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AI & Software

Cheap Alternatives to Moz Pro (And Why the Real Fix Isn't a Cheaper Tool)

Moz Pro leads with Domain Authority, a score that Moz itself says Google does not use to rank pages. Cheaper tools lower the bill, but each one comes with its own score and its own estimates. Here is what to switch to, what you lose, and what to do with the numbers you have tracked for years.

Published October 18, 2026 8 min read
Disclosure: This comparison may contain affiliate links. Learn more.
Quick Verdict

Choose Mangools if you mostly use Moz for keywords and rank tracking, because it costs about half of Moz Standard. Choose SE Ranking if you also want site audits and client reports, though it costs a little more than Moz Standard and a little less than Moz Medium. Your Domain Authority history does not move with you either way. Pick the new score on day one and treat it as a fresh start.

Product Pricing Best For Weaknesses
Mangools Basic $37.70 per month, Premium $52.70 and Agency $97.70, all on annual billing. Keyword research and rank tracking for one person with a few sites Lighter than the upper Moz Pro plans. Not built for heavy audits or agency reporting.
SE Ranking Core $129 per month, or $103.20 per month on annual billing. Growth $279 per month, or $223.20 on annual billing. Audits, rank tracking and client reports in one place Still an outside estimate of your site, and its own authority score will not match Moz.
Serpstat Individual $50 per month, Team $100, Team x2 $169 and Agency $410, all on annual billing. One tool for a small team that wants everything under one login Interface is busy and data depth varies by market.
Ubersuggest Lifetime plans paid once: Individual $290, Business $490, Enterprise $990. The lowest price and simple reports Shallow backlink data and fewer team features.

What Moz Pro costs and what the bill buys

Most people who search for a cheaper Moz are staring at an invoice and a dashboard that opens with one number. That number is Domain Authority, a score from 1 to 100 that predicts how well a site might rank. Moz's own guide says it is "not a Google ranking factor and has no effect on the SERPs."

That does not make Moz useless. It makes the price worth a second look before the next renewal.

Moz Pro list prices, checked October 18, 2026

Moz Pro plan Monthly price Price on annual billing Useful limit to check
Starter $49 Not shown on Moz's page For one website. Limits are not published on Moz's page
Standard $99 $79 300 keywords, 400K pages crawled
Medium $179 $143 1,500 keywords, 2M pages crawled
Large $299 $239 3,000 keywords, 5M pages crawled

Cheap alternatives to Moz Pro, side by side

The table shows what each swap keeps and what it gives up. Prices checked October 18, 2026. Annual billing is assumed where it is the normal way to buy.

Cheaper Moz Pro alternatives, published pricing

Tool Realistic monthly cost The job it does well What it gives up
Mangools $37.70 annual (Basic), $52.70 Premium Keyword research and rank tracking Audits and agency reporting
SE Ranking $103.20 annual, $129 monthly Audits, tracking and reports together Its authority score will not match Moz
Serpstat From $50 annual (Individual) All-in-one for a small team Consistency of data by market
Ubersuggest $290 once (lifetime Individual) Simple reports at the lowest price Backlink depth

Which Moz Pro alternative fits which job

You mostly track keywords and rankings. Mangools. It costs less than Moz Standard on annual billing and covers the keyword and results-page work most people open every day.

You want audits, tracking and reports in one place. SE Ranking. It costs more than Moz Standard on annual billing and less than Moz Medium, and it puts audits, tracking and reports under one login.

You want one tool for a small team. Serpstat. The screens are busy, and the data is stronger in big markets than small ones.

You want the lowest price and simple reports. Ubersuggest. Easy to learn, light on link data, and the lifetime plans are paid once.

You track one site for years and like Moz's steady history. Stay on Moz. For that one job, a single site tracked the same way year after year, it is a reasonable fit, and switching resets your baseline.

What happens to your Domain Authority when you leave Moz

Your score stays with Moz. Nothing carries over.

The other tools have their own versions. Ahrefs calls its score Domain Rating. Semrush calls its score Authority Score. Each is built from that company's own crawl, so a site that scores 40 in one tool will not score 40 in another. Never compare scores across tools.

If you report Domain Authority to clients, tell them before you switch. A client who has watched one number for three years will ask where it went. The honest answer is that you changed the ruler and started a new baseline on the day you moved.

A free Moz Pro alternative for links: Search Console and your server logs

A score is a guess about links. The links themselves are not a guess.

Google Search Console has a Links report. It lists the sites that link to yours, your most linked pages and the words people use in the link. It is free, and it comes straight from Google. Ahrefs also gives away Ahrefs Webmaster Tools for sites you own and verify. Your server logs add the other half. When someone clicks a link and lands on your site, the log records the page they came from.

None of these hands you a score. They hand you a list, which is more useful, because you can open each page and see who linked to you and why.

Two honest limits. The Links report is a sample and not every link on the web. And a log records a visit, not whether the visitor read anything.

I run more than 200 websites on plain PHP and JSON with no database, no WordPress and no tool subscription per site. That is why these records are easy for me to read.

What happens to the Moz Pro bill when you track more

Moz prices growth by limits. Moz says Starter is for individuals managing a single website, so a second site pushes you to a bigger plan. Standard tracks 300 keywords, Medium tracks 1,500 and Large tracks 3,000. The first table shows what each step costs.

On annual billing, going from Standard to Large moves the price from $79 to $239 a month. That is about three times as much, and the only thing that changed is how many keywords you watch.

What happens to my cost when I add more websites

Here is my own example. In one week I added 78 websites to my BellyUp! city guides. My analytics bill did not change, and I did not need another server. Watching 15 sites costs me the same as watching 205, because my records come from my own server and from Google's free Search Console. Neither one charges by the site.

Two honest limits. A server does have a ceiling, and I have not reached mine. And building the pages still takes my time. What I avoid is paying more for the analytics every time the count goes up.

If you want a setup that grows like this, AIWebsiteSystems.com is where I build them.

Questions to answer before you cancel Moz Pro

  • Do I put Domain Authority in a client report, and do my clients know it is going away?
  • Which Moz report do I open every week, and does the cheaper tool have it?
  • Am I tracking one site for years? If so, switching restarts the history.
  • Is the cheaper tool's keyword data good in my country?
  • Can I export my Moz history before I leave?
  • How many keywords and websites will I track in a year, and what does each step up cost?

The first question is the one that catches agencies.

Where the Moz Pro alternative prices come from

Prices were checked October 18, 2026 against each company's published U.S. pricing page. Verify before you buy because this category changes often.

Nothing on this page is sponsored. No tool paid to be in the table.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best cheap alternative to Moz Pro?
Mangools is the best value if you mostly use Moz for keywords and rank tracking. Its Basic plan is $37.70 per month on annual billing, against $79 for Moz Standard. SE Ranking is the better fit if you also want site audits and client reports in the same tool. Its Core plan is $103.20 per month on annual billing, which is above Moz Standard and below Moz Medium.
Is Domain Authority a Google ranking factor?
No. Moz's own guide says Domain Authority "is not a Google ranking factor and has no effect on the SERPs." It is Moz's estimate of how a site might rank, built from Moz's own link data. Use it to compare sites inside Moz, not as a promise about Google.
What replaces Domain Authority in other tools?
Each tool has its own score. Ahrefs uses Domain Rating and Semrush uses Authority Score. They are built from different crawls, so the numbers do not match and should not be compared across tools. Pick one score and track it from the day you switch.
Is there a free alternative to Moz?
Yes, for links to your own site. Google Search Console has a free Links report, and Ahrefs Webmaster Tools is free for sites you own and verify. Neither gives you a Domain Authority score, and neither shows you competitors.
Does Moz Pro get more expensive as I track more keywords?
Yes. Moz sets the plan by limits. Standard tracks 300 keywords, Medium tracks 1,500 and Large tracks 3,000. On annual billing the price goes from $79 to $143 to $239 per month. Starter is for a single website.
Is Moz Pro worth the money?
For one site tracked the same way over years, it can be. For competitor research or heavy link work, the cheaper tools and Ahrefs fit better. Decide by the report you open every week, not by the plan name.