Semrush AI Visibility Toolkit vs Ahrefs Brand Radar
If you already pay for an SEO suite, this is the comparison that matters. Both Semrush and Ahrefs now sell AI visibility on top of their core plans.
Facts from vendor pages checked 2026-10-17; our hands-on tests are not done yet, so nothing here is a test result.
| Semrush AI Visibility Toolkit | Ahrefs Brand Radar | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | $99/mo (25 tracked prompts) | $50/mo custom prompts add-on (needs paid Ahrefs plan); Index from $199/mo |
| Free trial | No | unknown |
| Refresh | Daily (Brand Performance weekly) | Custom prompts daily/weekly/monthly; index re-tested monthly |
| Engines | ChatGPT, Google AI Mode, others: unknown | AI Overviews, AI Mode, ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, Copilot, Claude (custom prompts) |
Our verdict (from published data)
Ahrefs is cheaper to add ($50/mo for custom prompts, but it needs a paid Ahrefs plan) and brings a 485M+ prompt index plus YouTube and Reddit source data. Semrush's $99/mo toolkit adds an AI Visibility Score and an AI search site audit. Stick with the suite you already have.
Who should pick which
- Ahrefs customers: Brand Radar custom prompts.
- Semrush customers: the AI Visibility Toolkit or Semrush One.
- Researchers who want market-wide data: Ahrefs' prompt index (from $199/mo).
Sources: Semrush AI Visibility Toolkit · Ahrefs Brand Radar
FAQ
Do I need an Ahrefs plan for Brand Radar?
Yes. The $50/mo custom prompts add-on requires a paid Ahrefs plan.
Which covers more engines?
Ahrefs lists 7 including Claude for custom prompts. For Semrush, we could only confirm ChatGPT and AI Mode.