At a glance

SEMrush Moz
Best for Digital marketing teams wanting SEO, PPC, and content tools SEO teams wanting trusted domain authority metrics
Starting price $129.95/mo $99/mo
Free tier
Open source
Free tier available
Open source
Competitor Analysis
Content Marketing
Domain Authority
Keyword Explorer
Keyword Research
Link Analysis
PPC
SERP Analysis

SEMrush

Strengths

  • Includes Keyword Research as a core feature, purpose-built for seo workflows
  • Includes Competitor Analysis as a core feature, purpose-built for seo workflows
  • Free with limited searches — generous enough for most small teams to get real work done
  • Established product with 18+ years on the market and a mature ecosystem

Weaknesses

  • Free plan has meaningful restrictions: free with limited searches
  • Fewer built-in features means you may need additional tools to cover gaps
  • Ecosystem of third-party integrations is smaller than the market leaders in seo
  • Mobile experience lags behind the desktop version in features and polish

Moz

Strengths

  • Includes Domain Authority as a core feature, purpose-built for seo workflows
  • Includes Keyword Explorer as a core feature, purpose-built for seo workflows
  • Free Moz Bar extension — generous enough for most small teams to get real work done
  • Established product with 22+ years on the market and a mature ecosystem

Weaknesses

  • Free plan exists but key features are locked behind the paid upgrade
  • Fewer built-in features means you may need additional tools to cover gaps
  • Ecosystem of third-party integrations is smaller than the market leaders in seo
  • Mobile experience lags behind the desktop version in features and polish

The bottom line

Pricing: Both tools offer free tiers, so you can test each before committing. SEMrush's free plan: Free with limited searches. Moz's free plan: Free Moz Bar extension. When you outgrow the free tier, Moz is the cheaper option at $99/mo vs. $129.95/mo for SEMrush — roughly 31% less.

Feature gaps: SEMrush offers Competitor Analysis, Content Marketing and Keyword Research that Moz lacks. Moz brings Domain Authority, Keyword Explorer and Link Analysis that SEMrush does not have.

Team fit: Both tools target mid-size teams teams, so the decision hinges on features and workflow fit rather than scale.

Where each tool shines: SEMrush's biggest strengths are: includes keyword research as a core feature, purpose-built for seo workflows. includes competitor analysis as a core feature, purpose-built for seo workflows. Moz's biggest strengths are: includes domain authority as a core feature, purpose-built for seo workflows. includes keyword explorer as a core feature, purpose-built for seo workflows.

Watch out for: With SEMrush, users commonly note that free plan has meaningful restrictions: free with limited searches. With Moz, the main complaint is that free plan exists but key features are locked behind the paid upgrade.

Choose SEMrush if...

  • You need a tool built for digital marketing teams wanting seo, ppc, and content tools
  • You specifically need Competitor Analysis and Content Marketing
  • You care about includes competitor analysis as a core feature, purpose-built for seo workflows
  • The free tier works for you: free with limited searches

Choose Moz if...

  • You need a tool built for seo teams wanting trusted domain authority metrics
  • You want to save on per-user costs — Moz is $30.95/user/mo cheaper
  • You specifically need Domain Authority and Keyword Explorer
  • You care about includes keyword explorer as a core feature, purpose-built for seo workflows
  • The free tier works for you: free moz bar extension

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