7 Best Ahrefs Alternatives For Marketers in 2026

Like many SEO marketers, I started my content journey with Ahrefs. For years, it was my go-to tool for keyword research, backlink checks, and content insights. But a lot has changed since its early days.

With the introduction of its credit-based pricing system, Ahrefs has become significantly more expensive, to the point where some marketers now spend thousands of dollars a year just to keep their subscription active.

Beyond cost, there’s also the issue of data accuracy. Ahrefs’ metrics often differ from what you’ll see in Google Search Console or Google Analytics, which makes it harder to trust the numbers when you’re making important SEO decisions.

So if you’ve been thinking about switching tools, you’re not alone. And the good news? Several powerful Ahrefs alternatives offer more accurate data, better pricing, or specialized features that Ahrefs simply doesn’t prioritize.

In this guide, we’ll explore the best SEO tools you can use instead of Ahrefs, and how each one can support your SEO strategy more effectively.

Let’s get into it.

What are the Best Alternatives to Ahrefs?

You’ve probably been using Ahrefs for years as part of your content marketing workflow, but the rising costs and data inconsistencies are a tough pill to swallow. Here are the top alternatives that can replace Ahrefs without compromising your SEO strategy:

• Nightwatch: A reliable SEO and LLM rank-tracking tool with accurate data and clean reporting.
• NightOwl: An AI-powered SEO assistant for keyword research, rank tracking, competitor analysis, technical SEO, and content optimization.
• Ubersuggest: A beginner-friendly keyword research tool
• Writesonic: An AI writing and content creation tool with built-in SEO optimization features.
• Monitor Backlinks: A simple tool dedicated to tracking backlinks, monitoring competitors, and assessing link quality.
• Majestic: A backlink-focused SEO tool known for its Trust Flow and Citation Flow metrics.
• Serpstat: An affordable all-in-one SEO suite combining keyword research, site audits, rank tracking, and competitor insights.

1. Nightwatch

If you’re serious about SEO, you know that accurate rank tracking and actionable insights are everything. Nightwatch is built to deliver exactly that, without overwhelming you with unnecessary bells and whistles. It’s ideal for marketers, agencies, and businesses seeking precise and reliable SEO data to inform smarter decisions.

What sets Nightwatch apart is its focus on accuracy, flexibility, and reporting clarity. Unlike Ahrefs, which gives broad estimates, Nightwatch pulls data from multiple sources, including Google, and applies advanced filters so you get rankings you can trust. Whether you’re tracking desktop vs. mobile rankings, monitoring local SERPs, or checking your YouTube visibility, Nightwatch gives you a complete picture.

It’s especially useful if you want to monitor how your content performs on both traditional organic search and across AI-powered search features. This gives you deeper visibility into how LLMs interpret and surface your content.

Key Features

• Highly accurate SEO rank tracker and LLM tracker
• Advanced filtering for geo-location, device type, language, and SERP features
• Daily ranking updates (not delayed like some tools)
• Custom dashboards and API access for reporting
• Competitor tracking and keyword segmentation
• Conduct in-depth site audits and access detailed site reports and actionable steps for fixing errors
• Keyword research tools available
• Clean visual reports are perfect for clients or team collaboration

Pros

• 14-day free trial available
• More accurate rank tracking than Ahrefs
• Easy to use with intuitive dashboards
• Affordable compared to most all-in-one SEO suites
• Excellent for agencies and freelancers who need client-ready reports

Cons

• Nightwatch has a bit of a learning curve for beginners.

Pricing
Nightwatch offers flexible pricing based on the number of keywords tracked, starting significantly lower than Ahrefs at $32 monthly.

• $32/monthly: track 50 websites, 250 words daily, 5 competitor sites, and audit 25 site pages
• $47/monthly: track 50 websites, 500 words daily, 5 competitor sites, and audit 50 site pages
• $82/monthly: track 200 websites, 1000 words daily, 5 competitor sites, and audit 100 site pages
• Custom pricing: track 1000 websites, 10000words daily, 5 competitor sites, and audit 1000 site pages

2. NightOwl

If you’ve ever wished your SEO tool could do more than just show numbers, like actually tell you what to do next, NightOwl might just be your new best friend. This AI-powered SEO agent tracks rankings, analyzes your content, conducts site audits, spots keyword opportunities, and even suggests ways to beat your competitors.

It is like having a mini SEO strategist in your corner 24/7. While Ahrefs gives you the data, NightOwl interprets it for you and turns complex SEO insights into clear, actionable steps that are perfect for marketers who want results.

Key Features

• Finds high-potential keywords and analyzes search intent.
• Rank tracking across platforms like Google, Bing, and even YouTube, so you know exactly where you stand.
• Conduct competitor analysis, spot gaps, and see what your rivals are missing.
• Get content optimization tips and real-time suggestions to boost SERP performance.

Pros

• Saves hours of manual research with smart AI recommendations.
• Helps uncover hidden long-tail keyword opportunities your competitors might overlook.
• Beginner-friendly yet powerful enough for seasoned marketers.
• Integrates competitive analysis into content strategy seamlessly.

Cons

• AI insights are brilliant, but human intuition still matters.

Pricing

NightOwl is available to all Nightwatch subscribers.

3. Ubersuggest

Ubersuggest is a user-friendly SEO tool by Neil Patel that helps businesses and content creators improve their website’s visibility. It offers keyword research, content ideas, and site audits, showing what people are searching for, which topics are trending, and how to fix technical issues that may hurt your rankings.

It also provides competitor insights and backlink data, so you can see what’s working for others and monitor your own progress. While simpler than tools like Ahrefs, it’s affordable and gives clear, actionable advice for growing organic traffic and improving your online presence.

Key Features

• Find search volume, difficulty scores, and keyword ideas fast.
• Discover what your competitors are ranking for and spot gaps you can fill.
• Check SEO health, spot errors, and get quick fixes.
• Keep an eye on how your pages perform over time.
• Understand who’s linking to your site and your competitors.

Pros

• Very beginner-friendly
• Offers a solid mix of research, tracking, and auditing in one tool.
• Free tier is available
• Perfect for small businesses, freelancers, or side projects.

Cons

• Data isn’t as deep or precise as other tools.
• The free plan is largely limited
• Some advanced users might miss enterprise-level features like detailed SERP analysis.

Pricing
Ubersuggest offers both free access with limits and reasonably priced paid plans. It’s a great way to dip your toes into SEO tools without a huge financial commitment, starting at $12 monthly.

• Individual: $12/monthly, 1 website, 5 competitors, 125 tracked keywords
• Business: $20/monthly, 2-7 websites, 10 competitors, 150 tracked keywords
• Enterprise: $40/monthly, 8-15 websites, 15 competitors, 300 tracked keywords

4. Writesonic

Imagine if your SEO tool could also help you write content that actually ranks. That’s exactly what Writesonic does. It’s an AI writing assistant that combines content creation with SEO optimization, making it perfect for marketers who want to save time and produce high-quality content that performs.

Instead of juggling multiple tools, one for research, one for writing, one for SEO, Writesonic brings them together. You get insights, guidance, and draft-ready content all in one place.

Key Features

• Generate blog posts, landing pages, and social media copy in minutes.
• Keywords, meta descriptions, and readability checks included.
• Content idea generator
• Templates for marketing and sales teams, like ads to emails, quickly produce polished copy.

Pros

• Saves huge amounts of time on writing and SEO research.
• Makes content creation approachable for beginners and scalable for teams.
• Combines writing and optimization
• Supports multiple languages and formats, ideal for international campaigns.

Cons

• AI-generated content still benefits from human editing.
• Some SEO insights aren’t as in-depth as dedicated research tools like Nightwatch.

Pricing
Writesonic offers tiered plans, starting at $49/month. Pricing depends on word count and features. Its free trial lets you test AI writing capabilities, while paid plans scale with your content production needs, making it accessible for freelancers, small businesses, and agencies alike.

• Lite: $49/month, ideal for freelancers looking for professional SEO and content tools
• Standard: $99/month, perfect for small marketing teams expanding their SEO and content efforts
• Professional: $249/month, designed for growing brands needing complete SEO plus AI-driven search insights
• Advanced: $499/month, built for scaling teams focused on boosting AI search visibility and SEO performance
• Enterprise: Custom Pricing, tailored solutions for large brands and agencies with complex SEO needs.

5. Monitor Backlinks

Just as the name suggests, this tool focuses purely on tracking who’s linking to your site, analyzing link quality, and keeping an eye on your competitors’ backlinks, and equipping you with the best link-building strategies.

Since you’ve used Ahrefs, you’ll remember that it just bundles backlinks with every other SEO metric. Monitor Backlinks does things differently. It zeroes in on the link ecosystem, making it simple to protect your domain authority, spot opportunities, and avoid toxic links that could hurt your rankings.

Key Features

• Monitor new and lost backlinks in real time
• See where your rivals are getting links and uncover opportunities for your site.
• Identify high-quality vs. potentially harmful backlinks.
• Get notified when links are gained or lost.
• Integrates link data with overall site health and ranking info.

Pros

• Laser-focused on backlinks. Perfect for link-building campaigns.
• Alerts help you respond quickly to lost or toxic links.
• Simplifies competitor analysis for targeted outreach.
• Great for agencies or businesses serious about link strategy.

Cons

• Not an all-in-one SEO suite; you’ll need other tools for keyword research or content optimization.
• Reporting is solid but less customizable than bigger platforms like Nightwatch.

Pricing
Monitor Backlinks has tiered plans based on the number of domains and backlinks tracked. It’s affordable for small businesses and marketing teams who want a dedicated backlink management tool without paying for a full-suite SEO platform.

• Basic Plan: $25/month, 1 domain, 4 competitors
• Pro Plan: $49/month, 2 domains, 8 competitors
• Agency Plan: $99/month, 5 domains, 20 competitors

6. Majestic

When it comes to backlinks, Majestic is like a microscope for your website’s link profile. This tool has built a reputation over the years for its detailed link intelligence, offering metrics like Trust Flow and Citation Flow that help you understand how many links you have, and how valuable they really are.

Majestic also focuses on helping marketers and SEOs make smarter decisions about link building, outreach, and site authority. If backlinks are your bread and butter, Majestic is a tool you’ll want in your toolkit.

Key Features

• Trust flow and citation flow metrics. Evaluate link quality versus quantity.
• Access historical and fresh link data.
• Analyze your domain and competitors’ backlink profiles.
• Conduct link context and anchor text analysis
• Bulk backlink checker available. It is perfect for agencies managing multiple sites.

Pros

• Highly reliable data on backlink quality and trustworthiness.
• Deep historical index provides long-term insights.
• Excellent for competitive backlink research.
• Trusted by SEO professionals worldwide.

Cons

• Less intuitive than newer tools for beginners.
• Lacks some content and keyword-focused features found in all-in-one suites.

Pricing

Majestic’s plans scale with the number of domains and reports you need. It’s ideal for agencies, link builders, and SEOs who want to dig deeper into link quality without the extra features (and cost) of an all-in-one platform.

• Lite: $49.99/month, for small teams or individual users. Includes audit and backlink prospecting tools with basic analysis capabilities.
• Pro: $99.99/month, for agencies and SEO consultants. Higher query limits, historic data access, and more reporting options.
• API: $399.99, for large agencies or developers needing direct data access and maximum analysis power.

7. Serpstat

If you’ve ever wished for an SEO tool that “just works” without feeling overwhelming, Serpstat is worth a look. It’s an all-in-one platform that packs keyword research, site audits, rank tracking, competitor analysis, and backlink insights into a single, easy-to-use dashboard.

Where Ahrefs can feel heavy and sometimes intimidating, Serpstat keeps it simple while still giving you the insights you need to stay competitive. This works for all SEO teams, whether you’re running a small business, managing a client’s website, or just trying to optimize your own content.

Key Features

• Find new keyword opportunities, track difficulty, and analyze trends in one place.
• Rank tracking to keep tabs on your performance across search engines
• Identify technical issues and optimize your pages without headaches.
• Competitor analysis to help see what’s working for your rivals and spot content gaps you can exploit.
• Monitor links and uncover link-building opportunities that actually matter.

Pros

• Covers all the basics (and then some) in one platform.
• Clean, intuitive design.
• Perfect for small teams, freelancers, and anyone who needs actionable insights fast.
• Affordable, yet surprisingly powerful for the price.

Cons

• Some data isn’t updated as frequently as high-end tools like Ahrefs.
• Advanced users might miss deeper, enterprise-level features.

Pricing
Serpstat offers flexible plans based on features and usage. You can start small and scale as your needs grow, making it a great choice for marketers who want versatility without paying a fortune.

• Individual: $69/month, for freelancers and beginners. Track up to 5 projects, 100 sites/keywords/links per day
• Team: $209/month, for agencies needing more power. Unlimited projects, track 1,000 sites/keywords/links per day
• Agency: $499/month, for large agencies and businesses. Unlimited projects, track 5,000 sites/keywords/links per day

Frequently Asked Questions

Why should I look for alternatives to Ahrefs?

Ahrefs is powerful, but it can be expensive, and sometimes its data or features aren’t ideal for smaller teams or beginners. Exploring alternatives lets you find tools that are more affordable, easier to use, or better suited to your specific SEO workflow.

Are these alternatives as accurate as Ahrefs?

Many of them, like Nightwatch and Majestic, offer highly reliable data. While no tool is perfect, these alternatives provide precise rank tracking, backlink insights, and keyword analysis without the steep price of Ahrefs.

Can I use multiple tools together?

Absolutely! Many SEO pros combine tools to cover all their needs. For example, you might use Writesonic for content creation, Nightwatch for rank tracking, and Monitor Backlinks to manage links.

Choosing the Right Ahrefs Alternative for Your SEO Strategy

Switching from a long-time tool like Ahrefs can feel intimidating, but the truth is, there are plenty of powerful alternatives that can match, and in some areas, even outperform, depending on what your workflow needs. Whether you’re looking for more accurate rank tracking, AI-assisted research, simpler backlink monitoring, or a budget-friendly all-in-one SEO solution, there’s a tool in this list built for you.

So, use it as your starting point, test a few options, and build a system that makes SEO more effective for you. Nightwatch and NightOwl are particularly strong contenders if you want precision and automation without sacrificing usability.

So, if you’re serious about better rankings, don’t do it alone. Sign up for Nightwatch for accurate tracking and let NightOwl guide your keyword research and content strategy today.