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Ahrefs vs AnswerThePublic

Ahrefs logo

Ahrefs

Software

Everything you need to rank higher & get more traffic

From
$29/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
AnswerThePublic logo

AnswerThePublic

Software

Keyword and content ideation tool that visualizes search questions and phrases

From
$20/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Ahrefs the entry Lite plan is $129 a month and caps projects at 5 and tracked keywords at 750; AnswerThePublic credit-based limits on projects and articles mean heavy users need the higher-priced Growth or Business tiers.
  • They diverge on capability: Ahrefs covers Site Explorer, AnswerThePublic covers Search listening visualizations.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Ahrefs and AnswerThePublic actually diverge.

Attributes where Ahrefs and AnswerThePublic differ
AttributeAhrefsAnswerThePublic
Starting price$29/month$20/month
Pricing modelUnknownsubscription
Founded2010Unknown

Identical on both: free tier (No), platforms (Web), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Unknown).

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 AnswerThePublic

  • Search listening visualizations
  • AI content drafting
  • Content scheduling
  • Plagiarism detection
  • WordPress publishing
  • Custom writing styles

What people use each for

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

Ahrefs

  • SEO researchnot AnswerThePublic
  • Competitor analysisnot AnswerThePublic
  • Content planningnot AnswerThePublic
  • Backlink analysisnot AnswerThePublic
  • Rank trackingnot AnswerThePublic

AnswerThePublic

  • Finding long-tail question keywords for blog topicsnot Ahrefs
  • Building FAQ content from real search queriesnot Ahrefs
  • PR and content teams brainstorming article anglesnot Ahrefs
  • Identifying content gaps around a seed topicnot Ahrefs

Where each one falls short

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

Ahrefs

  • The entry Lite plan is $129 a month and caps projects at 5 and tracked keywords at 750
  • Crawl credits are metered by tier, from 100,000 on Lite to 1,500,000 on Advanced
  • Enterprise at $1,499 a month requires an annual commitment
  • Brand Radar AI, custom prompts and Content Kit are separate add-ons starting at $199, $50 and $99 a month
  • The $29 Starter plan covers search and competitive research basics rather than the full toolset

AnswerThePublic

  • Credit-based limits on projects and articles mean heavy users need the higher-priced Growth or Business tiers.
  • Question-mining approach is narrower than full-suite SEO content tools that also grade content against SERP competitors.
  • Article and content-creation features are relatively new additions layered onto a keyword-visualization tool, so depth may lag dedicated writing platforms.

Pricing, plan by plan

Ahrefs

$29/month
  • Starter$29/month
    • Core keyword research
    • Backlink analysis
    • Competitor research
  • Lite$129/month
  • Standard$249/month
  • Advanced$449/month

AnswerThePublic

$20/month
  • Starter$20/month
    • 2 projects
    • 60 monthly credits
    • 6 articles/month
  • Growth$99/month
    • 4 projects
    • 350 monthly credits
    • 35 articles/month
  • Business$199/month
    • 8 projects
    • 800 monthly credits
    • 80 articles/month

Which should you pick?

Choose Ahrefs if

  • You need site explorer.
  • You also want keywords explorer.
Ahrefs review

Choose AnswerThePublic if

  • You need search listening visualizations.
  • You work on web.
  • You also want ai content drafting.
AnswerThePublic review

Questions people ask

Is Ahrefs or AnswerThePublic better?
Neither clearly leads. Ahrefs starts at $29/month and AnswerThePublic at $20/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Ahrefs or AnswerThePublic?
Ahrefs starts at $29/month and AnswerThePublic at $20/month.
Does Ahrefs or AnswerThePublic run on more platforms?
Ahrefs runs on Web. AnswerThePublic runs on web.
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 AnswerThePublic is typically brought in for.
What can Ahrefs do that AnswerThePublic cannot?
Ahrefs covers Site Explorer, Keywords Explorer, Site Audit, Rank Tracker. AnswerThePublic covers Search listening visualizations, AI content drafting, Content scheduling, Plagiarism detection.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Ahrefs: What are Ahrefs' main features?

Ahrefs' three main features are Site Explorer (for organic performance), Keywords Explorer (for keyword research), and Content Explorer (for content discovery). The platform includes backlink analysis, competitor research, technical SEO audits, rank tracking, and content workflows.

Source
AnswerThePublic: What does AnswerThePublic cost?

Plans run Starter at $20/month, Growth at $99/month, and Business at $199/month, each with monthly credits, project limits, and an article-generation cap; annual and lifetime options are also offered.

Source
Ahrefs: What is the size of Ahrefs' backlink database?

Ahrefs maintains a database of 28 trillion internal backlinks and 35 trillion external backlinks that are updated frequently, providing the depth and freshness of link data that differentiates it from competitors.

Source
AnswerThePublic: Is there a free plan?

No free tier is listed; all plans are paid, with Starter as the entry-level option at $20/month or a $99 lifetime option.

Source
Ahrefs: What is Ahrefs' pricing?

Ahrefs pricing starts at $29/month for Starter plan, $129/month for Lite, $249/month for Standard, $449/month for Advanced, and $1,499/month for Enterprise, with annual discounts available.

Source
AnswerThePublic: What does AnswerThePublic integrate with?

All plans include WordPress publishing so finished articles can be pushed directly to a connected WordPress site.

Source
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