Ahrefs is a full SEO suite, and its main plans start at $129 a month as of October 2026. For a small business doing its own SEO, that can be more than the job needs. You can often start with free tools from Google, then add a cheaper paid tool only when you want competitor and keyword research.
All facts below come from each vendor's own pages, as of October 2026. Prices are in US dollars.
What Ahrefs costs today
From the Ahrefs pricing page:
- Ahrefs Free: $0, for sites you verify you own.
- Starter: $29 a month.
- Lite: $129 billed monthly, or $1,290 a year. 5 projects, 750 tracked keywords.
- Standard: $249 billed monthly, or $2,490 a year.
The page says Ahrefs does not run discounts. Before you leave, check whether Ahrefs Free or Starter already covers you.
The short version
- Google Search Console: free, and the first tool every site should set up.
- Ahrefs Free: free site audit and data for your own verified sites.
- Semrush: a free account with daily limits, and paid plans with daily rank tracking.
- Moz Pro: a lower entry price for one website.
- SE Ranking: more tracked keywords for the price, with a 14-day trial.
Google Search Console (free)
Google's help page describes Search Console as a free service. It shows how often your site appears in Google, which searches bring it up and how often people click. It also flags indexing problems, lets you ask Google to recrawl a page and lists sites that link to you.
Suits you if you want to know how your own site does in Google. Less of a fit if you want to study competitors, because it only covers sites you own.
Google Keyword Planner
Keyword Planner is part of Google Ads. It suggests keyword ideas and shows estimated monthly searches. Google's help page says you need to finish setting up a Google Ads account, including billing details, to use it.
Suits you if you want keyword ideas straight from Google. Less of a fit if you do not want a Google Ads account.
Ahrefs Free
The Ahrefs Free page lists Site Explorer, Site Audit and Web Analytics for sites you verify, with no credit card. As of October 2026, Site Audit gives 5,000 crawl credits per project each month, and Site Explorer shows up to 1,000 backlinks and keywords at a time.
Suits you if you like Ahrefs and only need data on your own site.
Semrush
As of October 2026, the Semrush pricing page lists:
- Free: 1 demo project and 10 reports a day across its main tools.
- SEO: $139 billed monthly, or $117.33 a month billed annually. 5 websites, 500 keywords tracked daily.
- Starter: $199 billed monthly, or $165.17 a month billed annually, with fuller keyword and competitor tools.
Suits you if you want daily rank tracking and a free trial first. Less of a fit if price is the main reason you are leaving Ahrefs. For a closer look, read Semrush vs Ahrefs.
Moz Pro
The Moz Pro pricing page lists:
- Entry plan: $49 a month, for people managing a single website.
- Standard: $99 a month, or $79 a month paid yearly. 1 user, 3 tracked sites, 300 tracked keywords.
- Medium: $179 a month, or $143 a month paid yearly. 2 users, 10 tracked sites, 1,500 tracked keywords.
Suits you if you have one site and want a paid tool at a lower monthly price. Less of a fit if you need to track many keywords.
SE Ranking
The SE Ranking pricing page lists:
- Core: $129 a month billed monthly, or $103.20 a month billed annually. 10 projects, 2,000 keywords tracked daily, 1 manager seat.
- Growth: $279 a month billed monthly, or $223.20 a month billed annually.
There is a 14-day free trial with no credit card. Annual plans are billed up front.
Suits you if you want to track many keywords daily. Less of a fit if you want the lowest monthly price.
How to choose
- Set up Search Console today. Wait a few weeks for data.
- Write down the questions you have. Which pages get seen? What do competitors rank for? What should you write next?
- Use free tools for the first question. Pay only for the others.
- Take one trial at a time. Do real research during the trial, so you know what you would use.
Tools find the topics. The pages still have to answer them well. Start with SEO for small business, a clear FAQ page and a complete Google Business Profile description.