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Marketing · head to head

Ahrefs vs Amazon QuickSight

Ahrefs logo

Ahrefs

Marketing

Backlink and keyword research platform run on its own web crawler, metered by credits since 2024

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Amazon QuickSight logo

Amazon QuickSight

Business Intelligence

Scalable, serverless BI by AWS

From
$3/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Ahrefs has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Ahrefs the April 2024 move from unlimited usage to credits was a real downgrade for existing customers: Lite meters 1,000 credits per user per month and the data tools lock when they are gone, so heavy research on the entry plan now forces an upgrade to Standard at 249 USD.; Amazon QuickSight reader and Reader Pro roles charged separately at $3 and $20/month
  • They diverge on capability: Ahrefs covers Site Explorer, Amazon QuickSight covers SPICE In-memory Engine.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Ahrefs and Amazon QuickSight actually diverge.

Attributes where Ahrefs and Amazon QuickSight differ
AttributeAhrefsAmazon QuickSight
Starting priceFree$3/month
Pricing modelPer month by credits and usage limitsper-user
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWebAWS
CategoryMarketingBusiness Intelligence
Founded20102006

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Ahrefs

  • Site Explorer
  • Keywords Explorer
  • Site Audit
  • Rank Tracker
  • Content Explorer
  • Competitive analysis
  • Backlink checker
  • Keyword research

Only in Amazon QuickSight

  • SPICE In-memory Engine
  • ML Insights
  • Natural Language Queries
  • Embedded Analytics
  • Pay-per-session
  • Redshift
  • S3
  • Athena

Both cover

  • Web support

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Ahrefs

  • SEO researchnot Amazon QuickSight
  • Competitor analysisnot Amazon QuickSight
  • Content planningnot Amazon QuickSight
  • Backlink analysisnot Amazon QuickSight
  • Rank trackingnot Amazon QuickSight

Amazon QuickSight

  • Business intelligencenot Ahrefs
  • Dashboard creationnot Ahrefs
  • Data visualizationnot Ahrefs

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Ahrefs

  • The April 2024 move from unlimited usage to credits was a real downgrade for existing customers: Lite meters 1,000 credits per user per month and the data tools lock when they are gone, so heavy research on the entry plan now forces an upgrade to Standard at 249 USD.
  • Pay-as-you-go credits are charged automatically once enabled, so a busy research month can produce an unbudgeted overage bill rather than a hard stop.
  • Every paid tier includes exactly one user, and additional seats cost 40, 60 or 80 USD a month by tier, so a three-person team on Standard pays 369 USD a month rather than 249.
  • Row caps bind before credit caps for many jobs: Lite returns at most 2,500 rows per report, which is not enough to export a mid-sized site backlink profile in one pass.
  • Ahrefs states plainly that it never runs discounts and offers no free trial of the paid plans, so evaluation means paying a full month or working from the ownership-verified free tier.
  • Rank Tracker updates weekly on every tier including Enterprise, so teams needing daily positions have to buy a separate tracker such as SE Ranking or Semrush.
  • A growing share of capability is sold as add-ons rather than included: Report Builder at 99 USD a month, Content Kit from 99 USD, Project Boost at 20 or 200 USD per project, and Brand Radar from 199 USD.

Amazon QuickSight

  • Reader and Reader Pro roles charged separately at $3 and $20/month
  • Author and Author Pro roles charged at $24 and $40/month
  • $250/month infrastructure fee required if Pro users or Q&A enabled
  • SPICE storage charged at $0.38/GB monthly (10 GB included)
  • Pixel-perfect reports start at $500/month for 500 monthly units
  • Alerts charged at $0.05-$0.50 per 1,000 metrics evaluated

Pricing, plan by plan

Ahrefs

Free
  • Ahrefs FreeFree
    • Limited Site Explorer and Site Audit for sites you verify ownership of
    • No access to competitor data
    • Where paid subscriptions land after cancellation
  • Starter$29/month
    • Search and competitor data with reduced row limits
    • No projects tier of the main plan ladder
    • Sits below Lite on the published pricing page
  • Lite$129/month
    • 1 user included, up to 2 more at 40 USD each per month
    • 1,000 credits per user per month, the only tier with a credit cap
    • 5 projects, 750 tracked keywords, 6 months of historical data
  • Standard$249/month
    • 1 user included, up to 5 more at 60 USD each per month
    • Unlimited report credits under fair use
    • 20 projects, 2,000 tracked keywords, 2 years of historical data

Amazon QuickSight

$3/month
  • Reader$3/month
    • Dashboard viewing only
  • Reader Pro$20/month
    • Enhanced reader capabilities
  • Author$24/month
    • Dashboard creation and editing
  • Author Pro$40/month
    • Advanced authoring features

Which should you pick?

Choose Ahrefs if

  • You need site explorer.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You also want keywords explorer.
Ahrefs review

Choose Amazon QuickSight if

  • You need spice in-memory engine.
  • You work on AWS.
  • You also want ml insights.
Amazon QuickSight review

Questions people ask

Is Ahrefs or Amazon QuickSight better?
Neither clearly leads. Ahrefs starts at Free and Amazon QuickSight at $3/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Ahrefs or Amazon QuickSight?
Ahrefs has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Ahrefs and $3/month for Amazon QuickSight.
Does Ahrefs or Amazon QuickSight run on more platforms?
Ahrefs runs on Web. Amazon QuickSight runs on AWS.
Can I use Ahrefs for free?
Yes. Ahrefs has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Amazon QuickSight starts at $3/month.
What is Ahrefs best used for?
Ahrefs is most often used for seo research, competitor analysis, content planning, backlink analysis. Of those, seo research and competitor analysis are not what Amazon QuickSight is typically brought in for.
What can Ahrefs do that Amazon QuickSight cannot?
Ahrefs covers Site Explorer, Keywords Explorer, Site Audit, Rank Tracker. Amazon QuickSight covers SPICE In-memory Engine, ML Insights, Natural Language Queries, Embedded Analytics. Both handle Web support.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Ahrefs: How much does Ahrefs cost?

Starter is 29 USD a month, Lite 129, Standard 249, Advanced 449 and Enterprise 1,499 with an annual commitment. Paying annually saves up to 17 percent, which Ahrefs describes as two months free, and it is arranged through support rather than on the site.

Amazon QuickSight: What does Amazon QuickSight cost per user?

QuickSight pricing varies by user role. Readers start at $3/month, Reader Pro at $20/month, Authors at $24/month, and Author Pro at $40/month. All prices are per user per month.

Source
Ahrefs: What are Ahrefs credits and when did they start?

Ahrefs replaced unlimited report usage with credits in April 2024. It meters report credits, crawl credits and API units. Lite includes 1,000 credits per user per month; Standard and above are unlimited under a fair use policy. Purchased pay-as-you-go credits last three billing months.

Amazon QuickSight: Does QuickSight charge an infrastructure fee?

Yes, QuickSight charges an infrastructure fee of $250/month per account if the account has at least one Pro user, has Q&A enabled via topics, or has dashboard Q&A enabled.

Source
Ahrefs: Is Ahrefs or Moz better?

Ahrefs has the deeper and fresher link index and stronger competitive research, and it is the default for link work. Moz is cheaper at entry, owns Domain Authority as a reportable metric, and has a real local listings product. If you report DA to clients or manage multi-location listings, Moz earns its place; otherwise Ahrefs wins on data.

Amazon QuickSight: What are QuickSight's session capacity pricing options?

Session capacity pricing starts at $250/month for 500 sessions. Annual plans range from $20,000/year for 50,000 sessions to $258,000/year for 1,600,000 sessions, with volume discounts reducing unit costs from $0.50 to $0.16 per additional session.

Source
Ahrefs: Is there a free version or a trial?

There is Ahrefs Free, limited to Site Explorer and Site Audit on sites you verify you own, so it gives you no competitor data. Ahrefs states it never runs discounts and does not offer a trial of the paid plans.

Amazon QuickSight: How much does additional SPICE storage cost?

Additional SPICE storage beyond the included 10 GB costs $0.38 per GB per month. Authors receive 10 GB included, but Readers do not.

Source
Ahrefs: How many users are included?

One, on every paid tier up to Advanced. Extra seats cost 40 USD a month on Lite, 60 on Standard, 80 on Advanced and 100 on Enterprise, and unpaid additional users are billed automatically as pay-as-you-go.

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