Is There a Free Trial for Ahrefs? What You Need to Know Before You Subscribe
The majority of SEO tools offer a free trial for you to try out their services. But Ahrefs is an exception, and here we explain why. This article explains all that is included in free access to Ahrefs and ways to assess it.
This article shows you everything there is in free Ahrefs access.
Does Ahrefs Offer a Traditional Free Trial?
The Ahrefs tool, in most cases, doesn’t provide an unlimited free trial like most software-as-a-service programs (“14 days free, full access, cancel anytime”). The reason behind this is that the Ahrefs data is costly to process, and unlimited free trials have always been misused in the past where users download lots of data and then cancel without making any payments.
However, Ahrefs occasionally provides trial periods at a reduced cost (trial period for a very low amount). These trials are not consistent, and you should always visit the official Ahrefs pricing page for any ongoing trials, as other websites might be providing outdated information.
Free Ways to Access Ahrefs Data
Despite the absence of a classic free trial period, Ahrefs provides many free tools and assets:
Ahrefs Webmaster Tools (AWT)
It’s the most valuable of all. After proving that the website belongs to you, AWT provides you with free access to:
- Backlink profile of your site
- Organic keyword positions
- Site Audit of your verified website
- Basic SEO audit functionality
It is not a test; it is a free tool, albeit one with the limitation of being able to analyze sites that you own and verify but not those of your competitors.
Free Domain Rating (DR) Checker
It is a free tool provided by the Ahrefs site which allows you to determine the Domain Rating of any site without even having an account.
Free Backlink Checker
Allows you to see a snippet of the backlinks for a site (with results usually being restricted in number). It doesn’t require you to have a premium account.
Free Keyword Generator
It creates keyword ideas based on the volume of search for a seed keyword.
Free SEO Toolbar (Browser Extension)
Browser extension that works freely and gives you the SEO information, backlink information, and SERP positions on-page itself without having to log in to the platform.
How to Properly Evaluate Ahrefs Before Paying
Since there is no free trial that can be used, here’s how you should analyze the platform carefully before deciding to subscribe:
1. Start with Ahrefs Webmaster Tools
Test out your own website and look at the information regarding backlinks, keywords, and site audit that is available for your website. It will provide you with a real feel of data quality and usability at no cost at all.
2. Use the Free Standalone Tools for Competitor Spot-Checks
Test out some competitor websites on the free DR checker and backlink checker to get a general idea of how the data provided by Ahrefs differs from what you know about those websites.
3. Review Ahrefs’ Own Educational Content
There are many free blog articles and YouTube videos available from Ahrefs, providing details regarding the platform’s features. Watching some of them provides you with an understanding of how the paid version of the platform works.
4. Check for Current Promotions Directly on Ahrefs.com
In case there is any special offer going on, the details will be mentioned on the official price page. Don’t use any third party site for discount codes as these sites usually have expired or fake codes.
5. Consider Starting with the Lowest Paid Tier
In case you opt for subscribing, begin with the Lite package (instead of directly going to a more expensive one), as this will enable you to gauge whether the product works for you or not, without any high financial investment.
Why Ahrefs Doesn’t Offer Unrestricted Free Trials
The logic behind this is:
Data Costs Money to Serve
The key strength of Ahrefs lies in its huge database of backlinks, keywords, and crawls that is constantly updated. The storage and delivery of this data is costly, while abuse of the trial period (registration, download of lots of data and then cancellation) was a big problem for the model previously.
The Target Audience Is Professional, Not Casual
Ahrefs is made for professionals, agencies, internal marketing teams and SEO consultants who need the data on an ongoing basis rather than a single large export.
Free Tools Serve the “Try Before You Buy” Function Instead
Instead of opting for the whole trial process, Ahrefs has developed some very useful free tools (the Webmaster Tools in particular) which would enable the potential customer to assess the data quality and interface experience without the risk of misuse associated with unrestricted access.
What to Watch Out For
One should be careful about third-party websites providing “Ahrefs free trial,” “discount,” or “coupon” links. Most of them will either:
- Offer expired promotions that are useless now
- Use affiliate links as deals without any sort of discounts
- Rarely, can be used for phishing login information
Always visit ahrefs.com directly for the latest pricing information, plans, and deals since you never know what you will get from third-party coupon websites that aggregate coupons from various sources.
Final Thoughts
Ahrefs does not have a standard unrestricted free trial program, but it offers plenty of free value in terms of Ahrefs Webmaster Tools and other individual free checkers to help you make an honest assessment of the quality of their data and ease of use before spending money.
If you want to use Ahrefs, use the free version first, enter your website into Webmaster Tools, and look at the actual prices on ahrefs.com.