Can I open-source Ahrefs?
KINDA · partial or early alternativesKinda. Qiaomu SEO and SerpBear cover the core of Ahrefs, but they're early or partial — expect gaps like backlink index and keyword/SERP databases.
They pay for the dataset, not the dashboard.
xbacklink index
xkeyword/SERP databases
xhistorical data
xscale
xdata freshness
xcompetitive research
xAI-search data
These projects already replace it, free.
QQiaomu SEOAI-powered SEO skill for Claude Code, Cursor, and Codex covering technical audits, research, planning, implementation, and verification across Google, Bing, and AI search.open source↗PPlausibleLightweight, privacy-friendly, cookieless web analytics in a single Docker deploymentopen source↗MMatomoThe veteran GA alternative: full-fat web analytics, heatmaps, no data sampling, and the data stays on your server.open source↗What each one is, in full: Qiaomu SEO · Plausible · Matomo
all 5 open-source alternatives to Ahrefs →· no votes, no pay-to-list · just what's real
Ahrefs pricing
| plan | monthly | annual (per mo) | what you get |
|---|---|---|---|
| ahrefs free | $0/workspace | $0/workspace | Unlimited verified owned projects; limited Site Explorer and Site Audit access; numeric report/credit caps are not published on the pricing card. |
| starter | $29/user | — | Limited Site Explorer, Site Audit and Keywords Explorer access; numeric caps are not published on the main pricing card. |
| lite | $129/user | — | 5 unverified projects; 750 tracked keywords; 5 tracked AI prompts; 100,000 crawl credits/month; 1,000 credits/user/month; 1 user. |
| standard | $249/user | — | 20 unverified projects; 2,000 tracked keywords; 10 AI prompts; 500,000 crawl credits/month; 1 user. |
| advanced | $449/user | — | 50 unverified projects; 5,000 tracked keywords; 20 AI prompts; 1,500,000 crawl credits/month; 1 user. |
| enterprise | — | $1499/user | From 3 users; 100 unverified projects; from 10,000 tracked keywords; from 5M crawl credits/month. |
| brand radar ai | $199/workspace | — | Standalone access starts at $199/month; searches a database of 271M+ organic prompts. |
free tierfree for verified owned sites; unlimited verified projects, but numeric report and credit caps are not published on the main pricing card
billingmonthly for self-service plans; annual billing available with savings up to 17%; Enterprise requires an annual commitment
hidden costsextra users cost $40/$60/$80 per month on Lite/Standard/Advanced; Enterprise extra users are $100/month; custom-prompt packages cost $50/$100/$250 monthly with $0.020/$0.015/$0.010 per-check overages; PAYG data expires after 3 billing months; add-ons include Content Kit from $99/month, Report Builder $99/month, and Project Boost at $20 or $200 per project/month
verified 2026-08-13 · source ↗
Can I open-source Ahrefs?
Kinda. Qiaomu SEO covers the core of Ahrefs, but there are real gaps: backlink index, keyword/SERP databases. Read the honest list above before committing.
How much does Ahrefs cost?
Ahrefs costs about $29/month (Starter, checked 2026-07-30), which is $348 per year.
What do I lose by replacing Ahrefs?
Honestly: backlink index; keyword/SERP databases; historical data; scale; data freshness; competitive research; AI-search data. If any of those are load-bearing for you, keep paying.
Is there an open-source alternative to Ahrefs?
Yes: Qiaomu SEO (AI-powered SEO skill for Claude Code, Cursor, and Codex covering technical audits, research, planning, implementation, and verification across Google, Bing, and AI search.) Plausible (Lightweight, privacy-friendly, cookieless web analytics in a single Docker deployment) Matomo (The veteran GA alternative: full-fat web analytics, heatmaps, no data sampling, and the data stays on your server.) All 5 curated open-source alternatives are at caniopensourceit.online/ahrefs/alternatives.