Moz vs SpyFu Comparison 2026
Moz tracks and maintains your own site: rank tracking, a link index and keyword research, from $49 a month for one site. SpyFu answers a narrower question about somebody else's site: what a competitor ranks for, what ads it runs and what it pays for them, with more than a decade of history, from $39 a month for Basic. SpyFu's own listing says plainly that site audits and backlink monitoring are the wrong job for it, and suggests pairing it with a free rank tracker rather than expecting it to replace a full SEO platform. These answer different questions and are cheaper used together than either alone would be to replicate the other's job.
Rank tracking and link data from Moz Pro
Every keyword a competitor has bought or ranked for
At a glance
- SpyFu starts cheaper, at $39.
- Neither has a free tier.
Side by side
Moz | SpyFu | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price (they differ) | From $49 | From $39 |
| Pricing model (they differ) | Free trial, then paid | Paid subscription |
| Free tier | No | No |
| Billing | Monthly or annual | Monthly or annual |
| Free trial | Not stated | Not stated |
| API | Yes | Yes |
Moz
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.
SpyFu
Every keyword a competitor has bought or ranked for
SpyFu is built around one question: what is the other site doing. It keeps more than a decade of history on which keywords a domain ranked for, which ads it ran and what it paid, which is the part the general SEO suites treat as a side feature. For research on a competitor rather than maintenance on your own site, it is the cheaper specialist.
Our note
SpyFu is the cheap way to answer one question well: what is the competition ranking and bidding on. Pair it with a free rank tracker rather than treating it as a replacement for a full SEO platform.
Why people weigh these two
- SpyFu instead of Moz
- SpyFu at $39 shows every keyword a competitor has bought or ranked for, competitor-first where Moz starts from your own site.
- Moz instead of SpyFu
- Moz Pro adds rank tracking and link data around the competitor research, starting at $49 with no free tier, a broader toolkit than SpyFu's single question.
Which one should you pick
Pick Moz to maintain your own site's SEO: rank tracking, a link index with spam scoring, and the Domain Authority metric it invented, from $49 a month for one site. This is the tool for watching your own numbers move, not a competitor's.
Pick SpyFu specifically to research what a competitor is doing: keyword history going back years, ad spend, pre-built campaigns you can export. Basic is $39 a month, cheaper than Moz's entry plan, but by SpyFu's own account it is the wrong tool for site audits or backlink monitoring, jobs it suggests handing to a dedicated rank tracker instead. A lot of people who buy SpyFu end up wanting something like Moz alongside it, not instead of it.
Common questions
- Is SpyFu cheaper than Moz?
- Its Basic plan is $39 a month against Moz's $49, but they answer different questions: SpyFu researches a competitor's keywords and ad spend, and Moz tracks your own site's rankings and links. Price is not really the deciding factor between the two.
- Can SpyFu replace Moz for maintaining my own site?
- No, and SpyFu's own listing says so directly: if you need site audits and backlink monitoring, it is the wrong tool. It recommends pairing it with a free rank tracker instead, closer to what Moz is built for.
- Does Moz show what a competitor is ranking and bidding on the way SpyFu does?
- Not in the same depth. SpyFu keeps more than a decade of history on a domain's rankings and ad spend as its core feature. Moz's rank tracking and Link Explorer are built around your own site's position and backlinks rather than a rival's ad history.
- Should I buy both Moz and SpyFu?
- It depends on the job: SpyFu for researching what a competitor ranks and pays for, Moz for tracking and maintaining your own site's rankings and links. SpyFu's own listing frames itself as a cheap specialist meant to sit beside a broader tool rather than replace one.
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.