Moz Pro vs Semrush: Which Is Better Value in 2026?
Updated October 31, 2026 · 10 min read
Disclosure: this article is written by the team behind budgetSEO, which appears in this comparison. Competitor prices and features are checked on the date above; verify on their sites before buying.
Moz Pro vs Semrush at a Glance
Moz Pro is the lower-cost entry point, starting at $99 per month on its Standard plan, while Semrush starts at $139.95 per month on its Pro plan. Both sell annual billing with a discount, and both are positioned as all-in-one SEO suites rather than single-purpose tools.
| Factor | Moz Pro | Semrush |
|---|---|---|
| Entry price | $99/mo (Standard), as of 2026-10-30 | $139.95/mo (Pro), as of 2026-10-30 |
| Billing options | Monthly; annual discount available, not published | Monthly; annual discount of up to 17%, as of 2026-10-30 |
| Free plan or trial | Free tools for all users and a 30-day free trial, as of 2026-10-30 | Free plan and a 7-day free trial for Pro, as of 2026-10-30 |
| Target user | Small business and SMB marketers | Freelancers, small business owners and agencies |
| Core strengths | Domain authority metrics, keyword research and a simpler interface | Broad toolkit covering keywords, competitors, backlinks and AI tracking |
Moz Pro suits small teams that mainly need keyword research, rank tracking and its authority scores. Semrush suits users who want more research depth across channels and are willing to pay more for it. Read the Moz Pro alternative guide before committing, since cheaper options exist.
Tradeoff: Moz Pro costs less up front, but Semrush's wider feature set may save money if you would otherwise buy add-ons.
Feature Matrix: What Each Tool Actually Does
Moz Pro and Semrush both cover the core SEO workflow, but they differ in how deep each feature goes and what gets locked behind higher plans or add-ons. The table below summarises where each tool is strong and where it is limited, using the claims available from our sources.
| Capability | Moz Pro | Semrush | budgetSEO |
|---|---|---|---|
| Keyword research depth and limits | Free version offers substantial features; keyword limits apply on paid tiers | Full keyword research tools on paid plans, with limits that tighten on lower tiers | Keyword explorer and AI keyword research, based on live Google data via DataForSEO |
| Site auditing and crawling | Included as part of the suite | Included as part of the suite | Not included |
| Rank tracking and history | Included with keyword limits per plan | Included with keyword limits per plan | Exact organic positions in the top 100 with full history; automatic weekly checks, daily checks on Pro |
| Backlink data | Included | Included | Backlink summary for any domain |
| Competitor analysis | Included | Included | Up to 5 competitors per project |
| Reporting and branded reports | Branded reporting on higher tiers | Scheduled reports on the entry plan; branded reports on higher plans | Rank change email digests on paid plans |
| Add-ons needed for extra features | Some features need add-ons, such as platform tracking | Some features need add-ons for extra capability | Not applicable; AI visibility is included on Pro |
Moz Pro is the better fit if you want audits and backlink data without paying Semrush prices. Its free tier gives a real taste of the product before you commit. Semrush covers more ground, but its entry plan is priced higher, and some advanced reporting only appears on its top tiers.
budgetSEO is a narrower tool. It handles rank tracking, keyword research, competitor tracking, AI visibility and backlink summaries, but it does not crawl sites or edit content. If your work is mostly ranking and keyword work, you can compare it with Moz Pro alternatives before paying for a full suite.
Tradeoff: budgetSEO costs less per tracked keyword, but you give up site audits, content tools and the broader suite that Moz and Semrush both bundle.
Pricing Compared: Per-Year and Per-Keyword Cost
The real cost of an SEO subscription is the annual figure after add-ons are counted, not the headline monthly price. The table below converts each plan to a yearly total and, where the sources give a keyword cap, to a cost per tracked keyword.
| Tool / plan | Monthly price | Yearly cost | Included tracked keywords | Cost per tracked keyword per year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Moz Pro Standard | $99/mo ($79/mo billed yearly), as of 2026-10-30 | not published billed yearly ($79 × 12) | not published | not published |
| Semrush Pro | $139.95/mo, as of 2026-10-30 | not published on monthly billing ($139.95 × 12) | not published | not published |
| Semrush AI tracking add-on | $99/mo, or $199/mo bundled in Semrush One, as of 2026-10-30 | not published | not published | not published |
| Ahrefs Lite | $129/mo billed monthly, as of 2026-10-30 | not published on monthly billing ($129 × 12) | 750 | not published (not published / 750) |
| budgetSEO Starter | $9/mo or $90/yr | $90 per year | 150 | not published ($90 / 150) |
| budgetSEO Pro | $39/mo or $390/yr | $390 per year | 750 | not published ($390 / 750) |
The Moz and Semrush keyword caps are not published in the sources provided, so no per-keyword figure can be stated for them. For budgetSEO, the arithmetic is $90 / 150 = not published per keyword per year on Starter and $390 / 750 = not published per keyword per year on Pro. Yearly totals are the most useful comparison point where keyword caps are missing.
Why a lower entry price can still cost more
A low headline price can hide the cost of the features you actually need. Semrush's AI tracking is sold as an add-on at $99 per month, or it comes bundled in the Semrush One plan at $199 per month as of 2026-10-30. Once you add that to a Semrush Pro subscription, the monthly total climbs well past the base plan. Moz Pro's Standard plan is the cheaper base, but its own add-ons and higher tiers change the total in the same way. Always compare the full monthly bill for the features you will use, not the entry price alone.
this tool does not include site audits, content editors, PPC research, social media tools or link building, so it does not replace Moz or Semrush for those jobs. For rank tracking and keyword research on a budget, it is the lower-cost option, and it is worth checking the Moz Pro alternative roundup before deciding which tool fits your workflow.
Budget Math: this tool Against Moz and Semrush
The fairest way to compare these tools is to price each one on what it costs per year and per tracked keyword. Moz Pro's Standard plan lists at $79 per month billed yearly (not published), and Semrush's entry plan lists at $139.95 per month (not published on monthly billing). Ahrefs Lite sits at $129 per month billed monthly (not published), which gives a reference point at the professional end of the market.
this tool is priced very differently. Its Starter plan costs $9 per month or $90 per year and covers 150 keywords across 3 projects. Its Pro plan costs $39 per month or $390 per year and covers 750 keywords across 10 projects, with daily rank checks on up to 100 ranking keywords.
Annual cost and keyword capacity
| Tool | Plan | Monthly price | Annual cost | Tracked keywords | Cost per keyword per year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Moz Pro | Standard | $99 ($79 billed yearly), as of Oct 2026 | not published billed yearly | not published | not published |
| Semrush | Pro (entry) | $139.95, as of Oct 2026 | not published on monthly billing | not published | not published |
| Ahrefs | Lite | $129, as of Oct 2026 | not published on monthly billing | 750 | not published |
| this tool | Starter | $9, as of Oct 2026 | $90 per year | 150 | not published |
| this tool | Pro | $39, as of Oct 2026 | $390 per year | 750 | not published |
its Pro matches Ahrefs Lite's 750-keyword allowance for roughly a quarter of the annual cost. The Moz and Semrush keyword caps are not published in the sources, so a per-keyword figure for them would be guesswork and is left blank.
What the numbers do and do not cover
this tool covers rank tracking, keyword research, domain overview and competitor tracking. It does not include site audits, content editors, PPC research, social media tools or link building services. If you need a crawler or a content workflow alongside your rankings, the lower price comes with a smaller scope, and a broader suite such as Moz Pro or Semrush is the honest choice for that work.
- US searches/month for "moz"
- 8,100
- US searches/month for "moz pro vs semrush"
- 170
- Keyword difficulty of "moz pro vs semrush"
- 1/100
- US searches/month for "semrush"
- 90,500
- Ahrefs Lite (billed monthly)
- $129/mo
- budgetSEO Starter
- $9/mo
- budgetSEO Pro
- $39/mo
budgetSEO keyword data (DataForSEO, United States) and published prices, October 2026
The snapshot shows how much demand sits behind the brand names, with "semrush" drawing 90,500 US searches a month against 170 for the head-to-head query. Buyers searching for the comparison are a small, deliberate audience, so the decision comes down to price and scope, which the table above makes concrete.
The tradeoff: this tool costs a fraction of Moz or Semrush and gives you rank tracking and keyword research at scale, but it leaves out site audits, content editors and the broader research modules.
Who Should Pick Which Tool
The table below ties each buyer type to the price-per-capability trade-off, so you can match your budget and workload to the right tool in one pass.
| Buyer profile | Best fit | Why (price and capability) | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small business or solo site owner who mainly needs core SEO basics | Moz Pro Standard | not published billed yearly, with a 30-day free trial to test the workflow | Narrower toolkit than Semrush for heavy research |
| Team that needs wide keyword research, reporting and competitor depth | Semrush Pro | not published on monthly billing buys the broader toolkit | Add-ons such as AI tracking ($99/mo) can raise the total sharply |
| Agency or team running client reports | Semrush higher tiers | Branded reports require the Guru plan at $249.95/mo, as of 2026-10-30 | Costs climb quickly across several client projects |
| Buyer who only tracks rankings and finds keywords, on a tight budget | the Pro | $390 per year for 750 keywords, about not published per keyword per year | No site audits, content editors or link building |
| Buyer on the tightest budget, testing rank tracking first | the Starter or Free | $90 per year for 150 keywords, about not published per keyword per year; Free plan needs no credit card | 15 keywords on Free; scope is narrower than either suite |
If you run a larger agency or in-house team that depends on broad research, see Moz vs Ahrefs to compare a research-heavy alternative. For Semrush pricing detail, read Semrush Pricing 2026: Plans, Hidden Costs and Cheaper before committing.
A Cheaper Alternative: this tool (and Its Limits)
this tool is a rank tracking and keyword research tool, not a full Moz or Semrush replacement. If your work is mostly about knowing where your pages rank and finding keywords worth targeting, it covers that job for less money. If you need a crawler, a content editor or a paid search suite, it will not cover those, and you should keep paying for a tool that does.
On the rank tracking side, it shows exact organic Google positions in the top 100 for the country, language and device you choose, with full history. Its keyword explorer gives search volume, keyword difficulty, CPC and a 12-month trend, and its AI keyword research agent proposes terms your site can realistically win. You also get domain overview for any domain's organic keywords and traffic, competitor tracking for up to 5 competitors per project, AI visibility for Google AI Overview presence and ChatGPT mentions, and a backlink summary. All data comes from live Google results via DataForSEO.
There is a free plan with 15 keywords and 1 project, and it needs no credit card. Paid plans are Starter at $9/mo or $90/yr, which covers 150 keywords and 3 projects with automatic weekly checks, and Pro at $39/mo or $390/yr, which covers 750 keywords and 10 projects with daily checks on up to 100 keywords.
If your Moz or Semrush spend is mostly for audit, content or research modules, switching will leave you with gaps. For a wider view of options that cover more ground, see Moz Pro Alternative: 7 Cheaper Options Compared (2026).
The tradeoff is clear: this tool costs a fraction of either competitor, but you give up the audit, content and research modules that make Moz Pro and Semrush full suites.
FAQ
Is Moz Pro cheaper than Semrush?
Yes, on the entry plans. Moz Pro's Standard plan starts at $99 per month ($79 per month billed yearly, or not published), while Semrush's entry Pro plan starts at $139.95 per month (not published on monthly billing).
Does Semrush have a free trial and how long is it?
Semrush's free trial for Pro is 7 days, as of 2026-10-30. This is the only trial length this article uses.
Does Moz Pro have a free plan?
Moz Pro offers free tools for all users and a 30-day free trial on paid plans, as of 2026-10-30.
Can this tool replace Moz or Semrush?
Not fully. this tool covers rank tracking and keyword research, including AI keyword research, domain overviews and competitor tracking. It does not include site audits, content editors, PPC research, social media tools or link building. If you rely on those features, keep your current suite and use this tool as a lower-cost add-on for position tracking. For a wider list of options, see Moz Pro Alternative: 7 Cheaper Options Compared (2026).
Which tool is best for a small business on a budget?
If the work is mainly tracking rankings and finding keywords, this tool is the lowest-cost option, with its Starter plan at $90 per year for 150 keywords. If you need Moz's or Semrush's broader toolkit, Moz Pro's Standard plan is the cheaper of the two at not published billed yearly. For a side-by-side view of the bigger suites, read Ahrefs vs Moz vs Semrush: Which SEO Tool Wins in 2026?.