Marketing · head to head
Ahrefs vs Heap

Ahrefs
Marketing
Backlink and keyword research platform run on its own web crawler, metered by credits since 2024
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
The short version
- 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.; Heap no built-in A/B testing or feature flags; requires integration with separate tools for experimentation
- They diverge on capability: Ahrefs covers Site Explorer, Heap covers Autocapture.
- Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Ahrefs and Heap actually diverge.
Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), 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 Heap
- Autocapture
- Retroactive analytics
- Session replay
- Funnel analysis
- User segmentation
- Path analysis
- Data science
- Virtual events
Both cover
- Cloud deployment
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Ahrefs
- SEO researchnot Heap
- Competitor analysisnot Heap
- Content planningnot Heap
- Backlink analysisnot Heap
- Rank trackingnot Heap
Heap
- User behavior analysisnot Ahrefs
- Conversion optimizationnot Ahrefs
- Product adoptionnot Ahrefs
- Customer journey mappingnot Ahrefs
- A/B testing analysisnot 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.
Heap
- No built-in A/B testing or feature flags; requires integration with separate tools for experimentation
- Group analytics and advanced features require a sales conversation, not self-serve
- Cloud-only deployment; no self-hosted option for data security or compliance requirements
- Session replay lacks developer debugging tools compared to PostHog
- Pricing for Growth and Pro plans requires direct sales contact; no transparency on how pricing scales
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$249/month
- 1 user included, up to 5 more at 60 USD each per month
- Unlimited report credits under fair use
- 20 projects, 2,000 tracked keywords, 2 years of historical data
Heap
Free- FreeFree
- Up to 10,000 monthly sessions
- Basic charts
- 6 months data history
- Growth$undefined/custom
- Custom session pricing
- Sense AI assistant
- 12 months data history
- Pro$undefined/custom
- Custom session pricing
- Account analytics
- Engagement matrix
- Premier$undefined/custom
- Custom session pricing
- Data warehouse integration
- Unlimited projects
Which should you pick?
Choose Ahrefs if
- You need site explorer.
- You want to start without paying.
- You also want keywords explorer.
Choose Heap if
- You need autocapture.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, iOS, Android.
- You also want retroactive analytics.
Questions people ask
- Is Ahrefs or Heap better?
- Neither clearly leads. Ahrefs starts at Free and Heap at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Ahrefs or Heap?
- Ahrefs starts at Free and Heap at Free.
- Does Ahrefs or Heap run on more platforms?
- Ahrefs runs on Web. Heap runs on Web, iOS, Android.
- Can I use Ahrefs for free?
- Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
- 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 Heap is typically brought in for.
- What can Ahrefs do that Heap cannot?
- Ahrefs covers Site Explorer, Keywords Explorer, Site Audit, Rank Tracker. Heap covers Autocapture, Retroactive analytics, Session replay, Funnel analysis. Both handle Cloud deployment.
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.
Heap: What does Heap's autocapture feature do?
Heap's autocapture is a single code snippet that automatically captures every click, swipe, tap, pageview, and form fill on your website and apps without requiring manual event setup. Once installed, Heap captures the entire digital experience of every user on every platform with no ongoing engineering maintenance needed.
SourceAhrefs: 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.
Heap: What are Heap's pricing plans and how much do they cost?
Heap offers a Free plan for up to 10,000 monthly sessions. Growth, Pro, and Premier plans use custom session-based pricing that requires contacting sales for a quote. Free includes basic charts and 6 months data history. Growth adds the Sense AI assistant. Pro adds account analytics. Premier adds data warehouse integration and dedicated customer success management.
SourceAhrefs: 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.
Heap: Does Heap include session replay and A/B testing?
Heap includes integrated session replay showing exactly what users did on your site. However, Heap does not include built-in A/B testing or feature flags. Teams requiring these capabilities must use separate tools or integrate with third-party platforms.
SourceAhrefs: 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.
Heap: What integrations does Heap support?
Heap supports over 100 integrations connecting to business tools including marketing platforms, CRMs, and data warehouses. This allows insights to reach relevant teams and ensures data flows to other business systems automatically.
SourceAhrefs: 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.
Heap: Does Heap offer self-hosting or is it cloud-only?
Heap is cloud-only and does not offer self-hosted options. Organizations requiring on-premises deployment should consider alternatives like PostHog which supports self-hosting alongside its cloud product.
SourceHeap: What is Sense and how does it help with analytics?
Sense Chat is Heap's AI assistant that enables users to access analytics without extensive technical knowledge. It allows teams to ask questions about user behavior and get answers directly without lengthy onboarding or technical expertise, making insights more accessible to non-technical stakeholders.
SourceRelated pages
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- Heap vs RescueTime
- Heap vs Lovable
- Heap vs Coda
- Heap vs Istio
- Heap vs Linear
- Heap vs Terraform
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