SEO Score API vs Moz Pro
Full-suite SEO platform centered on Domain Authority · Pricing: Moz Pro $49 – $299 / mo; Moz API $0 – $500 / mo
Moz Pro and SEO Score API both touch SEO, but they are different shapes of product. Moz Pro is a Web app (Moz Pro) plus a separately billed Moz API; SEO Score API is a hosted REST API that returns a scored audit as JSON in seconds. This page is an honest side-by-side — including when you should pick Moz Pro over us. Still shopping around? See our roundup of Moz Pro alternatives organized by use case.
Side-by-side
| Feature | Moz Pro | SEO Score API |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | Moz Pro $49 / mo (one site); Moz API $20 / mo | $0 free, $5 / mo for 200 audits |
| Site audits | Scheduled crawls | On-demand single URL or batch |
| API access | Moz API, a separate subscription (not included in Moz Pro) | The whole product is the API, on every plan |
| Domain Authority score | Yes (signature metric) | No |
| AI readability / GEO checks | No | Yes (every audit) |
| SXO / AEO / AIO scores | No | Yes (Starter+) |
| Keyword research | Yes | No |
| CI/CD friendly | Limited | GitHub Action + SDKs |
| Free tier | Moz Pro free trial; Moz API free plan: 50 rows / mo | 20 audits a month, no card |
| Time to first result | Sign-up + onboarding | API key in seconds |
When each tool wins
Pick Moz Pro when…
- You track Domain Authority (Moz's flagship metric) for pitches or reporting.
- You want a single dashboard for keyword research, link tracking, and on-page suggestions.
- You're more comfortable in a polished SaaS UI than in code.
Pick SEO Score API when…
- You want SEO audits as JSON your code can act on, not a dashboard.
- You audit many URLs per month and don't need DA tracking or keyword research.
- You want to wire SEO checks into pull requests, agent workflows, or n8n flows.
The Moz API vs an audit API — which do you actually need?
When developers search for the Moz API, they almost always mean the Moz Links API — the endpoint that returns Domain Authority, Page Authority, spam score, and backlink metrics. That is a link-data API. SEO Score API is an audit API: give it a URL and it returns 83 scored on-page, technical, performance, accessibility, and AI-readability checks as JSON in seconds. They solve different problems, so the right call depends on what you were reaching for Moz to do.
| What you need | Moz Links API | SEO Score API |
|---|---|---|
| Primary data | Domain/Page Authority, backlinks, spam score | Scored on-page + technical audit, 80+ checks |
| Free tier | 50 rows / mo, Moz account required | 20 audits a month, no card |
| Auth | Signed/token request | Single X-API-Key header |
| Response | Link-metrics JSON | Scored audit JSON + priorities |
| Domain Authority | Yes (its signature metric) | No |
| Best for | Link & DA research, reporting | Automated site-health audits in code & CI |
Moz API pricing (checked October 17, 2026)
The Moz API is sold on its own, separate from a Moz Pro subscription, and billed in rows; how many rows a call uses depends on the endpoint and parameters. Figures below are from Moz's API pricing page and Moz Pro pricing page.
| Plan | Price | Included |
|---|---|---|
| Moz API Free | $0 | 50 rows / mo, 1 request every 10 seconds |
| Moz API Starter | $20 / mo or $75 / mo | 3,000 rows (no overages) or 15,000 rows ($5 per extra 1,000) |
| Moz API Growth | $125, $250 or $500 / mo | 50,000, 120,000 or 500,000 rows ($25, $20 or $10 per extra 10,000) |
| Moz Pro | $49 (Starter, one site), $99, $179 or $299 / mo | The web app; about 20% less billed yearly. API not included |
| SEO Score API | $0, then $5 / mo | 20 audits / month free; 200 audits / mo on Starter. Every plan is the API |
Rows and audits are not the same unit, so this is not a per-call price comparison: a Moz row is link data, an SEO Score API audit is a scored check of one page.
Is there a free Moz API key?
Yes. The Moz API free plan gives 50 rows a month at one request every ten seconds, tied to a Moz account; paid plans bill by row volume. That is enough to experiment with, not to audit every page on every deploy. If you were reaching for the Moz API to grade page health rather than pull link metrics, SEO Score API's free tier (20 audits a month, no credit card) is a closer fit, and paid plans start at $5/mo for 200 audits.
Moz API example — the audit call, in one line
If what you wanted from the Moz API was a programmatic read on a page's SEO, here is the entire request — one endpoint, one header, JSON back in seconds:
curl "https://seoscoreapi.com/audit?url=https://example.com" \
-H "X-API-Key: ssa_your_key_here"The response carries an overall score, a letter grade, every check that passed or failed, and a priorities array of the highest-impact fixes — the shape you'd drop straight into a Google Sheet, a client report, or a CI gate.
I'm canceling the Moz API — what replaces it?
For backlinks and Domain Authority, nothing is a like-for-like swap; Ahrefs or Moz's own data still lead there. But if your Moz API calls were really about auditing — titles, meta, headings, schema, speed, accessibility — point your code at the SEO audit API instead. Paid Moz API plans start at $20/mo against $5/mo for 200 audits here, and because the free tier needs no card you can port a script and test it today. Grab a free key and run the curl above against a URL you already track.
Moz Pro alternatives, by use case
Not sure an audit API is the right swap? Here are the strongest Moz Pro alternatives and Moz Pro competitors, grouped by what you actually need — so you pick on use case, not marketing budget.
If you want audits via API
- SEO Score API. Free tier, $5+/mo, JSON output, full SDK and GitHub Action. — learn more
- DataForSEO. Granular API, pay-as-you-go. Build-it-yourself.
If you want the full suite with more data
- Ahrefs. Largest backlink index, $129+/mo for the full suite. The Moz alternative most agencies move to.
- SEMrush. Stronger paid-search and competitive features alongside SEO. $139+/mo.
If you only need on-page + crawl
- Screaming Frog. $279/yr desktop crawler for deep technical audits.
- Sitebulb. Friendlier desktop crawler with strong prioritization.
Frequently asked
Is SEO Score API a Moz API alternative?
For audits, yes. The Moz Links API is built around backlink and Domain Authority data; the SEO Score API is built around on-page and technical SEO audits — 80+ checks per URL returned as scored JSON. If you were calling the Moz API to grade or monitor page health (not to pull link metrics), SEO Score API is a direct, cheaper swap: a free tier, $5/mo for 200 audits, and a JSON response in seconds. Get an API key in seconds, no card required.
I'm canceling the Moz API — what's the closest replacement?
It depends what you called it for. For link metrics and Domain Authority there's no exact substitute (Ahrefs or the Moz data still lead there). But if you used it for audit, scoring, or SEO-health checks, point your code at the SEO Score API instead — same idea, one unified endpoint, SDKs for Python and Node, a GitHub Action, and pricing that starts free. The cheapest paid Moz API plan is $20/mo; SEO Score API is $5/mo for 200 audits.
Is SEO Score API a Moz replacement?
Only if you use Moz primarily for site audits. We don't track Domain Authority and we don't do keyword research. If those are core to your workflow, stay on Moz or move to Ahrefs.
How much does the Moz API cost?
As of October 17, 2026: a free plan with 50 rows a month (one request every ten seconds), Starter at $20/mo for 3,000 rows or $75/mo for 15,000 rows, and Growth at $125, $250 or $500/mo for 50,000, 120,000 or 500,000 rows. A row is Moz's billing unit; how many a call uses depends on the endpoint. The Moz API is billed separately from Moz Pro.
How does pricing compare?
Moz Pro runs $49/mo (Starter, one site), $99/mo (Standard), $179/mo (Medium) and $299/mo (Large), or about 20% less billed yearly; the Moz API is a separate bill from $20/mo. SEO Score API has a free tier and starts at $5/month for 200 audits. Prices checked October 17, 2026.
Can I get a Domain Authority score from SEO Score API?
No. We score on-page and technical SEO, AI readability, performance, and accessibility. DA is Moz's proprietary metric and we don't replicate it.
Does SEO Score API give recommendations like Moz Pro?
Yes — every audit returns a `priorities` array of the highest-impact fixes, sorted by what would move the score most.
Audit your site free — no Moz Pro subscription, no credit card.
Score any URL across 80+ checks in one API call. Free tier, key in seconds.