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Side-by-side comparison · SEO & Analytics

Ahrefs vs Amplitude vs Google Analytics

Everything that matters when choosing between them, in one place: our rating, what each can do, what they cost, and the trade-offs.

Best overall

Ahrefs

4.4

From $29/mo

Amplitude

4.0

From First 2M events free

Google Analytics

4.0

Free to start

Comparing 3 tools, the maximum.

At a glance

Best overallEasiest to use

Pick it if: Marketers and business owners who want to see what competitors rank for and find keywords worth chasing.

Pick it if: Product and growth teams at apps and SaaS companies who want deep analytics and AI that spots changes for them.

Best value

Pick it if: Every business with a website that wants to know how many people visit, where they come from and what turns them into customers.

Ahrefs scores highest overall, but Google Analytics gives you more for your money. Which one is right comes down to what you value most.

Overview

AttributeAhrefsAmplitudeGoogle Analytics
In one lineKeyword research, backlink checks and site audits in one toolkit.Product analytics with AI agents that watch your numbers and flag changes for you.Google's free website analytics: who visits, where they came from and what they do.
Pricing modelFreemiumFreemiumFree
Starting price$29/moFirst 2M events freeFree
Free plan Yes Yes Yes
Works with Claude Code Yes Yes Yes

Rating breakdown

Our scores out of 5. The higher bar in each row is highlighted.

AttributeAhrefsAmplitudeGoogle Analytics
Overall rating4.4Winner4.04.0
Ease of useHow quickly someone non-technical gets value from it.
4.5
3.0
3.0
FeaturesHow completely it covers its own job, and how well the pieces fit together.
5.0
4.5
4.5
Output qualityHow good the results are before you fix them.
4.5
4.5
4.0
Value for moneyWhat you get for the price, including the free plan.
3.5
4.0
5.0
Speed & reliabilityHow fast it is and how often it falls over.
4.5
4.0
3.5

Feature comparison

A tick means it does this today. A dash means we haven't checked.

AttributeAhrefsAmplitudeGoogle Analytics
Access & platform
Free plan Yes Yes Yes
Mobile app No No Yes
Desktop app No No No
Browser extension Yes No No
API access Yes Yes Yes
Teams & business
Team workspace Yes Yes Yes
Enterprise plan or SSO Yes Yes Yes
Connects to other apps Yes Yes Yes
Open source or self-hosted No No No
AI abilities
Works with your files Yes No No
Understands images No––
Makes images No No No
Makes video No No No
Writes code No No No
Runs agents or automations No Yes No
Learns your brand or style No––
Works in many languages Yes Yes Yes
Capabilities score8/ 177/ 177/ 17

Pricing

Plans as listed on each vendor's site when we last checked. Confirm before you buy.

AttributeAhrefsAmplitudeGoogle Analytics
Plans

Ahrefs Free

Free

Checking the health and backlinks of a site you own.

FreeOur pick

Free

Startups and small apps.

Google AnalyticsOur pick

Free

Almost every business.

Starter

$29/mo

Occasional keyword research on a tight budget.

Plus

First 2M events free, then usage-based

Growing teams that need more charts and history.

Analytics 360

Custom

Very large sites with huge traffic.

LiteOur pick

$129/mo

A business doing its own SEO seriously.

Growth

Custom

Product teams at scale.

Standard

$249/mo

Freelancers and small agencies.

Enterprise

Custom

Large organisations.

Advanced

$449/mo

Agencies and in-house teams with many sites.

Enterprise

$1,499/mo billed yearly

Large companies that need SSO and unlimited data.

Which plan to pickStart on Ahrefs Free to audit your own site. If you want to research competitors and keywords every week, go straight to Lite; the Starter plan's credits run out too quickly to be useful for more than the odd lookup. Each plan includes one user, and extra seats cost $40 to $80 a month.Start on Free, which includes the AI agents and MCP. Move to Plus when you need custom events, cohorts or alerts. Growth and Enterprise are for larger product teams and need a sales call.Use the free version. Analytics 360 is only for very large companies that hit the free limits. Set data retention to 14 months in the admin settings when you set it up, since the default is shorter.

Key features

AttributeAhrefsAmplitudeGoogle Analytics
Standout features
  • Site Explorer
  • Keywords Explorer
  • Site Audit
  • Rank Tracker
  • Brand Radar
  • MCP server
  • Product analytics
  • AI agents
  • Session replay and heatmaps
  • Experiments
  • Guides and surveys
  • MCP server and Claude plugin
  • Traffic reports
  • Conversions
  • Google Ads link
  • Analytics Advisor
  • Explorations
  • Official MCP server

Pros and cons

AttributeAhrefsAmplitudeGoogle Analytics
Pros
  • The most trusted backlink index in the industry
  • Cleaner and faster to learn than Semrush
  • Site Audit explains problems simply
  • Free plan covers your own site properly
  • Official MCP server for Claude on Lite and above
  • Free plan up to 2 million events
  • Strong AI agents that monitor metrics for you
  • MCP and Claude plugin on every plan
  • Covers analytics, replay, testing and surveys
  • Free with no visitor limits for almost every business
  • Ties traffic to sales and links straight to Google Ads
  • Gemini-powered Analytics Advisor answers questions
  • Official MCP server for Claude
  • Works with almost every website platform
Cons
  • Lite at $129 a month is steep for a small business
  • The Starter plan's credits run out fast and it has no API or MCP access
  • No free trial for the paid plans
  • Extra users cost $40 to $80 a month each
  • Traffic figures are estimates and can be well off for small sites
  • Steep learning curve
  • Needs tracking set up before it's useful
  • Growth and Enterprise prices aren't published
  • Overkill for simple website reporting
  • GA4's menus and reports are confusing
  • Setting up conversions properly takes work
  • Cookie consent and ad blockers mean it undercounts visitors
  • Google uses the data in its own products, which some businesses dislike

Who each one is for

AttributeAhrefsAmplitudeGoogle Analytics
Best for
  • Keyword research
  • Competitor traffic estimates
  • Backlink analysis
  • Technical site audits
  • Finding topics competitors cover that you don't
  • Deep product analytics for apps
  • AI agents that flag metric changes
  • A free plan with up to 2 million events
  • Connecting your data to Claude through MCP
  • Counting website visitors and where they came from
  • Seeing which ads and channels lead to sales
  • Tracking forms, bookings and purchases
  • Free reporting for any size of site
You'll find it used by
  • SEO specialists
  • Marketers
  • Agencies
  • Content teams
  • Product teams
  • Growth marketers
  • Data analysts
  • Large companies
  • Small businesses
  • Marketers
  • Agencies
  • Online stores
  • Large companies

Questions people ask

Which is better, Ahrefs, Amplitude or Google Analytics?

Ahrefs scores highest overall in our ratings (Ahrefs 4.4/5, Amplitude 4.0/5 and Google Analytics 4.0/5). Ahrefs is best for keyword research and competitor traffic estimates. Amplitude is best for deep product analytics for apps and AI agents that flag metric changes. Google Analytics is best for counting website visitors and where they came from and seeing which ads and channels lead to sales.

Which is cheaper, Ahrefs, Amplitude or Google Analytics?

Ahrefs: There's a free plan, and paid plans start at $29/mo. Amplitude: There's a free plan, and paid plans start at First 2M events free. Google Analytics: It's free to use.

Which is easier to use, Ahrefs, Amplitude or Google Analytics?

Ahrefs rates highest for ease of use in our scores. Marketers and business owners who want to see what competitors rank for and find keywords worth chasing.

How we compare

Ratings are our own, from using each tool, across ease of use, features, output quality, value for money, speed & reliability.

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