Side-by-side comparison · SEO & Analytics
Ahrefs vs DataForSEO vs Contentsquare (formerly Hotjar)
Everything that matters when choosing between them, in one place: our rating, what each can do, what they cost, and the trade-offs.
Comparing 3 tools, the maximum.
At a glance
Pick it if: Marketers and business owners who want to see what competitors rank for and find keywords worth chasing.
Pick it if: Anyone using Claude Code or building their own tools who wants real SEO data without a big monthly plan.
Pick it if: Store owners, marketers and UX teams who want to see and hear why visitors leave, with surveys alongside the recordings.
Ahrefs scores highest overall, but DataForSEO gives you more for your money. Which one is right comes down to what you value most.
Overview
| Attribute | Ahrefs | DataForSEO | Contentsquare (formerly Hotjar) |
|---|---|---|---|
| In one line | Keyword research, backlink checks and site audits in one toolkit. | Raw search, keyword and backlink data you pay for by the query, built for AI agents. | Heatmaps, session replays and surveys that show why visitors leave, with AI summaries. |
| Pricing model | Freemium | Paid | Freemium |
| Starting price | $29/mo | From $50 top-up | From $39/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | No | Yes |
| Works with Claude Code | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Rating breakdown
Our scores out of 5. The higher bar in each row is highlighted.
| Attribute | Ahrefs | DataForSEO | Contentsquare (formerly Hotjar) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall rating | 4.4Winner | 4.0 | 4.3 |
| Ease of useHow quickly someone non-technical gets value from it. | 4.5 | 2.5 | 4.5 |
| FeaturesHow completely it covers its own job, and how well the pieces fit together. | 5.0 | 4.0 | 4.5 |
| Output qualityHow good the results are before you fix them. | 4.5 | 4.0 | 4.0 |
| Value for moneyWhat you get for the price, including the free plan. | 3.5 | 5.0 | 4.5 |
| Speed & reliabilityHow fast it is and how often it falls over. | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4.0 |
Feature comparison
A tick means it does this today. A dash means we haven't checked.
| Attribute | Ahrefs | DataForSEO | Contentsquare (formerly Hotjar) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Access & platform | |||
| Free plan | Yes | No | Yes |
| Mobile app | No | No | No |
| Desktop app | No | No | No |
| Browser extension | Yes | No | No |
| API access | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Teams & business | |||
| Team workspace | Yes | – | Yes |
| Enterprise plan or SSO | Yes | No | 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 | No | – |
| Makes images | No | No | No |
| Makes video | No | No | No |
| Writes code | No | No | No |
| Runs agents or automations | No | No | No |
| Learns your brand or style | No | No | – |
| Works in many languages | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Capabilities score | 8/ 17 | 3/ 17 | 6/ 17 |
Pricing
Plans as listed on each vendor's site when we last checked. Confirm before you buy.
| Attribute | Ahrefs | DataForSEO | Contentsquare (formerly Hotjar) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plans | Ahrefs Free Free Checking the health and backlinks of a site you own. | Pay as you goOur pick From $50 top-up Anyone who wants real data in Claude Code without a subscription. | FreeOur pick Free Most small business websites. |
Starter $29/mo Occasional keyword research on a tight budget. | Growth From $39/mo billed yearly, or $49 monthly Businesses that want AI summaries and longer history. | ||
LiteOur pick $129/mo A business doing its own SEO seriously. | Pro Custom Teams running conversion work across many sites. | ||
Standard $249/mo Freelancers and small agencies. | Enterprise Custom Large companies. | ||
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 pick | Start 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. | There's only one way to pay. Use the $1 trial credit to test the MCP server, then top up $50 and set a daily limit of a dollar or two. Use the cheaper standard queue for bulk jobs and the live mode only when you need an answer now. | Start on Free. For most small sites it does what Hotjar's paid plans used to. Take the 15-day Growth trial to see if the AI summaries save you time before paying. Survey responses are a separate product with their own Growth plan from $79 a month. |
Key features
| Attribute | Ahrefs | DataForSEO | Contentsquare (formerly Hotjar) |
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Pros and cons
| Attribute | Ahrefs | DataForSEO | Contentsquare (formerly Hotjar) |
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Who each one is for
| Attribute | Ahrefs | DataForSEO | Contentsquare (formerly Hotjar) |
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Questions people ask
Which is better, Ahrefs, DataForSEO or Contentsquare (formerly Hotjar)?
Ahrefs scores highest overall in our ratings (Ahrefs 4.4/5, DataForSEO 4.0/5 and Contentsquare (formerly Hotjar) 4.3/5). Ahrefs is best for keyword research and competitor traffic estimates. DataForSEO is best for SEO research from Claude Code and keyword volumes on demand. Contentsquare (formerly Hotjar) is best for seeing why visitors leave a page and heatmaps and session replays.
Which is cheaper, Ahrefs, DataForSEO or Contentsquare (formerly Hotjar)?
Ahrefs: There's a free plan, and paid plans start at $29/mo. DataForSEO: There's no free plan. Paid plans start at From $50 top-up. Contentsquare (formerly Hotjar): There's a free plan, and paid plans start at From $39/mo.
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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