RankThat vs Ahrefs: which fits agency client work better?
Ahrefs is known for its backlink index and keyword data, and is built for SEOs who do heavy research and link analysis. RankThat is built to run client sites day to day: audits with fixes applied in WordPress, rank and AI tracking, local grids and a monthly report drafted for you. Many of the things RankThat includes are paid add-ons on Ahrefs.
Ahrefs facts checked October 2026 from their own website. Tell us if anything has changed.
Looking at other options too? See Ahrefs alternativesRankThat is best for
Agencies and freelancers managing several client sites, especially WordPress and local businesses, who want fixes, tracking and reporting in one plan.
Professional $99/mo: 5 projects, 1,000 tracked keywords per project, 3 team members per project, AI visibility and local SEO included. Enterprise $199/mo: unlimited. 14-day free trial (card required, no charge until the trial ends).
Ahrefs is best for
SEOs and content teams who live in backlink and keyword research and want the deepest link data, an API and MCP access.
Lite $129/mo (750 tracked keywords), Standard $249/mo (2,000), Advanced $449/mo (5,000), Enterprise $1,499/mo with an annual commitment. Each includes 1 user; extra users cost $40 to $80/mo each. Annual billing saves up to 17%. A Starter plan is $29/mo.
Add-ons on Ahrefs: Brand Radar AI from $199/mo, Report Builder $99/mo, Content Kit from $99/mo (marked 'Soon'), and Patches through Project Boost Max at $200/mo per project.
Feature by feature
| RankThat | Ahrefs | |
|---|---|---|
| Site audit | 100+ checks, plain-English fixes | |
| Fixes applied on your websitePatches runs through a JavaScript snippet or Cloudflare Workers and covers titles, meta descriptions, canonicals, redirects, noindex and nofollow tags, alt text and internal links. | Yes, in WordPress via the free Bridge plugin (included) | Patches, in Project Boost Max ($200/mo per project) |
| Undo a site change | One click | Unpublish or roll back any patch |
| Rank tracking | Daily or weekly, desktop and mobile | Weekly, desktop and mobile, 190+ locations |
| Keywords tracked at the entry price | 1,000 per project, 5 projects ($99) | 750 ($129 Lite) |
| Local map gridAhrefs lists GBP Monitor (beta) on Lite, but no map grid. | Included | Not listed |
| AI visibility trackingBrand Radar covers AI Overviews, AI Mode, ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini and Copilot, with Claude available. | ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Claude, Google AI Overviews (included) | Brand Radar AI, from $199/mo |
| Keyword database | Solid for client work, not the biggest | 28.7B keywords, 217 locations |
| Backlink database | Profile, new and lost links, prospects | 35T backlink records, updated every 15 minutes |
| AI content writing | Articles in your brand voice, published to WordPress | Content Kit from $99/mo (marked 'Soon') |
| WordPress plugin | Free Bridge plugin | Retired on October 31, 2025 |
| Client reports | Written monthly report, white-label, client portal | Report Builder, $99/mo (PDF by email) |
| Users at the entry price | 3 per project | 1 included, extra $40/mo each |
| Claude / MCP connector | Yes, Claude connector | API and MCP on Lite and up |
Why teams switch to RankThat
Fixes included, not a $200 add-on
On Ahrefs, Patches comes with Project Boost Max at $200/mo per project. RankThat's fixes are part of every plan: approve a draft and the free Bridge plugin applies it in WordPress, with one-click undo and a re-check of the live page.
AI visibility and local grids already included
Brand Radar AI starts at $199/mo. RankThat Professional tracks ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Claude and Google AI Overviews mentions and runs a Local Rank Grid for 5 projects at $99/mo.
Reports your clients can read
Report Builder is a $99/mo add-on that emails PDFs. RankThat drafts each client's monthly report in plain English, you approve it, and clients can log in to a read-only, white-label portal.
Room for your team
Ahrefs includes one user per plan and charges $40 to $80/mo for each extra. RankThat Professional includes 3 team members per project, and Enterprise has no team limit.
Where Ahrefs is stronger
- Backlink data is in a different league: 35T backlink records with the index updated every 15 minutes. For link research, Ahrefs is stronger.
- Bigger keyword data: 28.7B keywords across 217 locations.
- Patches work on any site through a JavaScript snippet or Cloudflare, not only WordPress. RankThat applies fixes in WordPress only.
- API and MCP access are included from Lite. RankThat does not offer a public API.
- Brand Radar draws on an index of 512M+ organic prompts for AI search research.
Many agencies keep a research suite for deep keyword and backlink research and use RankThat for the monthly client work.
Questions, answered
Can I move my data from Ahrefs?
There's no Ahrefs import. You add your sites and keywords to RankThat, connect Search Console and Google Analytics 4, and ranking history starts from that day.
Is RankThat's backlink data as good as Ahrefs'?
No, and we won't pretend otherwise. Ahrefs has one of the largest link indexes there is. RankThat covers what client work needs: the backlink profile, new and lost links, link building prospects and broken links.
How is RankThat's fixing different from Ahrefs Patches?
Patches works on any site via a script or Cloudflare and is part of a $200/mo per project add-on. RankThat's fixes are included in every plan and are written into WordPress itself by the free Bridge plugin, covering things like SEO titles, redirects, schema, llms.txt, security headers and image compression. Both let you undo changes.
Does RankThat track rankings daily?
Yes, you can track Google positions daily or weekly per project, on desktop and mobile, for any location. Ahrefs' Rank Tracker page lists weekly updates.
Is there a free trial?
Every RankThat plan has a 14-day free trial. You add a card when you sign up, you aren't charged until the trial ends, and you can cancel before then.