HEAD-TO-HEAD COMPARISON
Both tools promise SEO insight, but they look in opposite directions. The short answer — pick Moz if you want a focused, beginner-friendly platform for your own site: keyword research, rank tracking, site crawling and the Domain Authority metric, on a simple four-tier ladder; pick SpyFu if your first question is always what competitors are doing: it exposes the SEO and PPC keywords competitors rank for and buy, the ads they have tested, and more than a decade of history behind both. Every price below traces to the vendors’ official pricing pages, verified in November 2026.
Updated November 2026 · Editorial comparison
CORE SEO PLATFORM
Moz at a Glance
Moz Pro
BEST FOR
Site owners, small teams and agencies who want the classic core-SEO workflow — research keywords, track rankings, crawl the site, check links — explained in plain language, with Domain Authority as the shared shorthand.
COMPETITOR RESEARCH FOR SEO & PPC
SpyFu at a Glance
SpyFu
BEST FOR
Marketers who plan from competitors’ playbooks — the keywords rivals rank for and buy, every ad they have tested, and 10+ years of history — now with an AI site audit and AI brand monitoring added.
Verdict · Features · Pricing · FAQ
Moz in Detail
Moz Pro is the establishment option in this matchup: a core-SEO platform built around your own sites. Its workflow is the familiar one — Keyword Explorer for research, rank tracking across the sites each tier allows, Site Crawl for technical issues, and link data for checking who links to you and how strong those links look. Moz is also the source of Domain Authority, the score much of the industry still uses as shorthand for a site’s strength, and that shared language is a real part of what you are buying: clients and colleagues who have never opened Moz still know what a DA figure means. The current platform adds a newer layer on top of that core — Moz AI features that include AI Overview tracking and brand-visibility measurement — but the centre of gravity has not moved: four tiers, counted in users, tracked sites and tracked keywords, with extra seats at a flat $49 a month. Moz sells no PPC or advertising research at all; if a competitor’s ad spend is your question, Moz is simply not the tool that answers it. For Moz against the two bigger suites, see our Semrush vs Moz and Ahrefs vs Moz comparisons.
SpyFu in Detail
SpyFu starts from the other end. Its homepage promise is to show you “the SEO & PPC keywords your competitors buy and rank for, every ad they’ve tested, and how your own site stacks up” — competitor research first, your own site second. Domain and keyword searches return competitors’ organic keywords, paid keywords and ad copy, backed by more than ten years of historical data on every paid plan, so you can see not just what a rival does now but what they have tried and dropped. Around that core, SpyFu has recently added tools that widen the job: an AI-powered site audit that generates fixes you review and publish (50,000 crawl pages a month on Basic, rising to 2 million on Team / Agency), RivalFlow for improving pages against competitors in AI and search (from the Pro + AI tier), a ChatGPT integration that puts SpyFu data inside ChatGPT, AI brand monitoring, and sales-lead exports (250 a month on Basic, up to 1,000 on Team / Agency). One caution before you compare old reviews: SpyFu has restructured its pricing — the Basic / Professional ladder quoted in older roundups no longer exists, and the current tiers are Basic, Pro + AI and Team / Agency, detailed below.
Our Verdict
An honest editorial take — not sponsored, not influenced by affiliate relationships.
OUR VERDICT
Editorial opinion based on publicly available information.
Moz wins for running your own SEO; SpyFu wins for researching everyone else’s. If you need one calm dashboard for keyword research, rank tracking, crawling and link checks on your own sites — especially if you report to people who speak Domain Authority — Moz is the focused pick. If your planning starts with competitors’ keywords, ads and history, SpyFu answers questions Moz does not ask, and its unlimited-data tiers cost less than Moz’s mid-range.
Choose Moz if you want the classic core-SEO workflow with plain-language guidance, a ladder counted in sites and tracked keywords, and the industry’s most recognised authority metric built in.
Choose SpyFu if you run SEO and PPC together, plan campaigns from competitor data, or want a decade of ad and ranking history — and you like that its audit, AI fixes and brand monitoring now sit in the same subscription.
Why the verdict holds
Look at what each pricing page counts. Moz counts your own workload: users, tracked sites, tracked keywords per month — 50 keywords on Starter rising to 3,000 on Large. Nothing on Moz’s ladder is priced in competitor data or ad history, because that is not the product. SpyFu counts data access: search-result and export rows on Basic (10,000 of each), then unlimited results and exports from Pro + AI upward, plus weekly tracked keywords in the thousands and lead exports. The two ladders are shaped by two different jobs, and the honest way to choose is to name yours first.
The PPC divide is absolute. SpyFu was built on paid-search intelligence — competitors’ bought keywords and tested ad copy are its founding features, and its reports include pre-built Google Ads campaigns. Moz offers no advertising research in any tier. A team running Google Ads alongside SEO gets two tools’ worth of use from SpyFu; a team that never buys ads pays for none of that in Moz, and loses nothing.
Price favours SpyFu at most levels, with a catch at the first one. SpyFu Basic is the cheapest paid entry here at $29 a month billed annually, but it is capped at 10,000 result and export rows and a single user. Moz Starter costs more ($49) yet includes its full core workflow for one site. From the middle up, SpyFu’s unlimited data at $89 a month billed annually (Pro + AI) undercuts Moz Medium at $143 billed annually — while Moz’s answer is depth of guidance and metrics for your own programme rather than volume of competitor data.
Who should pick which
- Beginners and solo site owners: Moz Starter — the guided core workflow for one site, or SpyFu’s limited free searches if you only need occasional competitor lookups.
- PPC + SEO marketers: SpyFu Pro + AI — unlimited competitor results and exports, ad history, and the audit and RivalFlow layers included.
- Agencies reporting to clients: Moz for authority metrics clients recognise, or SpyFu Team / Agency for five included users, unlimited tracking projects and white-labelled reporting.
- Teams who mainly spy on one or two rivals: SpyFu Basic — the row caps are generous for focused research, and the 30-day money-back guarantee lowers the risk.
- Anyone choosing on brand familiarity alone: read the pricing sections carefully — SpyFu’s tiers were restructured, and older reviews quote a ladder that no longer exists.
Feature Snapshot
Side-by-side facts drawn from publicly available product information.
| FEATURE | Moz | SpyFu |
|---|---|---|
| CORE JOB | Your own site’s SEO Keyword research, rank tracking, site crawl and link data for the sites you run, with Domain Authority as the headline metric. |
Competitor research for SEO & PPC The keywords competitors rank for and buy, the ads they have tested, and how your site stacks up against them. |
| PPC & AD RESEARCH | None Moz Pro is an SEO platform; advertising intelligence is not part of any tier. |
Core to the product Competitors’ paid keywords and ad copy, 10+ years of ad history on higher tiers, and pre-built Google Ads campaigns in reports. |
| RANK TRACKING | Tracked keywords by tier 50 tracked keywords/mo on Starter, 300 on Standard, 1,500 on Medium, 3,000 on Large, across 1–25 tracked sites. |
Weekly tracked keywords by tier 5,000 weekly tracked keyword rankings on Basic, 15,000 on Pro + AI, 50,000 on Team / Agency, plus live site tracking projects. |
| HISTORICAL DATA | Ranking and link history History serves your own campaigns and link profile; competitor ad history is not a Moz feature. |
10+ years on every paid plan A decade-plus of keyword, ranking and advertising history is included from Basic upward — the deepest history claim in this matchup. |
| SITE AUDIT | Site Crawl Crawl-based technical checks for your tracked sites, inside the core Moz workflow. |
AI audit with publishable fixes 50k crawl pages/mo and 1,000 AI fixes on Basic; 500k pages and 5,000 fixes on Pro + AI; 2M pages and 10,000 fixes on Team / Agency. |
| AI FEATURES | Moz AI layer AI Overview tracking and brand-visibility measurement (Brand Authority) added alongside the classic metrics. |
RivalFlow, ChatGPT integration, brand monitoring RivalFlow page improvement from Pro + AI, SpyFu data inside ChatGPT (limited on Basic), and AI brand monitoring across tiers. |
| ENTRY PRICE | Starter — $49/mo $39/mo billed annually; 1 user, 1 site, 50 tracked keywords. No free plan; a free trial is offered. |
Basic — $39/mo $29/mo billed annually; 1 user, 10k result/export rows. Limited free searches (up to 5 results at a time) need no plan at all. |
| SCALING MODEL | Users, sites & tracked keywords Four tiers to $299/mo; extra seats are a flat $49/mo each on any tier. |
Data volume, then users Basic is row-capped; Pro + AI and Team / Agency are unlimited. Basic extra users $15 each; Pro + AI and Team extra users $30 each; Team / Agency includes 5. |
Pricing & Free Options
Plans change often — always confirm on the official site before buying. Prices verified on the official pages in November 2026.
Moz
STARTER · STANDARD · MEDIUM · LARGE
Prices in USD; annual billing saves 20%
✓ Starter ($49/mo monthly): 1 user, 1 tracked site, 50 tracked keywords/mo — the full core workflow for a single site
✓ Standard ($99/mo; $79/mo billed annually): 1 user, 3 tracked sites, 300 tracked keywords/mo
✓ Medium ($179/mo; $143/mo billed annually): 2 users, 10 tracked sites, 1,500 tracked keywords/mo
✓ Large ($299/mo; $239/mo billed annually): 3 users, 25 tracked sites, 3,000 tracked keywords/mo
✓ Extra seats: $49/mo per additional seat
SpyFu
BASIC · PRO + AI · TEAM / AGENCY
Prices in USD; annual billing saves 25%
✓ Basic ($39/mo monthly; $29/mo billed annually): 10k search-result rows, 10k export rows, 1 live site tracking project, 10+ years of history, site audit (50k crawl pages/mo, 1,000 AI fixes), 5k weekly tracked keywords, 250 sales leads, 1 user
✓ Pro + AI ($119/mo monthly — the page shows $59 for the first month; $89/mo billed annually): unlimited results and exports, 10 tracking projects, site audit (500k pages, 5,000 AI fixes, 3 connected sites), RivalFlow for 1 site, 15k weekly tracked keywords, 500 leads, API access, 1 user (extra users $30 each)
✓ Team / Agency ($249/mo monthly; $187/mo billed annually): unlimited results, exports and tracking projects, site audit (2M pages, 10,000 AI fixes, 5 connected sites), RivalFlow for 5 sites, 50k weekly tracked keywords, 1,000 leads, API access, 5 users included (extra users $30 each)
✓ Free & guarantee: limited free searches with up to 5 results at a time, described on SpyFu’s own site as free for as long as you like rather than a timed trial; paid plans carry a 30-day money-back guarantee stated on the pricing page
Strengths & Trade-offs
Our editorial assessment of where each tool shines — and where it doesn’t.
Moz
THE CORE-SEO STANDARD
SpyFu
THE COMPETITOR LENS
Bottom Line
Name the question you ask most. If it is “how is my site doing?” — which keywords to target, where you rank, what the crawl finds, how strong your links look — Moz is the focused, legible answer, and its ladder is built exactly for that programme. If it is “what are my competitors doing?” — which keywords they rank for and buy, which ads they keep or kill, and what a decade of that history teaches — SpyFu is the tool Moz never tried to be, and its unlimited tiers are priced below Moz’s middle. Teams that run PPC alongside SEO will feel the divide most: SpyFu covers both, Moz covers one job well. For Moz against the broader suites instead, see our Ahrefs vs Semrush vs Moz three-way comparison.
Coming from an older SpyFu plan?
SpyFu’s ladder has been rebuilt. The Basic / Professional tiers quoted across older reviews — and the $33 and $58 annual figures that went with them — no longer appear on SpyFu’s official pricing. The current structure is Basic ($29/mo billed annually), Pro + AI ($89/mo billed annually, with a $59 first-month introductory price on monthly billing) and Team / Agency ($187/mo billed annually), and the audit’s AI fixes, RivalFlow and brand monitoring are now part of those tiers. Compare renewals against the figures here, not against a legacy plan screenshot.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is better: Moz or SpyFu?
They lead in different jobs. Moz is better for running your own SEO — keyword research, rank tracking, site crawl and link data with Domain Authority. SpyFu is better for competitor research across SEO and PPC — rivals’ keywords, ads and 10+ years of history, plus an AI site audit. This comparison is research-based on official vendor information.
How much does Moz cost in 2026?
Moz Pro costs, billed monthly (annual billing in brackets, which saves 20%): Starter $49/mo, with 1 user, 1 site and 50 tracked keywords; Standard $99/mo ($79), 3 sites and 300 keywords; Medium $179/mo ($143), 2 users, 10 sites and 1,500 keywords; Large $299/mo ($239), 3 users, 25 sites and 3,000 keywords. Extra seats cost $49/mo each. Prices verified on moz.com’s official pricing in November 2026.
How much does SpyFu cost in 2026?
SpyFu costs, billed monthly (annual billing in brackets, which saves 25%): Basic $39/mo ($29) with 10k result and export rows and 1 user; Pro + AI $119/mo ($89) — the pricing page shows $59 for the first month on monthly billing — with unlimited results and exports; Team / Agency $249/mo ($187) with 5 users included. Extra users cost $30 each on the upper tiers. Prices verified on spyfu.com/pricing in November 2026.
Do Moz or SpyFu have a free plan?
SpyFu offers limited free access that is not a timed trial: its own site describes unlimited free searches showing up to 5 results at a time, for as long as you like. Moz lists no free plan on its pricing page; it offers a free trial of Moz Pro instead — the page does not state one fixed trial length, so check the current offer before you start it.
Can SpyFu replace Moz for rank tracking?
Partly. SpyFu tracks far more keywords on paper — 5,000 weekly tracked rankings on Basic rising to 50,000 on Team / Agency, against Moz’s 50 to 3,000 tracked keywords a month — and adds competitor and PPC data Moz lacks. What it does not replace is Moz’s own-site workflow and metrics: Domain Authority, Moz’s crawl-and-guidance flow, and the reporting language built around them.
Which tool is better for PPC competitor research?
SpyFu, unambiguously. Paid-search intelligence is its founding feature set — competitors’ bought keywords, tested ad copy and 10+ years of ad history, plus pre-built Google Ads campaign reports. Moz Pro contains no advertising research in any tier; it is an SEO-only platform.
Keep comparing
- Semrush vs Moz — the broad visibility platform vs the focused core-SEO tool, head to head.
- Ahrefs vs Moz — deep backlink data vs the core-SEO toolset, head to head.
- Ahrefs vs Semrush vs Moz — the three-way decision guide for the classic SEO suites.
- Ubersuggest vs Semrush — the budget-friendly option vs the full platform, head to head.
How we compare
Both tools are evaluated against the same criteria — capabilities, ease of use, pricing and value, and limitations — using official documentation, pricing pages, and published product information. If we test a tool ourselves in the future, the review will say so and include our screenshots, test tasks, and observations. This verdict is editorial opinion based on publicly available information, not sponsored, and not influenced by affiliate relationships. SmartRiseHQ currently uses no affiliate or referral links.
A note on pricing
SEO platform pricing, plan names and quotas change frequently — SpyFu restructured its tiers before this comparison was published, and its older Basic / Professional figures no longer apply. Prices above were verified on the official Moz and SpyFu pricing pages in November 2026; always confirm current plans on the vendor’s official pricing page before buying.