Ahrefs Free Alternative: Best Free & Cheap Tools (2025)

Let's be honest: Ahrefs is expensive. At $129/month ($1,548/year), it's out of reach for bootstrapped founders, students, and anyone just starting with SEO.

The question everyone asks: "Is there a free alternative to Ahrefs?"

The short answer: Not with all features, but you can get very close using a combination of free and affordable tools. You won't get Ahrefs' massive backlink database for free—but you can get keyword research, rank tracking, and basic competitor analysis for $0-29/month.

I've tested 15+ free and cheap SEO tools. Here's the truth about what actually works (and what doesn't).

Can You Really Replace Ahrefs for Free?

Here's what you need to know:

The best free Ahrefs alternative strategy is to use:

1. Google Search Console (free) – Your own rankings and traffic data
2. Google Keyword Planner (free) – Search volumes and keyword ideas
3. Ubersuggest Free Plan (free) – 3 searches/day for backlinks and competitor data
4. Answer The Public (free) – 3 searches/day for keyword ideas

This gets you keyword research, your own rankings, and basic competitor research for $0/month. The downside? More manual work and limited daily searches.

Best FREE Tools (100% Free Forever)

1. Google Search Console – Best for Your Own Site

Price: FREE
What it does: Shows exactly what keywords you rank for and how much traffic each gets.

This is the #1 free tool every website owner should use. It tells you:

• Which keywords drive traffic to your site
• Your average position for each keyword
• Click-through rates (CTR)
• Technical SEO issues (errors, warnings)
• Indexing status

Limitations: Only shows data for YOUR site. No competitor research or keyword suggestions.

2. Google Keyword Planner – Best for Search Volumes

Price: FREE (requires Google Ads account)
What it does: Provides search volume data and keyword suggestions directly from Google.

This is Google's official tool, so the data is accurate. Great for:

• Getting search volume estimates
• Finding related keyword ideas
• Seeing competition levels for paid ads
• Understanding seasonal trends

Limitations: Shows broad ranges ("10K-100K") unless you're running ads. No backlink data or rank tracking.

3. Ubersuggest Free Plan – Best for Quick Research

Price: FREE (3 searches/day)
What it does: Limited keyword research, competitor analysis, and backlink checking.

Ubersuggest's free plan gives you:

• 3 searches per day
• Basic keyword data (volume, difficulty, CPC)
• Top-ranking pages for any keyword
• Basic backlink data
• Site audit (limited)

Limitations: Only 3 searches per day. Need more? Upgrade to $29/month.

4. Google Trends – Best for Trend Analysis

Price: FREE
What it does: Shows search interest over time and compares keyword popularity.

Perfect for:

• Validating if a keyword is growing or declining
• Finding seasonal trends
• Comparing multiple keyword variations
• Finding related topics and queries

Limitations: No exact search volumes. Relative popularity only.

5. Answer The Public – Best for Question Keywords

Price: FREE (3 searches/day)
What it does: Generates hundreds of question-based keywords from a seed term.

Excellent for finding:

• "How to" keywords
• "What is" keywords
• "Why" and "When" questions
• Content ideas for blog posts

Limitations: Only 3 searches per day on free plan. No search volumes.

Best CHEAP Tools ($29-59/month)

If you can spend $29-59/month, you'll get a much better experience than cobbling together free tools. Here are the best budget options:

1. Ubersuggest Pro – Best Budget All-in-One

Price: $29/month
Savings vs Ahrefs: $1,200/year

For just $29/month, you get:

• Unlimited keyword research
• Site audit with technical SEO checks
• Backlink analysis and monitoring
• Rank tracking
• Competitor analysis
• Content ideas

Best for: Solo founders and bootstrapped businesses.

2. Keywords.chat – Best for Simplicity

Price: $59/month
Savings vs Ahrefs: $840/year

A chat-based SEO tool with no learning curve. Just ask questions in plain English:

• "What keywords should I target for project management software?"
• "Show me backlinks to competitor.com"
• "Track my rankings for 'best crm software'"

Includes keyword research, rank tracking, backlinks, and technical audits—all through a simple chat interface.

Best for: Non-technical founders who want results without complexity.

3. Mangools – Best UX

Price: $49/month
Savings vs Ahrefs: $960/year

5 beautiful SEO tools in one platform:

• KWFinder – Keyword research
• SERPChecker – SERP analysis
• SERPWatcher – Rank tracking
• LinkMiner – Backlink analysis
• SiteProfiler – Competitor research

Best for: Bloggers and content creators who want a clean, intuitive interface.

The Free vs Paid Comparison

The $0 Budget SEO Stack

If you're completely bootstrapping, here's the free tool combo I recommend:

1. Google Search Console – Track your rankings and traffic (FREE)
2. Google Keyword Planner – Get search volumes (FREE)
3. Ubersuggest Free – 3 daily searches for competitor/backlink data (FREE)
4. Google Trends – Validate trends (FREE)
5. Answer The Public – Find content ideas (FREE)

Total cost: $0/month

Downside: Takes 3-5x longer than using a paid tool. Lots of manual work.

The $29 Budget SEO Stack

If you can afford $29/month, this is the best value:

1. Ubersuggest Pro ($29/mo) – All-in-one tool
2. Google Search Console (FREE) – Your own site data
3. Google Trends (FREE) – Trend validation

Total cost: $29/month vs Ahrefs' $129/month = Save $1,200/year

When Should You Upgrade to Paid?

Use free tools if you:

• Just started learning SEO
• Have zero budget
• Only need to track your own site
• Can afford to spend more time on manual research

Upgrade to paid tools ($29-59/mo) when you:

• Need daily competitor research
• Want automated rank tracking
• Value time over money
• Are making $200+/month from organic traffic

Upgrade to Ahrefs ($129/mo) only when you:

• Manage 10+ client sites professionally
• Need the absolute best backlink data
• Are making $1,000+/month from SEO
• Have a team of 3+ people using it

Frequently Asked Questions

Is there a 100% free alternative to Ahrefs?

Not a single tool, but you can combine Google Search Console (your rankings), Google Keyword Planner (search volumes), Google Trends (trends), and Ubersuggest Free (3 daily searches) to get 70% of Ahrefs' functionality for free.

What's the cheapest paid Ahrefs alternative?

Ubersuggest at $29/month is the cheapest full-featured alternative with unlimited keyword research, rank tracking, backlinks, and site audits. It has less data than Ahrefs, but it's perfect for small sites and solo founders.

Can I use Google Search Console instead of Ahrefs?

Partially. Google Search Console is free and excellent for tracking YOUR site's performance, but it doesn't offer competitor research, backlink analysis from other sites, or keyword suggestions. Use GSC for your own site + Ubersuggest ($29/mo) for competitor insights.

How accurate is Google Keyword Planner compared to Ahrefs?

Google Keyword Planner is 100% accurate because it comes directly from Google. However, it shows broad ranges ("10K-100K") unless you're actively running Google Ads. Ahrefs provides exact numbers but they're estimates based on click-through rates.

Is Ubersuggest as good as Ahrefs?

No—Ahrefs has a much larger backlink database and more accurate data. But Ubersuggest gives you 80% of the functionality at 22% of the cost ($29 vs $129). For most indie hackers, Ubersuggest is more than enough.

Final Thoughts

You can do SEO on a $0 budget using free tools—but it takes significantly more time and effort. If you can afford $29-59/month, you'll save hours of manual work and get better data.

The key is to match your tool to your budget and stage:

• $0 budget → Use free tool combo (GSC + Google Keyword Planner + Ubersuggest Free)
• $29/mo budget → Ubersuggest Pro (best value)
• $59/mo budget → Keywords.chat (simplest) or Mangools (best UX)
• $129/mo budget → Ahrefs (most data)

Start free, learn the basics, then upgrade when you're earning money from SEO. Don't invest $129/month in Ahrefs until you're making at least $500/month from organic traffic.