SE Ranking vs Ahrefs

by Gralio Feb 19, 2025

SE Ranking and Ahrefs are both powerful SEO software suites, but they cater to different needs and budgets. SE Ranking offers a user-friendly experience and a comprehensive set of features at an affordable price, while Ahrefs provides more advanced tools and data for experienced professionals, though at a higher cost.

At Gralio.ai we help to simplify your decision-making process by offering detailed, side-by-side software comparisons like this one, to help you confidently choose the tool that aligns with your business goals.

This comparison was created by analysing 2799 reviews and 60 websites, saving 16 hours, 3 minutes of reading.

SE Ranking

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Ahrefs

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About

SE Ranking is an all-in-one SEO software suite designed to help businesses improve their search engine rankings. It offers a wide range of tools, including keyword research, competitor analysis, website audits, backlink monitoring, and rank tracking. SE Ranking is known for its user-friendly interface and comprehensive set of features, making it suitable for both SEO beginners and experienced professionals. It aims to provide actionable insights and data-driven recommendations to optimize website content, improve visibility, and attract more organic traffic.

Ahrefs is a suite of online tools designed to improve a website's search engine ranking and visibility. It provides data and insights on competitors, keywords, backlinks, and website content. Businesses use Ahrefs to research competitor strategies, discover relevant keywords, find link-building opportunities, audit their website for SEO issues, and track their ranking progress against competitors. Ahrefs is known for its large database and focus on data accuracy for marketing professionals.

Summary

Main difference

SE Ranking offers a more affordable and user-friendly experience, making it ideal for businesses new to SEO or with limited budgets. Ahrefs provides more advanced features and a larger database, making it better suited for experienced SEO professionals and larger enterprises with complex needs.

Relative strengths of SE Ranking (compared to Ahrefs)

SE Ranking is significantly more affordable, offering plans suitable for smaller businesses.
SE Ranking is known for its user-friendly interface, making it easier to learn and use, especially for beginners.
SE Ranking offers a comprehensive set of SEO tools, covering most essential needs, including keyword research, competitor analysis, website audit, and rank tracking

Relative weaknesses of SE Ranking (compared to Ahrefs)

Ahrefs offers more in-depth backlink analysis and a larger database, providing more comprehensive insights for advanced SEO strategies.
Ahrefs' keyword research tool is more robust, offering more extensive data and metrics.
Ahrefs' Site Audit feature is more advanced, providing deeper analysis and more actionable recommendations for technical SEO improvements

Who is using SE Ranking and Ahrefs?

No data

Olesia Krilyshyn

Sales Acceleration Specialist at Reply.io

Gaetano Di Nardi

Growth Advisor for B2B SaaS Companies

Connor Gillivan

SEO expert; 7x Founder (Exit in 2019)

Jake Ward

SEO expert; 150K LinkedIn followers

Andrew Charlton

SEO Consultant, Founder of SEO tool companies

Show all 13 stacks

Who should use SE Ranking VS. Ahrefs

SE Ranking is an all-in-one SEO software suite perfect for businesses seeking improved search engine rankings and online visibility. It offers tools for keyword research, competitor analysis, website audits, and backlink monitoring. Users praise its user-friendly interface and comprehensive features, while some find the backlink tool lacking. SE Ranking's affordable pricing makes it accessible to businesses of all sizes.

Ahrefs is a powerful SEO toolsuite ideal for marketers, SEO professionals, and business owners aiming to boost online visibility and search engine rankings. Users praise its comprehensive keyword research and in-depth backlink analysis tools. However, many users express concerns about the high cost and limited "Lite" plan. Ahrefs excels at competitor analysis, website audits, and rank tracking, making it a valuable asset for data-driven SEO strategies.

Best for small to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) and agencies.
Ideal for marketing & advertising, software/IT, and e-commerce.

Best for small, medium, and enterprise businesses.
Ideal for E-commerce, Software, IT & Telecommunications, and Marketing & Advertising.

SE Ranking and Ahrefs features

Supported

Partially supported

Not supported

Type in the name of the feature or in your own words tell us what you need

Rank Tracker

Supported

SE Ranking supports rank tracking across Google, Bing, and Yahoo.

Supported

Ahrefs Rank Tracker monitors keyword rankings across major search engines, tracks progress, and identifies fluctuations for SEO insights.
AI Overviews Tracker

Supported

SE Ranking provides AI Overviews Tracker for analyzing website ranking performance and identifying improvement areas.

Supported

Ahrefs provides AI-powered SERP and keyword analysis, including an AI Overview tracking feature.
Competitor Analysis

Supported

SE Ranking analyzes competitors' keywords, SEO and PPC strategies, and offers indirect insights into technologies used.

Partially supported

Ahrefs provides insights into competitor keywords and content strategies, but not technologies or customer base.
Keyword rank tracking

Supported

SE Ranking offers keyword rank tracking with historical data and competitor analysis.

Supported

Ahrefs supports comprehensive keyword rank tracking in SERPs.
Competitor insights

Supported

SE Ranking provides competitor analysis features like keyword analysis and backlink tracking.

Supported

Ahrefs allows you to analyze competitor SEO performance and strategies through features like competitor identification, detailed SEO metrics analysis, website structure and content analysis, technical SEO analysis, and long-term monitoring.
SEO Tool Integration

Partially supported

It offers indirect integrations via Zapier and API, but not directly with Ahrefs or SurferSEO.

Supported

Ahrefs supports integration with other SEO tools, including direct integration with Surfer SEO.

Qualities

Value and Pricing Transparency

+0.64

Rather positive sentiment

-0.96

Strongly negative sentiment
Customer Service

+0.67

Rather positive sentiment

-0.86

Strongly negative sentiment
Ease of Use

+0.91

Strongly positive sentiment

+0.44

Rather positive sentiment
Reliability and Performance

+0.56

Rather positive sentiment

+0.24

Neutral sentiment
Ease of Implementation

+0.89

Strongly positive sentiment

+0

Neutral sentiment
Scalability

+0.43

Rather positive sentiment

-0.6

Rather negative sentiment

SE Ranking and Ahrefs Pricing

SE Ranking offers a tiered subscription model with three plans: Essential for individual SEO professionals, Pro for agencies and small teams, and Business for large agencies and enterprises. They offer add-ons like Content Marketing, Local Marketing, and Agency Pack to enhance functionality. A free trial is available, and annual subscriptions receive a 20% discount.

Plans

User sentiment

Rather positive

+0.64

See full Pricing page

No data

User sentiment

Strongly negative

-0.96

We couldn't find a pricing page for Ahrefs.

SE Ranking and Ahrefs review insights

2658 reviews analysed from and

Users love

User-friendly interface
Comprehensive SEO tools
Affordable pricing
Excellent customer support

In-depth backlink analysis is consistently praised by users.
Keyword research tools offer comprehensive data, including search volume and difficulty.
Site audit tool is very helpful in identifying and fixing technical SEO issues.
Ahrefs Webmaster Tools is a valuable free resource.

Users dislike

Backlink tool is lacking
False "free" claims: Many users feel the "free" service is a misleading bait-and-switch
Mobile app is underwhelming with limited functionality
Limited social media platform integrations

The pricing is very high and not very transparent.
The "Lite" plan is too limited, many key features are not included.
Users are reporting being moved off legacy plans to more expensive plans with no warning.
Customer support is slow and sometimes unhelpful.

SE Ranking and Ahrefs Ratings

G2

4.8/5

(1324)
Capterra

4.7/5

(284)
TrustPilot

4.0/5

(60)
Glassdoor

5.0/5

(10)

G2

4.5/5

(550)
Capterra

4.7/5

(520)
TrustPilot

1.8/5

(81)
Glassdoor

4.9/5

(11)

Company health

Employee growth

25% increase in the last year

No data

Web traffic

1% increase in the last quarter

11% increase in the last quarter

Financing

June 2021 - $0

No data

How do SE Ranking's "comprehensive tools" compare to Ahrefs' "data accuracy" for my needs?

SE Ranking promotes its "comprehensive tools" as a suite for various SEO needs, covering keyword research, competitor analysis, website audits, and rank tracking. While this breadth of functionality can be helpful, Ahrefs emphasizes "data accuracy," suggesting its data is more reliable for tasks where precision is crucial, such as backlink analysis and competitor research. Therefore, if your priority is a broad range of tools at a potentially more affordable price, SE Ranking might be suitable. However, if data accuracy is paramount for your SEO strategy, particularly for competitive analysis and backlink research, Ahrefs might be a better choice despite its higher price and potentially less user-friendly interface.

Which product, SE Ranking or Ahrefs, better supports a novice SEO user's learning curve?

SE Ranking better supports a novice SEO user's learning curve. Its consistently higher ease-of-use ratings (0.91 vs. 0.44), combined with positive user reviews praising its user-friendly interface, suggest a gentler learning curve. While Ahrefs offers powerful features, its lower ease-of-use score and negative feedback regarding complexity indicate it may be overwhelming for beginners. Additionally, SE Ranking's transparent and lower pricing tiers make it more accessible for those starting in SEO.

What are the advantages of SE Ranking?

SE Ranking offers a more user-friendly interface and more affordable pricing than Ahrefs, making it a better choice for beginners or budget-conscious users. It also receives consistently positive reviews for customer support, while Ahrefs has negative feedback in this area. While Ahrefs is known for its in-depth backlink analysis, SE Ranking offers a broader suite of SEO tools making it a more comprehensive solution for overall SEO management.

What are the disadvantages of SE Ranking?

SE Ranking's backlink analysis tool is considered weaker than competitors like Ahrefs. Some users find the free trial misleading. The mobile app has limited functionality, and integrations with social media platforms are lacking.

Alternatives to SE Ranking and Ahrefs

Semrush

Semrush is an online visibility and marketing platform that helps businesses improve their online presence. It offers a wide range of tools for SEO, content marketing, competitor analysis, social media management, and paid advertising. With a massive database, Semrush provides insights into keywords, backlinks, website traffic, and competitor strategies, enabling businesses to make data-driven decisions to enhance their online visibility and achieve marketing goals. Many Fortune 500 companies utilize Semrush's comprehensive suite of digital marketing tools.

Dragon Metrics

Dragon Metrics is a global SEO software platform designed to help businesses improve their search engine rankings. It offers a comprehensive suite of tools, including rank tracking, competitor analysis, reporting, and technical SEO auditing. Dragon Metrics is known for its in-depth data, user-friendly interface, and global coverage, making it suitable for businesses of all sizes looking to boost their online visibility. It promises simplified reporting, clear insights, and ultimately, better rankings.

Moz Pro

Moz Pro is a suite of SEO tools designed to improve your website's visibility on search engines. It offers features such as keyword research, competitor analysis, site auditing, and rank tracking, all within a single platform. Moz Pro aims to help businesses of all sizes understand their website's SEO performance, identify areas for improvement, and track their progress over time. It is known for its user-friendly interface and educational resources.

Similarweb

Similarweb is like a giant spyglass for the internet. It helps you understand what people are doing online, so you can make smarter decisions for your own website and marketing. Want to know who your competitors are online? Similarweb shows you. Want to see which websites are sending traffic to your competitors (so you can try to get them to send traffic to you)? Similarweb shows you that too. You can even see what keywords people are using to find your competitors, and which online ads are working best for them. Basically, if you want to know how your website stacks up against the competition and find new opportunities to grow online, Similarweb gives you the information to do it.

Serpstat

Serpstat is an all-in-one SEO toolkit designed to give businesses a competitive edge online. It helps you track your website's performance in search engines, analyze competitors, research valuable keywords, and develop an effective content strategy. Serpstat offers tools to audit your website, identify technical issues, and track your progress over time. Its features include competitor analysis, keyword research, content creation and analysis, and search engine results page (SERP) tracking. Serpstat is used by businesses of all sizes who want to improve their online visibility and attract more customers.

Ranktracker

Ranktracker is a cloud-based SEO tool that helps businesses improve their search engine rankings. It offers a suite of features including keyword research, competitor analysis, and rank tracking. Ranktracker allows you to monitor your website's ranking position for chosen keywords across multiple search engines like Google, Bing, and Yahoo. It also helps identify technical SEO errors on your website and provides recommendations to fix them. Ranktracker is designed for both small businesses and large agencies looking to improve their online visibility and get more traffic.

Page co-authored by

Michal Kaczor

CEO at Gralio

Michal has worked at startups for many years and writes about topics relating to software selection and IT management. As a former consultant for Bain, a business advisory company, he also knows how to understand needs of any business and find solutions to its problems.

Tymon Terlikiewicz

CTO at Gralio

Tymon is a seasoned CTO who loves finding the perfect tools for any task. He recently headed up the tech department at Batmaid, a well-known Swiss company, where he managed about 60 software purchases, including CX, HR, Payroll, Marketing automation and various developer tools.

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