Side-by-side comparison · SEO & Analytics
Ahrefs 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.
Comparing 2 tools. Add one more if you like.
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: Small businesses, freelancers and agencies who want a full SEO toolkit with AI search tracking for less than the big names.
Ahrefs scores highest overall, but SE Ranking gives you more for your money. Which one is right comes down to what you value most.
Overview
| Attribute | Ahrefs | SE Ranking |
|---|---|---|
| In one line | Keyword research, backlink checks and site audits in one toolkit. | A cheaper all-in-one SEO tool that also tracks your brand in AI search answers. |
| Pricing model | Freemium | Paid |
| Starting price | $29/mo | $129/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | No |
| Works with Claude Code | Yes | Yes |
Rating breakdown
Our scores out of 5. The higher bar in each row is highlighted.
| Attribute | Ahrefs | SE Ranking |
|---|---|---|
| Overall rating | 4.4Winner | 4.1 |
| Ease of useHow quickly someone non-technical gets value from it. | 4.5 | 4.0 |
| FeaturesHow completely it covers its own job, and how well the pieces fit together. | 5.0 | 4.5 |
| Output qualityHow good the results are before you fix them. | 4.5 | 3.5 |
| Value for moneyWhat you get for the price, including the free plan. | 3.5 | 4.5 |
| Speed & reliabilityHow fast it is and how often it falls over. | 4.5 | 4.0 |
Feature comparison
A tick means it does this today. A dash means we haven't checked.
| Attribute | Ahrefs | SE Ranking |
|---|---|---|
| Access & platform | ||
| Free plan | Yes | No |
| Mobile app | No | No |
| Desktop app | No | No |
| Browser extension | Yes | Yes |
| API access | Yes | Yes |
| Teams & business | ||
| Team workspace | Yes | Yes |
| Enterprise plan or SSO | Yes | Yes |
| Connects to other apps | Yes | Yes |
| Open source or self-hosted | No | No |
| AI abilities | ||
| Works with your files | Yes | No |
| Understands images | No | – |
| Makes images | No | No |
| Makes video | No | No |
| Writes code | No | No |
| Runs agents or automations | No | No |
| Learns your brand or style | No | – |
| Works in many languages | Yes | Yes |
| Capabilities score | 8/ 17 | 6/ 17 |
Pricing
Plans as listed on each vendor's site when we last checked. Confirm before you buy.
| Attribute | Ahrefs | SE Ranking |
|---|---|---|
| Plans | Ahrefs Free Free Checking the health and backlinks of a site you own. | CoreOur pick $129/mo, or $103.20/mo billed yearly Small businesses and freelancers. |
Starter $29/mo Occasional keyword research on a tight budget. | 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. | Enterprise Custom Large teams. | |
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. | 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
| Attribute | Ahrefs | SE Ranking |
|---|---|---|
| Standout features |
|
|
Pros and cons
| Attribute | Ahrefs | SE Ranking |
|---|---|---|
| Pros |
|
|
| Cons |
|
|
Who each one is for
| Attribute | Ahrefs | SE Ranking |
|---|---|---|
| Best for |
|
|
| You'll find it used by |
|
|
Questions people ask
Which is better, Ahrefs or SE Ranking?
Ahrefs scores highest overall in our ratings (Ahrefs 4.4/5 and SE Ranking 4.1/5). Ahrefs is best for keyword research and competitor traffic estimates. SE Ranking is best for daily rank tracking on a budget and agencies needing white-label client reports.
Which is cheaper, Ahrefs or SE Ranking?
Ahrefs: There's a free plan, and paid plans start at $29/mo. SE Ranking: There's no free plan. Paid plans start at $129/mo.
Which is easier to use, Ahrefs 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.
Swap in another tool
More tools from SEO & Analytics in the library.
