🕷️ Crawler Inspector

URL Lookup

Direct Parameter Lookup

Raw Queries and Responses

1. Shard Calculation

Query:

Response:

Calculated Shard: 124 (from laksa046)

2. Crawled Status Check

Query:

curl -X POST \
  'http://laksa124.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://www.isitwp.com/ahrefs-vs-semrush/\')), getAhrefsUnparsedNoserviceFromURL(\'https://www.isitwp.com/ahrefs-vs-semrush/\'))) FORMAT JSONEachRow'

Response:

{"found_url":"https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/ahrefs-vs-semrush\/","crawl_time":1775520256,"first_indexed_time":1613148114,"http_code":200,"src_unparsed":"com,isitwp!www,\/ahrefs-vs-semrush\/ s443","src_root_hash":"4633451007869478924","history_drop_reason":null,"meta_title":"Ahrefs vs SEMrush: Which Is Better for You?","meta_descriptions":["Need an SEO tool that will help you rank on search engines, grow your traffic, and beat the competition? We compare Ahrefs vs SEMrush to find the best one."],"attrs_boilerpipe_text":"Looking for an SEO tool that will help you rank on search engines, grow your traffic, and beat the competition?\nAhrefs and SEMrush are the top SEO tools on the market, and both come with awesome features. So how do you know which is better for your business?\nIn this post, we’ll examine Ahrefs and SEMrush to find their highlights and drawbacks so that you can pick the one that’s the best for your website.\nWhat Is SEMrush?\nSEMrush\nis the most popular SEO tool that helps grow your organic traffic. Co-founder Oleg Shchgolev first launched SEOquake in 2006. And this served as an inspiration to create a more complex SEO tool with his partner Dmitri Melnikov. And thus, SEMrush was born.\nToday, SEMrush has over 2 million users across the globe and is loved for its\nkeyword research tools\n.\nWhat Is Ahrefs?\nAhrefs\nwas created by Dmitry Gerasimenko and entered the market in 2011. It gained popularity as the\nbest backlink analysis tool\n.\nAt the time, backlink analysis was stagnant and Ahrefs disrupted the market, giving existing SEO tools a run for their money.\nToday, Ahrefs’ crawlers process up to 8 billion pages a day for its backlink database. It has also expanded its features to become a more comprehensive SEO tool pitting itself against gigantic SEO tools like SEMrush.\nComparing Features of Ahrefs vs SEMrush\nAhrefs and SEMrush are titans in the SEO market, and they both have proven track records in rapidly improving SEO for millions of sites.\nOver the years, we’ve used each tool and can give you a detailed review of both. We’ve picked the key features these plugins have to offer and compared them side by side to see which one is best for you.\nWith that in mind, let’s begin our comparison. Here’s what we’ll be covering.\nKeyword Research\nBacklink Analysis\nSite Audit\nRank Tracking\nCompetitor Analysis\nWhat Makes SEMrush Unique?\nWhat Makes Ahrefs Unique?\nPricing\nLet’s get started.\n1. Keyword Research\nSEMrush was always known for its incredible keyword research tools. It generates keywords fast and shows you which keywords are getting the best ROI (Return on Investment) for your competitors.\nIt also pulls data from Google PPC (pay-per-click). This means if you have Google Ads campaigns, SEMrush will analyze the search volume, level of interest over the past year, and CPC (cost-per-click) for these campaign keywords.\nIn comparison to Ahrefs, SEMrush generates way more keywords. That said, Ahrefs has built-in filters to remove unwanted keywords. So even though it gives you fewer options, it gives you the most valuable ones.\nAhrefs also breaks down the keywords list into categories like ‘phrase match’ and ‘newly discovered,’ which is a really cool feature to have.\nWhen it comes to keyword research, we think both tools are great.\nBut if you’re specifically interested in a tool for keyword research,\nSEMrush\nis your best bet.\n2. Backlink Analysis\nLink building is an essential part of a good SEO strategy. Backlink analysis helps you find link building opportunities, and also lets you find bad links to distance yourself from.\nYou can also see which pages have gained the highest authority for internal linking purposes.\nWhen it comes to backlink analysis, Ahrefs is definitely the name that comes to mind.\nAhrefs started as a link index and was known as the best backlinking tool for the longest time. It has one of the most powerful backlink checkers. And it gives you an interactive view to monitor the growth or decline of your\nbacklink profiles\n.\nOn the Ahrefs dashboard, you can view your recent and historical backlinks, as well as your referring domains.\nYou also get a detailed backlinks report that shows you every page linking to your target keyword. It lets you filter the results to dive deeper into your backlink analysis.\nBut SEMrush also offers a solid backlink analysis.\nWith SEMrush, you can view your backlink analytics and identify backlink gaps. It also segments the types of backlinks into text, images, forms, and frames.\nOverall, we think\nAhrefs\nis the clear winner when it comes to backlink analysis.\n3. Site Audit\nBoth Ahrefs and SEMrush let you audit the technical SEO aspects of your site. You can find and fix issues on your site to improve your Google rankings.\nHere’s what SEMrush has to offer.\nIt scans your site for over 130 technical and SEO mistakes and then categorizes the issues it finds. You’ll see errors, warnings, and notices so you can prioritize what needs fixing.\nYou can check your crawl budget, performance and speed, and interlinking issues as well.\nAhrefs, on the other hand, gives you enough information to perform basic site audits and identify glaring technical errors.\nA few things that Ahrefs lets you audit includes your site’s performance, HTML tags, social tags, and incoming and outgoing links.\nWhat we really love is that Ahrefs gives you tips and guidance on how to fix the errors it detects. So you know exactly what to do to fix it fast.\nIn our opinion, both tools give you great insight to fix major technical issues and improve your site’s SEO.\n4. Rank Tracking\nOne of the most essential features you need in SEO is a rank tracker. It lets you monitor your page rankings in Google. This basically shows you whether SEO efforts are succeeding, stagnating, or failing.\nSEMrush’s Rank Tracking tool comes as part of the SEMrush SEO Toolkit. It lets you watch the progress and changes of your page ranks on a daily basis. You can track page position (including keyword positions). It then compiles the results in presentable reports that are easy to understand.\nAhrefs also has very similar rank tracking features. You can monitor your rankings over time and compare them to your competition. You can see what percentage of clicks are coming from organic traffic, plus your average position and traffic.\nYou can monitor your Google rankings on desktop as well as mobile. And it’s super easy to use. You just need to enter or import a list of keywords and tell Ahrefs who your competitors are. Then Ahrefs will do the rest for you.\nYou can also set up rank tracking reports to be sent straight to your inbox regularly. This makes it convenient as you don’t have to open the tool to analyze your page rankings. You can access the reports in an email instead.\nBoth tools perform well here, but\nAhrefs\nwill give you a slight advantage.\n5. Competitor Analysis\nSEMrush gives you deep insights into your competitor’s traffic strategy and trends. It analyzes traffic from all channels – organic, paid, referral, social, and direct.\nIt also shows you which domains you are competing with to rank in Google. You can even see who your competitor’s competitors are.\nAdded to that, you can identify target keywords, topics, and backlinks you’ve overlooked but that your competitors are using. This helps you uncover new keyword opportunities to outrank the competition.\nSEMrush even lets you monitor your competition’s social media activities to improve your own strategy.\nAhrefs also has a robust competitor analysis tool. You can find content and keyword gaps that you’ve missed.\nIt also lets you check competing domains and pages to identify new opportunities. This really helps improve your SEO strategy and\ndrive traffic to your site\n.\nSEMrush\nis hands down the lead competitor research tool. It collects all the data you need to take your SEO strategy further than your competitor.\nWhat Makes SEMrush Unique?\nSEMrush\nhas a way better tool for PPC advertising. It gives you a competitive PPC analysis that shows you competitor keyword bids, their ad copies, and how much they spend on average.\nPlus, it shows you a CPC map with an average CPC based on states.\nIt also has social media scheduling tools to post to all major platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, and Pinterest.\nSEMrush also comes with cool\ncontent marketing\nfeatures like brand monitoring, content auditing, and post tracking. These tools let you optimize your posts and readability.\nWhat Makes Ahrefs Unique?\nFirst off,\nAhrefs\nhas the largest backlink index and is by far the most accurate when it comes to backlink analysis.\nNext, it lets you see traffic estimations for the top search results which other tools don’t do. This means you can see how much monthly traffic you could get for a given keyword.\nYou can also see the ranking history of keywords on pages. This gives you insights into how a page performs over time.\nComparing Ahrefs vs SEMrush Pricing Plans\nBoth SEO tools offer competitive pricing models. Let’s start with Ahrefs.\nIf you want to check out the Ahrefs tool before you invest in it, there’s a trial plan. This grants you access to Ahrefs for 7 days and costs $7.\nAside from that, Ahrefs has 4 plans to suit all types of businesses.\nLite:\nCosts $99 per month and gives you access to 1 user\nStandard:\nCosts $199 per month for 1 user\nAdvanced:\nCosts $399 per month for 3 users\nAgency:\nCosts $999 per month for 5 users\nSEMrush has 3 standard pricing plans. However, if you’re a large business and need a custom plan, you can contact their support team.\nPro:\nCosts $119.95 per month and is designed for freelances, startups, and inhouse marketers.\nGuru:\nCosts $229.95 per month and is designed for small businesses and growing marketing agencies.\nBusiness:\nCosts $499.95 per month and is more suitable for agencies, eCommerce stores, and larger businesses.\nSEMrush doesn’t have a trial period but they do have a 7-day refund policy. Having said that,\nSEMrush has agreed to offer IsItWP users a 30-day trial period\n.\nClaim your SEMrush 30-day trial here!\nSEMrush does cost slightly more than Ahrefs. If you feel the price is steep, you can get a discount on both platforms if you bill annually.\nOur Verdict: Ahrefs vs SEMrush – Which One Should You Choose?\nAfter our deep dive into both tools, we can confidently tell you that\nSEMrush\nis the most powerful SEO tool.\nIt has a lot more features and acts as a complete SEO solution for your business.\nHaving said that, here’s what you need to keep in mind.\nSEMrush is great for businesses who want an all-in-one SEO solution. It will cover SEO, SEM, social media, and content marketing.\nAhrefs is great for smaller businesses, freelancers, and SEO professionals who want valuable data to improve their SEO. Ahrefs gives you what you need, no extras. It’s easier to use so it’s ideal for those who are starting out.\nAnd with that, you should have all the information you need to make a choice between Ahrefs vs SEMrush. We hope this article has helped you select the right SEO tool for your site.\nOnce you have your SEO solution in place, you’ll need a\ngood analytics solution\nto track your site’s performance.\nAnd you may also want to check out the\nbest lead generation plugins\nto convert your traffic into subscribers and customers.","attrs_markdown":"[isitwp](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/)\n\n- [IsItWP Blog](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/blog\/)\n- [Popular Guides](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/ahrefs-vs-semrush\/)\n  - [Best WordPress Plugins](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/top-wordpress-plugins\/)\n  - [Best WordPress Themes](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/top-wordpress-themes\/)\n  - [How to Start a Blog](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/how-to-start-a-blog-step-by-step\/)\n  - [How to Make a Website](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/how-to-make-a-website-step-by-step\/)\n  - [Email Marketing](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/best-email-marketing-services-compared\/)\n  - [Best Page Builders](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/best-wordpress-page-builders-compared\/)\n  - 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[WXR File Splitter](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/wxr-file-splitter\/)\n\nX\n\n# Ahrefs vs SEMrush: Which Is Better for You?\nLast updated on\n\nJanuary 30th, 2025\n\nby [Editorial Team](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/ \"Visit Editorial Team’s website\")\n\n[Facebook](https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer\/sharer.php?u=https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/ahrefs-vs-semrush\/&display=popup&ref=plugin&src=share_button \"Share on Facebook\")\n\n[Tweet](https:\/\/twitter.com\/share?url=https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/ahrefs-vs-semrush\/&text=Ahrefs%20vs%20SEMrush%3A%20Which%20Is%20Better%20for%20You%3F \"Share on Twitter\")\n\n[LinkedIn](https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/ahrefs-vs-semrush\/ \"Share on LinkedIn\")\n\n[Pin](https:\/\/pinterest.com\/pin\/create\/button\/?url=https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/ahrefs-vs-semrush\/&media=https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/ahrefs-vs-semrush.png&description=Ahrefs%20vs%20SEMrush:%20Which%20Is%20Better%20for%20You? \"Share on Pinterest\")\n\nShares\n\n18\n\n![ahrefs vs semrush](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/ahrefs-vs-semrush.png)\n\n![](data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns='http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg'%20width='0'%20height='0'%20viewBox='0%200%200%200'%3E%3C\/svg%3E)\n\nLooking for an SEO tool that will help you rank on search engines, grow your traffic, and beat the competition?\n\nAhrefs and SEMrush are the top SEO tools on the market, and both come with awesome features. So how do you know which is better for your business?\n\nIn this post, we’ll examine Ahrefs and SEMrush to find their highlights and drawbacks so that you can pick the one that’s the best for your website.\n\n### What Is SEMrush?\n[![semrush](data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns='http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg'%20width='775'%20height='350'%20viewBox='0%200%20775%20350'%3E%3C\/svg%3E)](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/refer\/semrush\/)\n\n[SEMrush](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/refer\/semrush\/) is the most popular SEO tool that helps grow your organic traffic. Co-founder Oleg Shchgolev first launched SEOquake in 2006. And this served as an inspiration to create a more complex SEO tool with his partner Dmitri Melnikov. And thus, SEMrush was born.\n\nToday, SEMrush has over 2 million users across the globe and is loved for its [keyword research tools](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/best-seo-keyword-research-tools-compared\/ \"9 Best SEO Keyword Research Tools of 2021 (Compared)\").\n\n### What Is Ahrefs?\n[![ahrefs, bacllink checker](data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns='http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg'%20width='775'%20height='350'%20viewBox='0%200%20775%20350'%3E%3C\/svg%3E)](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/refer\/ahrefs\/)   \n [Ahrefs](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/refer\/ahrefs\/) was created by Dmitry Gerasimenko and entered the market in 2011. It gained popularity as the [best backlink analysis tool](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/best-backlink-checker-tools\/ \"7 Best Backlink Checker Tools to Analyze Your Link Profile\").\n\nAt the time, backlink analysis was stagnant and Ahrefs disrupted the market, giving existing SEO tools a run for their money.\n\nToday, Ahrefs’ crawlers process up to 8 billion pages a day for its backlink database. It has also expanded its features to become a more comprehensive SEO tool pitting itself against gigantic SEO tools like SEMrush.\n\n## Comparing Features of Ahrefs vs SEMrush\nAhrefs and SEMrush are titans in the SEO market, and they both have proven track records in rapidly improving SEO for millions of sites.\n\nOver the years, we’ve used each tool and can give you a detailed review of both. We’ve picked the key features these plugins have to offer and compared them side by side to see which one is best for you.\n\nWith that in mind, let’s begin our comparison. Here’s what we’ll be covering.\n\n1. [Keyword Research](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/ahrefs-vs-semrush\/#keywordresearch)\n2. [Backlink Analysis](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/ahrefs-vs-semrush\/#backlink)\n3. [Site Audit](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/ahrefs-vs-semrush\/#siteanalysis)\n4. [Rank Tracking](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/ahrefs-vs-semrush\/#ranktracking)\n5. [Competitor Analysis](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/ahrefs-vs-semrush\/#competitor)\n6. [What Makes SEMrush Unique?](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/ahrefs-vs-semrush\/#semrush)\n7. [What Makes Ahrefs Unique?](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/ahrefs-vs-semrush\/#ahrefs)\n8. [Pricing](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/ahrefs-vs-semrush\/#pricing)\n\nLet’s get started.\n\n### 1\\. Keyword Research\nSEMrush was always known for its incredible keyword research tools. It generates keywords fast and shows you which keywords are getting the best ROI (Return on Investment) for your competitors.\n\n![semrush overview](data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns='http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg'%20width='768'%20height='366'%20viewBox='0%200%20768%20366'%3E%3C\/svg%3E)\n\nIt also pulls data from Google PPC (pay-per-click). This means if you have Google Ads campaigns, SEMrush will analyze the search volume, level of interest over the past year, and CPC (cost-per-click) for these campaign keywords.\n\nIn comparison to Ahrefs, SEMrush generates way more keywords. That said, Ahrefs has built-in filters to remove unwanted keywords. So even though it gives you fewer options, it gives you the most valuable ones.\n\n![ahrefs keyword research tool](data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns='http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg'%20width='775'%20height='435'%20viewBox='0%200%20775%20435'%3E%3C\/svg%3E)\n\nAhrefs also breaks down the keywords list into categories like ‘phrase match’ and ‘newly discovered,’ which is a really cool feature to have.\n\nWhen it comes to keyword research, we think both tools are great.\n\nBut if you’re specifically interested in a tool for keyword research, [SEMrush](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/refer\/semrush\/) is your best bet.\n\n### 2\\. Backlink Analysis\nLink building is an essential part of a good SEO strategy. Backlink analysis helps you find link building opportunities, and also lets you find bad links to distance yourself from.\n\nYou can also see which pages have gained the highest authority for internal linking purposes.\n\nWhen it comes to backlink analysis, Ahrefs is definitely the name that comes to mind.\n\nAhrefs started as a link index and was known as the best backlinking tool for the longest time. It has one of the most powerful backlink checkers. And it gives you an interactive view to monitor the growth or decline of your [backlink profiles](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/how-to-improve-natural-link-building\/).\n\nOn the Ahrefs dashboard, you can view your recent and historical backlinks, as well as your referring domains.\n\n![ahrefs-backlink-dashboard](data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns='http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg'%20width='775'%20height='326'%20viewBox='0%200%20775%20326'%3E%3C\/svg%3E)\n\nYou also get a detailed backlinks report that shows you every page linking to your target keyword. It lets you filter the results to dive deeper into your backlink analysis.\n\nBut SEMrush also offers a solid backlink analysis.\n\n![semrush backlink analytics](data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns='http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg'%20width='768'%20height='313'%20viewBox='0%200%20768%20313'%3E%3C\/svg%3E)\n\nWith SEMrush, you can view your backlink analytics and identify backlink gaps. It also segments the types of backlinks into text, images, forms, and frames.\n\nOverall, we think [Ahrefs](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/refer\/ahrefs\/) is the clear winner when it comes to backlink analysis.\n\n### 3\\. Site Audit\nBoth Ahrefs and SEMrush let you audit the technical SEO aspects of your site. You can find and fix issues on your site to improve your Google rankings.\n\nHere’s what SEMrush has to offer.\n\n![semrush site audit](data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns='http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg'%20width='775'%20height='411'%20viewBox='0%200%20775%20411'%3E%3C\/svg%3E)\n\nIt scans your site for over 130 technical and SEO mistakes and then categorizes the issues it finds. You’ll see errors, warnings, and notices so you can prioritize what needs fixing.\n\nYou can check your crawl budget, performance and speed, and interlinking issues as well.\n\nAhrefs, on the other hand, gives you enough information to perform basic site audits and identify glaring technical errors.\n\n![ahrefs site audit](data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns='http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg'%20width='775'%20height='382'%20viewBox='0%200%20775%20382'%3E%3C\/svg%3E)\n\nA few things that Ahrefs lets you audit includes your site’s performance, HTML tags, social tags, and incoming and outgoing links.\n\nWhat we really love is that Ahrefs gives you tips and guidance on how to fix the errors it detects. So you know exactly what to do to fix it fast.\n\nIn our opinion, both tools give you great insight to fix major technical issues and improve your site’s SEO.\n\n### 4\\. Rank Tracking\nOne of the most essential features you need in SEO is a rank tracker. It lets you monitor your page rankings in Google. This basically shows you whether SEO efforts are succeeding, stagnating, or failing.\n\nSEMrush’s Rank Tracking tool comes as part of the SEMrush SEO Toolkit. It lets you watch the progress and changes of your page ranks on a daily basis. You can track page position (including keyword positions). It then compiles the results in presentable reports that are easy to understand.\n\n![semrush-organic-keywords (1)](data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns='http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg'%20width='560'%20height='374'%20viewBox='0%200%20560%20374'%3E%3C\/svg%3E)\n\nAhrefs also has very similar rank tracking features. You can monitor your rankings over time and compare them to your competition. You can see what percentage of clicks are coming from organic traffic, plus your average position and traffic.\n\n![ahrefs rank tracker](data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns='http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg'%20width='775'%20height='471'%20viewBox='0%200%20775%20471'%3E%3C\/svg%3E)\n\nYou can monitor your Google rankings on desktop as well as mobile. And it’s super easy to use. You just need to enter or import a list of keywords and tell Ahrefs who your competitors are. Then Ahrefs will do the rest for you.\n\nYou can also set up rank tracking reports to be sent straight to your inbox regularly. This makes it convenient as you don’t have to open the tool to analyze your page rankings. You can access the reports in an email instead.\n\nBoth tools perform well here, but [Ahrefs](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/refer\/ahrefs\/) will give you a slight advantage.\n\n### 5\\. Competitor Analysis\nSEMrush gives you deep insights into your competitor’s traffic strategy and trends. It analyzes traffic from all channels – organic, paid, referral, social, and direct.\n\n![semrush competitor analysis](data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns='http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg'%20width='768'%20height='361'%20viewBox='0%200%20768%20361'%3E%3C\/svg%3E)\n\nIt also shows you which domains you are competing with to rank in Google. You can even see who your competitor’s competitors are.\n\nAdded to that, you can identify target keywords, topics, and backlinks you’ve overlooked but that your competitors are using. This helps you uncover new keyword opportunities to outrank the competition.\n\nSEMrush even lets you monitor your competition’s social media activities to improve your own strategy.\n\nAhrefs also has a robust competitor analysis tool. You can find content and keyword gaps that you’ve missed.\n\n![ahrefs competitor analysis](data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns='http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg'%20width='775'%20height='516'%20viewBox='0%200%20775%20516'%3E%3C\/svg%3E)\n\nIt also lets you check competing domains and pages to identify new opportunities. This really helps improve your SEO strategy and [drive traffic to your site](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/best-seo-plugins-for-wordpress\/ \"11 Best SEO Plugins for WordPress to Drive Organic Traffic\").\n\n[SEMrush](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/refer\/semrush\/) is hands down the lead competitor research tool. It collects all the data you need to take your SEO strategy further than your competitor.\n\n### What Makes SEMrush Unique?\n![semrush homepage](data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns='http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg'%20width='775'%20height='500'%20viewBox='0%200%20775%20500'%3E%3C\/svg%3E)\n\n[SEMrush](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/refer\/semrush\/) has a way better tool for PPC advertising. It gives you a competitive PPC analysis that shows you competitor keyword bids, their ad copies, and how much they spend on average.\n\nPlus, it shows you a CPC map with an average CPC based on states.\n\nIt also has social media scheduling tools to post to all major platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, and Pinterest.\n\nSEMrush also comes with cool [content marketing](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/best-content-marketing-tools-plugins-wordpress\/ \"15 Best Content Marketing Tools and Plugins for WordPress\") features like brand monitoring, content auditing, and post tracking. These tools let you optimize your posts and readability.\n\n### What Makes Ahrefs Unique?\n![ahrefs homepage](data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns='http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg'%20width='775'%20height='413'%20viewBox='0%200%20775%20413'%3E%3C\/svg%3E)\n\nFirst off, [Ahrefs](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/refer\/ahrefs\/) has the largest backlink index and is by far the most accurate when it comes to backlink analysis.\n\nNext, it lets you see traffic estimations for the top search results which other tools don’t do. This means you can see how much monthly traffic you could get for a given keyword.\n\nYou can also see the ranking history of keywords on pages. This gives you insights into how a page performs over time.\n\n### Comparing Ahrefs vs SEMrush Pricing Plans\nBoth SEO tools offer competitive pricing models. Let’s start with Ahrefs.\n\nIf you want to check out the Ahrefs tool before you invest in it, there’s a trial plan. This grants you access to Ahrefs for 7 days and costs \\$7.\n\nAside from that, Ahrefs has 4 plans to suit all types of businesses.\n\n![ahrefs pricing](data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns='http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg'%20width='775'%20height='378'%20viewBox='0%200%20775%20378'%3E%3C\/svg%3E)\n\n- **Lite:** Costs \\$99 per month and gives you access to 1 user\n- **Standard:** Costs \\$199 per month for 1 user\n- **Advanced:** Costs \\$399 per month for 3 users\n- **Agency:** Costs \\$999 per month for 5 users\n\nSEMrush has 3 standard pricing plans. However, if you’re a large business and need a custom plan, you can contact their support team.\n\n![Semrush Pricing](data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns='http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg'%20width='775'%20height='465'%20viewBox='0%200%20775%20465'%3E%3C\/svg%3E)\n\n- **Pro:** Costs \\$119.95 per month and is designed for freelances, startups, and inhouse marketers.\n- **Guru:** Costs \\$229.95 per month and is designed for small businesses and growing marketing agencies.\n- **Business:** Costs \\$499.95 per month and is more suitable for agencies, eCommerce stores, and larger businesses.\n\nSEMrush doesn’t have a trial period but they do have a 7-day refund policy. Having said that, **SEMrush has agreed to offer IsItWP users a 30-day trial period**.\n\n[Claim your SEMrush 30-day trial here\\!](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/refer\/semrush-free-trial\/)\n\nSEMrush does cost slightly more than Ahrefs. If you feel the price is steep, you can get a discount on both platforms if you bill annually.\n\n### Our Verdict: Ahrefs vs SEMrush – Which One Should You Choose?\nAfter our deep dive into both tools, we can confidently tell you that [SEMrush](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/refer\/semrush\/) is the most powerful SEO tool.\n\nIt has a lot more features and acts as a complete SEO solution for your business.\n\nHaving said that, here’s what you need to keep in mind.\n\n- SEMrush is great for businesses who want an all-in-one SEO solution. It will cover SEO, SEM, social media, and content marketing.\n- Ahrefs is great for smaller businesses, freelancers, and SEO professionals who want valuable data to improve their SEO. Ahrefs gives you what you need, no extras. It’s easier to use so it’s ideal for those who are starting out.\n\nAnd with that, you should have all the information you need to make a choice between Ahrefs vs SEMrush. We hope this article has helped you select the right SEO tool for your site.\n\nOnce you have your SEO solution in place, you’ll need a [good analytics solution](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/best-wordpress-analytics-solutions-compared\/ \"13 Best WordPress Analytics Plugins Compared (2021)\") to track your site’s performance.\n\nAnd you may also want to check out the [best lead generation plugins](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/best-wordpress-lead-generation-plugins-compared\/ \"7 Best WordPress Lead Generation Plugins Compared (2021)\") to convert your traffic into subscribers and customers.\n\n[Facebook](https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer\/sharer.php?u=https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/ahrefs-vs-semrush\/&display=popup&ref=plugin&src=share_button \"Share on Facebook\")\n\n[Tweet](https:\/\/twitter.com\/share?url=https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/ahrefs-vs-semrush\/&text=Ahrefs%20vs%20SEMrush%3A%20Which%20Is%20Better%20for%20You%3F \"Share on Twitter\")\n\n[LinkedIn](https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/ahrefs-vs-semrush\/ \"Share on LinkedIn\")\n\n[Pin](https:\/\/pinterest.com\/pin\/create\/button\/?url=https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/ahrefs-vs-semrush\/&media=https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/ahrefs-vs-semrush.png&description=Ahrefs%20vs%20SEMrush:%20Which%20Is%20Better%20for%20You? \"Share on Pinterest\")\n\nShares\n\n18\n\n## Comments  [Leave a Reply](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/ahrefs-vs-semrush\/#respond)\n### Add a Comment [Cancel reply](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/ahrefs-vs-semrush\/#respond)\n\n## Join Our Community\n[Twitter](https:\/\/twitter.com\/isitwp)\n\n[Facebook](https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/isitwp\/) [Linkedin](https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/isitwp\/) [RSS Feed](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/feed) [Subscribe to email](https:\/\/app.monstercampaigns.com\/c\/k8wtobk9c58c2uoqhkoy\/)\n\n## Popular Resources\n[Start a BlogStep by step guide on how to start a blog.](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/how-to-start-a-blog-step-by-step\/)[Make a WebsiteBeginners guide on how to make a website.](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/how-to-make-a-website-step-by-step\/)[Lead generationCompare the best lead generation plugins.](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/best-wordpress-lead-generation-plugins-compared\/)[Email MarketingCompare the best email marketing services.](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/best-email-marketing-services-compared\/)[SecurityCompare the best security plugins.](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/best-wordpress-security-plugins-compared\/)[PerformanceCompare the best caching plugins.](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/best-wordpress-caching-plugins-compared\/)\n\n## [Best Hosting Reviews](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/hosting-reviews\/ \"_blank\")\n- [10 Best WordPress Hosting Companies](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/hosting-reviews\/wordpress\/)\n- [10 Best Cheap \/ Shared Hosting Providers](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/hosting-reviews\/cheap-hosting-reviews\/)\n- [11 Best Free Web Hosting Services](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/hosting-reviews\/free-web-hosting\/)\n- [Top 10 Blog Hosting Companies](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/hosting-reviews\/blog\/)\n- [6 Best WooCommerce Hosting Companies](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/hosting-reviews\/woocommerce\/)\n- [7 Best eCommerce Hosting Companies](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/hosting-reviews\/ecommerce\/)\n- [Top 6 Reseller Hosting Providers](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/hosting-reviews\/reseller\/)\n- [6 Best VPS Hosting Services](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/hosting-reviews\/vps\/)\n- [8 Managed WordPress Hosting Companies](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/hosting-reviews\/managed-wordpress-hosting-reviews\/)\n- [Best 6 Dedicated Server Hosting Services](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/hosting-reviews\/dedicated\/)\n\n## [Hosting Company Reviews](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/ahrefs-vs-semrush\/ \"_blank\")\n- [Bluehost Review](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/hosting-reviews\/bluehost-review\/)\n- [SiteGround Review](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/hosting-reviews\/siteground-review\/)\n- [HostGator Review](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/hosting-reviews\/hostgator-review\/)\n- [WP Engine Review](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/hosting-reviews\/wpengine-review\/)\n- [DreamHost Review](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/hosting-reviews\/dreamhost-review\/)\n- [iPage Review](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/hosting-reviews\/ipage-review\/)\n- [InMotion Hosting Review](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/hosting-reviews\/inmotion-hosting-review\/)\n- [GreenGeeks Review](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/hosting-reviews\/greengeeks-review\/)\n- [A2 Hosting Review](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/hosting-reviews\/a2-hosting-review\/)\n- [Liquid Web Review](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/hosting-reviews\/liquid-web-review\/)\n\n## [Web Hosting Coupons](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/ahrefs-vs-semrush\/ \"_blank\")\n- [Bluehost Coupon - 65% Off + Free Domain](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/coupons\/bluehost\/)\n- [SiteGround Coupon - 60 % OFF + Free SSL](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/coupons\/siteground\/)\n- [HostGator Coupon - Exclusive 60% Off](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/coupons\/hostgator\/)\n- [WP Engine Coupon - 50% Off on Hosting](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/coupons\/wpengine\/)\n- [DreamHost Coupon - 36% off + Domain](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/coupons\/dreamhost\/)\n- [InMotion Hosting Coupon - 65% Off](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/coupons\/inmotion-hosting\/)\n- [iPage Coupon - 75% Off + Free Domain](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/coupons\/ipage\/)\n- [GreenGeeks Coupon - Exclusive 64% Off](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/coupons\/greengeeks\/)\n- [Liquid Web Coupon - Exclusive 69% Off](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/coupons\/liquid-web)\n\n## [Bluehost Comparisons](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/ahrefs-vs-semrush\/ \"_blank\")\n- [Bluehost vs. SiteGround Comparison](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/hosting-reviews\/compare\/bluehost-vs-siteground\/)\n- [Bluehost vs. HostGator Comparison](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/hosting-reviews\/compare\/bluehost-vs-hostgator\/)\n- [Bluehost vs. WP Engine Comparison](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/hosting-reviews\/compare\/bluehost-vs-wp-engine\/)\n- [Bluehost vs. Dreamhost Comparison](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/hosting-reviews\/compare\/bluehost-vs-dreamhost\/)\n- [Bluehost vs Liquid Web Comparison](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/hosting-reviews\/compare\/bluehost-vs-liquid-web)\n- [Bluehost vs. InMotion Hosting](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/hosting-reviews\/compare\/bluehost-vs-inmotion-hosting\/)\n- [Bluehost vs GreenGeeks Comparison](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/hosting-reviews\/compare\/bluehost-vs-greengeeks)\n- [Bluehost vs. iPage Comparison](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/hosting-reviews\/compare\/bluehost-vs-ipage\/)\n\n## [SiteGround Comparisons](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/ahrefs-vs-semrush\/ \"_blank\")\n- [SiteGround vs. Bluehost Comparison](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/hosting-reviews\/compare\/bluehost-vs-siteground\/)\n- [SiteGround vs. HostGator Comparison](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/hosting-reviews\/compare\/siteground-vs-hostgator\/)\n- [SiteGround vs. WP Engine Comparison](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/hosting-reviews\/compare\/siteground-vs-wp-engine\/)\n- [SiteGround vs. Dreamhost Comparison](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/hosting-reviews\/compare\/siteground-vs-dreamhost\/)\n- [SiteGround vs. iPage Comparison](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/hosting-reviews\/compare\/siteground-vs-ipage\/)\n- [SiteGround vs. InMotion Hosting](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/hosting-reviews\/compare\/siteground-vs-inmotion-hosting\/)\n- [SiteGround vs. GreenGeeks Comparison](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/hosting-reviews\/compare\/siteground-vs-greengeeks\/)\n- [SiteGround vs. Liquid Web Comparison](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/hosting-reviews\/compare\/siteground-vs-liquid-web\/)\n\n## [HostGator Comparisons](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/ahrefs-vs-semrush\/ \"_blank\")\n- [HostGator vs. Bluehost Comparison](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/hosting-reviews\/compare\/bluehost-vs-hostgator\/)\n- [HostGator vs. SiteGround Comparison](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/hosting-reviews\/compare\/siteground-vs-hostgator\/)\n- [HostGator vs. WP Engine Comparison](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/hosting-reviews\/compare\/hostgator-vs-wp-engine\/)\n- [HostGator vs. Dreamhost Comparison](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/hosting-reviews\/compare\/hostgator-vs-dreamhost\/)\n- [HostGator vs. iPage Comparison](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/hosting-reviews\/compare\/hostgator-vs-ipage\/)\n- [HostGator vs. InMotion hosting](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/hosting-reviews\/compare\/hostgator-vs-inmotion-hosting\/)\n- [HostGator vs. GreenGeeks Comparison](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/hosting-reviews\/compare\/hostgator-vs-greengeeks\/)\n- [HostGator vs. Liquid Web Comparison](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/hosting-reviews\/compare\/hostgator-vs-liquid-web\/)\n\n## [WPEngine Comparisons](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/ahrefs-vs-semrush\/ \"_blank\")\n- [WP Engine vs. Bluehost Comparison](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/hosting-reviews\/compare\/bluehost-vs-wp-engine\/)\n- [WP Engine vs. SiteGround Comparison](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/hosting-reviews\/compare\/siteground-vs-wp-engine\/)\n- [WP Engine vs. HostGator Comparison](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/hosting-reviews\/compare\/hostgator-vs-wp-engine\/)\n- [WP Engine vs. Dreamhost Comparison](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/hosting-reviews\/compare\/wp-engine-vs-dreamhost\/)\n- [WP Engine vs. iPage Comparison](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/hosting-reviews\/compare\/wp-engine-vs-ipage\/)\n- [WP Engine vs. InMotion hosting](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/hosting-reviews\/compare\/wp-engine-vs-inmotion-hosting\/)\n- [WP Engine vs. GreenGeeks Comparison](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/hosting-reviews\/compare\/wp-engine-vs-greengeeks)\n- [WP Engine vs. Liquid Web Comparison](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/hosting-reviews\/compare\/wp-engine-vs-liquid-web\/)\n\nI want to learn about  [everything]()\n\n[how to start a blog](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/how-to-start-a-blog-step-by-step\/ \"how to start a blog\")[how to make a website](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/how-to-make-a-website-step-by-step\/ \"how to make a website\")[how to register a domain](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/how-to-register-a-domain-name\/ \"how to register a domain\")[how to start an online store](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/how-to-create-an-online-store-step-by-step\/ \"how to start an online store\")[the cost of building a site](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/how-much-does-it-cost-to-build-a-website-expert-answer\/ \"the cost of building a site\")[wordpress giveaway plugin](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/wordpress-plugins\/rafflepress\/ \"wordpress giveaway plugin\")[how to grow your email list](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/tips-get-email-subscribers\/ \"how to grow your email list\")[WP coming soon plugins](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/best-maintenance-mode-coming-soon-page-plugins\/ \"WP coming soon plugins\")[best website builders](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/best-website-builders-for-beginners-compared\/ \"best website builders\")[best blogging platforms](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/best-blogging-platforms-beginners-compared\/ \"best blogging platforms\")[best ecommerce plugins](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/best-wordpress-ecommerce-plugins-compared\/ \"best ecommerce plugins\")[best lead-gen plugins](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/best-wordpress-lead-generation-plugins-compared\/ \"best lead-gen plugins\")[best membership plugins](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/best-wordpress-membership-plugins-compared\/ \"best membership plugins\")[best contact form plugins](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/best-wordpress-contact-form-plugins\/ \"best contact form plugins\")[best email marketing tools](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/best-email-marketing-services-compared\/ \"best email marketing tools\")[business phone services](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/best-business-phone-services\/ \"business phone services\")[best page builder plugins](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/best-wordpress-page-builders-compared\/ \"best page builder plugins\")[best live chat software](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/best-live-chat-software-compared\/ \"best live chat software\")[best backup plugins](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/best-wordpress-backup-plugins-compared\/ \"best backup plugins\")[best lms plugins](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/best-wordpress-lms-plugins-compared\/ \"best lms plugins\")[best security plugins](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/best-wordpress-security-plugins-compared\/ \"best security plugins\")[best CRM software](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/best-crm-software-compared\/ \"best CRM software\")[best SMTP services](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/smtp-transactional-email-services\/ \"best SMTP services\")[everything](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/blog\/ \"everything\")\n\n![WordPress Launch Checklist](data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns='http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg'%20width='164'%20height='212'%20viewBox='0%200%20164%20212'%3E%3C\/svg%3E)\n\n## The Ultimate WordPress Launch Checklist\nWe've compiled all the essential checklist items for your next WordPress website launch into one handy ebook.\n\n[Yes, Send Me the Free eBook\\!](https:\/\/app.monstercampaigns.com\/c\/ony5jncd9fup3eyssxo0\/)\n\n### About IsItWP\nIsItWP is a free online resource that offers WordPress tutorials, tools, product reviews, and other resources to help you build a better WordPress website.\n\n### Site Links\n- \\-- Sections --\n  - [Best WordPress Plugins](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/top-wordpress-plugins\/ \"Best WordPress Plugins\")\n  - [Best WordPress Themes](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/top-wordpress-themes\/ \"Best WordPress Themes\")\n  - [Best Web Hosting Reviews](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/hosting-reviews\/ \"Best Web Hosting Reviews\")\n  - [Best WordPress Hosting Reviews](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/hosting-reviews\/wordpress\/ \"Best WordPress Hosting Reviews\")\n  - [Best Cheap Hosting Reviews](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/hosting-reviews\/cheap-hosting-reviews\/ \"Best Cheap Hosting Reviews\")\n  - [Best Free Web Hosting Reviews](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/hosting-reviews\/free-web-hosting\/ \"Best Free Web Hosting Reviews\")\n  - [WooCommerce Hosting Reviews](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/hosting-reviews\/woocommerce\/ \"WooCommerce Hosting Reviews\")\n  - [Best Blog Hosting Reviews](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/hosting-reviews\/blog\/ \"Best Blog Hosting Reviews\")\n  - [eCommerce Hosting Reviews](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/hosting-reviews\/ecommerce\/ \"eCommerce Hosting Reviews\")\n  - [Best Reseller Hosting Reviews](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/hosting-reviews\/reseller\/ \"Best Reseller Hosting Reviews\")\n  - [Managed WP Hosting Reviews](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/hosting-reviews\/managed-wordpress-hosting-reviews\/ \"Managed WP Hosting Reviews\")\n  - 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This site does not include all WordPress products or all available product offers.","attrs_readable_markdown":"![ahrefs vs semrush](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/ahrefs-vs-semrush.png)\n\nLooking for an SEO tool that will help you rank on search engines, grow your traffic, and beat the competition?\n\nAhrefs and SEMrush are the top SEO tools on the market, and both come with awesome features. So how do you know which is better for your business?\n\nIn this post, we’ll examine Ahrefs and SEMrush to find their highlights and drawbacks so that you can pick the one that’s the best for your website.\n\n### What Is SEMrush?\n[![semrush](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/semrush.png)](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/refer\/semrush\/)\n\n[SEMrush](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/refer\/semrush\/) is the most popular SEO tool that helps grow your organic traffic. Co-founder Oleg Shchgolev first launched SEOquake in 2006. And this served as an inspiration to create a more complex SEO tool with his partner Dmitri Melnikov. And thus, SEMrush was born.\n\nToday, SEMrush has over 2 million users across the globe and is loved for its [keyword research tools](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/best-seo-keyword-research-tools-compared\/ \"9 Best SEO Keyword Research Tools of 2021 (Compared)\").\n\n### What Is Ahrefs?\n[![ahrefs, bacllink checker](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/ahrefs.png)](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/refer\/ahrefs\/)   \n [Ahrefs](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/refer\/ahrefs\/) was created by Dmitry Gerasimenko and entered the market in 2011. It gained popularity as the [best backlink analysis tool](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/best-backlink-checker-tools\/ \"7 Best Backlink Checker Tools to Analyze Your Link Profile\").\n\nAt the time, backlink analysis was stagnant and Ahrefs disrupted the market, giving existing SEO tools a run for their money.\n\nToday, Ahrefs’ crawlers process up to 8 billion pages a day for its backlink database. It has also expanded its features to become a more comprehensive SEO tool pitting itself against gigantic SEO tools like SEMrush.\n\n## Comparing Features of Ahrefs vs SEMrush\nAhrefs and SEMrush are titans in the SEO market, and they both have proven track records in rapidly improving SEO for millions of sites.\n\nOver the years, we’ve used each tool and can give you a detailed review of both. We’ve picked the key features these plugins have to offer and compared them side by side to see which one is best for you.\n\nWith that in mind, let’s begin our comparison. Here’s what we’ll be covering.\n\n1. [Keyword Research](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/ahrefs-vs-semrush\/#keywordresearch)\n2. [Backlink Analysis](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/ahrefs-vs-semrush\/#backlink)\n3. [Site Audit](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/ahrefs-vs-semrush\/#siteanalysis)\n4. [Rank Tracking](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/ahrefs-vs-semrush\/#ranktracking)\n5. [Competitor Analysis](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/ahrefs-vs-semrush\/#competitor)\n6. [What Makes SEMrush Unique?](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/ahrefs-vs-semrush\/#semrush)\n7. [What Makes Ahrefs Unique?](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/ahrefs-vs-semrush\/#ahrefs)\n8. [Pricing](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/ahrefs-vs-semrush\/#pricing)\n\nLet’s get started.\n\n### 1\\. Keyword Research\nSEMrush was always known for its incredible keyword research tools. It generates keywords fast and shows you which keywords are getting the best ROI (Return on Investment) for your competitors.\n\n![semrush overview](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/semrush-overview.png)\n\nIt also pulls data from Google PPC (pay-per-click). This means if you have Google Ads campaigns, SEMrush will analyze the search volume, level of interest over the past year, and CPC (cost-per-click) for these campaign keywords.\n\nIn comparison to Ahrefs, SEMrush generates way more keywords. That said, Ahrefs has built-in filters to remove unwanted keywords. So even though it gives you fewer options, it gives you the most valuable ones.\n\n![ahrefs keyword research tool](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/ahrefs-keyword-research-tool.png)\n\nAhrefs also breaks down the keywords list into categories like ‘phrase match’ and ‘newly discovered,’ which is a really cool feature to have.\n\nWhen it comes to keyword research, we think both tools are great.\n\nBut if you’re specifically interested in a tool for keyword research, [SEMrush](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/refer\/semrush\/) is your best bet.\n\n### 2\\. Backlink Analysis\nLink building is an essential part of a good SEO strategy. Backlink analysis helps you find link building opportunities, and also lets you find bad links to distance yourself from.\n\nYou can also see which pages have gained the highest authority for internal linking purposes.\n\nWhen it comes to backlink analysis, Ahrefs is definitely the name that comes to mind.\n\nAhrefs started as a link index and was known as the best backlinking tool for the longest time. It has one of the most powerful backlink checkers. And it gives you an interactive view to monitor the growth or decline of your [backlink profiles](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/how-to-improve-natural-link-building\/).\n\nOn the Ahrefs dashboard, you can view your recent and historical backlinks, as well as your referring domains.\n\n![ahrefs-backlink-dashboard](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/ahrefs-backlink-dashboard.png)\n\nYou also get a detailed backlinks report that shows you every page linking to your target keyword. It lets you filter the results to dive deeper into your backlink analysis.\n\nBut SEMrush also offers a solid backlink analysis.\n\n![semrush backlink analytics](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/semrush-backlink-analytics.png)\n\nWith SEMrush, you can view your backlink analytics and identify backlink gaps. It also segments the types of backlinks into text, images, forms, and frames.\n\nOverall, we think [Ahrefs](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/refer\/ahrefs\/) is the clear winner when it comes to backlink analysis.\n\n### 3\\. Site Audit\nBoth Ahrefs and SEMrush let you audit the technical SEO aspects of your site. You can find and fix issues on your site to improve your Google rankings.\n\nHere’s what SEMrush has to offer.\n\n![semrush site audit](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/semrush-site-audit.png)\n\nIt scans your site for over 130 technical and SEO mistakes and then categorizes the issues it finds. You’ll see errors, warnings, and notices so you can prioritize what needs fixing.\n\nYou can check your crawl budget, performance and speed, and interlinking issues as well.\n\nAhrefs, on the other hand, gives you enough information to perform basic site audits and identify glaring technical errors.\n\n![ahrefs site audit](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/ahrefs-site-audit-1.png)\n\nA few things that Ahrefs lets you audit includes your site’s performance, HTML tags, social tags, and incoming and outgoing links.\n\nWhat we really love is that Ahrefs gives you tips and guidance on how to fix the errors it detects. So you know exactly what to do to fix it fast.\n\nIn our opinion, both tools give you great insight to fix major technical issues and improve your site’s SEO.\n\n### 4\\. Rank Tracking\nOne of the most essential features you need in SEO is a rank tracker. It lets you monitor your page rankings in Google. This basically shows you whether SEO efforts are succeeding, stagnating, or failing.\n\nSEMrush’s Rank Tracking tool comes as part of the SEMrush SEO Toolkit. It lets you watch the progress and changes of your page ranks on a daily basis. You can track page position (including keyword positions). It then compiles the results in presentable reports that are easy to understand.\n\n![semrush-organic-keywords (1)](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/semrush-organic-keywords-1.jpg)\n\nAhrefs also has very similar rank tracking features. You can monitor your rankings over time and compare them to your competition. You can see what percentage of clicks are coming from organic traffic, plus your average position and traffic.\n\n![ahrefs rank tracker](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/ahrefs-rank-tracker.png)\n\nYou can monitor your Google rankings on desktop as well as mobile. And it’s super easy to use. You just need to enter or import a list of keywords and tell Ahrefs who your competitors are. Then Ahrefs will do the rest for you.\n\nYou can also set up rank tracking reports to be sent straight to your inbox regularly. This makes it convenient as you don’t have to open the tool to analyze your page rankings. You can access the reports in an email instead.\n\nBoth tools perform well here, but [Ahrefs](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/refer\/ahrefs\/) will give you a slight advantage.\n\n### 5\\. Competitor Analysis\nSEMrush gives you deep insights into your competitor’s traffic strategy and trends. It analyzes traffic from all channels – organic, paid, referral, social, and direct.\n\n![semrush competitor analysis](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/semrush-competitor-analysis.png)\n\nIt also shows you which domains you are competing with to rank in Google. You can even see who your competitor’s competitors are.\n\nAdded to that, you can identify target keywords, topics, and backlinks you’ve overlooked but that your competitors are using. This helps you uncover new keyword opportunities to outrank the competition.\n\nSEMrush even lets you monitor your competition’s social media activities to improve your own strategy.\n\nAhrefs also has a robust competitor analysis tool. You can find content and keyword gaps that you’ve missed.\n\n![ahrefs competitor analysis](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/ahrefs-competitor-analysis.png)\n\nIt also lets you check competing domains and pages to identify new opportunities. This really helps improve your SEO strategy and [drive traffic to your site](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/best-seo-plugins-for-wordpress\/ \"11 Best SEO Plugins for WordPress to Drive Organic Traffic\").\n\n[SEMrush](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/refer\/semrush\/) is hands down the lead competitor research tool. It collects all the data you need to take your SEO strategy further than your competitor.\n\n### What Makes SEMrush Unique?\n![semrush homepage](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/semrush-homepage.png)\n\n[SEMrush](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/refer\/semrush\/) has a way better tool for PPC advertising. It gives you a competitive PPC analysis that shows you competitor keyword bids, their ad copies, and how much they spend on average.\n\nPlus, it shows you a CPC map with an average CPC based on states.\n\nIt also has social media scheduling tools to post to all major platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, and Pinterest.\n\nSEMrush also comes with cool [content marketing](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/best-content-marketing-tools-plugins-wordpress\/ \"15 Best Content Marketing Tools and Plugins for WordPress\") features like brand monitoring, content auditing, and post tracking. These tools let you optimize your posts and readability.\n\n### What Makes Ahrefs Unique?\n![ahrefs homepage](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/ahrefs-homepage.png)\n\nFirst off, [Ahrefs](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/refer\/ahrefs\/) has the largest backlink index and is by far the most accurate when it comes to backlink analysis.\n\nNext, it lets you see traffic estimations for the top search results which other tools don’t do. This means you can see how much monthly traffic you could get for a given keyword.\n\nYou can also see the ranking history of keywords on pages. This gives you insights into how a page performs over time.\n\n### Comparing Ahrefs vs SEMrush Pricing Plans\nBoth SEO tools offer competitive pricing models. Let’s start with Ahrefs.\n\nIf you want to check out the Ahrefs tool before you invest in it, there’s a trial plan. This grants you access to Ahrefs for 7 days and costs \\$7.\n\nAside from that, Ahrefs has 4 plans to suit all types of businesses.\n\n![ahrefs pricing](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/ahrefs-pricing.png)\n\n- **Lite:** Costs \\$99 per month and gives you access to 1 user\n- **Standard:** Costs \\$199 per month for 1 user\n- **Advanced:** Costs \\$399 per month for 3 users\n- **Agency:** Costs \\$999 per month for 5 users\n\nSEMrush has 3 standard pricing plans. However, if you’re a large business and need a custom plan, you can contact their support team.\n\n![Semrush Pricing](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/semrushpricing.png)\n\n- **Pro:** Costs \\$119.95 per month and is designed for freelances, startups, and inhouse marketers.\n- **Guru:** Costs \\$229.95 per month and is designed for small businesses and growing marketing agencies.\n- **Business:** Costs \\$499.95 per month and is more suitable for agencies, eCommerce stores, and larger businesses.\n\nSEMrush doesn’t have a trial period but they do have a 7-day refund policy. Having said that, **SEMrush has agreed to offer IsItWP users a 30-day trial period**.\n\n[Claim your SEMrush 30-day trial here\\!](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/refer\/semrush-free-trial\/)\n\nSEMrush does cost slightly more than Ahrefs. If you feel the price is steep, you can get a discount on both platforms if you bill annually.\n\n### Our Verdict: Ahrefs vs SEMrush – Which One Should You Choose?\nAfter our deep dive into both tools, we can confidently tell you that [SEMrush](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/refer\/semrush\/) is the most powerful SEO tool.\n\nIt has a lot more features and acts as a complete SEO solution for your business.\n\nHaving said that, here’s what you need to keep in mind.\n\n- SEMrush is great for businesses who want an all-in-one SEO solution. It will cover SEO, SEM, social media, and content marketing.\n- Ahrefs is great for smaller businesses, freelancers, and SEO professionals who want valuable data to improve their SEO. Ahrefs gives you what you need, no extras. It’s easier to use so it’s ideal for those who are starting out.\n\nAnd with that, you should have all the information you need to make a choice between Ahrefs vs SEMrush. We hope this article has helped you select the right SEO tool for your site.\n\nOnce you have your SEO solution in place, you’ll need a [good analytics solution](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/best-wordpress-analytics-solutions-compared\/ \"13 Best WordPress Analytics Plugins Compared (2021)\") to track your site’s performance.\n\nAnd you may also want to check out the [best lead generation plugins](https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/best-wordpress-lead-generation-plugins-compared\/ \"7 Best WordPress Lead Generation Plugins Compared (2021)\") to convert your traffic into subscribers and customers.","meta_canonical":null}

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4. Spam/Ban Check

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2 days ago

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HTTP Status Code	200
Meta Title	Ahrefs vs SEMrush: Which Is Better for You?
Meta Description	Need an SEO tool that will help you rank on search engines, grow your traffic, and beat the competition? We compare Ahrefs vs SEMrush to find the best one.
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Boilerpipe Text	Looking for an SEO tool that will help you rank on search engines, grow your traffic, and beat the competition? Ahrefs and SEMrush are the top SEO tools on the market, and both come with awesome features. So how do you know which is better for your business? In this post, we’ll examine Ahrefs and SEMrush to find their highlights and drawbacks so that you can pick the one that’s the best for your website. What Is SEMrush? SEMrush is the most popular SEO tool that helps grow your organic traffic. Co-founder Oleg Shchgolev first launched SEOquake in 2006. And this served as an inspiration to create a more complex SEO tool with his partner Dmitri Melnikov. And thus, SEMrush was born. Today, SEMrush has over 2 million users across the globe and is loved for its keyword research tools . What Is Ahrefs? Ahrefs was created by Dmitry Gerasimenko and entered the market in 2011. It gained popularity as the best backlink analysis tool . At the time, backlink analysis was stagnant and Ahrefs disrupted the market, giving existing SEO tools a run for their money. Today, Ahrefs’ crawlers process up to 8 billion pages a day for its backlink database. It has also expanded its features to become a more comprehensive SEO tool pitting itself against gigantic SEO tools like SEMrush. Comparing Features of Ahrefs vs SEMrush Ahrefs and SEMrush are titans in the SEO market, and they both have proven track records in rapidly improving SEO for millions of sites. Over the years, we’ve used each tool and can give you a detailed review of both. We’ve picked the key features these plugins have to offer and compared them side by side to see which one is best for you. With that in mind, let’s begin our comparison. Here’s what we’ll be covering. Keyword Research Backlink Analysis Site Audit Rank Tracking Competitor Analysis What Makes SEMrush Unique? What Makes Ahrefs Unique? Pricing Let’s get started. 1. Keyword Research SEMrush was always known for its incredible keyword research tools. It generates keywords fast and shows you which keywords are getting the best ROI (Return on Investment) for your competitors. It also pulls data from Google PPC (pay-per-click). This means if you have Google Ads campaigns, SEMrush will analyze the search volume, level of interest over the past year, and CPC (cost-per-click) for these campaign keywords. In comparison to Ahrefs, SEMrush generates way more keywords. That said, Ahrefs has built-in filters to remove unwanted keywords. So even though it gives you fewer options, it gives you the most valuable ones. Ahrefs also breaks down the keywords list into categories like ‘phrase match’ and ‘newly discovered,’ which is a really cool feature to have. When it comes to keyword research, we think both tools are great. But if you’re specifically interested in a tool for keyword research, SEMrush is your best bet. 2. Backlink Analysis Link building is an essential part of a good SEO strategy. Backlink analysis helps you find link building opportunities, and also lets you find bad links to distance yourself from. You can also see which pages have gained the highest authority for internal linking purposes. When it comes to backlink analysis, Ahrefs is definitely the name that comes to mind. Ahrefs started as a link index and was known as the best backlinking tool for the longest time. It has one of the most powerful backlink checkers. And it gives you an interactive view to monitor the growth or decline of your backlink profiles . On the Ahrefs dashboard, you can view your recent and historical backlinks, as well as your referring domains. You also get a detailed backlinks report that shows you every page linking to your target keyword. It lets you filter the results to dive deeper into your backlink analysis. But SEMrush also offers a solid backlink analysis. With SEMrush, you can view your backlink analytics and identify backlink gaps. It also segments the types of backlinks into text, images, forms, and frames. Overall, we think Ahrefs is the clear winner when it comes to backlink analysis. 3. Site Audit Both Ahrefs and SEMrush let you audit the technical SEO aspects of your site. You can find and fix issues on your site to improve your Google rankings. Here’s what SEMrush has to offer. It scans your site for over 130 technical and SEO mistakes and then categorizes the issues it finds. You’ll see errors, warnings, and notices so you can prioritize what needs fixing. You can check your crawl budget, performance and speed, and interlinking issues as well. Ahrefs, on the other hand, gives you enough information to perform basic site audits and identify glaring technical errors. A few things that Ahrefs lets you audit includes your site’s performance, HTML tags, social tags, and incoming and outgoing links. What we really love is that Ahrefs gives you tips and guidance on how to fix the errors it detects. So you know exactly what to do to fix it fast. In our opinion, both tools give you great insight to fix major technical issues and improve your site’s SEO. 4. Rank Tracking One of the most essential features you need in SEO is a rank tracker. It lets you monitor your page rankings in Google. This basically shows you whether SEO efforts are succeeding, stagnating, or failing. SEMrush’s Rank Tracking tool comes as part of the SEMrush SEO Toolkit. It lets you watch the progress and changes of your page ranks on a daily basis. You can track page position (including keyword positions). It then compiles the results in presentable reports that are easy to understand. Ahrefs also has very similar rank tracking features. You can monitor your rankings over time and compare them to your competition. You can see what percentage of clicks are coming from organic traffic, plus your average position and traffic. You can monitor your Google rankings on desktop as well as mobile. And it’s super easy to use. You just need to enter or import a list of keywords and tell Ahrefs who your competitors are. Then Ahrefs will do the rest for you. You can also set up rank tracking reports to be sent straight to your inbox regularly. This makes it convenient as you don’t have to open the tool to analyze your page rankings. You can access the reports in an email instead. Both tools perform well here, but Ahrefs will give you a slight advantage. 5. Competitor Analysis SEMrush gives you deep insights into your competitor’s traffic strategy and trends. It analyzes traffic from all channels – organic, paid, referral, social, and direct. It also shows you which domains you are competing with to rank in Google. You can even see who your competitor’s competitors are. Added to that, you can identify target keywords, topics, and backlinks you’ve overlooked but that your competitors are using. This helps you uncover new keyword opportunities to outrank the competition. SEMrush even lets you monitor your competition’s social media activities to improve your own strategy. Ahrefs also has a robust competitor analysis tool. You can find content and keyword gaps that you’ve missed. It also lets you check competing domains and pages to identify new opportunities. This really helps improve your SEO strategy and drive traffic to your site . SEMrush is hands down the lead competitor research tool. It collects all the data you need to take your SEO strategy further than your competitor. What Makes SEMrush Unique? SEMrush has a way better tool for PPC advertising. It gives you a competitive PPC analysis that shows you competitor keyword bids, their ad copies, and how much they spend on average. Plus, it shows you a CPC map with an average CPC based on states. It also has social media scheduling tools to post to all major platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, and Pinterest. SEMrush also comes with cool content marketing features like brand monitoring, content auditing, and post tracking. These tools let you optimize your posts and readability. What Makes Ahrefs Unique? First off, Ahrefs has the largest backlink index and is by far the most accurate when it comes to backlink analysis. Next, it lets you see traffic estimations for the top search results which other tools don’t do. This means you can see how much monthly traffic you could get for a given keyword. You can also see the ranking history of keywords on pages. This gives you insights into how a page performs over time. Comparing Ahrefs vs SEMrush Pricing Plans Both SEO tools offer competitive pricing models. Let’s start with Ahrefs. If you want to check out the Ahrefs tool before you invest in it, there’s a trial plan. This grants you access to Ahrefs for 7 days and costs $7. Aside from that, Ahrefs has 4 plans to suit all types of businesses. Lite: Costs $99 per month and gives you access to 1 user Standard: Costs $199 per month for 1 user Advanced: Costs $399 per month for 3 users Agency: Costs $999 per month for 5 users SEMrush has 3 standard pricing plans. However, if you’re a large business and need a custom plan, you can contact their support team. Pro: Costs $119.95 per month and is designed for freelances, startups, and inhouse marketers. Guru: Costs $229.95 per month and is designed for small businesses and growing marketing agencies. Business: Costs $499.95 per month and is more suitable for agencies, eCommerce stores, and larger businesses. SEMrush doesn’t have a trial period but they do have a 7-day refund policy. Having said that, SEMrush has agreed to offer IsItWP users a 30-day trial period . Claim your SEMrush 30-day trial here! SEMrush does cost slightly more than Ahrefs. If you feel the price is steep, you can get a discount on both platforms if you bill annually. Our Verdict: Ahrefs vs SEMrush – Which One Should You Choose? After our deep dive into both tools, we can confidently tell you that SEMrush is the most powerful SEO tool. It has a lot more features and acts as a complete SEO solution for your business. Having said that, here’s what you need to keep in mind. SEMrush is great for businesses who want an all-in-one SEO solution. It will cover SEO, SEM, social media, and content marketing. Ahrefs is great for smaller businesses, freelancers, and SEO professionals who want valuable data to improve their SEO. Ahrefs gives you what you need, no extras. It’s easier to use so it’s ideal for those who are starting out. And with that, you should have all the information you need to make a choice between Ahrefs vs SEMrush. We hope this article has helped you select the right SEO tool for your site. Once you have your SEO solution in place, you’ll need a good analytics solution to track your site’s performance. And you may also want to check out the best lead generation plugins to convert your traffic into subscribers and customers.
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Last updated on January 30th, 2025 by [Editorial Team](https://www.isitwp.com/ "Visit Editorial Team’s website") [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https://www.isitwp.com/ahrefs-vs-semrush/&display=popup&ref=plugin&src=share_button "Share on Facebook") [Tweet](https://twitter.com/share?url=https://www.isitwp.com/ahrefs-vs-semrush/&text=Ahrefs%20vs%20SEMrush%3A%20Which%20Is%20Better%20for%20You%3F "Share on Twitter") [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https://www.isitwp.com/ahrefs-vs-semrush/ "Share on LinkedIn") [Pin](https://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=https://www.isitwp.com/ahrefs-vs-semrush/&media=https://www.isitwp.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/ahrefs-vs-semrush.png&description=Ahrefs%20vs%20SEMrush:%20Which%20Is%20Better%20for%20You? "Share on Pinterest") Shares 18 ![ahrefs vs semrush](https://www.isitwp.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/ahrefs-vs-semrush.png) ![](data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg'%20width='0'%20height='0'%20viewBox='0%200%200%200'%3E%3C/svg%3E) Looking for an SEO tool that will help you rank on search engines, grow your traffic, and beat the competition? Ahrefs and SEMrush are the top SEO tools on the market, and both come with awesome features. So how do you know which is better for your business? In this post, we’ll examine Ahrefs and SEMrush to find their highlights and drawbacks so that you can pick the one that’s the best for your website. ### What Is SEMrush? [![semrush](data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg'%20width='775'%20height='350'%20viewBox='0%200%20775%20350'%3E%3C/svg%3E)](https://www.isitwp.com/refer/semrush/) [SEMrush](https://www.isitwp.com/refer/semrush/) is the most popular SEO tool that helps grow your organic traffic. Co-founder Oleg Shchgolev first launched SEOquake in 2006. And this served as an inspiration to create a more complex SEO tool with his partner Dmitri Melnikov. And thus, SEMrush was born. Today, SEMrush has over 2 million users across the globe and is loved for its [keyword research tools](https://www.isitwp.com/best-seo-keyword-research-tools-compared/ "9 Best SEO Keyword Research Tools of 2021 (Compared)"). ### What Is Ahrefs? [![ahrefs, bacllink checker](data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg'%20width='775'%20height='350'%20viewBox='0%200%20775%20350'%3E%3C/svg%3E)](https://www.isitwp.com/refer/ahrefs/) [Ahrefs](https://www.isitwp.com/refer/ahrefs/) was created by Dmitry Gerasimenko and entered the market in 2011. It gained popularity as the [best backlink analysis tool](https://www.isitwp.com/best-backlink-checker-tools/ "7 Best Backlink Checker Tools to Analyze Your Link Profile"). At the time, backlink analysis was stagnant and Ahrefs disrupted the market, giving existing SEO tools a run for their money. Today, Ahrefs’ crawlers process up to 8 billion pages a day for its backlink database. It has also expanded its features to become a more comprehensive SEO tool pitting itself against gigantic SEO tools like SEMrush. ## Comparing Features of Ahrefs vs SEMrush Ahrefs and SEMrush are titans in the SEO market, and they both have proven track records in rapidly improving SEO for millions of sites. Over the years, we’ve used each tool and can give you a detailed review of both. We’ve picked the key features these plugins have to offer and compared them side by side to see which one is best for you. With that in mind, let’s begin our comparison. Here’s what we’ll be covering. 1. [Keyword Research](https://www.isitwp.com/ahrefs-vs-semrush/#keywordresearch) 2. [Backlink Analysis](https://www.isitwp.com/ahrefs-vs-semrush/#backlink) 3. [Site Audit](https://www.isitwp.com/ahrefs-vs-semrush/#siteanalysis) 4. [Rank Tracking](https://www.isitwp.com/ahrefs-vs-semrush/#ranktracking) 5. [Competitor Analysis](https://www.isitwp.com/ahrefs-vs-semrush/#competitor) 6. [What Makes SEMrush Unique?](https://www.isitwp.com/ahrefs-vs-semrush/#semrush) 7. [What Makes Ahrefs Unique?](https://www.isitwp.com/ahrefs-vs-semrush/#ahrefs) 8. [Pricing](https://www.isitwp.com/ahrefs-vs-semrush/#pricing) Let’s get started. ### 1\. Keyword Research SEMrush was always known for its incredible keyword research tools. It generates keywords fast and shows you which keywords are getting the best ROI (Return on Investment) for your competitors. ![semrush overview](data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg'%20width='768'%20height='366'%20viewBox='0%200%20768%20366'%3E%3C/svg%3E) It also pulls data from Google PPC (pay-per-click). This means if you have Google Ads campaigns, SEMrush will analyze the search volume, level of interest over the past year, and CPC (cost-per-click) for these campaign keywords. In comparison to Ahrefs, SEMrush generates way more keywords. That said, Ahrefs has built-in filters to remove unwanted keywords. So even though it gives you fewer options, it gives you the most valuable ones. ![ahrefs keyword research tool](data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg'%20width='775'%20height='435'%20viewBox='0%200%20775%20435'%3E%3C/svg%3E) Ahrefs also breaks down the keywords list into categories like ‘phrase match’ and ‘newly discovered,’ which is a really cool feature to have. When it comes to keyword research, we think both tools are great. But if you’re specifically interested in a tool for keyword research, [SEMrush](https://www.isitwp.com/refer/semrush/) is your best bet. ### 2\. Backlink Analysis Link building is an essential part of a good SEO strategy. Backlink analysis helps you find link building opportunities, and also lets you find bad links to distance yourself from. You can also see which pages have gained the highest authority for internal linking purposes. When it comes to backlink analysis, Ahrefs is definitely the name that comes to mind. Ahrefs started as a link index and was known as the best backlinking tool for the longest time. It has one of the most powerful backlink checkers. And it gives you an interactive view to monitor the growth or decline of your [backlink profiles](https://www.isitwp.com/how-to-improve-natural-link-building/). On the Ahrefs dashboard, you can view your recent and historical backlinks, as well as your referring domains. ![ahrefs-backlink-dashboard](data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg'%20width='775'%20height='326'%20viewBox='0%200%20775%20326'%3E%3C/svg%3E) You also get a detailed backlinks report that shows you every page linking to your target keyword. It lets you filter the results to dive deeper into your backlink analysis. But SEMrush also offers a solid backlink analysis. ![semrush backlink analytics](data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg'%20width='768'%20height='313'%20viewBox='0%200%20768%20313'%3E%3C/svg%3E) With SEMrush, you can view your backlink analytics and identify backlink gaps. It also segments the types of backlinks into text, images, forms, and frames. Overall, we think [Ahrefs](https://www.isitwp.com/refer/ahrefs/) is the clear winner when it comes to backlink analysis. ### 3\. Site Audit Both Ahrefs and SEMrush let you audit the technical SEO aspects of your site. You can find and fix issues on your site to improve your Google rankings. Here’s what SEMrush has to offer. ![semrush site audit](data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg'%20width='775'%20height='411'%20viewBox='0%200%20775%20411'%3E%3C/svg%3E) It scans your site for over 130 technical and SEO mistakes and then categorizes the issues it finds. You’ll see errors, warnings, and notices so you can prioritize what needs fixing. You can check your crawl budget, performance and speed, and interlinking issues as well. Ahrefs, on the other hand, gives you enough information to perform basic site audits and identify glaring technical errors. ![ahrefs site audit](data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg'%20width='775'%20height='382'%20viewBox='0%200%20775%20382'%3E%3C/svg%3E) A few things that Ahrefs lets you audit includes your site’s performance, HTML tags, social tags, and incoming and outgoing links. What we really love is that Ahrefs gives you tips and guidance on how to fix the errors it detects. So you know exactly what to do to fix it fast. In our opinion, both tools give you great insight to fix major technical issues and improve your site’s SEO. ### 4\. Rank Tracking One of the most essential features you need in SEO is a rank tracker. It lets you monitor your page rankings in Google. This basically shows you whether SEO efforts are succeeding, stagnating, or failing. SEMrush’s Rank Tracking tool comes as part of the SEMrush SEO Toolkit. It lets you watch the progress and changes of your page ranks on a daily basis. You can track page position (including keyword positions). It then compiles the results in presentable reports that are easy to understand. ![semrush-organic-keywords (1)](data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg'%20width='560'%20height='374'%20viewBox='0%200%20560%20374'%3E%3C/svg%3E) Ahrefs also has very similar rank tracking features. You can monitor your rankings over time and compare them to your competition. You can see what percentage of clicks are coming from organic traffic, plus your average position and traffic. ![ahrefs rank tracker](data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg'%20width='775'%20height='471'%20viewBox='0%200%20775%20471'%3E%3C/svg%3E) You can monitor your Google rankings on desktop as well as mobile. And it’s super easy to use. You just need to enter or import a list of keywords and tell Ahrefs who your competitors are. Then Ahrefs will do the rest for you. You can also set up rank tracking reports to be sent straight to your inbox regularly. This makes it convenient as you don’t have to open the tool to analyze your page rankings. You can access the reports in an email instead. Both tools perform well here, but [Ahrefs](https://www.isitwp.com/refer/ahrefs/) will give you a slight advantage. ### 5\. Competitor Analysis SEMrush gives you deep insights into your competitor’s traffic strategy and trends. It analyzes traffic from all channels – organic, paid, referral, social, and direct. ![semrush competitor analysis](data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg'%20width='768'%20height='361'%20viewBox='0%200%20768%20361'%3E%3C/svg%3E) It also shows you which domains you are competing with to rank in Google. You can even see who your competitor’s competitors are. Added to that, you can identify target keywords, topics, and backlinks you’ve overlooked but that your competitors are using. This helps you uncover new keyword opportunities to outrank the competition. SEMrush even lets you monitor your competition’s social media activities to improve your own strategy. Ahrefs also has a robust competitor analysis tool. You can find content and keyword gaps that you’ve missed. ![ahrefs competitor analysis](data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg'%20width='775'%20height='516'%20viewBox='0%200%20775%20516'%3E%3C/svg%3E) It also lets you check competing domains and pages to identify new opportunities. This really helps improve your SEO strategy and [drive traffic to your site](https://www.isitwp.com/best-seo-plugins-for-wordpress/ "11 Best SEO Plugins for WordPress to Drive Organic Traffic"). [SEMrush](https://www.isitwp.com/refer/semrush/) is hands down the lead competitor research tool. It collects all the data you need to take your SEO strategy further than your competitor. ### What Makes SEMrush Unique? ![semrush homepage](data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg'%20width='775'%20height='500'%20viewBox='0%200%20775%20500'%3E%3C/svg%3E) [SEMrush](https://www.isitwp.com/refer/semrush/) has a way better tool for PPC advertising. It gives you a competitive PPC analysis that shows you competitor keyword bids, their ad copies, and how much they spend on average. Plus, it shows you a CPC map with an average CPC based on states. It also has social media scheduling tools to post to all major platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, and Pinterest. SEMrush also comes with cool [content marketing](https://www.isitwp.com/best-content-marketing-tools-plugins-wordpress/ "15 Best Content Marketing Tools and Plugins for WordPress") features like brand monitoring, content auditing, and post tracking. These tools let you optimize your posts and readability. ### What Makes Ahrefs Unique? ![ahrefs homepage](data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg'%20width='775'%20height='413'%20viewBox='0%200%20775%20413'%3E%3C/svg%3E) First off, [Ahrefs](https://www.isitwp.com/refer/ahrefs/) has the largest backlink index and is by far the most accurate when it comes to backlink analysis. Next, it lets you see traffic estimations for the top search results which other tools don’t do. This means you can see how much monthly traffic you could get for a given keyword. You can also see the ranking history of keywords on pages. This gives you insights into how a page performs over time. ### Comparing Ahrefs vs SEMrush Pricing Plans Both SEO tools offer competitive pricing models. Let’s start with Ahrefs. If you want to check out the Ahrefs tool before you invest in it, there’s a trial plan. This grants you access to Ahrefs for 7 days and costs \$7. Aside from that, Ahrefs has 4 plans to suit all types of businesses. ![ahrefs pricing](data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg'%20width='775'%20height='378'%20viewBox='0%200%20775%20378'%3E%3C/svg%3E) - Lite: Costs \$99 per month and gives you access to 1 user - Standard: Costs \$199 per month for 1 user - Advanced: Costs \$399 per month for 3 users - Agency: Costs \$999 per month for 5 users SEMrush has 3 standard pricing plans. However, if you’re a large business and need a custom plan, you can contact their support team. ![Semrush Pricing](data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg'%20width='775'%20height='465'%20viewBox='0%200%20775%20465'%3E%3C/svg%3E) - Pro: Costs \$119.95 per month and is designed for freelances, startups, and inhouse marketers. - Guru: Costs \$229.95 per month and is designed for small businesses and growing marketing agencies. - Business: Costs \$499.95 per month and is more suitable for agencies, eCommerce stores, and larger businesses. SEMrush doesn’t have a trial period but they do have a 7-day refund policy. Having said that, SEMrush has agreed to offer IsItWP users a 30-day trial period. [Claim your SEMrush 30-day trial here\!](https://www.isitwp.com/refer/semrush-free-trial/) SEMrush does cost slightly more than Ahrefs. If you feel the price is steep, you can get a discount on both platforms if you bill annually. ### Our Verdict: Ahrefs vs SEMrush – Which One Should You Choose? After our deep dive into both tools, we can confidently tell you that [SEMrush](https://www.isitwp.com/refer/semrush/) is the most powerful SEO tool. It has a lot more features and acts as a complete SEO solution for your business. Having said that, here’s what you need to keep in mind. - SEMrush is great for businesses who want an all-in-one SEO solution. It will cover SEO, SEM, social media, and content marketing. - Ahrefs is great for smaller businesses, freelancers, and SEO professionals who want valuable data to improve their SEO. Ahrefs gives you what you need, no extras. It’s easier to use so it’s ideal for those who are starting out. And with that, you should have all the information you need to make a choice between Ahrefs vs SEMrush. We hope this article has helped you select the right SEO tool for your site. Once you have your SEO solution in place, you’ll need a [good analytics solution](https://www.isitwp.com/best-wordpress-analytics-solutions-compared/ "13 Best WordPress Analytics Plugins Compared (2021)") to track your site’s performance. And you may also want to check out the [best lead generation plugins](https://www.isitwp.com/best-wordpress-lead-generation-plugins-compared/ "7 Best WordPress Lead Generation Plugins Compared (2021)") to convert your traffic into subscribers and customers. 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Readable Markdown	![ahrefs vs semrush](https://www.isitwp.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/ahrefs-vs-semrush.png) Looking for an SEO tool that will help you rank on search engines, grow your traffic, and beat the competition? Ahrefs and SEMrush are the top SEO tools on the market, and both come with awesome features. So how do you know which is better for your business? In this post, we’ll examine Ahrefs and SEMrush to find their highlights and drawbacks so that you can pick the one that’s the best for your website. ### What Is SEMrush? [![semrush](https://www.isitwp.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/semrush.png)](https://www.isitwp.com/refer/semrush/) [SEMrush](https://www.isitwp.com/refer/semrush/) is the most popular SEO tool that helps grow your organic traffic. Co-founder Oleg Shchgolev first launched SEOquake in 2006. And this served as an inspiration to create a more complex SEO tool with his partner Dmitri Melnikov. And thus, SEMrush was born. Today, SEMrush has over 2 million users across the globe and is loved for its [keyword research tools](https://www.isitwp.com/best-seo-keyword-research-tools-compared/ "9 Best SEO Keyword Research Tools of 2021 (Compared)"). ### What Is Ahrefs? [![ahrefs, bacllink checker](https://www.isitwp.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/ahrefs.png)](https://www.isitwp.com/refer/ahrefs/) [Ahrefs](https://www.isitwp.com/refer/ahrefs/) was created by Dmitry Gerasimenko and entered the market in 2011. It gained popularity as the [best backlink analysis tool](https://www.isitwp.com/best-backlink-checker-tools/ "7 Best Backlink Checker Tools to Analyze Your Link Profile"). At the time, backlink analysis was stagnant and Ahrefs disrupted the market, giving existing SEO tools a run for their money. Today, Ahrefs’ crawlers process up to 8 billion pages a day for its backlink database. It has also expanded its features to become a more comprehensive SEO tool pitting itself against gigantic SEO tools like SEMrush. ## Comparing Features of Ahrefs vs SEMrush Ahrefs and SEMrush are titans in the SEO market, and they both have proven track records in rapidly improving SEO for millions of sites. Over the years, we’ve used each tool and can give you a detailed review of both. We’ve picked the key features these plugins have to offer and compared them side by side to see which one is best for you. With that in mind, let’s begin our comparison. Here’s what we’ll be covering. 1. [Keyword Research](https://www.isitwp.com/ahrefs-vs-semrush/#keywordresearch) 2. [Backlink Analysis](https://www.isitwp.com/ahrefs-vs-semrush/#backlink) 3. [Site Audit](https://www.isitwp.com/ahrefs-vs-semrush/#siteanalysis) 4. [Rank Tracking](https://www.isitwp.com/ahrefs-vs-semrush/#ranktracking) 5. [Competitor Analysis](https://www.isitwp.com/ahrefs-vs-semrush/#competitor) 6. [What Makes SEMrush Unique?](https://www.isitwp.com/ahrefs-vs-semrush/#semrush) 7. [What Makes Ahrefs Unique?](https://www.isitwp.com/ahrefs-vs-semrush/#ahrefs) 8. [Pricing](https://www.isitwp.com/ahrefs-vs-semrush/#pricing) Let’s get started. ### 1\. Keyword Research SEMrush was always known for its incredible keyword research tools. It generates keywords fast and shows you which keywords are getting the best ROI (Return on Investment) for your competitors. ![semrush overview](https://www.isitwp.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/semrush-overview.png) It also pulls data from Google PPC (pay-per-click). This means if you have Google Ads campaigns, SEMrush will analyze the search volume, level of interest over the past year, and CPC (cost-per-click) for these campaign keywords. In comparison to Ahrefs, SEMrush generates way more keywords. That said, Ahrefs has built-in filters to remove unwanted keywords. So even though it gives you fewer options, it gives you the most valuable ones. ![ahrefs keyword research tool](https://www.isitwp.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/ahrefs-keyword-research-tool.png) Ahrefs also breaks down the keywords list into categories like ‘phrase match’ and ‘newly discovered,’ which is a really cool feature to have. When it comes to keyword research, we think both tools are great. But if you’re specifically interested in a tool for keyword research, [SEMrush](https://www.isitwp.com/refer/semrush/) is your best bet. ### 2\. Backlink Analysis Link building is an essential part of a good SEO strategy. Backlink analysis helps you find link building opportunities, and also lets you find bad links to distance yourself from. You can also see which pages have gained the highest authority for internal linking purposes. When it comes to backlink analysis, Ahrefs is definitely the name that comes to mind. Ahrefs started as a link index and was known as the best backlinking tool for the longest time. It has one of the most powerful backlink checkers. And it gives you an interactive view to monitor the growth or decline of your [backlink profiles](https://www.isitwp.com/how-to-improve-natural-link-building/). On the Ahrefs dashboard, you can view your recent and historical backlinks, as well as your referring domains. ![ahrefs-backlink-dashboard](https://www.isitwp.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/ahrefs-backlink-dashboard.png) You also get a detailed backlinks report that shows you every page linking to your target keyword. It lets you filter the results to dive deeper into your backlink analysis. But SEMrush also offers a solid backlink analysis. ![semrush backlink analytics](https://www.isitwp.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/semrush-backlink-analytics.png) With SEMrush, you can view your backlink analytics and identify backlink gaps. It also segments the types of backlinks into text, images, forms, and frames. Overall, we think [Ahrefs](https://www.isitwp.com/refer/ahrefs/) is the clear winner when it comes to backlink analysis. ### 3\. Site Audit Both Ahrefs and SEMrush let you audit the technical SEO aspects of your site. You can find and fix issues on your site to improve your Google rankings. Here’s what SEMrush has to offer. ![semrush site audit](https://www.isitwp.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/semrush-site-audit.png) It scans your site for over 130 technical and SEO mistakes and then categorizes the issues it finds. You’ll see errors, warnings, and notices so you can prioritize what needs fixing. You can check your crawl budget, performance and speed, and interlinking issues as well. Ahrefs, on the other hand, gives you enough information to perform basic site audits and identify glaring technical errors. ![ahrefs site audit](https://www.isitwp.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/ahrefs-site-audit-1.png) A few things that Ahrefs lets you audit includes your site’s performance, HTML tags, social tags, and incoming and outgoing links. What we really love is that Ahrefs gives you tips and guidance on how to fix the errors it detects. So you know exactly what to do to fix it fast. In our opinion, both tools give you great insight to fix major technical issues and improve your site’s SEO. ### 4\. Rank Tracking One of the most essential features you need in SEO is a rank tracker. It lets you monitor your page rankings in Google. This basically shows you whether SEO efforts are succeeding, stagnating, or failing. SEMrush’s Rank Tracking tool comes as part of the SEMrush SEO Toolkit. It lets you watch the progress and changes of your page ranks on a daily basis. You can track page position (including keyword positions). It then compiles the results in presentable reports that are easy to understand. ![semrush-organic-keywords (1)](https://www.isitwp.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/semrush-organic-keywords-1.jpg) Ahrefs also has very similar rank tracking features. You can monitor your rankings over time and compare them to your competition. You can see what percentage of clicks are coming from organic traffic, plus your average position and traffic. ![ahrefs rank tracker](https://www.isitwp.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/ahrefs-rank-tracker.png) You can monitor your Google rankings on desktop as well as mobile. And it’s super easy to use. You just need to enter or import a list of keywords and tell Ahrefs who your competitors are. Then Ahrefs will do the rest for you. You can also set up rank tracking reports to be sent straight to your inbox regularly. This makes it convenient as you don’t have to open the tool to analyze your page rankings. You can access the reports in an email instead. Both tools perform well here, but [Ahrefs](https://www.isitwp.com/refer/ahrefs/) will give you a slight advantage. ### 5\. Competitor Analysis SEMrush gives you deep insights into your competitor’s traffic strategy and trends. It analyzes traffic from all channels – organic, paid, referral, social, and direct. ![semrush competitor analysis](https://www.isitwp.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/semrush-competitor-analysis.png) It also shows you which domains you are competing with to rank in Google. You can even see who your competitor’s competitors are. Added to that, you can identify target keywords, topics, and backlinks you’ve overlooked but that your competitors are using. This helps you uncover new keyword opportunities to outrank the competition. SEMrush even lets you monitor your competition’s social media activities to improve your own strategy. Ahrefs also has a robust competitor analysis tool. You can find content and keyword gaps that you’ve missed. ![ahrefs competitor analysis](https://www.isitwp.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/ahrefs-competitor-analysis.png) It also lets you check competing domains and pages to identify new opportunities. This really helps improve your SEO strategy and [drive traffic to your site](https://www.isitwp.com/best-seo-plugins-for-wordpress/ "11 Best SEO Plugins for WordPress to Drive Organic Traffic"). [SEMrush](https://www.isitwp.com/refer/semrush/) is hands down the lead competitor research tool. It collects all the data you need to take your SEO strategy further than your competitor. ### What Makes SEMrush Unique? ![semrush homepage](https://www.isitwp.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/semrush-homepage.png) [SEMrush](https://www.isitwp.com/refer/semrush/) has a way better tool for PPC advertising. It gives you a competitive PPC analysis that shows you competitor keyword bids, their ad copies, and how much they spend on average. Plus, it shows you a CPC map with an average CPC based on states. It also has social media scheduling tools to post to all major platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, and Pinterest. SEMrush also comes with cool [content marketing](https://www.isitwp.com/best-content-marketing-tools-plugins-wordpress/ "15 Best Content Marketing Tools and Plugins for WordPress") features like brand monitoring, content auditing, and post tracking. These tools let you optimize your posts and readability. ### What Makes Ahrefs Unique? ![ahrefs homepage](https://www.isitwp.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/ahrefs-homepage.png) First off, [Ahrefs](https://www.isitwp.com/refer/ahrefs/) has the largest backlink index and is by far the most accurate when it comes to backlink analysis. Next, it lets you see traffic estimations for the top search results which other tools don’t do. This means you can see how much monthly traffic you could get for a given keyword. You can also see the ranking history of keywords on pages. This gives you insights into how a page performs over time. ### Comparing Ahrefs vs SEMrush Pricing Plans Both SEO tools offer competitive pricing models. Let’s start with Ahrefs. If you want to check out the Ahrefs tool before you invest in it, there’s a trial plan. This grants you access to Ahrefs for 7 days and costs \$7. Aside from that, Ahrefs has 4 plans to suit all types of businesses. ![ahrefs pricing](https://www.isitwp.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/ahrefs-pricing.png) - Lite: Costs \$99 per month and gives you access to 1 user - Standard: Costs \$199 per month for 1 user - Advanced: Costs \$399 per month for 3 users - Agency: Costs \$999 per month for 5 users SEMrush has 3 standard pricing plans. However, if you’re a large business and need a custom plan, you can contact their support team. ![Semrush Pricing](https://www.isitwp.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/semrushpricing.png) - Pro: Costs \$119.95 per month and is designed for freelances, startups, and inhouse marketers. - Guru: Costs \$229.95 per month and is designed for small businesses and growing marketing agencies. - Business: Costs \$499.95 per month and is more suitable for agencies, eCommerce stores, and larger businesses. SEMrush doesn’t have a trial period but they do have a 7-day refund policy. Having said that, SEMrush has agreed to offer IsItWP users a 30-day trial period. [Claim your SEMrush 30-day trial here\!](https://www.isitwp.com/refer/semrush-free-trial/) SEMrush does cost slightly more than Ahrefs. If you feel the price is steep, you can get a discount on both platforms if you bill annually. ### Our Verdict: Ahrefs vs SEMrush – Which One Should You Choose? After our deep dive into both tools, we can confidently tell you that [SEMrush](https://www.isitwp.com/refer/semrush/) is the most powerful SEO tool. It has a lot more features and acts as a complete SEO solution for your business. Having said that, here’s what you need to keep in mind. - SEMrush is great for businesses who want an all-in-one SEO solution. It will cover SEO, SEM, social media, and content marketing. - Ahrefs is great for smaller businesses, freelancers, and SEO professionals who want valuable data to improve their SEO. Ahrefs gives you what you need, no extras. It’s easier to use so it’s ideal for those who are starting out. And with that, you should have all the information you need to make a choice between Ahrefs vs SEMrush. We hope this article has helped you select the right SEO tool for your site. Once you have your SEO solution in place, you’ll need a [good analytics solution](https://www.isitwp.com/best-wordpress-analytics-solutions-compared/ "13 Best WordPress Analytics Plugins Compared (2021)") to track your site’s performance. And you may also want to check out the [best lead generation plugins](https://www.isitwp.com/best-wordpress-lead-generation-plugins-compared/ "7 Best WordPress Lead Generation Plugins Compared (2021)") to convert your traffic into subscribers and customers.
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