Compare · Ahrefs is an SEO research platform with AI visibility
SiteOS vs Ahrefs.
More than SEO data.
Ahrefs is built for SEO research: a live backlink index, keyword research, rank tracking, Site Audit, free Web Analytics and Brand Radar for AI answers. SiteOS also covers technical audits, keyword, rank and backlink research, analytics and AI visibility on ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Perplexity, plus what Ahrefs does not: a consent banner, forms, site search, browser checks, error tracking and checks that tracking fires, in one free Project. This page compares SiteOS and Ahrefs on site audits, keyword, rank and backlink research, AI visibility, analytics and the rest of the website, including where Ahrefs goes further.
At a glance
Where SiteOS goes further8
- AI answer visibilityChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Perplexity, against up to five competitors
- Automated accessibility checksAutomatic WCAG 2.2 AA checks on every audited page
- Cookie consent bannerRegional rules, Google Consent Mode and scheduled scans
- Forms with an inboxShared inbox, contacts, spam controls and Mailchimp
- Site searchCrawled indices, relevance controls and search analytics
- Browser checks on key journeysPage checks without code, and Playwright journeys on a schedule and in pull requests
- Error trackingBrowser and server errors, grouped, with source maps
- Tracking checks for GA4, GTM and consentFailed requests, duplicates, missing events and tag changes, plus personal data, consent and pull request checks
Where Ahrefs goes further2
- Audits of large websitesAhrefs Lite includes 100,000 Site Audit crawl credits a month, one per page, and each verified project gets 5,000 free.
- Own backlink indexAhrefs runs its own crawlers and a live backlink index refreshed every 15 to 30 minutes.
Both cover7
- Works with websites on any host
- Technical SEO audits
- Keyword, rank and backlink research
- Web analytics
- Several websites in one workspace
- MCP for coding agents
- Free plan
Side by side
SiteOS vs Ahrefs
| Capability | SiteOS | Ahrefs |
|---|---|---|
| Works with websites on any hostAny framework, CMS or host, with nothing to migrate | Yes | Yes |
| Technical SEO auditsSite crawls, Lighthouse checks and Search Console reports | Yes | Yes |
| Audits of large websitesA SiteOS audit checks up to 500 pages | Partly | Yes |
| Keyword, rank and backlink researchKeywords, SERPs, rankings, domains and backlinks | Yes | Yes |
| Own backlink indexSiteOS uses an external data provider and saves up to 500 links per check | No | Yes |
| AI answer visibilityChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Perplexity, against up to five competitors | Yes | Partly |
| Automated accessibility checksAutomatic WCAG 2.2 AA checks on every audited page | Yes | No |
| Web analyticsCookieless, with goals, funnels, several domains and GA4 | Yes | Yes |
| Cookie consent bannerRegional rules, Google Consent Mode and scheduled scans | Yes | No |
| Forms with an inboxShared inbox, contacts, spam controls and Mailchimp | Yes | No |
| Site searchCrawled indices, relevance controls and search analytics | Yes | No |
| Browser checks on key journeysPage checks without code, and Playwright journeys on a schedule and in pull requests | Yes | No |
| Error trackingBrowser and server errors, grouped, with source maps | Yes | No |
| Tracking checks for GA4, GTM and consentFailed requests, duplicates, missing events and tag changes, plus personal data, consent and pull request checks | Yes | No |
| Several websites in one workspaceA Project per website, with separate environments | Yes | Yes |
| MCP for coding agentsYour agent reads the same evidence and works through fixes | Yes | Yes |
| Free planMonthly credits for research and checks; accounts by invitation during early access | Yes | Yes |
| Price of the compared plan | Free | $249 / mo |
YesPartly, with the condition in the notesNot offered
SiteOS is free, with monthly credits for research and checks. Ahrefs Standard costs $249 a month, with two months free billed yearly, and includes Site Audit, Rank Tracker for 2,000 keywords, 20 projects and 10 AI prompts on one platform; Brand Radar AI indexes add $199 a month per platform or $699 for all.
Technical SEO audits: Ahrefs Site Audit checks more than 170 issues and is free for verified sites.
Audits of large websites: Ahrefs Lite includes 100,000 Site Audit crawl credits a month, one per page, and each verified project gets 5,000 free.
Keyword, rank and backlink research: Ahrefs has keyword data for 217 locations; SiteOS keyword research covers 94 countries and saves up to 500 backlinks per check.
Own backlink index: Ahrefs runs its own crawlers and a live backlink index refreshed every 15 to 30 minutes.
AI answer visibility: Ahrefs Standard includes 10 daily prompts on one AI platform; full Brand Radar indexes cost $199 a month per platform or $699 for all.
Automated accessibility checks: Ahrefs Site Audit flags missing alt text as an SEO issue; an accessibility audit is not offered.
Web analytics: Ahrefs Web Analytics is free up to 1 million events per project a month, without cookies by default.
Site search: Ahrefs' Yep is a paid web search API, not a search box for your website.
Browser checks on key journeys: Ahrefs' always-on audit recrawls for SEO issues; journey and uptime checks are not offered.
Error tracking: Site Audit reports broken resources and error pages found while crawling, not runtime errors.
Tracking checks for GA4, GTM and consent: Ahrefs checks only that its own Web Analytics snippet is installed.
Several websites in one workspace: Verified sites are unlimited; other projects are capped by plan, at 20 on Standard.
MCP for coding agents: Ahrefs MCP needs Lite or higher and uses the plan's API units.
Free plan: Ahrefs Free covers Site Audit, Site Explorer and Web Analytics for verified sites.
Sources · reviewed 12 Oct 2026
- Ahrefs pricing
- Plan differences
- Brand Radar
- Site Audit
- Web Analytics
- Ahrefs Free
- Ahrefs MCP
- Big data
- Keywords Explorer · reviewed 13 Oct 2026
- Site Audit crawl credits · reviewed 13 Oct 2026
Together
Use them
together.
Keep Ahrefs for backlink and keyword research at scale, and use SiteOS for the website itself: audits with ranked next steps, AI visibility against competitors, analytics, consent, forms, site search, browser checks and tracking checks. Your coding agent can work with both through MCP.
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