Ahrefs vs. SE Ranking

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Ahrefs
Score 9.0 out of 10
N/A
Ahrefs is an SEO tool providers. Ahrefs Site Explorer provides a suite of tools including a component for backlink & on-page SEO analysis, online brand mentions tracking, and domain comparison tool for competitor analysis, etc. They refer to themselves as “the largest index of live backlinks.”
$99
per month
SE Ranking
Score 9.1 out of 10
Mid-Size Companies (51-1,000 employees)
An SEO toolset for agency and in-house pros.
$65
per month
Pricing
AhrefsSE Ranking
Editions & Modules
Lite
$99.00
per month
Standard
$179.00
per month
Advanced
$399.00
per month
Agency
$999.00
per month
Essential
$65
per month
Pro
$119
per month
Business
$259
per month
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
AhrefsSE Ranking
Free Trial
NoYes
Free/Freemium Version
YesNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional DetailsSE Ranking’s subscription plans are available at a 20% discount for annual pricing.
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
AhrefsSE Ranking
Considered Both Products
Ahrefs
Chose Ahrefs
The User Interface and usability of the tool makes it very pleasant experience to use on a regular basis. Keyword research and topical clustering on the fly is really easy with SERP overviews and competitor keywords/traffic insights. SEMrush is a little less user friendly and …
Chose Ahrefs
Ahrefs is easier to use, their features deliver understandable and logical recommendations, and in my opinion and most importantly — they list parent topics, which is huge when designing/redesigning a website.
Chose Ahrefs
It's competitive with SEMRush, Moz and other tools of that same ilk. It's great for serious SEO work - not at the Enterprise level - but at the small business, small agency level. I would not consider it competitive with BrightEdge, Conductor, SEOClarity, etc. - but it IS …
Chose Ahrefs
We found the user interface of Ahrefs slightly better than the rest. Also, the details involved in the outputs we more informative. For example, once an audit is done, the steps that are involved in fixing that issue are well explained in Ahrefs. Also, I found Ahrefs backlink …
Chose Ahrefs
Screaming Frog is a handy tool when it comes to performing technical SEO audits and improving technical aspects of SEO. But Ahrefs on the contrary is a strategic SEO tool that can help you do holistic SEO. This includes features like performing keyword research, building links, …
Chose Ahrefs
In my experience, Ahrefs and SEMrush are both powerful tools for improving SEO and content marketing efforts. However, I chose to use Ahrefs over SEMrush for a few reasons. Firstly, Ahrefs has a stronger focus on backlink analysis and identifying potential link building …
Chose Ahrefs
In my organizaion we are also using Semrush, but prefer Ahrefs as Semrush sometimes doesn't show keywords where there are low search rates.
Chose Ahrefs
With the digital initiatives we have currently underway, both are really valuable so we keep them both. The digital ecosystem changes so rapidly that only relying on one SEO tool is, in my opinion, not a great idea, as each has its own strengths and weaknesses. And the cost is …
Chose Ahrefs
Ahrefs provides more accurate and important data compared to other services. It has become a very trusted service among the SEO community and collected tremendous amount of data over the years of operation. Ahrefs is designed to meet the needs of a very demanding SEO expert, …
Chose Ahrefs
Ahrefs is one of the best platforms available in the market dealing in developing online SEO tools and free educational material for marketing professionals. It has all the best features related to SEO and gives all the performance and analytics based on digital presence.
Chose Ahrefs
Ahrefs is the most comprehensive tool we've used for providing SEO and performance analysis for our website clients. It's an essential part of our analytics stack, along with Google products. It doesn't require downloading and installing software, and it's more robust and user …
Chose Ahrefs
Ahrefs is more flexible for a large organization and overall has more features than competitors packed within a single tool. Other tools just don't have as much ability as the Ahrefs tool does. We also found the UI to be overall better on Ahrefs and easier to understand than …
Chose Ahrefs
Ahrefs has the best backlink data even compared to funded competitors. On top of that, their analysis and tutorials make it possible to get value easily. Monitoring your website, your competitors, and finding SEO opportunities is very easy and there are some sophisticated …
Chose Ahrefs
Ahrefs is my clear choice when I need to better understand the link profile of my clients' websites as its database is unmatched. However, when it comes to keyword research, it is second only to SEMrush. I wouldn't say that it's worse than SEMrush as each is focused on …
Chose Ahrefs
I used to use Moz a lot and it is also a great tool. However, I found the Ahrefs UI was much friendlier and easier to navigate. I also like the specific use cases shown in the Ahrefs blog, which are much easier to follow and implement when using the Ahrefs tool itself. This …
Chose Ahrefs
Ahrefs provides a lot more data, in a lot more detail - and tells you exactly why it matters.
Moz is a nice tool - the UI is easier to navigate and there are more prompts for new users - but anyone doing serious work will do better with Ahrefs.
Chose Ahrefs
Sadly we are coming [to] terms that even trough there are more and more options that Ahrefs has they are still incomplete or not working good enough. And the most important options (like frequent updates on rankings) are behind the most expensive membership.

Right now we mainly …
Chose Ahrefs
Semrush and BuzzSumo are also good tools. Semrush is hardcore and technical; if you outgrew Ahrefs as an SEO practitioner and were doing intense work for one big client, I'd highly recommend it. BuzzSumo is more for a social media manager; it provides huge shortcuts for …
Chose Ahrefs
Ahrefs has more features and more accurate data than its competitors. While both Moz and Majestic are great tools and can be used as complimentary to Ahrefs, if you have to choose one tool, definitely choose Ahrefs. It has the biggest database of links and better stats for …
Chose Ahrefs
Ahrefs Site Explorer gives us an easier way of obtaining backlinks when we're doing link building, whereas with other products I have a more difficult time finding viable backlinks. The keyword list you can export from Ahrefs is also a lot more clear than in other products …
Chose Ahrefs
The closest competitor to Ahrefs Site Explorer would likely be SEMRush. Ahrefs seems to have a significantly larger amount of data to work with. They claim that their service is powered by the second most active crawler in the world, next to Google.
SE Ranking
Chose SE Ranking
It has a simple user interface and gives me the exact overview I need to take my next step.
Chose SE Ranking
SE Ranking is way more budget-friendly and suitable for less demanded SEO projects.
Chose SE Ranking
SE Ranking just made the most sense for us. It was an account separate from our SEO company so we could actually see what was going on.
Chose SE Ranking

The interface is much more friendly. The databases for the backlinks database seems to be bigger and more qualitative.


Chose SE Ranking
For us it's mainly a tool we use and/or suggest because of the price. It's complete enough to get yourself kickstarted and learn about your website and its positions in Google. But once you grow bigger and want more data it's smart to look around for more complete tools.

For as …
Chose SE Ranking
Backlink checker seems to be far less thorough than Ahrefs. It's also less thorough than Screaming Frog. But we got it for rank tracking and it does as a decent job at that.
Chose SE Ranking
SE Ranking was our choice based on the suite of features it offered compared to competitors as well as the # of projects you could manage. From a cost perspective, we feel it provides the most value for your money. Other SEO tools did not offer the lead generation features …
Chose SE Ranking
SE Ranking is really easy to use and it's rather cheap. So there is no reason why we should switch to other services.
Chose SE Ranking
We chose SE Ranking because of the price as it was very affordable and also helped us cover our needs.
Chose SE Ranking
SE Ranking is better than SERPstat or MOZ or Ahrefs when it comes to tracking keyword rankings, but it lacks in every other SEO category, such as onsite and offsite SEO metrics, content analysis, etc...

It's a good choice for agencies that are interested in tracking keywords for …
Chose SE Ranking
SE Ranking is perfect due to its price.For $84/year, you can enjoy most of its features, which makes it perfect for bloggers who are looking to beef up their site's SEO. For small agencies, their $39/month is affordable enough to help client track their keywords and manage SEO …
TrustRadius Insights
AhrefsSE Ranking
Highlights

TrustRadius
Research Team Insight
Published

Users of both Ahrefs and SE Ranking have noted their utility for content analysis and competitive research. Reviewers of Ahrefs often mention its ability to provide detailed backlink profiles and keyword tracking, which is helpful for understanding a site’s SEO performance. However, SE Ranking users speak highly of its comprehensive suite of SEO tools that goes beyond backlink analysis to include features like social media management and on-page checker.

 

While both products have proven to be useful for SEO professionals, each caters to different aspects of user needs in the realm of SEO. Ahrefs has been praised for its robust data and ease of use, particularly when managing multiple websites. On the other hand, SE Ranking customers appreciate its flexibility and affordability, making it a popular choice for small businesses and beginners starting out with SEO. They also value its keyword rank tracking feature, which allows for granular analysis of website performance.

 

In terms of technical SEO, reviewers remark on the sophisticated site audit tool that Ahrefs offers, which provides a deep dive into technical issues affecting a website’s SEO. In contrast, users of SE Ranking laud its user-friendly interface and the ability to gauge the overall health of a website through its website audit feature. However, they also appreciate the competitive research capabilities of both tools, with customers of SE Ranking noting its competitive analysis provides insights into a competitors’ SEO strategy.

Features
AhrefsSE Ranking
SEO
Comparison of SEO features of Product A and Product B
Ahrefs
7.8
Ratings
1% above category average
SE Ranking
7.9
Ratings
2% above category average
Keyword analysis9.50 Ratings7.90 Ratings
Backlink management8.50 Ratings7.30 Ratings
SERP ranking tracking9.40 Ratings7.90 Ratings
Page grader5.20 Ratings7.60 Ratings
Competitive analysis9.40 Ratings7.90 Ratings
Site audit / diagnostics7.90 Ratings7.90 Ratings
Site recommendations5.50 Ratings8.40 Ratings
Task management7.00 Ratings7.90 Ratings
SEO Channels
Comparison of SEO Channels features of Product A and Product B
Ahrefs
7.5
Ratings
1% below category average
SE Ranking
8.1
Ratings
6% above category average
Local SEO8.40 Ratings8.10 Ratings
Social SEO6.10 Ratings00 Ratings
Mobile SEO6.10 Ratings8.10 Ratings
Global SEO9.60 Ratings8.20 Ratings
SEO Platform & Account Management
Comparison of SEO Platform & Account Management features of Product A and Product B
Ahrefs
8.9
Ratings
5% above category average
SE Ranking
8.4
Ratings
1% below category average
Multi-domain support9.40 Ratings8.50 Ratings
Integration with web analytics tools8.40 Ratings8.40 Ratings
Best Alternatives
AhrefsSE Ranking
Small Businesses
Nozzle
Nozzle
Score 10.0 out of 10
Nozzle
Nozzle
Score 10.0 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Advanced Web Ranking
Advanced Web Ranking
Score 8.2 out of 10
Advanced Web Ranking
Advanced Web Ranking
Score 8.2 out of 10
Enterprises
Dupli Checker (DupliChecker.com)
Dupli Checker (DupliChecker.com)
Score 8.5 out of 10
Dupli Checker (DupliChecker.com)
Dupli Checker (DupliChecker.com)
Score 8.5 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
AhrefsSE Ranking
Likelihood to Recommend
9.7
(0 ratings)
8.0
(0 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
10.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Usability
9.2
(0 ratings)
7.3
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
8.8
(0 ratings)
7.3
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
AhrefsSE Ranking
Likelihood to Recommend
It gives the best report to us which helps us to find the opportunity to build backlinks. Another main feature that makes Ahrefs a safe and sound approach to SEO is that it provides information about duplicate content, URLs, redirects along with other errors that can be dangerous to the website.
Read full review
SE Ranking is on a good track when it comes to rank tracking. It displays a graph of your average position over time which is helpful and it can also help you when it comes to identifying some basic SEO issues with your website. It boasts as an all-around SEO tool, which it definitely isn't because it lacks a link database to be your go-to tool for everything SEO. Its UI is not optimized for ease of use, thus offering sub-par user experience. It has two different interfaces for different SEO tools which, I hope, they can incorporate into one.
Read full review
Pros
  • Their backlink database is still one of the most up to date we've seen when compared to similar tools.
  • The user interface is very intuitive and easy to learn.
  • They provide you with a lot of great information and the ability to set a date range can really help you narrow things down.
Read full review
  • Rank racking. It’s really important for us that the ranks are tracked accurately.
  • Monitoring of changes made on the website. We’ve found this feature really useful.
  • Reports. This includes auto reports and manuals. We can easily and quickly create reports to check our SEO progress month by month.
Read full review
Cons
  • Ahrefs Site Explorer provides an overview of domain health and the issues that can be fixed, and sometimes the suggested "critical issues" can be an astronomical number and not accurate.
  • For certain features on Ahrefs Site Explorer, there can a more elaborate description/guide on how to utilize the feature.
Read full review
  • I really don't think SE Ranking has many flaws. They are also rolling out an app at the moment - SE Ranking Pro - need to test that one.
  • Some more video tutorials on the site on how to use some tools would be helpful.
  • More in-system popups would be more helpful too.
Read full review
Likelihood to Renew
Their index is too vast to ignore when looking at a complete backlink profile. We find links in Ahrefs that do not appear in any other link detection tool. For this reason, it's a must for our agency to use for the foreseeable future. Plus, it's very affordable considering the data you get
Read full review
No answers on this topic
Usability
Ahrefs is very easy to use - you can jump right in and understand most of the assets. Overall, the dashboard snapshots give a very good picture of inbound link activity. For deeper analysis of historical trends, the system can become cumbersome, making it hard to do full work without exporting and reformatting the data.
Read full review
They had a huge update recently and the platform is now even better. Although not all the tools are yet in the new design.
Read full review
Support Rating
Ahrefs has always been responsive when there's been a technical issue with the site. There are usually very little problems, but if there are, they announce it on their social media accounts which keeps its customers informed. Email support is prompt and the customer service people are very helpful, knowledgable and friendly.
Read full review
The support is great but they don't have 24/7 support. And time zones can also be an issue sometimes. On the other hand there are plenty of guides and videos around to get yourself started. I never really needed support for "big" issues. And the help I got was good enough.
Read full review
Alternatives Considered
It's competitive with Semrush, Moz and other tools of that same ilk. It's great for serious SEO work - not at the Enterprise level - but at the small business, small agency level. I would not consider it competitive with BrightEdge, Conductor, SEOClarity, etc. - but it IS competitive and on par with the tools that are one level below those big enterprise tools.
Read full review
SE Ranking was our choice based on the suite of features it offered compared to competitors as well as the # of projects you could manage. From a cost perspective, we feel it provides the most value for your money. Other SEO tools did not offer the lead generation features that SE Ranking offered as part of their monthly plan.
Read full review
Return on Investment
  • Ahrefs has helped save hours of work because it functions as an all-in-one SEO tool. Before Ahrefs, I would have to switch toolsets multiple times, compile the reports, then organize data. Ahrefs as an all in one helped managed the chaos that having too many tools create.
  • Backlink data is crucial to predicting content success. Ahrefs has provided us with better backlink data, allowing our predictions to be more accurate.
  • Ahrefs has helped us cut away from having another rank tracker subscription. Their rank tracking tool is good enough to not warrant a dedicated rank tracker, helping us save on costs.
Read full review
  • The website "health" report has allowed us to fix things that Google might find strange or cause us to lose rankings, which has been very helpful.
  • It's given us more visibility into what exactly our SEO management company is doing and how they are performing, and if things are changing or not. It's very easy to see right from the dashboard.
  • Being able to see how our competitors stack up against us has helped us know where to improve, what to focus on, and how to be even better.
Read full review
ScreenShots

Ahrefs Screenshots

Screenshot of Analyze backlinks and keywords of any website to find opportunities for your organic traffic growthScreenshot of Check your website for 100+ pre-defined SEO issuesScreenshot of Get relevant keyword ideas supported by accurate SEO metricsScreenshot of Find the most shared and linked-to content on any topicScreenshot of Track your and your competitors' search rankings

SE Ranking Screenshots

Screenshot of SE Ranking main dashboardScreenshot of SE Ranking keyword researchScreenshot of SE Ranking website auditScreenshot of SERP CompetitorsScreenshot of Organic SERP HistoryScreenshot of Content tool