Softwr

Software · head to head

Ahrefs vs Talkwalker

Ahrefs logo

Ahrefs

Software

Everything you need to rank higher & get more traffic

From
$29/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Talkwalker logo

Talkwalker

Software

Consumer intelligence to accelerate your brand

From
On request
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; Talkwalker now rebranded Lumen by Talkwalker; pricing page names three tiers, Core, Analyze and Business, differentiated by non-sampled results volume (2x and 6x) and topic/filter/channel counts, but publishes no figures and directs buyers to request a custom quote
  • They diverge on capability: Ahrefs covers Site Explorer, Talkwalker covers Social listening.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Ahrefs and Talkwalker actually diverge.

Attributes where Ahrefs and Talkwalker differ
AttributeAhrefsTalkwalker
Starting price$29/monthOn request
Pricing modelUnknownsubscription
Founded20102009

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 Talkwalker

  • Social listening
  • Image recognition
  • Sentiment analysis
  • Influencer identification
  • Crisis detection
  • Hootsuite
  • Salesforce
  • Tableau

Both cover

  • Web support

What people use each for

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

Ahrefs

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

Talkwalker

  • Brand monitoringnot Ahrefs
  • Competitive intelligencenot Ahrefs
  • Crisis managementnot Ahrefs
  • Campaign measurementnot Ahrefs
  • Market researchnot 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

Talkwalker

  • Now rebranded Lumen by Talkwalker; pricing page names three tiers, Core, Analyze and Business, differentiated by non-sampled results volume (2x and 6x) and topic/filter/channel counts, but publishes no figures and directs buyers to request a custom quote

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

Talkwalker

On request
  • ListenFree
    • Social listening
    • Sentiment analysis
    • Alerts
  • AnalyzeFree
    • Advanced analytics
    • AI insights
    • Benchmarking
  • EnterpriseFree
    • Full platform
    • API access
    • Custom integrations

Which should you pick?

Choose Ahrefs if

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

Choose Talkwalker if

  • You need social listening.
  • You also want image recognition.
Talkwalker review

Questions people ask

Is Ahrefs or Talkwalker better?
Neither clearly leads. Ahrefs starts at $29/month and Talkwalker at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Ahrefs or Talkwalker?
Ahrefs starts at $29/month and Talkwalker at On request.
Does Ahrefs or Talkwalker run on more platforms?
Both run on Web, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
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 Talkwalker is typically brought in for.
What can Ahrefs do that Talkwalker cannot?
Ahrefs covers Site Explorer, Keywords Explorer, Site Audit, Rank Tracker. Talkwalker covers Social listening, Image recognition, Sentiment analysis, Influencer identification. Both handle Web support.

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
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
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
Share

Related pages

More on Ahrefs

More on Talkwalker

Keep looking

Other head to heads