# Ahrefs Alternatives 2027: 9 Paid, Free & Open-Source

Source: https://zekaiwork.com/alternatives/ahrefs/
Prices checked: 2026-11-11 (Zekai Price Ledger)

The best Ahrefs alternatives in 2027 are Semrush (best overall, $139/mo), OpenSEO (best open source, MIT) and Moz Pro (cheaper, $99/mo). Ahrefs itself starts at $129/mo. Zekai checked these prices on vendor pages on 11 Nov 2026; 6 more are compared below, including 2 open source.

| Tool | Type | Starting price | Free plan limit | Licence | Best for | Price checked | Links |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ahrefs (the tool being replaced) | — | $129/mo | Ahrefs Free: limited Site Explorer and Site Audit | — | — | 2026-11-11 | [pricing](https://ahrefs.com/pricing) |
| Semrush | Free plan + paid | $139/mo | 1 demo project, 10 reports a day | — | SEO and AI visibility in one suite | 2026-11-11 | [site](https://www.semrush.com/) [pricing](https://www.semrush.com/prices/) [Zekai page](https://zekaiwork.com/ai-tools/semrush/) |
| Moz Pro | Paid | $99/mo | No free plan | — | small sites needing SEO basics | 2026-11-11 | [site](https://moz.com/products/moz-pro) [pricing](https://moz.com/products/pricing) [Zekai page](https://zekaiwork.com/ai-tools/moz-pro/) |
| SE Ranking | Paid | $129/mo | No free plan | — | agencies and in-house teams on a budget | 2026-11-11 | [site](https://seranking.com/) [pricing](https://seranking.com/subscription.html) [Zekai page](https://zekaiwork.com/ai-tools/se-ranking/) |
| Mangools | Paid | Not checked | No free plan | — | solo SEOs wanting simple tools | 2026-11-11 | [site](https://mangools.com/) [pricing](https://mangools.com/plans-and-pricing) [Zekai page](https://zekaiwork.com/ai-tools/mangools/) |
| Conductor | Paid | Not checked | No free plan | — | enterprise content and SEO teams | 2026-11-11 | [site](https://www.conductor.com/) [pricing](https://www.conductor.com/pricing/) [Zekai page](https://zekaiwork.com/ai-tools/conductor/) |
| Botify | Paid | Not checked | No free plan | — | large sites with crawl-heavy SEO | 2026-11-11 | [site](https://www.botify.com/) [pricing](https://www.botify.com/pricing) [Zekai page](https://zekaiwork.com/ai-tools/botify/) |
| OpenSEO | Open source | Free (self-hosted) | No limit (self-hosted) | MIT | MCP-ready SEO with pay-as-you-go data |  | [code](https://github.com/every-app/open-seo) [Zekai page](https://zekaiwork.com/free-open-source/openseo/) |
| claude-seo | Open source | Free (self-hosted) | No limit (self-hosted) | MIT | SEO audits inside Claude Code |  | [code](https://github.com/AgriciDaniel/claude-seo) [Zekai page](https://zekaiwork.com/free-open-source/claude-seo/) |
| open-seo-mcp-skills | Open source | Free (self-hosted) | No limit (self-hosted) | MIT | SEO from your own GSC and GA4 data |  | [code](https://github.com/Ryze-AI-Adgent/open-seo-mcp-skills) [Zekai page](https://zekaiwork.com/free-open-source/open-seo-mcp-skills/) |

## How each alternative compares with Ahrefs

- **Semrush** (Free plan + paid, $139/mo, checked 2026-11-11): Semrush SEO plan lists 5 websites and 500 keywords tracked daily at $139 a month, and its free tier is one demo project with 10 reports a day across tools. Switch if you want AI-visibility reports and custom prompt tracking bundled into the same subscription as keyword research. Stay with Ahrefs if you prefer Ahrefs' own crawler data, its Lite plan and a free tier on your verified sites.
- **Moz Pro** (Paid, $99/mo, checked 2026-11-11): Moz Pro Standard includes 1 user, 3 tracked sites and 400K crawled pages a month for $99, against Ahrefs Lite at $129 with 1,000 credits per user. Switch if you need a lower-cost entry plan and can live with 300 tracked keywords. Stay with Ahrefs if you rely on Ahrefs' backlink index and its larger crawl and export limits.
- **SE Ranking** (Paid, $129/mo, checked 2026-11-11): SE Ranking Core covers 10 projects and 2k daily-tracked keywords, and extra manager seats start at $16, where Ahrefs charges $40 a month per extra Lite user. Switch if you add team members often and want per-seat costs well below Ahrefs. Stay with Ahrefs if you want Ahrefs' backlink index and Site Explorer as the main research tool.
- **Mangools** (Paid, Not checked): Mangools sells five narrow tools, KWFinder, SERPChecker, SERPWatcher, LinkMiner and SiteProfiler, and refreshes rank tracking weekly unless you pick the Agency plan. Switch if you want a simpler keyword and SERP toolset for one person. Stay with Ahrefs if you need deep backlink exploration and a large crawler-based index.
- **Conductor** (Paid, Not checked): Conductor shows no prices; its Growth and Enterprise plans are sold by demo or sales contact, with limits counted in analyzed pages, drafts and tracked websites. Switch if your team buys through sales, and counts pages and drafts rather than credits. Stay with Ahrefs if you want published plan prices and a single researcher-friendly login.
- **Botify** (Paid, Not checked): Botify shows no plans or prices on its pricing page, only a demo request, and organises its product into AI Readiness, AI Visibility and AI Activation modules. Switch if you manage a very large site and want a vendor-led onboarding. Stay with Ahrefs if you want to start on a published plan without a demo call.
- **OpenSEO** (Open source, Free (self-hosted)): OpenSEO has no subscription: usage is billed by DataForSEO on your own key, and it includes keyword research, rank tracking, backlinks, site audits and AI visibility workflows. Switch if you prefer pay-per-request data over a flat $129 monthly plan. Stay with Ahrefs if you want Ahrefs' own index and a vendor-run interface.
- **claude-seo** (Open source, Free (self-hosted)): claude-seo is a Claude Code skill bundle with an optional Ahrefs extension, so it can sit on top of an Ahrefs account instead of replacing it. Switch if you already pay for Ahrefs and want its data used inside Claude Code. Stay with Ahrefs if you want a standalone web app with its own crawler and link index.
- **open-seo-mcp-skills** (Open source, Free (self-hosted)): open-seo-mcp-skills answers SEO questions from your own Search Console and GA4 properties, so it has no competitor backlink index like the one Ahrefs sells. Switch if your questions are about your own rankings and traffic, not competitors' links. Stay with Ahrefs if you need competitor backlink and traffic research on sites you do not own.

## Open-source options in detail

- **OpenSEO** (https://github.com/every-app/open-seo): Licence: MIT
- **claude-seo** (https://github.com/AgriciDaniel/claude-seo): Licence: MIT; Last release: 2026-09-23
- **open-seo-mcp-skills** (https://github.com/Ryze-AI-Adgent/open-seo-mcp-skills): Licence: MIT

## Questions

### What is the best alternative to Ahrefs in 2027?
Semrush is the best overall Ahrefs alternative on this page ($139/mo). To self-host, OpenSEO is open source (MIT).

### Is there a free version of Ahrefs?
Yes. Ahrefs has a free plan: Ahrefs Free: limited Site Explorer and Site Audit. Paid plans start at $129/mo, checked on 11 Nov 2026.

### Is there a 100% free alternative to Ahrefs?
Yes. OpenSEO, claude-seo, open-seo-mcp-skills are open source and free to self-host. Semrush has a free plan with limits, shown in the table.

### What is cheaper than Ahrefs?
Moz Pro starts at $99/mo, against $129/mo for Ahrefs, as listed on each vendor's pricing page on 11 Nov 2026.

### How much do Ahrefs alternatives cost for a team of 5?
If each of 5 people buys the entry paid plan, at the prices Zekai checked on 11 Nov 2026, the monthly cost is Moz Pro $495/mo, SE Ranking $645/mo, Semrush $695/mo, against Ahrefs $645/mo for Ahrefs. Team and business plans can cost more per seat. The Zekai Cost Finder on this page recalculates for any team size.

### Which is better, Semrush or Ahrefs?
Semrush SEO plan lists 5 websites and 500 keywords tracked daily at $139 a month, and its free tier is one demo project with 10 reports a day across tools. Choose Semrush if you want AI-visibility reports and custom prompt tracking bundled into the same subscription as keyword research. Stay with Ahrefs if you prefer Ahrefs' own crawler data, its Lite plan and a free tier on your verified sites.

### Why are people leaving Ahrefs?
The documented reasons are: Ahrefs Lite is $129 a month with 1,000 credits per user, 750 tracked keywords and 5 unverified projects; additional users cost $40 a month each up to 2 (11 Nov 2026); The pricing page says annual billing saves up to 17% but lists no yearly per-month prices, and states switching to annual is done through support (11 Nov 2026). Each is sourced in the section above.

### What is better than Ahrefs?
It depends on the job: Semrush for bundled AI-visibility tracking, SE Ranking or Moz Pro for lower-cost plans, and Conductor or Botify for enterprise sites.

## Related on Zekai

- [Semrush alternatives](https://zekaiwork.com/alternatives/semrush/)
- [Writesonic alternatives](https://zekaiwork.com/alternatives/writesonic/)
- [AI for Marketing & Content Creation](https://zekaiwork.com/professions/ai-marketing-content-creation-automation/)

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Live table, team cost finder and price alerts: https://zekaiwork.com/alternatives/ahrefs/