Semrush vs Ahrefs vs Ubersuggest: Which SEO Tool is Better and Why?
August 10, 2020
Sarvesh Bagla
We know there are many tools in the market to help you perform, analyze, or track SEO activities. Only a few of the SEO tools stand out, and these are Semrush, Ahrefs, and Ubersuggest.
Each SEO tool has its own specialties and limitations. You can choose one based on what fits your requirements.
To help you make that decision, we will draw a comparison of the Semrush, Ubersuggest, and Ahrefs. We will first examine Ahrefs vs Semrush, and then compare each tool with Ubersuggest.
Semrush vs Ahrefs – Overview
While making an Ahrefs vs Semrush comparison, we see that Ahrefs and Semrush are quite similar with regard to a few features and functionalities, whereas Ubersuggest is relatively new.
And while both Ahrefs and Semrush are excellent tools, Semrush has a superior balance of insights, information, and functionalities that go past just data to assist you with improving your SEO and overall digital marketing efforts.
What is Semrush:
Semrush is a subscription-based platform for performing keyword research, conducting competitor analysis, and optimizing Google Ads. This tool can help improve organic search traffic performance. More importantly, you can understand what the competitors are doing to collect data-driven insights.
For instance, you can learn what keywords your competitors are targeting and the Google Ad campaigns they are running. Using these insights, you can make on-page optimizations, bolster your paid Ad campaigns, and implement new SEO strategies or improve the existing ones.
What is Ahrefs:
Ahrefs is also a subscription-based platform that provides a general analysis of SEO, encompassing areas such as keyword research, competitors’ keywords analysis, technical SEO (site audit), backlinks, rank tracking, and more.
Ahrefs was once popular only as a backlink analysis tool, but it has amped up its game to become an immediate competitor of Semrush. That is the reason it’s even conceivable to do a Semrush versus Ahrefs comparison. A few years ago, it would not have been possible.
Ahrefs vs Semrush – Comparison Based on The Four Key Pillars of SEO
In this Ahrefs vs Semrush comparison, we are going to view the capabilities of Ahrefs and Semrush around the following four pillars of SEO:
- Technical Research
- Keyword Research
- Competitor Research
- Link Research
| Four Pillars of SEO |
Semrush |
Ahrefs |
| Technical Research |
Semrush’s site audit feature is really powerful, and it clearly outlines the actions that need to be taken up on priority. We prefer Semrush’s data and how they structure things through the audit. For a beginner, however, this may be overwhelming at times. |
Ahrefs presents insights faster, but a section of the functionalities (such as the site structure) isn’t as thorough. If you need quick insights that are easy to digest, Ahrefs is a better tool, especially when an excessive amount of data overwhelms you. |
| Keyword Research |
Using Semrush, you can find new keyword opportunities, keywords your competitors are organically ranking for, and even perform a gap analysis. When considering Semrush vs ahrefs for keyword research, we prefer Semrush because it gives insights into keywords’ difficulty and intent, including a mammoth of data related to search volume trends, an overview of SERPs, the number of results, etc. |
When it comes to keyword research, Ahrefs also has similar features to Semrush, but Ahrefs stands out because of the straightforwardness of the insights. The tool can show you the search volume, keyword difficulty, CPL, and competition. If you want quick insights, Ahrefs is a suitable choice. |
| Competitor Research |
Semrush can give you insights on your competitors’ organic keywords they are ranking for, organic traffic, paid keywords, paid traffic, referring domains, authority score, and growth rate. |
Using Ahrefs, you can get info on competitors’ targeted keywords, common keywords you are targeting, their share, traffic, and much more. |
| Link Research |
Semrush started as a keyword research tool, but it has made significant improvements to its backlink index as well as the UI. Yet, when you need to investigate a site’s link profile, the functionalities are not as easy to navigate. |
Ahrefs started as a link index, and it is a lot simpler to use for link analysis. Ahrefs’ link-building functionality has very frequently outvoted that of Semrush. |
Based on the analysis of the four functionalities – technical research, keyword research, competitor research, and link analysis – Semrush can be the SEO tool to look at for a complete overview. For link research, however, it is better to go with Ahrefs.
Semrush vs Ahrefs: Detailed Comparison
Detailed Comparison of Features – Ahrefs vs Semrush
So far, we’ve compared Ahrefs and Semrush based on four key pillars of SEO – technical research, keyword research, competitor research, and link research. In this section, we will be exploring the features of both tools in depth to determine what’s better: Semrush or Ahrefs.
| Features |
Ahrefs |
SEMrush |
| Brand Mentions |
Yes |
Yes |
| Api |
Yes |
Yes |
| Activity Tracking |
No |
Yes |
| Advertising Management |
No |
Yes |
| Alerts/Escalations |
Yes |
No |
| Application Integration |
No |
Yes |
| Auditing |
No |
Yes |
| Automated Scheduling |
No |
Yes |
| Benchmarking |
No |
Yes |
| Built-In Database |
No |
Yes |
| Business Intelligence |
No |
Yes |
| Calender Management |
No |
Yes |
| Campaign Analysis |
No |
Yes |
| Campaign Management |
No |
Yes |
| Campaign Planing |
No |
Yes |
| Campaign Scheduling |
No |
Yes |
| Charting |
No |
Yes |
| Click Tracking |
Yes |
No |
| Collaboration Tools |
No |
Yes |
| Commenting |
No |
Yes |
| Content Management |
No |
Yes |
| Customizable Branding |
No |
Yes |
| Customizable Reporting |
No |
Yes |
| Customizable Templates |
No |
Yes |
| Data Filtering |
Yes |
No |
| Data Import |
No |
Yes |
| Data Import/Export |
Yes |
Yes |
| Data Vizualization |
Yes |
Yes |
| Data Detection |
No |
Yes |
| Email Alerts |
No |
Yes |
| Email Integretion |
No |
Yes |
| Email Notification |
Yes |
Yes |
| Engagement Analytics |
No |
Yes |
| Filtered View |
Yes |
No |
| Geolocation |
No |
Yes |
| Geotargeting |
No |
Yes |
| Historical Analysis |
No |
Yes |
| Ideation |
No |
Yes |
| Keyword Tracking |
Yes |
Yes |
| Knowledge Base Management |
No |
Yes |
| Lead Generation |
No |
Yes |
| Mind Maps |
No |
Yes |
| Monitoring |
No |
Yes |
| Multi-Country |
No |
Yes |
| Multi-Language |
No |
Yes |
| Multi Location |
No |
Yes |
| Multiple Projects |
No |
Yes |
| Performance Report |
No |
Yes |
| Planning Tools |
No |
Yes |
| Prioritizing |
No |
Yes |
| Progress Tracking |
No |
Yes |
| Rss Feeds |
No |
Yes |
| Real Time Analytics |
Yes |
Yes |
| Real Time Notifications |
Yes |
No |
| Referral Source Tracking |
Yes |
Yes |
| Reporting & Statistics |
No |
Yes |
| Seo Management |
No |
Yes |
| Scheduled Reporting |
No |
Yes |
| Social Media Integration |
No |
Yes |
| Social Media Metrics |
No |
Yes |
| Social Performance Management |
No |
Yes |
| Tagging |
No |
Yes |
| Task Management |
No |
Yes |
| Team Calendars |
No |
Yes |
| Template Management |
No |
Yes |
| Third Party Integeration |
No |
Yes |
| Trend Analysis |
No |
Yes |
| Web Analytics |
Yes |
Yes |
| Web Traffic Reporting |
Yes |
Yes |
Based on the above data, we believe that some Semrush features, such as social performance management, engagement analytics, email alerts, activity tracking, etc., should be must-have features for all SEO tools.
If you need to access all these features in your SEO tool, it is a good idea to go for Semrush. However, if real-time notifications, click tracking, and escalations are the must-have features for you, you should consider Ahrefs.
As you can see from the above comparison,
- Ahrefs doesn’t offer a free trial
- Both players offer very competitive pricing
- While Ahrefs can be a good solution for Freelancers, Semrush doesn’t highlight its offerings for freelancers
- Semrush has custom plans for large enterprises, whereas Ahrefs doesn’t seem to have similar offerings for enterprise clients
Platform Supported
Both Semrush and Ahrefs are completely web-based. They do not offer iPhone, android, or windows phone apps.
Customer Support
It’s very easy to ask questions on Ahrefs through a chat box at the bottom right-hand corner. In Semrush, you need to scroll down all the way to the Contact Us tab. Semrush requires you to select from the “help center,” “want a personal demo,” and “need a custom solution” options. The good point about Semrush, though, is that they have a knowledge base as well as video tutorials that can be very helpful.
Summing Up the Ahrefs Vs Semrush Comparison
Let’s conclude the difference between Semrush and Ahrefs:
Comparing UberSuggest With Ahrefs and Semrush
Ubersuggest used to be a free tool, but compared to Semrush and Ahrefs, Ubersuggest is still an affordable tool. The free version of the tool also allows you to do a fair bit of work. You can add a project and track rankings (of up to 25 keywords) and two competing domains. In addition, you are limited to three daily searches.
More importantly, Neil Patel, a leading SEO expert, acquired UberSuggest and improved it by adding new features. However, it will certainly not be the best SEO tool when compared with Ahrefs and Semrush in terms of features and support. Having said that, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to use UberSuggest as an alternative for straightforward tasks like rank tracking.
Here is a quick feature comparison of Ubersuggest with Ahrefs and Semrush.
Ubersuggest Vs Semrush
Look at the below image for the detailed comparison of features and functionality of Ubersuggest and Semrush
Ubersuggest Vs Ahrefs
Look at the image above for the detailed comparison of features and functionality of Ubersuggest and Ahrefs.
Summing Up – Semrush Vs Ahrefs Vs Ubersuggest
As we come to the end of this comparison of Semrush Vs Ahrefs Vs Ubersuggest, let’s see what unique features make each tool different from the other two.
|
Semrush |
Ahrefs |
UberSuggest |
| Trial |
Free trial |
No free trial |
Free trial, along with a few free features |
| On-page SEO Checker |
Yes |
No |
No |
| Social Media Poster |
Yes |
No |
No |
| Content Gap Analysis |
No |
Yes |
No |
| Content Discovery |
No |
Yes |
No |
| Broken Links Checker |
No |
Yes |
No |
Conclusion
While making a comparison of Ahrefs vs Semrush vs Ubersuggest, we conclude that Ahrefs and Semrush are great tools, and both of them offer tons of features. Any of these SEO tools are suitable candidates and have only minor differences in features.
Ubersuggest, on the other hand, is at the beginning of its evolution. Right now, it offers fewer features as compared to Ahrefs or Semrush. The good news is that Ubersuggest is quite affordable, so you can use it or at least dabble in its limited, free features.