Category by category
| Category | SE Ranking | Ahrefs |
|---|---|---|
| Features | – | Stronger |
| Backlinks | – | Stronger |
| Keywords | – | Stronger |
| Ease of use | Stronger | – |
| Starting price | from £95/mo | from £23/mo |
Category calls are editorial judgements, not lab test results. Swipe sideways if the table is cut off.
- Features
- Ahrefs has Content Explorer and deeper competitive research. SE Ranking is more complete on reporting and local SEO; our call favours Ahrefs on research depth
- Backlinks
- Ahrefs is built around backlink research and presents its live link index as a core strength. SE Ranking's backlink toolset is solid for its tier. Our call favours Ahrefs on published features
- Keywords
- Ahrefs' Keywords Explorer supports several search engines beyond Google with detailed metrics. SE Ranking covers the main keyword research needs of most professional workflows
- Pricing
- Cheapest paid plans: SE Ranking £95/mo, Ahrefs £23/mo. Ahrefs has the lower entry price. Plan limits are in the tables below.
- Ease of use
- In our view SE Ranking is slightly more accessible for all-round use. Ahrefs is clean but geared to specific research workflows
Side by side
| Detail | SE Ranking | Ahrefs |
|---|---|---|
| Cheapest paid plan | Core, £95/mo | Starter, £23/mo |
| Paid plans | 2 | 4 |
| Cheapest plan with published limits | Core, £95/mo | Lite, £99/mo |
| Sites or projects (that plan) | 10 | 5 non-verified, unlimited verified |
| Tracked keywords (that plan) | 2,000 | 750 |
| Users included (that plan) | 1 | 1 |
| Audit or crawl allowance (that plan) | 250,000 pages/month | 100,000 crawl credits/month |
| Other limits (that plan) | 25K API credits and MCP access; 25 AI prompts daily | Up to 2 extra users at £32/mo each; 150 AI prompt checks/month; 6 months history |
| Free plan | not published | Yes |
| Free trial | 14 days | not published |
| Money-back guarantee | No; payments are non-refundable except where the service was not delivered as promised | No refunds in general; a monthly subscription may be refunded if the service has not been used |
| Currency shown | GBP | GBP |
| Prices checked | 31 Oct 2026 | 31 Oct 2026 |
"Not published" means the vendor's pricing page did not show it on the check date; it is not assumed to be zero or unlimited. Swipe sideways to see both tools.
What SE Ranking and Ahrefs cost for the same workload
The cheapest plan on each tool whose published limits cover the workload, and what the first year costs at list price. Yearly billing is used where the vendor publishes it.
| Workload | SE Ranking | Ahrefs |
|---|---|---|
| 1 site, 100 tracked keywords, 1 userSolo blogger or one business site | Core: £912 | Lite: £990 |
| 5 sites, 500 tracked keywords, 1 userFreelancer with a few clients | Core: £912 | Lite: £990 |
| 15 sites, 1,500 tracked keywords, 2 usersSmall agency | Growth: £2,006.40 | Limits not published |
"Limits not published" means the vendor's pricing page did not list a limit needed to judge the plan. Try your own numbers in the plan finder.
Every SE Ranking and Ahrefs plan
| Plan | Billed monthly | Billed yearly, per month | Sites or projects | Tracked keywords | Users |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SE Ranking Core | £95 | £76 | 10 | 2,000 | 1 |
| SE Ranking Growth | £209 | £167.20 | 30 | 5,000 | 3 |
| Ahrefs Starter | £23 | not published | not published | not published | not published |
| Ahrefs Lite | £99 | £83 | 5 non-verified, unlimited verified | 750 | 1 |
| Ahrefs Standard | £199 | £166 | 20 non-verified, unlimited verified | 2,000 | 1 |
| Ahrefs Advanced | £359 | £299 | 50 non-verified, unlimited verified | 5,000 | 1 |
Prices are shown in the currency each vendor published, before tax. Swipe sideways to see every column.
- Checked on vendor siteSE Ranking: prices read from seranking.com on . Shown in GBP as the vendor displayed it; not converted.
- Prices read from vendor site; some terms not published thereAhrefs: prices read from ahrefs.com on . Shown in GBP as the vendor displayed it; not converted.
SE Ranking Black Friday 2026
Coming, no terms yet. SE Ranking’s Black Friday page says “Coming soon”, with no terms yet. (seranking.com)
Last confirmed offer (2024): 20% off yearly plans plus an extra 20% Black Friday saving (first-time customers). Source.
Checked 31 Oct 2026. Every SEO tool's Black Friday offer.
Ahrefs Black Friday 2026
No Black Friday deal, per the vendor. Ahrefs says it does not run one-off discounts or seasonal specials, including Black Friday and Cyber Monday. (help.ahrefs.com)
Checked 31 Oct 2026. Every SEO tool's Black Friday offer.
Which should you pick?
Pick SE Ranking if
Backlink analysis and deep keyword research are central to your work, and you want maximum research depth
SE Ranking plans and catchesPick Ahrefs if
You want comprehensive all-in-one SEO (keyword research, site audit, rank tracking, and reporting) at a lower price than Ahrefs
Ahrefs plans and catchesThe verdict
The question here is research depth versus breadth at a lower price. On published features, Ahrefs goes deeper on backlinks and keywords, which matters most when researching competitive link profiles or judging difficulty in tough niches. SE Ranking covers most everyday SEO tasks in a lower price tier and adds white-label reporting that Ahrefs lacks. For a solo SEO or small agency, our view is that this trade-off is often worth it.