Ahrefs review: is it still worth the money in 2026?

I have used Ahrefs as my primary SEO tool since 2016. It is the first thing I open in the morning, and what I use daily for keyword research, backlink analysis and competitor analysis across both my own site and the webshops I run as CEO. Here is an honest assessment after ten years of use, not a generic feature list.

What Ahrefs is best at

Keyword research. The database is large, and the search volume estimates are among the most reliable on the market, at least for comparing across keywords. Keywords Explorer is where I start almost every new content plan.

Backlink analysis. This is where Ahrefs originally made its name, and it is still market leading. Referring domains, anchor texts and backlink history give a clear picture of why a competitor ranks the way it does.

Competitor analysis. The Content Gap feature, which shows which keywords your competitors rank for that you do not, is one of the things I use most in practice. It is often where the next content idea comes from.

Site Audit. A full technical crawl that finds broken links, missing meta tags and indexing problems. Not as deep as Screaming Frog for pure technical deep dives, but good enough for most tasks, and it comes in the same subscription.

What it is less good at

Price is the obvious objection. Ahrefs is not cheap, and for a small site with a limited budget it can be hard to justify, at least in the beginning. Search volume for smaller local markets and languages is also less precise than for the big English-language markets, simply because there is less data behind the estimates. And as with all SEO tools, the numbers are estimates rather than a definitive answer, so use them for direction rather than as absolute truth.

Ahrefs vs. Semrush

The other common comparison. I use Semrush as a second source, not as my primary tool. In my experience Ahrefs has the strongest backlink database, while Semrush has some strong features for content optimization and position tracking. If you have to choose one, I would point to Ahrefs, unless your work is very content heavy.

Who it is right for

If you are an established site or a webshop that takes SEO seriously, Ahrefs is worth the money in my experience. If you are just starting out with a small budget, a free alternative like Google Search Console can cover most of the need until you have enough volume to justify the expense.

I use Ahrefs across all the SEO work I do, both for the webshops I run as CEO and for the brands I help. If you want a look at what it would show for your site, book a no-strings meeting and we will start from the right data.