Semrush was acquired by Adobe in 2026, but Semrush’s alternative, Ahrefs, is a bootstrapped company owned by Dmytro Gerasymenko.
Why am I comparing Ahrefs vs Semrush?
Both SEO companies have long been rivals in the SEO industry, with Semrush being slightly costlier than Ahrefs.
So, let’s uncover the difference between the two giant AI SEO tool companies to find out which one is better.
Table of Contents
Ahrefs vs Semrush Comparison Table
| Features | Ahrefs | Semrush |
|---|---|---|
| Best known for | Backlink analysis and SEO research | SEO & content marketing |
| Keyword research | Excellent | Excellent |
| Backlink analysis | Excellent | Excellent |
| Competitor research | Excellent | Excellent |
| Site audit | Yes | Yes |
| Rank tracking | Yes | Yes |
| Content research | Excellent | Excellent |
| PPC research | Limited | Excellent |
| UI | Simple | Not for beginners |
| Company status | Bootstrapped | Now owned by Adobe |
| Headquarters | Singapore | Boston, Massachusetts |
| Overall strength | SEO focused | SEO + broader marketing |
Is Ahrefs better than Semrush?
Not exactly. Ahrefs is a much better choice if you heavily rely on SEO, backlinks, and organic search at an affordable cost. However, Semrush is not for beginners and is made for those who want SEO along with PPC, content & social media marketing tools.
If you are looking specifically for a keyword research tool, you can check out Ahrefs keyword explorer alternatives.
Semrush vs Ahrefs: Company Overview
Before we dig into the features offered by Semrush and Ahrefs, let us learn more about the companies.
| Overview | Ahrefs | Semrush |
|---|---|---|
| Founding Year | 2010 | 2008 |
| Founder(s) | Dmytro Gerasimenko | Oleg Shchegolev and Dmitry Melnikov |
| CEO | Dmytro Gerasimenko | William “Bill” Wagner |
| Headquarters | Singapore | Boston, Massachusetts, USA |
| Owned By | Bootstrapped SaaS company | Public company acquired by Adobe Inc in 2026 |
| Area of focus | SEO and AI visibility | SEO, AI visibility, and digital marketing tools |
Who owns Ahrefs and Semrush?
Ahrefs remains a bootstrapped and privately held, founder-led company. However, Semrush is now owned by Adobe Inc. as of April 2026.
Ahrefs vs Semrush for Keyword Research
Ahrefs Keyword Generator Tool
Ahrefs keyword research tool is free to use with up to 20 keyword generations. You enter a seed keyword, select a target country, and the results pop up on the screen.
The free keyword search shows Keyword Difficulty, Volume, update period, and also question-based long-tail keywords.
The tool allows you to search for keywords on Google, Bing, YouTube, and Amazon. Look at the screenshots below.
If you buy the subscription, you will get access to advanced details such as GV, TP, CPS, CPC, Parent topic, and more. You can export the results generated for the input keyword.
Still not satisfied? Check out Ahrefs keyword explorer alternatives for free.
Semrush Keyword Magic Tool
Semrush’s free Keyword Magic Tool sets the bar high, with the free version showing CPC and SERP features along with KD, Volume, and Intent. For personalized data, you can enter a domain name, and you will get refined results.
Which is better for keyword research, Ahrefs or Semrush?
After comparing Ahrefs vs Semrush free keyword research tools, we can conclude that Semrush offers more features than Ahrefs. Semrush allows users to filter keyword results by clicking on a specific keyword and generates a filtered version.
Ahrefs vs Semrush for Backlink Analysis
Ahrefs Free Backlink Checker
When I logged into my Ahrefs dashboard, I was curious to know if the free version shows the maximum number of backlinks or not.
To my surprise, I could see all the backlinks displayed (screenshot is attached here). Ahrefs backlink checker tool shows:
- Domain Rating,
- URL Rating,
- Domain Traffic,
- Referring Domains,
- Linked Domains,
- Number of external links,
- Total number of keywords that the referring page ranks for in the top 100 positions,
- Anchor and target URL,
- Date when the link was first and last seen,
- Inspect feature is available in the Pro plan.
Semrush Free Link Building Tool
I was overwhelmed after looking at the backlinks dashboard powered by Semrush. The overview dashboard showed unique metrics like TLD distribution, backlink types, referring-domain categories, and more.
Going ahead to the Backlinks tab, my expectations were to get advanced data compared to Ahrefs, but I was disappointed. The free Semrush backlink checker does not show all the backlinks and requires an upgrade to the Pro plan.
The best feature was the different tabs, which help users filter between the Best links, Top links, and Lost & Vital links.
Is Ahrefs better than Semrush for backlinks?
In terms of providing complete backlink data for free, Ahrefs is better than Semrush. It might not have an overview dashboard, but that doesn’t matter.
Ahrefs vs Semrush for Site Audits
Ahrefs Site Audit
After performing a site audit, users can find issues related to:
- Broken links,
- Crawlability,
- Metadata,
- Internal linking,
- Redirects,
- Indexability,
- Technical SEO errors.
Semrush Audit:
The audit dashboard overview shows site health, crawled pages, AI search health, blocking status of your site from AI search platforms, errors, warnings, issues, robots.txt, and CWV.
You can go to the Issues tab to find out all the errors, notices, and warnings that your site needs attention and should be resolved as a priority.
Which has a better site audit, Ahrefs or Semrush?
A site audit is about finding technical issues. Hence, we cannot decide on any one tool as a winner.
Looking for other website audit tools?
Check out the top website traffic estimator tools (free & paid).
Ahrefs vs Semrush: Final Verdict
Ahrefs vs Semrush: Which One Is Better for Beginners?
The first thing that any beginner looks for is a free version, and Ahrefs has that, whereas Semrush has very limited free features.
Now that you know that the free version has limited features, you would want to upgrade to a Pro plan, and again Ahrefs wins here.
Ahrefs wins on free analytics. Semrush wins on premium features.
FAQs | Semrush vs Ahrefs
Which keyword research tool is better for finding low-competition keywords?
Both Semrush and Ahrefs generate keywords with low to high competition.
Can I use Ahrefs and Semrush at the same time?
Yes. Some SEO professionals use both because the platforms have different databases, interfaces, and workflows. Using both can be particularly useful when you want to cross-check keyword, backlink, or competitor data rather than relying on a single dataset.
Which is better for analyzing a competitor’s traffic?
Semrush has a clear feature to analyze any competitor website’s traffic, but it is available only in the Pro plan. The free version only lets you see the sample data. However, I couldn’t find any feature in Ahrefs that lets you track a competitor’s website.
Is Semrush still independent after Adobe acquired it?
Adobe acquired Semrush in a strategic deal combining Semrush’s SEO and AI visibility features to empower its platform. Semrush continues to operate as an SEO tool for millions of users worldwide.
What is the best alternative to Semrush?
This depends on what features you are looking for. If you only want keyword research, Semrush isn’t a good choice. Look at the top Semrush competitors for keyword research.
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