Ahrefs vs Serpstat Comparison 2026
Ahrefs prices its backlink index at $129 a month for Lite, the depth other SEO tools get measured against, with no trial and no discount ever. Serpstat covers the same categories, keyword research, rank tracking, backlinks and site audits, from $50 a month, and its own listing is candid that the data runs thinner than Ahrefs in some markets, the honest trade for the price. At the entry tier Serpstat also caps backlink reports at 2,000 results, so the question is whether that depth is enough for what actually gets audited.
At a glance
- Serpstat starts cheaper, at $50.
- Only Ahrefs has a free tier.
Side by side
Ahrefs | Serpstat | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price (they differ) | From $129 | From $50 |
| Pricing model (they differ) | Free plan, paid tiers | Paid subscription |
| Free tier (they differ) | Yes | No |
| Billing | Monthly or annual | Monthly or annual |
| Free trial | Not stated | Not stated |
| API | Yes |
Ahrefs
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.
Serpstat
A full SEO suite at fifty dollars a month
Serpstat does keyword research, rank tracking, backlink analysis and site audits from one account, and prices the entry plan below where the better-known suites start. The data is thinner in some markets than Ahrefs or Semrush, which is the honest trade for the difference. For somebody checking a few hundred keywords a month rather than running an agency, the cheaper tier is not a compromised version of the tool, it is the same tool with lower limits.
Why people weigh these two
- Serpstat instead of Ahrefs
- Serpstat runs the same kind of SEO suite for $50 a month, under half of Ahrefs' $129 starting price.
- Ahrefs instead of Serpstat
- Ahrefs carries the data depth Serpstat's own pitch admits is thinner in some markets, and keeps a free tier to test first, against Serpstat's no free tier at all.
Which one should you pick
Choose Ahrefs if the backlink index needs to be the deep, benchmark one rather than an approximation, and the budget matches: $129 a month at Lite, with no trial and no discount, ever. That is the price of the index every other tool in this comparison gets measured against.
Choose Serpstat if the job is a few hundred keywords a month and one or two sites, not an agency running client reporting at volume. Individual is $50 a month and covers the same categories as Ahrefs at a fraction of the price, with backlink reports capped at 2,000 results against 10,000 on the higher tiers. Its own editorial note recommends running the trial against keywords whose answer is already known, since that shows in an afternoon whether the thinner data is good enough.
Common questions
- How much cheaper is Serpstat than Ahrefs?
- Serpstat's Individual plan runs $50 a month against Ahrefs' Lite plan at $129, less than half the price. The honest trade is data that runs thinner than Ahrefs in some markets.
- Is Serpstat's cheap tier a stripped-down version of the tool?
- No. The entry tier is the same tool with lower limits, not a compromised one. Individual caps backlink reports at 2,000 results and offers no API credits, both of which loosen on the Team and Agency tiers.
- Which one should an agency running client reports at volume choose?
- Ahrefs. Serpstat's own listing admits an agency at that volume will hit both its export limits and its data depth. Serpstat is built for a creator or small site owner instead, not an agency at scale.
- Can Serpstat's data be tested before paying for it?
- Yes, with a free trial of unstated length. Run it against keywords whose ranking is already known, since that shows within an afternoon whether the thinner data is good enough.
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.