Ahrefs SEO Toolbar vs SEOquake: Free Feature Head-to-Head 2026
Both are free, both are powerful — but they solve different problems. Here's exactly where each tool wins and which to install first.
Ahrefs: best technical SEOSEOquake: best free SERP overlay
Bottom line
Install both. They don't compete — they complement. Ahrefs Toolbar wins on technical SEO (redirect tracing, link checking, on-page audits). SEOquake wins on free SERP analysis (authority scores, traffic estimates, CSV export — all without an account or paywall). Together they cover every common SEO workflow for zero cost.
Full Feature Comparison
Feature
Ahrefs Toolbar
SEOquake
On-page SEO audit
✓ Full (free)
✓ Full (free)
SERP overlay
Paid only
✓ Full (free)
Authority metric (free)
✗ DR/UR paid only
✓ Semrush AS (free)
Traffic estimates (free)
✗ Paid only
✓ Free
Redirect tracer
✓ Full chain
✗
Broken link checker
✓
✗
HTTP header reader
✓
✗
Country/language switcher
✓ 170+ countries
Via SEOquake settings
CSV export of SERP data
✗
✓ Free
Keyword density report
✗
✓ Free
Index status checker
✗
✓ Free
Firefox support
✓
✓
Safari support
✓
✗
No account required
✓ Full free features
✓ Full free features
Use Ahrefs Toolbar when…
Tracing redirect chains on a site
Finding and highlighting broken links
Reading HTTP response headers
Running a technical on-page SEO report
Checking Core Web Vitals
On Safari (SEOquake doesn't support it)
Use SEOquake when…
Analysing competitor authority in Google results
Exporting SERP data to a spreadsheet (CSV)
Checking how many backlinks top results have
Running a keyword density analysis on a page
Checking index status of a URL
Getting age and Whois data on a domain
The Recommendation
If you can only install one: install Ahrefs Toolbar first for its technical SEO capabilities (redirect tracer alone is worth it). Then add SEOquake for SERP analysis when you need it. Toggle SEOquake off during regular browsing to avoid SERP clutter.
Frequently Asked Questions
They serve different purposes. Ahrefs wins for technical SEO (redirects, broken links, HTTP headers). SEOquake wins for free SERP data (authority, traffic, backlinks, CSV export). Professional SEOs install both.
Yes. They don't conflict technically, though both showing SERP overlays simultaneously clutters the results. Keep Ahrefs on by default; toggle SEOquake on for SERP analysis sessions.