Mangools is a clear example that an SEO platform doesn’t have to cost a fortune. However, many experts would tell you that it’s an entry-level service and not the best choice for pros and teams, which should look at a high-end software suite like Ahrefs. That’s why we decided to compare Ahrefs and Mangools in terms of features and pricing. Here’s what we discovered!
What Are Mangools and Ahrefs?
Mangools Overview (+ Pros and Cons)
Mangools is a newer SEO platform, considering that it entered the market in 2014. Today, it has over one million users, showing that user-friendly and affordable SEO tools can attract a large number of clients.
According to our Mangools vs Ahrefs review team, Mangools essentially has five core SEO tools. Those cover keyword research, rank tracking, SERP and backlink analysis, and a site profiler. Apart from a user-friendly interface, a modern design makes this platform very appealing.
Pros
- Affordable tool suitable for those on a tight budget
- A modern and user-friendly design
- Link profile strength and other unique metrics can be convenient for assessing different SEO areas quickly
- Works with Moz and Majestic to provide more extensive metrics in some areas
Cons
- Keyword suggestions could have more variety and depth
- Only basic rank-tracking options
To get a closer look at Mangools and its suite of SEO services, a detailed Mangools Review might offer valuable insights into its functionality, user experience, and overall value proposition.
Ahrefs Overview (+ Pros and Cons)
Ahrefs has been around since 2011 and has established itself as one of the SEO industry leaders. Numbers can speak for this platform, which has over 20.4 billion keywords, 35 trillion backlink records, and 14.2 billion pages in its database. It also has the most active SEO bot in the market – it crawls five million pages per minute.
Before choosing Ahrefs or Mangools, keep in mind that this platform has five core tools, including a site explorer, site audit, content explorer, rank tracker, and keyword explorer. Ahrefs is also the owner of the Yep search engine.
Pros
- Detailed metrics for keyword research, including organic and paid keyword information
- Interactive graphs with a high level of customization options
- Extensive backlink reports focusing on broken, internal, or other link types
- A comprehensive site audit that covers over 140 different technical SEO issues
Cons
- Quite expensive, especially for individuals
- It takes time to learn how to use all the features of the tool, particularly if you are a beginner
For an in-depth understanding of Ahrefs and its capabilities, consider exploring a comprehensive Ahrefs Review that delves into its features, usability, and how it stands out in the competitive SEO landscape.
Features Comparison
Keyword Research
Mangools
KWFInder is the official name of the tool you use to search for keywords in Mangools. There are options to enter a domain or seed phrase, as well as adjust location and language. The results will be available in seconds, and the overview shows a simple list of keywords collected from the database.
The keyword suggestion tabs have three sections – related keywords, autocomplete, and questions, with the first one shown immediately. If you click on other tabs, Mangools will take a few seconds to generate results. Questions seem relevant for the seed phrase, and the autocomplete section can offer inspirational suggestions when building a content strategy, especially for long tail phrases.
For each phrase, you can see statistics like the average monthly search volume, keyword difficulty, CPC, and the level of competition in PPC. Our Mangools comparison team notes that you can see the keyword interest growth. The metric shows the percentage of difference between the several months of existing data and the same months in the previous year. If you like any phrase from the list, you can click on the icon next to it to check the SERP.
Mangools allows importing keywords from text and CSV files, or you can insert phrases manually. It’s possible to create lists and see the history of search volumes. Those are all convenient features, but the overall impression is that the tool lacks some depth in portraying keyword data.
Ahrefs
It will only take using the Ahrefs Keyword Explorer once to understand how powerful this tool is. The platform doesn’t only cover over 20.4 billion keywords across 216 locations, but you can pick from nine different search engines, including all major players like Google, Bing, and Yahoo.
Our Ahrefs vs Mangools team notes that the results are available in seconds, and the overview page is extremely detailed. You can see the general keyword difficulty for the seed phrase, as well as details like global traffic volume and potential. The next part shows keyword ideas, which are divided across term matches, questions, also rank for, and also talk about sections.
You’ll find a position history graph on the overview page, and it’s even possible to add domains to compare results. Ahrefs also shows the ad position history and a quick SERP overview for the seed phrase. In the left-hand menu, you’ll find the keyword ideas section with links to matching terms, related terms, and search suggestions.
If you enter any of those sections, Ahrefs will generate a comprehensive list of keywords that fit the requirements. You can see exhaustive metrics ranging from the keyword difficulty and traffic volume to CPC and parent topic.
On the left, you’ll find groups of keywords based on terms and parent topics. Combined with excellent customization options in Ahrefs, that ensures you can easily find just the phrases you need. Our Ahrefs vs Mangools team notes that you can also browse traffic share reports by pages or domains. The statistics include the share percentage that each page/domain has for that keyword, as well as estimated monthly organic traffic and position.
Verdict
Ahrefs takes the win in the first Ahrefs vs Mangools comparison section since it has more comprehensive keyword research. You receive various phrase suggestions sorted into different categories and exhaustive data to learn more about each term. Mangools are considerably simpler, rendering them more suitable for beginners.
SERP Analysis
Mangools
Our Mangools vs Ahrefs review team tested the SERPChecker tool designed by Mangools. The platform requires entering the desired phrase and gives the option to focus on desktop or mobile results, as well as pick the location for the analysis. You’ll find the overview page containing general statistics like the number of results and keyword SEO difficulty, as well as an estimation of the SERP features impact on organic engagement.
Mangools will list the top-ranked pages for the chosen keyword. Apart from the basic page info, you’ll see the average click-through rate for each position. Our Mangools vs Ahrefs comparison team pinpoints that this platform uses a unique Link Profile Strength metric for each page. Other parameters like domain and page authority ratings are also there. As Mangools works with Majestic, it pulls citation and trust flow scores from its database. The final column specifies the number of Facebook shares to give you a better idea about social engagement.
Pay attention to the Metrics settings menu in the upper-right corner. Use it to pull extra metrics from Moz and Majestic. Those vary from the total number of links and Alexa ranking to MozTrust score and referring domains.
The drop-down menu you activate by clicking on three dots next to each page makes it simple to copy the URL and metrics. You can also click to find backlinks or see the URL profile, which transfers you to other Mangools tools. You can check the Google page results snapshot. It’s also possible to export results to CSV or save them as images.
Ahrefs
Ahrefs offers a SERP overview as a part of its keyword explorer tool. If you scroll down on the overview page, you’ll see a list of top-ranked pages for the chosen seed phrase. The platform will show the top ten results first and include extensive details about each page.
According to our Ahrefs vs Mangools team, the data ranges from the page and domain ratings to backlinks and referring domains and the page’s estimated traffic. You’ll also see the total number of keywords for the page, the top keyword, and its volume.
Ahrefs also allows comparing data to a previous date or location. The trick is that you can enter a different keyword so you can compare two seed phrases immediately. If both terms have similar results on the top pages, that means it’s better to combine them in a single page on your website.
Finally, our Ahrefs comparison team mentions that this platform has a free SERP checker. It’s a convenient option to receive a free SERP analysis and quickly check location-specific results. The information available isn’t nearly as expensive, but the plus side is you won’t have to use any credits.
Verdict
If you compare Mangools and Ahrefs, it’s better to use Mangools for SERP analysis. The platform works with Majestic and Moz, collecting important metrics from their databases. It also has a unique link profile strength parameter and shows the CTR for each page in the overview.
Rank Tracking
Mangools
Mangools went with the name SERPWatcher for its rank-tracking tool. It takes a minute to set the tracking parameters since it has two steps. The first one requires adding the domain, location, and desired device type, with the advanced settings also allowing you to enter your Google My Business listing name.
The second step involves adding keywords, which you can import or add from the KWFinder. You are now ready for the search, and our Ahrefs vs Mangools team mentions that the results will be available in seconds.
Mangools will display the visibility and performance index metrics from 0 to 100. These two parameters will quickly assess your website’s SEO ranking success. The next sections feature top gainers and losers, which ensures you can identify pages and keywords that recently had huge increases or drops.
The following part shows data about the estimated visits, which is a metric based on the average click-through rate (CTR) of the current SERP position for a particular keyword. You can also see the changes in keyword position flow and ranking distribution.
Our Ahrefs vs Mangools team found that you can pick a timeframe for showing data. Apart from customizing the date range, you can simply choose “last week,” “entire history,” and other shortcuts. The filter section allows including or excluding keywords, adjusting the targeted current position, search volume, and other filters.
Ahrefs
Ahrefs has a rank tracker that supports over 190 locations for desktop and mobile ranking. It allows importing keywords from text and CSV files or adding them manually. You can also connect to the Google Search Console to receive data older than 16 months from the current data.
But our Mangools vs Ahrefs team notes that the strongest feature of Ahrefs rank tracking is offering interactive graphs. They offer a quick and attractive way to visualize your SEO progress. The overview page will show the Share of Voice metric, which is the percentage of organic search traffic clicks heading to your site. You can also see total traffic, average position and SERP features, as well as ranking distribution. Each of these metrics can be visualized, and it’s possible to add notes.
Another strong suite of Ahrefs in the Mangools vs Ahrefs showdown is its coverage of ranking for SERP features. The platform covers 15 features ranging from featured snippets and tweets to videos, shopping results, and top stories. You can easily see your statistics and compare them to SERP results.
Data segmentation with Ahrefs is also impressive. You can see the performance by tagged keywords and check metrics like the average position, keywords, and ranking distribution. It’s easy to export data and customize the table.
Another note made by our Mangools vs Ahrefs team is that Ahrefs allows you to see the rank of your domain’s pages for the tracked keywords. It’s possible to compare your domain with the competitors in the key areas, such as positions, traffic, and SERP features.
Verdict
If you need Mangools or Ahrefs solely for rank tracking, there’s no dilemma: you should go with Ahrefs. The platform covers exhaustive ranking data for desktop and mobile devices and shows detailed metrics about SEO progress, including charts to visualize most information. Although Mangools has a few simplified unique metrics, it’s far from enough to compare with Ahrefs.
For those seeking different options beyond Mangools, exploring Mangools Alternatives can reveal a variety of SEO solutions that might better align with specific requirements or offer unique features not found in Mangools.
Backlink Analysis
Mangools
The basic settings in the Mangools LinkMiner include picking from analyzing all, new, or lost links and selecting whether you only want a single link per referring domain to be displayed. It shouldn’t take more than a minute for the results to be available.
Our Ahrefs vs Mangools team mentions that metrics like the citation and trust flows, the number of active backlinks and referring domains and IPs are available at the top of the page.
If you check out the table, you’ll see the list of links with detailed metrics. The information includes citation and trust flows, the number of external links and Facebook shares, and even the website’s popularity rank (Alexa rank) if it’s available. Mangools also offers a link strength rating, which is a simplified metric to show you the power of each backlink.
You can sort results by using any of these parameters. Quick filters also include picking from dofollow and nofollow links, while advanced filtering allows choosing minimum, maximum, or specific values for each parameter.
If you click on a backlink, a quick website preview will display on the right side. Our Mangools vs Ahrefs team mentions the loading time is fast, and this option is great if you want to learn more about that specific page. Mangools also allows exporting links for a specific domain or URL from the Export section. You can add backlinks to a favorites list in a separate section for future use.
Ahrefs
While comparing Mangools and Ahrefs, we discovered that Ahrefs offers backlink analysis as a part of its Site Explorer tool. Don’t let that discourage you because the data offered is still extensive. After you enter the domain and other settings, you get an overview page that offers basic backlink profile information. That includes domain and URL authority ratings and an overall number of backlinks and referring domains.
Once again, our Ahrefs vs Mangools team pinpoints that Ahrefs is great because of the chance to convert data into graphs to visualize it. You can pick metrics and the timeframe for showing the data, so it’s easy to get the info you need. In the right section, you’ll see the ratio of followed and not followed links, along with distribution by UR and DR scores.
That only scratches the surface because in-depth data is available once you enter the Backlinks section. You can pick whether to show one link per domain, all, new, or lost backlinks. The table will display DR and UR scores, domain and page traffic, and information about the target URL and anchor text.
While comparing Ahrefs and Mangools, we also noticed that Ahrefs offers a report on broken backlinks, which also displays the problem with the link, such as “404 not found.” Detailed reports are also available for internal links, anchors, and referring domains.
Ahrefs also has a Link Intersect tool as an option to identify links that your competitors have but you didn’t include. You can add multiple competitors and exclude your website to receive the desired results with this tool.
Verdict
Ahrefs offers detailed backlink analysis and reports from its Site Explorer tool, and that’s enough to have more data than Mangools. You can receive detailed information about anything from anchors to broken and internal links, making this tool suitable for advanced users. But while we are there, let’s say that Mangools and Ahrefs both do a decent job of backlink analysis, and Mangools can be a viable option if you don’t need very comprehensive data.
Comparison of Other Features
The general impression is that it’s hard to find a feature that at least one tool hasn’t covered. That’s why we’ll talk about the functions that we failed to mention so far, and we’ll start with Mangools:
- SiteProfiler. It’s the fifth core tool offered by Mangools. You can see a domain overview with page and domain authority, as well as citation and trust flow metrics. Estimated website popularity rank (Alexa rank), Facebook shares, and backlink profile info are also available. The final two sections include the top content by referring domains and Facebook shares and the list of potential competitors.
- Mangools SEO extension. It’s a free addition to Chrome and Firefox that allows performing on-page SEO analysis, checking the domain strength, and having other data offered by Mangools available in your browser.
- API. Mangools offers SERPChecker and KWFinder API that contains over 45 SEO metrics and other useful data. You can connect the API to an internal or online tool or use it for data processing.
We have to be honest and say that other features aren’t Mangools’ strongest suit in this Ahrefs vs Mangools review. As for Ahrefs, here’s what you get:
- Site Audit. As a core tool, it’s very exhaustive, especially since it scans your website for over 140 issues. Detailed reports on internal page issues are available, and a high level of customization ensures you can explore this comprehensive data easily.
- Content Explorer. The idea is to identify the best-performing content in your industry and find potential link prospects. Ahrefs allows filtering results based on numerous metrics, ranging from page traffic value to word count and social shares.
- SEO toolbar and WordPress plugin. The toolbar is available for Firefox and Chrome and allows checking websites and pages for many Ahrefs metrics from the browser. WordPress plugin can audit your content and suggest enhancement actions for each page.
If you’re considering alternatives to Ahrefs to broaden your SEO toolkit, investigating a list of Ahrefs Alternatives could provide you with a range of comparable tools that cater to diverse needs and preferences.
Price Comparison
Mangools
You can create a Mangools account for free, and the platform will award you with increased limits for the first ten days. The premium plans available are as follows:
- Entry. You get 50 tracked keywords daily and 50 keyword suggestions per search for $29 monthly.
- Basic. The price is $49 monthly and includes 200 tracked keywords daily and 200 keyword suggestions per search.
- Premium. For $69 monthly, you receive 700 tracked keywords daily and unlimited keyword suggestions.
- Agency. This plan also includes unlimited keyword suggestions and 1,500 tracked keywords daily for $129 monthly.
Annual payments will save you approximately 35%, and it’s worth noting that Mangools also has a 48-hour money-back guarantee.
Ahrefs
We’ll proceed with our Mangools pricing vs Ahrefs pricing comparison by discussing the premium plans of Ahrefs:
- Lite. For $99 monthly, you receive 750 tracked keywords with a weekly update frequency and up to 2,500 data rows per report.
- Standard. It costs $199 monthly and includes 2,000 tracked keywords with a weekly update frequency and 30,000 data rows per report.
- Advanced. You receive 5,000 tracked keywords with a weekly update frequency and 75,000 data rows per report for $399 monthly.
- Enterprise. The plan includes 10,000 tracked keywords with a weekly update frequency and 150,000 maximum data rows per report for $999 monthly.
You get two months for free if you pay for Ahrefs annually. Some free webmaster tools are available, but there’s no free trial.
Verdict
Mangools is clearly the more affordable tool, and the first impression is that it’s the winner of the Ahrefs pricing vs Mangools pricing comparison. However, you shouldn’t neglect the core difference between the two SEO services. Mangools is an entry-level tool primarily tailored for beginners and not-so-advanced users, while Ahrefs is a high-end platform more suitable for teams and professionals, so both tools seem to be priced accordingly.
Alternative to Ahrefs and Mangools
SE Ranking
Ahrefs and Mangools are SEO tools worth trying, but they aren’t the only platforms in the market. The selection is impressive, and SE Ranking stands out as the best alternative for these two services. A simple description would be that it offers considerably more affordable pricing than Ahrefs while providing significantly more features than Mangools.
SE Ranking offers detailed keyword research tools with an extensive list of suggestions that go beyond related terms and offer categories like “questions” and “low search volume.” It can perform a detailed backlink analysis and allows adding links for continuous monitoring.
The platform is famous for its accurate rank tracking that covers Google, Bing, and Yahoo. You can also use competitive analysis tools and SERP checker.
SE Ranking even goes beyond the capabilities of Ahrefs and Mangools. It has an AI-powered content assistant to create new and optimize existing texts and local marketing tools that allow monitoring ranks and replying to reviews from a single dashboard. The pricing starts at $55 monthly, but you can save with annual payments. There’s also an option to try SE Ranking for 14 days, and all it takes is to register a new account.
Conclusion
It’s hard to look beyond Ahrefs as the better choice in the Ahrefs vs Mangools showdown. Simply put, it’s one of the best SEO tools in the market. You’ll have exhaustive data, interactive graphs and other useful info available for everything from keyword research to rank tracking and a site audit.
That being said, Mangools is a much more affordable option. At the price, it can be a good choice for individual website owners, beginners, and even smaller teams. It ultimately depends on how much you are ready to pay for an SEO service – Ahrefs costs significantly more, but it also offers a lot more than Mangools.