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Marketing · head to head

Ahrefs vs CleverTap

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
CleverTap logo

CleverTap

Marketing

Mobile-first engagement and retention analytics billed on monthly active users

From
On request
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.; CleverTap the platform assumes the mobile app is the main surface, so teams whose lifecycle runs mostly through the browser or through long B2B email sequences pay for capability they will not use.
  • They diverge on capability: Ahrefs covers Site Explorer, CleverTap covers Cross-channel journeys.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Ahrefs and CleverTap actually diverge.

Attributes where Ahrefs and CleverTap differ
AttributeAhrefsCleverTap
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelPer month by credits and usage limitsquote
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWebWeb, iOS, Android, REST API
Founded2010Unknown

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

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 CleverTap

  • Cross-channel journeys
  • Product analytics
  • TesseractDB
  • Clever.AI
  • Experiments
  • Web and app personalisation

What people use each for

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

Ahrefs

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

CleverTap

  • A consumer app with millions of installs but low monthly activity that does not want to pay for dormant profilesnot Ahrefs
  • Reactivating lapsed users with push and WhatsApp sequences triggered by behaviour rather than by list membershipnot Ahrefs
  • Running holdout tests to prove that lifecycle messaging causes retention rather than correlating with itnot Ahrefs
  • Consolidating a separate analytics tool and a separate messaging tool into a single event pipelinenot 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.

CleverTap

  • The platform assumes the mobile app is the main surface, so teams whose lifecycle runs mostly through the browser or through long B2B email sequences pay for capability they will not use.
  • Billing on monthly active users is cheaper for dormant-heavy bases but more expensive for products with high activity rates, and the definition of an active user is set in the contract rather than by you.
  • Event volume caps sit alongside the user caps, so a chatty instrumentation plan can trigger overage charges that are negotiated rather than published.
  • Deliverability support for email is thinner than at dedicated email providers, and teams sending high email volumes often keep a separate ESP for the largest campaigns.
  • Segmentation quality depends entirely on the event taxonomy, so without an owner who governs event naming the reports and segments diverge from reality within a couple of releases.

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

CleverTap

On request
  • Essentials$undefined/year
    • Billed on monthly active users rather than stored profiles
    • Push, in-app and web messaging
    • Standard segmentation and analytics
  • Advanced$undefined/year
    • Adds email, SMS and WhatsApp channels
    • Journey orchestration and experiments
    • Higher event and MAU allowances
  • Cutting Edge$undefined/year
    • Full AI and personalisation modules
    • Extended data retention
    • Dedicated technical account management

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 CleverTap if

  • You need cross-channel journeys.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android, REST API.
  • You also want product analytics.
CleverTap review

Questions people ask

Is Ahrefs or CleverTap better?
Neither clearly leads. Ahrefs starts at Free and CleverTap at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Ahrefs or CleverTap?
Ahrefs has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Ahrefs and On request for CleverTap.
Does Ahrefs or CleverTap run on more platforms?
Ahrefs runs on Web. CleverTap runs on Web, iOS, Android, REST API.
Can I use Ahrefs for free?
Yes. Ahrefs has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. CleverTap starts at On request.
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 CleverTap is typically brought in for.
What can Ahrefs do that CleverTap cannot?
Ahrefs covers Site Explorer, Keywords Explorer, Site Audit, Rank Tracker. CleverTap covers Cross-channel journeys, Product analytics, TesseractDB, Clever.AI.

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.

CleverTap: Does CleverTap charge for users who stopped opening the app?

No. Billing is on monthly active users, so a dormant account stops counting without you deleting anything, which is the opposite of contact-based email pricing.

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.

CleverTap: Can it replace a product analytics tool?

For funnels, cohorts and retention it usually can. For exploratory analysis across many custom properties, teams tend to keep a warehouse copy and query it directly.

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.

CleverTap: What happened to Leanplum customers?

CleverTap acquired Leanplum in 2022 and migrated customers onto its own platform, so Leanplum contracts are not a live option.

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.

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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