Ahrefs is one of the most established SEO platforms, founded in 2010. Ahrefs is known for its industry-leading backlink database, keyword research, site audits, and rank tracking, used by SEO professionals worldwide. In 2025, Ahrefs launched Brand Radar to track how brands appear across AI-generated answers, adding AI visibility to its existing SEO toolkit.
If you're evaluating AI visibility tools, here's a detailed breakdown of how Ahrefs works, what Ahrefs costs, and how Ahrefs compares to Mentionable.
How does Ahrefs track AI visibility?
Ahrefs tracks AI visibility through Brand Radar, a feature within the broader Ahrefs SEO platform. Brand Radar monitors brand mentions across 6 AI platforms: ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews, Gemini, Copilot, and Google AI Mode. Ahrefs maintains a database of 190M+ prompts that users can browse for discovery, and Ahrefs also supports custom prompt tracking.
Ahrefs Brand Radar expanded beyond AI search to include YouTube, TikTok, and Reddit mention tracking. Ahrefs provides a broader view of brand visibility across multiple channels, not just AI search engines.
Notably, Ahrefs does not track Claude (Anthropic) or Grok (xAI). Both LLMs are gaining significant market share in 2026, and Ahrefs Brand Radar currently has no coverage for either platform.
Brand Radar usage is credit-based within Ahrefs. Each plan includes a credit allocation, and heavy Brand Radar usage may require purchasing additional credits beyond the plan's included amount.
How much does Ahrefs cost in 2026?
Ahrefs Starter costs $29/month (annual billing) for 1 project. Ahrefs Lite costs $108/month for 5 projects. Standard costs $208/month for 20 projects. Advanced costs $374/month for 50 projects. Enterprise costs $1,249/month for 100 projects. Monthly billing prices are higher than these annual rates.
Brand Radar is included in all Ahrefs plans, but Brand Radar usage is managed through a credit system. Plans include a base credit allocation, with options for prepaid or pay-as-you-go credits. Heavy Brand Radar users may need additional credits beyond what their plan includes.
| Plan | Price (annual) | Projects | Brand Radar | Full SEO suite |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starter | $29/month | 1 | Credit-based | Yes |
| Lite | $108/month | 5 | Credit-based | Yes |
| Standard | $208/month | 20 | Credit-based | Yes |
| Advanced | $374/month | 50 | Credit-based | Yes |
| Enterprise | $1,249/month | 100 | Credit-based | Yes |
The key consideration with Ahrefs pricing: every plan includes the full SEO suite (backlinks, keywords, site audits, rank tracking). If you only need AI visibility tracking, you're paying for tools you may not use.
What does Ahrefs do well?
Ahrefs has built a genuinely best-in-class SEO toolkit. Ahrefs' backlink database, keyword research, site audit, and rank tracking features are trusted by the SEO industry. For teams that need traditional SEO alongside AI visibility, Ahrefs consolidates everything in one platform.
Ahrefs Brand Radar's 190M+ prompt database is massive. Users can discover prompts their audience is already asking across AI platforms, rather than guessing which prompts to track. Ahrefs' data quality has been trusted by SEO professionals for over a decade.
Ahrefs Brand Radar also tracks YouTube, TikTok, and Reddit mentions. For brands that want a unified view of visibility across AI search and social platforms, Ahrefs covers more channels than most AI visibility tools.
Ahrefs' 6 AI platforms (ChatGPT, Perplexity, AI Overviews, Gemini, Copilot, AI Mode) provide solid coverage of the major AI search interfaces where users are actively searching.
Ahrefs vs Mentionable: full feature comparison
Ahrefs and Mentionable both track AI visibility, but Ahrefs is a full SEO platform where Brand Radar is one feature, while Mentionable is a dedicated AI visibility stack.
| Feature | Ahrefs | Mentionable |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | $29/month (annual) | €39/month |
| LLMs included | 6 (ChatGPT, Perplexity, AI Overviews, Gemini, Copilot, AI Mode) | 5 (ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, Gemini, Grok) |
| Claude tracking | Not available | Included in all plans |
| Grok tracking | Not available | Included in all plans |
| Prompt generation | 190M+ prompt database for discovery | AI auto-generates 15-20 prompts from URL |
| Competitor intelligence | Brand mention tracking | Auto-extracted, normalized, ranked per LLM and per prompt |
| Source/citation tracking | Not specified | Tracks all cited domains, highlights your site vs competitors |
| Content opportunities | Not available (separate SEO tools) | AI-powered gap analysis with clustered content recommendations |
| AI traffic analytics | Not available | Tracking pixel identifies traffic from ChatGPT, Perplexity, etc. |
| Sentiment analysis | Not specified | Positive/neutral/negative per prompt per LLM |
| Full SEO suite | Yes (backlinks, keywords, audits) | Not available |
| YouTube/TikTok/Reddit | Yes (Brand Radar) | Not available |
| Free trial | Limited free account | 7 days, no credit card |
| Best for | SEO teams needing a full toolkit | Solopreneurs and growing brands |
Why choose Mentionable over Ahrefs?
Ahrefs is a full SEO suite where Brand Radar is one feature among many. If you only need AI visibility tracking, you are paying for backlink analysis, keyword research, site audits, and rank tracking you may never use. Mentionable is purpose-built for AI visibility, so every feature serves that goal directly.
- Claude and Grok coverage. Ahrefs Brand Radar does not track Claude or Grok. Mentionable includes both in every plan, covering the 5 LLMs that matter most for AI search in 2026.
- No credit system. Ahrefs uses credit-based Brand Radar usage that can run out with heavy tracking. Mentionable uses flat monthly pricing with no usage math.
- Automatic prompt generation. Instead of browsing a 190M+ prompt database, Mentionable scans your URL and auto-generates 15-20 relevant prompts in minutes.
- Full AI visibility stack included. Competitor intelligence, source tracking, content opportunity analysis, and AI traffic analytics are all built in from the Starter plan.
Start tracking your AI visibility across 5 LLMs with Mentionable's 7-day free trial, no credit card required.
Which tool fits your needs?
Ahrefs makes sense if:
- You already use Ahrefs for SEO and want AI visibility in the same dashboard
- You need backlink analysis, keyword research, and site audits alongside AI tracking
- You want access to Ahrefs' 190M+ prompt database for discovery
- You need YouTube, TikTok, and Reddit brand monitoring in one platform
- Your team runs full-scale SEO operations and can leverage the full Ahrefs suite
Mentionable makes sense if:
- You only need AI visibility tracking, not a full SEO suite
- You want Claude and Grok coverage, which Ahrefs does not include
- You want AI-generated relevant prompts instead of browsing a database
- You need competitor intelligence, source tracking, and content opportunities in one tool
- You're a solopreneur or growing brand looking for a complete AI visibility stack under €80/month
Ahrefs and Mentionable both help brands understand their AI visibility. Ahrefs is a full SEO platform with Brand Radar as one feature among many, best suited for SEO teams that need the complete toolkit. Mentionable is a dedicated AI visibility platform with automatic prompt generation, competitor intelligence, source tracking, content opportunities, and AI traffic analytics, at a lower price point for teams focused specifically on AI visibility.
