Head to head
Ahrefs vs Screaming Frog SEO Spider
Both platforms are scored with the same methodology and the same category rubric. Nothing on this page is influenced by advertising.
70/100Higher score | 50/100 | |
|---|---|---|
| Category rank | #1 | #3 |
| Confidence | Medium confidence | High confidence |
| External Reputation | — | 73 |
| AI Authority | 73 | 38 |
| Web Authority | — | 18 |
| Expert Assessment | 65 | 66 |
| TOP10 User Score | — | — |
| Pricing | $29/mo (Starter); next tier Lite at $129/mo · free tier: Ahrefs Free — $0, limited Site Explorer and Site Audit access for your own verified site only; cancelled customers are downgraded to it | £199 per licence per year (vendor also publishes $279/year) · free tier: Free version with a 500 URL crawl limit; advanced features require a licence |
| Pricing model | Subscription with credit-based and per-seat/per-project add-ons | Subscription (annual per-user licence) with permanent free tier |
| Best for | Funded in-house SEO teams and agencies that need best-in-class backlink and competitor data plus AI-search visibility tracking in one tool, with budget tolerance of $249–$449/mo before add-ons, and enterprise buyers who need SSO, audit logs and uncapped API access. | Technical SEOs, agencies and consultants who audit many sites or run migrations, already own a rank-tracking/keyword suite, and have a modern SSD machine with RAM to spare for database storage mode. |
| Avoid if | You need to trial before buying, require daily rank tracking, run a solo blog or very small site, have a team larger than a few seats on a lower plan, cannot absorb automatic PAYG overages, need mature local-SEO or social features (both still beta), or require 24/7 support. | You are an SEO beginner wanting guided fixes, need one platform covering rank tracking and keyword research, work on low-spec non-SSD machines, require shared cloud dashboards or seat pooling, or need monthly billing and a money-back guarantee. |
| Markets | SMB, Freelancers and consultants, Agencies, In-house marketing teams, Enterprise | SMB, Agencies, Freelancers/Consultants, In-house SEO teams |
| Founded | — | — |
| Headquarters | Singapore (16 Raffles Quay, #33-03 Hong Leong Building, Singapore 048581) | Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, England |
A higher TOP SCORE means more of the evidence favours that platform on this methodology — it is not a recommendation, and it does not account for your specific requirements. Advertisers are never declared the winner of a comparison.