Free Ahrefs vs Semrush Cost Calculator

Last updated: October 29, 2026

Quick answer: Ahrefs and Semrush look like a $249-against-$299 comparison — until the keyword cap changes the answer: Semrush Pro+ covers 1,500 tracked keywords a day while Ahrefs Standard covers 2,000, so a team tracking 2,000 keywords fits Ahrefs Standard but is pushed to Semrush Advanced. A 3-seat team pays $369 a month on Ahrefs Standard against $459 on Semrush Pro+ — and $4,428 against $5,508 in year 1. This free Ahrefs vs Semrush cost calculator prices both on your seats, your plans and your tracked keywords over year 1 and 3 years. On the defaults (3 seats, Ahrefs Standard vs Semrush Pro+, 1,000 keywords), Ahrefs costs $369 a month, $4,428 in year 1 while Semrush costs $459 a month, $5,508 in year 1 — a $90 monthly gap, $1,080 a year, $3,240 over 3 flat years. Both plans fit 1,000 keywords. Everything runs in your browser; your keyword counts stay private.

Seats (paid users)

Ahrefs plan

Semrush plan

Tracked keywords

Annual seat growth (%)

Migration / setup, one-time ($)

US list prices, October 2026, annual billing unless noted: Ahrefs Starter $29, Lite $129 ($108 annual), Standard $249, Advanced $449, Enterprise $1,499 a month; extra seats Standard $60, Advanced $80, Lite from $40 a month (Starter and Enterprise extra seats are custom-quoted — the calculator prices Enterprise extra seats at $0 and flags it). Semrush SEO $139 ($117.33 annual), Pro+ $299 ($248.17 annual), Advanced $549 a month; extra seats SEO $45, Pro+ $80, Advanced $100 a month. Tracked-keyword caps: Ahrefs Lite 750 (weekly tracking), Standard 2,000; Semrush SEO 500 a day, Pro+ 1,500 a day. Caps for Ahrefs Starter, Advanced and Enterprise and Semrush Advanced are not published in this comparison — the calculator says so rather than inventing them. Worked check: 3 seats, Standard vs Pro+, 1,000 keywords — Ahrefs $249 + 2 × $60 = $369/mo, $4,428 year 1; Semrush $299 + 2 × $80 = $459/mo, $5,508 year 1; gap $90/mo, $1,080/year. At 2,000 keywords Semrush Pro+ (1,500 cap) fails and the calculator shows the Advanced path ($549 + 2 × $100 = $749/mo). Verify at checkout before signing.

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See the full breakdown

Your result shows the monthly gap and the 3-year totals — the guide explains the keyword-cap trap, the extra-seat math, and when Semrush's wider toolkit is actually worth the premium.

Ahrefs vs Semrush Pricing: The Keyword Cap Trap (2026) →

How to Use the Ahrefs vs Semrush Cost Calculator

Enter your seats — everyone who logs in and runs reports, not clients who only receive a PDF. Both vendors bill per seat, so headcount drives the subscription math.
Pick your Ahrefs plan and Semrush plan. Standard vs Pro+ is the everyday agency comparison ($249 against $299); Lite vs SEO is the solo comparison ($129 against $139).
Enter your tracked keywords — the number you actually track across all projects, not the number you hope to track. This is the cap test: 1,000 keywords fit both default plans, 2,000 fit Ahrefs Standard but not Semrush Pro+.
Enter annual seat growth and migration / setup if they apply. Growth widens the per-seat gap every year; migration lands in year 1 only.
Press Compare total cost. Read the monthly gap first, then the cap-fit line: if a plan fails your keyword count, the cheaper plan is not actually available to you at that price.

Why Use Our Ahrefs vs Semrush Cost Calculator?

Extra seats priced, not assumed — the first seat is the plan price; every seat after it costs $60 (Ahrefs Standard) or $80 (Semrush Pro+). A 3-seat team pays $369 against $459, not $249 against $299 — and a 10-seat team pays $789 against $1,019. Seat-price comparisons that quote the plan price alone understate both bills.
The cap-fit verdict is the decision — Semrush SEO covers 500 keywords a day, Pro+ 1,500; Ahrefs Lite covers 750 (weekly), Standard 2,000. At 2,000 keywords, Semrush Pro+ fails and the honest alternative is Advanced at $749 a month for 3 seats — a $380 jump that no seat-price table shows.
Annual-billing equivalents shown, monthly math kept honest — Ahrefs Lite is $129 monthly or $108 on annual billing; Semrush SEO is $139 or $117.33, Pro+ $299 or $248.17. The calculator totals the monthly list prices named in the defaults so the worked check reproduces exactly, and the annual equivalents are on the page for the buyer who prepays.
Unknown caps named, not invented — where a cap is not published in this comparison (Ahrefs Starter, Advanced, Enterprise; Semrush Advanced), the calculator says so instead of guessing a number that could strand a buyer mid-contract.
October 2026 prices, both vendors — Ahrefs $29/$129/$249/$449/$1,499; Semrush $139/$299/$549, with the extra-seat rates above. A calculator built on pre-2026 prices misstates both sides; this one uses the current list.

Common Use Cases

A 3-seat agency tracking 1,000 keywords: Ahrefs Standard $369 against Semrush Pro+ $459 a month; year 1 $4,428 against $5,508; 3 flat years $13,284 against $16,524. Both plans fit the keyword count, so the $3,240 gap is pure price.
A 3-seat agency tracking 2,000 keywords: Ahrefs Standard still $369 a month (2,000 cap fits exactly); Semrush Pro+ fails its 1,500 cap, so the Semrush path becomes Advanced at $749 a month — a $380 monthly gap, $13,680 over 3 flat years. The cap, not the seat price, decides this purchase.
A solo consultant tracking 500 keywords: Ahrefs Lite $129 against Semrush SEO $139 a month for 1 seat — a $10 gap, $360 over 3 flat years. Lite's 750 weekly cap fits 500 keywords; SEO's 500 daily cap fits exactly. Decide on the toolkit: Semrush adds PPC and social data Lite lacks.

Ahrefs vs Semrush Cost Calculator vs Alternatives

Default plan price: Ahrefs Standard $249 against Semrush Pro+ $299 a month.
Extra seats: Ahrefs Standard $60, Semrush Pro+ $80 a month per extra seat.
Keyword caps: Ahrefs Lite 750 (weekly), Standard 2,000; Semrush SEO 500/day, Pro+ 1,500/day.
Annual equivalents: Ahrefs Lite $108, Semrush SEO $117.33, Pro+ $248.17 a month on annual billing.
Toolkit: Ahrefs: deepest backlink index. Semrush: SEO plus PPC, social, content marketing and local tools in one subscription.

The honest summary: Ahrefs wins on price at the default comparison and wins outright once keyword counts pass 1,500, because Semrush's tier jump is steep. Semrush wins when the team uses its wider toolkit daily — PPC, social and content tools that Ahrefs does not offer. Buy Semrush for the toolkit, never because the seat price looked close: the cap and the extra-seat rate are the bill.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Ahrefs or Semrush cheaper?

Ahrefs, at the default comparison: 3 seats on Standard vs Pro+ are $369 against $459 a month, $4,428 against $5,508 in year 1. The gap is $90 a month, $3,240 over 3 flat years. At the solo tier, Ahrefs Lite ($129) undercuts Semrush SEO ($139) by $10 a month before extra seats.

What happens if I track more keywords than my plan covers?

You upgrade or you trim the list. Semrush Pro+ caps at 1,500 keywords a day, so a 2,000-keyword portfolio needs Advanced ($549 plus $100 per extra seat — $749 a month for 3 seats). Ahrefs Standard covers 2,000, so the same portfolio fits without a tier jump. Price the tier your keyword count needs, not the tier you prefer.

Why do the annual prices differ from the monthly prices?

Both vendors discount for annual billing: Ahrefs Lite drops from $129 to $108 a month, Semrush SEO from $139 to $117.33, Pro+ from $299 to $248.17. The calculator's worked defaults use the monthly list prices so the arithmetic is checkable; if you prepay annually, both bills fall and Ahrefs keeps its lead.

Do extra seats really cost $60 and $80?

Yes, on the default plans: Ahrefs Standard extra seats are $60 a month, Semrush Pro+ extra seats $80. Lite extra seats start at $40, Semrush SEO at $45, Advanced at $100. The per-seat gap ($60 vs $80) is why the 3-seat gap ($90) is larger than the plan-price gap ($50).

Which one should a small agency pick?

Track your keywords first, then count seats. Under 1,500 keywords, Ahrefs Standard is cheaper for any seat count in this comparison. Over 1,500, Semrush forces an Advanced jump while Ahrefs Standard still fits — unless you need Semrush's PPC, social or content-marketing tools, which Ahrefs does not match. Buy Semrush for the toolkit, not the SEO price.