AhrefsMake your business discoverable, in search, AI, and beyond.
vs
SpyFuWin in AI & Google Search
Comparison · SEO Tools · weekly run Nov 2
Ahrefs vs SpyFu
Which one do AI engines recommend, and how do they differ on price, fit and features?
The short answer
Ahrefs is the stronger AI pick in SEO Tools: it has a visibility score of 56 versus 2 for SpyFu, and ranks ahead in 100% of the answers that name both.
Choose Ahrefs if…
- You want the brand AI engines rank higher (56 vs 2)
- You want a free plan to start
- AI answers describe it more positively (49% vs 33% positive)
- You need ISO 27001 coverage
Choose SpyFu if…
- competitor keyword intelligence
- PPC intelligence
AI visibility side by side
Latest weekly run · Nov 2
| Metric | Ahrefs | SpyFu |
|---|---|---|
| Visibility score | 56% | 2% |
| Change vs last week | New | New |
| Rank in SEO Tools | #2 | #27 |
| Share of voice | 12% | 1.1% |
| Mentions this run | 61 | 6 |
| Positive in AI answers | 49% | 33% |
The stronger value in each row is marked with a ✓.
Visibility score trend
Weekly runs over the last 60 days
Ahrefs 0pp · SpyFu 0pp over 0 weekly runs.
Engine by engine
Ahrefs leads on 3 of 3 engines
ChatGPT
AI Mode
Perplexity
AhrefsSpyFu
Head to head in AI answers
6 engine answers name both brands
6Ahrefs ranked higher
0SpyFu ranked higher
| Prompt | Engine | Ahrefs | SpyFu |
|---|---|---|---|
| What are the best SEO Tools tools in 2026? | ChatGPT | #3 | #9 |
| Compare the leading SEO Tools platforms | Perplexity | #2 | #9 |
| Alternatives to the most popular SEO tool | ChatGPT | #3 | #6 |
| Alternatives to the most popular SEO tool | AI Mode | #2 | #7 |
| Official website of the top SEO tool vendors | ChatGPT | #2 | #9 |
| Official website of the top SEO tool vendors | Perplexity | #2 | #10 |
Features, pricing & fit
| Dimension | Ahrefs | SpyFu |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Flat tiers | Flat tiers |
| Entry price | Free; paid from $29 / mo | $39 / mo |
| Free plan | Yes | No |
| Deployment | SaaS | Runs on dedicated bare-metal servers from phoenixNAP |
| Compliance | ISO 27001 | — |
| Support | Customer support five days a week, Academy courses and certification, Webinars and AMAs, YouTube tutorials | Email, Live chat, Phone |
| Founded | 2010 | 2005 |
| Headquarters | Singapore | Scottsdale, Arizona, United States |
| Employees | 51–200 | 11–50 |
| Funding | Bootstrapped | Other Investors (latest listed round) |
| Best for | Freelance SEOs, marketing consultants, and lean in-house marketing teams, from small businesses to Fortune 500 teams. | Marketers and agencies doing competitor SEO and Google Ads research |
Plans side by side
Ahrefs
Ahrefs Free$0month
Starter$29month
Lite$129month
Standard$249month
Advanced$449month
Enterprise$1,499month, annual commitment required
Pros and cons
Themes from the AI answers that mention each brand
Ahrefs
- Strong backlink analysis and index
- Strong competitor research
- Honest, transparent pricing
- Deep technical site audits
- Free Webmaster Tools tier for verified site owners
- High monthly cost, especially for smaller budgets
- Seat-based pricing needs careful evaluation against team size
SpyFu
- competitor keyword intelligence
- PPC intelligence
Data collected ·ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Mode·coverage 100%·next run
Cite as: SlateIndex, “Ahrefs vs SpyFu”, https://slateindex.ai/compare/ahrefs-vs-spyfu, data of Nov 2, 2026. Licence: CC BY 4.0.