The 6 Best Moz Alternatives for Every Budget in 2025: From Personal Experience

Moz is a popular SEO toolkit used by many professionals and agencies. 

It offers various features, including keyword research, site audit, local SEO, rank tracking, link analysis, and more.

Moz is primarily known for its unique metrics like Domain Authority (DA) and Page Authority (PA). However, many people search for Moz alternatives because of its data inaccuracy, smaller keyword database, missing PPC features, etc.

If you’re searching for affordable or more advanced features, I have a handpicked list of six of the best Moz competitors for you. In this post, I’ll show you;

• Factors to consider before picking an SEO tool
• Top 6 tools you can try instead of Moz
• Unique features, when to avoid and pricing of each tool and much more

How to Choose the Best Moz Alternative Tool?

Choosing the RIGHT Moz alternative depends on my website’s SEO/PPC needs.

Here are a few things I would normally keep in mind while choosing ANY SEO tool;

• Firstly, I’d consider my budget. Most Moz alternatives are expensive (Semrush, Ahrefs, etc). 
• Then, I consider the features the tool offers. If I’m particular about keyword research and competitor analysis, I’d use tools like Semrush or Ahrefs because they provide large databases. I’d go for Mangools or Surfer if I’m on a tight budget.
• If you’re a beginner, I’d suggest you also consider the ease of use. You don’t want to spend too much time on how to use a tool effectively. Here, I’d consider tools like Surfer or SE Ranking, as they offer simple interfaces.

Above all, for anyone considering an SEO tool, I highly recommend trying out their free trial or free plans first. This is because free trials help me see if the tool is easy to use, provides good features, and is worth the money before I invest it.

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Moz Alternatives & Competitors (Top 6 Options In 2025)

Moz Alternatives	Best For?	Core Features
1. Semrush	Competitor analysis	Keyword magic, organic research, backlink analysis, site audits, content marketing, PPC research
2. SE Ranking	SEO research	Rank tracking, AI overviews, website audit, backlink monitoring, local marketing, white-label reports
3. Mangools	Keyword research	KWFinder (keyword research), SERPChecker (SERP analysis), LinkMiner (backlink analysis), SERPWatcher (rank tracking), SiteProfiler (SEO metrics)
4. Surfer	Content optimization	AI Content Detector, content editor, keyword recommendations, NLP analysis, Topical map
5. SpyFu	PPC analysis	SEO research, PPC research, backlink research, SERP analysis, domain history
6. Ahrefs	Content marketing	Content explorer, keyword explorer, site explorer, rank tracking, site audits

Disclosure: We get a commission when you buy a product via our affiliate link at no additional cost.

1. Semrush

If I’m looking for only one Moz alternative for all my SEO and PPC needs, I’d go with Semrush. It gives me 55+ tools to cover keyword research, site audits, competitor research, content marketing, and rank tracking – all in one place.

Semrush Features: A Quick Overview

• Keyword research
• Site audit
• On-page SEO tools 
• Competitor analysis tools
• Content marketing tools
• Local SEO tools
• Rank tracking
• Link building
• Social media management
• PPC tools

Who Should Use Semrush and Why It’s a Strong Alternative to Moz?

Who it’s best suited for: Semrush is an excellent choice for bloggers, SEO professionals, digital marketers, and businesses of all sizes looking for an all-in-one SEO toolkit.

Here are a few reasons Semrush is an excellent alternative to Moz Pro. 

1.) Domain Overview:

The Domain Overview feature gives me a complete overview of any website. 

I can quickly check estimated website traffic, backlinks, authority score, etc.

Here’s what it looks like;

I can also see any website’s top-performing keywords so I can track trends and spot golden keyword opportunities to improve my site’s traffic.

When to avoid? You can avoid it if you’re on a tight budget, as Moz’s starter plans provide solid domain analysis for less.

2.) Link Building Tool:

Semrush’s Link Building Tool helps me find highly relevant websites to get links from. 

Once I connect my site, the tool automatically collects a list of link-building opportunities for my domain.

Once I click on “Prospects,” it shows me websites similar to mine, and it even helps me contact those websites to ask for a link.

Here’s a detailed video tutorial from Semrush on how to effectively use the link building tool to find link building opportunities. 

Limitations and Challenges of Using Semrush:

Moz is undoubtedly cheaper than Semrush. Also, Semrush’s Authority Score is NOT as popular as Moz’s DA (Domain Authority) metric within the SEO industry.

Besides that, Semrush offers a 14-day free trial, while Moz provides a more generous 30-day free trial. You can also read my unbiased Semrush review for more details.

Semrush Pricing:

Semrush offers three pricing plans;

1. Pro plan is excellent for beginners. It costs $139.95/mo or $117.33/mo if billed annually.
2. Guru plan is great for small businesses and SEO professionals. It costs $249.95/mo or $208.33/mo if billed annually.
3. Business pan is excellent for large sites and agencies. It costs $499.95/mo or $416.66/mo if billed annually.

Try Semrush 14 Days Free Trial

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2. SE Ranking

SE Ranking is one of the most affordable SEO toolkits on the market, as its pricing starts only at $52/mo. Also, I can get an all-in-one toolkit that includes keyword analysis, rank tracking, competitor research, site audits, custom reports, and much more.

SE Ranking Features: A Quick Overview

• Keyword research
• Rank tracker
• SEO/PPC Competitor Research
• On-Page Checker
• Website audit
• Backlink checker
• Custom SEO Reporting
• Social Media Analytics

Who Should Use SE Ranking?

SE Ranking suits anyone who’s looking for an affordable all-in-one SEO tool. It offers excellent rank tracking features.

Here’s why SE Ranking is my top choice over Moz Pro.

1.) Keyword research tool

Compared to Moz, SE Ranking’s keyword database is much bigger, as it has 5.3 billion keywords from 188 geo databases. 

SE Ranking’s keyword research tool is excellent. It gives me all the essential data I need to find better keywords.

Here’s an example;

As shown above, I can quickly discover;

• Difficulty of the keyword
• Search volume (both locally and globally)
• Estimated CPC and more

I can scroll down a bit to see a list of highly relevant keyword ideas around my seed keyword;

I can get search volume and difficulty for all the keywords the tool suggests so I can easily understand the competition.

2.) Website audits

I’ve used several tools to audit my site, including Semrush, Moz, Ahrefs, etc. But SE Ranking’s site audit is one of the most beginner-friendly options that gives me clear and actionable suggestions.

Here’s what it looks like;

As shown above, it gives me a health score, calculated based on the number and priority of issues found during the audit.

It also gave me the top 5 issues by significance level, and the most critical issues were displayed first.

When to avoid? Although the site audit feature is good, it takes a lot of time to crawl an entire website. If I need quick results for urgent technical and SEO fixes, tools like Semrush or Ahrefs work faster.

Limitations and Challenges of Using SE Ranking:

SE Ranking is the most affordable alternative to Moz Pro but its backlink and keyword databases are smaller than Ahrefs or Semrush. 

You can also read my in-depth SE Ranking review for more details.

SE Ranking Pricing:

SE Ranking offers the following three pricing packages;

1. Essential plan is suited for individuals. It costs $65/mo or $52/mo if billed annually.
2. Pro plan is great for small teams. It costs $119/mo or $95.20/mo if billed annually.
3. Business plan is excellent for large agencies and enterprises. It costs $259/mo or $207.20/mo if billed annually.

Try SE Ranking Free for 14 Days

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3. Mangools

Mangools is a fantastic SEO toolkit for beginners, offering useful features like keyword research, rank tracking, SERP analysis, etc. The best part is that I can access five tools for just $29.90/mo.

Mangools Features: A Quick Overview

• KWFinder: Keyword research
• SERP Checker: Competitor analysis
• SERP Watcher: Rank tracking
• Link Miner: Backlink analysis
• Site Profiler: SEO metrics

Who Should Use Mangools?

Mangools is primarily useful for those who just want a simplest keyword research tool with a couple of SEO features.

Here are a few reasons to consider Mangools over Moz.

1.) KW Finder

KW Finder is an easy-to-use keyword research tool from Mangools that helps me identify highly relevant keywords for my website.

I just need to enter a seed keyword and it will give a ton of suggestions including related keywords, questions, etc.

As shown above, the tool will also show me;

• The intent of each keyword
• Search trend
• Search volume
• CPC and PPC values
• Keyword difficulty 

If I want to find top-ranking keywords of any domain, I can simply search by domain;

The tool will also suggest possible competitors I could analyze within my niche to identify their keyword strategies, backlink profiles, and overall SEO performance.

I can also see the SERP overview to identify the top 10 ranking pages for the keyword. 

When to avoid? It’s not a comprehensive tool, as its keyword database is comparatively limited.

2.) Site Profiler

Mangools’ Site Profiler is a simple website analysis tool that gives me important SEO metrics of a website.

Here’s what it looks like;

As shown above, I can quickly find my site’s;

• Domain authority
• Page authority
• Citation flow (tells me how authoritative the URL is based on the number of backlinks)
• Trust flow (tells me how authoritative the URL is based on the QUALITY of backlinks)
• Facebook shares, etc.

I can also find my domain’s backlink profile, which helps me identify active and lost backlinks for the past 4 months.

When to avoid? For basic website analysis, SiteProfiler is good. But if I want in-depth information on any site – I’ll avoid it as I don’t get comprehensive data on backlinks, traffic sources, or competitor historical data.

Limitations and Challenges of Using Mangools:

Compared to other tools, Mangools needs to show more detailed competitor data. Also, its keyword database is smaller, which means it can be challenging to uncover hidden keyword opportunities.

You can also read my in-depth Mangools tools review for more details.

Mangools Pricing:

Mangools offers three pricing tiers;

1. Basic plan is best suited for beginners.  It costs $49/mo or $29.90/mo if billed annually.
2. Premium plan is suitable for most website owners.  It costs $69/mo or $44.90/mo if billed annually.
3. Agency plan is great for agencies and SEO professionals.  It costs $129/mo or $89.90/mo if billed annually.

Try Mangools With 20% Discount (coupon is pre-applied)

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4. Surfer

Surfer is an SEO content optimization platform that helps me find better topic ideas, create SEO-friendly content, and optimize it for higher rankings.

Surfer Features: A Quick Overview

• Content Editor
• AI Content Humanizer
• AI Content Detector
• Topical Map 
• Content Audit

Surfer SEO is an excellent choice for any one who wants to optimize their content for better On-Page SEO and ultimately good search engine rankings.

Surfer SEO can be a great Moz alternative for the following reasons;

1.) Topical Map

Topical Map from Surfer helps me identify new opportunities for my content by analyzing all the topics on my site.

Once I connect my Google Search Console data with Surfer SEO, I get an instant map of my entire domain.

Here’s what it looks like;

If I’m stuck on what to write about, I can always head over to the Recommendations tab in Surfer.  It gives me relevant topics that I can cover;

Here’s a detailed video from the the Surfer team on using this platform like a pro.

If I’m doing manual keyword research, I don’t need a topical map feature to get new topic ideas for my site.

2.) Content Editor

Content Editor helps me write and optimize my blog posts to get better rankings in Google. 

It tells me which keywords to use, how long the blog post should be, how to compete with my competitors, etc, in one place. It saves me time in research and gives me guidelines to create better content.

Also, it helps me automatically optimize my entire content with one click. It uses NLP algorithms to analyze the best opportunities to optimize my content.

For more information, you can watch this video on using the content editor from Surfer.

When to avoid? If I want to create content and optimize my content manually, I don’t need to invest in Surfer. I can use free or cheaper alternatives like Rank Math or Yoast SEO for optimization.

Limitations and Challenges of Using Surfer:

Surfer SEO does not offer a complete SEO toolkit, as it primarily gives me access to content marketing & On-Page SEO tools. If I’m looking for only one tool for all my SEO needs, I’d avoid Surfer.

Also, Surfer SEO is NOT an affordable tool, as its pricing starts at $79 per month, which can be a big deal for most website owners and solo content creators.

You can also read my honest review of Surfer SEO for more details.

Surfer Pricing:

Surfer SEO offers two pricing options;

1. Essential plan is great for starters. It costs $99/mo or $79/mo if billed annually.
2. Scale plan is great for growing businesses.  It costs $219/mo or $175/mo if billed annually.

Try Surfer SEO Today!

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5. SpyFu

SpyFu is an easy-to-use competitor analysis tool that offers excellent PPC features, including historical data. It provides unlimited searches with all plans, so I can thoroughly research my competitors’ strategies without worrying about usage limits.

SpyFu Features: A Quick Overview

• SEO Competitor Analysis
• Keyword Research
• Domain Comparison
• Rank Tracker
• PPC Research
• SEO Reports
• Keyword Rank Checker
• SERP Checker
• Domain Overview

SpyFu is a great choice for anyone whose main focus is primarily on competitor analysis and in-depth PPC research.

I can choose SpyFu over Moz for the following features;

1.) Domain Overview Tool

SpyFu’s Domain Overview tool gives me a detailed view of any domain or website. If I want to identify estimated website traffic, keywords a site is ranking for, competition, etc – I can use this tool for detailed analysis.

Here’s what it looks like;

As shown above, it gives me the traffic (organic and paid) growth over time along with the estimated clicks and keywords.

The tool also shows me a list of newly ranked keywords along with their search volume, ranking change, SEO clicks, keyword difficulty, etc. This information helps me identify better long-tail and profitable keywords for my website.

When to avoid? If I need an in-depth analysis of my competitors, including their on-page optimization strategies, site structure, or technical SEO issues – SpyFu’s domain overview tool is not for me.

2.) PPC research

Most people use SpyFu for PPC analysis, and the tool offers excellent features.

To spy on my competitors’ paid ads on Google, I simply need to enter their domain in the PPC overview tool.

As shown above, SpyFu gives me a detailed overview of my competitors’ paid strategies including;

• Paid keywords
• Estimated monthly PPC clicks
• Estimated monthly PPC budget
• PPC clicks over the years

One thing I really like about SpyFu’s PPC tool is that it shows me a list of “Consider Buying” keywords that the competitors buy but not me.

This is helpful because it gives me ideas for targeting new keywords in Google Ads.  Basically, it shows me PPC keywords my competitors think are valuable and that I might be missing out on.

Limitations and Challenges of Using SpyFu:

SpyFu has limited SEO data and features compared to its main competitors. This is a great tool for in-depth PPC ad analysis of my competitors. It is mostly suitable for small teams and solopreneurs (not big websites or agencies).

You can also read my detailed SpyFu review for more details.

SpyFu Pricing:

SpyFu offers two pricing plans;

1. Basic plan is suitable for most website owners. It costs $39/mo or $33/mo if billed annually.
2. Professional is great for agencies and large websites. It costs $79/mo or $58/mo if billed annually.

Both these plans will give unlimited access to all the SpyFu data you want.

Try SpyFu Tool Now

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6. Ahrefs

If content marketing and competitor analysis are what all I need, I’d prefer Ahrefs over Moz. Ahrefs also offers extensive data for backlinks and keywords, making it a solid SEO tool.

Ahrefs Features: A Quick Overview

• Keywords Explorer 
• Site Audit tool
• Site Explorer  
• Content Explorer 
• Rank Tracker
• Domain comparison
• Batch analysis
• Content gap tool

Who Should Use Ahrefs?

Here are a few benefits of choosing Ahrefs over Moz Pro in 2025;

1.) Site Explorer

With the Site Explorer tool from Ahrefs, I can quickly analyze any website’s backlink profile and search traffic.

As shown above, the tool shows me the complete overview of a domain, including;

• Backlink profile (and DR, i.e, Domain Rating)
• Backlinks with referring domains
• Overall keywords and estimated traffic

I can also see any domain’s traffic by location, share of traffic, number of keywords, etc.

I can see the type of keywords by intent for which the site is ranking so I can analyze whether the site is targeting informational, navigational, commercial, or transactional keywords.

2.) Site Audits

With the Ahrefs site audit tool, I can see all my website’s on-page and technical SEO issues.

Once I scroll down, the tool will help me identify exactly the top issues affecting my site.

As shown above, I can easily identify and check whether my website’s technical performance is doing well. I can export all issues if I want to share them with my team.

Limitations and Challenges of Using Ahrefs:

Although I found Ahrefs to be a powerful tool for overall SEO purposes, but it is expensive compared to Moz Pro. Also, the backlink data is NOT as big as its competitors like Semrush or Moz.

You can also read my in-depth Ahrefs review for more details.

Ahrefs Pricing:

Ahrefs offers four pricing plans;

1. Lite plan is excellent for beginners. It costs $129/mo or $108/mo if billed annually.
2. Standard plan is excellent for website owners. It costs $249/mo or $208/mo if billed annually.
3. Advanced plan is excellent for agencies. It costs $449/mo or $374/mo if billed annually.
4. Enterprise plan is excellent for large agencies and high-traffic sites. It costs $1499/mo (annual billing only).

Try Ahrefs Now

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FAQs

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Conclusion

Although Moz is a budget-friendly SEO tool for people mainly focusing on keyword research and local SEO, it may not be the best fit for those who want advanced features.

Each of the above-mentioned Moz Pro alternatives has its own unique features. If you want in-depth backlink analysis and keyword research, you can choose tools like Semrush, Ahrefs, and SpyFu.

For affordable options, you can go for SE Ranking, Surfer, etc. So, it’s essential to consider your goals and budget. 

Have any questions? Let me know in the comments.