Ahrefs pricing
Ahrefs pricing in 2026: plans, credits, and Starter vs Lite
Ahrefs costs $29 to $1,499 a month and has no free trial. What each plan includes, how Starter and Lite credits work, and what seats and add-ons cost.
Ahrefs costs $29 to $1,499 a month. Most people pick between Lite at $129 a month and Standard at $249. Starter and Lite limit how much you can do each month with credits, and there's no free trial.
Ahrefs plans and prices
| Plan | Monthly | Billed yearly | Credits | Projects | Tracked keywords | History |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ahrefs Free | $0 | – | – | Your verified sites | – | – |
| Starter | $29 | Monthly only | 200 a month | 1 | 50 | 1 month |
| Lite | $129 | $1,290 | 1,000 a month per user | 5 | 750 | 6 months |
| Standard | $249 | $2,490 | Unlimited, with fair use | 20 | 2,000 | 2 years |
| Advanced | $449 | $4,490 | Unlimited, with fair use | 50 | 5,000 | 5 years |
| Enterprise | $1,499 | Yearly only | Unlimited, with fair use | Custom | Custom | Unlimited |
Projects here means sites you don't own. Sites you verify are unlimited. Paying yearly saves up to 17%.
Standard adds Content Explorer, Advanced adds Looker Studio, and Enterprise adds single sign-on and full API access.
How Ahrefs credits work
On Starter and Lite, most clicks cost a credit:
- Opening a report uses 1 credit.
- Applying filters, changing dates, or opening the SERP viewer uses another.
- Paging through results, sorting, and reopening the same report within 30 minutes are free.
- Keywords Explorer checks up to 10,000 keywords for 1 credit.
Lite includes 1,000 credits a month per user, and Starter 200. On Lite you can buy more at $50 per 500. Standard and higher plans have no credit limit.
Ahrefs Starter vs Lite
Starter is $29 a month with 200 credits, 50 tracked keywords, one project, and a month of history. Reports show at most 250 rows, you can't add users, and there's no MCP or API.
Lite is $129 a month with 1,000 credits, 750 tracked keywords, 5 projects, 6 months of history, room for two more users, and MCP access.
Starter works if you check a few keywords a week. If you research competitors or backlinks often, 200 credits go fast.
What extra users cost
Lite allows two extra users, at up to $40 a month each depending on how much they use. Standard allows five more at $60 each, Advanced ten more at $80, and Enterprise charges $100 per extra user. Starter can't add users.
What Ahrefs' add-ons cost
| Add-on | Price | What it's for |
|---|---|---|
| Brand Radar AI | From $199 a month | Tracking how AI answers mention brands |
| Content Kit | From $99 a month | AI writing help and content grading |
| Report Builder | $99 a month | 50 custom reports |
| Project Boost | $20 or $200 a month per project | Extra site audit features |
What the Ahrefs API and MCP cost
Ahrefs' MCP server lets AI assistants like Claude and ChatGPT use Ahrefs data. It works on Lite and higher, at no extra fee, but each call uses API units from your plan: 200,000 a month on Lite, 800,000 on Standard, and 2 million on Advanced. A call costs at least 50 units, so Lite covers at most 4,000 calls a month. Starter and Ahrefs Free don't include it.
Ahrefs Free (formerly Ahrefs Webmaster Tools)
Ahrefs Free costs nothing, but only covers sites you can prove you own. You get up to 1,000 of your backlinks and keywords and a site audit. It doesn't include keyword research, rank tracking, or looking up other sites.
Ahrefs free trial, refunds, and canceling
- Free trial. There isn't one. Ahrefs points site owners to Ahrefs Free instead.
- Refunds. Ahrefs doesn't generally give refunds. On a monthly plan you can ask for one if you haven't used it.
- Canceling. Cancel anytime under Account Settings, then Billing. You keep your plan until the period ends, then drop to Ahrefs Free.
What Ahrefs costs in a year
| Who | Plan | Yearly cost, billed monthly |
|---|---|---|
| One person with one website | Lite | $1,548 |
| Two people | Lite, plus 1 user | Up to $2,028 |
| Two people who need unlimited credits | Standard, plus 1 user | $3,708 |
| A three-person agency team | Advanced, plus 2 users | $7,308 |
Paying yearly brings Lite down to $1,290. Add-ons come on top.
Is Ahrefs worth it?
Ahrefs is worth it when backlinks and competitor research are central to your work. Its own crawler updates the backlink index every 15 to 30 minutes, and the bigger plans give you years of history without credit limits.
It's harder to justify for one website or occasional research, because Lite costs $1,548 a year whether you open it daily or twice a month. If you mostly need data about your own site, start with Ahrefs Free and Google Search Console, which are both free.
Ahrefs pricing vs alternatives
Here's the main entry plan from Ahrefs and five alternatives, for one user:
| Tool | Entry plan | Billed yearly | What you get | Extra users |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ahrefs | $129/month (Lite) | $107.50/month | 750 tracked keywords, 1,000 credits a month | Up to 2, $0 to $40/month each |
| Semrush | $139/month (SEO) | $117.33/month | 500 tracked keywords, 5 websites | $45/month each |
| SE Ranking | $129/month (Core) | $103.20/month | 2,000 keywords tracked daily, 10 projects | From $16/month each |
| Moz Pro | $99/month (Standard) | $79/month | 300 tracked keywords, 3 sites | 2 included on Medium ($179) |
| Mangools | $61/month (Basic) | $37.70/month | 200 tracked keywords, 100 keyword lookups a day | Not on Basic |
| OpenSEO | $10/month | – | $10 of usage, unlimited projects | No per-seat fee |
OpenSEO is our product. It's cheaper because you pay for the data you use instead of a fixed plan. For a head-to-head look, see OpenSEO vs Ahrefs.
FAQ
How much does Ahrefs cost per month?
$29 for Starter, $129 for Lite, $249 for Standard, $449 for Advanced, and $1,499 for Enterprise.
Is Ahrefs free?
Partly. Ahrefs Free covers sites you own. Keyword research, rank tracking, and looking up other sites need a paid plan, starting at $29 a month.
Does Ahrefs have a free trial?
No. Ahrefs Free is the closest thing, but it only works on your own sites.
Can I get a refund from Ahrefs?
Rarely. Ahrefs only considers refunds for monthly plans you haven't used.
How do Ahrefs credits work?
On Starter and Lite, opening a report and applying filters each use a credit. Lite includes 1,000 a month and Starter 200. Standard and higher have no limit.
Is Ahrefs Starter worth it?
For light use, yes. You get 200 credits, 50 tracked keywords, and a month of history for $29, but no MCP and no extra users.
Why is Ahrefs so expensive?
Ahrefs runs its own crawler and databases, with 28.7 billion keywords and 35 trillion backlinks recorded, and it charges per user. Add-ons cost extra.
Running out of Ahrefs credits?
OpenSEO covers keyword research, backlinks, competitor research, rank tracking, and site audits from $10 a month, with $10 of usage included. You pay for new data, not for every report you open. See how it compares to Ahrefs.
