Ahrefs vs Semrush vs Screaming Frog: which SEO tool is best for a SaaS company in 2026?
Every price and fact below was checked on each company's own website on October 11, 2026. Sources are listed at the bottom. No company pays to appear.
The short answer
Ahrefs is the best fit for a SaaS marketing team that wants backlink, keyword and AI prompt data in one place, from $129 a month. Semrush suits teams that want a 7-day free trial and plans that bundle SEO with AI search tracking, from $139 a month. Screaming Frog is the one to buy for technical audits of your own site, at $279 per user per year, and its free version crawls up to 500 URLs.
Side by side
| Ahrefs | Semrush | Screaming Frog SEO Spider | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Top 11 rank | #1 | #2 | #3 |
| Best for | SaaS marketing teams that need backlink, keyword and AI prompt data in one subscription | Teams that want to trial first and track SEO and AI search together | Technical SEOs auditing their own site's crawl, redirects and metadata |
| Entry price | Lite $129 a month | SEO plan $139 a month, or $117.33 a month billed annually | $279 per licence per year |
| Higher plans | Standard $249, Advanced $449, Enterprise $1,499 a month (annual commitment) | Starter $199, Pro+ $299, Advanced $549 a month. Enterprise on request | $265 per licence for 5 to 9, $249 for 10 to 19, $235 for 20 or more |
| Users | 1 user included on Lite, Standard and Advanced. Extra users $40, $60 and $80 a month each | Extra users from $45 a month. Users included per plan not stated on the pricing page | Licences are per user, 2 users need 2 licences |
| Keyword tracking | 750 on Lite, 2,000 on Standard, 5,000 on Advanced | 500 on SEO and Starter, 1,500 on Pro+, 5,000 on Advanced | Not a rank tracker, not mentioned on the pricing page |
| Sites or projects | 5 projects on Lite, 20 on Standard, 50 on Advanced (unverified ownership) | 5 websites on SEO and Starter, 15 on Pro+, 40 on Advanced | Not mentioned on the pricing page |
| AI search tracking | 5, 10 and 20 tracked AI prompts on Lite, Standard and Advanced. Brand Radar AI from $199 a month | 50 prompts a day on Starter, 100 on Pro+, 200 on Advanced | Crawl with OpenAI and Gemini is listed as a feature. No AI visibility tracking mentioned |
| Site crawling | Site Audit with 100,000 crawl credits a month on Lite, 500,000 on Standard, 1.5M on Advanced | Site Audit included on the SEO plan. Crawl limits not shown on the pricing page | Free version crawls 500 URLs. Paid version unlimited, limited by memory and storage |
| Free option | Ahrefs Free gives limited access to Site Explorer and Site Audit for website owners. No discounts or trials | Free plan with 1 demo project and 10 reports a day. 7-day free trial on paid plans | Free version, 500 URL crawl limit |
| Billing | Pay annually and save up to 17% | Annual billing saves up to 17%. Cancel any time | Licences last 1 year, then renew |
The winner, by what you need
All round SEO research for a SaaS marketing team
Ahrefs
Lite at $129 a month tracks 750 keywords and 5 AI prompts, and Standard adds Content Explorer and keyword clusters.
Trying a tool before paying
Semrush
Semrush offers a 7-day free trial, while Ahrefs says it never runs discounts or free trials and offers only a limited free account.
Technical audit of your own site
Screaming Frog SEO Spider
It is a desktop crawler with a free version up to 500 URLs and a paid licence at $279 a year with no crawl limit beyond your memory and storage.
Tracking visibility in AI search
Semrush
Starter at $199 a month tracks 50 AI prompts daily, against 10 prompts on Ahrefs Standard at $249.
Larger teams adding seats
Ahrefs
Extra users cost $40 to $80 a month each, against Semrush's add-on from $45, with Standard and Advanced giving unlimited credits per user.
Worth knowing
- Prices are US dollar list prices as shown on each vendor's site on 11 October 2026 and can change at any time.
- Ahrefs also sells Brand Radar AI, Content Kit and Report Builder as separate add-ons. Semrush sells report and user add-ons separately.
- Screaming Frog is a crawler you run on your own machine. It does not include backlink or keyword databases, so most SaaS teams pair it with Ahrefs or Semrush.
- Semrush's per-day keyword and prompt counts and Ahrefs' monthly credits are measured differently, so compare features, not just counts.
See all eleven in the full ranking: Ahrefs vs Semrush vs Screaming Frog SEO Spider: 11 Best SEO Tools for SaaS 2026.
Sources
- Ahrefs plans, prices, users, projects, tracked keywords, AI prompts, crawl credits, Enterprise price, no discounts or trials, Ahrefs Free: https://ahrefs.com/pricing
- Semrush plans, monthly and annual prices, websites, keywords, AI prompts, free plan, add-ons, 7-day trial: https://www.semrush.com/pricing/
- Screaming Frog licence price, bulk pricing, free version 500 URL limit, per-user licensing, unlimited crawl subject to memory: https://www.screamingfrog.co.uk/seo-spider/pricing/