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Ahrefs vs Surfer
Ahrefs scores higher overall (7.8 vs 7.7), but the right pick depends on what you need.
Choose Ahrefs if…
SEO specialists and agencies who rely on backlink and competitor data
7.8/10★★★★★Full review →Choose Surfer if…
Content teams and writers who want to optimise articles before publishing
7.7/10★★★★★Full review →Side by side
| Ahrefs | Surfer | |
|---|---|---|
| Overall score | 7.8/10 | 7.7/10 |
| Rank in category | #2 of 10 | #4 of 10 |
| Price | Freemium · from $29/month | Paid · from $49/month |
| Free version | Ahrefs Free: basic site audit and data for sites you own | — |
| Platforms | Web, API | Web, Chrome extension, API |
| Made by | Ahrefs Pte. Ltd. | Surfer |
| SEO insight quality | 8.5 | 7.5 |
| Ease of use | 7 | 8.5 |
| Features | 8.5 | 7.5 |
| Value for money | 6.5 | 7.5 |
| Platforms | 8 | 7.5 |
Ahrefs: what the AI does
- Brand Radar AI-visibility tracking across AI Overviews, AI Mode, ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Copilot
- Custom AI prompt tracking
- AI keyword and content tools (Content Kit add-on)
- AI share-of-voice versus competitors
- Industry-leading backlink and competitor data
- Brand Radar covers more AI platforms than most rivals
- Cheap $29 Starter plan to try the data
- API access on all main plans
- No free trial, and credit quotas cap reports and exports
- Main plans are expensive and content tools are paid add-ons
- Reports issues but doesn't push fixes to your site
Surfer: what the AI does
- Real-time Content Score in the editor
- AI article writing and humanizer
- Surfy AI assistant
- AI prompt tracking in ChatGPT, Gemini and AI Overviews
- 1-click optimisation with brand knowledge
- Easy, live content scoring while you write
- WordPress and Google Docs integrations
- AI-visibility tracking on Standard plan and up
- Clear published pricing
- A high Content Score measures term coverage, not originality
- No keyword or backlink database to match the big suites
- AI tracking is limited on cheaper plans