How Much Does Ahrefs Cost? A Full Breakdown of Pricing and How to Save
The Ahrefs suite is one of the more expensive SEO tools around and isn’t meant to compete on price. Its features cater to hardcore SEO and offer some impressive insight that isn’t easily accessible elsewhere. But pricing doesn’t follow a conventional pattern, and there are legitimate methods to lower your costs.
This guide will explain precisely how much it will cost to use Ahrefs, what comes with each package, and tips on getting more out of your money.
Ahrefs Pricing Tiers
Ahrefs has multiple subscription options available; each level varies in terms of functionality, storage limits, and number of users.
Lite Plan
Suitable for newbies in SEO.
Contains basic access to:
- Site Explorer
- Keywords Explorer
- Site Audit
- Rank Tracker
Limited by smaller usage limits:
- Less number of keywords to track
- Less number of pages to crawl
- Less rows in reports
Standard Plan
Tier that is the most preferred for freelancers, small agencies, and startups.
Features include:
- Increased limits for all tools
- Content Explorer
- Deeper analysis capabilities
Advanced Plan
Suitable for larger groups and agencies dealing with several clients or big websites.
Features include:
- Increased crawling capacity
- More keyword tracking capability
- More team seating options
- Access to more historical data
Enterprise Plan
Custom pricing for enterprise-level businesses with comprehensive SEO requirements.
Pricing includes:
- Heavy-duty crawling
- Access to API
- Account support
Monthly vs. Annual Billing
Prices depend on whether you pay monthly or annually; annual pricing usually provides significant savings over monthly payments.
What Affects Your Ahrefs Cost
There are some things that will influence your decision as to what level suits you best.
Number of Tracked Keywords
Every plan comes with a limited amount of keywords you can track using Rank Tracker.
If you work with several websites, then you will definitely need to use a more advanced level.
Crawl Credits for Site Audit
More crawl credits are required by large sites in order to conduct a complete audit of all the pages.
This is important if you have a corporate site having tens of thousands of pages.
Number of Users/Seats
Additional licenses for multiple users who need access are needed by agencies or in-house teams having more than one person working on the account.
Row Limits in Reports
Every plan has a maximum number of rows of data that you can either export or see in reports such as backlinks or organic keywords.
The more authority a website has along with a lot of backlinks, the more they will benefit from premium plans which have higher row limits.
Is There a Free Trial for Ahrefs?
Unlike other SaaS models, Ahrefs does not provide a free trial of its services, but nevertheless, there are methods to check out the platform without signing up for one of their paid packages.
Ahrefs Webmaster Tools (Free)
It is a completely free tool through which you can audit and monitor your own website which is verified by you, along with your backlinks data, technical SEO data, and keyword data.
Free Tools on the Ahrefs Website
There are several stand-alone free tools that are offered by Ahrefs such as:
- Free Domain rating checker
- Free Keyword Generator
- Free Backlink checker (with limited results)
This allows users to sample the data offered by the platform without paying for a subscription.
Trial Promotions
Sometimes, Ahrefs launches trial promotions which usually involve a 7-day trial with minimal charges.
To find out about the latest promotions at Ahrefs, go to their official pricing page.
How to Get Ahrefs at a Lower Cost
In case you are budget-conscious, here are some genuine ways to save on costs.
Choose Annual Billing
Yearly plans are always less expensive than monthly payment plans for all SaaS applications including Ahrefs.
In case you plan to use the application for a considerable period of time, this is the one area that could help you save the most money.
Start With a Lower Tier and Upgrade as Needed
Users often have unrealistic expectations about their subscription package.
It would be better to start from Lite or Standard and keep track of the following indicators of usage:
- Number of keywords
- Crawl credits
- Number of rows
Consider upgrading only when you exceed these limits regularly.
Use Ahrefs Webmaster Tools for Your Own Site
If you do not require the analysis of competitor websites but instead focus on ensuring that your own site is doing well in its SEO, the Ahrefs Webmaster Tools will offer useful free functions without having to purchase an account.
Share a Team Seat (Within Terms of Service)
For smaller teams, it is cheaper to use one paid account for several people than purchasing individual subscriptions.
Please read the Ahrefs’ terms of service concerning seat sharing and limits of usage.
Watch for Official Promotions
Ahrefs occasionally offers official discounts around:
- Big SEO conferences
- Black Friday
- Product releases
Such information is provided only on ahrefs.com or by Ahrefs.
Use any discount codes only from the official website because most coupon websites offer invalid or expired discount codes.
Is Ahrefs Worth the Cost?
The question of whether or not Ahrefs is worth it boils down to how you plan to utilize it.
It’s Worth It If:
- Your SEO plays an integral role in your business/client work
- You require dependable data regarding backlinks and keywords to strategize
- You operate several sites or find yourself in a highly competitive market
- You charge your clients for SEO work and need professional level reporting
It May Not Be Worth It If:
- You’re just a hobbyist blogger that runs a single website
- Your budget is very tight and you are just getting started (look into free tools first)
- You primarily require content creation or on-page optimization tools
To most professional marketers, agencies and organizations looking to grow organically, the value of the data available through Ahrefs usually makes the cost of using the tool worth it, even if SEO is just one small part of their business income stream.
Final Thoughts
While Ahrefs can certainly be described as a premium product, the company offers some options to test and control the cost of the software.
First, select a package based on your actual usage of the platform and pay for an entire year upfront if you are certain about it. This will give you an opportunity to see whether Ahrefs suits you or not and prevent unnecessary upgrades.
Never use any third-party websites offering discounts on Ahrefs, all information regarding discounts and pricing can be found on the official website.