vioscaleAI
Comparison

Ahrefs vs Screaming Frog SEO Spider

No clear leader: Screaming Frog SEO Spider (55.8) and Ahrefs (52.4) are within the 5-point margin; treat as a tie. The attribute-by-attribute breakdown below, with a source and date on every value, is the honest way to compare them.

Ahrefs full profile →Screaming Frog SEO Spider full profile →
Machine formatsMarkdownJSONGraphQLMarkdown is open. JSON and GraphQL need a free key.
Ahrefs52
Screaming Frog SEO Spider56
Score
vioscaleAI score
Ahrefs52 / 100medium · 55%
Screaming Frog SEO Spider56 / 100medium · 50%
Pricing
Free tier
Ahrefs✓
Screaming Frog SEO Spider✓
Model
Ahrefsfreemium
Screaming Frog SEO Spiderfreemium
Price level
Ahrefslow
Screaming Frog SEO Spiderhigh
Transparent
Ahrefs✗
Screaming Frog SEO Spider✓
Integrations
Count
Ahrefs3
Screaming Frog SEO Spider3
Security
Iso27001
Ahrefs✓
Screaming Frog SEO Spider–
Soc2
Ahrefs✓
Screaming Frog SEO Spider–
Trust center
Market
Availability
Content
Faq
Ahrefs7 items
Screaming Frog SEO Spider5 items

Capabilities

Feature-by-feature on the axes that matter for seo tools. “-” means undocumented, not absent.

Pricing
Pricing transparency
AhrefsContact-sales
Screaming Frog SEO SpiderTransparent
Free tier / free tool
Ahrefs✓
Screaming Frog SEO Spider✓
Pricing model
Ahrefs-
Screaming Frog SEO SpiderFlat
Data
Backlink index
Ahrefs✓
Screaming Frog SEO Spider-
Keyword research database
Ahrefs✓
Screaming Frog SEO Spider-
Capability
Rank tracking
Ahrefs✓
Screaming Frog SEO Spider-
Technical site audit / crawler
Ahrefs✓
Screaming Frog SEO Spider✓
Content optimisation (SERP-driven)
Ahrefs✓
Screaming Frog SEO Spider-
Competitor / SERP intelligence
Ahrefs✓
Screaming Frog SEO Spider-
Coverage
Local / mobile SERP support
Ahrefs✓
Screaming Frog SEO Spider-
Countries / locales covered
AhrefsNot specified
Screaming Frog SEO Spider-
Integration
Public API
Ahrefs✓
Screaming Frog SEO Spider-
Search Console / GA4 integration
Ahrefs✓
Screaming Frog SEO Spider✓
Deployment
Deployment
AhrefsCloud
Screaming Frog SEO SpiderDesktop app

What each one is

The product in its own terms, so the numbers below have context.

Ahrefs

Platform that combines artificial intelligence with a comprehensive web index to provide marketing reports, competitive analysis, automated workflows, and real-time monitoring capabilities for SEO and brand visibility.

Independently observed

Screaming Frog SEO Spider

Desktop software that crawls websites to identify over 300 SEO issues and opportunities. Helps analyze and improve both technical SEO performance and user experience, with integration capabilities for Google Analytics and Search Console.

Independently observed

Pricing

List pricing as published by each vendor, with the date we read it. Always verify at the source before you buy.

Ahrefs

Free tier
as of verify ↗

Screaming Frog SEO Spider

from £199/moSubscriptionFree tier

Free tier (500 URLs) or £199/year for unlimited crawls and advanced features

  • FreeFree
    • Crawl up to 500 URLs
    • Identify SEO issues
    • Find broken links
    • Audit redirects
    • Analyze page titles and metadata
    • +4 more
  • Paid License£199 per year
    • Unlimited URL crawls
    • All free features
    • Advanced features
    • Extract data with XPath and CSS selectors
    • Crawl JavaScript-rendered websites
    • +2 more
as of verify ↗

Platform & deployment

Where each product runs and how it can be hosted. A dash means undocumented, not unsupported.

Platforms
Web
Ahrefs✓
Screaming Frog SEO Spider✗
macOS
Ahrefs✗
Screaming Frog SEO Spider✓
Windows
Ahrefs✗
Screaming Frog SEO Spider✓
Linux
Ahrefs✗
Screaming Frog SEO Spider✓
Deployment
Cloud / SaaS
Ahrefs✓
Screaming Frog SEO Spider✗
Self-hosted
Ahrefs✗
Screaming Frog SEO Spider✓

Integrations

What each product connects to. Counts come from the vendor's own integration directory where one exists.

In common (2)
  • Google Search Console
  • Google Analytics

Ahrefs

6 total - 4 not shared
  • Google Analytics 4
  • Data Studio
  • IndexNow
  • Google Business Profile
Independently observed

Screaming Frog SEO Spider

3 total - 1 not shared
  • PageSpeed Insights
Independently observed
Still deciding?

Ahrefs or Screaming Frog SEO Spider: which one depends on you

A composite score cannot know your constraints. Describe them and both get re-weighted against what you actually need, with the evidence behind every position.

Free to run, no account needed to start. How the evaluation works

Comparison generated from independently-sourced facts. Every value links to its source and retrieval date. See the method.