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Ahrefs VS Google Search Console

Compare Ahrefs VS Google Search Console and see what are their differences

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Ahrefs logo Ahrefs

Ahrefs is a toolset for SEO and marketing. We have tools for backlink research, organic traffic research, keyword research, content marketing & more. Give Ahrefs a try!

Google Search Console logo Google Search Console

Google Webmaster Tools provides you with detailed reports about your pages' visibility on...
  • Ahrefs Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-10-11

Ahrefs is trusted by SEOs and marketing professionals worldwide as the ultimate toolset for SEO, powered by industry-leading data. Ahrefs crawls the web, stores tons of data and makes it easily accessible via a simple user interface. The data can be used to aid keyword research, link building, content marketing and SEO strategies. Ultimately, the tool helps to accelerate the growth of organic search traffic to a website.

  • Google Search Console Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-04-28

Ahrefs features and specs

  • Comprehensive Data
    Ahrefs offers extensive data on backlinks, keywords, and site audits, allowing users to make well-informed decisions on their SEO strategies.
  • User-Friendly Interface
    The platform has an intuitive and easy-to-navigate interface, making it accessible for both beginners and experienced SEO professionals.
  • Accurate Backlink Analysis
    Ahrefs is known for its accurate and up-to-date backlink data, which is crucial for comprehensive SEO analysis and strategy development.
  • Robust Keyword Research
    The keyword research tools in Ahrefs provide detailed information and insights, helping users to identify valuable keywords for their content.
  • Site Audit Capabilities
    Ahrefs' site audit feature helps identify and fix on-site SEO issues, improving overall website health and performance.
  • Continuous Updates
    Ahrefs frequently updates its database and introduces new features, ensuring users have access to the latest SEO tools and data.
  • Competitive Analysis
    The platform allows users to analyze competitor websites in-depth, giving insights into their strategies and helping to identify opportunities.

Possible disadvantages of Ahrefs

  • High Cost
    Ahrefs is relatively expensive compared to other SEO tools, which may be a barrier for small businesses or individual users with limited budgets.
  • Learning Curve
    Despite its user-friendly interface, the vast array of features and data can initially be overwhelming for new users, requiring time to master.
  • Limited Access in Basic Plan
    The lower-tier plans limit access to certain data and features, potentially necessitating an upgrade to higher-cost plans for full functionality.
  • No Free Trial
    Ahrefs does not offer a free trial, which can make it challenging for potential users to fully assess its value before committing to a subscription.
  • API Limitations
    Access to the API is restricted and may not be comprehensive enough for advanced users requiring extensive data integration capabilities.
  • Occasional Data Gaps
    Despite frequent updates, there may occasionally be gaps or delays in data, particularly for niche or emerging markets.
  • Limited Customer Support Options
    Customer support is mainly provided via email, which might not be sufficient for urgent issues or users preferring instant support options like live chat.

Google Search Console features and specs

  • Free to Use
    Google Search Console is entirely free, allowing website owners and marketers to use its comprehensive tools without incurring additional costs.
  • Comprehensive Insights
    Provides detailed reports on search traffic, indexing status, and website performance, helping users make informed decisions.
  • Performance Tracking
    Allows users to track their website’s search performance, providing metrics such as clicks, impressions, and average position.
  • Indexing Management
    Enables users to submit sitemaps and individual URLs for crawling, ensuring that new and updated content is indexed more quickly.
  • Security Features
    Alerts users about potential security issues like hacking and malware, enabling quick action to protect the website and its users.
  • Mobile Usability
    Offers insights into mobile usability issues, helping users optimize their sites for better mobile user experience.
  • Link Analysis
    Provides detailed data on inbound and internal links, helping users understand their link profile and identify potential improvements.
  • Search Appearance
    Helps users understand how their website appears in search results and offers advice on optimizing structured data.

Possible disadvantages of Google Search Console

  • Data Delays
    There is often a delay in data updates, sometimes up to 48 hours, which can affect timely decision-making.
  • Limited Historical Data
    Stores performance data for only the last 16 months, which can be restrictive for long-term analysis.
  • Complexity
    The extensive array of tools and reports can be overwhelming for beginners and requires a learning curve to use effectively.
  • No Real-Time Data
    Unlike some other analytics tools, Google Search Console does not provide real-time data, limiting instant insights.
  • Reliance on Google
    Being a Google product, the data and tools are tailored to Google's search engine, which may limit the scope if optimizing for other search engines is needed.
  • Limited Analytics Integration
    While it integrates with Google Analytics, the integration is not very deep, sometimes requiring manual correlation of data.

Ahrefs videos

+ Add

Ahrefs Review and Tutorial: Is This The Only SEO Tool You Need?

More videos:

  • Review - Ahrefs Review | FatRank Ahref Testimonial
  • Tutorial - How to Use Ahrefs Tool - Best Premium SEO Tools [2019]

Google Search Console videos

+ Add

Google Search Console Tutorial - Google Webmasters Tools Tutorial

More videos:

  • Review - Google Search Console Review - Beginners Guide PREVIEW by Bizversity.com
  • Review - Monitoring Rich Results in Search Console - Google Search Console Training

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Ahrefs and Google Search Console)

Ahrefs

Google Search Console

SEO Tools
90 90%
SEO Tools
10% 10
SEO
90 90%
SEO
10% 10
Content Marketing
90 90%
Content Marketing
10% 10
AI
100 100%
AI
0% 0

User comments

Share your experience with using Ahrefs and Google Search Console. For example, how are they different and which one is better?
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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Ahrefs and Google Search Console

Ahrefs Reviews

  1. Cyra Brown
    · Owner at Beginu ·
    Excellent for discovering low competition keywords

    I've enjoyed using Ahrefs to inform content creation due to their keyword explorer being so useful for finding low difficulty keywords. I do prefer the legacy version of their site explorer in comparison to the new format so I hope that they do not retire certain elements of the platform.

    🏁 Competitors: SEMRush
The 16 Best Moz Alternatives for Every Budget 
Unlike competitors, Ahrefs doesn’t offer a free trial. To start using Ahrefs, you must purchase the Lite plan for $129.
Source: trafficthinktank.com
10 SE Ranking Alternatives in 2025 [Free and Paid]
Users appreciate Moz Pro for its user-friendly design and accurate rank tracking, making it accessible to both beginners and experienced marketers. However, some users feel it lacks the depth in backlink analysis offered by tools like Ahrefs, which may limit its appeal for those focusing on link-building.
Source: www.madx.digital
10 Moz Pro Alternatives in 2025 [Free and Paid]
Starting at $129/month, Ahrefs is slightly more expensive than Moz Pro but offers advanced features that justify the investment. For users who require detailed backlink data and in-depth SEO analysis, Ahrefs is a top choice.
Source: www.madx.digital
The best alternatives to SE Ranking in 2024
But all this comes at a price. Ahrefs is quite expensive, especially considering that even with a subscription, its use is not unlimited. At the beginning of each month, you are allocated a number of credits, which varies depending on the plan, and these credits are depleted as you use many of its features. And believe me, the credits run out faster than you realize.
Source: dinorank.com
Top 6 Moz Competitors In 2024: A Detailed Review
Furthermore, Ahrefs excels in providing users with in-depth backlink data. It helps to uncover new link-building opportunities and analyze competitors’ backlink strategies. Its user-friendly interface and accurate data make it a favorite among SEO professionals.
Source: www.flyingvgroup.com

Google Search Console Reviews

Free SEO Tools To Improve Your Rankings
Better Google Search Console Insights Free services that connect to your Google Search Console (GSC) data and get you better reports on keywords, content ideas, ranking opportunities & recommendations, check for keyword cannibalization, and more. Make the best of Google's Search Console.
Source: www.megaleechers.com
9 Free Keyword Research Tools (That CRUSH Google Keyword Planner)
Google Search Console helps you track your website’s performance in organic search. This means it shows a lot of data about the keywords that you already rank for.
Source: ahrefs.com
73 Best SEO tools 2021 – The Most Epic List You Shouldn’t Miss
Google Search Console is a web service by Google, provided free of charge for webmasters, which allows them to check indexing status and optimize visibility of their websites.
Source: blog.linkody.com

Social recommendations and mentions

Ahrefs might be a bit more popular than Google Search Console. We know about 121 links to it since March 2021 and only 109 links to Google Search Console. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Ahrefs mentions (121)

  • Domain Rating vs Domain Authority: What's the Difference? (2025 Guide)
    Domain Rating is a proprietary metric developed by Ahrefs that measures the strength of your website's backlink profile. - Source: dev.to / 2 months ago
  • AI-Generated Content That Ranks: Anatomy of a Page That Works
    I’ve manually reviewed dozens of these winners using Ahrefs, SERP screenshots, and side-by-side structure comparisons. And patterns started to emerge — repeatable markers of content that works, even if it was AI-assisted. - Source: dev.to / 3 months ago
  • Generating Content with ChatGPT
    I’ve been using the most excellent ARefs site to get information about how good the on-page SEO is for many of my sites. Every couple of weeks, ARefs crawls the site and will give me a list of suggestions of things I can improve. And for a long time, I had been putting off dealing with one of the biggest issues – because it seemed so difficult. - Source: dev.to / 4 months ago
  • How We Marketed a Niche SaaS Product with Zero Budget: 9 Strategies That Actually Worked
    Pro tip: Use Ahrefs or Ubersuggest to find long-tail gold. - Source: dev.to / 4 months ago
  • Ask HN: How to Get Good at SEO?
    I recently "launched" my product by mentioning it across Twitter and Discord which led some traffic to it. However, that is not a long-term strategy. I have heard about Ahrefs: https://ahrefs.com/, but I don't want to spend $129 right now since I'm not sure whether the ROI on it would be worth it. Are there any strategies or tips you might be able to share? - Source: Hacker News / 5 months ago
View more

Google Search Console mentions (109)

  • Increasing Your Website Authority (DA, DR & AS Explained)
    Use Google Search Console or Semrush Backlink Audit to monitor and disavow toxic links. - Source: dev.to / 9 days ago
  • How to Increase Site Traffic Without Paid Ads
    Many people believe traffic means going viral. That’s a myth. What matters more is consistent relevance. Even 200 monthly visitors who read two pages and sign up for your newsletter are more valuable than 10,000 who bounce in 5 seconds. Use tools like Google Search Console to find queries you’re already showing up for - and improve those pages. Study your bounce rates. Tweak intros. Rephrase subheadings.... - Source: dev.to / 2 months ago
  • SEO Considerations When Launching a Website Redesign
    Identify old URLs using Google Search Console or a site crawler like Screaming Frog. - Source: dev.to / 5 months ago
  • Is Your Website Stuck in the Past? Here’s What You Might Be Missing in 2025!
    Need help with SEO? Tools like Yoast SEO or Google Search Console can make a huge difference! - Source: dev.to / 7 months ago
  • How I optimized my blog images using Rust
    Since I learned a bit more about SEO and about Google Search Console I decided to check my blog's performance and see what I can do to improve it. Submitted my sitemap and ran a performance check and even if performance was at 100/100 I saw that the images were not optimized. - Source: dev.to / 8 months ago
View more

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Ahrefs and Google Search Console, you can also consider the following products

SEMRush - All-in-one Marketing Toolkit for digital marketing professionals.

Moz - Backed by industry-leading data and the largest community of SEOs on the planet, Moz builds tools that make inbound marketing easy.

SE Ranking - All-in-One cloud-based SEO software for agencies, marketing teams and webmasters

SimilarWeb - SimilarWeb.com is a website analysis tool that gives you analytics information for any website.

Serpstat - Serpstat is the Swiss army knife for automating SEO processes. With a suite of powerful modules, you can track your performance, analyze your competitors, research keywords and backlinks, audit your website, and so much more.

SEO PowerSuite - Get all SEO tools in one pack - download free edition of SEO PowerSuite and get top 10 rankings for your site on Google and other search engines!

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