Manifold
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Ahrefs MCP alternative

Keyword research, rankings, backlinks and site audits from Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor, paid per call. No Ahrefs plan and no API units to buy.

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The tools your agent gets

What each tool returns, and what a call costs.

SEO tools in the docs

  • Get keyword ideas

    Candidate keywords around a seed, with volume, difficulty, intent, CPC and trend for each.

    seo_search_keywordsFrom 5 credits

  • Check keyword metrics

    Volume, difficulty, intent, CPC and 12-month trend for keywords you already have, with AI-engine prompt volume on request.

    seo_get_keyword_metricsFrom 5 credits

  • Get a domain's ranked keywords

    Keywords a domain or one page ranks for in the top 100, with position, URL and metrics.

    seo_get_ranked_keywordsFrom 5 credits

  • Find keyword gaps

    Keywords one competitor ranks for in the top 100 that the target does not rank for at all.

    seo_get_keyword_gapFrom 5 credits

  • Get backlinks

    Individual backlinks pointing at a domain or page, strongest referring domain first.

    seo_get_backlinksFrom 10 credits

  • Get referring domains

    Domains linking to a target, one row per domain, with the rank each passes, link counts and spam score.

    seo_get_referring_domainsFrom 10 credits

  • Get a domain overview

    Traffic estimate, ranked keyword count, position spread, top pages and domain rank for one domain.

    seo_get_domain_overviewFrom 15 credits

  • Find search competitors

    Domains that share search results with a target, with how many keywords overlap.

    seo_get_serp_competitorsFrom 5 credits

  • Run a technical audit

    Crawl a site for technical SEO issues.

    seo_run_technical_crawlFrom 5 credits

Things to ask

Plain questions in any connected client. The agent picks the tools.

  • Which keywords does our competitor rank for that we don’t? [competitor.com]

  • List the domains linking to our competitor, strongest first.

  • What is this domain’s authority, traffic and top pages? [domain]

  • Find keyword ideas around “expense tracking” with volume and difficulty.

  • Which pages on our site lost rankings, and for what?

  • Audit this site for broken links and missing titles. [site]

The questions you ask Ahrefs, without the plan

Ahrefs’ own MCP server is hosted and draws on the monthly API units of an Ahrefs plan, Lite or higher. Manifold answers the same kinds of questions from DataForSEO’s index and charges per call. To set up Ahrefs’ own server instead, follow our guide to the Ahrefs MCP.

Ahrefs MCPAhrefs in the browserManifold
Needs an Ahrefs planLite or higherYesNo
Keywords, rankings and gapsYesYesYes
Backlinks and referring domainsYesYesYes
Ahrefs’ own index and DRYesYesNo, DataForSEO’s
Social, Reddit and leads beside itNoNoYes
How you payPlan’s monthly unitsMonthly planPer call

Pay per call. Start free.

One balance pays for every tool, with nothing else to subscribe to. Every account gets 250 free credits a month, and an answer already in the cache costs 25% of the price or less.

Get keyword ideas
From 5 credits
Check keyword metrics
From 5 credits
Get a domain's ranked keywords
From 5 credits
The same answer again, from the cache
25% or less
Get 250 free creditsPlans and pricingHow credits work

On the same server

The same server URL and credit balance reach every source. Switch off what you don’t need.

All MCP servers

Questions about the Ahrefs MCP alternative

Is it the same data as Ahrefs?

No. Manifold’s SEO tools run on DataForSEO, whose index and scores differ from Ahrefs’. Its domain rank runs from 0 to 1,000, the same kind of number as Ahrefs’ DR on a different scale.

Do I need an Ahrefs account?

No. You spend credits from one Manifold balance, which also covers AI answers, Reddit, social and leads.

Which Ahrefs features does it cover?

Keyword ideas and metrics, rank tracking by lookup, keyword gaps, backlinks and referring domains, domain overviews and technical site audits. SEO tools in the docs

Which clients does it work with?

Claude, Claude Code, ChatGPT, Codex, Cursor, Gemini CLI, Grok, OpenCode and any other client that connects to a remote MCP server. Sign in with OAuth, or use an API key from the dashboard for scripts. Setup guides for every client

What does it cost?

Per call, in credits, with the price stated before your agent calls. A repeat of a recent call costs a fraction of the price. Plans and pricing

See it in use

  • 4 min read

    Check your backlink profile with your AI agent

    Ask your agent how many sites link to you, which links pass authority and which look like spam. A real run on our own domain, with what it found.

Further reading

  • 10 min read

    Ahrefs MCP: set up Ahrefs' official server

    Ahrefs MCP connects your agent to Ahrefs' data: keywords, backlinks, competitors, rank tracking and site audits. This guide covers the plans that include it, setup in Claude, Claude Code, ChatGPT and Cursor, how units are spent, and the fixes for common errors.

  • 18 min read

    The best SEO MCP servers, compared

    Looking for the best SEO MCP server? Here are 13 compared: Ahrefs, Semrush, SE Ranking, Serpstat, DataForSEO, OpenSEO, a Search Console server, Screaming Frog, SEO Review Tools, ContextBolt, SEOmatic, BlogSEO and Manifold, with what each costs, how it connects, and which one fits your workflow.

Ready to grow?

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