Ahrefs review

Ahrefs is the data-first choice. Keywords Explorer, Site Explorer and Content Explorer give content teams search demand, competitor pages and link data from Ahrefs' own crawler, and Standard adds AI keyword suggestions, keyword clusters and search intents. For writing, the AI Content Helper grades a draft against top-ranking pages, highlights poorly covered subtopics, color-codes sentences by subtopic for AI search and lets you chat with AI about the piece. That helper sits in the Content Kit add-on from $99 a month, so the real cost for on-page work is a plan plus the kit. The entry options are generous: a free plan for your own site, a $29 Starter plan for research, and Lite at $129 with API and MCP access. Brand Radar and prompt tracking cover AI visibility. Expect a steeper learning curve than dedicated editors.

Who it is for

SEO and content teams that want deep keyword and backlink data and are willing to add the Content Kit for writing.

Price

Free plan; Starter $29 per month; Lite $129 per month.

Starter See what people search and spy on competitors. Learn more ↗ $ 29 / mo
Quoted from the vendor pricing page on November 9, 2026.

Key features

• Keywords Explorer with AI suggestions, keyword clusters and search intents
• Site Explorer for competitor pages and backlinks
• AI Content Helper that grades drafts against top-ranking pages
• Brand Radar and prompt tracking for AI visibility
• Site Audit and Rank Tracker

Strengths and weaknesses

• Strength: Free plan and a $29 Starter plan for light keyword research
• Strength: API and MCP access from the Lite plan
• Strength: AI Content Helper detects multiple search intents for a keyword
• Weakness: AI writing tools sit in the Content Kit add-on, from $99 per month
• Weakness: Lite includes 1 user, with extra users at $40 per month
• Weakness: Keyword clusters and intents start on Standard

Key facts

• Lite: $129 per month, 750 tracked keywords
• Standard: $249 per month, 2,000 tracked keywords
• Advanced: $449 per month, 5,000 tracked keywords
• Annual billing: Save up to 17%

Where it ranks

Ahrefs is No. 6 in our Best AI SEO Tools verdict.