The closest alternatives to Moz on Lister are Semrush and SE Ranking, the companies that share the most rankings with it. Each is compared below on its stated best fit, starting price and Lister Score.
How to choose an alternative to Moz
Start from what you need it for. Where each fits best, as Lister records it:
- Semrush: SEO and digital marketers
- SE Ranking: Freelancers, small agencies, and budget-conscious teams
- Ahrefs: Backlink and SEO research
- Google Search Console: All websites seeking direct feedback from Google on organic performance
- Screaming Frog: Technical SEO specialists and agencies focusing on site health
- Ubersuggest: Freelancers and small businesses starting their SEO journey
- Mangools: Solo entrepreneurs and small teams seeking intuitive core tools
- Surfer SEO: Content creators and marketers optimising individual pages for ranking
- Whitespark: Citation building and local rank tracking
- Serpstat: Agencies and mid-market teams needing international SEO coverage
Closest to Moz by the rankings they share: Semrush (5 rankings) and SE Ranking (2 rankings).
Free to start, by their stated pricing: Google Search Console.
Stated starting prices: Semrush ($129.95/month), SE Ranking ($39/month), Ahrefs (129 USD per month), Screaming Frog ($199/year), Ubersuggest ($12/month), Mangools ($29.90/month), Surfer SEO ($49/month), Whitespark ($500/mo) and Serpstat ($69/month).
Each Lister Score is the alternative's score on the ranking named in its row, so compare scores within one ranking rather than across rankings. How the score is made.
Each alternative in brief
01
Online visibility and marketing analytics
#1 in SEO audit tools for small businesses: Semrush is the leading platform that unifies SEO authority and AI visibility. It helps brands grow and measure their presence across search results and AI answers.
PROS- Combines SEO and brand monitoring
- Competitor tracking capabilities
CONS- Social media tracking is secondary to SEO
- Costly for teams only needing brand monitoring
96.0
02
Cost-effective platform with strong rank tracking
#1 in SEO audit tools for agencies: SE Ranking is a comprehensive AI SEO platform designed to help businesses grow their online visibility. It provides tools for tracking rankings, analysing competitors, and managing content marketing strategies.
PROS- Significantly lower pricing with good value for money
- Reliable rank tracking and useful keyword research functionality
CONS- Smaller database of backlinks and competitor data than market leaders
- Less comprehensive than all-in-one platforms like SEMrush
98.0
03
#2 in Top 10 Search Engine Optimization Platforms: Ahrefs specialises in backlink analysis, competitor research, and rank tracking with one of the largest web crawl databases. The platform emphasises organic search insights and content opportunity discovery across millions of sites.
PROS- Extremely reliable backlink database
- Clean and logical user interface
CONS- Lacks built-in social media tracking features
92.7
04
Essential free platform for Google organic visibility
#5 in Top 10 Search Engine Optimization Platforms: Google Search Console is Google's official tool for monitoring search performance, submitting sitemaps, and identifying crawl issues. It provides direct insights into how Google indexes and ranks your site.
PROS- Completely free and provides authentic data from Google
- Essential for understanding click-through rates and query performance in Google search
CONS- Limited competitive analysis and benchmarking capabilities
- Minimal rank tracking and keyword difficulty assessment features
85.7
05
Technical SEO crawling and site auditing tool
#6 in Top 10 Search Engine Optimization Platforms: Screaming Frog specialises in technical site audits and website crawling, identifying crawl errors, duplicate content, and broken links. Available as desktop software with cloud options for larger sites.
PROS- Exceptionally affordable for comprehensive technical audits
- Unmatched depth in crawl analysis and technical issue detection
CONS- Lacks keyword research and rank tracking features
- Primarily technical rather than strategic marketing insights
83.3
06
User-friendly SEO tool for keyword and content research
#7 in Top 10 Search Engine Optimization Platforms: Ubersuggest offers keyword research, content ideas, rank tracking, and site audits with a clean interface. Founded by Neil Patel, it emphasises content opportunities and question-based keyword discovery.
PROS- Very affordable entry price for complete toolkit
- Strong focus on content research and opportunity identification
CONS- Significantly smaller data sets than major competitors
- Limited backlink accuracy compared to Ahrefs and SEMrush
81.0
07
Budget-friendly suite emphasising simplicity and core SEO tools
#8 in Top 10 Search Engine Optimization Platforms: Mangools bundles KWFinder, SERPChecker, and LinkMiner into an affordable suite. Known for clean interfaces and straightforward functionality, it targets small businesses and freelancers.
PROS- Excellent pricing for small team use with intuitive interface
- Competitive keyword difficulty scoring and backlink analysis
CONS- Limited integrations compared to larger platforms
- Smaller team support and learning resources than established competitors
78.7
08
On-page SEO and content optimisation platform
#9 in Top 10 Search Engine Optimization Platforms: Surfer SEO focuses on on-page optimisation, content editor, and rank tracking. It uses AI to analyse top-ranking content and provide data-driven recommendations for content gaps and keyword usage.
PROS- Excellent on-page editor with real-time optimisation suggestions
- Strong focus on content gap analysis and semantic relevance
CONS- Not a comprehensive SEO platform, lacks backlink monitoring
- Limited competitive analysis beyond page-level comparison
76.3
09
#10 in Best local SEO software: Whitespark provides powerful software and expert services to help businesses and agencies drive more leads through local search.
PROS- Industry-leading citation building services
- Transparent and educational approach
CONS- Services can be priced out of reach for very small startups
82.0
10
Full-featured platform with competitive CPC and traffic analytics
#10 in Top 10 Search Engine Optimization Platforms: Serpstat provides keyword research, competitor analysis, rank tracking, and backlink monitoring with particular strength in traffic volume estimation. It covers over 190 countries and supports multiple languages.
PROS- Comprehensive toolset covering all major SEO functions
- Strong coverage of international markets and multiple languages
CONS- Smaller user base means fewer community resources and case studies
- UI can feel less polished than established competitors
74.0