Semrush vs Ahrefs vs Moz: Which One is Best SEO Tool

Whether for ecommerce, affiliate marketing, or consulting, getting free traffic is important. And to get traffic, you need to be well-versed in Search Engine Optimization (SEO). According to research, over 61% of marketers believe that improving Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is their top marketing strategy.

A proper Search Engine Optimization covers a lot of points, such as:

• Keyword research.
• Link building.
• Competitor analysis.
• Tracking organic rankings.
• On-page SEO and content marketing.
• And many more

Now-a-days, there are a large number of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) tools available in the market. Some of the best paid SEO tools available in the market are Semrush, Ahrefs and Moz.

Semrush 

It is one of the best SEO tools in the market, and was founded in 2008. It offers an incredibly powerful all-in-one platform to manage your search and content marketing strategy under one roof.

Key Features:

Some of it’s basic key features are as follows:

• Keyword Magic Tool

It includes over 20 billion keywords in its database.

• Site Audit Tool 

It identifies and fixes technical SEO’s issues on your website.

• Position Tracking

Track your and your competitor’s rankings for your target keywords.

• Content Marketing Toolkit

It’s creation and optimization tools to help you level up your content.

• Competitor Research Toolkit

It also includes tools to track your competitor’s SEO and PPC campaigns.

• Backlink Audit Tool

Identify and eliminate toxic backlinks to avoid Google penalties.

• SEO Reports

You can download customizable PDF reports to  organize your SEO and PPC research data in a better way.

Pros

• Competitor benchmarking- it helps you uncover your competitors SEO and PPC strategies.
• Powerful keyword research- helps you pick the most profitable keyword 
• All-in-one SEO tool- offers an in-depth list to optimize rankings for your target keywords
• Strong technical SEO site audit- it helps you to identify on-page and technical SEO errors and warnings on your website.
• High-quality reports and exports.
• Free trial option.
• Customised plans.

Cons

• Requires some technical knowledge.
• Its Chrome extension is clumsy.
• Lacks the accuracy in backlink.
• Often inaccurate website metrics.
• Limited customization of graphs.

Plans available on Semrush

• Pro – $119.95/month (for beginners and bloggers)
• Guru – $229.95/month (for small business owners and solopreneurs)
• Business – $449.95/month (for marketing agencies and big companies)

Pro tip: SEMrush is an expensive tool and if you Google it you’ll see websites offering you premium cookies for SEMrush.Don’t fall for it. The SEMrush premium cookies method is not a viable way of getting  SEMrush premium plan for free.

Ahrefs 

It is another top Search Engine Optimization (SEO) tool in the market with a comprehensive toolkit, was founded in 2010 as a site explorer tool. It is a full-fledged SEO platform for businesses, agencies, and SEO professionals.

Key Features

• Site Explorer

An in-depth look at search traffic and backlink profile of any website.

• Content Explorer

Discover the most popular content for any topic.

• Alerts

Notifies for new & lost backlinks, web mentions, and keywords rankings.

• Rank Tracker

It tracks your rankings on Google, performs technical audits wherever required.

• Domain Comparison

Compares the backlink profiles of up to 5 different domains.

• Best Link Index

It helps you to unearth your competitors backlink profile and build your own backlinks.

Pros

• Massive database for backlinks checking
• Database of over 7 billion keywords
• All-in-one SEO tool
• Content research and optimization capabilities
• Limited free API access
• Rank tracker is accurate and reliable.
• The latest iteration of Keywords Explorer sets high standards for keyword research.
• The UI is slick and user-friendly.

Cons

• It’s Site Audit tool is a mess, 
• Takes hours to produce an audit report.
• Lacks SEO reporting features.
• No free trial.
• No ability to export site audit reports for clients.

Plans available on Ahrefs

• Lite – $99/month (for beginners and solopreneurs)
• Standard – $179month (for experienced bloggers)
• Advanced – $399/month (for SEO agencies)
• Agency – $999/month (for marketing agencies with a big clientele)

Moz 

It’s another popular contender for the best Search Engine Optimization (SEO) software tool, founded in 2004. It was an online community called SEOmoz, later on became a consultancy agency and then a Search Engine Optimization (SEO) toolkit. Moz offers a professional toolkit for small businesses, SEO professionals, and agencies. It relies on SEO metrics such as Domain Authority and Page Authority. 

Key Features

• Global Rank Tracking

Track ranking weekly for Google, Bing, and Yahoo.

• Keyword Explorer

Discover the best keywords to target for your site.

• Link Profile Analysis

Access and evaluate the most important links on the web with our industry-leading metrics.

• Site Crawling

Identify errors and fix them to improve your site’s overall SEO health.

• Page Optimization

Identifies and fixes on-page issues and boost search rankings.

• Reporting 

Improve your impact on site traffic.

Pros

• Extensive link analysis
• User-friendly interface
• All-in-one SEO tool
• Free trial option
• Limited free API access
• Customized plans
• Identify and fix on-page issues
• Excellent customer support. 

Cons

• Search volume data can be confusing.
• The site audit report fails to spot the common SEO errors.
• Backlink data can sometimes be inaccurate.
• Takes time to get used to all its features.
• Outdated and clunky UI.
• Outdated web crawler.

Plans available on Moz 

• Standard– $99/month (for bloggers and solopreneurs)
• Medium– $179/month (for bloggers)
• Large– $249/month (for SEO agencies)
• Premium– $599/month (for marketing agencies)

CONCLUSION

Each SEO tool comes with its own unique strengths and weaknesses. If you want a reliable SEO tool with excellent technical SEO and analytics functions, Semrush is a better option. For powerful backlink tracking, site explorer tools, and keyword research, Ahrefs is the best option. And for a decent SEO tool for local SEO, customized reporting, and campaign analysis, Moz is a better option.

Moz is a better SEO tool for small businesses as it offers a set of SEO features at competitive prices. Ahrefs and Semrush are more advanced and also offer content marketing capabilities. Both of them are ultimate all-in-one SEO tools.

Semrush helps you unlock the most profitable keywords for your business or blogs, and helps you to gain a deeper understanding of your competitors.

Sparsh Bhasin