Does Ahrefs Have an Affiliate Program? (2026 Honest Answer)
Hello guys, welcome back to my blog. Today I am going to answer a question a lot of my readers ask me – does ahrefs have an affiliate program? I see this question a lot in Facebook groups and Reddit also, so I thought let me research it properly and give you guys a clear answer. In this post I will tell you what happened to the Ahrefs affiliate program, why it is not there anymore, and what other options you have if you want to earn money by promoting SEO tools. So lets get into it.
So, Does Ahrefs Have an Affiliate Program in 2026?
No, if you ask me directly, Ahrefs does not have an affiliate program right now. They used to run one before, but they closed it down. I know this might be surprising because almost every SaaS tool these days runs an affiliate program, but Ahrefs is a bit different company, and I will explain why below.
I personally think this is a bold move by them, because affiliate programs usually bring a lot of new customers for free. But Ahrefs decided the extra sign ups was not worth the trust they was losing.
Why Did Ahrefs Close Its Affiliate Program?
This part is actually pretty interesting. Tim Soulo, who is the CMO of Ahrefs, explained the whole reason on his LinkedIn post, and I read it myself to write this section.
His main point was, affiliate programs push people to write biased content. When bloggers get paid commission for every sign up, they naturally write “Best SEO Tool” lists that favor the tool paying more, not the tool that is actually best for the reader. I have seen this myself on so many blogs, honestly it is a real problem in this industry.
Because of this, Ahrefs felt their own brand reputation was getting affected by low quality, paid for reviews all over the internet. So they took the decision to shut down the affiliate program completely, even though it was bringing them customers.
I think this is a smart long term move. A tool like Ahrefs already have a strong reputation in the SEO world, so protecting that trust matters more then quick growth from affiliate links.
Quick Facts About Ahrefs and Affiliates
Here is a simple table so you can see the key facts at a glance.
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Does Ahrefs have an affiliate program now | No |
| Did Ahrefs have one before | Yes, it was closed down |
| Who explained the reason | Tim Soulo, CMO of Ahrefs |
| Main reason for closing | To stop biased “best tool” content written just for commission |
| Company type | Independent, bootstrapped, since 2011 |
| Free way to use Ahrefs | Ahrefs Webmaster Tools |
What About Other “Ahrefs Affiliate” Pages You See Online?
Now here is something I want to warn you guys about. If you search “Ahrefs affiliate program” on Google, you will still find some websites talking about it or even claiming to be part of it. Some of these are just old articles that never got updated, and some are third party sites that are not actually run by Ahrefs at all.
So my honest advice is, do not trust any site asking you to sign up for an “Ahrefs affiliate program” and pay something or share personal details. Always check the official Ahrefs website directly if you are not sure about anything related to their programs.
What Can You Do Instead of Ahrefs Affiliate?
If your goal was to earn money by promoting SEO tools, do not worry, you still have options. A lot of other tools in the same space do have active affiliate or partner programs. For example, Semrush runs its own affiliate program, and so do many hosting and SEO plugin companies.
Also, Ahrefs does have a free Affiliate Marketing Course on their Academy, which teaches you how affiliate marketing works in general. It is a bit ironic if you ask me, they teach affiliate marketing but do not run their own program anymore. But honestly the course itself is good and free, so I think it is worth checking out.
FAQ
Q: Does Ahrefs have an affiliate program? A: No, Ahrefs does not have an affiliate program anymore. They closed it a while back.
Q: Why did Ahrefs remove its affiliate program? A: According to Tim Soulo, CMO of Ahrefs, they closed it because it was leading to biased, paid for “best tool” content that hurt trust with readers.
Q: Can I still find Ahrefs affiliate links online? A: You might find old or third party pages claiming this, but they are not officially run by Ahrefs, so I would not trust them.
Q: Is there any way to earn from Ahrefs at all? A: Not directly through affiliate commission, but you can take their free affiliate marketing course to learn the skill in general.
Q: Which SEO tools have affiliate programs if Ahrefs does not? A: Tools like Semrush run active affiliate programs, so that could be a good alternative if this matters to you.
Final Words
So guys, this was my honest answer on does ahrefs have an affiliate program question. Short answer is no, they closed it down, and the reason behind it actually make sense once you understand it. I have tried to cover why they closed it, what to watch out for online, and what you can do instead. Keep on visiting my blog for more honest and simple answers like this one.
