Ahrefs suits site owners who want deep data on their own site for free, through Ahrefs Webmaster Tools, plus competitor research on its plans. Moz suits small businesses that want a gentler start, with free tools such as its Domain Authority checker and MozBar and a Standard plan that tracks 300 keywords across 3 sites. Start with what you'll check every week.
Both tools tell you how your site performs in search, who links to you and which keywords to chase. They're set up differently for a small business. I read Ahrefs' plans page and Webmaster Tools page, and Moz's Moz Pro plans page and free tools page.
Ahrefs and Moz at a glance
| Ahrefs | Moz | |
|---|---|---|
| Free option | Ahrefs Webmaster Tools for your own site | Free SEO tools, incl. Domain Authority checker and MozBar |
| Free look at other sites | Not listed (plans needed) | Free tools for any domain, incl. Link Explorer |
| Entry plan aimed at | Lite: small businesses and personal projects | Standard: small businesses that need the basics |
| Users on the entry plan | 1 (up to 2 more) | 1 |
| Sites and keywords | Not stated in the plan summary | 3 tracked sites, 300 tracked keywords a month on Standard |
| Audits | Site Audit, 170+ issues, free for your own site | Moz site crawl, 400K pages each month on Standard |
| AI search tracking | Brand Radar from Standard | AI Visibility Dashboards, 150 prompts on Standard |
| Signature metric | Not stated on the pages I read | Domain Authority, Page Authority, Brand Authority |
Ahrefs: strong free data on your own site
Ahrefs Webmaster Tools gives you free access to three tools for a site you own. Web Analytics shows visitors and sources, including traffic from AI assistants. Site Audit scans for 170+ technical and on-page SEO issues and tracks a Health Score. Site Explorer shows which pages and keywords bring you organic traffic and who links to you.
The plans run from Starter and Lite, for small businesses and personal projects, through Standard for freelance SEOs and Advanced for in-house teams. Lite includes Rank Tracker, competitive analysis and SERP history, and Standard adds Content Explorer, Brand Radar for AI visibility and reports on broken inbound links. Ahrefs describes its crawler as the second most active on the web.
Moz: built around simple metrics
Moz's free tools include a Domain Authority checker that shows a site's top pages and ranking keywords, Keyword Explorer with a 1.25 billion+ keyword index, Link Explorer covering 40 trillion+ links, and MozBar, which shows SEO metrics as you browse.
Moz Pro Standard is aimed at small businesses that need the basics: 1 user, 3 tracked sites, 300 tracked keywords a month and 400K pages crawled a month. It now includes AI Visibility Dashboards that track 150 prompts across GPT, Gemini and Google AI Mode, plus AI Overviews by keyword. The next plan up adds a second user, 10 sites and 1,500 keywords, with a free trial.
Free tools: what each gives away
Here's the useful split. Ahrefs' free offer is about your own site: full audits, analytics and the keywords and links pointing at you, once you verify that you own it. Moz's free offer is about looking around: check any domain's authority, research keywords and see link data as you browse. If you mostly want to fix your own site, Ahrefs' free tools go further. If you want to size up competitors or prospects quickly, Moz's free tools are the easier start.
Domain Authority is Moz's own metric of how likely a site is to rank, and you'll see it quoted all over the web, so it helps to know where it comes from.
Which business each tool suits
Ahrefs suits site owners who'll act on audit findings and want detailed competitor research later. Moz suits small businesses that want simple metrics, a handful of tracked keywords and AI visibility tracking in one plan. For background on that metric, see my guide to understanding Domain Authority, and this piece on Ahrefs' own marketing strategy is a good read too.
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My advice on starting with SEO tools
Begin free on both. Verify your site in Ahrefs Webmaster Tools and fix the top issues its Site Audit finds, then use Moz's free Domain Authority checker to compare your site with three competitors. Only move to a plan once you know which report you'll open every week, because that's the one worth having.
Do you make SEO software? Tool makers can ask to be considered for a featured place in comparisons like this one.
Frequently asked questions
Is Ahrefs free?
Ahrefs Webmaster Tools is free for sites you own, with Web Analytics, Site Audit and Site Explorer. Competitor research sits on its plans.
Is Moz free?
Moz offers free SEO tools, including a Domain Authority checker, Keyword Explorer, Link Explorer and MozBar. Moz Pro has a free trial on its middle plan.
What is Domain Authority?
Domain Authority is a Moz metric that measures how likely a site is to rank, shown in Moz's free Domain Authority checker.
How many keywords does Moz Standard track?
Moz Pro Standard tracks 300 keywords a month across 3 sites, for 1 user.
Do either track AI search?
Yes. Moz Standard includes AI Visibility Dashboards with 150 tracked prompts, and Ahrefs lists Brand Radar for AI visibility from its Standard plan.
