The Moz Pro Starter plan looks compelling at $49/month — the lowest price point for a major SEO platform. But it has a critical limitation that surprises buyers after purchase. Here is everything you need to know before deciding.
Moz Pro Starter does not include the Rank Checker tool — the ability to track how your site ranks for specific keywords over time. This is not a minor omission. Rank tracking is one of the most fundamental activities in SEO: it tells you whether your optimisation work is actually moving the needle.
Every other paid Moz Pro plan (Standard, Medium, Large) includes full rank tracking. The Starter plan is the only exception — and Moz does not make this limitation prominent enough during the purchase flow.
Bottom line: If you need to track keyword rankings — which most SEO users do — Starter is not sufficient. Standard ($99/mo) is the minimum functional plan →
The paid tier of the MozBar Chrome extension. See Domain Authority, Page Authority, and link metrics on any webpage while browsing. On-page analysis, link metrics on SERP results. Available to all Starter subscribers.
Moz's keyword research tool. Enter any keyword to see difficulty score, organic CTR, priority score, and keyword suggestions. Useful for blog content planning and finding low-competition keyword opportunities.
Backlink analysis for any domain. See inbound links, top pages, anchor text distribution. Query limits apply — Starter gets fewer queries than Standard — but sufficient for occasional competitor checks.
AI-powered features including content and keyword analysis. Part of Moz's 2024–2025 product updates. Available on all plans including Starter.
Moz's brand-level authority metric (distinct from Domain Authority). Measures overall brand strength based on search data.
See which keywords trigger AI-generated overviews in Google search results. Useful for understanding AI impact on your target keywords.
Cannot track keyword ranking positions over time. No weekly or monthly SERP position data. This makes Starter unsuitable for any SEO workflow that includes ranking reports.
No ability to run competitive analysis comparing your site to competitors across keyword rankings, authority metrics, and link profiles.
Cannot automate report delivery. Manual exports only. Standard and above include unlimited scheduled reports for automated client reporting.
Starter covers 1 site only. If you manage more than one domain — even two — you cannot track them all within one Starter subscription.
The upgrade from Starter to Standard costs $50/month more on monthly billing ($600/year) or $40/month more on annual billing ($480/year). Here is exactly what you gain:
| What you gain with Standard | Value to professional SEO |
|---|---|
| Rank tracking (Rank Checker) | Critical — cannot do professional SEO without it |
| 300 tracked keywords (vs 50) | High — 50 keywords covers one small site, Standard covers multiple campaigns |
| 3 sites tracked (vs 1) | High — most consultants manage multiple client or personal sites |
| 400K pages crawled (vs 20K) | High — 20K covers tiny sites only; 400K covers most SMB websites comfortably |
| Competitive research tools | Medium — important for gap analysis and client competitive reports |
| Unlimited scheduled reports | Medium — automates client reporting; essential for agencies |
Start with Standard — the minimum plan for full Moz Pro functionality.
Try Standard Free →