Ahrefs vs Semrush: which SEO tool should you use?

Short answer: pick Ahrefs if backlinks and competitor research are the heart of your SEO work, or if you want a genuinely free account for your own verified sites with no trial clock. Pick Semrush if you want one platform for SEO plus local listings, paid ads, content and social, with daily rank tracking and a free trial on most toolkits. Both now track how your brand shows up in AI answers as well as in Google.

Both are listed on Unloc. Unloc cards: Ahrefs and Semrush.

Quick verdict

Plans, limits and prices change often, so check both live pricing pages before you decide. Everything below comes from each company's own site, pricing page and help docs.

What Ahrefs does

Ahrefs calls itself an AI marketing platform built on its own index of the web, and it runs one of the most active web crawlers. That data powers its core research tools. Site Explorer shows any website's organic and AI search traffic, top pages, backlink profile and paid search activity. Keywords Explorer shows what your customers search for, and Content Explorer helps you find mentions and link prospects.

On your own site, Site Audit scans for technical and on-page SEO issues, Rank Tracker monitors positions by country, city or ZIP code on mobile and desktop, and GSC Insights pulls in your Google Search Console data. Ahrefs also has a privacy-focused Web Analytics tool that uses no cookies by default and shows traffic from AI assistants, plus Bot Analytics to see which bots, including AI crawlers, visit your site.

Ahrefs has been adding tools beyond classic SEO: Social Media Manager for scheduling posts across channels such as YouTube, TikTok, Instagram and LinkedIn, GBP Monitor for Google Business Profiles, AI Content Helper for writing and grading content, and Report Builder for custom reports. Ask Ahrefs is a built-in AI assistant that reads the report you are on, answers questions in plain English and opens the right report for you.

What Semrush does

Semrush describes itself as a brand visibility platform for SEO, AI search, content marketing and paid media, and it is now an Adobe company. Its SEO tools cover keyword research with the Keyword Magic Tool, domain and competitor analysis, backlink analytics and audits, Site Audit and Position Tracking, which tracks rankings daily across devices and locations.

Semrush is modular. Its plans combine the SEO Toolkit and the AI Visibility Toolkit, sold together as Semrush One, and you can add specialist toolkits on top: Traffic & Market for competitor traffic and audience research, Local for Google Business Profile automation, listings and reviews, Content for writing and optimising articles, Social for planning and posting, Advertising for Google and Meta ads, and AI PR for media outreach. You add or remove toolkits as your priorities change.

The App Center adds stand-alone apps such as Exploding Topics, and My Reports builds scheduled, branded reports that combine Semrush data with Google Analytics and Search Console, with white-label options on the higher report add-on.

AI search visibility

Both companies now treat AI answers as a search channel. Ahrefs Brand Radar tracks brand mentions, citations and sentiment across AI Overviews, AI Mode, ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini and Copilot, using a large database of search-backed prompts, and you can also track your own custom prompts. Paid Ahrefs plans include some tracked AI prompts, and Brand Radar can be bought on its own.

Semrush's AI Visibility Toolkit shows how your brand appears in Google AI Overviews, AI Mode, ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity, with prompt tracking, prompt research and AI brand sentiment. It comes bundled with the SEO Toolkit in Semrush One, and Semrush's Site Audit can check whether your site blocks AI crawlers from OpenAI, Google, Perplexity and Anthropic.

Backlinks, keywords and rank tracking

Backlink research is where Ahrefs built its name. Site Explorer tracks new and lost backlinks as they happen, finds broken links and shows a site's most linked pages and linking authors, and tools such as Link Intersect and Content Gap help you compare your site against competitors. Semrush covers the same ground with Backlinks, Referring Domains, Backlink Gap and a Backlink Audit tool for spotting harmful links, and it also tracks the sources LLMs cite when they mention your brand.

The clearest practical difference is rank tracking cadence. Ahrefs Rank Tracker updates weekly, with competitor alerts weekly or monthly. Semrush Position Tracking updates daily on every paid plan. If you report daily movements to clients, that matters.

Free plans and trials

Ahrefs does not offer free trials and says it never runs discounts. Instead, Ahrefs Free gives you limited but permanent access to Site Explorer, Site Audit and Web Analytics for websites you verify, plus Social Media Manager, AI Content Helper and the SEO Toolbar, with no credit card. If you cancel a paid plan, you drop back to Ahrefs Free.

Semrush has a free account for trying the platform, with no credit card, a demo project and a small number of reports per day. Most toolkits, including Semrush One, also come with a free trial, so you can test the full paid experience before you pay.

Paid plans and add-ons

Ahrefs' main plans are Lite, Standard, Advanced and Enterprise, plus a lower-cost Starter plan for basic research. Higher tiers add more history, projects, tracked keywords, crawl credits and tools such as Content Explorer and Portfolios, and Lite caps report credits per user. Extra users cost more on every plan, and add-ons include the Content Kit, Report Builder and Project Boost.

Semrush's plans run from the SEO plan through Starter, Pro+ and Advanced, which add AI visibility features, historical data, content optimisation tools and API access as you go up. Specialist toolkits, extra users and report add-ons are priced separately. Both offer cheaper annual billing. Check the live Ahrefs pricing page and Semrush pricing page for current tiers and limits.

API, MCP and teams

Both connect to AI assistants. Ahrefs includes API and MCP access on its main paid plans, so you can connect its data to AI assistants and your own tools. Semrush includes MCP access from its Starter plan and advanced API data integration on its Advanced plan, and it also offers Semrush data inside ChatGPT.

For larger organisations, Ahrefs Enterprise adds uncapped API access, custom endpoints, SSO, access management, audit logs and no training on your data. Semrush for Enterprise offers separate Enterprise SEO, AI Optimization and Site Intelligence products with SSO, team governance, audit logs and a dedicated account manager.

Who should pick which

• Pick Ahrefs if backlink research, competitor analysis and historical SEO data are the core of your work.
• Pick Ahrefs if you want a free account for your own sites that never expires, or a privacy-friendly analytics tool alongside your SEO data.
• Pick Semrush if you need daily rank tracking, local SEO and listings, or paid ads research for Google and Meta in the same place.
• Pick Semrush if you want to try before you buy and build your subscription toolkit by toolkit as your marketing grows.

Comparing other SEO tools? See Ahrefs vs Moz, or browse our pick of the best AI marketing tools.

FAQ

Is Ahrefs or Semrush better for beginners?

Semrush is easier to test, because it offers a free trial on most toolkits and a free account. Ahrefs has no trials, but Ahrefs Free gives beginners permanent, limited access to core tools for their own verified sites.

Does Ahrefs have a free trial?

No. Ahrefs says it does not offer free trials or discounts. Its free option is Ahrefs Free, which includes limited Site Explorer, Site Audit and Web Analytics access for verified websites, with no credit card needed.

Is Semrush free?

Semrush has a free account with a limited number of daily reports and a demo project, and most paid toolkits come with a free trial. Check the live Semrush pricing page for current plans.

Which is better for backlinks?

Backlink research is Ahrefs' best-known strength, with real-time backlink tracking, broken link reports and link gap tools in Site Explorer. Semrush also has strong backlink tools, including a Backlink Audit for spotting harmful links.

Can Ahrefs and Semrush track AI search visibility?

Yes. Ahrefs Brand Radar tracks mentions and citations across AI Overviews, AI Mode, ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini and Copilot. Semrush's AI Visibility Toolkit, part of Semrush One, tracks Google AI Overviews, AI Mode, ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity.