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Side-by-side comparison · SEO & Analytics

Ahrefs vs PostHog vs SE Ranking

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

PostHog

4.2

From $0/mo base

SE Ranking

4.1

From $129/mo

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: Founders and product teams with a web app or SaaS who want analytics, replays and testing in one tool.

Pick it if: Small businesses, freelancers and agencies who want a full SEO toolkit with AI search tracking for less than the big names.

Overview

AttributeAhrefsPostHogSE Ranking
In one lineKeyword research, backlink checks and site audits in one toolkit.Product analytics, session replays, A/B tests and surveys in one tool, with an AI analyst.A cheaper all-in-one SEO tool that also tracks your brand in AI search answers.
Pricing modelFreemiumFreemiumPaid
Starting price$29/mo$0/mo base$129/mo
Free plan Yes Yes No
Works with Claude Code Yes Yes Yes

Rating breakdown

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

AttributeAhrefsPostHogSE Ranking
Overall rating4.4Winner4.24.1
Ease of useHow quickly someone non-technical gets value from it.
4.5
3.0
4.0
FeaturesHow completely it covers its own job, and how well the pieces fit together.
5.0
5.0
4.5
Output qualityHow good the results are before you fix them.
4.5
4.5
3.5
Value for moneyWhat you get for the price, including the free plan.
3.5
4.5
4.5
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.

AttributeAhrefsPostHogSE Ranking
Access & platform
Free plan Yes Yes No
Mobile app No No No
Desktop app No Yes No
Browser extension Yes No Yes
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 Yes 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 Yes No
Runs agents or automations No Yes No
Learns your brand or style No––
Works in many languages Yes Yes Yes
Capabilities score8/ 1710/ 176/ 17

Pricing

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

AttributeAhrefsPostHogSE Ranking
Plans

Ahrefs Free

Free

Checking the health and backlinks of a site you own.

Free

Free

Small apps and getting started.

CoreOur pick

$129/mo, or $103.20/mo billed yearly

Small businesses and freelancers.

Starter

$29/mo

Occasional keyword research on a tight budget.

Pay as you goOur pick

$0/mo base, then per use

Growing apps that outgrow the free limits.

Growth

$279/mo, or $223.20/mo billed yearly

Agencies and teams with many sites.

LiteOur pick

$129/mo

A business doing its own SEO seriously.

Boost

$250/mo plus usage

Teams that need SSO enforcement or HIPAA.

Enterprise

Custom

Large teams.

Standard

$249/mo

Freelancers and small agencies.

Scale

$750/mo plus usage

Larger organisations.

Advanced

$449/mo

Agencies and in-house teams with many sites.

Enterprise

$2,000/mo plus usage

Big companies.

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 free. Add a card to move to pay as you go when you need more projects or longer history, and set billing limits on each product so nothing runs away. The platform packages only matter for compliance or big teams.Start the 14-day free trial. Core covers most small businesses and freelancers, and paying yearly saves 20%. Agencies should look at Growth plus the $69 a month Agency Pack for white-label reports and client seats.

Key features

AttributeAhrefsPostHogSE Ranking
Standout features
  • Site Explorer
  • Keywords Explorer
  • Site Audit
  • Rank Tracker
  • Brand Radar
  • MCP server
  • Product analytics
  • Session replay
  • A/B tests and feature flags
  • Surveys
  • PostHog AI
  • MCP server and wizard
  • Daily rank tracking
  • Keyword and competitor research
  • Website audit
  • AI visibility
  • Content tools
  • API and MCP

Pros and cons

AttributeAhrefsPostHogSE Ranking
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
  • Huge free tier with no seat fees
  • Analytics, replays, testing and surveys in one tool
  • Clear, public per-use pricing
  • Open source core you can self-host
  • Strong AI assistant and Claude Code support
  • Much cheaper than Ahrefs or Semrush for similar features
  • AI visibility tracking on every plan
  • API and MCP access included
  • Strong white-label reports for agencies
  • 14-day trial without a card
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
  • So many products and settings that it can overwhelm small teams
  • Overkill if you only want website visitor numbers
  • Usage bills need billing limits to stay predictable
  • Setup works best with a developer or Claude Code
  • Smaller keyword and backlink data than the biggest suites
  • Extra seats, keywords and locations cost more
  • No cheap entry plan any more
  • Deeper AI tracking in SE Visible is a separate subscription

Who each one is for

AttributeAhrefsPostHogSE Ranking
Best for
  • Keyword research
  • Competitor traffic estimates
  • Backlink analysis
  • Technical site audits
  • Finding topics competitors cover that you don't
  • Seeing how people use your app
  • Finding where sign-ups and checkouts drop off
  • A/B testing new features and pages
  • Replacing several separate analytics tools
  • Daily rank tracking on a budget
  • Agencies needing white-label client reports
  • Tracking your brand in AI answers alongside Google
  • All-round SEO for small businesses
You'll find it used by
  • SEO specialists
  • Marketers
  • Agencies
  • Content teams
  • Founders
  • Product teams
  • Developers
  • SaaS companies
  • Agencies
  • Freelancers
  • Small businesses
  • In-house marketers

Questions people ask

Which is better, Ahrefs, PostHog or SE Ranking?

Ahrefs scores highest overall in our ratings (Ahrefs 4.4/5, PostHog 4.2/5 and SE Ranking 4.1/5). Ahrefs is best for keyword research and competitor traffic estimates. PostHog is best for seeing how people use your app and finding where sign-ups and checkouts drop off. SE Ranking is best for daily rank tracking on a budget and agencies needing white-label client reports.

Which is cheaper, Ahrefs, PostHog or SE Ranking?

Ahrefs: There's a free plan, and paid plans start at $29/mo. PostHog: There's a free plan, and paid plans start at $0/mo base. SE Ranking: There's no free plan. Paid plans start at $129/mo.

Which is easier to use, Ahrefs, PostHog or SE Ranking?

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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