Side-by-side comparison · SEO & Analytics
Ahrefs vs Microsoft Clarity vs Profound
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: Store owners and marketers who want to know why visitors aren't converting, without paying for it.
Pick it if: Marketing teams at mid-sized and large brands, and agencies, who need detailed tracking of how AI assistants talk about them.
Ahrefs scores highest overall, but Microsoft Clarity gives you more for your money. Which one is right comes down to what you value most.
Overview
| Attribute | Ahrefs | Microsoft Clarity | Profound |
|---|---|---|---|
| In one line | Keyword research, backlink checks and site audits in one toolkit. | Free heatmaps and session replays that show where visitors get stuck. | Shows how often ChatGPT, Gemini and other AI assistants mention and recommend your brand. |
| Pricing model | Freemium | Free | Paid |
| Starting price | $29/mo | Free | See website |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes | No |
| Works with Claude Code | Yes | Yes | No |
Rating breakdown
Our scores out of 5. The higher bar in each row is highlighted.
| Attribute | Ahrefs | Microsoft Clarity | Profound |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall rating | 4.4Winner | 4.3 | 3.7 |
| Ease of useHow quickly someone non-technical gets value from it. | 4.5 | 4.5 | 3.5 |
| 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 | 4.5 |
| Value for moneyWhat you get for the price, including the free plan. | 3.5 | 5.0 | 2.0 |
| Speed & reliabilityHow fast it is and how often it falls over. | 4.5 | 4.0 | 4.0 |
Feature comparison
A tick means it does this today. A dash means we haven't checked.
| Attribute | Ahrefs | Microsoft Clarity | Profound |
|---|---|---|---|
| Access & platform | |||
| Free plan | Yes | Yes | No |
| Mobile app | No | – | No |
| 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 | 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 | – | Yes |
| Learns your brand or style | No | No | – |
| Works in many languages | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Capabilities score | 8/ 17 | 5/ 17 | 6/ 17 |
Pricing
Plans as listed on each vendor's site when we last checked. Confirm before you buy.
| Attribute | Ahrefs | Microsoft Clarity | Profound |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plans | Ahrefs Free Free Checking the health and backlinks of a site you own. | FreeOur pick Free Every website and online store. | Trial Free for 7 days Seeing what AI says about you before talking to sales. |
Starter $29/mo Occasional keyword research on a tight budget. | Agency Growth Custom Agencies managing several client brands. | ||
LiteOur pick $129/mo A business doing its own SEO seriously. | EnterpriseOur pick Custom Large brands. | ||
Standard $249/mo Freelancers and small agencies. | |||
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 one plan and it's free. Microsoft says it's free forever with no traffic limits. Install the tracking code through Shopify, WordPress or Google Tag Manager and it starts recording within minutes. | Run the free 7-day trial to see how AI assistants describe you. If you're a larger brand or agency with a real budget, talk to sales about Enterprise. Small businesses will get more for their money from Peec AI or SE Ranking. |
Key features
| Attribute | Ahrefs | Microsoft Clarity | Profound |
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Pros and cons
| Attribute | Ahrefs | Microsoft Clarity | Profound |
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Who each one is for
| Attribute | Ahrefs | Microsoft Clarity | Profound |
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Questions people ask
Which is better, Ahrefs, Microsoft Clarity or Profound?
Ahrefs scores highest overall in our ratings (Ahrefs 4.4/5, Microsoft Clarity 4.3/5 and Profound 3.7/5). Ahrefs is best for keyword research and competitor traffic estimates. Microsoft Clarity is best for finding checkout drop-offs and watching real user sessions. Profound is best for tracking brand mentions across many AI assistants and seeing which sources AI cites in your category.
Which is cheaper, Ahrefs, Microsoft Clarity or Profound?
Ahrefs: There's a free plan, and paid plans start at $29/mo. Microsoft Clarity: It's free to use. Profound: Pricing isn't published; check the vendor's site for a quote.
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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