Apify vs Ahrefs

AI tools comparison · Updated Apr 2026

🏆
Quick Verdict
Ahrefs wins overall
Ahrefs edges ahead with overall stronger positioning. Choose Apify if you need Rich Actor marketplace.
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✍️ Writing Ahrefs
💻 Coding Apify
👥 Teams Ahrefs
💰 Budget Apify
🏢 Enterprise Ahrefs
Choose Apify if…
Rich Actor marketplace; Scalable infrastructure
Visit Apify →
Choose Ahrefs if…
Best backlink database; Excellent keyword data
Visit Ahrefs →

At a Glance

Apify Ahrefs 🏆
Category AI Automation AI Marketing
Pricing freemium paid
Starting Price Freemium From $99/mo
Best For web-scraping, automation, data-extraction seo, backlinks, keyword-research
Features Listed 6 6

Feature Comparison

Apify Ahrefs 🏆
Actor marketplace Backlink analysis
Headless browsers Keyword explorer
Proxy management Content explorer
Cloud infrastructure Site audit
API access Rank tracker
Scheduled runs Competitive analysis

Pricing Comparison

Apify
freemium
Best Value
Paid
Free with $5/mo platform credits. Starter $49/mo. Scale $499/mo. Enterprise custom.
Ahrefs
paid
$99/mo
Lite $99/mo. Standard $199/mo. Advanced $399/mo. Enterprise $999/mo.

Strengths & Weaknesses

Apify
Pros
  • +Rich Actor marketplace
  • +Scalable infrastructure
  • +Good documentation
  • +Generous free tier
Cons
  • Learning curve for custom actors
  • Compute costs add up
  • Complex pricing
  • Debugging can be hard
Ahrefs 🏆
Pros
  • +Best backlink database
  • +Excellent keyword data
  • +Intuitive interface
  • +Great content explorer
Cons
  • No free plan
  • Expensive for small businesses
  • Limited PPC features

Winner by Buyer Type

Buyer Type Best Pick Reason
Solo Developer Apify Dev-friendly features + low cost
Marketing Team Ahrefs Content creation & collaboration
Enterprise Ahrefs Scalability & admin controls
Budget-Conscious Apify Best value at lowest price
Content Creators Ahrefs Output quality & creative tools
Technical Teams Apify API access & developer features

Final Recommendation

🏆 Overall Winner
Ahrefs
Ahrefs comes out ahead in this comparison. At From $99/mo, it offers best backlink database. If Apify fits your workflow better based on the use-case breakdown above, go with that — but for most users, Ahrefs is the safer default choice.

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