What users are saying about
<a href='https://www.trustradius.com/static/about-trustradius-scoring#question3' target='_blank' rel='nofollow noopener'>Customer Verified: Read more.</a>
Top Rated
287 Ratings
Ahrefs
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Top Rated
287 Ratings
<a href='https://www.trustradius.com/static/about-trustradius-scoring' target='_blank' rel='nofollow noopener'>trScore algorithm: Learn more.</a>Score 8.9 out of 100
Based on 287 reviews and ratings
Google Search Console
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Top Rated
199 Ratings
<a href='https://www.trustradius.com/static/about-trustradius-scoring' target='_blank' rel='nofollow noopener'>trScore algorithm: Learn more.</a>Score 9 out of 100
Based on 199 reviews and ratings
Feature Set Ratings
- Ahrefs ranks higher in 2 feature sets: SEO, SEO Channels
- Google Search Console ranks higher in 1 feature set: SEO Platform & Account Management
SEO
8.6
Ahrefs
86%
6.8
Google Search Console
68%
Ahrefs ranks higher in 8/8 features
Ahrefs ranks higher in 8/8 features
Keyword analysis
8.8
88%
60 Ratings
7.7
77%
42 Ratings
Backlink management
9.2
92%
61 Ratings
6.7
67%
36 Ratings
SERP ranking tracking
8.5
85%
59 Ratings
7.4
74%
39 Ratings
Page grader
8.2
82%
55 Ratings
6.3
63%
30 Ratings
Competitive analysis
9.3
93%
61 Ratings
5.4
54%
17 Ratings
Site audit / diagnostics
8.6
86%
56 Ratings
7.5
75%
41 Ratings
Site recommendations
8.6
86%
54 Ratings
7.1
71%
39 Ratings
Task management
7.6
76%
29 Ratings
6.1
61%
18 Ratings
SEO Channels
8.3
Ahrefs
83%
8.1
Google Search Console
81%
Ahrefs ranks higher in 4/4 features
Ahrefs ranks higher in 4/4 features
Local SEO
7.6
76%
45 Ratings
7.6
76%
34 Ratings
Social SEO
7.5
75%
43 Ratings
7.3
73%
20 Ratings
Mobile SEO
8.6
86%
42 Ratings
8.3
83%
43 Ratings
Global SEO
9.5
95%
50 Ratings
9.0
90%
39 Ratings
SEO Platform & Account Management
8.9
Ahrefs
89%
9.1
Google Search Console
91%
Ahrefs ranks higher in 1/2 features
Ahrefs ranks higher in 1/2 features
Multi-domain support
9.5
95%
48 Ratings
9.4
94%
42 Ratings
Integration with web analytics tools
8.4
84%
30 Ratings
8.8
88%
43 Ratings
Attribute Ratings
- Ahrefs is rated higher in 1 area: Support Rating
- Ahrefs and Google Search Console are tied in 2 areas: Likelihood to Recommend, Usability
Likelihood to Recommend
9.2
Ahrefs
92%
68 Ratings
9.2
Google Search Console
92%
49 Ratings
Likelihood to Renew
10.0
Ahrefs
100%
5 Ratings
Google Search Console
N/A
0 Ratings
Usability
10.0
Ahrefs
100%
2 Ratings
10.0
Google Search Console
100%
1 Rating
Support Rating
8.8
Ahrefs
88%
28 Ratings
6.1
Google Search Console
61%
16 Ratings
Likelihood to Recommend
Ahrefs
It gives the best report to us which helps us to find the opportunity to build backlinks. Another main feature that makes Ahrefs a safe and sound approach to SEO is that it provides information about duplicate content, URLs, redirects along with other errors that can be dangerous to the website.
Senior Account Executive
Twilio Inc.Internet, 1001-5000 employees
Google Search Console
Google Search Console is helpful to understand what terms customers search for and click onto your website from. However, it's not helpful if you're looking for deep competitive insight on search terms people are using and how that impacts your website.
Director of Digital Transformation
Fiber Optic CenterTelecommunications, 11-50 employees
Pros
Ahrefs
- Backlink data: Ahrefs continues to provide the best backlink data in the industry when compared to other tools. Other players are playing catching up, but as a first mover, Ahrefs is ahead of the game by far.
- Keyword data: Ahrefs provides extremely valuable keyword data. Though I rank them second in this category, the data that they provide is comparable to the first ranked player.
- Content Explorer: I don't think other industry tools (SEO specific) has a content explorer as useful as Ahrefs. Their content explorer works great for identifying top content and trends for multiple industries.
- Rank Tracker: This rank tracker is better than the average tracker and Ahrefs provides a large limit for tracked keywords. Though they have moved away from daily updates, the rank tracker is great for bench marking progress.
SEO Manager
ConnectWiseComputer Software, 501-1000 employees
Google Search Console
- You can also submit your sitemap directly to Google and get it crawled.
- You can also index and crawl you updated and new webpages.
- It also displays errors that are preventing your site pages to get indexed in Google.
- You get a list of all the keywords for which your site is ranking.
- You can track its position, CTR and impressions.
Lead Technical Writer
ServerGuyInformation Technology and Services, 11-50 employees
Cons
Ahrefs
- Anchor text alert notifications for a specific domain would be nice to have.
- Would also be nice to set a specific client domain and then be able to pick 5 competitor sites to compare it to instead of entering in the client site and then 4 competitors to compare.
- Adding emails to forward the exports to from running a report would be good too.
Digital Marketing Specialist
Vizion InteractiveInternet, 11-50 employees
Google Search Console
- It can be a little difficult to navigate
- More training resources would be an asset. A beginner is given the power to completely destroy a sites search results at the push of a button. Likewise it is a powerful tool to enhance search results also.
- An option to take care of multiple versions of the same site simultaneously would be helpful. An option to use the same validation script across all versions and administer them simultaneously would be a time save (i.e. non-www, www, http://, and https:// versions of the same site).
Digital Marketing Specialist
Race RosterMarketing and Advertising, 51-200 employees
Pricing Details
Ahrefs
General
Free Trial
—Free/Freemium Version
Yes
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
—Entry-level set up fee?
No
Starting Price
$99 per month
Ahrefs Editions & Modules
Edition
Lite | $99.001 |
---|---|
Standard | $179.001 |
Advanced | $399.001 |
Agency | $999.001 |
- per month
Additional Pricing Details
—Google Search Console
General
Free Trial
—Free/Freemium Version
—Premium Consulting/Integration Services
—Entry-level set up fee?
No
Starting Price
—Google Search Console Editions & Modules
—
Additional Pricing Details
—Likelihood to Renew
Ahrefs
Ahrefs 10.0
Based on 5 answers
Their index is too vast to ignore when looking at a complete backlink profile. We find links in Ahrefs that do not appear in any other link detection tool. For this reason, it's a must for our agency to use for the foreseeable future. Plus, it's very affordable considering the data you get

Verified User
Supervisor in Marketing
Marketing and Advertising Company, 51-200 employeesGoogle Search Console
No score
No answers yet
No answers on this topic
Usability
Ahrefs
Ahrefs 10.0
Based on 2 answers
Ahrefs is very easy to use - you can jump right in and understand most of the assets. Overall, the dashboard snapshots give a very good picture of inbound link activity. For deeper analysis of historical trends, the system can become cumbersome, making it hard to do full work without exporting and reformatting the data.

Verified User
Strategist in Marketing
Marketing and Advertising Company, 51-200 employeesGoogle Search Console
Google Search Console 10.0
Based on 1 answer
Google Search Console is a simple program that allows organizations to get a solid understanding of the way their site functions and how users land on it. It can be used for making critical business decisions regarding marketing budgets and that within itself is why it deserves a 10.
Digital Marketing Manager
Caradonna AdventuresHospitality, 11-50 employees
Support Rating
Ahrefs
Ahrefs 8.8
Based on 28 answers
Ahrefs has always been responsive when there's been a technical issue with the site. There are usually very little problems, but if there are, they announce it on their social media accounts which keeps its customers informed. Email support is prompt and the customer service people are very helpful, knowledgable and friendly.
Web Production Manager Responsible for SEO, Web Design, & Social Media Marketing
Ascension MarketingMarketing and Advertising, 11-50 employees
Google Search Console
Google Search Console 6.1
Based on 16 answers
As with all Google software, your primary source of help is their forums, their knowledge base articles, or whatever tutorials you can find on the web. Often answers on their forums are not straightforward and may not address the actual issue you're experiencing. The KB articles are typically written like instruction manuals - for better or for worse. Tutorials on the web may vary, but the odds are good someone out there had the same questions as you and was kind enough to document their experience.

Verified User
Professional in Marketing
Management Consulting Company, 51-200 employeesAlternatives Considered
Ahrefs
I think when it comes to keyword tracking, Ahrefs is not as good BrightEdge, but Ahrefs Site Explorer trumps BrightEdge when it comes to anything backlink related. I would use Ahrefs Site Explorer for backlink analysis, identifying 404 error pages, examining anchor texts, and exploring top content. However, I would utilze BrightEdge for keyword and ranking information

Verified User
Analyst in Other
Marketing and Advertising Company, 201-500 employeesGoogle Search Console
SEMRush is a supplementary tool we use to provide competitive analysis. While it does, or should, provide the same data that Search Console does, but I only fully trust Search Console when it comes to basic performance in Google for the sites we develop and own. SEMRush, and other products like it, does provide much more in-depth insights that can help drive business decisions, including site performance on other search engines, along putting organic and paid search performance in one spot. However, SEMRush costs money while Search Console is free.

Verified User
Team Lead in Research & Development
Marketing and Advertising Company, 51-200 employeesReturn on Investment
Ahrefs
- When we can create really great content for our site that ranks well and quickly, we can more effectively monetize that content with affiliate links.
- Boosting our clients' overall rankings also has a positive impact on revenue since the lifetime value for a client with a high performing campaign is better than one that is lackluster
- We can analyze competitors (of ours and our clients) and hopefully outmaneuver them digitally

Verified User
Director in Sales
Marketing & Advertising Company, 11-50 employeesGoogle Search Console
- Given that this is a free tool, the return on investment has been particularly high - we've identified and addressed a few site issues that could have meant a reduction in search traffic.
- Our organic search traffic has been on the rise in part due to the insights gained from the search traffic analytics provided within the console.
Marketing Manager, HMX
Harvard Medical SchoolHigher Education, 501-1000 employees