Web monitoring tool
Monitor the web for what matters to you with Firehose
Track brand mentions, competitor moves, and breaking news the moment they’re published.
The brand monitoring and competitor monitoring tool built on Ahrefs’ web index since 2010
Built on AhrefsBot
One of the web’s most active crawlers, now watching in real time instead of on Ahrefs’ regular crawl schedule.
The intel Ahrefs surfaces, now live
Site Explorer and Content Explorer show what already ranks. Firehose tells you the moment a competitor publishes, before it shows up in any crawl report.
One data foundation you already trust
No separate crawl infrastructure to vet. It’s the same web index Ahrefs analyzes for SEO, streamed to you as it changes.
Historical data
Site Explorer, Rank Tracker, and Content Explorer show you the state of the web as of the last crawl: rankings, backlinks, and content that already exists.
What’s happening right now
Firehose watches the same web for the moment something new is published (a mention, a competitor page, a story) and notifies you instantly.
Two ways to stay ahead of the web
Describe what you want to track. Firehose notifies you the instant something matches: no polling, no digests.
Watch the whole web
“Tell me about any page that matches this pattern.”
Best for brand mentions, competitor moves, breaking news
Filter by keyword, site, language, or page type
Matches land in your dashboard or your own tools via API
Watch pages you know
“Tell me when these specific pages change.”
Best for pricing pages, docs, terms, competitor landing pages
Checks on the schedule you set
Shows exactly what changed since last time
Use it as a brand monitoring tool, a competitor monitoring tool, or both at once
Brand & competitor mentions
Every page that mentions your brand or a rival, the moment it’s published anywhere.
News on your topic
Coverage of your topic the hour it’s published, not in tomorrow’s digest.
Brand-new pages
New product pages, job posts, or press releases as they go up, across thousands of sites.
Only trusted sources
Mentions from trusted, high-authority sites; quiet from everywhere else.
Firehose vs Google Alerts
 | Google Alerts | |
Notifications | Instant, the moment a match is crawled | Daily or weekly email digest |
Filtering | Site, language, page type, source trust, and keyword, combined | Keyword only |
Coverage | Millions of pages crawled directly by AhrefsBot | Limited to what Google chooses to index and show |
Delivery | Live dashboard, API, or your AI assistant | Email only |
Set up Firehose in seconds
Sign up for free
Start in seconds. No credit card needed.
Describe what to watch
Plain language: word, title, site, language, or page type. Tweak any time.
Get your matches
Live dashboard, your own app via API, or handled entirely by your AI assistant.
- No overage charges: the meter stops at your cap
- Switch plans any time, no long-term contracts
- API-only tier available: pay per match
Frequently asked questions
What is a brand monitoring tool?
A brand monitoring tool tracks the web for mentions of your brand, product, or company as they’re published, instead of you searching for them manually. Firehose does this in real time across millions of pages, powered by AhrefsBot.Is Firehose a competitor monitoring tool?
Yes. Firehose watches for competitor mentions, new pages, and content the moment they go live, so competitive intelligence teams don’t have to check dashboards manually.Is Firehose a Google Alerts alternative?
Firehose covers what Google Alerts doesn’t: instant notifications instead of daily digests, filtering by site, language, and page type, and delivery straight into your dashboard, API, or AI assistant.Can I set up Firehose with an AI assistant?
Yes. Create a key, install the Firehose skill in your AI assistant (like letaido.com), and share your key. It can set up taps, rules, and streaming from a single prompt.How much does Firehose cost?
Free to start, no credit card required. Paid plans run $39/mo (Starter), $89/mo (Advanced), and $299/mo (Business). An API-only pay-as-you-go tier is also available at $5 per 1,000 matches.