Moz vs Ahrefs vs Semrush (2026): Three Suites, Three Price Ladders

Moz Pro, Ahrefs and Semrush each suit a different buyer: Moz's middle plans include extra users, which makes it the cheapest mid-size option for a small team, Ahrefs is cheapest to start and strongest on research tools per dollar, and Semrush is the one that tracks rankings daily on every plan. Which is "best" depends on how many people log in and how often you need fresh positions.

Every price below comes from each vendor's own pricing page, read on 22 September 2026, billed monthly unless marked. We have not measured the three tools' data against each other; they report different numbers for the same keywords, and none publishes an accuracy figure we can check.

The three ladders

Each suite has a small entry plan and three main tiers, and the price steps are similar — the difference is in what each step includes. Moz's main tiers run $99, $179 and $299; Ahrefs' run $129, $249 and $449; Semrush's run $139, $199, $299 and $549.

Semrush's Starter plan ($199) is left out of the table because it has the same limits as its SEO plan plus AI prompt tracking. Below these tiers sit the small plans: Ahrefs Starter at $29, Moz's entry plan at $49 "for individuals managing a single website", and nothing from Semrush under $139.

Cheapest for one person

For one person, Ahrefs Starter at $29 a month is the lowest paid entry of the three, followed by Moz's $49 entry plan. Among full plans, Moz Standard is cheapest at $99 a month, or $79 a month billed yearly.

Moz prints the yearly price as "$950 billed for your first year", which means the renewal may differ, and Moz does not print what it becomes. Ahrefs says annual billing saves "up to 17%" without a per-plan figure; Semrush prints $117.33 a month for its SEO plan billed annually. The one-person choice therefore turns less on price than on what the plan tracks: Moz Standard's 300 keywords a month, Ahrefs Lite's 750 weekly, or Semrush's 500 daily.

Cheapest for a team of three

For three people, the lowest bill of all is Ahrefs Lite at $129 + 2 × $40 = $209 a month, but those three share Lite's small limits: 5 projects, 750 weekly keywords and 1,000 credits each. On a mid-size tier, Moz Large is cheapest at $299 a month because it includes three users and 3,000 tracked keywords; Ahrefs Standard for three costs $249 + 2 × $60 = $369.

Semrush's SEO plan reaches three people at $139 + 2 × $45 = $229 or more, and Pro+ at $299 + 2 × $45 = $389 or more. Moz's extra seats cost $49 a month each — more than Semrush's $45 starting price, less than Ahrefs' $60 on Standard — so Moz's advantage is strongest while the team fits inside Medium's two users or Large's three.

How often rankings refresh

Semrush updates tracked keywords daily on every plan; Ahrefs updates them weekly on every plan. Moz states its allowance "per month" on the pricing page and does not print an update frequency there, so we can't place it on this line.

If daily positions matter — during a site move or a launch — Semrush is the only one of the three whose pricing page promises them. If you report weekly or monthly, Ahrefs' larger weekly allowance may be the better use of money. For a tool that tracks more keywords daily than any of these three at its price, see SE Ranking vs Semrush.

AI search tracking in each

All three now sell tracking of how your brand appears in AI answers, bundled into their plans at different sizes. Moz Standard includes 50 tracked prompts across four AI models, updated weekly; Ahrefs Lite includes 5 tracked AI prompts; Semrush's SEO plan includes none, and its Starter plan at $199 tracks 50 daily.

That makes Moz Standard, at $99, the cheapest of the three routes to 50 tracked prompts, with the caveat that Semrush's are refreshed daily and Moz's weekly. What prompt tracking is, and its limits, is explained in Semrush One, explained.

Free options from each

All three have a free route, and each is shaped differently. Ahrefs Free is permanent and covers Site Explorer and Site Audit for sites you verify; Semrush's free account allows 10 Analytics requests a day, one project and 10 tracked keywords; Moz's free community account gives limited access to MozBar, Keyword Explorer and Link Explorer.

For trials, Semrush offers seven days with a card check, Moz offers a free trial without printing its length on the pricing page, and Ahrefs offers none. Moz also points registered 501(c)(3) non-profits to a separate page for more information.

Where each one's data comes from

All three build their own keyword and link databases, and they disagree — the same keyword can show different monthly volumes and difficulty scores in each. That is not a sign that one is broken; each estimates search volume from different inputs and models difficulty its own way.

We don't crown one as most accurate, because none publishes an accuracy figure we can verify and we have not measured them. The practical test is cheap: during a trial or a single paid month, look up ten keywords where you know your real clicks from Google Search Console, and keep the tool whose picture matches yours.

Annual billing across the three

All three reward a year's commitment, by different amounts and with different transparency. Moz prints its yearly prices ($79, $143 and $239 a month) and calls the discount 20%; Semrush prints its annual prices, up to 17% lower; Ahrefs says "up to 17%" but prints no per-plan figure.

Moz's yearly totals are labelled as first-year bills, and Ahrefs says it does not refund in general, so pay monthly until you know which tool you will keep.

Which to choose

Choose Moz if you are a team of two or three who wants link metrics and site tracking without paying per seat. Choose Ahrefs if one or two people do most of the research and weekly rankings are enough. Choose Semrush if daily rank tracking or its AI tiers matter and you can afford $45 or more for each extra person.

And choose none of them if the job is one small site: Ahrefs Starter, Mangools or Google Search Console may cover it for far less. Every option, including the ones outside this big three, is priced in our Semrush alternatives comparison. Moz's affiliate programme is one we haven't verified, so Moz is named on this page without a link; Ahrefs pays us nothing; neither fact changes the advice above.