- Ubersuggest is the budget suite; Ahrefs is the deeper one. Ubersuggest puts keyword ideas, an audit, backlinks and weekly rank tracking in one cheap plan; Ahrefs is built around Site Explorer and its link data, with a free tier for your own sites.
- Prices (November 2026, monthly billing): Ubersuggest lists US$29 to US$99 a month across its three plans and also sells one-time lifetime plans; Ahrefs runs from $29 (Starter) and $129 (Lite) to $1,499 (Enterprise, annual commitment).
- Rank tracking: both update rankings weekly. Ubersuggest allows 125 to 300 per project tracked keywords; Ahrefs lists 750 on Lite up to 5,000 on Advanced.
- Free use: Ubersuggest has a free account for light research and a 7-day free trial on monthly plans; Ahrefs Free gives Site Explorer and Site Audit on sites you verify, with 1,000 backlinks and keywords visible at once.
- For your own site on a budget, Google Search Console is free, and MrKeyword (our product) builds on it from free, then $10 a month. It does not research competitors' rankings like either suite.
Disclosure: MrKeyword publishes this page, and MrKeyword overlaps with both tools for work on your own site. Every price below comes from the vendor's own pricing page, and the date we read it is printed next to it. Where a page did not state something, we say so rather than guess.
Quick verdict
- Pick Ubersuggest if you are a beginner or solo site owner on a small budget: US$29 to US$99 a month buys keyword ideas, competitor research, a site audit and weekly rank tracking in one simple suite.
- Pick Ahrefs if links and deeper research are the job: Site Explorer is its core, paid plans keep 6 months to 5 years of history, and Ahrefs Free shows your own site's backlinks at no cost.
- Both start at the same entry price: Ahrefs Starter is $29 a month with 200 credits, and Ubersuggest's range starts at US$29. Ahrefs' fuller Lite plan costs $129 a month, while Ubersuggest's range tops out at US$99.
- Only Ubersuggest sells a lifetime plan; Ahrefs' pricing page lists monthly and yearly billing only.
- If you only work on your own site, Search Console's measured data is free, and you may not need either suite.
Ubersuggest vs Ahrefs pricing
Ubersuggest's plans sit in a US$29 to US$99 a month range; Ahrefs runs from $29 to $1,499 a month. Ubersuggest shows each plan's price in the visitor's local currency, so we quote only the US-dollar range its page prints, and not its yearly or lifetime amounts (yearly and one-time lifetime plans offered, priced in local currency). Ahrefs says yearly billing saves up to 17% but does not show per-month yearly prices, so we do not state any. Our Ahrefs pricing guide covers its add-ons, extra users and credits.
Ubersuggest and Ahrefs plans, as of November 2026
| Tool | Plan | Monthly billing | Yearly billing | Lifetime | Websites / projects | Tracked keywords | Rank updates |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ubersuggest | Individual to Enterprise | $29 to $99/mo (US-dollar range) | Offered, local currency | One-time plans offered, local currency | 1 to 15 projects across the three plans | 125 to 300 per project | Weekly |
| Ahrefs | Starter | $29/mo | Monthly only | None listed | 1 unverified, unlimited verified projects* | 50* | Not shown |
| Ahrefs | Lite | $129/mo | Not shown (up to 17% off) | None listed | 5 unverified, unlimited verified | 750 | Weekly |
| Ahrefs | Standard | $249/mo | Not shown (up to 17% off) | None listed | 20 unverified, unlimited verified | 2,000 | Weekly |
| Ahrefs | Advanced | $449/mo | Not shown (up to 17% off) | None listed | 50 unverified, unlimited verified | 5,000 | Weekly |
| Ahrefs | Enterprise | $1,499/mo (annual commitment required) | Not shown (up to 17% off) | None listed | 100 unverified, unlimited verified | From 10,000 | Weekly |
Keyword research
Both research keywords for any site from their own databases; Ubersuggest is simpler and cheaper, while Ahrefs gives more control on its higher plans.
- Ubersuggest: keyword ideas, search volume, difficulty and competitor keywords are in every paid plan, and the free account covers light research. Its figures are its own estimates.
- Ahrefs: Keywords Explorer needs a paid plan; Ahrefs Free does not include it. Starter includes 200 credits a month and Lite 1,000 per user, and each report, filter or extra page of data spends a credit. Standard and above list unlimited per user credits.
Backlinks
Ahrefs is the stronger pick for link work on what the vendors publish: it gives your own site's backlinks free, and its paid plans state how much history they keep. Both sell backlink research on any domain from their own web-wide index. Each counts its index differently, so we do not compare their sizes.
- Ahrefs: Ahrefs Free shows 1,000 backlinks and keywords visible at once for sites you verify. Paid plans keep 6 months (Lite), 2 years (Standard) and 5 years (Advanced) of history.
- Ubersuggest: backlink reports are part of the same suite and count toward each plan's daily report limit. Its pricing page does not state a history length.
Site audit
For your own site, Ahrefs Free gives a full audit at no cost; Ubersuggest's audit is simpler and adds suggested fixes.
- Ahrefs: Ahrefs Free audits verified sites with 5,000 crawl credits per project a month and checks 170+ technical and on-page issues. Paid plans list 100,000 (Lite), 500,000 (Standard) and 1,500,000 (Advanced) crawl credits a month, and Site Audit does not spend report credits.
- Ubersuggest: the audit gives a health score with errors, warnings and recommendations, and page limits grow by plan. Our Ubersuggest site audit review covers what it checks and its limits.
Rank tracking
Both update rankings weekly, so neither shows day-to-day movement; Ahrefs tracks more keywords on its larger plans.
- Ubersuggest: 125 to 300 per project tracked keywords, across 1 to 15 projects across the three plans, updated weekly.
- Ahrefs: its pricing page lists weekly updates, with 750 keywords on Lite, 2,000 on Standard and 5,000 on Advanced; Starter tracks 50, per its help article. Rank Tracker does not spend credits, and it is not part of Ahrefs Free.
For daily trackers built only for this job, see best rank tracking software.
Free plans
Ubersuggest's free account is a light sample on any domain; Ahrefs Free is a fuller toolset for sites you own.
- Ubersuggest free: a free account for light research, plus a 7-day free trial on monthly plans. Its pricing page did not state the free account's daily search allowance when we checked, so we do not quote a number. See Ubersuggest alternatives for other free options.
- Ahrefs Free: the renamed Ahrefs Webmaster Tools. Site Explorer, Site Audit and Web Analytics for sites you verify, no card, and Ahrefs says it is not a trial. It does not cover sites you do not own. No trial listed; Ahrefs Free instead.
Which should you pick?
| If you are… | Pick | Why |
|---|---|---|
| A beginner who wants one cheap suite | Ubersuggest | Keyword ideas, audit, backlinks and rank tracking for US$29 to US$99 a month |
| Building or auditing links | Ahrefs | Link data at its core, a free tier for your own sites, and up to 5 years of history on Advanced |
| Working on your own site on a budget | Google Search Console + MrKeyword | Measured Google data free, with daily history and keyword volumes on a free plan |
For more options, see Ahrefs alternatives, Semrush vs Ahrefs and SEO tool pricing compared.
Where MrKeyword fits
MrKeyword, which we make, is a cheaper tool for the weekly work on sites you own, not a replacement for Ubersuggest or Ahrefs. It reads your Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools data, keeps a daily history, crawls your site and gets keyword volumes from Google Keyword Planner through the official Google Ads API.
- Plans: Free covers 1 website, 25 tracked keywords and 100 audit pages a month. Starter is $10 a month, Growth $19 and Agency $49. See pricing.
- What it does not do: it does not research competitors' rankings or keywords the way Ubersuggest and Ahrefs do, and its own link index is far smaller than theirs. Our Ahrefs alternative page sets out the trade.
Check a keyword's real search volume freeMonthly searches fetched live from Google Keyword Planner, with the source and time on every figure.
Open the keyword research toolUbersuggest and Ahrefs are trademarks of their owners, used here only to compare them. MrKeyword is not affiliated with either.
Questions and answers
Ubersuggest vs Ahrefs questions
Is Ubersuggest as accurate as Ahrefs?
Neither is exact for sites you do not own. Both estimate search volume, traffic and difficulty from their own databases, and each counts its data differently, so treat both as guides. For your own site, Google Search Console shows measured clicks, impressions and positions.
Is Ubersuggest free?
Partly. Ubersuggest offers a free account for light research and a 7-day free trial on monthly plans. Its pricing page did not state the free account's daily search allowance when we checked in November 2026. Paid plans were shown in a US$29 to US$99 a month range.
Does Ahrefs have a free plan?
Yes. Ahrefs Free, formerly Ahrefs Webmaster Tools, gives Site Explorer, Site Audit and Web Analytics for sites you verify, with 1,000 backlinks and keywords visible at once. Keywords Explorer and Rank Tracker need a paid plan, from $29 a month.
Which is better for beginners?
Ubersuggest, for most beginners: it is simpler, costs US$29 to US$99 a month and puts keyword ideas, an audit and rank tracking in one place. Ahrefs suits people who need deep link data, and its Lite plan costs $129 a month.
Is the Ubersuggest lifetime deal worth it?
Only if you will use Ubersuggest for years. It is a one-time payment shown in your local currency, and lifetime purchases are final and non-refundable, so try the 7-day free trial on a monthly plan first. Rankings still update weekly on every plan.
Sources
- Ubersuggest pricing — checked 1 November 2026; US-dollar range, plan limits, trial, lifetime plans and refund terms
- Ubersuggest — free plan for light research
- Ahrefs pricing — checked 2 November 2026; plans, tracked keywords, weekly updates, credits, history and crawl credits
- About Ahrefs Starter plan — Ahrefs help center, Starter's credits and tracked keywords
- Ahrefs Free — free account for verified sites and its limits
- About Search Console — Search Console Help: a free service offered by Google
- MrKeyword pricing — our own plans and limits
