Cancel Ahrefs Subscription

Want to cancel your Ahrefs subscription? You can cancel directly through your Ahrefs account dashboard, whether you're on the Lite, Standard, Advanced, or Agency plan.

There is no App Store or Google Play version of Ahrefs billing, since Ahrefs is a browser-based SEO toolset, so every cancellation happens on ahrefs.com itself. This guide explains the exact cancellation steps for both individual and team accounts, what to check before you cancel, what happens to your data afterward, and whether you can get your money back.

Before You Cancel Ahrefs Subscription

Before you go through the cancellation flow, it helps to check a few things so you don't lose access unexpectedly or get charged again.

Check your renewal date: Ahrefs shows your next billing date inside Billing and then Subscriptions. Cancelling even one day after renewal means you've already been charged for the next cycle.

Confirm who owns the account: If you're on an Agency or Team plan, only the workspace owner or an admin with billing permissions can cancel the subscription. If you're a regular team member, you won't see the Cancel Subscription option.

Check for unused PAYG credits: Report credits, export rows, crawl credits, and API units are prepaid and expire on a rolling three-month cycle. These do not carry over or get refunded after cancellation, so use them up if you can before your plan ends.

Decide between cancelling and downgrading: If you still need basic rank tracking or site audit data for your own verified website, downgrading to Ahrefs Webmaster Tools, the free tier, might suit you better than a full cancellation.

How to Cancel Ahrefs Subscription (Step-by-Step)

There is one primary cancellation path for individual accounts, and a slightly different flow for team or agency workspaces.

How to Cancel Ahrefs Through the Website

This is the standard method and works for individual Lite, Standard, and Advanced plan subscribers.

Step 1: Log in to your Ahrefs account: Go to ahrefs.com and sign in with your registered email address and password.

Step 2: Open Account Settings: Click your profile icon or workspace name in the top right corner of the Ahrefs Dashboard, then select Account Settings from the dropdown.

Step 3: Go to Billing, then Subscriptions: In the left sidebar under the Workspace section, click Billing. Inside the Billing page, open the Subscriptions tab to see your active plan and its status.

Step 4: Click Cancel Subscription: Find your active plan and click the Cancel Subscription button directly below it. Ahrefs may ask you a quick reason for leaving, this feedback step is optional and does not block the cancellation.

Step 5: Confirm cancellation: A popup titled Cancel Subscription will appear. Click Proceed to Cancel to finish. You'll receive a confirmation email shortly after.

How to Cancel Ahrefs on a Team or Agency Workspace

If you manage a workspace with multiple seats, the flow is nearly identical but requires admin-level access.

Step 1: Log in using an account that has billing admin permissions for the workspace.

Step 2: Go to Account Settings, then Billing, then Subscriptions, exactly as above.

Step 3: Select the specific workspace subscription you want to cancel, since agencies sometimes run more than one active plan.

Step 4: Click Cancel Subscription and confirm through the popup.

Step 5: Notify your team members, since their seat access will end when the billing cycle closes, not immediately.

What Happens After You Cancel Ahrefs Subscription?

Once you cancel, your Ahrefs subscription does not stop instantly. You keep full access to premium features, including Site Explorer, Keywords Explorer, Content Explorer, and Rank Tracker, until the last day of your current billing cycle. This applies whether you're on a monthly or annual plan.

After that date, your account automatically downgrades to Ahrefs Webmaster Tools, the free tier. On this tier, you retain limited access to rank tracking and site audit for domains you own and have verified, but lose access to competitor research tools, backlink data at scale, and Keywords Explorer.

Your historical reports and project data are generally preserved for a limited period after downgrade, so if you resubscribe within that window, you may not lose everything. However, this retention period is not guaranteed indefinitely, so export any reports you need before cancelling if you plan to stay on the free tier long term.

Any unused PAYG credits, such as report credits or export rows, do not carry over and are not refunded once your subscription ends.

Does Deleting Your Ahrefs Account Cancel the Subscription?

This is a common point of confusion, and it's worth being precise about. Deleting or deactivating your Ahrefs login does not automatically cancel an active subscription. If you close your browser tab, stop logging in, or even remove your saved email from autofill, Ahrefs will still charge your card on the next billing date unless you've gone through the actual cancellation flow in Billing and Subscriptions.

The only way to stop future charges is to explicitly click Cancel Subscription and confirm it through the popup, as covered in the steps above. If you're on a team workspace, leaving the workspace as a member also does not cancel the underlying billing, since that sits with the workspace owner or admin.

Ahrefs Refund Policy

This is one of the most searched questions related to Ahrefs cancellation, and the honest answer is that refunds are limited. According to Ahrefs' own pricing page, the company does not issue refunds in general. 

For monthly subscriptions specifically, you can request a refund only if you have not used the service at all during that billing period. Ahrefs reserves the right to decline the request if it sees any material account activity, such as running a Site Explorer report, exporting data, or using PAYG credits.

Annual plans are effectively non-refundable once the billing cycle begins, regardless of usage. If you're on a yearly subscription and considering cancellation, the only way to avoid being charged for the next term is to cancel before your renewal date, since partial-year refunds are not offered.

If you believe you were charged in error, such as after already cancelling, contact Ahrefs support directly through their live chat or by emailing their support team from your account's registered email address, rather than disputing the charge with your bank first.

How to Know Your Ahrefs Subscription Is Canceled

After completing the cancellation steps, it's worth confirming that everything went through correctly, especially if you're managing a client account or an agency workspace.

Check for the confirmation email: Ahrefs sends a cancellation confirmation to your registered email address shortly after you confirm the popup. If you don't see it within a few minutes, check your spam folder.

Check the Subscriptions tab: Go back to Billing, then Subscriptions. Your plan should now show a status indicating it will not renew, along with the date your access ends.

Watch your renewal date: If your billing date passes and you were not charged, and your account shows the free Webmaster Tools tier, your cancellation was successful.

Review your bank or card statement: If a charge appears after your confirmed cancellation date, contact Ahrefs support with your confirmation email as proof.

How to Remove Your Payment Card After Cancelling Ahrefs

You cannot delete your saved payment card while a subscription is still active, even after you've clicked cancel. Ahrefs requires the billing cycle to actually end first. Here's the correct order:

First, cancel your subscription through Account Settings, then Billing, then Subscriptions, following the steps above. 

Second, wait for your paid period to end so your account auto-downgrades to the free tier. 

Third, once you're on the free tier, go to Account Settings, then Billing, then Payment Methods, and delete your card from there. Attempting this while a subscription is still marked active will not work, since the option only becomes available after downgrade.

Alternatives to Fully Cancelling Ahrefs

If cost is the main concern rather than needing to leave entirely, consider these options before cancelling outright.

Downgrade to a lower plan: Ahrefs offers multiple tiers, and moving from Advanced to Standard, or Standard to Lite, may cover your core needs at a lower monthly cost without losing all functionality.

Switch to Ahrefs Webmaster Tools: This free tier covers rank tracking and site audits for your own verified domains, which is often enough if you've stopped doing competitor or backlink research.

Pause by simply not renewing: You can let your subscription lapse naturally at the end of the cycle instead of actively cancelling, though this still requires the same cancellation click to stop auto-renewal.

If you're managing subscriptions across several SEO or marketing tools, our related guides on how to cancel SmartCredit, how to cancel Dreamstime, or how to cancel Lime walk through similar account-level cancellation steps for other services.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I cancel my Ahrefs subscription?

Log in to your Ahrefs account, go to Account Settings, click Billing, open the Subscriptions tab, and click Cancel Subscription. Confirm through the popup that appears, and you'll receive a confirmation email.

Can I get a refund after cancelling Ahrefs?

Generally no. Ahrefs does not offer refunds by default. Monthly subscribers may request one only if the account shows no usage during that billing cycle, and annual plans are non-refundable once billed.

Does deleting my Ahrefs account cancel my subscription?

No. Deleting your login or simply not signing in does not stop billing. You must explicitly click Cancel Subscription in Billing and Subscriptions to stop future charges.

What happens to my data after I cancel Ahrefs?

You keep full access until your current billing cycle ends. After that, your account downgrades to the free Ahrefs Webmaster Tools tier, and your historical reports are typically retained for a limited time.

Can I cancel my Ahrefs subscription at any time?

Yes, there is no lock-in period on monthly plans. You can cancel whenever you want, but you will not receive a prorated refund for the unused portion of the current cycle.

How do I remove my payment card from Ahrefs?

You need to cancel your subscription first and wait for the account to downgrade to the free tier. Only then can you delete your saved payment card from Account Settings, Billing, and Payment Methods.

Who can cancel an Ahrefs subscription on a team or agency plan?

Only the workspace owner or a team member with billing admin permissions can cancel the subscription. Regular team members without billing access will not see the Cancel Subscription option.

Last updated: September 2026