and January algorithm updates.\n\nThat’s a massive gap. Have you noticed something similar?\n\nI even tried to bring this up on Reddit in a post by Tim Soulo, but my comment was removed.\n\nTools like Semrush and SE Ranking provide a more accurate organic traffic estimate. Yes, they’re still estimates, but they’re much closer to what I actually see in my real data.\n\nSo, if you’re looking for the best Ahrefs alternatives that are affordable and offer solid data, I’ve got a few great options to share, the ones I’ve actually used myself.\n\n### **How I test SEO tools**\nHere’s what I usually look at when evaluating a tool:\n\n- **Pricing first:** Budget matters. Therefore, I always check if the pricing makes sense for what you’re actually getting.\n- **Promises vs. reality:** I compare the marketing promises with how tools actually perform. Sometimes their sales page sounds amazing, but the product doesn’t live up to it.\n- **Talking to the team:** I often reach out directly to people working on the tool. Getting answers straight from the source helps me understand how tools actually work.\n- **Reddit deep dives:** Reddit is one of my favorite places for feedback. People are honest there and don’t make up their experiences.\n- **Hands-on testing:** I’ve personally used every tool mentioned below. I’ve tested the main features and run performance reports.\n\nI’ve recently come across some newer Ahrefs alternatives for SEO experts that you might not know about yet, such as Search Atlas and Writesonic (I’ll get into them shortly).\n\nP.S. This post contains a few affiliate links. If you choose to use any of these tools, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. I’m sharing this because I believe in being transparent. Whether or not you use these links, I genuinely support these tools as I’ve personally used all of them. 🙌\n\nMy top 5 Ahrefs alternatives\n\nBased on the criteria that I shared above, I’ve picked a few [SEO tools](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/best-seo-tools\/) like Ahrefs I believe are the best alternatives you can use.\n\nLet me provide a brief overview of each tool to help you gain a better understanding.\n\n1. [**Semrush SEO Toolkit**](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/recommend\/semrush-ahrefs-alternative) – Has more accurate data than Ahrefs and over 55 SEO features. If you are looking for an SEO + AI search visibility toolkit, Semrush has recently launched [Semrush One](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/recommend\/semrush-one-alternative-ahrefs). It’s an AI SEO tool that combines two toolkits under one subscription.\n2. [**Search Atlas**](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/recommend\/search-atlas-ahrefs-alternative) — An affordable alternative to Ahrefs that offers an AI SEO solution for agencies.\n3. [**SERanking**](https:\/\/seranking.com\/?ga=3996377&source=https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/ahrefs-alternatives\/) — SEO software for agencies with an AI Overviews tracker.\n4. [**Writesonic**](https:\/\/writesonic.com\/?fpr=seo-tool&fp_sid=ahrfsalt) — An AI-powered SEO agent for all SEO, content writing, and generative engine optimization (GEO) tasks.\n5. [**Ubersuggest**](https:\/\/neilpatel.com\/ubersuggest\/) — My top SEO pick for hobbyists and small site owners.\n\nP.S. This post contains a few affiliate links. If you choose to use any of these tools, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. I’m sharing this because I believe in being transparent. Whether or not you use these links, I genuinely support these tools as I’ve personally used all of them. ![🙌](https:\/\/s.w.org\/images\/core\/emoji\/16.0.1\/svg\/1f64c.svg)\n\n1\\. Semrush SEO Toolkit\n\n- **Unique features**: AI assistant providing personalized data for your domain, AI brand insights\n- **Pricing**: Starts at \\$139\/month for the Semrush Pro plan. Semrush One, which combines traditional SEO + AI search solution, starts at \\$199\/month.\n- **Free trial**: **Semrush SEO Toolkit** has a free version where you can conduct 10 free searches daily. But you can also sign up for a [14-day free trial](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/recommend\/semrush-ahrefs-alternative). You can also test **Semrush One** for free for 14 days using my partner [link](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/recommend\/semrush-one-alternative-ahrefs).\n\n![Semrush SEO Toolkit](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Semrush-SEO-Toolkit-1024x504.webp)\n\nSemrush is one of the most popular Ahrefs alternatives that has been around since 2008.\n\nToday, it offers 55 different tools for online marketers.\n\n**On top of the core SEO Toolkit, Semrush also gives you access to several add-on toolkits, depending on what you need.**\n\nThese extras typically come with a 7-day free trial but incur additional costs on top of your regular SEO Toolkit subscription. Here’s a quick rundown:\n\n- **Content Toolkit** (formerly [ContentShake AI](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/contentshake-ai-review\/)) to help you optimize your content production process\n- [**AI Visibility Toolkit**](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/semrush-ai-seo-toolkit-review\/) to help you track your brand’s performance in AI search results\n- **Social Media Kit** helps with social media management across different platforms\n- **Advertising Toolkit** to research, plan, launch, and optimize online ad campaigns\n- **Local Business Kit** to manage your Google Business Profile and online reviews\n- **Traffic and Market** Insights to find what works for your competitors and how they grow\n- [**Semrush One**](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/recommend\/semrush-one-alternative-ahrefs) brings together two toolkits in one plan, giving you all the data, insights, and tools you need to succeed in search on both search engines and AI chat platforms.\n\n![Semrush One March 2026](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Semrush-One-March-2026-1024x506.webp)\n\nIt’s a pretty robust platform if you’re handling multiple parts of your online marketing in one place.\n\nFor this article, I’ll mainly talk about Semrush’s SEO and AI Toolkits, since they are solid alternatives to Ahrefs I’d recommend trying.\n\nJust like Ahrefs, I’ve been familiar with Semrush since 2015 and used it occasionally.\n\nOne feature that makes me choose Semrush over Ahrefs is the **Keyword Magic Tool**. As an SEO specialist and a content writer, I frequently conduct keyword research for both my site and my clients. And for that, I need robust tools.\n\nKeyword Magic Tool lets you pull up thousands of keyword ideas from just one seed keyword. It’s super efficient. Plus, their filters can help you quickly narrow the keyword list down. I can find keywords that are realistic to target and have business value.\n\nAlso, Semrush has introduced a unique feature — **a personal AI assistant**. It gives you keyword suggestions based on your website’s domain authority, so you’re not just guessing what you can rank for. It’s a very helpful feature.\n\n![Semrush keyword magic tool March 2026](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Semrush-keyword-magic-tool-March-2026-1024x665.webp)\n\nI’ve also been positively impressed by Semrush’s Position Tracker tool, which detected keyword ranking changes faster than Ahrefs (in my case).\n\nRight now, I’m using Semrush’s free plan. It lets you track up to 8 keywords. I use it to keep an eye on my top keywords and compare results with Ahrefs and Ubersuggest (I’ve got a lifetime deal on that one).\n\nHere’s what I like about Semrush’s Position Tracking tool:\n\n- It updates keyword rankings every day\n- You get a visibility chart to see how you’re doing over time\n- It shows when you add or remove keywords\n- You can compare keyword performance weekly, monthly, quarterly, or yearly\n- It even emails you regular performance reports\n\nBelow is a sample rank tracking report for my site. If you upgrade to [Semrush Pro](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/recommend\/semrush-ahrefs-alternative), you can track up to 500 keywords across 5 domains.\n\n![Semrush Position Tracking March 2026](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Semrush-Position-Tracking-March-2026-1024x664.webp)\n\nHere’s what Akshay Negi, a brand marketing expert, [says](https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/posts\/victoria-kurichenko_seo-seowriter-seoservices-activity-7295132504913494016-9ooH\/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop&rcm=ACoAACLSZ70BlrVpIBhQTJaiYJo1mYzIfqB0_0g) about using Semrush’s Position Tracking tool to boost his online business:\n\n![quote from Linkedin about Semrush position tracking](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/quote-from-Linkedin-about-Semrush-position-tracking.webp)\n\nIf you want to dive deeper into how LLMs see your brand, I recommend checking Semrush’s AI Visibility Toolkit, which includes:\n\n- 1 domain for brand performance analysis\n- 300 daily queries in AI Analysis reports\n- 25 prompts for prompt tracking\n- AI Search Checks in Site Audit for up to 100 pages\n- 6 new regions for ChatGPT, AI overview, AI mode: US, UK, Canada, Australia, India, Spain, Japan, and Mexico.\n\nSemrush MCP access is now open to regular Semrush users, not only enterprise accounts like before. So you can use all 50,000 API credits when working with LLMs, such as [Claude](https:\/\/news.selfmademillennials.com\/p\/i-connected-semrush-to-claude) or ChatGPT.\n\n![Semrush AI Visibility report March 2026](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Semrush-AI-Visibility-report-March-2026-1-1024x541.webp)\n\nComparing Semrush and Ahrefs organic performance data\n\nI shared my detailed comparison of both tools in my [Semrush vs. Ahrefs](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/semrush-vs-ahrefs\/) post, but I’d like to help you better understand how the data accuracy of both tools compares.\n\nHere’s a quick look at my website’s SEO metrics from January 2026:\n\n| Category | Semrush | Ahrefs | Google Search Console |\n|---|---|---|---|\n| Organic traffic | 24,295 | 64,913 | 4,110 |\n| Top 3 pages based on organic traffic | Ahrefs alternatives AI SEO tools SEO books | Ahrefs alternatives AI SEO tools Semrush vs Ahrefs | AI SEO tools AI marketing tools Ahrefs alternatives |\n| Number of keywords | 6,870 | 1,500 |   |\n| Referring domains | 799 | 574 |   |\n| Number of backlinks | 3,200 | 1,600 |   |\n\nIt’s worth mentioning that Ahrefs’ overall keyword database is bigger (as of February 2026), but Semrush provides more keyword variations for the USA if that’s your target location.\n\n- **Semrush keyword database**: 27.9 billion keywords in 142 locations, 3.8 billion keywords in the USA alone\n- **Ahrefs keyword database**: 28.7 billion keywords in 217 locations, 2.4 billion keywords in the USA alone\n\nWhat this means for you is that Ahrefs will potentially be able to identify and show you more keyword opportunities. However, Semrush can offer you more keyword opportunities specifically for the USA.\n\nThese numbers can change anytime since both tools always update their databases. That’s why I’ll be checking Ahrefs’ Keyword Explorer page and Semrush’s stats occasionally to keep my article up to date.\n\nYou can learn more about the tool in my [Semrush review](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/semrush-review\/).\n\n**Semrush offers a 7-day money-back guarantee if you upgrade to a paid plan but don’t want to keep it for some reason.**\n\nI once upgraded to the Semrush Pro plan by mistake, which cost me \\$139.95. I reached out to their support, and they gave me my money back within a few days.\n\nJust send them a request within 7 days of signing up, and they’ll refund you. It’s that simple.\n\nIf you’ve been thinking about trying Semrush Pro, here’s a little perk—my partner link gives you [a 14-day free trial to Semrush Pro](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/recommend\/semrush-ahrefs-alternative) instead of the usual 7 days. Just a small way to get more time to explore and see if it’s a good fit! ![😊](https:\/\/s.w.org\/images\/core\/emoji\/16.0.1\/svg\/1f60a.svg)\n\n![Semrush pricing March 2026](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Semrush-pricing-March-2026-1024x645.webp)\n\n2\\. Search Atlas\n\n- **Unique features**: OTTO SEO AI tool, Site Visualization, Keyword Magic Tool\n- **Pricing**: Starts at \\$99\/month for the Starter plan\n- **Free trial**: There’s a 7-day free trial. If you want to keep using the tool, you’ll have to upgrade to a paid plan after the free trial expires\n\n![Search Atlas SEO tool March 2026](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Search-Atlas-SEO-tool-March-2026-1024x555.webp)\n\n[Search Atlas](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/recommend\/search-atlas-ahrefs-alternative) is powerful SEO software for agencies and a solid Ahrefs competitor with an automated AI SEO assistant, called OTTO SEO.\n\nI first came across it on social media. Honestly, I kept seeing its ads everywhere. I shared the full story in my [Semrush vs. Search Atlas](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/search-atlas-vs-semrush\/) review.\n\nAfter that, I got curious. I wanted to see if it could be a more affordable alternative to Ahrefs and what it actually offers.\n\n**To me, Search Atlas feels like a mix of Semrush and Ahrefs.** It has features like both and a similar layout. If you’ve used either of those tools before, Search Atlas will feel pretty familiar.\n\nI tested the Search Atlas Growth plan (\\$199\/month) in March 2026. It comes with a solid set of features, but I noticed that Search Atlas sometimes crashes, and some reports take a while to load.\n\nHere’s a quick look at the Site Overview report inside Search Atlas. It looks a lot like what you’d see in Ahrefs or Semrush.\n\n![Search Atlas site explorer March 2026](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Search-Atlas-site-explorer-March-2026-1024x553.webp)\n\nSearch Atlas has a Keyword Magic Tool, just like Semrush.\n\nYou can use it to get keyword ideas from your seed keyword. It even has the same name as Semrush’s tool. Semrush gives you a few more filter options, but honestly, I don’t think it’s a big deal. Ahrefs doesn’t have this kind of tool at all.\n\nUnlike Ahrefs, Search Atlas provides you with your consumption stats, so you know when you’ll be running out of keyword checks.\n\nSearch Atlas Growth plan (\\$199\/month) provides you with 2,000 keyword checks. Honestly, I don’t think that’s much, especially if you have to conduct keyword research for multiple different websites.\n\nI’ve also published an in-depth [Search Atlas review](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/search-atlas-review\/) recently to help you get a detailed overview of the tool’s features and data accuracy.\n\n![Search Atlas Keyword Magic Tool March 2026](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Search-Atlas-Keyword-Magic-Tool-March-2026-1024x553.webp)\n\nNow, let me quickly show you how Ahrefs and Search Atlas compare in terms of data accuracy. It’s seriously my favorite thing to do – testing and comparing tools’ data accuracy.\n\n**Here’s the data comparison for my website from March 2026:**\n\n| Category | Search Atlas | Ahrefs | Google Search Console |\n|---|---|---|---|\n| Organic traffic | 15\\.5k | 36k | 1\\.76k |\n| Top 3 pages based on organic traffic | AI SEO tools, AI marketing tools, Ahrefs alternatives | AI SEO tools, Ahrefs alternatives, AI marketing tools | AI SEO tools, AI marketing tools, Ahrefs alternatives |\n| Number of keywords | 4k | 1\\.2k |   |\n| Referring domains | 841 | 594 |   |\n| Number of backlinks | 3\\.7k | 1\\.9k |   |\n\nEven though Search Atlas’ data isn’t perfect, it’s still pretty close to the actual numbers from Google Search Console. I agree it’s just an estimate for one month, but it gives you a good idea of what’s going on.\n\nI even tried looking for something like Semrush’s “Stats” page and asked ChatGPT for help. In the end, I found an interesting comment under one of their Facebook ads…\n\n![Where Search Atlas gets its data from](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Where-Search-Atlas-gets-its-data-from.webp)\n\nFirst off, it’s awesome that the Search Atlas team tracks brand mentions and actually responds to people. I don’t see that much with other tools.\n\nThis makes me think that Search Atlas probably pulls data from your Google Search Console account to track your site’s performance and give improvement tips. If I find out more about where they get their data, I’ll update this post.\n\nOverall, I think Search Atlas is a great Ahrefs alternative for SEO. It has more features and uses AI to power its site audit tool.\n\nI’ve also checked what users say about Search Atlas on the web and stumbled upon a fresh Reddit thread, where one of the Reddit users [shared](https:\/\/www.reddit.com\/r\/SEO\/comments\/1kwi4ju\/anyone_tried_search_atlas\/) the following:\n\n![Search Atlas on Reddit](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Search-Atlas-on-Reddit-1024x327-1.webp)\n\n**Search Atlas gives you a 7-day free trial, but you’ll need to link a credit card to activate it.** I know it’s a bit of a hassle, but it’s the only way to test the tool. I’ve paid for the tool multiple times, and I can confirm they won’t charge your card during the trial.\n\nIf you cancel the trial early, you’ll lose access to the tool right away. So, it’s best to make the most of the 7 days to see if it works for your business.\n\nCurious how Search Atlas stacks up against tools like Ahrefs or Semrush? [Try Search Atlas free for 7 days](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/recommend\/search-atlas-ahrefs-alternative) and see how this all-in-one SEO tool works.\n\nP.S. I actually got to meet Fidan and a few people from the Search Atlas team in person at the [SEO IRL conference](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/seo-irl-2025-recap\/) in Toronto back in fall 2025.\n\n![meeting search atlas team](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/meeting-search-atlas-team.webp)\n\n3\\. SE Ranking\n\n- **Unique features**: AI Overviews Tracker, Agency Success Kit, Local SEO toolkit\n- **Pricing**: Starts at \\$65\/month for the Essential plan\n- **Free trial**: There’s a [14-day free trial](https:\/\/seranking.com\/?ga=3996377&source=https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/ahrefs-alternatives\/), after which you have to upgrade to keep using the tool\n\n![SE Ranking](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/se-ranking.webp)\n\n[SE Ranking](https:\/\/seranking.com\/?ga=3996377&source=https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/ahrefs-alternatives\/) is an all-in-one SEO software for agencies, business owners, and SEO professionals.\n\nIt offers a wide range of tools for keyword tracking, website audits, competitor analysis, backlink monitoring, and more.\n\n**SE Ranking is a more affordable Ahrefs alternative**, starting at \\$65\/month for the core SEO tools except for AI Search, Content and Marketing toolkits, On-page, and SERP analysis. To unlock additional features, you’ll have to upgrade to SE Ranking Pro (\\$119 monthly) or SE Ranking Business (\\$259 monthly).\n\nHere’s a brief overview of SE Ranking’s key features to help you with all kinds of SEO tasks:\n\n- **Keyword Generator** — It’s similar to Semrush’s Keyword Magic Tool and helps you generate keyword ideas based on your seed keyword.\n- **Keyword Grouper** — It’s a keyword cluster tool to help you group similar keywords based on search intent.\n- **Keyword Rank Tracker** – Monitors organic keyword positions across search engines and devices.\n- **AI Overviews Tracker** — It’s a new tool to help you analyze AI snippets for your target keywords.\n- **On-Page SEO Checker** – This feature helps you audit your website pages for optimization opportunities.\n- **Website Audit** – Scans your site for technical SEO issues and recommends fixes.\n- **Backlink Checker** – Analyzes backlink profiles for your site and competitors.\n- **Competitor Analysis Tool** – Reveals competitors’ keywords, traffic, and ad strategies.\n- **AI Content Generator** – This feature helps you generate and optimize content based on your target keyword. It also integrates with Google Docs.\n- **Local Marketing Toolkit** — Helps manage local SEO campaigns to reach more customers in your target area.\n- **Agency Success Toolkit** — Designed to help SEO agencies succeed with features like Lead Generator, SEO Reports Generator, and SEO API, to name a few.\n\n**I’ve used SE Ranking for over 6 months to track my website’s performance.** Even though I currently use Ubersuggest (more about it later) and Semrush, SERanking is a decent solution if you want a more affordable tool.\n\n![SE Rankings dashboard](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/SE-Rankings-dashboard.webp)\n\nFor just \\$65 monthly, you get access to a 4.2 billion keyword and 1.9 billion backlinks databases across 188 countries.\n\nIf you are an agency with multiple client projects, you can track up to 2,000 keywords for 30 domains with 3 user seats for just \\$119 monthly.\n\nSimilar to Semrush, you can manage up to 5 domains and track up to 500 keywords. The user interface reminds me of Semrus. So, if you’ve used Semrush in the past, you’ll quickly get used to the tool.\n\nNow, let me show you my comparison of Ahrefs’ and SE Rankings’ data from October for my website.\n\n| Category | SE Ranking | Ahrefs | Google Search Console |\n|---|---|---|---|\n| Organic traffic | 3,300 | 47,400 | 8,000 |\n| Top 3 pages based on organic traffic | AI SEO tools  AI Marketing tools Ahrefs alternatives | AI SEO tools  Ahrefs alternatives  AI marketing tools | AI SEO tools  AI marketing tools Ahrefs alternatives |\n| Number of keywords | 7,400 | 3,350 |   |\n| Referring domains | 612 | 453 |   |\n| Number of backlinks | 2,000 | 1,300 |   |\n\nJust like with Ahrefs, the numbers you see in SE Ranking don’t quite match what’s shown in Google Search Console. It’s still useful as a reference, but keep in mind that your competitors might actually be doing better than what SE Ranking shows.\n\nI was honestly surprised to see the low organic traffic estimate, only 610 visits a month for my top post on AI SEO tools.\n\nOn the other side, the backlink data was pretty spot on and almost identical to what Ahrefs shows.\n\n![SE Rankings URL check](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/SE-Rankings-URL-check.webp)\n\nIf you want to try SE Ranking, keep in mind that it doesn’t have a free plan.\n\nOnce your [14-day free trial](https:\/\/seranking.com\/?ga=3996377&source=https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/ahrefs-alternatives\/) ends, you’ll lose access to all your data. That could be a big deal for your business.\n\nThe Agency Success Pack is only available if you upgrade to either the SERanking Pro (\\$119\/month) or Business (\\$259\/month) plans, and you’ll need to commit to a yearly plan.\n\nThe good news? You save 20% with the annual subscription.\n\nWhen it comes to historical data on keywords and domains, you’ll only get 3 months of data with the Pro plan. If you need full historical data, you’ll need the Business plan. I know this could be a bit confusing. From what I’ve seen, having access to historical data is key to analyzing performance and data trends.\n\nTake a look at my detailed comparison of [Semrush vs. SE Ranking](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/se-ranking-vs-semrush\/) if you are wondering which one is worth using.\n\n![SE Ranking pricing 2025](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/SE-Ranking-pricing-2025.webp)\n\n4\\. Writesonic\n\n- **Unique features**: GEO, Chatsonic (their AI agent), and the AI Article Writer.\n- **Pricing**: Plans start at \\$249\/month and include SEO, content tools, plus AI search tracking and optimization.\n- **Free trial**: You can try it [free for 7 days](https:\/\/writesonic.com\/?fpr=seo-tool&fp_sid=ahrfsalt), no credit card required. There’s also a free plan if you just want to test things out.\n\nWritesonic can help your brand show up in AI search results and speed up your content creation process.\n\nIt feels more modern than most SEO tools, as if it were designed for AI search first rather than adapted later. I’d compare Writesonic to Semrush’s AI Visibility and Content Toolkits.\n\nI wrote a detailed [Writesonic review](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/writesonic-review\/) sharing my experience with their content generation workflow, Chatsonic AI agent, and GEO functionality. If interested, take a quick look since I soubt anyone on the web shares that many details.\n\n![Writesonic dashoard Feb 2026](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Writesonic-dashoard-Feb-2026-1024x554.webp)\n\nHere’s what you can do with Writesonic:\n\n- You can teach Writesonic’s bot how you write, including your tone, style, and voice. So, it creates content that actually sounds like *you*.\n- Track how your brand shows up across LLMs like ChatGPT, Perplexity.ai, and AI Overviews, including visibility, rankings, and sentiment.\n- Run a free site audit for up to 100 pages. If you’re on a paid plan, you can check bigger sites, such as 200 pages or more.\n- Get custom content ideas tailored for your website and create an [SEO content strategy](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/my-seo-content-strategy\/) around them.\n- Do keyword research and find topics your audience is actively searching for, kind of like what Answer the Public does.\n- Research [keyword clusters](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/keyword-clustering-tools\/) to plan out pillar pages and supporting articles.\n- Create different types of content like listicles, how-to guides, or news-style articles.\n- Generate and customize outlines.\n- Optimize content for rankings with SEO Checker and Optimizer\n- Do competitor research, compare your content performance to your competitors, and get improvement recommendations.\n- Rewrite or [humanize AI-generated content](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/how-to-humanize-ai-content\/).\n- Look into which keywords and pages perform best on your site.\n\nOne thing that really caught my eye is that Writesonic connects with tools like Ahrefs, Google Analytics, and Google Search Console to pull in keyword data, domain overview, and site audit insights.\n\nEven if you don’t have your own Ahrefs account, you still get access to their insights.\n\n![Writesonic integration with other tools](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Writesonic-integration-with-other-tools.webp)\n\nWritesonic for tracking AI search visibility\n\nWritesonic has features that can help site owners track how visible their content is in AI search results.\n\nI’ll be honest, I had a pretty tough experience at first. After I upgraded, the **GEO** feature didn’t work for almost two weeks. I sent an email to the founder, but never got a reply. I also reached out to support, but they don’t have live chat, which was pretty annoying.\n\nWhen support eventually got back to me, they sent me a list of things to try fixing on my end. The funny thing is, right after they responded, everything started working. So I’m guessing the problem was actually on their side.\n\n**Here’s what you can do with Writesonic GEO:**\n\n- You can check how your website ranks in ChatGPT, Perplexity, and AI Overviews against your competitors.\n- See which LLMs cite your content and which pages they link to.\n- Keep track of when your brand gets mentioned.\n- Try the suggested prompts for your industry, or add your own custom ones.\n- Find relevant prompts through the Topics & Prompts tool.\n- Monitor AI bot traffic and errors with AI Bot Analytics (you’ll need a WordPress plugin for this).\n\nWhen I started checking citation numbers for my website, I noticed that the data doesn’t match what other tools show.\n\nFor instance, Semrush says I have 117 mentions and 179 cited pages globally. But Writesonic only shows 1 cited page and 0 mentions. I’ll update this if things change later on, but right now, the numbers seem off.\n\n**If you’re thinking about trying Writesonic, I’d say test it out before you commit to a long subscription. The 7-day free trial is helpful for that.**\n\nAnd if you do give it a shot, just go for the Professional plan. The cheaper options don’t include the AI features, and those are really the main reason to use Writesonic in the first place.\n\n![Writesonic citation overview](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Writesonic-citation-overview-1024x555.webp)\n\nI upgraded to the Writesonic Professional plan for \\$249\/m because none of their cheaper plans include AI + SEO + Content functionality.\n\n![Writesonic pricing 2025](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Writesonic-pricing-2025.webp)\n\n5\\. Ubersuggest\n\n- **Unique features**: Top SEO opportunities report, Chrome extension, AI Search Visibility, AI Prompt research.\n- **Pricing**: Starts at \\$29 monthly or \\$290 lifetime to manage one domain\n- **Free trial**: There’s a 7-day free trial and a limited free plan.\n\n![Ubersuggest SEO Tool Jan 2026](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Ubersuggest-SEO-Tool-Jan-2026-1024x549.webp)\n\nFor \\$290, most SEO tools only give you a month or two of access. But with Ubersuggest, you get lifetime access for managing one website at that price.\n\nI bought the Individual plan back in December 2024 because I was looking for an affordable SEO tool for my website. It’s now February 2026, and I’m still using it regularly\\!\n\nUbersuggest is a cheaper alternative to Ahrefs. It’s perfect if you’re running a small business or just doing SEO for your own website and don’t want to spend a fortune. Neil Patel bought Ubersuggest in 2017 because he wanted to make an SEO tool that could compete with the pricier options out there.\n\n**Here’s what you get for \\$29 a month or \\$290 lifetime:**\n\n- One user seat to manage one domain\n- 150 searches daily\n- Track 5 competitors\n- Analyze competitors’ top-ranking pages and keywords\n- Scan 1,000 pages per domain\n- Access up to 20,000 keyword suggestions\n- Get 200 content ideas\n- Track up to 2,000 backlinks from the past 3 years\n- See new and lost backlinks over the last 30 days\n- Ability to track 10 AI prompts per project\n- Research up to 25 prompts at a time\n- Track up to 125 keywords\n- SEO training and support\n\nThat’s a pretty generous pricing plan, isn’t it?\n\nFor some of my top-ranking keywords, Ubersuggest gives more accurate keyword ranking updates than Ahrefs.\n\nThe Individual plan lets you track up to 125 keywords for one domain. If you need more, you can purchase an add-on for 250 keywords for just \\$5 a month.\n\n![Ubersuggest rank tracking Feb 2026](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Ubersuggest-rank-tracking-Feb-2026-1024x554.webp)\n\nUbersuggest has added a new report called **AI Keyword Overview** as part of their keyword research tools.\n\nIt’s basically your typical [keyword research](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/keyword-research-for-seo\/) report, but with some important data specifically for optimizing your content for AI search.\n\nSince I’m on the Solo plan, I don’t have access to some features, like the AI summary. However, even with that limitation, the data I can get from this report is really valuable.\n\nFor instance, you can check which brands pop up most often in AI Overviews and LLMs when people search for keywords like “[AI SEO](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/ai-seo-tools\/).”\n\nYou can also see the top sources that AI uses when answering prompts. My site, Self Made Millennials, actually showed up as the second source, which I’m pretty happy about\\!\n\nThe report also lists the top 10 regular search results, and they don’t always match up with what AI Overviews and language models are showing.\n\nI’d also recommend checking out the AI Prompt Ideas report. It gives you relevant prompt suggestions based on your main keyword. I use this all the time when I’m writing FAQ sections for my blog posts. It saves me so much time because I don’t have to go hunting for these prompt ideas elsewhere.\n\nFor only \\$29 a month, Ubersuggest gives you a pretty solid set of SEO and AI tools if you’re managing a website.\n\n![Ubersuggest AI Keyword overview](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Ubersuggest-AI-Keyword-overview-1024x555.webp)\n\nI was curious where Ubersuggest gets its data, so I came across their [post](https:\/\/ubersuggest.zendesk.com\/hc\/en-us\/articles\/4405451545499-Ubersuggest-Traffic-Estimations) explaining how they estimate organic traffic. Here’s what they consider:\n\n- “Keyword Analysis: We evaluate the monthly search volume of each keyword in our database.\n- Rankings and Websites: We analyze website rankings for these keywords and their respective positions.\n- Position-Based CTR Analysis: We assess the typical CTR for these positions.\n- Comprehensive Traffic Calculation: We aggregate this data with additional information, such as the traffic of each page and, if applicable, data from other countries.”\n\nEven though people have mixed opinions about Ubersuggest on [Reddit](https:\/\/www.reddit.com\/r\/SEO\/comments\/kk56z3\/is_ubersuggest_accurate\/?sort=new), I agree with one user who said it’s a solid tool for tracking. If you need [SEO software for small businesses](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/seo-tools-for-small-businesses\/) or have a side-project website, it’s definitely worth using.\n\n![ubersuggest review on reddit](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/ubersuggest-review-on-reddit.webp)\n\nWhat’s the best Ahrefs alternative?\n\nAfter years of [DIY SEO](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/diy-seo\/) and working with lots of different SEO tools, I could say I mainly use [Semrush](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/recommend\/semrush-ahrefs-alternative). However, this hasn’t always been the case. Additionally, it took me a lot of time to test the existing solutions and identify those I can rely on based on their data accuracy and features.\n\nIf you’ve just started looking for an alternative to Ahrefs, I suggest asking yourself, “*What exactly do you need it for?”*\n\nNot all SEO tools do the same thing well. Some are great for niche keyword research, others shine when it comes to backlink tracking, and a few are better for content ideas.\n\nBefore jumping into another tool, think about the tasks you do most often. Are you focused on growing organic traffic, spying on competitors, or building links?\n\nYour daily SEO workflow should guide your decision. It also helps to think about how experienced you are—some tools are beginner-friendly, while others, like Screaming Frog, will take time to master.\n\nAnd, of course, budget plays a role, especially if you’re a freelancer or small business owner. Instead of asking, “What’s the best?” ask, “What’s the best for *me* right now?” That mindset shift makes the choice a whole lot easier.\n\nIs Ahrefs free?\n\nNo, Ahrefs is not free.\n\nAhrefs Lite plan starts at \\$129\/month, but if you want access to AI SEO features, that’s part of the Standard plan for \\$240\/month.\n\nAhrefs offers a Webmaster Tool for verified domain owners, but it only lets you monitor your website’s performance, but most features aren’t available for free.\n\nHowever, all the alternatives I’ve reviewed offer either free plans (like Semrush’s limited free version) or free trials (7-14 days) so you can test them before committing.\n\nUbersuggest is the closest to a free Ahrefs alternative with its lifetime deal at \\$290.\n\nDo I recommend the Ahrefs Starter plan?\n\n[Ahrefs Starter plan](https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/starter-plan\/) is a lighter and more affordable version of Ahrefs. You get access to some of their core SEO tools, including:\n\n- SEO Dashboard\n- Site Explorer\n- Keywords Explorer\n- Site Audit\n- Rank Tracker (you can track up to 40 keywords)\n- Ahrefs SEO Toolbar\n- Web Analytics\n\nOne important thing to know is the credit limit. The Starter plan comes with 100 credits.\n\nYou use one credit when you open most reports, except Site Audit and Rank Tracker. Once those credits are gone, you lose access to the tools even if your paid month is not over yet.\n\nIn my opinion, the Ahrefs Starter plan is suitable for small website owners or people who are just starting out. Just be careful with the credit limits because they can disappear faster than you expect.\n\nDo I recommend Ahrefs Webmaster Tools?\n\nYes, absolutely.\n\n[Ahrefs Webmaster Tools](https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/webmaster-tools) is a free option for verified website owners. It gives you access to three core Ahrefs tools: **Web Analytics, Site Audit, and Site Explorer.**\n\nYou can only use it for your own website, and you’ll need to verify your domain first. I did this through Google Search Console.\n\nThe downside is that you can’t analyze competitors or check links for other websites.\n\n![newsletter green icon](https:\/\/selfmademillennials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/newsletter-1.webp)\n\nFrom My Desk to Your Inbox\n\nJoin the newsletter for actionable SEO tips, case studies, and a behind-the-scenes look at my affiliate marketing journey.\n\nNo spam. Unsubscribe anytime.","meta_canonical":null}

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URL	https://selfmademillennials.com/ahrefs-alternatives/
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HTTP Status Code	200
Meta Title	Why I Ditched Ahrefs (+ 5 Better Alternatives for SEO)
Meta Description	After years with Ahrefs, I found better Ahrefs alternatives. Here are 5 SEO tools I personally tested that cost less and show traffic data you can trust.
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Boilerpipe Text	Ahrefs was the very first SEO tool I ever used. That was way back in 2015, when I was just starting out in digital marketing. Over the years, they’ve added many new features, but honestly, the overall design hasn’t changed much. Ahrefs has also kept my favorite report — Top Pages. It shows the top organic pages for any website. I use it all the time to track which pages perform best on my own site and to peek at what’s working for competitors. For a long time, Ahrefs has been a go-to tool for SEO professionals. It’s very SEO-focused, especially compared to Semrush, which tries to be an all-in-one platform for entire marketing teams. Why I stopped using Ahrefs’ paid plans I stopped using Ahrefs Lite when they introduced the credit system. I’m still actively using Ahrefs free tool, Webmaster Tool, but that’s basically it. I remember consuming credits quickly, and I had to pay extra to continue using the tool. I wasn’t happy with the new payment plans because I could never predict how much their SEO toolkit would cost me each month. I know they’ve updated the credit system since then, but that still wasn’t enough to convince me to come back. There’s also an issue with the Ahrefs data that I don’t see many people talking about: Ahrefs shows much higher organic traffic numbers than what I see in Google Search Console or Google Analytics. For example, in January 2026, Ahrefs estimated my site was getting 65k organic visits. Meanwhile, Google Analytics showed around 7k organic sessions, and that’s after Google’s December and January algorithm updates. That’s a massive gap. Have you noticed something similar? I even tried to bring this up on Reddit in a post by Tim Soulo, but my comment was removed. Tools like Semrush and SE Ranking provide a more accurate organic traffic estimate. Yes, they’re still estimates, but they’re much closer to what I actually see in my real data. So, if you’re looking for the best Ahrefs alternatives that are affordable and offer solid data, I’ve got a few great options to share, the ones I’ve actually used myself. How I test SEO tools Here’s what I usually look at when evaluating a tool: Pricing first: Budget matters. Therefore, I always check if the pricing makes sense for what you’re actually getting. Promises vs. reality: I compare the marketing promises with how tools actually perform. Sometimes their sales page sounds amazing, but the product doesn’t live up to it. Talking to the team: I often reach out directly to people working on the tool. Getting answers straight from the source helps me understand how tools actually work. Reddit deep dives: Reddit is one of my favorite places for feedback. People are honest there and don’t make up their experiences. Hands-on testing: I’ve personally used every tool mentioned below. I’ve tested the main features and run performance reports. I’ve recently come across some newer Ahrefs alternatives for SEO experts that you might not know about yet, such as Search Atlas and Writesonic (I’ll get into them shortly). P.S. This post contains a few affiliate links. If you choose to use any of these tools, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. I’m sharing this because I believe in being transparent. Whether or not you use these links, I genuinely support these tools as I’ve personally used all of them. 🙌 My top 5 Ahrefs alternatives Based on the criteria that I shared above, I’ve picked a few SEO tools like Ahrefs I believe are the best alternatives you can use. Let me provide a brief overview of each tool to help you gain a better understanding. Semrush SEO Toolkit – Has more accurate data than Ahrefs and over 55 SEO features. If you are looking for an SEO + AI search visibility toolkit, Semrush has recently launched Semrush One . It’s an AI SEO tool that combines two toolkits under one subscription. Search Atlas — An affordable alternative to Ahrefs that offers an AI SEO solution for agencies. SERanking — SEO software for agencies with an AI Overviews tracker. Writesonic — An AI-powered SEO agent for all SEO, content writing, and generative engine optimization (GEO) tasks. Ubersuggest — My top SEO pick for hobbyists and small site owners. P.S. This post contains a few affiliate links. If you choose to use any of these tools, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. I’m sharing this because I believe in being transparent. Whether or not you use these links, I genuinely support these tools as I’ve personally used all of them. 1. Semrush SEO Toolkit Unique features : AI assistant providing personalized data for your domain, AI brand insights Pricing : Starts at $139/month for the Semrush Pro plan. Semrush One, which combines traditional SEO + AI search solution , starts at $199/month. Free trial : Semrush SEO Toolkit has a free version where you can conduct 10 free searches daily. But you can also sign up for a 14-day free trial . You can also test Semrush One for free for 14 days using my partner link . Semrush is one of the most popular Ahrefs alternatives that has been around since 2008. Today, it offers 55 different tools for online marketers. On top of the core SEO Toolkit, Semrush also gives you access to several add-on toolkits, depending on what you need. These extras typically come with a 7-day free trial but incur additional costs on top of your regular SEO Toolkit subscription. Here’s a quick rundown: Content Toolkit (formerly ContentShake AI ) to help you optimize your content production process AI Visibility Toolkit to help you track your brand’s performance in AI search results Social Media Kit helps with social media management across different platforms Advertising Toolkit to research, plan, launch, and optimize online ad campaigns Local Business Kit to manage your Google Business Profile and online reviews Traffic and Market Insights to find what works for your competitors and how they grow Semrush One brings together two toolkits in one plan, giving you all the data, insights, and tools you need to succeed in search on both search engines and AI chat platforms. It’s a pretty robust platform if you’re handling multiple parts of your online marketing in one place. For this article, I’ll mainly talk about Semrush’s SEO and AI Toolkits, since they are solid alternatives to Ahrefs I’d recommend trying. Just like Ahrefs, I’ve been familiar with Semrush since 2015 and used it occasionally. One feature that makes me choose Semrush over Ahrefs is the Keyword Magic Tool . As an SEO specialist and a content writer, I frequently conduct keyword research for both my site and my clients. And for that, I need robust tools. Keyword Magic Tool lets you pull up thousands of keyword ideas from just one seed keyword. It’s super efficient. Plus, their filters can help you quickly narrow the keyword list down. I can find keywords that are realistic to target and have business value. Also, Semrush has introduced a unique feature — a personal AI assistant . It gives you keyword suggestions based on your website’s domain authority, so you’re not just guessing what you can rank for. It’s a very helpful feature. I’ve also been positively impressed by Semrush’s Position Tracker tool, which detected keyword ranking changes faster than Ahrefs (in my case). Right now, I’m using Semrush’s free plan. It lets you track up to 8 keywords. I use it to keep an eye on my top keywords and compare results with Ahrefs and Ubersuggest (I’ve got a lifetime deal on that one). Here’s what I like about Semrush’s Position Tracking tool: It updates keyword rankings every day You get a visibility chart to see how you’re doing over time It shows when you add or remove keywords You can compare keyword performance weekly, monthly, quarterly, or yearly It even emails you regular performance reports Below is a sample rank tracking report for my site. If you upgrade to Semrush Pro , you can track up to 500 keywords across 5 domains. Here’s what Akshay Negi, a brand marketing expert, says about using Semrush’s Position Tracking tool to boost his online business: If you want to dive deeper into how LLMs see your brand, I recommend checking Semrush’s AI Visibility Toolkit, which includes: 1 domain for brand performance analysis 300 daily queries in AI Analysis reports 25 prompts for prompt tracking AI Search Checks in Site Audit for up to 100 pages 6 new regions for ChatGPT, AI overview, AI mode: US, UK, Canada, Australia, India, Spain, Japan, and Mexico. Semrush MCP access is now open to regular Semrush users, not only enterprise accounts like before. So you can use all 50,000 API credits when working with LLMs, such as Claude or ChatGPT. Comparing Semrush and Ahrefs organic performance data I shared my detailed comparison of both tools in my Semrush vs. Ahrefs post, but I’d like to help you better understand how the data accuracy of both tools compares. Here’s a quick look at my website’s SEO metrics from January 2026: Category Semrush Ahrefs Google Search Console Organic traffic 24,295 64,913 4,110 Top 3 pages based on organic traffic Ahrefs alternatives AI SEO tools SEO books Ahrefs alternatives AI SEO tools Semrush vs Ahrefs AI SEO tools AI marketing tools Ahrefs alternatives Number of keywords 6,870 1,500 Referring domains 799 574 Number of backlinks 3,200 1,600 It’s worth mentioning that Ahrefs’ overall keyword database is bigger (as of February 2026), but Semrush provides more keyword variations for the USA if that’s your target location. Semrush keyword database : 27.9 billion keywords in 142 locations, 3.8 billion keywords in the USA alone Ahrefs keyword database : 28.7 billion keywords in 217 locations, 2.4 billion keywords in the USA alone What this means for you is that Ahrefs will potentially be able to identify and show you more keyword opportunities. However, Semrush can offer you more keyword opportunities specifically for the USA. These numbers can change anytime since both tools always update their databases. That’s why I’ll be checking Ahrefs’ Keyword Explorer page and Semrush’s stats occasionally to keep my article up to date. You can learn more about the tool in my Semrush review . Semrush offers a 7-day money-back guarantee if you upgrade to a paid plan but don’t want to keep it for some reason. I once upgraded to the Semrush Pro plan by mistake, which cost me $139.95. I reached out to their support, and they gave me my money back within a few days. Just send them a request within 7 days of signing up, and they’ll refund you. It’s that simple. If you’ve been thinking about trying Semrush Pro, here’s a little perk—my partner link gives you a 14-day free trial to Semrush Pro instead of the usual 7 days. Just a small way to get more time to explore and see if it’s a good fit! 2. Search Atlas Unique features : OTTO SEO AI tool, Site Visualization, Keyword Magic Tool Pricing : Starts at $99/month for the Starter plan Free trial : There’s a 7-day free trial. If you want to keep using the tool, you’ll have to upgrade to a paid plan after the free trial expires Search Atlas is powerful SEO software for agencies and a solid Ahrefs competitor with an automated AI SEO assistant, called OTTO SEO. I first came across it on social media. Honestly, I kept seeing its ads everywhere. I shared the full story in my Semrush vs. Search Atlas review. After that, I got curious. I wanted to see if it could be a more affordable alternative to Ahrefs and what it actually offers. To me, Search Atlas feels like a mix of Semrush and Ahrefs. It has features like both and a similar layout. If you’ve used either of those tools before, Search Atlas will feel pretty familiar. I tested the Search Atlas Growth plan ($199/month) in March 2026. It comes with a solid set of features, but I noticed that Search Atlas sometimes crashes, and some reports take a while to load. Here’s a quick look at the Site Overview report inside Search Atlas. It looks a lot like what you’d see in Ahrefs or Semrush. Search Atlas has a Keyword Magic Tool, just like Semrush. You can use it to get keyword ideas from your seed keyword. It even has the same name as Semrush’s tool. Semrush gives you a few more filter options, but honestly, I don’t think it’s a big deal. Ahrefs doesn’t have this kind of tool at all. Unlike Ahrefs, Search Atlas provides you with your consumption stats, so you know when you’ll be running out of keyword checks. Search Atlas Growth plan ($199/month) provides you with 2,000 keyword checks. Honestly, I don’t think that’s much, especially if you have to conduct keyword research for multiple different websites. I’ve also published an in-depth Search Atlas review recently to help you get a detailed overview of the tool’s features and data accuracy. Now, let me quickly show you how Ahrefs and Search Atlas compare in terms of data accuracy. It’s seriously my favorite thing to do – testing and comparing tools’ data accuracy. Here’s the data comparison for my website from March 2026: Category Search Atlas Ahrefs Google Search Console Organic traffic 15.5k 36k 1.76k Top 3 pages based on organic traffic AI SEO tools, AI marketing tools, Ahrefs alternatives AI SEO tools, Ahrefs alternatives, AI marketing tools AI SEO tools, AI marketing tools, Ahrefs alternatives Number of keywords 4k 1.2k Referring domains 841 594 Number of backlinks 3.7k 1.9k Even though Search Atlas’ data isn’t perfect, it’s still pretty close to the actual numbers from Google Search Console. I agree it’s just an estimate for one month, but it gives you a good idea of what’s going on. I even tried looking for something like Semrush’s “Stats” page and asked ChatGPT for help. In the end, I found an interesting comment under one of their Facebook ads… First off, it’s awesome that the Search Atlas team tracks brand mentions and actually responds to people. I don’t see that much with other tools. This makes me think that Search Atlas probably pulls data from your Google Search Console account to track your site’s performance and give improvement tips. If I find out more about where they get their data, I’ll update this post. Overall, I think Search Atlas is a great Ahrefs alternative for SEO. It has more features and uses AI to power its site audit tool. I’ve also checked what users say about Search Atlas on the web and stumbled upon a fresh Reddit thread, where one of the Reddit users shared the following: Search Atlas gives you a 7-day free trial, but you’ll need to link a credit card to activate it. I know it’s a bit of a hassle, but it’s the only way to test the tool. I’ve paid for the tool multiple times, and I can confirm they won’t charge your card during the trial. If you cancel the trial early, you’ll lose access to the tool right away. So, it’s best to make the most of the 7 days to see if it works for your business. Curious how Search Atlas stacks up against tools like Ahrefs or Semrush? Try Search Atlas free for 7 days and see how this all-in-one SEO tool works. P.S. I actually got to meet Fidan and a few people from the Search Atlas team in person at the SEO IRL conference in Toronto back in fall 2025. 3. SE Ranking Unique features : AI Overviews Tracker, Agency Success Kit, Local SEO toolkit Pricing : Starts at $65/month for the Essential plan Free trial : There’s a 14-day free trial , after which you have to upgrade to keep using the tool SE Ranking is an all-in-one SEO software for agencies, business owners, and SEO professionals. It offers a wide range of tools for keyword tracking, website audits, competitor analysis, backlink monitoring, and more. SE Ranking is a more affordable Ahrefs alternative , starting at $65/month for the core SEO tools except for AI Search, Content and Marketing toolkits, On-page, and SERP analysis. To unlock additional features, you’ll have to upgrade to SE Ranking Pro ($119 monthly) or SE Ranking Business ($259 monthly). Here’s a brief overview of SE Ranking’s key features to help you with all kinds of SEO tasks: Keyword Generator — It’s similar to Semrush’s Keyword Magic Tool and helps you generate keyword ideas based on your seed keyword. Keyword Grouper — It’s a keyword cluster tool to help you group similar keywords based on search intent. Keyword Rank Tracker – Monitors organic keyword positions across search engines and devices. AI Overviews Tracker — It’s a new tool to help you analyze AI snippets for your target keywords. On-Page SEO Checker – This feature helps you audit your website pages for optimization opportunities. Website Audit – Scans your site for technical SEO issues and recommends fixes. Backlink Checker – Analyzes backlink profiles for your site and competitors. Competitor Analysis Tool – Reveals competitors’ keywords, traffic, and ad strategies. AI Content Generator – This feature helps you generate and optimize content based on your target keyword. It also integrates with Google Docs. Local Marketing Toolkit — Helps manage local SEO campaigns to reach more customers in your target area. Agency Success Toolkit — Designed to help SEO agencies succeed with features like Lead Generator, SEO Reports Generator, and SEO API, to name a few. I’ve used SE Ranking for over 6 months to track my website’s performance. Even though I currently use Ubersuggest (more about it later) and Semrush, SERanking is a decent solution if you want a more affordable tool. For just $65 monthly, you get access to a 4.2 billion keyword and 1.9 billion backlinks databases across 188 countries. If you are an agency with multiple client projects, you can track up to 2,000 keywords for 30 domains with 3 user seats for just $119 monthly. Similar to Semrush, you can manage up to 5 domains and track up to 500 keywords. The user interface reminds me of Semrus. So, if you’ve used Semrush in the past, you’ll quickly get used to the tool. Now, let me show you my comparison of Ahrefs’ and SE Rankings’ data from October for my website. Category SE Ranking Ahrefs Google Search Console Organic traffic 3,300 47,400 8,000 Top 3 pages based on organic traffic AI SEO tools AI Marketing tools Ahrefs alternatives AI SEO tools Ahrefs alternatives AI marketing tools AI SEO tools AI marketing tools Ahrefs alternatives Number of keywords 7,400 3,350 Referring domains 612 453 Number of backlinks 2,000 1,300 Just like with Ahrefs, the numbers you see in SE Ranking don’t quite match what’s shown in Google Search Console. It’s still useful as a reference, but keep in mind that your competitors might actually be doing better than what SE Ranking shows. I was honestly surprised to see the low organic traffic estimate, only 610 visits a month for my top post on AI SEO tools. On the other side, the backlink data was pretty spot on and almost identical to what Ahrefs shows. If you want to try SE Ranking, keep in mind that it doesn’t have a free plan. Once your 14-day free trial ends, you’ll lose access to all your data. That could be a big deal for your business. The Agency Success Pack is only available if you upgrade to either the SERanking Pro ($119/month) or Business ($259/month) plans, and you’ll need to commit to a yearly plan. The good news? You save 20% with the annual subscription. When it comes to historical data on keywords and domains, you’ll only get 3 months of data with the Pro plan. If you need full historical data, you’ll need the Business plan. I know this could be a bit confusing. From what I’ve seen, having access to historical data is key to analyzing performance and data trends. Take a look at my detailed comparison of Semrush vs. SE Ranking if you are wondering which one is worth using. 4. Writesonic Unique features : GEO, Chatsonic (their AI agent), and the AI Article Writer. Pricing : Plans start at $249/month and include SEO, content tools, plus AI search tracking and optimization. Free trial : You can try it free for 7 days , no credit card required. There’s also a free plan if you just want to test things out. Writesonic can help your brand show up in AI search results and speed up your content creation process. It feels more modern than most SEO tools, as if it were designed for AI search first rather than adapted later. I’d compare Writesonic to Semrush’s AI Visibility and Content Toolkits. I wrote a detailed Writesonic review sharing my experience with their content generation workflow, Chatsonic AI agent, and GEO functionality. If interested, take a quick look since I soubt anyone on the web shares that many details. Here’s what you can do with Writesonic: You can teach Writesonic’s bot how you write, including your tone, style, and voice. So, it creates content that actually sounds like you . Track how your brand shows up across LLMs like ChatGPT, Perplexity.ai, and AI Overviews, including visibility, rankings, and sentiment. Run a free site audit for up to 100 pages. If you’re on a paid plan, you can check bigger sites, such as 200 pages or more. Get custom content ideas tailored for your website and create an SEO content strategy around them. Do keyword research and find topics your audience is actively searching for, kind of like what Answer the Public does. Research keyword clusters to plan out pillar pages and supporting articles. Create different types of content like listicles, how-to guides, or news-style articles. Generate and customize outlines. Optimize content for rankings with SEO Checker and Optimizer Do competitor research, compare your content performance to your competitors, and get improvement recommendations. Rewrite or humanize AI-generated content . Look into which keywords and pages perform best on your site. One thing that really caught my eye is that Writesonic connects with tools like Ahrefs, Google Analytics, and Google Search Console to pull in keyword data, domain overview, and site audit insights. Even if you don’t have your own Ahrefs account, you still get access to their insights. Writesonic for tracking AI search visibility Writesonic has features that can help site owners track how visible their content is in AI search results. I’ll be honest, I had a pretty tough experience at first. After I upgraded, the GEO feature didn’t work for almost two weeks. I sent an email to the founder, but never got a reply. I also reached out to support, but they don’t have live chat, which was pretty annoying. When support eventually got back to me, they sent me a list of things to try fixing on my end. The funny thing is, right after they responded, everything started working. So I’m guessing the problem was actually on their side. Here’s what you can do with Writesonic GEO: You can check how your website ranks in ChatGPT, Perplexity, and AI Overviews against your competitors. See which LLMs cite your content and which pages they link to. Keep track of when your brand gets mentioned. Try the suggested prompts for your industry, or add your own custom ones. Find relevant prompts through the Topics & Prompts tool. Monitor AI bot traffic and errors with AI Bot Analytics (you’ll need a WordPress plugin for this). When I started checking citation numbers for my website, I noticed that the data doesn’t match what other tools show. For instance, Semrush says I have 117 mentions and 179 cited pages globally. But Writesonic only shows 1 cited page and 0 mentions. I’ll update this if things change later on, but right now, the numbers seem off. If you’re thinking about trying Writesonic, I’d say test it out before you commit to a long subscription. The 7-day free trial is helpful for that. And if you do give it a shot, just go for the Professional plan. The cheaper options don’t include the AI features, and those are really the main reason to use Writesonic in the first place. I upgraded to the Writesonic Professional plan for $249/m because none of their cheaper plans include AI + SEO + Content functionality. 5. Ubersuggest Unique features : Top SEO opportunities report, Chrome extension, AI Search Visibility, AI Prompt research. Pricing : Starts at $29 monthly or $290 lifetime to manage one domain Free trial : There’s a 7-day free trial and a limited free plan. For $290, most SEO tools only give you a month or two of access. But with Ubersuggest, you get lifetime access for managing one website at that price. I bought the Individual plan back in December 2024 because I was looking for an affordable SEO tool for my website. It’s now February 2026, and I’m still using it regularly! Ubersuggest is a cheaper alternative to Ahrefs. It’s perfect if you’re running a small business or just doing SEO for your own website and don’t want to spend a fortune. Neil Patel bought Ubersuggest in 2017 because he wanted to make an SEO tool that could compete with the pricier options out there. Here’s what you get for $29 a month or $290 lifetime: One user seat to manage one domain 150 searches daily Track 5 competitors Analyze competitors’ top-ranking pages and keywords Scan 1,000 pages per domain Access up to 20,000 keyword suggestions Get 200 content ideas Track up to 2,000 backlinks from the past 3 years See new and lost backlinks over the last 30 days Ability to track 10 AI prompts per project Research up to 25 prompts at a time Track up to 125 keywords SEO training and support That’s a pretty generous pricing plan, isn’t it? For some of my top-ranking keywords, Ubersuggest gives more accurate keyword ranking updates than Ahrefs. The Individual plan lets you track up to 125 keywords for one domain. If you need more, you can purchase an add-on for 250 keywords for just $5 a month. Ubersuggest has added a new report called AI Keyword Overview as part of their keyword research tools. It’s basically your typical keyword research report, but with some important data specifically for optimizing your content for AI search. Since I’m on the Solo plan, I don’t have access to some features, like the AI summary. However, even with that limitation, the data I can get from this report is really valuable. For instance, you can check which brands pop up most often in AI Overviews and LLMs when people search for keywords like “ AI SEO .” You can also see the top sources that AI uses when answering prompts. My site, Self Made Millennials, actually showed up as the second source, which I’m pretty happy about! The report also lists the top 10 regular search results, and they don’t always match up with what AI Overviews and language models are showing. I’d also recommend checking out the AI Prompt Ideas report. It gives you relevant prompt suggestions based on your main keyword. I use this all the time when I’m writing FAQ sections for my blog posts. It saves me so much time because I don’t have to go hunting for these prompt ideas elsewhere. For only $29 a month, Ubersuggest gives you a pretty solid set of SEO and AI tools if you’re managing a website. I was curious where Ubersuggest gets its data, so I came across their post explaining how they estimate organic traffic. Here’s what they consider: “Keyword Analysis: We evaluate the monthly search volume of each keyword in our database. Rankings and Websites: We analyze website rankings for these keywords and their respective positions. Position-Based CTR Analysis: We assess the typical CTR for these positions. Comprehensive Traffic Calculation: We aggregate this data with additional information, such as the traffic of each page and, if applicable, data from other countries.” Even though people have mixed opinions about Ubersuggest on Reddit , I agree with one user who said it’s a solid tool for tracking. If you need SEO software for small businesses or have a side-project website, it’s definitely worth using. What’s the best Ahrefs alternative? After years of DIY SEO and working with lots of different SEO tools, I could say I mainly use Semrush . However, this hasn’t always been the case. Additionally, it took me a lot of time to test the existing solutions and identify those I can rely on based on their data accuracy and features. If you’ve just started looking for an alternative to Ahrefs, I suggest asking yourself, “ What exactly do you need it for?” Not all SEO tools do the same thing well. Some are great for niche keyword research, others shine when it comes to backlink tracking, and a few are better for content ideas. Before jumping into another tool, think about the tasks you do most often. Are you focused on growing organic traffic, spying on competitors, or building links? Your daily SEO workflow should guide your decision. It also helps to think about how experienced you are—some tools are beginner-friendly, while others, like Screaming Frog, will take time to master. And, of course, budget plays a role, especially if you’re a freelancer or small business owner. Instead of asking, “What’s the best?” ask, “What’s the best for me right now?” That mindset shift makes the choice a whole lot easier. Is Ahrefs free? No, Ahrefs is not free. Ahrefs Lite plan starts at $129/month, but if you want access to AI SEO features, that’s part of the Standard plan for $240/month. Ahrefs offers a Webmaster Tool for verified domain owners, but it only lets you monitor your website’s performance, but most features aren’t available for free. However, all the alternatives I’ve reviewed offer either free plans (like Semrush’s limited free version) or free trials (7-14 days) so you can test them before committing. Ubersuggest is the closest to a free Ahrefs alternative with its lifetime deal at $290. Do I recommend the Ahrefs Starter plan? Ahrefs Starter plan is a lighter and more affordable version of Ahrefs. You get access to some of their core SEO tools, including: SEO Dashboard Site Explorer Keywords Explorer Site Audit Rank Tracker (you can track up to 40 keywords) Ahrefs SEO Toolbar Web Analytics One important thing to know is the credit limit. The Starter plan comes with 100 credits. You use one credit when you open most reports, except Site Audit and Rank Tracker. Once those credits are gone, you lose access to the tools even if your paid month is not over yet. In my opinion, the Ahrefs Starter plan is suitable for small website owners or people who are just starting out. Just be careful with the credit limits because they can disappear faster than you expect. Do I recommend Ahrefs Webmaster Tools? Yes, absolutely. Ahrefs Webmaster Tools is a free option for verified website owners. It gives you access to three core Ahrefs tools: Web Analytics, Site Audit, and Site Explorer. You can only use it for your own website, and you’ll need to verify your domain first. I did this through Google Search Console. The downside is that you can’t analyze competitors or check links for other websites. From My Desk to Your Inbox Join the newsletter for actionable SEO tips, case studies, and a behind-the-scenes look at my affiliate marketing journey. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
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That was way back in 2015, when I was just starting out in digital marketing. Over the years, they’ve added many new features, but honestly, the overall design hasn’t changed much. Ahrefs has also kept my favorite report —Top Pages. It shows the top organic pages for any website. I use it all the time to track which pages perform best on my own site and to peek at what’s working for competitors. For a long time, Ahrefs has been a go-to tool for SEO professionals. It’s very SEO-focused, especially compared to Semrush, which tries to be an all-in-one platform for entire marketing teams. ### Why I stopped using Ahrefs’ paid plans I stopped using Ahrefs Lite when they introduced the credit system. I’m still actively using Ahrefs free tool, Webmaster Tool, but that’s basically it. I remember consuming credits quickly, and I had to pay extra to continue using the tool. I wasn’t happy with the new payment plans because I could never predict how much their SEO toolkit would cost me each month. I know they’ve updated the credit system since then, but that still wasn’t enough to convince me to come back. There’s also an issue with the Ahrefs data that I don’t see many people talking about: Ahrefs shows much higher organic traffic numbers than what I see in Google Search Console or Google Analytics. For example, in January 2026, Ahrefs estimated my site was getting 65k organic visits. Meanwhile, Google Analytics showed around 7k organic sessions, and that’s after Google’s December and January algorithm updates. That’s a massive gap. Have you noticed something similar? I even tried to bring this up on Reddit in a post by Tim Soulo, but my comment was removed. Tools like Semrush and SE Ranking provide a more accurate organic traffic estimate. Yes, they’re still estimates, but they’re much closer to what I actually see in my real data. So, if you’re looking for the best Ahrefs alternatives that are affordable and offer solid data, I’ve got a few great options to share, the ones I’ve actually used myself. ### How I test SEO tools Here’s what I usually look at when evaluating a tool: - Pricing first: Budget matters. Therefore, I always check if the pricing makes sense for what you’re actually getting. - Promises vs. reality: I compare the marketing promises with how tools actually perform. Sometimes their sales page sounds amazing, but the product doesn’t live up to it. - Talking to the team: I often reach out directly to people working on the tool. Getting answers straight from the source helps me understand how tools actually work. - Reddit deep dives: Reddit is one of my favorite places for feedback. People are honest there and don’t make up their experiences. - Hands-on testing: I’ve personally used every tool mentioned below. I’ve tested the main features and run performance reports. I’ve recently come across some newer Ahrefs alternatives for SEO experts that you might not know about yet, such as Search Atlas and Writesonic (I’ll get into them shortly). P.S. This post contains a few affiliate links. If you choose to use any of these tools, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. I’m sharing this because I believe in being transparent. Whether or not you use these links, I genuinely support these tools as I’ve personally used all of them. 🙌 ## My top 5 Ahrefs alternatives Based on the criteria that I shared above, I’ve picked a few [SEO tools](https://selfmademillennials.com/best-seo-tools/) like Ahrefs I believe are the best alternatives you can use. Let me provide a brief overview of each tool to help you gain a better understanding. 1. [Semrush SEO Toolkit](https://selfmademillennials.com/recommend/semrush-ahrefs-alternative) – Has more accurate data than Ahrefs and over 55 SEO features. If you are looking for an SEO + AI search visibility toolkit, Semrush has recently launched [Semrush One](https://selfmademillennials.com/recommend/semrush-one-alternative-ahrefs). It’s an AI SEO tool that combines two toolkits under one subscription. 2. [Search Atlas](https://selfmademillennials.com/recommend/search-atlas-ahrefs-alternative) — An affordable alternative to Ahrefs that offers an AI SEO solution for agencies. 3. [SERanking](https://seranking.com/?ga=3996377&source=https://selfmademillennials.com/ahrefs-alternatives/) — SEO software for agencies with an AI Overviews tracker. 4. [Writesonic](https://writesonic.com/?fpr=seo-tool&fp_sid=ahrfsalt) — An AI-powered SEO agent for all SEO, content writing, and generative engine optimization (GEO) tasks. 5. [Ubersuggest](https://neilpatel.com/ubersuggest/) — My top SEO pick for hobbyists and small site owners. P.S. This post contains a few affiliate links. If you choose to use any of these tools, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. I’m sharing this because I believe in being transparent. Whether or not you use these links, I genuinely support these tools as I’ve personally used all of them. ![🙌](https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/16.0.1/svg/1f64c.svg) ## 1\. Semrush SEO Toolkit - Unique features: AI assistant providing personalized data for your domain, AI brand insights - Pricing: Starts at \$139/month for the Semrush Pro plan. Semrush One, which combines traditional SEO + AI search solution, starts at \$199/month. - Free trial: Semrush SEO Toolkit has a free version where you can conduct 10 free searches daily. But you can also sign up for a [14-day free trial](https://selfmademillennials.com/recommend/semrush-ahrefs-alternative). You can also test Semrush One for free for 14 days using my partner [link](https://selfmademillennials.com/recommend/semrush-one-alternative-ahrefs). ![Semrush SEO Toolkit](https://selfmademillennials.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Semrush-SEO-Toolkit-1024x504.webp) Semrush is one of the most popular Ahrefs alternatives that has been around since 2008. Today, it offers 55 different tools for online marketers. On top of the core SEO Toolkit, Semrush also gives you access to several add-on toolkits, depending on what you need. These extras typically come with a 7-day free trial but incur additional costs on top of your regular SEO Toolkit subscription. Here’s a quick rundown: - Content Toolkit (formerly [ContentShake AI](https://selfmademillennials.com/contentshake-ai-review/)) to help you optimize your content production process - [AI Visibility Toolkit](https://selfmademillennials.com/semrush-ai-seo-toolkit-review/) to help you track your brand’s performance in AI search results - Social Media Kit helps with social media management across different platforms - Advertising Toolkit to research, plan, launch, and optimize online ad campaigns - Local Business Kit to manage your Google Business Profile and online reviews - Traffic and Market Insights to find what works for your competitors and how they grow - [Semrush One](https://selfmademillennials.com/recommend/semrush-one-alternative-ahrefs) brings together two toolkits in one plan, giving you all the data, insights, and tools you need to succeed in search on both search engines and AI chat platforms. ![Semrush One March 2026](https://selfmademillennials.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Semrush-One-March-2026-1024x506.webp) It’s a pretty robust platform if you’re handling multiple parts of your online marketing in one place. For this article, I’ll mainly talk about Semrush’s SEO and AI Toolkits, since they are solid alternatives to Ahrefs I’d recommend trying. Just like Ahrefs, I’ve been familiar with Semrush since 2015 and used it occasionally. One feature that makes me choose Semrush over Ahrefs is the Keyword Magic Tool. As an SEO specialist and a content writer, I frequently conduct keyword research for both my site and my clients. And for that, I need robust tools. Keyword Magic Tool lets you pull up thousands of keyword ideas from just one seed keyword. It’s super efficient. Plus, their filters can help you quickly narrow the keyword list down. I can find keywords that are realistic to target and have business value. Also, Semrush has introduced a unique feature — a personal AI assistant. It gives you keyword suggestions based on your website’s domain authority, so you’re not just guessing what you can rank for. It’s a very helpful feature. ![Semrush keyword magic tool March 2026](https://selfmademillennials.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Semrush-keyword-magic-tool-March-2026-1024x665.webp) I’ve also been positively impressed by Semrush’s Position Tracker tool, which detected keyword ranking changes faster than Ahrefs (in my case). Right now, I’m using Semrush’s free plan. It lets you track up to 8 keywords. I use it to keep an eye on my top keywords and compare results with Ahrefs and Ubersuggest (I’ve got a lifetime deal on that one). Here’s what I like about Semrush’s Position Tracking tool: - It updates keyword rankings every day - You get a visibility chart to see how you’re doing over time - It shows when you add or remove keywords - You can compare keyword performance weekly, monthly, quarterly, or yearly - It even emails you regular performance reports Below is a sample rank tracking report for my site. If you upgrade to [Semrush Pro](https://selfmademillennials.com/recommend/semrush-ahrefs-alternative), you can track up to 500 keywords across 5 domains. ![Semrush Position Tracking March 2026](https://selfmademillennials.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Semrush-Position-Tracking-March-2026-1024x664.webp) Here’s what Akshay Negi, a brand marketing expert, [says](https://www.linkedin.com/posts/victoria-kurichenko_seo-seowriter-seoservices-activity-7295132504913494016-9ooH/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop&rcm=ACoAACLSZ70BlrVpIBhQTJaiYJo1mYzIfqB0_0g) about using Semrush’s Position Tracking tool to boost his online business: ![quote from Linkedin about Semrush position tracking](https://selfmademillennials.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/quote-from-Linkedin-about-Semrush-position-tracking.webp) If you want to dive deeper into how LLMs see your brand, I recommend checking Semrush’s AI Visibility Toolkit, which includes: - 1 domain for brand performance analysis - 300 daily queries in AI Analysis reports - 25 prompts for prompt tracking - AI Search Checks in Site Audit for up to 100 pages - 6 new regions for ChatGPT, AI overview, AI mode: US, UK, Canada, Australia, India, Spain, Japan, and Mexico. Semrush MCP access is now open to regular Semrush users, not only enterprise accounts like before. So you can use all 50,000 API credits when working with LLMs, such as [Claude](https://news.selfmademillennials.com/p/i-connected-semrush-to-claude) or ChatGPT. ![Semrush AI Visibility report March 2026](https://selfmademillennials.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Semrush-AI-Visibility-report-March-2026-1-1024x541.webp) ### Comparing Semrush and Ahrefs organic performance data I shared my detailed comparison of both tools in my [Semrush vs. Ahrefs](https://selfmademillennials.com/semrush-vs-ahrefs/) post, but I’d like to help you better understand how the data accuracy of both tools compares. Here’s a quick look at my website’s SEO metrics from January 2026: \| Category \| Semrush \| Ahrefs \| Google Search Console \| \|---\|---\|---\|---\| \| Organic traffic \| 24,295 \| 64,913 \| 4,110 \| \| Top 3 pages based on organic traffic \| Ahrefs alternatives AI SEO tools SEO books \| Ahrefs alternatives AI SEO tools Semrush vs Ahrefs \| AI SEO tools AI marketing tools Ahrefs alternatives \| \| Number of keywords \| 6,870 \| 1,500 \| \| \| Referring domains \| 799 \| 574 \| \| \| Number of backlinks \| 3,200 \| 1,600 \| \| It’s worth mentioning that Ahrefs’ overall keyword database is bigger (as of February 2026), but Semrush provides more keyword variations for the USA if that’s your target location. - Semrush keyword database: 27.9 billion keywords in 142 locations, 3.8 billion keywords in the USA alone - Ahrefs keyword database: 28.7 billion keywords in 217 locations, 2.4 billion keywords in the USA alone What this means for you is that Ahrefs will potentially be able to identify and show you more keyword opportunities. However, Semrush can offer you more keyword opportunities specifically for the USA. These numbers can change anytime since both tools always update their databases. That’s why I’ll be checking Ahrefs’ Keyword Explorer page and Semrush’s stats occasionally to keep my article up to date. You can learn more about the tool in my [Semrush review](https://selfmademillennials.com/semrush-review/). Semrush offers a 7-day money-back guarantee if you upgrade to a paid plan but don’t want to keep it for some reason. I once upgraded to the Semrush Pro plan by mistake, which cost me \$139.95. I reached out to their support, and they gave me my money back within a few days. Just send them a request within 7 days of signing up, and they’ll refund you. It’s that simple. If you’ve been thinking about trying Semrush Pro, here’s a little perk—my partner link gives you [a 14-day free trial to Semrush Pro](https://selfmademillennials.com/recommend/semrush-ahrefs-alternative) instead of the usual 7 days. Just a small way to get more time to explore and see if it’s a good fit! ![😊](https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/16.0.1/svg/1f60a.svg) ![Semrush pricing March 2026](https://selfmademillennials.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Semrush-pricing-March-2026-1024x645.webp) ## 2\. Search Atlas - Unique features: OTTO SEO AI tool, Site Visualization, Keyword Magic Tool - Pricing: Starts at \$99/month for the Starter plan - Free trial: There’s a 7-day free trial. If you want to keep using the tool, you’ll have to upgrade to a paid plan after the free trial expires ![Search Atlas SEO tool March 2026](https://selfmademillennials.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Search-Atlas-SEO-tool-March-2026-1024x555.webp) [Search Atlas](https://selfmademillennials.com/recommend/search-atlas-ahrefs-alternative) is powerful SEO software for agencies and a solid Ahrefs competitor with an automated AI SEO assistant, called OTTO SEO. I first came across it on social media. Honestly, I kept seeing its ads everywhere. I shared the full story in my [Semrush vs. Search Atlas](https://selfmademillennials.com/search-atlas-vs-semrush/) review. After that, I got curious. I wanted to see if it could be a more affordable alternative to Ahrefs and what it actually offers. To me, Search Atlas feels like a mix of Semrush and Ahrefs. It has features like both and a similar layout. If you’ve used either of those tools before, Search Atlas will feel pretty familiar. I tested the Search Atlas Growth plan (\$199/month) in March 2026. It comes with a solid set of features, but I noticed that Search Atlas sometimes crashes, and some reports take a while to load. Here’s a quick look at the Site Overview report inside Search Atlas. It looks a lot like what you’d see in Ahrefs or Semrush. ![Search Atlas site explorer March 2026](https://selfmademillennials.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Search-Atlas-site-explorer-March-2026-1024x553.webp) Search Atlas has a Keyword Magic Tool, just like Semrush. You can use it to get keyword ideas from your seed keyword. It even has the same name as Semrush’s tool. Semrush gives you a few more filter options, but honestly, I don’t think it’s a big deal. Ahrefs doesn’t have this kind of tool at all. Unlike Ahrefs, Search Atlas provides you with your consumption stats, so you know when you’ll be running out of keyword checks. Search Atlas Growth plan (\$199/month) provides you with 2,000 keyword checks. Honestly, I don’t think that’s much, especially if you have to conduct keyword research for multiple different websites. I’ve also published an in-depth [Search Atlas review](https://selfmademillennials.com/search-atlas-review/) recently to help you get a detailed overview of the tool’s features and data accuracy. ![Search Atlas Keyword Magic Tool March 2026](https://selfmademillennials.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Search-Atlas-Keyword-Magic-Tool-March-2026-1024x553.webp) Now, let me quickly show you how Ahrefs and Search Atlas compare in terms of data accuracy. It’s seriously my favorite thing to do – testing and comparing tools’ data accuracy. Here’s the data comparison for my website from March 2026: \| Category \| Search Atlas \| Ahrefs \| Google Search Console \| \|---\|---\|---\|---\| \| Organic traffic \| 15\.5k \| 36k \| 1\.76k \| \| Top 3 pages based on organic traffic \| AI SEO tools, AI marketing tools, Ahrefs alternatives \| AI SEO tools, Ahrefs alternatives, AI marketing tools \| AI SEO tools, AI marketing tools, Ahrefs alternatives \| \| Number of keywords \| 4k \| 1\.2k \| \| \| Referring domains \| 841 \| 594 \| \| \| Number of backlinks \| 3\.7k \| 1\.9k \| \| Even though Search Atlas’ data isn’t perfect, it’s still pretty close to the actual numbers from Google Search Console. I agree it’s just an estimate for one month, but it gives you a good idea of what’s going on. I even tried looking for something like Semrush’s “Stats” page and asked ChatGPT for help. In the end, I found an interesting comment under one of their Facebook ads… ![Where Search Atlas gets its data from](https://selfmademillennials.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Where-Search-Atlas-gets-its-data-from.webp) First off, it’s awesome that the Search Atlas team tracks brand mentions and actually responds to people. I don’t see that much with other tools. This makes me think that Search Atlas probably pulls data from your Google Search Console account to track your site’s performance and give improvement tips. If I find out more about where they get their data, I’ll update this post. Overall, I think Search Atlas is a great Ahrefs alternative for SEO. It has more features and uses AI to power its site audit tool. I’ve also checked what users say about Search Atlas on the web and stumbled upon a fresh Reddit thread, where one of the Reddit users [shared](https://www.reddit.com/r/SEO/comments/1kwi4ju/anyone_tried_search_atlas/) the following: ![Search Atlas on Reddit](https://selfmademillennials.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Search-Atlas-on-Reddit-1024x327-1.webp) Search Atlas gives you a 7-day free trial, but you’ll need to link a credit card to activate it. I know it’s a bit of a hassle, but it’s the only way to test the tool. I’ve paid for the tool multiple times, and I can confirm they won’t charge your card during the trial. If you cancel the trial early, you’ll lose access to the tool right away. So, it’s best to make the most of the 7 days to see if it works for your business. Curious how Search Atlas stacks up against tools like Ahrefs or Semrush? [Try Search Atlas free for 7 days](https://selfmademillennials.com/recommend/search-atlas-ahrefs-alternative) and see how this all-in-one SEO tool works. P.S. I actually got to meet Fidan and a few people from the Search Atlas team in person at the [SEO IRL conference](https://selfmademillennials.com/seo-irl-2025-recap/) in Toronto back in fall 2025. ![meeting search atlas team](https://selfmademillennials.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/meeting-search-atlas-team.webp) ## 3\. SE Ranking - Unique features: AI Overviews Tracker, Agency Success Kit, Local SEO toolkit - Pricing: Starts at \$65/month for the Essential plan - Free trial: There’s a [14-day free trial](https://seranking.com/?ga=3996377&source=https://selfmademillennials.com/ahrefs-alternatives/), after which you have to upgrade to keep using the tool ![SE Ranking](https://selfmademillennials.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/se-ranking.webp) [SE Ranking](https://seranking.com/?ga=3996377&source=https://selfmademillennials.com/ahrefs-alternatives/) is an all-in-one SEO software for agencies, business owners, and SEO professionals. It offers a wide range of tools for keyword tracking, website audits, competitor analysis, backlink monitoring, and more. SE Ranking is a more affordable Ahrefs alternative, starting at \$65/month for the core SEO tools except for AI Search, Content and Marketing toolkits, On-page, and SERP analysis. To unlock additional features, you’ll have to upgrade to SE Ranking Pro (\$119 monthly) or SE Ranking Business (\$259 monthly). Here’s a brief overview of SE Ranking’s key features to help you with all kinds of SEO tasks: - Keyword Generator — It’s similar to Semrush’s Keyword Magic Tool and helps you generate keyword ideas based on your seed keyword. - Keyword Grouper — It’s a keyword cluster tool to help you group similar keywords based on search intent. - Keyword Rank Tracker – Monitors organic keyword positions across search engines and devices. - AI Overviews Tracker — It’s a new tool to help you analyze AI snippets for your target keywords. - On-Page SEO Checker – This feature helps you audit your website pages for optimization opportunities. - Website Audit – Scans your site for technical SEO issues and recommends fixes. - Backlink Checker – Analyzes backlink profiles for your site and competitors. - Competitor Analysis Tool – Reveals competitors’ keywords, traffic, and ad strategies. - AI Content Generator – This feature helps you generate and optimize content based on your target keyword. It also integrates with Google Docs. - Local Marketing Toolkit — Helps manage local SEO campaigns to reach more customers in your target area. - Agency Success Toolkit — Designed to help SEO agencies succeed with features like Lead Generator, SEO Reports Generator, and SEO API, to name a few. I’ve used SE Ranking for over 6 months to track my website’s performance. Even though I currently use Ubersuggest (more about it later) and Semrush, SERanking is a decent solution if you want a more affordable tool. ![SE Rankings dashboard](https://selfmademillennials.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/SE-Rankings-dashboard.webp) For just \$65 monthly, you get access to a 4.2 billion keyword and 1.9 billion backlinks databases across 188 countries. If you are an agency with multiple client projects, you can track up to 2,000 keywords for 30 domains with 3 user seats for just \$119 monthly. Similar to Semrush, you can manage up to 5 domains and track up to 500 keywords. The user interface reminds me of Semrus. So, if you’ve used Semrush in the past, you’ll quickly get used to the tool. Now, let me show you my comparison of Ahrefs’ and SE Rankings’ data from October for my website. \| Category \| SE Ranking \| Ahrefs \| Google Search Console \| \|---\|---\|---\|---\| \| Organic traffic \| 3,300 \| 47,400 \| 8,000 \| \| Top 3 pages based on organic traffic \| AI SEO tools AI Marketing tools Ahrefs alternatives \| AI SEO tools Ahrefs alternatives AI marketing tools \| AI SEO tools AI marketing tools Ahrefs alternatives \| \| Number of keywords \| 7,400 \| 3,350 \| \| \| Referring domains \| 612 \| 453 \| \| \| Number of backlinks \| 2,000 \| 1,300 \| \| Just like with Ahrefs, the numbers you see in SE Ranking don’t quite match what’s shown in Google Search Console. It’s still useful as a reference, but keep in mind that your competitors might actually be doing better than what SE Ranking shows. I was honestly surprised to see the low organic traffic estimate, only 610 visits a month for my top post on AI SEO tools. On the other side, the backlink data was pretty spot on and almost identical to what Ahrefs shows. ![SE Rankings URL check](https://selfmademillennials.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/SE-Rankings-URL-check.webp) If you want to try SE Ranking, keep in mind that it doesn’t have a free plan. Once your [14-day free trial](https://seranking.com/?ga=3996377&source=https://selfmademillennials.com/ahrefs-alternatives/) ends, you’ll lose access to all your data. That could be a big deal for your business. The Agency Success Pack is only available if you upgrade to either the SERanking Pro (\$119/month) or Business (\$259/month) plans, and you’ll need to commit to a yearly plan. The good news? You save 20% with the annual subscription. When it comes to historical data on keywords and domains, you’ll only get 3 months of data with the Pro plan. If you need full historical data, you’ll need the Business plan. I know this could be a bit confusing. From what I’ve seen, having access to historical data is key to analyzing performance and data trends. Take a look at my detailed comparison of [Semrush vs. SE Ranking](https://selfmademillennials.com/se-ranking-vs-semrush/) if you are wondering which one is worth using. ![SE Ranking pricing 2025](https://selfmademillennials.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/SE-Ranking-pricing-2025.webp) ## 4\. Writesonic - Unique features: GEO, Chatsonic (their AI agent), and the AI Article Writer. - Pricing: Plans start at \$249/month and include SEO, content tools, plus AI search tracking and optimization. - Free trial: You can try it [free for 7 days](https://writesonic.com/?fpr=seo-tool&fp_sid=ahrfsalt), no credit card required. There’s also a free plan if you just want to test things out. Writesonic can help your brand show up in AI search results and speed up your content creation process. It feels more modern than most SEO tools, as if it were designed for AI search first rather than adapted later. I’d compare Writesonic to Semrush’s AI Visibility and Content Toolkits. I wrote a detailed [Writesonic review](https://selfmademillennials.com/writesonic-review/) sharing my experience with their content generation workflow, Chatsonic AI agent, and GEO functionality. If interested, take a quick look since I soubt anyone on the web shares that many details. ![Writesonic dashoard Feb 2026](https://selfmademillennials.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Writesonic-dashoard-Feb-2026-1024x554.webp) Here’s what you can do with Writesonic: - You can teach Writesonic’s bot how you write, including your tone, style, and voice. So, it creates content that actually sounds like you. - Track how your brand shows up across LLMs like ChatGPT, Perplexity.ai, and AI Overviews, including visibility, rankings, and sentiment. - Run a free site audit for up to 100 pages. If you’re on a paid plan, you can check bigger sites, such as 200 pages or more. - Get custom content ideas tailored for your website and create an [SEO content strategy](https://selfmademillennials.com/my-seo-content-strategy/) around them. - Do keyword research and find topics your audience is actively searching for, kind of like what Answer the Public does. - Research [keyword clusters](https://selfmademillennials.com/keyword-clustering-tools/) to plan out pillar pages and supporting articles. - Create different types of content like listicles, how-to guides, or news-style articles. - Generate and customize outlines. - Optimize content for rankings with SEO Checker and Optimizer - Do competitor research, compare your content performance to your competitors, and get improvement recommendations. - Rewrite or [humanize AI-generated content](https://selfmademillennials.com/how-to-humanize-ai-content/). - Look into which keywords and pages perform best on your site. One thing that really caught my eye is that Writesonic connects with tools like Ahrefs, Google Analytics, and Google Search Console to pull in keyword data, domain overview, and site audit insights. Even if you don’t have your own Ahrefs account, you still get access to their insights. ![Writesonic integration with other tools](https://selfmademillennials.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Writesonic-integration-with-other-tools.webp) ### Writesonic for tracking AI search visibility Writesonic has features that can help site owners track how visible their content is in AI search results. I’ll be honest, I had a pretty tough experience at first. After I upgraded, the GEO feature didn’t work for almost two weeks. I sent an email to the founder, but never got a reply. I also reached out to support, but they don’t have live chat, which was pretty annoying. When support eventually got back to me, they sent me a list of things to try fixing on my end. The funny thing is, right after they responded, everything started working. So I’m guessing the problem was actually on their side. Here’s what you can do with Writesonic GEO: - You can check how your website ranks in ChatGPT, Perplexity, and AI Overviews against your competitors. - See which LLMs cite your content and which pages they link to. - Keep track of when your brand gets mentioned. - Try the suggested prompts for your industry, or add your own custom ones. - Find relevant prompts through the Topics & Prompts tool. - Monitor AI bot traffic and errors with AI Bot Analytics (you’ll need a WordPress plugin for this). When I started checking citation numbers for my website, I noticed that the data doesn’t match what other tools show. For instance, Semrush says I have 117 mentions and 179 cited pages globally. But Writesonic only shows 1 cited page and 0 mentions. I’ll update this if things change later on, but right now, the numbers seem off. If you’re thinking about trying Writesonic, I’d say test it out before you commit to a long subscription. The 7-day free trial is helpful for that. And if you do give it a shot, just go for the Professional plan. The cheaper options don’t include the AI features, and those are really the main reason to use Writesonic in the first place. ![Writesonic citation overview](https://selfmademillennials.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Writesonic-citation-overview-1024x555.webp) I upgraded to the Writesonic Professional plan for \$249/m because none of their cheaper plans include AI + SEO + Content functionality. It’s honestly a very expensive tool, and the only reason I decided to upgrade was their AI-SEO automated workflows for content creation. I’ve shared [my experience with using Writesonic AI SEO agent in this post.](https://news.selfmademillennials.com/p/testing-writesonic-for-ai-seo-workflows) ![Writesonic pricing 2025](https://selfmademillennials.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Writesonic-pricing-2025.webp) ## 5\. Ubersuggest - Unique features: Top SEO opportunities report, Chrome extension, AI Search Visibility, AI Prompt research. - Pricing: Starts at \$29 monthly or \$290 lifetime to manage one domain - Free trial: There’s a 7-day free trial and a limited free plan. ![Ubersuggest SEO Tool Jan 2026](https://selfmademillennials.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Ubersuggest-SEO-Tool-Jan-2026-1024x549.webp) For \$290, most SEO tools only give you a month or two of access. But with Ubersuggest, you get lifetime access for managing one website at that price. I bought the Individual plan back in December 2024 because I was looking for an affordable SEO tool for my website. It’s now February 2026, and I’m still using it regularly\! Ubersuggest is a cheaper alternative to Ahrefs. It’s perfect if you’re running a small business or just doing SEO for your own website and don’t want to spend a fortune. Neil Patel bought Ubersuggest in 2017 because he wanted to make an SEO tool that could compete with the pricier options out there. Here’s what you get for \$29 a month or \$290 lifetime: - One user seat to manage one domain - 150 searches daily - Track 5 competitors - Analyze competitors’ top-ranking pages and keywords - Scan 1,000 pages per domain - Access up to 20,000 keyword suggestions - Get 200 content ideas - Track up to 2,000 backlinks from the past 3 years - See new and lost backlinks over the last 30 days - Ability to track 10 AI prompts per project - Research up to 25 prompts at a time - Track up to 125 keywords - SEO training and support That’s a pretty generous pricing plan, isn’t it? For some of my top-ranking keywords, Ubersuggest gives more accurate keyword ranking updates than Ahrefs. The Individual plan lets you track up to 125 keywords for one domain. If you need more, you can purchase an add-on for 250 keywords for just \$5 a month. ![Ubersuggest rank tracking Feb 2026](https://selfmademillennials.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Ubersuggest-rank-tracking-Feb-2026-1024x554.webp) Ubersuggest has added a new report called AI Keyword Overview as part of their keyword research tools. It’s basically your typical [keyword research](https://selfmademillennials.com/keyword-research-for-seo/) report, but with some important data specifically for optimizing your content for AI search. Since I’m on the Solo plan, I don’t have access to some features, like the AI summary. However, even with that limitation, the data I can get from this report is really valuable. For instance, you can check which brands pop up most often in AI Overviews and LLMs when people search for keywords like “[AI SEO](https://selfmademillennials.com/ai-seo-tools/).” You can also see the top sources that AI uses when answering prompts. My site, Self Made Millennials, actually showed up as the second source, which I’m pretty happy about\! The report also lists the top 10 regular search results, and they don’t always match up with what AI Overviews and language models are showing. I’d also recommend checking out the AI Prompt Ideas report. It gives you relevant prompt suggestions based on your main keyword. I use this all the time when I’m writing FAQ sections for my blog posts. It saves me so much time because I don’t have to go hunting for these prompt ideas elsewhere. For only \$29 a month, Ubersuggest gives you a pretty solid set of SEO and AI tools if you’re managing a website. ![Ubersuggest AI Keyword overview](https://selfmademillennials.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Ubersuggest-AI-Keyword-overview-1024x555.webp) I was curious where Ubersuggest gets its data, so I came across their [post](https://ubersuggest.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4405451545499-Ubersuggest-Traffic-Estimations) explaining how they estimate organic traffic. Here’s what they consider: - “Keyword Analysis: We evaluate the monthly search volume of each keyword in our database. - Rankings and Websites: We analyze website rankings for these keywords and their respective positions. - Position-Based CTR Analysis: We assess the typical CTR for these positions. - Comprehensive Traffic Calculation: We aggregate this data with additional information, such as the traffic of each page and, if applicable, data from other countries.” Even though people have mixed opinions about Ubersuggest on [Reddit](https://www.reddit.com/r/SEO/comments/kk56z3/is_ubersuggest_accurate/?sort=new), I agree with one user who said it’s a solid tool for tracking. If you need [SEO software for small businesses](https://selfmademillennials.com/seo-tools-for-small-businesses/) or have a side-project website, it’s definitely worth using. ![ubersuggest review on reddit](https://selfmademillennials.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/ubersuggest-review-on-reddit.webp) ## What’s the best Ahrefs alternative? After years of [DIY SEO](https://selfmademillennials.com/diy-seo/) and working with lots of different SEO tools, I could say I mainly use [Semrush](https://selfmademillennials.com/recommend/semrush-ahrefs-alternative). However, this hasn’t always been the case. Additionally, it took me a lot of time to test the existing solutions and identify those I can rely on based on their data accuracy and features. If you’ve just started looking for an alternative to Ahrefs, I suggest asking yourself, “What exactly do you need it for?” Not all SEO tools do the same thing well. Some are great for niche keyword research, others shine when it comes to backlink tracking, and a few are better for content ideas. Before jumping into another tool, think about the tasks you do most often. Are you focused on growing organic traffic, spying on competitors, or building links? Your daily SEO workflow should guide your decision. It also helps to think about how experienced you are—some tools are beginner-friendly, while others, like Screaming Frog, will take time to master. And, of course, budget plays a role, especially if you’re a freelancer or small business owner. Instead of asking, “What’s the best?” ask, “What’s the best for me right now?” That mindset shift makes the choice a whole lot easier. ## Is Ahrefs free? No, Ahrefs is not free. Ahrefs Lite plan starts at \$129/month, but if you want access to AI SEO features, that’s part of the Standard plan for \$240/month. Ahrefs offers a Webmaster Tool for verified domain owners, but it only lets you monitor your website’s performance, but most features aren’t available for free. However, all the alternatives I’ve reviewed offer either free plans (like Semrush’s limited free version) or free trials (7-14 days) so you can test them before committing. Ubersuggest is the closest to a free Ahrefs alternative with its lifetime deal at \$290. ## Do I recommend the Ahrefs Starter plan? [Ahrefs Starter plan](https://ahrefs.com/blog/starter-plan/) is a lighter and more affordable version of Ahrefs. You get access to some of their core SEO tools, including: - SEO Dashboard - Site Explorer - Keywords Explorer - Site Audit - Rank Tracker (you can track up to 40 keywords) - Ahrefs SEO Toolbar - Web Analytics One important thing to know is the credit limit. The Starter plan comes with 100 credits. You use one credit when you open most reports, except Site Audit and Rank Tracker. Once those credits are gone, you lose access to the tools even if your paid month is not over yet. In my opinion, the Ahrefs Starter plan is suitable for small website owners or people who are just starting out. Just be careful with the credit limits because they can disappear faster than you expect. ## Do I recommend Ahrefs Webmaster Tools? Yes, absolutely. [Ahrefs Webmaster Tools](https://ahrefs.com/webmaster-tools) is a free option for verified website owners. It gives you access to three core Ahrefs tools: Web Analytics, Site Audit, and Site Explorer. You can only use it for your own website, and you’ll need to verify your domain first. I did this through Google Search Console. The downside is that you can’t analyze competitors or check links for other websites. ![newsletter green icon](https://selfmademillennials.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/newsletter-1.webp) From My Desk to Your Inbox Join the newsletter for actionable SEO tips, case studies, and a behind-the-scenes look at my affiliate marketing journey. [Subscribe](https://news.selfmademillennials.com/) No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. ![Victoria Kurichenko blog post author](https://selfmademillennials.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Victoria-Kurichenko-blog-post-author-1-scaled.webp) Hello there\! I’m Victoria Kurichenko, the founder of Self Made Millennials, an SEO specialist, and content creator. I create content that resonates, inspires, and matches what people are truly searching for. Join My Newsletter Get weekly practical SEO tips, real case studies, and a look inside my affiliate marketing journey. [Subscribe](https://news.selfmademillennials.com/) [14-Day SEO + AI Trial](https://semrush.sjv.io/c/3301176/3371085/13053?subid1=website&sharedid=banner) [![Semrush One banner](https://selfmademillennials.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Semrush-One-banner.gif)](https://semrush.sjv.io/c/3301176/3371085/13053?subid1=website&sharedid=banner) [Grab My SEO Ebook](https://selfmademillennials.com/my-ebooks/) [![SEO ebook on ipad 2026](https://selfmademillennials.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/SEO-ebook-on-ipad-2026-751x1024.webp)](https://selfmademillennials.com/my-ebooks/) Table of Contents Related Posts [5 SEO Tools for Agencies (Reviewed by an SEO Expert)](https://selfmademillennials.com/seo-software-for-agencies/) [Top 7 SEO Newsletters In 2026 (Handpicked by an SEO Expert)](https://selfmademillennials.com/seo-newsletters/) [SE Ranking vs. Semrush (2026): Tested & Compared](https://selfmademillennials.com/se-ranking-vs-semrush/) [![SEO Software for Agencies](https://selfmademillennials.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/seo-software-products.jpg)](https://selfmademillennials.com/seo-software-for-agencies/) - [SEO Tools](https://selfmademillennials.com/category/seo-tools/) - [December 24, 2025](https://selfmademillennials.com/2025/12/24/) ### [5 SEO Tools for Agencies (Reviewed by an SEO Expert)](https://selfmademillennials.com/seo-software-for-agencies/) If you landed on this article, chances are you’re looking for the best SEO software for agencies that can actually make your team’s work easier, [Read Article](https://selfmademillennials.com/seo-software-for-agencies/) [![seo newsletters](https://selfmademillennials.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/SEO-newsletters.jpg)](https://selfmademillennials.com/seo-newsletters/) - [Learn SEO](https://selfmademillennials.com/category/learn-seo/) - [January 3, 2026](https://selfmademillennials.com/2026/01/03/) ### [Top 7 SEO Newsletters In 2026 (Handpicked by an SEO Expert)](https://selfmademillennials.com/seo-newsletters/) Are you an aspiring SEO professional looking to join the best SEO newsletters? Yes? Then you are in the right place! I’m an SEO expert [Read Article](https://selfmademillennials.com/seo-newsletters/) [![SE Ranking vs. Semrush](https://selfmademillennials.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/SE-Ranking-vs.-Semrush.jpg)](https://selfmademillennials.com/se-ranking-vs-semrush/) - [Semrush 101](https://selfmademillennials.com/category/semrush-101/) - [January 20, 2026](https://selfmademillennials.com/2026/01/20/) ### [SE Ranking vs. Semrush (2026): Tested & Compared](https://selfmademillennials.com/se-ranking-vs-semrush/) I’ve been using SE Ranking Pro for about six months, and my subscription officially ended on January 10, 2026. In parallel, I’ve used Semrush for [Read Article](https://selfmademillennials.com/se-ranking-vs-semrush/) ## One Response 1. ![](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/213e65deb158ae7c4e1f6b55970bafce0390fe1ee22be7136bdf4c1b1ac46f98?s=42&d=mm&r=g) eileen valedz says: [January 15, 2026 at 3:48 pm](https://selfmademillennials.com/ahrefs-alternatives/#comment-2305) Thanks for sharing nice post [Reply](https://selfmademillennials.com/ahrefs-alternatives/#comment-2305) ## Leave a Reply [Cancel reply](https://selfmademillennials.com/ahrefs-alternatives/#respond) [![Self Made Millennials logo](https://selfmademillennials.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Self-Made-Millennials-logo.webp)](https://selfmademillennials.com/) Empowering content creators and SEO professionals to build sustainable organic traffic through proven strategies. 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Readable Markdown	Ahrefs was the very first SEO tool I ever used. That was way back in 2015, when I was just starting out in digital marketing. Over the years, they’ve added many new features, but honestly, the overall design hasn’t changed much. Ahrefs has also kept my favorite report —Top Pages. It shows the top organic pages for any website. I use it all the time to track which pages perform best on my own site and to peek at what’s working for competitors. For a long time, Ahrefs has been a go-to tool for SEO professionals. It’s very SEO-focused, especially compared to Semrush, which tries to be an all-in-one platform for entire marketing teams. ### Why I stopped using Ahrefs’ paid plans I stopped using Ahrefs Lite when they introduced the credit system. I’m still actively using Ahrefs free tool, Webmaster Tool, but that’s basically it. I remember consuming credits quickly, and I had to pay extra to continue using the tool. I wasn’t happy with the new payment plans because I could never predict how much their SEO toolkit would cost me each month. I know they’ve updated the credit system since then, but that still wasn’t enough to convince me to come back. There’s also an issue with the Ahrefs data that I don’t see many people talking about: Ahrefs shows much higher organic traffic numbers than what I see in Google Search Console or Google Analytics. For example, in January 2026, Ahrefs estimated my site was getting 65k organic visits. Meanwhile, Google Analytics showed around 7k organic sessions, and that’s after Google’s December and January algorithm updates. That’s a massive gap. Have you noticed something similar? I even tried to bring this up on Reddit in a post by Tim Soulo, but my comment was removed. Tools like Semrush and SE Ranking provide a more accurate organic traffic estimate. Yes, they’re still estimates, but they’re much closer to what I actually see in my real data. So, if you’re looking for the best Ahrefs alternatives that are affordable and offer solid data, I’ve got a few great options to share, the ones I’ve actually used myself. ### How I test SEO tools Here’s what I usually look at when evaluating a tool: - Pricing first: Budget matters. Therefore, I always check if the pricing makes sense for what you’re actually getting. - Promises vs. reality: I compare the marketing promises with how tools actually perform. Sometimes their sales page sounds amazing, but the product doesn’t live up to it. - Talking to the team: I often reach out directly to people working on the tool. Getting answers straight from the source helps me understand how tools actually work. - Reddit deep dives: Reddit is one of my favorite places for feedback. People are honest there and don’t make up their experiences. - Hands-on testing: I’ve personally used every tool mentioned below. I’ve tested the main features and run performance reports. I’ve recently come across some newer Ahrefs alternatives for SEO experts that you might not know about yet, such as Search Atlas and Writesonic (I’ll get into them shortly). P.S. This post contains a few affiliate links. If you choose to use any of these tools, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. I’m sharing this because I believe in being transparent. Whether or not you use these links, I genuinely support these tools as I’ve personally used all of them. 🙌 My top 5 Ahrefs alternatives Based on the criteria that I shared above, I’ve picked a few [SEO tools](https://selfmademillennials.com/best-seo-tools/) like Ahrefs I believe are the best alternatives you can use. Let me provide a brief overview of each tool to help you gain a better understanding. 1. [Semrush SEO Toolkit](https://selfmademillennials.com/recommend/semrush-ahrefs-alternative) – Has more accurate data than Ahrefs and over 55 SEO features. If you are looking for an SEO + AI search visibility toolkit, Semrush has recently launched [Semrush One](https://selfmademillennials.com/recommend/semrush-one-alternative-ahrefs). It’s an AI SEO tool that combines two toolkits under one subscription. 2. [Search Atlas](https://selfmademillennials.com/recommend/search-atlas-ahrefs-alternative) — An affordable alternative to Ahrefs that offers an AI SEO solution for agencies. 3. [SERanking](https://seranking.com/?ga=3996377&source=https://selfmademillennials.com/ahrefs-alternatives/) — SEO software for agencies with an AI Overviews tracker. 4. [Writesonic](https://writesonic.com/?fpr=seo-tool&fp_sid=ahrfsalt) — An AI-powered SEO agent for all SEO, content writing, and generative engine optimization (GEO) tasks. 5. [Ubersuggest](https://neilpatel.com/ubersuggest/) — My top SEO pick for hobbyists and small site owners. P.S. This post contains a few affiliate links. If you choose to use any of these tools, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. I’m sharing this because I believe in being transparent. Whether or not you use these links, I genuinely support these tools as I’ve personally used all of them. ![🙌](https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/16.0.1/svg/1f64c.svg) 1\. Semrush SEO Toolkit - Unique features: AI assistant providing personalized data for your domain, AI brand insights - Pricing: Starts at \$139/month for the Semrush Pro plan. Semrush One, which combines traditional SEO + AI search solution, starts at \$199/month. - Free trial: Semrush SEO Toolkit has a free version where you can conduct 10 free searches daily. But you can also sign up for a [14-day free trial](https://selfmademillennials.com/recommend/semrush-ahrefs-alternative). You can also test Semrush One for free for 14 days using my partner [link](https://selfmademillennials.com/recommend/semrush-one-alternative-ahrefs). ![Semrush SEO Toolkit](https://selfmademillennials.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Semrush-SEO-Toolkit-1024x504.webp) Semrush is one of the most popular Ahrefs alternatives that has been around since 2008. Today, it offers 55 different tools for online marketers. On top of the core SEO Toolkit, Semrush also gives you access to several add-on toolkits, depending on what you need. These extras typically come with a 7-day free trial but incur additional costs on top of your regular SEO Toolkit subscription. Here’s a quick rundown: - Content Toolkit (formerly [ContentShake AI](https://selfmademillennials.com/contentshake-ai-review/)) to help you optimize your content production process - [AI Visibility Toolkit](https://selfmademillennials.com/semrush-ai-seo-toolkit-review/) to help you track your brand’s performance in AI search results - Social Media Kit helps with social media management across different platforms - Advertising Toolkit to research, plan, launch, and optimize online ad campaigns - Local Business Kit to manage your Google Business Profile and online reviews - Traffic and Market Insights to find what works for your competitors and how they grow - [Semrush One](https://selfmademillennials.com/recommend/semrush-one-alternative-ahrefs) brings together two toolkits in one plan, giving you all the data, insights, and tools you need to succeed in search on both search engines and AI chat platforms. ![Semrush One March 2026](https://selfmademillennials.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Semrush-One-March-2026-1024x506.webp) It’s a pretty robust platform if you’re handling multiple parts of your online marketing in one place. For this article, I’ll mainly talk about Semrush’s SEO and AI Toolkits, since they are solid alternatives to Ahrefs I’d recommend trying. Just like Ahrefs, I’ve been familiar with Semrush since 2015 and used it occasionally. One feature that makes me choose Semrush over Ahrefs is the Keyword Magic Tool. As an SEO specialist and a content writer, I frequently conduct keyword research for both my site and my clients. And for that, I need robust tools. Keyword Magic Tool lets you pull up thousands of keyword ideas from just one seed keyword. It’s super efficient. Plus, their filters can help you quickly narrow the keyword list down. I can find keywords that are realistic to target and have business value. Also, Semrush has introduced a unique feature — a personal AI assistant. It gives you keyword suggestions based on your website’s domain authority, so you’re not just guessing what you can rank for. It’s a very helpful feature. ![Semrush keyword magic tool March 2026](https://selfmademillennials.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Semrush-keyword-magic-tool-March-2026-1024x665.webp) I’ve also been positively impressed by Semrush’s Position Tracker tool, which detected keyword ranking changes faster than Ahrefs (in my case). Right now, I’m using Semrush’s free plan. It lets you track up to 8 keywords. I use it to keep an eye on my top keywords and compare results with Ahrefs and Ubersuggest (I’ve got a lifetime deal on that one). Here’s what I like about Semrush’s Position Tracking tool: - It updates keyword rankings every day - You get a visibility chart to see how you’re doing over time - It shows when you add or remove keywords - You can compare keyword performance weekly, monthly, quarterly, or yearly - It even emails you regular performance reports Below is a sample rank tracking report for my site. If you upgrade to [Semrush Pro](https://selfmademillennials.com/recommend/semrush-ahrefs-alternative), you can track up to 500 keywords across 5 domains. ![Semrush Position Tracking March 2026](https://selfmademillennials.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Semrush-Position-Tracking-March-2026-1024x664.webp) Here’s what Akshay Negi, a brand marketing expert, [says](https://www.linkedin.com/posts/victoria-kurichenko_seo-seowriter-seoservices-activity-7295132504913494016-9ooH/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop&rcm=ACoAACLSZ70BlrVpIBhQTJaiYJo1mYzIfqB0_0g) about using Semrush’s Position Tracking tool to boost his online business: ![quote from Linkedin about Semrush position tracking](https://selfmademillennials.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/quote-from-Linkedin-about-Semrush-position-tracking.webp) If you want to dive deeper into how LLMs see your brand, I recommend checking Semrush’s AI Visibility Toolkit, which includes: - 1 domain for brand performance analysis - 300 daily queries in AI Analysis reports - 25 prompts for prompt tracking - AI Search Checks in Site Audit for up to 100 pages - 6 new regions for ChatGPT, AI overview, AI mode: US, UK, Canada, Australia, India, Spain, Japan, and Mexico. Semrush MCP access is now open to regular Semrush users, not only enterprise accounts like before. So you can use all 50,000 API credits when working with LLMs, such as [Claude](https://news.selfmademillennials.com/p/i-connected-semrush-to-claude) or ChatGPT. ![Semrush AI Visibility report March 2026](https://selfmademillennials.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Semrush-AI-Visibility-report-March-2026-1-1024x541.webp) Comparing Semrush and Ahrefs organic performance data I shared my detailed comparison of both tools in my [Semrush vs. Ahrefs](https://selfmademillennials.com/semrush-vs-ahrefs/) post, but I’d like to help you better understand how the data accuracy of both tools compares. Here’s a quick look at my website’s SEO metrics from January 2026: \| Category \| Semrush \| Ahrefs \| Google Search Console \| \|---\|---\|---\|---\| \| Organic traffic \| 24,295 \| 64,913 \| 4,110 \| \| Top 3 pages based on organic traffic \| Ahrefs alternatives AI SEO tools SEO books \| Ahrefs alternatives AI SEO tools Semrush vs Ahrefs \| AI SEO tools AI marketing tools Ahrefs alternatives \| \| Number of keywords \| 6,870 \| 1,500 \| \| \| Referring domains \| 799 \| 574 \| \| \| Number of backlinks \| 3,200 \| 1,600 \| \| It’s worth mentioning that Ahrefs’ overall keyword database is bigger (as of February 2026), but Semrush provides more keyword variations for the USA if that’s your target location. - Semrush keyword database: 27.9 billion keywords in 142 locations, 3.8 billion keywords in the USA alone - Ahrefs keyword database: 28.7 billion keywords in 217 locations, 2.4 billion keywords in the USA alone What this means for you is that Ahrefs will potentially be able to identify and show you more keyword opportunities. However, Semrush can offer you more keyword opportunities specifically for the USA. These numbers can change anytime since both tools always update their databases. That’s why I’ll be checking Ahrefs’ Keyword Explorer page and Semrush’s stats occasionally to keep my article up to date. You can learn more about the tool in my [Semrush review](https://selfmademillennials.com/semrush-review/). Semrush offers a 7-day money-back guarantee if you upgrade to a paid plan but don’t want to keep it for some reason. I once upgraded to the Semrush Pro plan by mistake, which cost me \$139.95. I reached out to their support, and they gave me my money back within a few days. Just send them a request within 7 days of signing up, and they’ll refund you. It’s that simple. If you’ve been thinking about trying Semrush Pro, here’s a little perk—my partner link gives you [a 14-day free trial to Semrush Pro](https://selfmademillennials.com/recommend/semrush-ahrefs-alternative) instead of the usual 7 days. Just a small way to get more time to explore and see if it’s a good fit! ![😊](https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/16.0.1/svg/1f60a.svg) ![Semrush pricing March 2026](https://selfmademillennials.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Semrush-pricing-March-2026-1024x645.webp) 2\. Search Atlas - Unique features: OTTO SEO AI tool, Site Visualization, Keyword Magic Tool - Pricing: Starts at \$99/month for the Starter plan - Free trial: There’s a 7-day free trial. If you want to keep using the tool, you’ll have to upgrade to a paid plan after the free trial expires ![Search Atlas SEO tool March 2026](https://selfmademillennials.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Search-Atlas-SEO-tool-March-2026-1024x555.webp) [Search Atlas](https://selfmademillennials.com/recommend/search-atlas-ahrefs-alternative) is powerful SEO software for agencies and a solid Ahrefs competitor with an automated AI SEO assistant, called OTTO SEO. I first came across it on social media. Honestly, I kept seeing its ads everywhere. I shared the full story in my [Semrush vs. Search Atlas](https://selfmademillennials.com/search-atlas-vs-semrush/) review. After that, I got curious. I wanted to see if it could be a more affordable alternative to Ahrefs and what it actually offers. To me, Search Atlas feels like a mix of Semrush and Ahrefs. It has features like both and a similar layout. If you’ve used either of those tools before, Search Atlas will feel pretty familiar. I tested the Search Atlas Growth plan (\$199/month) in March 2026. It comes with a solid set of features, but I noticed that Search Atlas sometimes crashes, and some reports take a while to load. Here’s a quick look at the Site Overview report inside Search Atlas. It looks a lot like what you’d see in Ahrefs or Semrush. ![Search Atlas site explorer March 2026](https://selfmademillennials.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Search-Atlas-site-explorer-March-2026-1024x553.webp) Search Atlas has a Keyword Magic Tool, just like Semrush. You can use it to get keyword ideas from your seed keyword. It even has the same name as Semrush’s tool. Semrush gives you a few more filter options, but honestly, I don’t think it’s a big deal. Ahrefs doesn’t have this kind of tool at all. Unlike Ahrefs, Search Atlas provides you with your consumption stats, so you know when you’ll be running out of keyword checks. Search Atlas Growth plan (\$199/month) provides you with 2,000 keyword checks. Honestly, I don’t think that’s much, especially if you have to conduct keyword research for multiple different websites. I’ve also published an in-depth [Search Atlas review](https://selfmademillennials.com/search-atlas-review/) recently to help you get a detailed overview of the tool’s features and data accuracy. ![Search Atlas Keyword Magic Tool March 2026](https://selfmademillennials.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Search-Atlas-Keyword-Magic-Tool-March-2026-1024x553.webp) Now, let me quickly show you how Ahrefs and Search Atlas compare in terms of data accuracy. It’s seriously my favorite thing to do – testing and comparing tools’ data accuracy. Here’s the data comparison for my website from March 2026: \| Category \| Search Atlas \| Ahrefs \| Google Search Console \| \|---\|---\|---\|---\| \| Organic traffic \| 15\.5k \| 36k \| 1\.76k \| \| Top 3 pages based on organic traffic \| AI SEO tools, AI marketing tools, Ahrefs alternatives \| AI SEO tools, Ahrefs alternatives, AI marketing tools \| AI SEO tools, AI marketing tools, Ahrefs alternatives \| \| Number of keywords \| 4k \| 1\.2k \| \| \| Referring domains \| 841 \| 594 \| \| \| Number of backlinks \| 3\.7k \| 1\.9k \| \| Even though Search Atlas’ data isn’t perfect, it’s still pretty close to the actual numbers from Google Search Console. I agree it’s just an estimate for one month, but it gives you a good idea of what’s going on. I even tried looking for something like Semrush’s “Stats” page and asked ChatGPT for help. In the end, I found an interesting comment under one of their Facebook ads… ![Where Search Atlas gets its data from](https://selfmademillennials.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Where-Search-Atlas-gets-its-data-from.webp) First off, it’s awesome that the Search Atlas team tracks brand mentions and actually responds to people. I don’t see that much with other tools. This makes me think that Search Atlas probably pulls data from your Google Search Console account to track your site’s performance and give improvement tips. If I find out more about where they get their data, I’ll update this post. Overall, I think Search Atlas is a great Ahrefs alternative for SEO. It has more features and uses AI to power its site audit tool. I’ve also checked what users say about Search Atlas on the web and stumbled upon a fresh Reddit thread, where one of the Reddit users [shared](https://www.reddit.com/r/SEO/comments/1kwi4ju/anyone_tried_search_atlas/) the following: ![Search Atlas on Reddit](https://selfmademillennials.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Search-Atlas-on-Reddit-1024x327-1.webp) Search Atlas gives you a 7-day free trial, but you’ll need to link a credit card to activate it. I know it’s a bit of a hassle, but it’s the only way to test the tool. I’ve paid for the tool multiple times, and I can confirm they won’t charge your card during the trial. If you cancel the trial early, you’ll lose access to the tool right away. So, it’s best to make the most of the 7 days to see if it works for your business. Curious how Search Atlas stacks up against tools like Ahrefs or Semrush? [Try Search Atlas free for 7 days](https://selfmademillennials.com/recommend/search-atlas-ahrefs-alternative) and see how this all-in-one SEO tool works. P.S. I actually got to meet Fidan and a few people from the Search Atlas team in person at the [SEO IRL conference](https://selfmademillennials.com/seo-irl-2025-recap/) in Toronto back in fall 2025. ![meeting search atlas team](https://selfmademillennials.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/meeting-search-atlas-team.webp) 3\. SE Ranking - Unique features: AI Overviews Tracker, Agency Success Kit, Local SEO toolkit - Pricing: Starts at \$65/month for the Essential plan - Free trial: There’s a [14-day free trial](https://seranking.com/?ga=3996377&source=https://selfmademillennials.com/ahrefs-alternatives/), after which you have to upgrade to keep using the tool ![SE Ranking](https://selfmademillennials.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/se-ranking.webp) [SE Ranking](https://seranking.com/?ga=3996377&source=https://selfmademillennials.com/ahrefs-alternatives/) is an all-in-one SEO software for agencies, business owners, and SEO professionals. It offers a wide range of tools for keyword tracking, website audits, competitor analysis, backlink monitoring, and more. SE Ranking is a more affordable Ahrefs alternative, starting at \$65/month for the core SEO tools except for AI Search, Content and Marketing toolkits, On-page, and SERP analysis. To unlock additional features, you’ll have to upgrade to SE Ranking Pro (\$119 monthly) or SE Ranking Business (\$259 monthly). Here’s a brief overview of SE Ranking’s key features to help you with all kinds of SEO tasks: - Keyword Generator — It’s similar to Semrush’s Keyword Magic Tool and helps you generate keyword ideas based on your seed keyword. - Keyword Grouper — It’s a keyword cluster tool to help you group similar keywords based on search intent. - Keyword Rank Tracker – Monitors organic keyword positions across search engines and devices. - AI Overviews Tracker — It’s a new tool to help you analyze AI snippets for your target keywords. - On-Page SEO Checker – This feature helps you audit your website pages for optimization opportunities. - Website Audit – Scans your site for technical SEO issues and recommends fixes. - Backlink Checker – Analyzes backlink profiles for your site and competitors. - Competitor Analysis Tool – Reveals competitors’ keywords, traffic, and ad strategies. - AI Content Generator – This feature helps you generate and optimize content based on your target keyword. It also integrates with Google Docs. - Local Marketing Toolkit — Helps manage local SEO campaigns to reach more customers in your target area. - Agency Success Toolkit — Designed to help SEO agencies succeed with features like Lead Generator, SEO Reports Generator, and SEO API, to name a few. I’ve used SE Ranking for over 6 months to track my website’s performance. Even though I currently use Ubersuggest (more about it later) and Semrush, SERanking is a decent solution if you want a more affordable tool. ![SE Rankings dashboard](https://selfmademillennials.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/SE-Rankings-dashboard.webp) For just \$65 monthly, you get access to a 4.2 billion keyword and 1.9 billion backlinks databases across 188 countries. If you are an agency with multiple client projects, you can track up to 2,000 keywords for 30 domains with 3 user seats for just \$119 monthly. Similar to Semrush, you can manage up to 5 domains and track up to 500 keywords. The user interface reminds me of Semrus. So, if you’ve used Semrush in the past, you’ll quickly get used to the tool. Now, let me show you my comparison of Ahrefs’ and SE Rankings’ data from October for my website. \| Category \| SE Ranking \| Ahrefs \| Google Search Console \| \|---\|---\|---\|---\| \| Organic traffic \| 3,300 \| 47,400 \| 8,000 \| \| Top 3 pages based on organic traffic \| AI SEO tools AI Marketing tools Ahrefs alternatives \| AI SEO tools Ahrefs alternatives AI marketing tools \| AI SEO tools AI marketing tools Ahrefs alternatives \| \| Number of keywords \| 7,400 \| 3,350 \| \| \| Referring domains \| 612 \| 453 \| \| \| Number of backlinks \| 2,000 \| 1,300 \| \| Just like with Ahrefs, the numbers you see in SE Ranking don’t quite match what’s shown in Google Search Console. It’s still useful as a reference, but keep in mind that your competitors might actually be doing better than what SE Ranking shows. I was honestly surprised to see the low organic traffic estimate, only 610 visits a month for my top post on AI SEO tools. On the other side, the backlink data was pretty spot on and almost identical to what Ahrefs shows. ![SE Rankings URL check](https://selfmademillennials.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/SE-Rankings-URL-check.webp) If you want to try SE Ranking, keep in mind that it doesn’t have a free plan. Once your [14-day free trial](https://seranking.com/?ga=3996377&source=https://selfmademillennials.com/ahrefs-alternatives/) ends, you’ll lose access to all your data. That could be a big deal for your business. The Agency Success Pack is only available if you upgrade to either the SERanking Pro (\$119/month) or Business (\$259/month) plans, and you’ll need to commit to a yearly plan. The good news? You save 20% with the annual subscription. When it comes to historical data on keywords and domains, you’ll only get 3 months of data with the Pro plan. If you need full historical data, you’ll need the Business plan. I know this could be a bit confusing. From what I’ve seen, having access to historical data is key to analyzing performance and data trends. Take a look at my detailed comparison of [Semrush vs. SE Ranking](https://selfmademillennials.com/se-ranking-vs-semrush/) if you are wondering which one is worth using. ![SE Ranking pricing 2025](https://selfmademillennials.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/SE-Ranking-pricing-2025.webp) 4\. Writesonic - Unique features: GEO, Chatsonic (their AI agent), and the AI Article Writer. - Pricing: Plans start at \$249/month and include SEO, content tools, plus AI search tracking and optimization. - Free trial: You can try it [free for 7 days](https://writesonic.com/?fpr=seo-tool&fp_sid=ahrfsalt), no credit card required. There’s also a free plan if you just want to test things out. Writesonic can help your brand show up in AI search results and speed up your content creation process. It feels more modern than most SEO tools, as if it were designed for AI search first rather than adapted later. I’d compare Writesonic to Semrush’s AI Visibility and Content Toolkits. I wrote a detailed [Writesonic review](https://selfmademillennials.com/writesonic-review/) sharing my experience with their content generation workflow, Chatsonic AI agent, and GEO functionality. If interested, take a quick look since I soubt anyone on the web shares that many details. ![Writesonic dashoard Feb 2026](https://selfmademillennials.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Writesonic-dashoard-Feb-2026-1024x554.webp) Here’s what you can do with Writesonic: - You can teach Writesonic’s bot how you write, including your tone, style, and voice. So, it creates content that actually sounds like you. - Track how your brand shows up across LLMs like ChatGPT, Perplexity.ai, and AI Overviews, including visibility, rankings, and sentiment. - Run a free site audit for up to 100 pages. If you’re on a paid plan, you can check bigger sites, such as 200 pages or more. - Get custom content ideas tailored for your website and create an [SEO content strategy](https://selfmademillennials.com/my-seo-content-strategy/) around them. - Do keyword research and find topics your audience is actively searching for, kind of like what Answer the Public does. - Research [keyword clusters](https://selfmademillennials.com/keyword-clustering-tools/) to plan out pillar pages and supporting articles. - Create different types of content like listicles, how-to guides, or news-style articles. - Generate and customize outlines. - Optimize content for rankings with SEO Checker and Optimizer - Do competitor research, compare your content performance to your competitors, and get improvement recommendations. - Rewrite or [humanize AI-generated content](https://selfmademillennials.com/how-to-humanize-ai-content/). - Look into which keywords and pages perform best on your site. One thing that really caught my eye is that Writesonic connects with tools like Ahrefs, Google Analytics, and Google Search Console to pull in keyword data, domain overview, and site audit insights. Even if you don’t have your own Ahrefs account, you still get access to their insights. ![Writesonic integration with other tools](https://selfmademillennials.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Writesonic-integration-with-other-tools.webp) Writesonic for tracking AI search visibility Writesonic has features that can help site owners track how visible their content is in AI search results. I’ll be honest, I had a pretty tough experience at first. After I upgraded, the GEO feature didn’t work for almost two weeks. I sent an email to the founder, but never got a reply. I also reached out to support, but they don’t have live chat, which was pretty annoying. When support eventually got back to me, they sent me a list of things to try fixing on my end. The funny thing is, right after they responded, everything started working. So I’m guessing the problem was actually on their side. Here’s what you can do with Writesonic GEO: - You can check how your website ranks in ChatGPT, Perplexity, and AI Overviews against your competitors. - See which LLMs cite your content and which pages they link to. - Keep track of when your brand gets mentioned. - Try the suggested prompts for your industry, or add your own custom ones. - Find relevant prompts through the Topics & Prompts tool. - Monitor AI bot traffic and errors with AI Bot Analytics (you’ll need a WordPress plugin for this). When I started checking citation numbers for my website, I noticed that the data doesn’t match what other tools show. For instance, Semrush says I have 117 mentions and 179 cited pages globally. But Writesonic only shows 1 cited page and 0 mentions. I’ll update this if things change later on, but right now, the numbers seem off. If you’re thinking about trying Writesonic, I’d say test it out before you commit to a long subscription. The 7-day free trial is helpful for that. And if you do give it a shot, just go for the Professional plan. The cheaper options don’t include the AI features, and those are really the main reason to use Writesonic in the first place. ![Writesonic citation overview](https://selfmademillennials.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Writesonic-citation-overview-1024x555.webp) I upgraded to the Writesonic Professional plan for \$249/m because none of their cheaper plans include AI + SEO + Content functionality. ![Writesonic pricing 2025](https://selfmademillennials.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Writesonic-pricing-2025.webp) 5\. Ubersuggest - Unique features: Top SEO opportunities report, Chrome extension, AI Search Visibility, AI Prompt research. - Pricing: Starts at \$29 monthly or \$290 lifetime to manage one domain - Free trial: There’s a 7-day free trial and a limited free plan. ![Ubersuggest SEO Tool Jan 2026](https://selfmademillennials.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Ubersuggest-SEO-Tool-Jan-2026-1024x549.webp) For \$290, most SEO tools only give you a month or two of access. But with Ubersuggest, you get lifetime access for managing one website at that price. I bought the Individual plan back in December 2024 because I was looking for an affordable SEO tool for my website. It’s now February 2026, and I’m still using it regularly\! Ubersuggest is a cheaper alternative to Ahrefs. It’s perfect if you’re running a small business or just doing SEO for your own website and don’t want to spend a fortune. Neil Patel bought Ubersuggest in 2017 because he wanted to make an SEO tool that could compete with the pricier options out there. Here’s what you get for \$29 a month or \$290 lifetime: - One user seat to manage one domain - 150 searches daily - Track 5 competitors - Analyze competitors’ top-ranking pages and keywords - Scan 1,000 pages per domain - Access up to 20,000 keyword suggestions - Get 200 content ideas - Track up to 2,000 backlinks from the past 3 years - See new and lost backlinks over the last 30 days - Ability to track 10 AI prompts per project - Research up to 25 prompts at a time - Track up to 125 keywords - SEO training and support That’s a pretty generous pricing plan, isn’t it? For some of my top-ranking keywords, Ubersuggest gives more accurate keyword ranking updates than Ahrefs. The Individual plan lets you track up to 125 keywords for one domain. If you need more, you can purchase an add-on for 250 keywords for just \$5 a month. ![Ubersuggest rank tracking Feb 2026](https://selfmademillennials.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Ubersuggest-rank-tracking-Feb-2026-1024x554.webp) Ubersuggest has added a new report called AI Keyword Overview as part of their keyword research tools. It’s basically your typical [keyword research](https://selfmademillennials.com/keyword-research-for-seo/) report, but with some important data specifically for optimizing your content for AI search. Since I’m on the Solo plan, I don’t have access to some features, like the AI summary. However, even with that limitation, the data I can get from this report is really valuable. For instance, you can check which brands pop up most often in AI Overviews and LLMs when people search for keywords like “[AI SEO](https://selfmademillennials.com/ai-seo-tools/).” You can also see the top sources that AI uses when answering prompts. My site, Self Made Millennials, actually showed up as the second source, which I’m pretty happy about\! The report also lists the top 10 regular search results, and they don’t always match up with what AI Overviews and language models are showing. I’d also recommend checking out the AI Prompt Ideas report. It gives you relevant prompt suggestions based on your main keyword. I use this all the time when I’m writing FAQ sections for my blog posts. It saves me so much time because I don’t have to go hunting for these prompt ideas elsewhere. For only \$29 a month, Ubersuggest gives you a pretty solid set of SEO and AI tools if you’re managing a website. ![Ubersuggest AI Keyword overview](https://selfmademillennials.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Ubersuggest-AI-Keyword-overview-1024x555.webp) I was curious where Ubersuggest gets its data, so I came across their [post](https://ubersuggest.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4405451545499-Ubersuggest-Traffic-Estimations) explaining how they estimate organic traffic. Here’s what they consider: - “Keyword Analysis: We evaluate the monthly search volume of each keyword in our database. - Rankings and Websites: We analyze website rankings for these keywords and their respective positions. - Position-Based CTR Analysis: We assess the typical CTR for these positions. - Comprehensive Traffic Calculation: We aggregate this data with additional information, such as the traffic of each page and, if applicable, data from other countries.” Even though people have mixed opinions about Ubersuggest on [Reddit](https://www.reddit.com/r/SEO/comments/kk56z3/is_ubersuggest_accurate/?sort=new), I agree with one user who said it’s a solid tool for tracking. If you need [SEO software for small businesses](https://selfmademillennials.com/seo-tools-for-small-businesses/) or have a side-project website, it’s definitely worth using. ![ubersuggest review on reddit](https://selfmademillennials.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/ubersuggest-review-on-reddit.webp) What’s the best Ahrefs alternative? After years of [DIY SEO](https://selfmademillennials.com/diy-seo/) and working with lots of different SEO tools, I could say I mainly use [Semrush](https://selfmademillennials.com/recommend/semrush-ahrefs-alternative). However, this hasn’t always been the case. Additionally, it took me a lot of time to test the existing solutions and identify those I can rely on based on their data accuracy and features. If you’ve just started looking for an alternative to Ahrefs, I suggest asking yourself, “What exactly do you need it for?” Not all SEO tools do the same thing well. Some are great for niche keyword research, others shine when it comes to backlink tracking, and a few are better for content ideas. Before jumping into another tool, think about the tasks you do most often. Are you focused on growing organic traffic, spying on competitors, or building links? Your daily SEO workflow should guide your decision. It also helps to think about how experienced you are—some tools are beginner-friendly, while others, like Screaming Frog, will take time to master. And, of course, budget plays a role, especially if you’re a freelancer or small business owner. Instead of asking, “What’s the best?” ask, “What’s the best for me right now?” That mindset shift makes the choice a whole lot easier. Is Ahrefs free? No, Ahrefs is not free. Ahrefs Lite plan starts at \$129/month, but if you want access to AI SEO features, that’s part of the Standard plan for \$240/month. Ahrefs offers a Webmaster Tool for verified domain owners, but it only lets you monitor your website’s performance, but most features aren’t available for free. However, all the alternatives I’ve reviewed offer either free plans (like Semrush’s limited free version) or free trials (7-14 days) so you can test them before committing. Ubersuggest is the closest to a free Ahrefs alternative with its lifetime deal at \$290. Do I recommend the Ahrefs Starter plan? [Ahrefs Starter plan](https://ahrefs.com/blog/starter-plan/) is a lighter and more affordable version of Ahrefs. You get access to some of their core SEO tools, including: - SEO Dashboard - Site Explorer - Keywords Explorer - Site Audit - Rank Tracker (you can track up to 40 keywords) - Ahrefs SEO Toolbar - Web Analytics One important thing to know is the credit limit. The Starter plan comes with 100 credits. You use one credit when you open most reports, except Site Audit and Rank Tracker. Once those credits are gone, you lose access to the tools even if your paid month is not over yet. In my opinion, the Ahrefs Starter plan is suitable for small website owners or people who are just starting out. Just be careful with the credit limits because they can disappear faster than you expect. Do I recommend Ahrefs Webmaster Tools? Yes, absolutely. [Ahrefs Webmaster Tools](https://ahrefs.com/webmaster-tools) is a free option for verified website owners. It gives you access to three core Ahrefs tools: Web Analytics, Site Audit, and Site Explorer. You can only use it for your own website, and you’ll need to verify your domain first. I did this through Google Search Console. The downside is that you can’t analyze competitors or check links for other websites. ![newsletter green icon](https://selfmademillennials.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/newsletter-1.webp) From My Desk to Your Inbox Join the newsletter for actionable SEO tips, case studies, and a behind-the-scenes look at my affiliate marketing journey. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
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