Head-to-head · Compared on price and strengths
Semrush vs Moz: the $139.95 vs $99 decision
Short answer
Pick Semrush if you run paid search alongside SEO, or want organic, paid, content and local research under one login: Pro costs $139.95 a month. Pick Moz if you specifically need Domain Authority, still the most recognized third-party authority metric by name, or want a cheaper, gentler platform focused purely on SEO: Standard costs $99. Moz undercuts Semrush at every comparable tier; Semrush is the broader marketing suite. Most solo users need neither at full price: see Semrush alternatives and Moz Pro alternatives first.
Pricing, plan by plan
| Tier | Semrush | Moz Pro |
|---|---|---|
| Limited entry | No paid Starter tierLimited free account only | $49 Starter$39 billed annually, 1 site |
| Main entry | $139.95 Pro~$117 billed annually | $99 Standard$79 billed annually |
| Middle | $249.95 Guru~$208 billed annually | $179 Medium$143 billed annually · "most popular" |
| Upper | $499.95 Business~$417 billed annually | $299 Large$239 billed annually |
| Free for your own sites | Limited free account | Free trial only, no free tier |
Monthly billing, single user, checked against each vendor's own pricing page in September 2026. Moz restructured Moz Pro into four tiers since some older comparisons were written; if you find a Moz price outside this range, it is likely describing a retired plan.
Moz undercuts Semrush by 30–40% at every comparable tier. That gap is bigger than the one between Moz and Ahrefs, because Semrush's price also carries paid-search and broader marketing tooling that Moz never tries to compete on.
Where each is genuinely stronger
| Job | Stronger | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Paid-search and advertising research | Semrush | Competitor ad copy and paid keyword history are core to every plan; Moz has none |
| Breadth of marketing data in one login | Semrush | Organic, paid, content, local and market research share one project |
| A recognized third-party authority score | Moz | Domain Authority predates and remains the more widely cited name, though Semrush ships its own Authority Score too |
| Price at every comparable tier | Moz | 30–40% cheaper than the equivalent Semrush plan |
| Onboarding for SEO beginners | Moz | Guided tips, Moz Academy and a simpler, narrower dashboard |
| Free option for your own site | Neither | Both offer only a limited account or trial; see the free tools that actually work |
| Keyword research and rank tracking | Close | Both are mature; Semrush's project limits scale higher on paid tiers |
Choose Semrush if…
- You run Google Ads, or advise clients who do, alongside SEO.
- You want one platform for organic, paid, content and local research rather than several tools.
- A team works from shared projects and reports across multiple marketing channels.
Choose Moz if…
- You or your clients specifically reference Domain Authority in reports: switching tools resets that baseline.
- You do not need paid-search data and would rather not pay for it.
- Budget matters: Moz Standard is $40.95 a month cheaper than Semrush Pro, and the gap widens on higher tiers.
- You want the gentlest onboarding of the incumbents.
Consider neither if…
You are one person with one site, and what you actually open each week is keyword research, rank tracking and an audit. That is the part of both products that is cheapest to buy elsewhere: KeySearch covers it from $24 a month, and Mangools from $29.90 billed annually. The full ranking is in the cheapest SEO tools that work.
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. If you sign up through one and later make an eligible purchase, I may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
And if the real goal of the subscription is a blog that publishes consistently, neither tool solves that: writing time is the bottleneck. GrowGanic is an autonomous SEO engine: add a domain and it researches the keywords, writes and scores the articles, publishes them to your site or a hosted blog, and tracks the rankings. On a paid plan it publishes every weekday. It has no paid-search or backlink data and no authority score of its own, so it replaces the content workflow, not Semrush or Moz. Try the free tier (affiliate link): it gives you one article with no card, before you commit to a research suite.
The verdict
| If you are… | Pick |
|---|---|
| Running paid search alongside SEO | Semrush |
| Reporting Domain Authority to clients | Moz Pro |
| Wanting one platform for organic, paid, content and local | Semrush |
| Budget-conscious with no paid-search need | Moz Pro |
| One site, mostly keywords and tracking | Neither: a cheaper tool |
Frequently asked questions
Is Semrush or Moz cheaper?
Moz is cheaper at every comparable tier: Standard is $99 a month against $139.95 for Semrush Pro, Medium is $179 against $249.95 for Semrush Guru, and Large is $299 against $499.95 for Semrush Business.
What is the difference between Domain Authority and Authority Score?
Domain Authority (Moz) is a predictive score modelled on a site's link profile. Authority Score (Semrush) combines backlink quality, estimated organic traffic and spam signals. Both are proprietary, neither is used by Google, and the numbers are not interchangeable between tools.
Which is better for paid search research, Semrush or Moz?
Semrush, by a wide margin. It sells competitor ad copy, paid keyword history and advertising research as a core part of every plan. Moz has no paid-search data at all.
Do I need both Semrush and Moz?
Rarely. The narrow case is an agency that needs Semrush's paid-search data for a client while continuing to report Domain Authority the client already tracks. Otherwise the two overlap enough that one is usually the right call.
Related
Moz Pro alternatives
What replaces a $99 Standard seat.
Semrush alternatives
What replaces a $139.95 Pro seat.
Ahrefs vs Moz
Domain Rating against Domain Authority.
Ahrefs vs Semrush
The other incumbent match-up.
Last reviewed . Prices and plan structures are re-checked monthly. Spotted one out of date? Tell me.