Semrush Vs Ahrefs 2024 🚀Which One is Best ? (#1 Pick)

Semrush Learn More	Ahrefs Learn More
$ Pricing
$119.95 – $449.95 / mo.	$99 – $999 / mo.
Best for
Semrush started with just two tools in 2008 when it launched its business. Its original focus was on providing a broad keyword database for its users.	Ahrefs is a software development company specializing in SEO tools and free resources to educate marketing professionals.
Features
Domain Analysis, Keyword Research Content Marketing Paid Advertising	Site Explorer Keyword Explorer Site Audit Rank Tracker
Pros
Domain analysis is easy to perform Provides a lot of PPC data Many number of reports can be pulled in a day	SERP data like return rate and clicks are both exciting and innovative. In my experience, this is the largest backlink database. Daily email updates with the most recent and broadest keyword searches.
Cons
Hard to use it on a mobile device	I’ve seen instances when no results were delivered in some tool areas. There is no connection to Google Analytics or Search Console.
Ease of Use
The tools of Semrush are really easy to use and the response time is very less. super easy to use	easy to use
Value For Money
The subscriptions are affordable for the number of tools offered to users.	The subscriptions are a bit pricey and don’t offer as many options for users.
Customer Support
Typically replies within one business day via email or within minutes via live chat. Also offers a broad range of knowledge-based articles, blogs, and academy training for users.	Offers a forum where you can ask for advice from the Ahrefs team, but has no option to speak with a representative for more advanced support. They do offer an academy.

In this article, we’ll compare Semrush Vs Ahrefs these two online visibility SaaS management platforms, and provide our opinion on which one is most suitable for your business needs.

Your business is one of many competing for space on the internet. That’s why it’s important to choose the right SEO platform.

Two top competitors are striving to help businesses improve their online presence—Semrush and Ahrefs. While both have been around for over a decade, each one has different capabilities, interfaces, and tools to help a business owner.0

Semrush vs Ahrefs: Which One Is Better?

While both are highly trusted by millions of users, it depends on what your needs are.

Both Ahrefs and Semrush offer tools that function in similar ways. However, Ahrefs doesn’t match the number of options available from Semrush, which boasts 55+ tools.

After looking at the table above and the features comparisons below, it’s obvious that Semrush is the platform of choice.

So we’ve outlined the major differences for you and why we believe you should choose Semrush—the best SEO tool for your marketing needs.

Semrush Overview

Semrush started with just two tools in 2008 when it launched its business. Its original focus was on providing a broad keyword database for its users. And it has been on a steady incline to create an online visibility and content marketing platform full of high-quality, easy-to-use marketing tools for any level of marketing specialist.

Semrush has been recognized across the world, receiving numerous search and marketing awards.

Large brands like Tesla, Decathlon, Amazon, Samsung, Apple, Walmart, IBM, and more use Semrush.

Want to know more about Semrush Check Out Our Detailed SEMrush Review: Why Semrush Is The Best?

Ahrefs Overview

Ahrefs is a software development company specializing in SEO tools and free resources to educate marketing professionals.

In 2010, Ahrefs’ founder and CEO, Dmitry Gerasimenko, launched its first backlinks index, thus introducing its main tool, Site Explorer. Site Explorer quickly became the best backlink and analytics tool on the web, moving beyond a pure keyword indexing focus.

Brands like AutoZone, Red Hat, Search Engine Optimization, Inc., and Black Friars Group use Ahrefs.

Semrush vs Ahrefs: Features Comparisons

We won’t be able to list every tool available between the two platforms, so we selected the most popular from each company to talk about their differences.

Keep in mind, that Semrush offers several functions that Ahrefs doesn’t, so there are many additional tools from Semrush that are not detailed here.

Domain Analytics

Semrush

Semrush has three tools available to monitor domain analytics: the Domain Overview, Organic Research, and Keyword Gap tools. Domain Overview and Organic Research allow you a quick overview of paid and organic data for any URL, subdomain, or subfolder. The Keyword Gap tool show areas where you or your competitors aren’t currently targeting keywords.

In the Domain Overview, users with any subscription are able to view their top 100 keywords. One of the biggest differences between Semrush and Ahrefs in the domain analytics tools is the number of requests available.

Semrush allows 3,000 to 10,000 per day, depending on which subscription a user has. Users with a Guru subscription or higher also have full access to historical data.

Ahrefs

Ahrefs, on the other hand, offers only one domain analytics tool: Site Explorer.

It also only shows the top 100 keywords for users with higher-level subscriptions. In addition, request limits per day are far lower, starting at 25 for Lite users and going up to only 1,000 for Agency subscribers. Site Explorer only shows Standard users and above historical data, and only Enterprise users are allowed full access to the data.

Keyword Tools

Semrush

When you think about ranking on search engines, you probably think of Google. Semrush offers the largest Google search engine database out there. It also offers a language filter in its Keyword Magic tool and gives insights into the searcher intent.

Ahrefs

Ahrefs doesn’t just offer keyword ideas for Google; it also provides keyword ideas for nine other search engines:

YouTube
Amazon
Bing
Yahoo
Yandex
Baidu
Daum
Naver
Seznam

Since not everyone in the world uses Google (although a majority do), this is an advantage for users who want to capture queries on other search engines.

Backlinks Analytics

Semrush

One of Semrush’s biggest wins in backlinks analytics is its ability to connect with Google tools. Semrush also has the fullest and fastest backlink index on the market, a claim backed up by data. Currently, it has over 43 trillion backlinks in its database, making it the fastest and largest on the market.

Ahrefs

Ahrefs used to boast the largest backlinks database on the web—a title Semrush can now claim. Currently, Ahrefs has over 25 million backlinks in its database. Ahrefs does have several backlinks indexes it pulls data from, and it provides a lot of competing tools and functions of backlinks analytics. But it still has quite a few limitations when it comes to assessing toxic scores and accessing a full backlinks database.

🔥Check Out SEMRush Now

Rank Tracking

Semrush

Semrush and Ahrefs have matched each other in how many keywords you can track per subscription. The major difference with rank tracking here is that Semrush updates its rankings every day.

Semrush also provides unique position tracking data when it comes to:

Local volume
Advanced reports for cannibalization and featured snippets
Customizable alerting system
Mobile app position tracking
Devices and locations reports

Ahrefs

For Ahrefs, you’ll have to upgrade your account if you want to update your data daily. Otherwise, Ahrefs offers limited rank tracking updates. One upside to Ahrefs, however, is it allows an unlimited number of locations to track if the user has an Advanced subscription.

Site Audit

Semrush

Semrush runs 140+ site audits and can scan up to 100,000 pages, depending on the website. More great things about its Site Audit tool are the advanced checks for AMP pages, comprehensive site health, advanced checks for HTTPs usage, and advanced reporting. Additional reports on crawlability, international SEO, site performance, and internal linking are also available.

The Site Audit tool can integrate with Google Analytics, Trello, and Zapier as well. As far as where the Core Web Vital data pulls reports from, users get that data from Lighthouse.

Ahrefs

While it provides just over 100 site audits, one of the upsides to Ahrefs’ Site Audit tool is that users can crawl up to 2.5 million pages max. And when generating a Core Web Vitals report, it pulls data directly from PageSpeed Insights.

JavaScript rendering is available for all subscription levels, and the Site Audit tool also checks for external link issues. Ahrefs doesn’t do advanced checks on AMP pages, and it only does basic checks like missing HTML lang tags and missing hreflang tags.

Content Tools

Semrush

Semrush’s comprehensive 5-tool Content Marketing Platform helps users improve, optimize, analyze, and centralize their content. Users get these tools:

SEO Content Template
SEO Writing Assistant
Topic Research
Post Tracking
Content Audit

With these, you can create content briefs, optimize the content on the go, monitor content performance, and research new ideas. In addition, the SEO Writing Assistant provides a WordPress and Google Docs add-on when writing and optimizing content.

Content Marketplace is great for those who are short on time and can’t produce their own content. You can order content directly from a vendor!

Ahrefs

Currently, Ahrefs offers only Content Explorer, with no additional features that would help users create better content. Content Explorer only displays popular topics on a national level. However, Ahrefs does provide a WordPress SEO add-on that helps users identify pages with low or high performance.

Agency Solutions

Semrush

The Agency Growth Kit allows for better client management and organization at a low cost. Frequent Semrush users can apply to be Agency Certified, which adds them to a database with access to clients searching for agency assistance.

The cost is only $100 extra in addition to a Semrush subscription. Through the Agency Growth Kit, users get unlimited CRM access and can use the Bid Finder to seek partnerships with clients.

Ahrefs

Ahrefs also provides an agency solution, which gives users access to its SEO Agencies Directory Service (a list of agencies that are also using Ahrefs), which may not be of use if agencies need to gain more clients. Access to the directory services requires a $999 subscription.

Reporting Tools

Semrush

Semrush’s dedicated reporting tool allows users to easily create custom, branded white-label reports and automate them for team members or clients.

The My Reports tool also integrates data from Google Business Profile, Google Search Console, and Google Analytics, making for more robust reporting. Semrush users can also purchase a GDS connector if they are a Guru subscriber, but at an additional cost.

Ahrefs

Only some tools in Ahrefs have the ability to generate reports, but it has no dedicated reporting tools, customization options, or third-party integrations. However, it does have an option to purchase a GDS connector for users with Advanced subscriptions or higher.

Advertising Research Tools

Semrush

If you’re trying to up your advertising game, Semrush has a toolkit to get that ball rolling. Its dedicated tools include:

PLA Research
PPC Keyword tool
Display Advertising
Ads History

Together, these tools let you track PPC keywords, an ad’s history, competitor ads, the top subdomains, and position changes.

Ahrefs

When it comes to advertising research with Ahrefs, you can run several reports through Site Explorer. You can do advertising research for PPC keywords, ad history, ad examples, and top landing pages.

Additional Tools Semrush Offers That Ahrefs Doesn’t

Semrush offers two great additional tools to its users that Ahrefs just doesn’t—Local SEO and Listing Management tools. Here’s what you can expect from those tools should you choose a Semrush subscription.

Local SEO Tools

Semrush collaborates with Yext to create a Listing Management tool. This collaboration allows you to check your business listing information across multiple platforms and easily edit that information without manually updating each listing. It also allows you to track how your business ranks in Google Local Finder.

Market Overview Tools

The Trends toolkit is useful for those who want to see a market overview and competitive insights. Three great tools help provide these insights:

Traffic Analytics: gives a full performance overview, reveals a competitor’s top-visited pages, and gives audience behavior insights
Market Explorer: offers an instant market review of top players, shows the competitor’s market share, and shows market benchmarks
EyeOn: shows what’s new in your rival’s blog and allows you to see what has changed in the competitor’s ad campaign

With these tools, Semrush users can uncover information about their competitors and do what they aren’t doing—or do what they’re doing better.

Social Media Toolkit

Semrush has a free social media toolkit that helps any user manage their social media platforms easily. In this toolkit, users have access to:

Social Media Poster
Social Media Tracker
Social Media Analytics

Users can post to multiple platforms at once and schedule those posts ahead of time. They can also track the performance of their social media platforms and their competitors. And finally, they can get data insights on the users visiting their social media channels and when they are most active.

	Semrush	Ahrefs
Pricing	$119.95 – $449.95 / mo.	$99 – $999 / mo.
Features	Domain Analysis, Keyword Research, On-Page SEO, Competitor Analysis, Content Marketing, Local SEO, Link Building, Social Media Management, Paid Advertising, Rank Tracking	Site Explorer, Keyword Explorer, Site Audit, Rank Tracker, Content Explorer
Keyword Database	22 billion+ keywords	17.3 billion+ keywords
Backlink Database	43 trillion+ backlinks	27 trillion+ backlinks
API	API covers organic traffic analysis, backlink data, keyword research, data from Position Tracking, and Site Audit 2 types of API packages: Standard API package is available as an add-on to a Business subscription Traffic Analytics API (can be purchased separately from any subscription)	API covers backlink data only 3 types of API plans: API Standard ($500 monthly, 500,000 API rows included) API Plus ($2,000 monthly, 5,000,000 API rows included) API Premium ($10,000 monthly, 30,000,000 API rows included)
Projects	Pro – 5 Guru – 15 Business – 40	Lite – 5 Standard – 10 Advanced – 25 Agency – 100
User Management	Owner User Admin Additional users: Pro: +$45/mo. Guru: +$80/mo. Business: +$100/mo.	Owner User Admin Additional users: Up to 100 reports – Casual user ($20/mo.) Up to 500 reports – Power user ($50/mo.)
Value for Money	★★★★★ The subscriptions are affordable for the number of tools offered to users.	★★★★☆ The subscriptions are a bit pricey and don’t offer as many options for users.
Customer Support	★★★★★ Typically replies within one business day via email or within minutes via live chat. Also offers a broad range of knowledge-based articles, blogs, and academy training for users.	★★★☆☆ Offers a forum where you can ask for advice from the Ahrefs team, but has no option to speak with a representative for more advanced support. They do offer an academy.

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Conclusion: Semrush vs Ahrefs | Who Is the Winner?

Even without a grand side-by-side comparison, it’s clear Semrush is the better choice—not only because of the wealth of tools included in a Semrush subscription but also because access to all of those tools is incredibly cost-effective.

Semrush is also a clear leader in backlinks and keyword databases, meaning you’re going to have access to more data and more marketing possibilities.

Having over 55 tools in one place also saves you from needing to use similar tools across various platforms and keeps your marketing costs down.

Semrush also provides a great deal of customer support, educational training, blog resources, and knowledge-based articles to give users the confidence they need to market responsibly and effectively.

As for Ahrefs, it’s currently missing a lot of capabilities that agencies, marketing specialists, and small business owners could find value in. Ahrefs costs are rather high given what they don’t include, making them a less economical choice—especially for smaller agencies or business owners who don’t have a large budget.

Still not convinced? Try Semrush for free with my 30-day free trial!

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