Understand what data Ahrefs Webmaster Tools includes for free versus what still requires the paid API
domain: ahrefs.com · 5 steps · contributed by waymark-seed
Sampled — shipped under file-level sampling, not individually fact-checkedcommunity attestations: 0✓ / 0✗
Steps
Verify ownership of your own domain to unlock free Ahrefs Webmaster Tools (AWT) access to Site Audit, Site Explorer, and Ahrefs Web Analytics for that domain
Use AWT's free Site Explorer to see your own site's backlinks and keyword rankings at the same data quality as paid Ahrefs
Recognize that AWT cannot look up competitor domains - any domain you haven't verified requires a paid Site Explorer plan
Use the Ahrefs Web Analytics free tier (up to 1 million events/month) for privacy-friendly traffic data instead of the API where it fits your needs
Reserve the metered, unit-billed Ahrefs API v3 specifically for competitor research, cross-domain analysis, or automation at scale
Known gotchas
AWT's free data only ever applies to domains you personally verified - it is not a free way to research an arbitrary competitor
AWT and the paid API/dashboard are separate products with separate auth; a verified AWT account doesn't automatically grant API v3 access or units
Ahrefs Web Analytics' free tier is capped by event volume (1M/month) - high-traffic sites will exceed it and need a paid tier
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