Lite
USD107.50
per month per account, billed yearly
Billed monthly: USD129
Best for: Small businesses and solo SEOs
- 1 user (up to 2 extra at USD 40)
- 5 projects
- 750 tracked keywords
- 100K crawl credits
- 6 months history
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Ahrefs pricing in 2026: plans, extra user fees and add-ons that raise the bill
Every Ahrefs plan in plain numbers, what extra users and add-ons really add, and how to keep the SEO tool bill from creeping up.
The short answer
Ahrefs Lite costs USD 129 a month, Standard USD 249 and Advanced USD 449 when billed monthly. Billed annually they come to USD 107.50, USD 207.50 and USD 374.17 a month. Starter is USD 29 and Enterprise is USD 1,499 a month on an annual contract. Every plan includes one user, so a 3-person team on Standard pays USD 3,930 a year billed annually.
- Cheapest paid planStarter at USD 29 a month, or Lite at USD 129 for the full toolset.
- What most teams needStandard, for two years of history and room for up to six users.
- Biggest hidden costExtra users at USD 40 to USD 100 a month each, plus add-ons from USD 99.
- Best way to savePay annually for about 17 percent off, and cancel idle users and add-ons.
Written by Procurement VMS Editorial Team · Reviewed by Michael, Procurement Advisor Expert · Price data dated · 9 minute read
Ahrefs plans and prices
Ahrefs publishes its prices, but the plan price is only where the bill starts. Each plan includes a single user, and the AI writing and AI search tracking tools that marketing teams now ask for are sold as separate add-ons.
Below is every plan from the Ahrefs pricing page, followed by what a real team pays once users and add-ons are counted.
Prices below were recorded on 21 September 2026. The headline figure is the lowest price you can get for that plan. Check the official page before you buy, because vendors change prices without notice.
Standard
USD207.50
per month per account, billed yearly
Billed monthly: USD249
Best for: In-house marketing teams
- 1 user (up to 5 extra at USD 60)
- 20 projects
- 2,000 tracked keywords
- 500K crawl credits
- 2 years history
Advanced
USD374.17
per month per account, billed yearly
Billed monthly: USD449
Best for: Agencies and larger SEO teams
- 1 user (up to 10 extra at USD 80)
- 50 projects
- 5,000 tracked keywords
- 1.5M crawl credits
- 5 years history
Enterprise
USD1,499
per month per account
Best for: Enterprises that need API and unlimited history
- Annual commitment
- additional users at USD 100
- custom limits
- uncapped API access
- unlimited history
How billing works
Every Ahrefs plan includes one user. Extra users are billed on top at USD 40 a month on Lite, USD 60 on Standard, USD 80 on Advanced and USD 100 on Enterprise, with caps of 2, 5 and 10 extra users on the three lower plans. Enterprise needs an annual commitment. Ahrefs says it does not give refunds in general, other than for unused monthly subscriptions, and that it never runs discounts.
The tier trap
Lite allows only two extra users and six months of history. A team of four, or anyone who reports year over year, gets pushed to Standard, which nearly doubles the base price.
Read this first. The annual monthly figures (USD 107.50, USD 207.50 and USD 374.17) come from a September 2026 third party article. Ahrefs itself only says "save up to 17 percent". The team scenarios below assume extra users are billed at the monthly rate even on annual plans, so confirm that with Ahrefs before you sign.
Ahrefs cost calculator
Move the slider to see what each plan costs at your size. The figures use the list prices on this page and leave out tax, add-ons and any discount you negotiate.
What a team of 3 really pays
A 3-person team is a typical in-house SEO group. The gap between the cheapest and the dearest sensible setup is more than USD 2,000 a year.
| Scenario | Cost per year | Against the headline |
|---|---|---|
| Standard billed annually, 1 included user plus 2 extra users at USD 60 (3 users) | USD3,930 | Headline price |
| Standard billed monthly (3 users) | USD4,428 | +USD 498 |
| Advanced billed annually for 5 years of history, 1 plus 2 extra users at USD 80 (3 users) | USD6,410 | +USD 2,480 |
What each Ahrefs plan includes
Compare the plans side by side. Where a cell says Check page, the vendor's pricing page was not specific enough for us to fill it in.
| Feature | Lite | Standard | Advanced | Enterprise |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Included users | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Extra user price per month | USD 40 (max 2) | USD 60 (max 5) | USD 80 (max 10) | USD 100 |
| Projects | 5 | 20 | 50 | Custom |
| Tracked keywords | 750 | 2,000 | 5,000 | Custom |
| Crawl credits per month | 100K | 500K | 1.5M | Custom |
| Historical data | 6 months | 2 years | 5 years | Unlimited |
Features we could not place by plan: Uncapped API access. Check the official page for which plan includes each one.
Which Ahrefs plan should you pick?
Lite
Pick it if one or two people need keyword and backlink research for a single site.
Standard
Pick it if a marketing team needs two years of history, more projects and up to six users.
Advanced
Pick it if you are an agency running many projects, or you need five years of history.
Enterprise
Pick it if you need API access at scale, many users and unlimited history.
Our view
Ahrefs is still one of the best sources of backlink and keyword data, and it earns its price for teams whose pipeline depends on organic search. The honest bill depends on users and add-ons. A three-person team with Content Kit can pay far more than the headline plan price suggests.
You may be overpaying if
You are on Advanced but track one or two sites, you pay for extra users who log in once a month, or you bought Content Kit and Brand Radar and nobody opens them weekly.
How to pay less for Ahrefs
Pay annually
Annual billing works out to about ten months for the price of twelve, a saving of roughly 17 percent on Lite, Standard and Advanced.
Cut unused users
Each extra user costs USD 40 to USD 100 a month. Share exported reports instead of logins where you can.
Drop idle add-ons
Content Kit, Report Builder and Brand Radar are each billed monthly. Cancel any that nobody opened this quarter.
Look at Starter
At USD 29 a month, Starter covers basic keyword and competitor lookups for occasional users.
Get a competing quote
SE Ranking Core at USD 103.20 a month billed annually, and Semrush, give you a real comparison before renewal.
Do not wait for a sale
Ahrefs says it never runs discounts, so the savings come from your plan, user and add-on choices.
Renewal email you can copy
Fill in the brackets and send it about 90 days before the renewal date. It works best next to your renewal tracker.
Subject: Ahrefs renewal on [renewal date] Hi [account manager], Our Ahrefs [plan] subscription renews on [renewal date]. Over the last 90 days, [active users] of the [paid users] we pay for used it. We would like to renew with [target users] on a [term] term. Before we sign, please send: 1. The current list price and the price you are offering us, line by line. 2. The cap on any price increase at the next renewal. 3. The notice period if we want to cut users or move to another plan. We are comparing this against [alternative] and plan to decide by [decision date]. If you can offer [target discount] percent off list, or a lower price for a longer term, we are ready to talk this week. Thank you, [name] [company]
Free PDF and Excel
Ahrefs pricing sheet and cost model
A one page summary of every plan, plus an Excel model that adds up your own seat count.
- All plans and prices on one page
- Excel model with your seat count and yearly cost
- Renewal checklist and the email above, ready to edit
- Date of the price data and the source links
Ahrefs alternatives and what they cost
Two tools cover most of what Ahrefs does. Starter is Ahrefs' own cheaper door.
| Alternative | Starting price | Pick it when |
|---|---|---|
| SE Ranking | USD103.20 per month (Core, billed annually) | You need rank tracking and audits for many projects on a tighter budget |
| Semrush | USD117.33 per month (SEO plan, billed annually) | You also want PPC and content research in one suite Read our Semrush pricing guide |
| Ahrefs Starter | USD29 per month | You only need occasional keyword and competitor lookups |
Keeping Ahrefs spend under control
Ahrefs bills drift because marketing owns the tool but a card or a single manager pays for it. Users get added for a campaign and never removed, add-ons are switched on for a trial, and the annual renewal lands with nobody checking what was used.
- Count the users who log in. Sales, marketing and revenue operations often buy the same type of tool separately. Compare logins against paid seats before every renewal.
- Calendar the renewal and notice window. Annual contracts for data and engagement tools often renew at a higher price. A renewal tracker keeps the date visible.
- Check the data terms before you sign. Contact data brings privacy duties with it. Ask for the data processing terms during supplier onboarding, not after go-live.
- Add the tool to your software spend view. Use a spend analysis template to see what go-to-market tools cost as a group.
Bottom line. Standard is the right plan for most in-house teams, and annual billing is the only discount Ahrefs offers. Review users and add-ons before every renewal and cancel what nobody opened.
Ahrefs pricing questions
How much does Ahrefs cost per month?
Lite is USD 129, Standard USD 249 and Advanced USD 449 a month when billed monthly. Billed annually they are USD 107.50, USD 207.50 and USD 374.17 a month. Starter is USD 29 a month. Enterprise is USD 1,499 a month with an annual commitment. Each plan includes one user.
Is there a free version of Ahrefs?
Yes. Ahrefs Free gives limited access to Site Explorer and Site Audit for sites you own. The paid plans have no free trial, and Ahrefs does not give refunds in general, so test with the free tools or Starter first.
How much is Ahrefs Enterprise?
Enterprise costs USD 1,499 a month on an annual commitment, which is USD 17,988 a year. Extra users are USD 100 a month each. It adds uncapped API access, custom limits and unlimited history, so it suits large teams that need data at scale.
Can you get a discount on Ahrefs?
Ahrefs says it never runs discounts. The only published saving is annual billing, about 17 percent. The rest of your savings come from removing extra users, picking the right plan and cancelling add-ons such as Content Kit or Report Builder.
Is Ahrefs cheaper billed annually?
Yes. Annual billing takes Lite from USD 129 to USD 107.50 a month, Standard from USD 249 to USD 207.50 and Advanced from USD 449 to USD 374.17. On Standard that saves USD 498 a year on the base plan.
What is the cheapest alternative to Ahrefs?
SE Ranking is a common lower-cost choice. Its Core plan is USD 103.20 a month billed annually and includes 10 projects and 2,000 tracked keywords. Ahrefs' own Starter plan at USD 29 a month is cheaper still for occasional lookups.
Sources
How we put this page together
We start from the vendor pricing page and note the date. Where a figure comes from a third party instead, we say so on the page. Procurement VMS is a ratings and comparison site, not a software vendor, and nobody paid for a place in this guide. Spot a number that has changed? Tell us on the contact page and we will check it.
Take the Ahrefs cost model to your renewal meeting
You get a one page PDF and an Excel model with your seat count, the plans above and a renewal checklist.
Choosing software instead of renewing? See the ranked procurement software list.