Best Free Alternatives to Ahrefs
Ahrefs costs From $99/month — 3 free alternatives below.
Google Search Console
FreeFree SEO data straight from Google
- Completely free
- Direct data from Google
- Keyword impressions and clicks
- Index coverage reports
Ubersuggest
Free tier availableAffordable keyword research and SEO tool
- Free daily searches
- Keyword ideas and volume
- Site audit tool
- Competitor analysis
Semrush Free
Free tier availablePowerful SEO with a generous free plan
- 10 free searches/day
- Keyword difficulty scores
- Backlink checker
- Site health audit
Bottom line: Ahrefs costs From $99/month. The 3 free alternatives above cover what most users actually need. Try a free option first — you can always upgrade later.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best free alternative to Ahrefs?
Google Search Console is the best free SEO tool for most websites — it provides direct keyword data, click-through rates, and indexing reports straight from Google. Ubersuggest offers free daily keyword searches. Together they cover the core use cases of Ahrefs at zero cost.
Is Google Search Console as good as Ahrefs?
For tracking your own site's performance, Google Search Console is actually better than Ahrefs because it uses real Google data. Ahrefs is stronger for competitor analysis and backlink research. For solo founders and small teams, Search Console covers 80% of needs.
Why does Ahrefs cost so much?
Ahrefs starts at $99/month because it crawls and indexes the entire web to provide backlink data, keyword volumes, and competitor research. This infrastructure is expensive to maintain. Most small websites and startups do not need this level of data.
Can I do keyword research for free?
Yes. Google Search Console shows you which keywords your site already ranks for. Ubersuggest offers free keyword suggestions and volume data. Google's own autocomplete and "People also ask" sections are also free keyword research tools.