Side-by-side comparison · SEO & Analytics
Ahrefs vs Particl vs Microsoft Clarity
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
Ahrefs
4.4Pick it if: Marketers and business owners who want to see what competitors rank for and find keywords worth chasing.
Particl
3.7Pick it if: Ecommerce and retail teams that make buying, pricing and range decisions and want hard data behind those calls.
Microsoft Clarity
4.3Pick it if: Store owners and marketers who want to know why visitors aren't converting, without paying for it.
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 | Particl | Microsoft Clarity |
|---|---|---|---|
| In one line | Keyword research, backlink checks and site audits, all in one toolkit. | Tracks what competitors sell, what it costs and what is trending across ecommerce. | Free heatmaps and session replays that show where visitors get stuck. |
| Pricing model | Freemium | Paid | Free |
| Starting price | $29/mo | $250/mo | Free |
| 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 | Particl | Microsoft Clarity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall rating | 4.4Winner | 3.7 | 4.3 |
| Ease of useHow quickly someone non-technical gets value from it. | 4.5 | 4.0 | 4.5 |
| FeaturesHow much it can do, and how well the pieces fit together. | 5.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 |
| 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 | 2.5 | 5.0 |
| 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 | Particl | Microsoft Clarity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Access & platform | |||
| Free plan | Yes | No | Yes |
| 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 | Yes | No |
| 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 | No |
| Makes images | No | No | No |
| Makes video | No | No | No |
| Writes code | No | No | No |
| Runs agents or automations | No | No | – |
| Learns your brand or style | No | No | No |
| Works in many languages | Yes | – | Yes |
| Capabilities score | 8/ 17 | 4/ 17 | 5/ 17 |
Pricing
Plans as listed on each vendor's site when we last checked. Confirm before you buy.
| Attribute | Ahrefs | Particl | Microsoft Clarity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plans | Ahrefs Free Free Checking the health and backlinks of a site you own. | Starter $250/mo A growing brand watching a handful of competitors. | FreeOur pick Free Every website and online store. |
Starter $29/mo Occasional keyword research on a tight budget. | EssentialOur pick $500/mo Established brands making range and pricing decisions. | ||
LiteOur pick $129/mo A business doing its own SEO seriously. | Growth $1,000/mo Brands that need a full year of seasonal data. | ||
Standard $249/mo Freelancers and small agencies. | Custom Custom Large retailers, agencies and investors. | ||
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. | Starter leaves out Benchmarking and White Space, which are the features most brands buy it for, so Essential is the real entry point. Particl advertises a discount for paying yearly, but the yearly prices aren't listed on the pricing page, so ask before you commit. | There's one plan and it's free. Microsoft says it's free forever with no traffic limits. Install the tag through Shopify, WordPress or Google Tag Manager and it starts recording within minutes. |
Key features
| Attribute | Ahrefs | Particl | Microsoft Clarity |
|---|---|---|---|
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Pros and cons
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Who each one is for
| Attribute | Ahrefs | Particl | Microsoft Clarity |
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How we compare
Ratings are our own, from using each tool, across ease of use, features, output quality, value for money, speed & reliability. The "Visit" buttons may use affiliate links, which never affect a score.
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