MailerLite
ActiveCampaign
Omnisend
Klaviyo
SE Ranking
Mangools
Semrush
Ahrefs
Pipedrive
Zoho CRM
Salesforce
HubSpot
Systeme.io
GoHighLevel
ClickFunnels
VendastaMoz vs Ahrefs
Moz is easier and has a free trial. Ahrefs has the better data and no trial at all. At their working tiers Moz costs $1,716 a year and Ahrefs Lite costs $1,290 — so the cheaper-looking tool is the more expensive one. Here is the full comparison.
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The year-one numbers
| Plan | Monthly | Annual (per mo) | Per year | Tracked keywords |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Moz Starter | $49 | $39 | $468 | 50 |
| Moz Standard | $99 | $79 | $948 | 300 |
| Moz Medium | $179 | $143 | $1,716 | 1,500 |
| Ahrefs Starter | $29 | — | $348 | On-ramp only |
| Ahrefs Lite | $129 | $107.50 | $1,290 | Working entry |
| Ahrefs Standard | $249 | $208 | $2,496 | Agency tier |
Verified against both vendors’ published rate cards, 2026.
The headline comparison people run is $39 against $29 — and both numbers are fiction. The tiers you can actually work in are $1,716 for Moz and $1,290 for Ahrefs, which reverses the ordering.
Where each one wins
Ahrefs wins on
- Backlink data. The largest live index most marketers can use, and a crawler second only to Googlebot. Moz is not close and does not claim to be.
- Site audit depth. Best in the category on large sites.
- Price at the working tier, which surprises people.
Moz wins on
- Learning curve. Nothing in this category is as approachable. If you are training someone in, this matters more than a data index.
- A free trial. Seven days. Ahrefs removed its trial entirely — you pay a full month to find out whether it fits.
- A free tier. Ahrefs has none for the main product.
- Domain Authority. Not a Google signal, but the one SEO metric clients recognise.
The two traps
Moz’s 50-keyword cap. The $39 Starter plan tracks 50 keywords with 75 queries a month. That runs out in the first week of real work, which is why the honest Moz comparison is Medium at $1,716.
Ahrefs’ credit meter. Report generation draws down an allowance, so your bill effectively tracks how hard you worked. Price Ahrefs at the tier your busiest month needs, not your average one.
Both tools bury the real cost somewhere other than the headline. Moz hides it in a keyword cap; Ahrefs hides it in a usage meter.
Which should you pick
| You are | Pick | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Learning SEO | Moz | Approachable, free tier, real trial |
| Link building or outreach | Ahrefs | The index is the product and nothing matches it |
| Agency reporting to clients | Ahrefs | Better data at a lower working-tier price |
| Auditing a large site | Ahrefs | Crawl depth |
| Rank tracking on a budget | Neither | Mangools does it for $359 a year |
| Want a full toolkit cheaper | SE Ranking | $1,238 a year, more keywords at entry |
The verdict
If you can only pick one and budget is not the constraint, take Ahrefs. It costs less at the tier you will actually use and the data is materially better. The missing free trial is a real cost, so plan your first month before you pay for it.
Take Moz if approachability is worth more to you than depth — a first tool, a junior hire, a client-facing dashboard. Just do not take Moz because $39 looked cheaper than $129, because at the working tier it is not.
And if this comparison is close for you, it is worth pricing SE Ranking before deciding. A lot of people land there once they have run the numbers on both.
Common questions
Is Moz cheaper than Ahrefs?
At the sticker, yes. At the working tier, no — Moz Medium is $1,716 a year against Ahrefs Lite at $1,290.
Which has better backlink data?
Ahrefs, clearly and by a wide margin. This is the least contested question in the category.
Does either have a free trial?
Moz has 7 days plus a free tier. Ahrefs has neither for its main product, though Ahrefs Webmaster Tools is free for domains you own.
Is Domain Authority better than Domain Rating?
Neither is a Google metric. DA is more widely recognised by clients; DR is built on a better link index. Use them as rough comparatives, not targets.