Moz vs SEMrush: Pure SEO Specialist vs All-in-One Marketing Suite
Updated 30 March 2026
Moz is purely SEO for $99/mo. SEMrush bundles SEO + PPC + social + content marketing for $139.95/mo. If you only need SEO, Moz saves $480/yr. If you need a broader marketing toolkit, SEMrush replaces multiple subscriptions.
Pricing Side by Side
| Tier | Moz Pro | SEMrush |
|---|---|---|
| Entry | Standard: $99/mo (1 user) | Pro: $139.95/mo (1 user) |
| Mid | Medium: $179/mo (2 users) | Guru: $249.95/mo (1 user) |
| Agency | Large: $299/mo (3 users) | Business: $499.95/mo (1 user) |
| Extra users | Included per plan | $45 to $100/extra user |
Notice that Moz includes multiple users in its mid-tier plans while SEMrush charges per additional user. For a 2-person team, Moz Medium ($179/mo) versus SEMrush Pro + extra user ($185/mo) are nearly identical in cost.
What SEMrush Includes That Moz Does Not
PPC Research
Keyword research for Google Ads, competitor ad copy analysis, CPC data, ad position history, and Google Ads integration. For marketers managing both SEO and PPC, this eliminates the need for a separate PPC tool.
Social Media Toolkit
Schedule social posts, track engagement, analyze competitor social presence, and monitor brand mentions. Covers Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Pinterest.
Content Marketing Platform
Topic research identifies trending content ideas. SEO content templates provide writing guidelines for target keywords. A writing assistant scores content as you create it. Content audit evaluates existing pages.
Traffic Analytics
Estimate competitor website traffic, sources, geography, and engagement metrics. Similar to SimilarWeb but built into the platform. Useful for market analysis and competitive benchmarking.
What Moz Does Better
Domain Authority
The most widely recognized authority metric in the SEO industry. Used in outreach emails, client reports, and competitive analysis. SEMrush's Authority Score is functional but less universally referenced.
On-Page Optimization
Page Optimization Score provides the most actionable single-page optimization recommendations. Grades your page against a target keyword with specific suggestions for every on-page element.
Local SEO (Moz Local)
Moz Local manages listings across 100+ directories from $14/location/mo. SEMrush has a Listing Management tool but it is less comprehensive and less established than Moz Local.
Price for SEO-only work
$99 vs $139.95 saves $480 per year. If you never use PPC tools, social scheduling, or content marketing features, you are paying $40/mo for tools you do not use with SEMrush.
Shared SEO Capability Comparison
| SEO Feature | Moz | SEMrush |
|---|---|---|
| Keyword research | Good (Keyword Explorer) | Excellent (larger database) |
| Rank tracking | Daily (300 to 4,500 keywords) | Daily (500 to 5,000 keywords) |
| Site audit | 100K to 2M pages crawled | 100K to 1M pages crawled |
| Backlink analysis | Good (smaller index) | Good (larger index) |
| Competitive analysis | Basic | Comprehensive (traffic analytics) |
| Position tracking | Daily updates | Daily updates |
| Reporting | Standard reports | Customizable PDF reports |
The Verdict
Choose Moz if: You are a dedicated SEO professional or in-house SEO who does not manage PPC campaigns, social media, or content marketing. Moz gives you everything you need for technical SEO, keyword research, rank tracking, and link analysis at a lower price. Domain Authority and the on-page grader are genuine advantages.
Choose SEMrush if: You are a marketing generalist or agency managing SEO, PPC, and content simultaneously. The $40 monthly premium replaces separate subscriptions for PPC research, social media management, and content optimization. If you would otherwise subscribe to two or more tools, SEMrush consolidates them.