Replacement Guide

How to Build Your Own Ahrefs

Replace Ahrefs with a custom build. All-in-one SEO toolset for competitive analysis and keyword research

Weekend Project
41 features25 integrationsOne weekend

Estimated Timeline

Based on 41 features at Weekend Project difficulty, expect about One weekend with AI-assisted development.

1
Setup & scaffolding
2 hours
2
Core features
4-6 hours
3
Polish & deploy
2 hours

Recommended Tech Stack

Next.js 14

Full-stack React framework with API routes and server components

Supabase

PostgreSQL database, auth, and real-time subscriptions

Tailwind CSS

Utility-first styling for rapid UI development

Key Features to Replicate

Top features across 8 categories. See all 41 features

Keyword Research(7 features)

Competitor Keyword GapsAIPremium

Identify high-value keywords competitors rank for that you haven't targeted.

Keyword Difficulty Score

Assess how hard it would be to rank for a keyword based on competitor analysis.

Keyword Explorer

Research keywords with search volume, difficulty, and opportunity metrics.

Keywords by Volume

Filter and analyze keywords by search volume ranges to find opportunity pockets.

Organic Keywords Report

View all organic keywords a domain ranks for with positions and traffic data.

+2 more in this category

Technical SEO(7 features)

Crawlability Issues

Identify pages blocked from crawling, noindex tags, and other indexation issues.

Duplicate Content Detection

Find duplicate and near-duplicate content across your site.

HTTPS Migration Check

Ensure proper HTTPS implementation and identify mixed content issues.

Internal Links Report

Analyze internal link structure and identify optimization opportunities.

Page Speed InsightsPremium

Monitor Core Web Vitals and page speed metrics affecting SEO rankings.

+2 more in this category

Link Analysis(3 features)

Anchor Text Analysis

Analyze anchor text distribution for a domain to understand link strategy.

Outgoing Links Report

Identify all external links from a domain with context and authority data.

Referring Domains

See all unique domains linking to a website with traffic and authority metrics.

Content Strategy(2 features)

Content Gap AnalysisPremium

Identify content topics your competitors rank for that you don't.

Parent Topic AnalysisAIPremium

Identify broader topics and subtopics to inform content strategy.

Link Building(2 features)

Broken BacklinksPremium

Find broken backlinks pointing to competitor sites to identify link-building opportunities.

Link IntersectPremium

Find websites linking to multiple competitors but not to your site.

Link Metrics(2 features)

Domain Rating

View domain authority metric indicating overall backlink profile strength.

URL Rating

Assess individual page authority based on its backlink profile.

Analysis Tools(1 features)

Batch AnalysisPremium

Analyze multiple URLs or domains simultaneously for efficient research.

Analytics Integration(1 features)

Organic Search InsightsPremium

View aggregated organic search performance across your entire domain.

Cost Calculator

Keep Paying Ahrefs

Monthly$99/mo
Yearly$1.2k/yr
5-Year Total$5.9k

Build It Yourself

Est. Build Time~3 hrs
Hosting$20/mo
DifficultyVery Easy

Total Cost Comparison

1 YearSave $948
SaaS
$1.2k
DIY
$240
3 YearsSave $2.8k
SaaS
$3.6k
DIY
$720
5 YearsSave $4.7k
SaaS
$5.9k
DIY
$1.2k

DIY hosting estimate based on Vercel + Supabase free/pro tiers (~$20/mo). Build time estimated from 41 features at very easy complexity.

Ready to Build?