Ahrefs Affiliate Program
ClosedMajor SEO platform with no public affiliate program — it closed the program and has said it will not reopen it.
We do not currently earn commission from this program. Outbound links carry our UTM tags only. Full disclosure.
Quick answer
No. Ahrefs does not run a public affiliate program. It closed the program years ago and has publicly stated it has no plans to reopen it. CMO Tim Soulo has explained the reasoning: billing-side technical debt made affiliate tracking expensive to maintain, and roughly 3% of affiliates were generating around 90% of the leads, so Ahrefs moved to negotiating individual sponsorship deals with top partners instead.
Closed to all affiliates. Ahrefs negotiates individual sponsorship arrangements with selected partners instead of running an open program.
Program overview
Ahrefs sells one of the most widely used SEO toolsets, covering backlink analysis, keyword research, rank tracking and site audits. It does not run a public affiliate program. This record exists because "Ahrefs affiliate program" remains a high-volume search, and the honest answer saves people a long hunt for a signup page that does not exist.
Pros and limitations
Limitations
- There is no program to join
- Content targeting "Ahrefs affiliate program" cannot be monetised through Ahrefs itself
Program change history
Recorded changes to this program's terms. Older values are kept so you can see the direction of travel.
status activeclosed
Ahrefs confirmed it had closed the program and had no plans to reopen it. The program originally launched in 2011 with a 20% lifetime commission.
Editor's notes
Ahrefs is the clearest "high-demand, no program" case in this dataset. Several affiliate directories still list commission rates for Ahrefs; those rates refer to a program that closed years ago.
Sources and verification
Frequently asked questions
Does Ahrefs have an affiliate program in 2026?
No. Ahrefs closed its affiliate program and has stated publicly that it does not plan to reopen it. There is no signup page and no commission is paid.
Why did Ahrefs close its affiliate program?
Ahrefs cited two reasons publicly. Its evolving pricing tiers, add-ons and payment processors created technical debt on the billing side that made affiliate tracking a maintenance burden. And because roughly 3% of affiliates drove about 90% of leads, it concluded that individual sponsorship deals with those partners made more sense than an open program.
What should I promote instead of Ahrefs?
Semrush and SE Ranking both run open programs in the same category. Semrush pays a one-time bounty of up to $450 per sale with a 120-day cookie; SE Ranking pays a recurring percentage. Both are covered in the SEO category of this directory.
Similar affiliate programs
Open programs in the same category, ranked by how closely their commission structure and audience match Ahrefs.
