Ahrefs Alternatives: Free Tools to Boost Your Marketing
TL;DR: Ahrefs costs $99/month, but you can access powerful SEO capabilities through free alternatives, such as Google Search Console, Ubersuggest, and others. This guide covers 11 tested tools that provide keyword research, backlink analysis, and site audits at no cost, and I share how to effectively stack these tools to create a comprehensive SEO workflow that rivals premium platforms.
Ahrefs is one of the most powerful tools on the market, but its pricing is a major barrier, especially for startups, freelancers, and small marketing teams. With Search Engine Optimization getting significantly more important with each passing day, marketers are actively looking for Ahrefs alternatives, free tools that can still deliver remarkable insights and measurable results.
From keyword discovery and backlink analysis to competitor research and traffic tracking, these free tools do it all without the hefty price tag. In this blog, we’ll explore the best free tools you can use to strengthen your SEO strategy and boost campaign performance.
The Reason You Should Have Ahrefs Alternatives Free
Ahrefs is priced at $99 per month (basic plan), and it reaches 999 (their agency level), which has been hard for many people and small businesses to afford when they are running on shoestring budgets or are simply trying out whether SEO is the right medium to market their businesses.
I recall the time I first opened my website, and that price of $99 seemed like a huge obstacle that did not allow me to use professional SEO software.
The fact is that not all websites need the advanced features that costly platforms are offering, and you can achieve great results with free tools similar to Ahrefs that are oriented on critical functions.
Large tool stacking has turned into the methodology where the practiced marketers are able to substitute one high-priced platform, and this methodology entails conglomerating a few specialized free tools, which are skilled at particular duties.
1. Ubersuggest
Ubersuggest is a product designed by Neil Patel and provides a generous free tier, allowing access to suggestions on keywords, backlink information, site audit reports, and content ideas. The platform offers three free searches per day, which is not as many as you would think, until you get to know that strategic research does not demand dozens of random searches.
Key features:
- Keyword suggestions with search volume
- Backlink data and analysis
- Site audit reports
- Content ideas based on engagement
I prefer Ubersuggest as a tool when I want fast keyword suggestions without entering several paid tools, and the information has been accurate in verifying the opportunities and the knowledge of the search space.
2. Google Search Console and Google Keyword Planner
Google Search Console gives the actual data of your search performance as given by Google, and this means that the information is not estimated but actual. I visit Google Search Console every single morning as part of my routine, and the experience has helped me spot problems in a short time, uncover new opportunities, and know what content is performing well.
Key features:
- Actual search performance data from Google
- Click-through rates and impression data
- Coverage reports for indexing issues
- Mobile usability insights
- Search volume data for keywords (Keyword Planner)
- Suggestions based on actual searches
- Historical statistics showing seasonal patterns
Google Keyword Planner is a complement to Search Console that gives search volumes for your targeted keywords, ideas that are generated by what people are literally searching, as well as the past statistics that may show seasonal trends.
3. Ahrefs Webmaster Tools
Ahrefs is a free (as in the full version) platform that website owners can use to verify their domains. Furthermore, this tool is capable of offering full site audits, checking backlinks, and providing you with data on keywords of your own site.
Key features:
- Full site audits with technical SEO suggestions
- Backlink analysis reports
- Internal linking analysis reports
- Organic keyword tracking
- Page-level SEO metrics
The primary drawback is that you can not analyze the competitor websites using the free version, and the tool is confined to displaying data of those domains that you own and verify.
4. Moz Free Tools
Moz offers free use of their Link Explorer and Keyword Explorer tools with some restrictions, where a user can still do useful research, and 10 free searches are given to the user every month.
Key features:
- Link Explorer with backlink information
- Domain Authority and Page Authority statistics
- Keyword suggestions with search volume estimates
- SERP analysis tools
- Spam scores for backlinks
5. SEMrush Free Account
SEMrush also provides 10 requests per day on their free version, and this includes the use of their domain overview and backlink checking features.
Key features:
- Keyword research, including difficulty score
- Domain overview with organic keywords
- Backlink checker with source URLs
- Position tracker for limited keywords
- Site audit features for smaller websites
6. AnswerThePublic
AnswerThePublic focuses on question-based keyword search, which is based on what people are actually searching on particular topics. I found this tool in 2017, and it is now a necessary ingredient of my content planning strategy since it displays the real questions that people are asking.
Key features:
- Question-based keyword research
- Visual keyword maps
- Prepositions and comparisons related to topics
- Alphabetical keyword suggestions
- Content planning insights
Whenever I am planning a new content series or trying to figure out what angle is going to be most appealing to my audience, I rely on AnswerThePublic, and the tips and tricks have helped me to come up with content that aligns with the search intent.
7. Screaming Frog SEO Spider
Screaming Frog provides a desktop version of its site crawling and technical SEO issue identification tool, and the free version is capable of analyzing up to 500 URLs.
Key features:
- Identifies broken links
- Detects duplicated content
- Finds missing meta tags
- Reveals redirect paths
- Automatically creates XML sitemaps
8. Google Trends
Google Trends is totally free, with real-time trend data that displays the transition of search interest with time. I always look at Google trending before producing any major work of content, and this study has saved me hours and hours since I will not be involved in the things that people are becoming less interested in.
Key features:
- Real-time trend data
- Search interest over time graphs
- Geographic distribution of searches
- Related queries and topics
- Comparison capabilities between keywords
9. SEOquake Browser Extension
SEOquake promises to provide instant SEO metrics through a free browser extension for Chrome and Firefox, and this tool displays key data while you browse any website without requiring you to copy URLs and paste them into separate platforms.
Key features:
- Instant page metrics, including domain age
- Backlink counts and domain authority scores
- Keyword density analysis
- Internal and external link counts
- SEO audit scores with recommendations
- SERP overlay with competitor metrics
10. SimilarWeb
SimilarWeb offers free traffic estimates and competitive intelligence for any website, and the free plan provides access to three months of data along with basic competitor analysis.
Key features:
- Traffic estimates and trends over time
- Traffic source breakdown
- Top referring sites
- Geographic distribution of the audience
- Engagement metrics like bounce rate
- Competitor comparison features
11. SpyFu
SpyFu provides limited free access to competitor keyword research and PPC data, and the free version shows overview data that can reveal valuable competitive insights.
Key features:
- Competitor organic keywords in limited lists
- Paid keywords that competitors bid on
- Ad copy examples
- Keyword overlap analysis
- Historical ranking data
How to Stack These Free Tools to Replace Ahrefs
Combining multiple free tools creates a comprehensive SEO system that covers all essential functions. My morning routine starts with Google Search Console to review performance changes, then I validate opportunities with Google Keyword Planner, and check Google Trends to confirm that interest is growing.
For competitor analysis, I use SEMrush's free version for quick domain overviews, apply my Moz free queries for backlink quality assessment, check SimilarWeb for traffic sources, and use SpyFu's free version for keyword gap analysis.
For technical SEO maintenance, I run Screaming Frog crawls monthly, monitor Ahrefs Webmaster Tools for backlink profile updates, and review Google Search Console weekly for coverage issues.
When Should You Actually Pay for Ahrefs?
You should consider paying for premium tools when you are managing multiple client websites, and the efficiency gains justify the cost, especially when you need historical data that shows ranking changes over the years. When daily rank tracking for thousands of keywords becomes essential, and when your SEO efforts are generating consistent revenue, that makes the monthly investment insignificant.
Final Thoughts
If you are a complete beginner, start with Google Search Console combined with Ubersuggest because these two platforms provide everything you need to begin improving search rankings. If you are a small business owner, add Ahrefs Webmaster Tools to your toolkit alongside Moz Free for thorough site audits.
Select two tools from this comprehensive list today and begin using them consistently rather than trying to master all 11 platforms simultaneously. You do not need expensive tools to achieve excellent SEO results, and this fact has been proven by thousands of successful websites that were built using only free resources.
