Growing an audience
Running the business
Both cover seo & discovery and research & trends. Here is what separates them on price, billing, what you can take with you, and coverage.
| Ahrefs | Exploding Topics | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | From $129 | From $39 |
| Pricing model | Free plan, paid tiers | Free trial, then paid |
| Free tier | Yes | No |
| Billing | Monthly or annual | Monthly or annual |
| Free trial | Not stated | 7 days |
| API | Yes | Not stated |
| Data export | Not stated | Not stated |
| Their cut | Not stated | Not stated |
| Runs on | Web | Web |
| Covers | SEO & Discovery, Research & Trends | Research & Trends, SEO & Discovery |
| Works with | Nothing in particular | Nothing in particular |
| Founded | Not listed | Not listed |
| Reader rating | No reviews yet | No reviews yet |
| Live deals | None right now | 1 |
Backlink and keyword data at full depth
Ahrefs runs its own crawler, which is why its backlink index is the one other tools get compared against, and why the keyword data goes deeper than the free alternatives. Site Explorer and Content Gap are what most people open it for. It is priced for businesses rather than for individuals, and the company states outright that it never discounts.
Our note
Between this and Semrush the split is old but holds: Ahrefs for backlinks and content research, Semrush for advertising data and rank tracking breadth. Pick on which half of the job is yours, because paying for both is rarely worth it.
Trends spotted before they peak
Exploding Topics watches search and social signals and surfaces subjects on the way up, which is a different job from a keyword tool that tells you what is already big. For somebody choosing what to make next, early is the whole value. It is now a Semrush product, and the cheapest plan holds back the CSV export.
Our note
The $39 plan cannot export, so the research stays in their interface. If the point is feeding a content calendar or a spreadsheet, the real entry price is $99.
Ratings are the average of reviews readers left. The facts are stated by each tool’s own listing and are not verified by CloutStack. How we make money.