Ahrefs VS Semrush
As of 4 November 2026, Semrush is named by 1,815 companies and Ahrefs by 1,486; Ahrefs skews to companies under 200 people (67% vs 64%), Semrush to companies over 1,000 (13% vs 10%).
As of 4 November 2026 · refreshed daily · counts move as websites, DNS and career sites are re-read.
The website-and-DNS footprint is not comparable between a marketing suite and a CRM: Ahrefs's script and mail records show on hundreds of thousands of small sites, Semrush rarely leaves a trace outside its own apps. Compare on the job-posting numbers; use the footprint for reach.
- Ahrefs: 2–200 employees
- 67%
- Semrush: 2–200 employees
- 64%
- Ahrefs: 1,000+ employees
- 10%
- Semrush: 1,000+ employees
- 13%
- Postings per company, 90 days
- 3.1 · 2.8
- Website or DNS footprint
- 40,025 · 0
Who chooses which
Share of each tool's companies in every segment. "Leans" marks a gap of more than two points.
| Segment | Ahrefs | share | Semrush | share | Leans |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Self-employed | 108 | 7% | 89 | 5% | Ahrefs |
| 2-10 employees | 264 | 18% | 286 | 16% | Ahrefs |
| 11-50 employees | 409 | 28% | 506 | 28% | even |
| 51-200 employees | 317 | 21% | 374 | 21% | even |
| 201-500 employees | 163 | 11% | 222 | 12% | even |
| 501-1000 employees | 80 | 5% | 111 | 6% | even |
| 1001-5000 employees | 91 | 6% | 124 | 7% | even |
| 5001-10000 employees | 19 | 1% | 41 | 2% | even |
| 10,001+ employees | 35 | 2% | 62 | 3% | even |
| Segment | Ahrefs | share | Semrush | share | Leans |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Business & finance services | 630 | 42% | 741 | 41% | even |
| Technology & software | 483 | 33% | 568 | 31% | even |
| Media & content | 106 | 7% | 92 | 5% | Ahrefs |
| Consumer services & leisure | 59 | 4% | 87 | 5% | even |
| Commerce & trade | 56 | 4% | 83 | 5% | even |
| Manufacturing & industry | 56 | 4% | 103 | 6% | even |
| Property & construction | 29 | 2% | 35 | 2% | even |
| Health care | 18 | 1% | 21 | 1% | even |
| Hospitality & travel | 13 | 1% | 21 | 1% | even |
| Public, community & associations | 12 | 1% | 21 | 1% | even |
| Automotive | 7 | 0% | 16 | 1% | even |
| Transport, logistics & rental | 7 | 0% | 13 | 1% | even |
| Segment | Ahrefs | share | Semrush | share | Leans |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | 721 | 49% | 908 | 50% | even |
| India | 144 | 10% | 179 | 10% | even |
| United Kingdom | 107 | 7% | 141 | 8% | even |
| Germany | 105 | 7% | 82 | 5% | Ahrefs |
| France | 41 | 3% | 63 | 3% | even |
| Netherlands | 34 | 2% | 36 | 2% | even |
| Canada | 33 | 2% | 53 | 3% | even |
| Poland | 30 | 2% | 18 | 1% | even |
| Australia | 26 | 2% | 32 | 2% | even |
| United Arab Emirates | 25 | 2% | 29 | 2% | even |
| Spain | 16 | 1% | 23 | 1% | even |
| Singapore | 13 | 1% | – | – | outside top 12 |
| Italy | – | – | 27 | 1% | outside top 12 |
| Segment | Ahrefs | share | Semrush | share | Leans |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marketing & communications | 5,155 | 92% | 5,736 | 90% | Ahrefs |
| Software engineering | 38 | 1% | 66 | 1% | even |
| Sales | 33 | 1% | 85 | 1% | even |
| Data & AI | 30 | 1% | 40 | 1% | even |
| Product, program & project management | 28 | 1% | 48 | 1% | even |
| Arts media and entertainment | 20 | 0% | 19 | 0% | even |
| Unclassified | 15 | 0% | 21 | 0% | even |
| Customer service & success | 10 | 0% | 9 | 0% | even |
| Design & UX | 7 | 0% | 8 | 0% | even |
| Business development & strategy | 6 | 0% | 19 | 0% | even |
| Social care and community | 5 | 0% | 3 | 0% | even |
| Human resources | 3 | 0% | 4 | 0% | even |
| Finance & accounting | 2 | 0% | 1 | 0% | even |
| General management & consulting | 2 | 0% | 5 | 0% | even |
| Healthcare clinical | 2 | 0% | 2 | 0% | even |
| Quality, safety & environment | 2 | 0% | 1 | 0% | even |
| Education & training | 1 | 0% | 3 | 0% | even |
| Engineering (non-software) | 1 | 0% | 1 | 0% | even |
| Real estate and property | – | – | 5 | 0% | outside top 12 |
| IT operations & business systems | – | – | 1 | 0% | outside top 12 |
| Retail & store operations | – | – | 1 | 0% | outside top 12 |
| Travel, leisure & events | – | – | 1 | 0% | outside top 12 |
The companies behind each column
Companies using Ahrefs →
Companies using Semrush →
seo tools ranked →
Quote the sentence with the date and the link. The numbers change daily; the link always shows the current ones.
Semrush is named by 1,815 companies in job postings and Ahrefs by 1,486; 1,464 name both. (Breaknorm, 4 November 2026, https://breaknorm.co/compare/ahrefs-vs-semrush)
Read from the source, not self-reported
Every number on this page can be traced to a page we crawled or a posting we read. Full methodology →
- Job postingsRead hourly from career sites. A tool counts when the employer's own text names it as the team's system; both tools can count for one company.
- Website and DNSScripts and embeds on the company's pages, plus SPF, DKIM, MX and CNAME records of its domain that point at the vendor.
- SegmentsCountry, size and industry from the company profile built from its website.
- Not a reviewNo ratings, prices or feature claims. For those, read the vendors.
Ahrefs vs Semrush: questions
Which is more used, Ahrefs or Semrush?
By companies naming it in their own job postings, Semrush (1,815) over Ahrefs (1,486). By website-and-DNS footprint, Ahrefs (40,025 vs 0), because its scripts and mail records sit on many small company sites.
Who chooses Ahrefs?
67% of Ahrefs companies have 2 to 200 employees, against 64% for Semrush. 10% of Ahrefs companies have over 1,000 employees, against 13% for Semrush.
Do companies run both?
1,464 companies name both in their postings, usually Ahrefs in marketing and Semrush in sales, or during a migration.
Where do these numbers come from?
From the employer's own text in job postings read hourly from career sites, and from scripts found on company websites in our crawl. No vendor data, no surveys.
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