Ahrefs vs Majestic: an All-in-One SEO Suite or a Backlink Specialist with Trust Flow?
Ahrefs and Majestic both run their own web crawlers and both sell backlink data, but they are built for different jobs. Ahrefs is an all-in-one SEO suite: backlinks, keyword research, a site audit, rank tracking and now AI prompt tracking, with Domain Rating as its authority score. Majestic calls itself a specialist in backlink analysis: it maps links with its own metrics, Trust Flow and Citation Flow, and costs much less. So in any Majestic vs Ahrefs decision the real question is: do you need one tool for all your SEO work, or a low-cost way to research and vet links? We checked both official websites on 11 November 2026: plans and prices as the pricing pages show them by default, free tools, refunds and limits.
Quick answer: if you write content, track rankings and fix technical SEO yourself, pick Ahrefs: Lite costs EUR 119 a month ($129 in the US view) and covers backlinks, Keywords Explorer, Site Audit and Rank Tracker, while the free Ahrefs Free account already audits your own site. If your main job is link building, guest posting or judging which sites are worth a link, Majestic Lite at EUR 46.99 a month (excluding VAT) gives you Trust Flow, Citation Flow and its 120-day Fresh Index, with a 7-day money-back guarantee. Many founders use Ahrefs Free for their own site and Majestic Lite for link research.
Are you getting customers from ChatGPT yet?
More and more traffic is coming from Perplexity, ChatGPT, Grok and other AI tools.
👉 Rank on ChatGPT
Ahrefs vs Majestic at a Glance
Sources: ahrefs.com pricing page, Starter plan post, Ahrefs Free, backlink checker and big-data pages; majestic.com homepage, plans and pricing, free tools and glossary, checked 11 November 2026. Prices as the official pages show them by default from Europe (euros, monthly billing).
Ahrefs and Majestic in 2027: What Each One Does
Ahrefs: the all-in-one SEO suite with its own crawler
Ahrefs says it runs the second most active web crawler after Google, and its backlink index is refreshed every 15 to 30 minutes. Its authority score, Domain Rating, runs from 0 to 100 and looks at the quantity and quality of external backlinks; Ahrefs itself stresses that DR is relative, so a score only means something next to your competitors. Around the link data sit Keywords Explorer (Ahrefs gives a keyword index of 29 billion keywords in 217 locations), Site Audit, Rank Tracker, Content Explorer on higher plans, and Brand Radar for AI visibility.
- Lite, EUR 119 a month ($129 in the US view): "Essential data for small businesses and personal projects". 1 user, 5 unverified projects (unlimited verified), 6 months of history, 750 tracked keywords, 150 checks on AI prompts, 100,000 crawl credits, API and MCP access, 1,000 credits per user.
- Standard, EUR 229 a month ($249): 20 projects, 2 years of history, 2,000 tracked keywords, 300 AI prompt checks, unlimited credits, plus Content Explorer, Portfolios, Batch Analysis, broken backlinks and keyword clusters.
- Advanced, EUR 419 a month ($449): 50 projects, 5 years of history, 5,000 tracked keywords, 600 AI prompt checks and 1.5 million crawl credits. Enterprise is priced on request.
- Starter, EUR 27 a month ($29): 200 credits a month for Site Explorer, Keywords Explorer, Site Audit and Rank Tracker. No extra users or credits, and it renews monthly only.
Free and billing: the Ahrefs pricing page says "We never run discounts" and offers no free trial; annual billing saves up to 17%, but those prices sit behind a toggle, so we do not quote them. There are no contracts or setup fees, and refunds are the exception: only for monthly plans you have not used. What you get free is Ahrefs Free (the former Ahrefs Webmaster Tools): for websites you verify, Site Audit checks 170+ technical and on-page issues with 5,000 crawl credits a month per project, and Site Explorer shows up to 1,000 of your backlinks and 1,000 of your keywords at once.
Rank tracking: Rank Tracker updates weekly on every plan. Founders who want daily positions add a dedicated tracker; see Ahrefs vs AccuRanker and Ahrefs vs Wincher.
Best for: founders who want one subscription for keyword research, content, rankings, technical SEO and backlinks.
Is your startup on ChatGPT?
More and more traffic is coming from Perplexity, ChatGPT, Grok and other AI tools.
👉 Rank on ChatGPT
Majestic: the link-intelligence specialist
Majestic was established in 2004 and describes itself as "Specialists in backlink analysis". It keeps two link indexes: the Fresh Index, every backlink found in the past 120 days including deleted and lost links (on 11 November 2026 it covered 14 July to 10 November 2026), and the Historic Index, which runs from June 2006 to 26 March 2024 and has not been extended since. Its best-known asset is its metrics, defined in the Majestic glossary: Trust Flow (0 to 100, based on how closely a site is linked to manually reviewed trusted seed sites), Citation Flow (0 to 100, the link "power" or quantity) and Topical Trust Flow, which places a site in more than 800 topic categories.
- Lite, EUR 46.99 a month (excluding VAT): 1 user, 1 million analysis units, Fresh Index, Site Explorer, Trust Flow, Topical Trust Flow, Link Graph, Link Context, Related Sites, Backlink Campaigns, Bulk Backlink Checker, Keyword Checker and PDF reports, with 5,000 Site Explorer rows. No API.
- Pro, EUR 94.99 a month: 1 user, 20 million analysis units, the Historic Index, Compare, Backlink History, Flow Metric History, Clique Hunter, Search Explorer, raw data exports, email alerts, Author Explorer and an experimental rank tracker that reads Google Search Console, with 30,000 rows.
- API, EUR 379.99 a month: 5 users, 100 million analysis units, the full API and 50,000 rows, for agencies and developers.
- Billing: monthly by default, in pounds, euros or US dollars. Majestic says you save with an annual plan; those prices sit behind the billing selector, so we do not quote them. Lite and Pro come with a 7-day money-back guarantee for new customers.
Free tools: Majestic's free SEO tools include a free account with "a few Site Explorer clicks each day", a weekly showcase site with almost Lite-level access, the Majestic Million list of the top 1,000,000 websites as a free CSV, and browser plugins that show link counts while you browse. What is not in Majestic's plan list: a site audit, AI search tracking and a keyword research database like Keywords Explorer.
Best for: link builders, PR and outreach teams, and founders who mainly need to judge whether a site is worth a link.
Boost Your SEO by Getting Featured in Our Blogs and get a backlink.
We publish content about startups, education, tech, funding, etc. that ranks well not only in Google but also in Perplexity, ChatGPT, Grok and other AI tools.
👉 Get featured now!
Price Compared: What a Startup Pays per Month
On monthly billing, Majestic Lite (EUR 46.99) costs well under half of Ahrefs Lite (EUR 119), and even Majestic Pro with the Historic Index (EUR 94.99) costs less than Ahrefs Lite. The prices buy different things, though: Ahrefs Lite adds keyword research, a site audit, rank tracking and AI prompt checks that Majestic does not sell. Ahrefs Starter (EUR 27) is the cheapest way into Ahrefs' paid data, but its 200 monthly credits run out fast if you research links every day. Note that Majestic's prices exclude VAT.
Ahrefs vs Majestic: Feature by Feature
- Backlink research: both are strong. Ahrefs shows referring domains with DR, UR and estimated organic traffic of each linking page; Majestic adds Trust Flow, Topical Trust Flow, Link Context and Clique Hunter for prospecting.
- Judging a site before you pitch it: Majestic. Trust Flow vs Citation Flow quickly shows whether a site's links look trustworthy or just numerous, and Lite is enough for that.
- Link history: Majestic Pro's Historic Index goes back to 2006 but stops in March 2024; Ahrefs keeps 6 months of history on Lite and up to 5 years on Advanced.
- Keyword research and content: Ahrefs. Keywords Explorer and Content Explorer have no full match in Majestic, which offers a Keyword Checker and N-grams near links.
- Technical SEO and rankings: Ahrefs, with Site Audit and weekly Rank Tracker; Majestic has neither in its plan list apart from an experimental Search Console tracker on Pro.
- AI search: Ahrefs tracks AI prompts on every plan and sells Brand Radar; Majestic does not list AI search tracking.
What Changed Since the Old Version of This Comparison
- Prices corrected: the 2026 version said Majestic starts "under $80" and pointed to a $29 Ahrefs plan. Today Majestic Lite costs EUR 46.99 a month, and Ahrefs Lite EUR 119 ($129), with Starter at EUR 27 ($29) as a reduced, credit-based plan.
- Ahrefs data updated: the old "17 billion keywords" figure is replaced by Ahrefs' current 29 billion; Ahrefs Webmaster Tools is now called Ahrefs Free; AI prompt tracking is new on every plan.
- Majestic's Historic Index: still starts in 2006, but now ends on 26 March 2024. The Fresh Index covers the last 120 days.
- Removed: the unsourced "better return on investment" claim, opinions about Majestic's design, generic SEO mistakes and links to third-party review sites.
Which One Should You Choose?
- You publish content and need keywords, rankings and audits: Ahrefs Lite, or Starter while you learn.
- You build links, pitch guest posts or vet PR targets: Majestic Lite. Trust Flow and Citation Flow for EUR 46.99 a month, with a 7-day money-back guarantee.
- You need link history for due diligence or a domain purchase: Majestic Pro for the Historic Index.
- You want to know whether AI assistants mention you: Ahrefs, with prompt checks on every plan.
- Best of both on a budget: Ahrefs Free for your own site plus Majestic Lite for link research.
Other Ahrefs match-ups: Ahrefs vs Semrush, Ahrefs vs Moz, Ahrefs vs SE Ranking, Ahrefs vs BrightEdge, Ahrefs vs KWFinder and Ahrefs vs Keyword Insights. Other Majestic match-ups: Moz vs Majestic, Semrush vs Majestic, Majestic vs Similarweb, Majestic vs Wincher, Majestic vs Rank Tracker, Majestic vs Keyworddit and Majestic vs Keyword Insights.
How Founders Use Ahrefs, Majestic and Other SEO Tools
- Audit your own site for free. Verify it in Ahrefs Free and fix the issues Site Audit flags before you chase links.
- Study competitors' links. Run five competitors through Ahrefs or Majestic, note which sites link to them and why. Our list of competitor analysis tools has more ways to study rivals.
- Vet every link target. Before you pitch a guest post, check Trust Flow vs Citation Flow in Majestic, or DR and traffic in Ahrefs. A site with high Citation Flow but low Trust Flow deserves a closer look.
- Choose your stack. Our guide to SEO keyword research tools for startups and Moz vs Serpstat cover other suites; for cheaper picks see Ahrefs alternatives, free Ahrefs alternatives, open-source Ahrefs alternatives and Semrush alternatives.
If nobody searches for the problems your product solves, that is a signal to validate your startup idea before you build. Research only pays off when you publish: the F/MS AI SEO Tool turns your keywords into articles built to rank on Google and to be cited by ChatGPT and Perplexity. To get your launch covered, see how to submit a startup press release.
Boost Your SEO by Publishing Your Startup Press Release with us.
We publish content about startups, education, tech, funding, etc. that ranks well not only in Google but also in Perplexity, ChatGPT, Grok and other AI tools.
👉 Publish Press Release
FAQ: Ahrefs vs Majestic
What is the main difference between Ahrefs and Majestic?
Ahrefs is an all-in-one SEO suite with backlinks, keyword research, a site audit, rank tracking and AI prompt tracking. Majestic is a backlink specialist with its own metrics, Trust Flow and Citation Flow, and a lower price.
Where can I submit a guest post about my startup?
You can publish a guest post in one of the Fe/male Switch startup blogs, which rank in Google and in AI tools like ChatGPT and Perplexity. Get a quality backlink.
Is Ahrefs or Majestic better for backlink analysis?
Both run their own crawlers. Majestic is better for judging link quality cheaply, thanks to Trust Flow, Topical Trust Flow and Link Context. Ahrefs is better if you also want traffic estimates for each linking page and the rest of your SEO in the same tool.
How much do Ahrefs and Majestic cost?
On 11 November 2026 the default views showed Ahrefs Lite at EUR 119, Standard EUR 229 and Advanced EUR 419 a month ($129, $249 and $449 in the US view), plus Starter at EUR 27 ($29). Majestic showed Lite at EUR 46.99, Pro EUR 94.99 and API EUR 379.99 a month, excluding VAT.
Do Ahrefs and Majestic have free versions or trials?
Ahrefs has no free trial and says it never runs discounts, but Ahrefs Free gives website owners Site Audit and Site Explorer data for their verified sites. Majestic has a free account with a few Site Explorer clicks a day and a 7-day money-back guarantee on Lite and Pro.
What are Trust Flow and Citation Flow?
Majestic's two link metrics, each from 0 to 100. Trust Flow measures quality, based on how closely a site is linked to manually reviewed trusted sites; Citation Flow measures link quantity or power. A Trust Flow higher than Citation Flow is usually a good sign.
Is Domain Rating the same as Trust Flow?
No. Ahrefs' Domain Rating (0 to 100) is based on the quantity and quality of a site's external backlinks and is relative to other sites. Trust Flow is Majestic's quality score based on trusted seed sites. Many link builders check both.
Which tool has more link history?
Majestic Pro's Historic Index runs from June 2006 to March 2024. Ahrefs keeps 6 months of history on Lite, 2 years on Standard and 5 years on Advanced, and unlimited history on Enterprise.
Can Majestic replace Ahrefs for keyword research or audits?
Not really. Majestic offers a Keyword Checker and an experimental Search Console rank tracker on Pro, but no site audit or keyword research database like Ahrefs' Keywords Explorer.
Can a startup use Ahrefs and Majestic together?
Yes, and cheaply: use Ahrefs Free for your own site's audit and backlinks, and Majestic Lite for researching and vetting link targets. Add a paid Ahrefs plan when keyword research and rank tracking become daily work.
About the Author
Violetta Bonenkamp, also known as MeanCEO, is an experienced startup founder with an impressive educational background including an MBA and four other higher education degrees. She has over 20 years of work experience across multiple countries, including 5 years as a solopreneur and serial entrepreneur. Throughout her startup experience she has applied for multiple startup grants at the EU level, in the Netherlands and Malta, and her startups received quite a few of those. She’s been living, studying and working in many countries around the globe and her extensive multicultural experience has influenced her immensely.
