Finally, the moment you have been waiting for is here; the grudge match of the century, Moz vs SEMrush.
Side by side, shot for shot – which of these SEO tools reigns supreme? Well, let’s get into it.
We will look at some of the pros/cons of each tool and make some determinations about which one is the better investment depending on what your projected needs are.
So before we dive headlong into things, I will give you a quick rundown of what each tool is (in case you’ve never heard of either).
I’ll be using the free versions of Moz and SEMrush. SEMrush offers a free trial for everyone (up to 5 sites), while Moz offers a free version (with watermarked results). So that’s about it for the overview. Now let’s get into the nitty-gritty.
Here are our top 3 Super Effective Keyword Research tools
1. Semrush – Largest keyword database in the industry
2. KwFinder – Best to find long-tail keywords
3. Keyword Tool Dominator – Best for finding new trending keywords
Summary
| SEO Tool Name | Moz | SEMrush |
| Founded | N/A | 2008 |
| Plan Start From | Its plans start from $99. | Its plans start from $119.95. |
| Key Features | Rank Tracker, Backlink Analysis, Keywords Search, Site Audit | Content Review, Keywords, and phrase Search, Search Engine Presentation, Web Inspect, Reporting |
| Website | Click Here | Click Here |
What is SEMrush?
SEMrush is a tool for keyword research and backlink monitoring, which is why we’re focusing on these two areas.
SEMrush’s main focus is on ranking keywords against traffic and links, but it has a whole lot more features than just that – such as site/organization reviews, keyword suggestion engines, and social engagement tools.
What is Moz?
Moz is a search engine optimization tool that helps you in growing and targeting your audience.
It increases your search engine visibility. Moz has a pretty incredible variety of features.
They range from keyword tracking to social monitoring – all the way to site crawling and link building.
Comparison of Different Features
| Key Features | SEMrush | Moz |
| Keyword Tracking | Allows to track volume and rank of keywords but also gives suggestions | Allows to track volume and rank of keywords |
| Keyword Difficulty | Let’s see the percentage difficulty of keywords | Gives you a score regarding the difficulty of keywords |
| Competitor Analysis | Let’s track competitors backlinks | Gives you the keywords your competitor is using. |
| Content Tracking | Gives you a basic SEO overview of your site and how to improve it. | Allows you to track and see how well it ranks across the web. |
Price Comparison
| SEMrush | Moz |
| Trial: $0 for one week | Trial: $0 for one month |
| Pro: $119.95/ month | Standard: $99/ month |
| Guru: $229.95/ month | Medium: $179/ month |
| Business: $449.95/ month | Large: $399/ month |
| Enterprise: (On-Demand) | Premium: $999/ month |
Moz vs SEMrush In-depth Analysis
I’m going to break this section up into two parts: basic analysis and advanced analysis.
The basic analysis will look at key features and how they perform, while advanced will compare them in-depth based on your needs.
Moz
Basic Analysis
Moz has a pretty incredible variety of features. They range from keyword tracking to social monitoring – all the way to site crawling and link building.
Here’s a list of some of their most recognizable features;
Content Tracking & Categorization
This is one of the areas where Moz shines. It allows you to track changes in your content over time and how well it ranks across the web.
Their content tracker also goes beyond simple textual analysis, allowing you to see if your title tags, Meta descriptions or body copy have changed since you last checked.
Keyword Tracking
Moz allows you to track keywords, both ranking and volume. This is one of the distinguishing features between Moz and Google’s Search Console.
Advanced Site Crawling
Get a complete site crawl that can identify issues within your site that are hindering its search visibility.
Crawl errors are one of the biggest issues you’ll encounter with any SEO tool, so having an error checker is always a massive plus for me.
Content Analysis
As with most SEO tools, content analysis is one of Moz’s primary functions.
Their primary focus on this seems to be keyword analysis – looking at anchor text and even naming conventions (like BHAs).
Brand Mentions
Track and monitor your brand across the web and in social media. This is a nice tool if you’re trying to measure your social and content marketing efforts and how they’re affecting your site visibility.
Keyword Difficulty Scores
Moz has an excellent keyword difficulty tool that gives you a score based on how hard it is to rank for a keyword.
You can also use it to sort keywords by difficulty level to make sure you’re targeting the right ones.
Competitor Analysis
One of Moz’s most distinguishing features (in my opinion) is its competitor analysis.
It allows you to see keywords that competitors are ranking for, how many links they have, etc. – all without leaving Moz.
Advanced Analysis
The Advanced section of Moz has some amazing features. First, it allows you to export all of your data via excel.
This is a huge plus if you need to transfer some of your data for anything else.
It also allows you to customize and save filters and views that help with specific tasks (like competitive analysis).
SEMrush
Basic Analysis
SEMrush is one of the best SEO tools out there. Here are some of the most distinguished features which make SEMrush the best;
Backlink Analysis
This is SEMrush’s primary function. They allow you to see what links your competitor’s sites have that affect their rankings and how much traffic those backlinks are sending.
Organic Keyword Tracking
Very similar to Moz, SEMrush allows you to track keyword position and volume over time.
It also offers a keyword suggestion tool – something that is lacking in the free version of Moz.
Keyword Suggestion Engine
Probably one of the best features of SEMrush (at least if you’re a beginner) is its powerful keyword suggestion engine.
It analyses your content and gives you keyword suggestions that it thinks will work for your site.
Organic Search Keyword Suggestions: This is a neat feature for when you already have a set of keywords you want to target.
It lets you see how well your site is doing for those keywords and gives you more ideas if necessary.
Competitor Backlinks
One of the top features of SEMrush is that it allows you to track and monitor your competitors’ backlinks.
This is useful if you’re trying to get ahead of them in the SERPs and can’t seem to figure out what’s helping them rank.
SEO Audit
This allows you to get a basic SEO overview of any site and gives recommendations on improving it.
Advanced Analysis
SEMrush has a ton of advanced analysis and data tools. Many of them seem to be focused on backlink and ranking data, like the competitor backlink tracker.
Others, such as keyword research, often overlooked by many SEO tools, are handled expertly here.
There’s also a full suite of SEO tools (like keyword difficulty and domain health check), as well as site review tools (which show you what competitors are doing to their sites).
Read: Keywords Everywhere Review.
SEmrush vs Moz – Final Thoughts
So what’s the verdict? In terms of advanced analysis, there’s no doubt that SEMrush has more features than Moz, but with so many tools and so many available options, I think it comes down to how you will use them and what your needs are.
It is really hard to pick a winner here. If you’re a beginner, Moz wins hands down. If you’re a more advanced user, I’d recommend using SEMrush.
Either way, both tools have tons of features that will help you get the most out of your SEO efforts.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are These Tools Good For Content Creators?
Both of these tools are great if you are looking to get into content creation and other SEO activities (like social media and article marketing).
Can We Pay Annually?
Both of these tools offer annual subscriptions, and you can also save money if you choose to pay annually.
Is There Any Cancellation Policy?
You can easily cancel both of these tools’ subscriptions any time you want to.
Amit Gupta is the creator of Keyword-Research.org
Amit is a keyword research guru. After completing his high school certification, Amit spent half a decade learning about different ways to do keyword research for SEO and PPC. Before forming Keyword-Research.org, Amit worked for top Keyword Research companies for more than 10 years. When Amit is not helping people with their keyword research, he enjoys spending time with his family and friends.
