Growing an audience
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Both cover seo & discovery. Here is what separates them on price, billing, what you can take with you, and coverage.
| Ahrefs | Moz | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | From $129 | From $49 |
| Pricing model | Free plan, paid tiers | Free trial, then paid |
| Free tier | Yes | No |
| Billing | Monthly or annual | Monthly or annual |
| Free trial | Not stated | Not stated |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| Data export | Not stated | Not stated |
| Their cut | Not stated | Not stated |
| Runs on | Web | Web |
| Covers | SEO & Discovery, Research & Trends | SEO & Discovery |
| Works with | Nothing in particular | Nothing in particular |
| Founded | Not listed | Not listed |
| Reader rating | No reviews yet | No reviews yet |
| Live deals | None right now | None right now |
Backlink and keyword data at full depth
Ahrefs runs its own crawler, which is why its backlink index is the one other tools get compared against, and why the keyword data goes deeper than the free alternatives. Site Explorer and Content Gap are what most people open it for. It is priced for businesses rather than for individuals, and the company states outright that it never discounts.
Our note
Between this and Semrush the split is old but holds: Ahrefs for backlinks and content research, Semrush for advertising data and rank tracking breadth. Pick on which half of the job is yours, because paying for both is rarely worth it.
Only on this side
Rank tracking and link data from Moz Pro
Moz has been measuring domain authority since the metric was invented, and its rank tracking, link explorer and keyword research still cover what a content site needs to watch. Its free browser extension is what most people meet first. The index is smaller than Ahrefs', and the entry plan is priced for one site rather than for an agency.
Our note
The entry price is the argument, at $49 a month for a single site against what Ahrefs and Semrush charge. The link index behind it is smaller. Buy it for rank tracking and check backlinks somewhere else.
Ratings are the average of reviews readers left. The facts are stated by each tool’s own listing and are not verified by CloutStack. How we make money.