HEAD-TO-HEAD COMPARISON
Two very different answers to the same question — which SEO tool should you pay for? The short answer — pick Ahrefs if backlink and competitor data depth is the job, and you can work within its credit and seat costs; pick Moz Pro if you want core SEO — keyword research, link analysis, site crawls, and rank tracking — in a simpler tool that starts at $49 instead of $129 for full work. The honest complication: Ahrefs has a $29 Starter plan, but it is credit-capped at 100 credits a month, so Lite at $129 is where most serious work begins. Every price below was verified on the vendors’ official pricing pages in October 2026.
Updated October 2026 · Editorial comparison
BACKLINK & COMPETITOR DATA PLATFORM
Ahrefs at a Glance
Ahrefs
BEST FOR
SEOs and teams whose work centres on backlinks, competitor research, and deep historical data — keyword research, Site Explorer, site audits, and rank tracking backed by years of history on higher tiers.
CORE SEO PLATFORM
Moz Pro at a Glance
Moz
BEST FOR
Small teams, freelancers, and local-focused SEOs who want the core toolkit — and Moz’s long-standing Domain Authority metrics — without paying for a deeper data platform.
Verdict · Features · Pricing · FAQ
Ahrefs in Detail
Ahrefs built its reputation on backlink and competitor data, and its current pricing page frames the product as staying “discoverable in search, AI, and beyond,” powered by its own crawler and more than ten years of web-scale data. The core toolkit is Site Explorer for backlink and traffic analysis, Keywords Explorer for keyword research, Site Audit, Rank Tracker, and — from the Standard plan up — Content Explorer. The ladder needs careful reading. The Free plan gives verified site owners limited access to tools including Site Explorer overviews, Site Audit, and Web Analytics. Starter, at $29 a month, opens competitor data in Site Explorer but is tightly capped: 1 unverified project, 100 credits a month, 1 month of history, and 50 Rank Tracker keywords. Lite, at $129 a month, is the realistic starting point for ongoing work: 5 projects, 750 tracked keywords, 6 months of history, 100,000 crawl credits, and API and MCP access. Standard ($249) raises that to 20 projects, 2,000 keywords, and 2 years of history, with unlimited credits per user. Advanced ($449) goes to 50 projects, 5,000 keywords, and 5 years of history, and Enterprise ($1,499, annual commitment) lifts history to unlimited. Two cost details matter. First, every paid plan includes just 1 user; extra users cost $40 a month each on Lite, $60 on Standard, and $80 on Advanced. Second, Ahrefs now includes tracked AI prompts via Brand Radar on paid tiers — 5 prompts on Lite, 10 on Standard, 20 on Advanced — so AI visibility is present, but metered in checks per month rather than sold as a headline feature.
Moz in Detail
Moz is one of the founding names in SEO software, and Moz Pro stays deliberately focused on the core job: keyword research, link analysis through Link Explorer, site crawl audits, rank tracking, and on-page recommendations, presented through campaigns for each tracked site. Moz is also the home of Domain Authority and Page Authority, the authority metrics many marketers still use as a quick shorthand for a site’s or a page’s ranking strength — if a client or a boss already reports in DA, that alone can be a practical reason to choose Moz. The pricing ladder is simpler to read than Ahrefs’: an entry-level plan at $49 a month for individuals managing a single website, then Standard with 3 tracked sites and 300 tracked keywords a month, Medium — labelled Moz’s most popular plan — with 10 sites and 1,500 keywords, and Large with 25 sites and 3,000 keywords. Seats are included in the plan price on the main tiers (1, 2, and 3 users respectively), and annual billing saves 20%. What Moz does not try to be is a deep historical-data platform: its top plan, Large at $299 a month, costs about what Ahrefs Standard costs, and the comparison is really about how much data depth your work actually needs.
Our Verdict
An honest editorial take — not sponsored, not influenced by affiliate relationships.
OUR VERDICT
Editorial opinion based on publicly available information.
Ahrefs wins on data depth; Moz wins on simplicity and total cost. If your work is backlink analysis, competitor research, and digging through years of history, Ahrefs is the deeper tool — and you will pay for it, with Lite at $129 a month before extra seats. If your work is core SEO for one site or a handful of clients, Moz covers the essentials from $49, includes seats in its main plans, and is easier to learn and to budget for.
Choose Ahrefs if backlinks and competitor data drive your decisions, you need historical depth (2 years on Standard, 5 on Advanced, unlimited on Enterprise), or you need API access from the Lite tier up.
Choose Moz if you want a focused, lower-cost SEO toolkit, you value Domain Authority reporting, or you need a second and third seat included without an add-on fee.
Why the verdict holds
Start with the real entry price for full work, because the headline figures mislead in both directions. Moz’s paid ladder starts at $49 a month. Ahrefs lists a $29 Starter plan, but its 100 credits a month, single unverified project, and 1 month of history make it a taster tier; Lite at $129 is where sustained competitor and backlink work begins. So the honest comparison is $49 versus $129 to start, and $299 (Moz Large, the top tier) versus $1,499 (Ahrefs Enterprise) at the ceiling.
Ahrefs’ advantage is depth you can keep digging into. Historical data runs from 6 months on Lite to unlimited on Enterprise, tracked keywords run to 5,000 on Advanced, and crawl credits reach 1,500,000 a month on Advanced. If you audit large sites, reconstruct a competitor’s link growth over years, or feed SEO data into other tools through the API, that headroom is the reason to pay Ahrefs money. The trade-offs are structural: 1 included user on every plan, paid seats on top, and a credit system on the lower tiers that makes heavy use something you have to watch.
Moz’s advantage is focus at a lower total cost. Standard at $99 a month (or $79 billed yearly) covers 3 sites and 300 tracked keywords; Medium at $179 ($143 yearly) covers 10 sites, 1,500 keywords, and 2 included users. A small agency can put two people on Medium for the headline price, where an Ahrefs setup means a higher plan plus per-user add-ons. Moz also wins the simplicity argument: fewer tools, a gentler learning curve, and authority metrics many stakeholders already understand. One shared caution: Ahrefs’ pricing page lists Rank Tracker updates as weekly, so neither tool here is selling daily rank tracking as its headline — check update frequency against your reporting needs before you buy either.
Who should pick which
- Solo site owners and freelancers: Moz — the $49 entry plan and $99 Standard tier cover core SEO without a $129 floor; try Ahrefs Free first if your own site is all you need to check.
- Link builders and competitor researchers: Ahrefs — Site Explorer depth and historical data are the product; budget for Lite at minimum, Standard if credits and history limits bite.
- Agencies and growing teams: Moz Medium or Large if client work is core SEO and included seats matter; Ahrefs Standard or Advanced if clients expect deep backlink audits and long-history reporting.
- Anyone reporting in Domain Authority: Moz — DA and Page Authority are Moz’s own metrics, so the source tool is the natural home for them.
- Budget-first buyers: start with Ahrefs’ free plan for verified sites or Moz’s free trial (below), then pay only when the limits actually bite.
Feature Snapshot
Side-by-side facts drawn from publicly available product information.
| FEATURE | Ahrefs | Moz Pro |
|---|---|---|
| CORE PURPOSE | Backlink & competitor data platform Site Explorer, Keywords Explorer, Site Audit, Rank Tracker, and Content Explorer, backed by long historical data on higher tiers. |
Core SEO platform Keyword research, link analysis, site crawl audits, rank tracking, and on-page recommendations, organised by campaign. |
| ENTRY PLAN FOR FULL WORK | Lite — $129/mo 5 projects, 750 tracked keywords, 6 months of history. A $29 Starter tier exists but is capped at 100 credits/mo. |
Entry plan — $49/mo For individuals managing a single website, per Moz’s pricing page. |
| RANK TRACKING | 750 to 5,000 keywords Lite to Advanced; the pricing page lists weekly updates. Starter tracks 50 keywords. |
Campaign-based 300 to 3,000 tracked keywords per month on Standard to Large. |
| HISTORICAL DATA | 6 months to unlimited 6 months on Lite, 2 years on Standard, 5 years on Advanced, unlimited on Enterprise. |
Not the headline offer Moz Pro’s pricing page leads with campaigns and core tools rather than a historical-depth ladder. |
| LINK ANALYSIS | Yes — Site Explorer Backlink and competitor analysis is the centre of the product, with broken-link and outgoing-link views on higher tiers. |
Yes — Link Explorer Link analysis plus Moz’s Domain Authority and Page Authority metrics. |
| SITE AUDIT / CRAWL | Yes — Site Audit 100,000 crawl credits per month on Lite, rising to 1,500,000 on Advanced. |
Yes — Site Crawl 400K pages crawled per month on Standard, rising to 5M on Large. |
| SEATS | 1 included, then add-ons Extra users cost $40/mo each on Lite, $60 on Standard, $80 on Advanced. |
Included on main tiers 1 user on Standard, 2 on Medium, 3 on Large; extra seats $49/mo each. |
| FREE OPTION | Free plan, $0 Limited access for verified sites, including Site Explorer overviews, Site Audit, and Web Analytics. Ahrefs states it does not run free trials or discounts. |
Free trial Trial offered on the pricing page (duration not stated there); no free $0 plan is listed on that page. |
Pricing & Free Options
Plans change often — always confirm on the official site before buying. Prices verified on the official pricing pages in October 2026.
Ahrefs
FREE PLAN · PAID PLANS
Annual billing on Lite and above is effectively two months free
✓ Free ($0): limited access for verified sites — Site Explorer overviews, Site Audit, Web Analytics, and other owner tools
✓ Starter ($29/mo): 1 unverified project, 100 credits per month, 1 month of history, Rank Tracker for 50 keywords
✓ Lite ($129/mo): 5 projects, 750 tracked keywords, 6 months of history, 100,000 crawl credits per month, API and MCP access, 1 user included
✓ Standard ($249/mo): 20 projects, 2,000 tracked keywords, 2 years of history, 500,000 crawl credits, unlimited credits per user
✓ Advanced ($449/mo): 50 projects, 5,000 tracked keywords, 5 years of history, 1,500,000 crawl credits, unlimited credits per user
✓ Enterprise ($1,499/mo): unlimited historical data, higher and API limits, annual commitment required
− Only 1 user is included on paid plans; extra users cost $40/mo each on Lite, $60 on Standard, and $80 on Advanced. Ahrefs states it never runs discounts and offers no free trial — the free plan is the try-before-you-buy route.
Moz Pro
FREE TRIAL · PAID PLANS
Annual billing saves 20%
✓ Entry plan ($49/mo): Moz’s starter solution for individuals managing a single website
✓ Standard ($99/mo, or $79/mo billed yearly): 1 user included, 3 tracked sites, 300 tracked keywords per month, 400K pages crawled per month
✓ Medium ($179/mo, or $143/mo yearly): Moz’s most popular plan — 2 users included, 10 tracked sites, 1,500 tracked keywords, 2M pages crawled per month
✓ Large ($299/mo, or $239/mo yearly): 3 users included, 25 tracked sites, 3,000 tracked keywords, 5M pages crawled per month. Enterprise is available on request, with no price listed
− Extra seats cost $49/mo each. A free trial is offered, but the pricing page does not state its duration, and no free $0 plan is listed on that page — check before you rely on either.
Strengths & Trade-offs
Our editorial assessment of where each tool shines — and where it doesn’t.
Ahrefs
THE DATA-DEPTH PLATFORM
Moz Pro
THE FOCUSED SEO TOOLKIT
Bottom Line
This is a depth-versus-simplicity decision, and the prices tell the story honestly once you read past the headlines. If you need core SEO and only core SEO — keyword research, link analysis, audits, and rank tracking for one site or a few clients — Moz does that job from $49 a month, includes seats on its main plans, and will feel calmer to use. If your work lives in backlink data — auditing competitors, tracking link growth over years, crawling large sites, or pulling data through an API — Ahrefs is the platform built for it, and its $129 realistic entry price, single included seat, and $1,499 top tier are simply the cost of that depth. Do not be misled by the $29 Starter plan in either direction: it is a genuine way to run first competitor checks cheaply, but its 100 credits and 1 month of history mean it is not the plan you will do ongoing work on. Start with Ahrefs’ free plan or Moz’s free trial, run your real site through both, and let your actual need for historical backlink data — not a feature checklist — make the final call.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is better: Ahrefs or Moz?
Ahrefs is better if your work centres on backlink and competitor data depth, long historical data, and high limits for projects, keywords, and crawl credits. Moz is better if you want focused core SEO at a lower price, with seats included and Domain Authority reporting. Neither is better in the abstract; they are priced and built for different buyers.
Is Ahrefs really $29 a month?
There is a Starter plan at $29 a month, verified on Ahrefs’ official pricing guide in October 2026, but it is capped at 1 unverified project, 100 credits per month, 1 month of historical data, and 50 Rank Tracker keywords. For ongoing work, Lite at $129 a month — 5 projects, 750 tracked keywords, 6 months of history — is the realistic entry point.
Is Moz cheaper than Ahrefs?
Yes, at every comparable step. Moz starts at $49/mo for a single website, with Standard at $99/mo ($79 billed yearly). Ahrefs’ full-work ladder starts at Lite, $129/mo. Moz also includes seats on its main tiers, while Ahrefs includes 1 user and charges $40 to $80 a month for each extra user depending on tier. Annual billing saves 20% at Moz and effectively two months on Ahrefs Lite and above.
Does Ahrefs or Moz have a free plan?
Ahrefs has a free $0 plan with limited access for verified sites, including Site Explorer overviews, Site Audit, and Web Analytics, and it states that it does not offer free trials or discounts. Moz’s pricing page offers a free trial but does not state its duration there, and no free $0 plan is listed on that page.
What is Domain Authority, and which tool has it?
Domain Authority is Moz’s own authority metric, alongside Page Authority, used as a shorthand for a site’s or a page’s ranking strength. Because the metrics are Moz’s, Moz Pro is their natural home. Ahrefs centres its analysis on its own backlink and traffic data in Site Explorer instead. This comparison is research-based and does not rate one metric’s accuracy against the other.
Can I use Ahrefs and Moz together?
Some teams do — Ahrefs for backlink depth, competitor research, and historical data, and Moz specifically for Domain Authority reporting to stakeholders who already use it. For most small teams, though, the overlap in keyword research, audits, and rank tracking means one subscription is enough; pick the one whose price and depth match your actual workload.
Keep comparing
- Semrush vs Ahrefs — Ahrefs against the other big SEO platform.
- Semrush vs Moz — Moz against the broader visibility platform.
- Ubersuggest vs Semrush — the budget toolkit against the platform.
- Rank Math vs Yoast — the WordPress SEO plugin showdown.
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-tool pricing, plan names, and limits change frequently. Prices above were verified on the official pricing pages in October 2026; always confirm current plans on the vendor’s official pricing page before buying.