Written by: Amandeep Singh
July 16, 2024

In research and SEO toolkits, Ahrefs and Ubersuggest are two popular platforms for users. 

Both tools offer a complete tool suite for bloggers, digital marketers, and businesses to gain more traffic, improve rankings, and find growth opportunities. However, their target audience and capabilities are way too different. So, it can be difficult for new users to decide which to choose. 

That’s why I have decided to try both Ahrefs and Ubersuggest and evaluate all the main features side-by-side. By the end of the article, you will clearly understand both tools. And you can easily pick the right tool for your business and SEO needs. 

Let’s get started. 

Ahrefs vs. Ubersuggest: In A Nutshell

For busy readers, here’s a quick comparison of Ahrefs and Ubersuggest. 

FeaturesAhrefs Ubersuggest
PriceStarts at $99/monthStarts at $12/month
Free plan/trial No free plan or trialFree plan with limited features and 7-day free trial
User InterfaceComplex, steep learning curveSimple, intuitive, and easy-to-use for beginners
Keyword ResearchExtensive research capabilities with KD, search volume, and SERP analysis Smaller database and limited metrics with the free plan
Backlink AnalysisHighly relevant data backlinks, anchor text distribution and referring domainsModerate, good overview of backlinks 
Content ResearchSeparate tool for content gap analysis and topic researchIntegrated content ideas with the keyword research tools
Target AudienceAdvanced SEO professionals, marketing agenciesBeginners, SMBs, and freelancers

Ahrefs vs. Ubersuggest: Overview

Before the detailed comparison, let’s know a bit about both platforms. 

Ahrefs Overview

Ahrefs is a powerful SEO toolkit offering a wide range of features beyond keyword research. Founded in 2011, Ahrefs provides users with tools for backlink analysis, rank tracking, site auditing, and content research.

Ahrefs vs Ubersuggest - Ahrefs

Its keyword research capabilities are powered by a huge proprietary web index of over 19.2 billion pages. 

Ubersuggest Overview

Ubersuggest is a keyword research tool created by Neil Patel in 2017. It generates keyword ideas and provides metrics like search volume and difficulty scores. It started as a free tool, but now it offers paid plans with additional features like rank tracking and site auditing.

 Ahrefs vs Ubersuggest - Ubersuggest

It uses data from Google Autocomplete and other sources to provide complete and in-depth SEO metrics. 

Ahrefs vs. Ubersuggest: Key Features Comparison

Here’s my side-by-side comparison of Ahrefs and Ubersuggest. Compare the tools closely and pick the right tool for your all SEO needs. 

Keyword Research

The foundation of any good keyword research tool is its database of keywords and its ability to generate relevant suggestions. Ahrefs and Ubersuggest both offer keyword research tools that can help you rank at the top of the search results. Let’s find out which one is better.

Ahrefs - Keyword Research

As I mentioned before, Ahrefs boasts a larger keyword database. The main keyword research tool is “Keyword Explorer,” which contains millions of relevant keywords in over 170+ languages. 

Not only that. You can choose your preferred search engine to get relevant keywords with

  • Monthly search volume
  • Keyword ideas
  • Keyword difficulty
  • Traffic potential
  • Global volume

You only need to input a seed keyword, and you will get hundreds of relevant suggestions along with these metrics. You can filter keywords by language, location, device, and other parameters. 

On the other hand, Ubersuggest has a smaller but still substantial keyword database. A basic seed keyword suggests tons of long-tail variations by pulling data from Google Autocomplete. 

Ubersuggest - Keyword Research

The data metrics are almost the same as from the Keyword Explorer by Ahrefs. However, some users feel the suggestions are not always as targeted or accurate as Ahrefs. Since the Keyword Overview is free to use, beginners with a low budget can use their initial keyword research. 

My Verdict: For digital marketers and bloggers who want to seek maximum keyword opportunities and reliable metrics, Ahrefs has a slight edge over Ubersuggest regarding accuracy and database size. But Ubersuggest can still be useful for generating initial ideas during early research stages. 

Competitive Analysis

Analyzing the keywords and SEO terms your competitors rank for can provide valuable intelligence to shape your own targeting strategy. Both Ahrefs and Ubersuggest allow you to spy on rival websites.

Ahrefs lets you fully reverse-engineer a competitor’s strategy down to the keyword level. Its organic keywords report reveals specific terms and phrases driving traffic to competitors’ sites. 

Ahrefs - Competitive Analysis

Use the “Content Gap” tab to find easy opportunities your website misses. 

Ahrefs - Content Gap

You can also see the number of ranking pages and positions for each keyword. 

In Ubersuggest, you can utilize the domain overview report to see a competitor’s website’s top pages and keywords. 

Ubersuggest - Content Gap

However, the data may not be as high-level or granular as Ahrefs. But you will still get a list of shared keywords your site could potentially rank for. 

My Verdict: Ahrefs again provides more powerful competitive analysis capabilities than Ubersuggest. However, Ubersuggest does offer helpful basic insights into competitor keywords.

Backlinks Analysis

Backlinks remain one of the top-ranking signals for SEO. Both tools offer sources from where you can earn backlinks to build your website’s authority and trust. 

Ahrefs- Backlinks Analysis

Ahrefs is initially known for its ultimate backlink capabilities. With over 15 trillion backlinks, Ahrefs has the world’s biggest index of live backlinks. The Site Explorer tool reveals backlink data points like:

  • Total number of backlinks 
  • Referring domains
  • Anchor text usage
  • Linking root domains
  • New, lost, and broken backlinks

These insights help you identify link-building opportunities within a niche. You can also track your own website’s backlinks over time. 

Ubersuggest also includes backlink analysis tools like Backlink Discovery. You can analyze competitors’ backlinks and discover new backlinks for your websites. You can also find out the history of competitors’ link-building. 

Ubersuggest- Backlinks Analysis

However, the backlink metrics are quite limited compared to Ahrefs. You can only see basic metrics like referring domains and anchor text distribution for a domain. 

My Verdict: Ubersuggest provides useful information on backlink sources, whereas Ahrefs offers an extensive database and key metrics of backlink intelligence. Beginners can use Ubersuggest, while professionals with highly authoritative websites can use Ahrefs. So it is a tie. 

Content Research

Creating content that ranks requires identifying topics and keywords people are searching for. You can use both Ahrefs and Ubersuggest to find topics and suggestions for ranking on SERPs.

Ahrefs - Content Research

Ahrefs has a Content Explorer tab that allows you to unveil top-ranking content for target keywords so you can learn what’s working within your niche. You can sort content by metrics like URL rating, social shares, and traffic value. This helps inspire your content creation strategy. 

In Ubersuggest, the keyword overview report surfaces the top page ranking for that keyword along with their organic traffic and social shares. 

Ubersuggest - Content Research

The content ideas tool provides article and title suggestions based on related keywords. 

My Verdict: Ahrefs provides more data for drilling into the performance of existing content. But Ubersuggest makes it easy to research potential new topics and offers more straightforward content recommendations. 

Additional Tools And Features

Apart from these core tools, Ahrefs and Ubersuggest provide additional SEO and marketing tools. Here is a quick overview of other tools: 

  • Ahrefs Site Audit: With this tool, you can find technical SEO issues like broken links, page speed, and accessibility. You can scan your website for actionable insights to improve your search engine visibility and performance. 
Ahrefs Site Audit
  • Ahrefs Rank Tracker: This tool allows you to check the ranking of your own site and your competitors. 
Ahrefs Rank Tracker
  • Ahrefs Alerts: With Ahrefs Alerts, you can enable notifications for ranking changes, backlinks, and traffic drops. 
Ahrefs Alerts
  • Ubersuggest Backlink Audit: Analyze the backlink profile of your website vs your competitors and find new backlink opportunities. 
Ubersuggest Backlink Audit
  • Ubersuggest Rank Tracker: With this free tool, you can track up to 10K keywords in Google. 
Ubersuggest Rank Tracker

Ahrefs vs. Ubersuggest: Pricing Comparison

Let’s talk about both platforms’ pricing plans and see which offers more value for money. 

Here’s a complete breakdown of Ahrefs pricing & plans.

Ahrefs - Pricing
Ahrefs Pricing PlansMonthly PricingAnnual Pricing
Lite$99/month$83/month
Standard$199/month$166/month
Advanced$399/month$333/month
Enterprise$999/month$833/month

You will also be charged additionally for extra user seats and credits. Unfortunately, no free trial or refund policy is available, which can be a bummer. However, paying upfront for an annual plan can give you 2 months free.

Now, let’s take a look at the pricing plans of Ubersuggest. 

Ubersuggest Pricing PlansMonthly PricingLifetime Pricing 
Individual$12/month$120 one time
Business$20/month$200 one time
Enterprise$40/month$400 one time

As you can see, Ubersuggest offers much cheaper plans compared to Ahrefs. Neil Patel recently introduced lifetime plans; its initial cost is 90% cheaper than Ahrefs’s annual plans. In addition to the free plan, it offers a 7-day free trial to try all the premium tools without investing instantly. 

My Verdict: Ahrefs costs significantly more but justifies it with more robust capabilities and larger dataset access. Even its starter plan is $99 compared to Ubersuggest’s free option. Ubersuggest provides great value and affordable entry pricing for those with smaller budgets.

Pros & Cons Of Ahrefs And Ubersuggest

Here are some pros and cons of Ahrefs and Ubersuggest. 

Ahrefs Pros:

  • Huge keyword database for extensive research
  • Unparalleled competitive intelligence
  • In-depth backlink tracking and analysis
  • Robust toolkit beyond just keyword research
  • Detailed content analysis

Ahrefs Cons:

  • Expensive subscription plans
  • Steep learning curve

Ubersuggest Pros:

  • Budget-friendly pricing options
  • Easy to use for beginners
  • Helpful for content ideas and brainstorming
  • Free plan available

Ubersuggest Cons:

  • Smaller keyword database
  • Less powerful competitive research
  • More limited backlink analysis

Customer Testimonials

Here’s what Max P. is saying about Ahrefs after using it for two years:

Good: Ahrefs is a complete expert SEO tool suite. For the price you pay and the value you get, you have to be fairly bad at SEO not to get an ROI on your investment. I think one of the great struggles with these tools is an intuitive user experience, and despite how clunky their interface might look, they have drawn a very nice balance between functionality and useability.

Bad: Local SEO. In my opinion, it’s its biggest and most relevant weakness. Tools like Bright Local massively outperform its local KW reporting (being able to create radius-based map pack KW ranking reports), and tools like SEMrush generally outperform it here. Ahrefs still has no way to track map pack rankings in any capacity. It’s a vast capabilities gap, in my opinion. One that can make or break a use case for the tool. ScreamingFrog outperforms its crawler with a centralized user interface and more in-depth features. However, given that the site audit and web crawler feature were not their primary function, I am very impressed with their offer.

(Source: Capterra)

On the same platform, a blogger, Palla, reviews Ubersuggest after using the platform for two years. 

Good: Comprehensive keyword research: UberSuggest provides a variety of keyword suggestions, including long-tail keywords, related keywords, and questions that users search for.SEO analysis: The tool provides a comprehensive analysis of a website’s SEO performance, including on-page optimization, backlinks, and organic search traffic.Competitor analysis: UberSuggest allows users to compare their website’s SEO performance to that of their competitors, providing valuable insights on how to improve their own SEO strategy.Content ideas: The tool offers suggestions for content ideas based on popular keywords, helping users to create content that will perform well in search engines.

Bad: Limited data on the free version: While the free version of UberSuggest provides a lot of valuable information, it is limited in the amount of data it provides compared to the paid version.Limited export options: The tool does not offer many options for exporting data, which can be a limitation for users who need to share or analyze large amounts of data.

(Source: Capterra)

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Conclusion — Ahrefs Is Better Than Ubersuggest 

So, which keyword research tool reigns supreme – Ahrefs or Ubersuggest?

As per my research and tests, Ahrefs is comparatively more powerful than Ubersuggest–even more powerful than other top SEO toolkits. But let’s hear about these tools from other customers’ perspectives because both tools are getting enormous reviews across various software review platforms. 

Ahrefs is the choice for power users needing maximum keyword insights, competitive intelligence, and backlink analysis. Its expansive index, accuracy, and breadth of features make it worth the hefty price for serious SEO professionals.

Ubersuggest provides a more budget-friendly option for beginners thanks to generous free plans. It makes keyword research simple and approachable. You’ll get helpful keyword suggestions and basic competitor data.

The right tool ultimately depends on your budget, needs, and experience level. But this guide equips you to decide between Ahrefs and Ubersuggest for smarter keyword and competitor research. 

About the Author
Amandeep Singh

I'm Amandeep Singh, a passionate Blogger, Tech Geek & YouTube Mentor. I have a Media Studies degree and over 5 years of experience in digital technology. I’m sharing all my insights and learnings on TechTipsWithTea as a lead writer.