Semrush vs Ahrefs
Gane, the publisher, sells software in this category. Every product here is measured by the same method as in every other category. How the conflict is handled.
Eight of fourteen models named Semrush first on the direct prompt; one named Ahrefs. Both were named by all fourteen models and Semrush carries 57 labels and Ahrefs 52, so the shares are not directly comparable.
Boston, United States, founded 2008. Named in six categories this edition.
Singapore, Singapore, founded 2010. Named in nine categories this edition.
Share is the count of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts over all fourteen models, for a mid-market B2B company; rank is within the category; every quote names the model and the prompt it came from. Both figures come from the SEO and content optimization platforms page.
By framing
SemrushFirst choices, of fourteen modelsAhrefs
Across every category in the November 2026 Edition, Semrush and Ahrefs were named in the same answer 206 times, of the 355 answers naming Semrush and the 276 naming Ahrefs. In those answers Ahrefs took the first choice one time and Semrush twenty-seven.
Every model, every framing
| Model | Direct | Paraphrase | Comparative | Budget-constrained | Scale-constrained | Negative |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Claude Haiku 4.5 | | | | |||
| GPT-5.4 mini | | | ||||
| Gemini 3.5 Flash | | | | | ||
| Perplexity Sonar | | | | | | |
| Grok 4.20 | | | | | | |
| Mistral Small | | | | | ||
| DeepSeek V4 Flash | | | | | ||
| Llama 4 Maverick | | | ||||
| Qwen 3.7 Flash | | | | | ||
| Kimi K2 | | | | |||
| GLM 4.7 FlashX | | | | | ||
| MiniMax M2.5 | | | | | ||
| GPT-6 Luna | | |||||
| Muse Glimmer 30B | | | | |
Semrush Ahrefs first choice named as an alternative argued againstblank: not namedEach cell is one answer, Semrush on the left and Ahrefs on the right.The direct prompt
Both were the first choice
1 of 14 modelsThe answer named them together, and the judge labeled each a first choice.Semrush first, Ahrefs an alternative
7 of 14 modelsAhrefs was named in the answer but not as the choice, or not at all.Neither was the first choice, one was named
4 of 14 modelsThe answer put something else first and named one of the two as an alternative.Neither was named
2 of 14 modelsThe answer made no first choice from these two in this category.Bold names in an answer are the products the judge labeled a first choice; a model naming several gives each of them that label. The full answer text for every row is in the record.
By buyer segment
Semrush18%#2 of 14Ahrefs2%#11 of 14What the models said about Semrush
Every negative label with a quote, up to three, then the highest-weighted positives, up to three. Four of four in this category shown.
“Don't pay for expensive tools like Semrush ($139+/month)” MiniMax M2.5 · budget prompt · hard negative
“the best overall SEO and content optimization platform is a combination of Semrush (or Ahrefs) for research/strategy + Surfer SEO (or Clearscope) for content optimization” Grok 4.20 · direct prompt · first choice
“Best for: Full digital marketing suites, agencies, power users ... Largest keyword database (26.6B Google keywords)” Kimi K2 · comparative prompt · first choice
“For most mid-market B2B companies, Semrush is the best overall SEO and content optimization platform” Perplexity Sonar · direct prompt · first choice
What the models said about Ahrefs
Every negative label with a quote, up to three, then the highest-weighted positives, up to three. Three of four in this category shown.
“Best overall all-in-one SEO tool, known for in-depth keyword analysis, technical SEO, backlink audits, and competitor analysis.” Mistral Small · comparative prompt · first choice
“If you need to fix site bugs, build links, and track rankings: Choose Ahrefs or Semrush.” Gemini 3.5 Flash · comparative prompt · first choice
“Semrush and Ahrefs emerge as the top recommendations for mid-market B2B companies” MiniMax M2.5 · direct prompt · first choice
Comparisons are drawn for the top eight products in each category, each against each. The output is the models' output; nothing here is a recommendation by the index.