Semrush MCP vs Ahrefs MCP: which gives a small site the most SEO data for the money?

An MCP server doesn't hand Claude a vendor's data for free. The plan behind it decides what Claude can pull and how much, so the cheapest server is usually the one on a plan you already pay for. For a small site that pays for no SEO suite, that changes the math.

• A small site paying neither suite: superagnt. No SEO-suite seat, plans from $49 a month, and the calls a small site makes in a month cost cents (worked out below). The same install also finds leads and work emails.
• You already pay Ahrefs: Ahrefs MCP. Ahrefs includes it on Lite, Standard, Advanced and Enterprise, so it costs you nothing extra.
• You already pay Semrush: Semrush MCP. Semrush's docs say the Claude app spends units from your Semrush API subscription with no additional Claude fees.

Two details the table can't hold. Ahrefs' $29 Starter plan and Ahrefs Free are listed on its pricing page without API or MCP access, which starts at Lite. And Semrush's MCP docs sell larger unit packages of 2 million, 5 million, 10 million or 20 million units without printing their prices.

Here is what three of superagnt's SEO calls cost in our own workspace on 2026-10-28. They are one day's bills, not a rate card: a call that returns more rows costs more, and the SEO API reference lists the price of every operation.

1. 01

   The habit

   Once a week, the site checks one competitor's ranked keywords, pulls one backlink summary and runs a 15-keyword overview. Four weeks make a month.

2. 02

   The arithmetic

   4 x (2.376 + 4.326 + 2.484) = 4 x 9.186 = 36.744 credits, about $0.37.

3. 03

   What the site pays

   The Starter plan, $49 a month, which includes $20 of data credits. The month's calls use about $0.37 of that.

The same month on Ahrefs MCP starts with Lite at $129 a month (Ahrefs pricing, checked 2026-10-28). On Semrush MCP it starts with one of the four plans its docs list; we print no price because we did not capture Semrush's pricing page that day. Neither suite's MCP is priced per call: both spend units from the plan's allowance. Semrush's docs say each request consumes units "depending on the type of report and the amount of data requested", so a heavier month on either suite can use far more than this example.

Ahrefs MCP

Ahrefs runs a hosted server at https://api.ahrefs.com/mcp/mcp for accounts on Lite or higher, and lists a Claude connector plus setup guides for Claude Web, Desktop, Mobile and Claude Code. Its MCP page pitches keyword research, competitor traffic over time and backlink audits for any site.

• Connecting shows an authorization screen, then creates an API key tagged for MCP. Ahrefs' docs say keys made this way default to a limit of 200,000 API units a month per key.
• MCP calls spend API units the same way direct API calls do, and the plan caps rows per request: 100 on Lite, 250 on Standard, 500 on Advanced.
• Ahrefs says using the MCP endpoint from custom scripts or bridges is not permitted; for code, it points to its public API.

Semrush MCP

Semrush's server lives at https://mcp.semrush.com/v2/mcp and signs you in with OAuth by default, or an API key in the Authorization header. Per its developer docs, it covers all of Semrush's SEO API, the read-only methods of its Projects API, and the Trends API at your Trends subscription level.

• In Claude: Customize, Connect your apps, search Semrush, Connect, then Approve on Semrush's permission screen. Tag @Semrush in a chat to use it.
• In Claude Code: claude mcp add semrush https://mcp.semrush.com/v2/mcp -t http, then /mcp, pick Semrush MCP and Authenticate.
• Its discovery tools include domain_overview, organic_research, keyword_research, competitors_research and backlinks_research (Semrush docs).

superagnt

superagnt is one MCP endpoint, https://mcp.superagnt.com/mcp, with its SEO data tools for ranked keywords, keyword volumes, backlinks and live search results on any domain. The same endpoint carries a Google Search Console server for your own site at 0 credits per Search Console call, and the tools that find leads and work emails.

1. 01

   Add the connector

   Open the prefilled Add custom connector dialog on claude.ai. One connector covers Claude on the web, Claude Desktop and Cowork.

2. 02

   Approve

   Click Add, then approve on the superagnt consent screen. It creates your superagnt account if you don't have one.

3. 03

   Ask

   Ask: "Show the top 10 keywords example.com ranks for, then its backlink summary."

Free Claude plans can add one custom connector; on Team and Enterprise, an owner adds it under Organization settings, Connectors (Anthropic). Claude Code, Codex and Cursor setup is in the connect docs.

These are public posts on Reddit and X, quoted exactly and picked to show the complaints that come up most about each suite. They are not reviews and not a survey. We checked them on 2026-10-28. Where superagnt has an answer to a complaint, it follows the quotes; where it doesn't, we say nothing for it.

Ahrefs MCP: the price for a solo site, and units that run out

On price: superagnt needs no SEO-suite seat. It starts at $49 a month on Starter, and the month of weekly lookups above used about $0.37 of the plan's included data credits.

On units: superagnt's credits are a monthly allowance too, so a heavy month can use them up. What's different is that each call's cost is in cents you can read: a backlink summary for one domain cost 4.326 credits on 2026-10-28, and the SEO API reference prices every operation.

Semrush MCP: plan tier limits, and the interface

On tier limits: superagnt has no SEO tier to climb. Every plan has every capability (Starter at $49, Growth at $149 and Scale at $399 a month), the tiers set scale only, and each call is charged from the plan's credits: a ranked-keywords lookup for one domain cost 2.376 credits on 2026-10-28.

• You already pay Ahrefs or Semrush. Their MCP server comes with the plan, so connect it and spend the units you already have.
• You need a suite's history and depth. Ahrefs keeps 6 months of history on Lite, 2 years on Standard and 5 years on Advanced (Ahrefs pricing), and Semrush's MCP reaches its paid search and Trends traffic data. superagnt doesn't claim to match either.

We read Ahrefs' pricing page, its SEO MCP page and its MCP docs, and Semrush's MCP page and its MCP developer docs (last updated October 16, 2026), all on 2026-10-28. Every Ahrefs and Semrush fact above links to the page it came from. We did not capture Semrush's pricing page that day, so this page prints no Semrush price. superagnt's plan prices come from its billing catalog, and the three call charges from our own credits ledger on 2026-10-28.

We did not test Ahrefs MCP or Semrush MCP hands-on. superagnt is our product.