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Semrush vs Ahrefs

The comparison behind most SEO tool budgets.

Semrushsemrush.com

Public transparency

22/100FBand F

Rank 20 of 47 in SEO tools

F

  1. Data processing agreement: not found
  2. Subprocessor list: not found
  3. Data location stated: not found
  4. Status page with history: not found
  5. Public pricing: found
  6. Certifications named: not found
  7. Uptime SLA with a figure: not found
  8. HTTPS enforced with HSTS: found
  9. No third-party tracking before consent: not found
  10. security.txt (RFC 9116): not found
  11. Notice before subprocessors change: not found
  12. Named privacy contact: found

Checked 2026-10-1312 checks

26point difference2differing criteria

Ahrefsahrefs.com

Public transparency

48/100DBand D

Rank 1 of 47 in SEO tools

D

  1. Data processing agreement: found
  2. Subprocessor list: not found
  3. Data location stated: found
  4. Status page with history: not found
  5. Public pricing: found
  6. Certifications named: not found
  7. Uptime SLA with a figure: not found
  8. HTTPS enforced with HSTS: found
  9. No third-party tracking before consent: not found
  10. security.txt (RFC 9116): not found
  11. Notice before subprocessors change: not found
  12. Named privacy contact: found

Checked 2026-10-1112 checks

2 differences out of 12 criteria we could measure for both, last measured 2026-10-13. They match on 10 of the 12 criteria we could measure for both.

No change recorded in these results since 2026-09-11. We compare every new measurement with the one before it; one that finds the same thing is not a change.

Public transparency score, not a product or security rating. This page compares what these two vendors publish, not what their products do.

Prepare your vendor review

A source is a starting point. Check the product, plan, legal entity and date before treating it as evidence for your purchase. These questions do not change the transparency score.

Semrush

3 found · 9 not found · 0 not measured across 12 public checks.

12 of 12 criteria have a measured result from the last 30 days. Oldest dated result: 2026-10-13.

Investigate 9 open evidence questions
  1. Data processing agreement

    Please share the current data processing agreement for the product and plan we are considering, including its annexes and signing process.

    Inspect this check
  2. Subprocessor list

    Which subprocessors apply to our product, what does each process, and in which countries? Please share the current list.

    Inspect this check
  3. Data location stated

    Which locations apply to our primary data, backups and support access? Which region can we select for this plan?

    Inspect this check
  4. Status page with history

    Where can we review incident history for the service we will use, and how do we subscribe to incident updates?

    Inspect this check
  5. Certifications named

    Please share the current certificate or audit report and its scope, covered legal entity, products and validity period.

    Inspect this check
  6. Uptime SLA with a figure

    Which availability commitment applies to our plan? Please include the measurement window, exclusions and credit claim process.

    Inspect this check
  7. No third-party tracking before consent

    Which third-party requests occur before a visitor makes a choice, and for what purpose? Please distinguish the public website from the product.

    Inspect this check
  8. security.txt (RFC 9116)

    Where should we report a vulnerability, and what acknowledgement and follow-up process should we expect?

    Inspect this check
  9. Notice before subprocessors change

    How will you notify us before a subprocessor changes, with how much notice, and what response options apply to our contract?

    Inspect this check

Ahrefs

5 found · 7 not found · 0 not measured across 12 public checks.

12 of 12 criteria have a measured result from the last 30 days. Oldest dated result: 2026-10-11.

Investigate 7 open evidence questions
  1. Subprocessor list

    Which subprocessors apply to our product, what does each process, and in which countries? Please share the current list.

    Inspect this check
  2. Status page with history

    Where can we review incident history for the service we will use, and how do we subscribe to incident updates?

    Inspect this check
  3. Certifications named

    Please share the current certificate or audit report and its scope, covered legal entity, products and validity period.

    Inspect this check
  4. Uptime SLA with a figure

    Which availability commitment applies to our plan? Please include the measurement window, exclusions and credit claim process.

    Inspect this check
  5. No third-party tracking before consent

    Which third-party requests occur before a visitor makes a choice, and for what purpose? Please distinguish the public website from the product.

    Inspect this check
  6. security.txt (RFC 9116)

    Where should we report a vulnerability, and what acknowledgement and follow-up process should we expect?

    Inspect this check
  7. Notice before subprocessors change

    How will you notify us before a subprocessor changes, with how much notice, and what response options apply to our contract?

    Inspect this check

Criterion by criterion

CriterionSemrushAhrefs
Data processing agreement Not found, 8 addresses checkedChecked 2026-10-13
8 addresses
  1. https://semrush.com/legal/dpa – reached, no match (HTTP 404)
  2. https://semrush.com/dpa – reached, no match (HTTP 404)
  3. https://semrush.com/legal/data-processing-agreement – reached, no match (HTTP 404)
  4. https://semrush.com/data-processing-agreement – reached, no match (HTTP 404)
  5. https://semrush.com/legal/data-processing-addendum – reached, no match (HTTP 404)
  6. https://semrush.com/legal/gdpr – reached, no match (HTTP 404)
  7. https://semrush.com/trust/dpa – reached, no match (HTTP 404)
  8. https://semrush.com/privacy/dpa – reached, no match (HTTP 404)
 FoundChecked 2026-10-11
Source
  1. https://ahrefs.com/legal/data-processing-addendum
Data location stated Not found, 7 addresses checkedChecked 2026-10-13
7 addresses
  1. https://semrush.com/security – reached, no match (HTTP 404)
  2. https://semrush.com/trust – reached, no match (HTTP 404)
  3. https://semrush.com/legal/privacy – reached, no match (HTTP 404)
  4. https://semrush.com/privacy – reached, no match (HTTP 404)
  5. https://semrush.com/privacy-policy – reached, no match (HTTP 200)
  6. https://semrush.com/compliance – reached, no match (HTTP 404)
  7. https://semrush.com/legal/privacy-policy – reached, no match (HTTP 404)
 FoundChecked 2026-10-11
Source
  1. https://ahrefs.com/legal/privacy-policy
Subprocessor list Not found, 7 addresses checkedChecked 2026-10-13
7 addresses
  1. https://semrush.com/legal/subprocessors – reached, no match (HTTP 404)
  2. https://semrush.com/subprocessors – reached, no match (HTTP 404)
  3. https://semrush.com/sub-processors – reached, no match (HTTP 404)
  4. https://semrush.com/legal/sub-processors – reached, no match (HTTP 404)
  5. https://semrush.com/trust/subprocessors – reached, no match (HTTP 404)
  6. https://semrush.com/privacy/subprocessors – reached, no match (HTTP 404)
  7. https://semrush.com/legal/subprocessor-list – reached, no match (HTTP 404)
 Not found, 7 addresses checkedChecked 2026-10-11
7 addresses
  1. https://ahrefs.com/legal/subprocessors – reached, no match (HTTP 404)
  2. https://ahrefs.com/subprocessors – reached, no match (HTTP 404)
  3. https://ahrefs.com/sub-processors – reached, no match (HTTP 404)
  4. https://ahrefs.com/legal/sub-processors – reached, no match (HTTP 404)
  5. https://ahrefs.com/trust/subprocessors – reached, no match (HTTP 404)
  6. https://ahrefs.com/privacy/subprocessors – reached, no match (HTTP 404)
  7. https://ahrefs.com/legal/subprocessor-list – reached, no match (HTTP 404)
Status page with history Not found, 3 addresses checkedChecked 2026-10-13
3 addresses
  1. https://status.semrush.com/ – The name "status.semrush.com" could not be resolved.
  2. https://semrush.com/status – reached, no match (HTTP 404)
  3. https://semrush.com.statuspage.io/ – Could not be fetched: fetch failed.
 Not found, 3 addresses checkedChecked 2026-10-11
3 addresses
  1. https://status.ahrefs.com/ – reached, no match (HTTP 404)
  2. https://ahrefs.com/status – reached, no match (HTTP 404)
  3. https://ahrefs.com.statuspage.io/ – Could not be fetched: fetch failed.
Public pricing FoundChecked 2026-10-13
Source
  1. https://www.semrush.com/pricing/seo-ai-search/
 FoundChecked 2026-10-11
Source
  1. https://ahrefs.com/pricing
HTTPS enforced with HSTS FoundChecked 2026-10-13
Source
  1. https://semrush.com/
 FoundChecked 2026-10-11
Source
  1. https://ahrefs.com/
No third-party tracking before consent Not found, 1 address checkedChecked 2026-10-13
1 address
  1. https://semrush.com/ – third-party requests before any interaction: ade.googlesyndication.com, cdn.cookiehub.eu, consent-eu.cookiehub.net, cookiehub.net, fonts.googleapis.com, fonts.gstatic.com, pagead2.googlesyndication.com, region1.google-analytics.com, streaming.bi.owox.com, us-east4-centering-land-727.cloudfunctions.net, widget.intercom.io, www.googletagmanager.com
 Not found, 1 address checkedChecked 2026-10-11
1 address
  1. https://ahrefs.com/ – third-party requests before any interaction: cdn-cookieyes.com, directory.cookieyes.com, log.cookieyes.com, o4509816303976448.ingest.us.sentry.io, static.cloudflareinsights.com, www.googletagmanager.com
Notice before subprocessors change Not found, 8 addresses checkedChecked 2026-10-13
8 addresses
  1. https://semrush.com/legal/subprocessors – reached, no match (HTTP 404)
  2. https://semrush.com/subprocessors – reached, no match (HTTP 404)
  3. https://semrush.com/sub-processors – reached, no match (HTTP 404)
  4. https://semrush.com/legal/dpa – reached, no match (HTTP 404)
  5. https://semrush.com/dpa – reached, no match (HTTP 404)
  6. https://semrush.com/legal/data-processing-agreement – reached, no match (HTTP 404)
  7. https://semrush.com/trust/subprocessors – reached, no match (HTTP 404)
  8. https://semrush.com/legal/sub-processors – reached, no match (HTTP 404)
 Not found, 8 addresses checkedChecked 2026-10-11
8 addresses
  1. https://ahrefs.com/legal/subprocessors – reached, no match (HTTP 404)
  2. https://ahrefs.com/subprocessors – reached, no match (HTTP 404)
  3. https://ahrefs.com/sub-processors – reached, no match (HTTP 404)
  4. https://ahrefs.com/legal/dpa – reached, no match (HTTP 404)
  5. https://ahrefs.com/dpa – reached, no match (HTTP 404)
  6. https://ahrefs.com/legal/data-processing-agreement – reached, no match (HTTP 404)
  7. https://ahrefs.com/trust/subprocessors – reached, no match (HTTP 404)
  8. https://ahrefs.com/legal/sub-processors – reached, no match (HTTP 404)
Certifications named Not found, 6 addresses checkedChecked 2026-10-13
6 addresses
  1. https://semrush.com/security – reached, no match (HTTP 404)
  2. https://semrush.com/trust – reached, no match (HTTP 404)
  3. https://semrush.com/trust-center – reached, no match (HTTP 404)
  4. https://semrush.com/compliance – reached, no match (HTTP 404)
  5. https://semrush.com/legal/security – reached, no match (HTTP 404)
  6. https://trust.semrush.com/ – The name "trust.semrush.com" could not be resolved.
 Not found, 6 addresses checkedChecked 2026-10-11
6 addresses
  1. https://ahrefs.com/security – reached, no match (HTTP 404)
  2. https://ahrefs.com/trust – reached, no match (HTTP 404)
  3. https://ahrefs.com/trust-center – reached, no match (HTTP 404)
  4. https://ahrefs.com/compliance – reached, no match (HTTP 404)
  5. https://ahrefs.com/legal/security – reached, no match (HTTP 404)
  6. https://trust.ahrefs.com/ – reached, no match (HTTP 200)
Uptime SLA with a figure Not found, 6 addresses checkedChecked 2026-10-13
6 addresses
  1. https://semrush.com/legal/sla – reached, no match (HTTP 404)
  2. https://semrush.com/sla – reached, no match (HTTP 404)
  3. https://semrush.com/legal/service-level-agreement – reached, no match (HTTP 404)
  4. https://semrush.com/trust/sla – reached, no match (HTTP 404)
  5. https://semrush.com/uptime – reached, no match (HTTP 404)
  6. https://semrush.com/legal/uptime-sla – reached, no match (HTTP 404)
 Not found, 6 addresses checkedChecked 2026-10-11
6 addresses
  1. https://ahrefs.com/legal/sla – reached, no match (HTTP 404)
  2. https://ahrefs.com/sla – reached, no match (HTTP 404)
  3. https://ahrefs.com/legal/service-level-agreement – reached, no match (HTTP 404)
  4. https://ahrefs.com/trust/sla – reached, no match (HTTP 404)
  5. https://ahrefs.com/uptime – reached, no match (HTTP 404)
  6. https://ahrefs.com/legal/uptime-sla – reached, no match (HTTP 404)
security.txt (RFC 9116) Not found, 1 address checkedChecked 2026-10-13
1 address
  1. https://semrush.com/.well-known/security.txt – reached, no match (HTTP 404)
 Not found, 1 address checkedChecked 2026-10-11
1 address
  1. https://ahrefs.com/.well-known/security.txt – reached, no match (HTTP 404)
Named privacy contact FoundChecked 2026-10-13
Source
  1. https://www.semrush.com/company/legal/privacy-policy/
 FoundChecked 2026-10-11
Source
  1. https://ahrefs.com/legal/privacy-policy

Differences first, then by weight. A cross is what we found at the addresses we checked on that date, not a statement about what either vendor has.

The full labels

Every criterion with its weight, and the band each vendor lands in.

Transparency labelsaas-ranking.com

Semrush

semrush.com · SEO tools

  1. A
  2. B
  3. C
  4. D
  5. E
  6. F
F 22of 100 Rank 20 of 47

Published commitments2 of 9 found

Measured behaviour1 of 3 found

Checked 2026-10-13. Every line links the page we found it on. A cross means we found nothing at the addresses we checked, not that the vendor has no such document. A transparency score, not a product rating.

Transparency labelsaas-ranking.com

Ahrefs

ahrefs.com · SEO tools

  1. A
  2. B
  3. C
  4. D
  5. E
  6. F
D 48of 100 Rank 1 of 47

Published commitments4 of 9 found

Measured behaviour1 of 3 found

Checked 2026-10-11. Every line links the page we found it on. A cross means we found nothing at the addresses we checked, not that the vendor has no such document. A transparency score, not a product rating.

Take it with you

Both vendors in one file, with every address we checked and every sentence we read, for a procurement file.

Use your current quotes in the SaaS cost calculator to add a cost comparison to this evidence review.

The address carries nothing but the two vendors: no filter, no sort order, nothing about you.

Keep going

The order of the two names is the order of our editorial list. It is not a ranking, and no vendor pays to appear here or to appear first. See how we measure.