Best free option: Google Search Console (Strong). Switching saves about $1,548 USD a year.
$1,548 USDa year
≈$2,206.98 CAD (converted from USD)
Every pick below has a free version.
3 alternatives
Covers most of the same work, with trade-offs noted on each card.
Best for first-party search data on your own site
Free with a Google account after you verify ownership. Ahrefs also has a free tier for sites you own that adds a crawler and backlink data.
Right for specific needs, or not yet mature enough to recommend widely.
Best for Bing search data and a free site scan
Free with a Microsoft account. Data covers Bing and its partners, which have a much smaller share than Google.
Best for free keyword ideas and volume ranges
Part of Google Ads and needs a Google Ads account with billing details entered. It covers keyword research only.
Sponsor this page: $149 for 30 days. Sponsors appear above the ranking, labeled; the ranking itself is not for sale.
How each alternative covers what people use Ahrefs for. Numbers link to editor notes.
| Feature | Google Search Console | Bing Webmaster Tools | Google Keyword Planner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Research | |||
| Keyword research with search volume | PartialNote 1Queries your site already ranks for; no volume or new ideas | PartialNote 2Search volumes for Bing queries only | PartialNote 3Keyword ideas with estimated monthly volume; built for ad planning |
| Competitor traffic and keyword analysis | NoNote 4Own verified sites only | No | No |
| Links | |||
| Backlink analysis | PartialNote 5Links report for your own site | PartialNote 6Backlink profile for your own verified sites | No |
| Technical | |||
| Site audit | PartialNote 7Indexing, Core Web Vitals and rich result reports; no crawler | PartialNote 8On-demand Site Scan for technical issues | No |
| Monitoring | |||
| Rank tracking | PartialNote 9Average position per query and page | PartialNote 10Search performance with average position on Bing | No |
| AI | |||
| AI search visibility tracking | No | NoNote 11No AI answer tracking listed | No |
| Parity score | 33% | 33% | 8% |
Not covered by any free alternative yet: Keyword research with search volume, Competitor traffic and keyword analysis, Backlink analysis, Site audit, Rank tracking, AI search visibility tracking. See all feature gaps
Switching saves about $1,548 USD / ≈$2,207 CAD (estimated from the USD price) a year. Prices checked ; ≈ means converted from USD.
Based on Lite plan, billed monthly. Price source. USD to CAD at 1.4257 as of Oct 7, 2026.
Last verified . Ranking: tier first, then the published score.
Something wrong or out of date? Report outdated info.
Ahrefs is a product of Ahrefs, named here for comparison only. Platforms listed for Ahrefs: Web.