# Moz API vs SE Ranking API + MCP

> SE Ranking API + MCP scores 50.9 (D) on agent readiness against Moz API's 45.3 (E), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. Moz API leads on agent ergonomics and security & auth. Both do seo keywords. Category scores, facts, verdicts and agent notes side by side.

- Canonical: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/moz-api-vs-se-ranking
- Markdown: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/moz-api-vs-se-ranking.md (~2,250 tokens)
- Slim: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/moz-api-vs-se-ranking.min.md (~730 tokens, same facts, less prose, for token-sensitive contexts)
- JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/moz-api-vs-se-ranking.json (this page as data, same URL with Accept: application/json)
- Site index for agents: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt (full text: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms-full.txt)
- API: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json
- Updated: 2026-10-09

SE Ranking API + MCP scores 50.9 (D) on agent readiness against Moz API's 45.3 (E), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. Moz API leads on agent ergonomics and security & auth. Both do seo keywords.

- Moz API: grade E, 45.3/100, rank #770 of 842. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/moz-api.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/moz-api.json
- SE Ranking API + MCP: grade D, 50.9/100, rank #681 of 842. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/se-ranking.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/se-ranking.json

## Which one, for what

### Moz API (E)

Good for: Agents that need Domain Authority, backlink lists, link intersects, keyword volume and difficulty, search intent and ranking keywords at a low entry price, on a read-only data set.

Ahead on:
- Agent ergonomics, 74 against 58
- Security & auth, 38 against 21

Watch for: No working public status page was found, and moz.statuspage.io reports the Moz Status page as inactive

### SE Ranking API + MCP (D)

Good for: An agent that needs keyword, backlink, domain and AI search visibility data at a published price per call, or that manages rank tracking projects for an SE Ranking customer.

Ahead on:
- Reliability, 51 against 42
- Schema & documentation, 58 against 50
- Payments & pricing, 40 against 20
- Maintenance & community, 79 against 28
- Transparency & trust, 71 against 59

Watch for: No scoped or read-only keys. The MCP docs say a key has the same access as the account, including Project API deletes


## Score by category

| Category | Weight | Moz API | SE Ranking API + MCP | Edge |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 42 | 51 | SE Ranking API + MCP +9 |
| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 50 | 58 | SE Ranking API + MCP +8 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 74 | 58 | Moz API +16 |
| Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 38 | 21 | Moz API +17 |
| Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 20 | 40 | SE Ranking API + MCP +20 |
| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 28 | 79 | SE Ranking API + MCP +51 |
| Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 59 | 71 | SE Ranking API + MCP +12 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | 0 | |
| **Total** | | **45.3 · E** | **50.9 · D** | |

## Facts side by side

| Fact | Moz API | SE Ranking API + MCP |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | HTTP API | HTTP API |
| Vendor | SEOmoz, Inc. | SE Ranking (SER Acquisition Inc.) |
| Hosted endpoint | `https://api.moz.com/jsonrpc` | `https://api.seranking.com` |
| Transports | HTTP, Streamable HTTP | HTTP, Streamable HTTP |
| Auth | API key | OAuth or key |
| Pricing | Freemium | Pay per use |
| Price for seo keywords | not published | $0.002 per record |
| x402 | no | no |
| Licence | Proprietary service under the Moz API General Conditions (effective 12 August 2026 for new subscribers). Displaying Moz data to others requires attribution under the API legal page | Proprietary service under the SE Ranking API Terms of Service. The OpenAPI file and the Claude skills on GitHub are MIT |
| Read-only variant documented | no | yes |
| llms.txt | no | no |
| MCP registry | not listed | `com.seranking/mcp` |
| Last release | 2026-08-14 | 2026-09-28 |
| Terms last updated | 2026-08-12 | no date given |
| Privacy policy last updated | 2025-04-08 | 2026-06-25 |
| Customer content may train models | not found in the text | not found in the text |
| Terms restrict automated access | not found in the text | yes |
| Terms restrict benchmarking | yes | yes |
| Terms or service can change without notice | yes | yes |
| Arbitration or class-action waiver | yes | not found in the text |
| Popularity | none | 0 stars |

## Verdicts

**Moz API.** The JSON-RPC API documents every error code, its rate limits and the row cost of each method, and failed validation uses no quota. No working status page, SLA, machine-readable spec or official SDK was found. Tokens carry no scopes, and the free plan needs a credit card.

**SE Ranking API + MCP.** Every Data API endpoint has a published credit cost, credits sell from $50 for 250,000 with no expiry, and a 14-day trial needs no card. Keys carry full account access with no scopes or read-only mode, the key may travel in the URL, and no security page, SLA or llms.txt was found.

## Before you call either

### Moz API

1. Send a request `id` of at least 24 characters (letters, numbers and hyphens). A UUID works. Shorter ids are rejected with -32654.
2. Stop on a 401. Ten 401 or 403 responses in five minutes block the caller for 30 minutes.
3. On 429 with code -32658 wait the `Retry-After` seconds. On code -32650 no wait time is given, so back off exponentially.
4. Call `quota.lookup` (free) before large pulls. List methods charge one row per result, and `limit` is capped at 50 on link lists.
5. Poll `async.call.lookup` for `data.keyword.serp.generate`, and collect the result within 20 seconds of first seeing it complete.

### SE Ranking API + MCP

1. Send the key as `Authorization: Token <key>`, not `Bearer` and not `?apikey=`, so it stays out of URLs and logs
2. Call `GET /v1/account/subscription` (0 credits) and read `units_left` before a large pull. A short balance returns `Insufficient funds`
3. Set `limit` and `cols` on per-record endpoints. Backlink summaries cost 100 credits a target and keyword rows 10 credits each
4. Stay under 10 requests a second on the Data API and 5 on the Project API per key. Repeated overruns block the Project API for 10 minutes
5. Ask the owner before any Project API or `PROJECT_*` create, update or delete call. The key has no read-only mode and nothing confirms a delete

## Questions

### Which is better for AI agents, Moz API or SE Ranking API + MCP?

SE Ranking API + MCP scores 50.9 (D) on agent readiness against Moz API's 45.3 (E), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. Moz API leads on agent ergonomics and security & auth.

### Do Moz API and SE Ranking API + MCP need an API key?

Moz API needs an API key. SE Ranking API + MCP takes an API key or an OAuth sign-in.

### Can an agent call Moz API and SE Ranking API + MCP without installing anything?

Yes. Moz API has a hosted endpoint at https://api.moz.com/jsonrpc and SE Ranking API + MCP at https://api.seranking.com.


## For agents

- This comparison as JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/moz-api-vs-se-ranking.json, and with the fewest tokens: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/moz-api-vs-se-ranking.min.md
- Over MCP at https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (no key): `compare_tools {"a": "moz-api", "b": "se-ranking"}`. From a terminal: `anchor compare moz-api se-ranking`
- Each listing in full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/moz-api.json and https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/se-ranking.json

## Other comparisons with Moz API or SE Ranking API + MCP

- [Ahrefs vs Moz API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ahrefs-vs-moz-api.md)
- [Ahrefs vs SE Ranking API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ahrefs-vs-se-ranking.md)
- [DataForSEO vs Moz API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/dataforseo-vs-moz-api.md)
- [DataForSEO vs SE Ranking API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/dataforseo-vs-se-ranking.md)
- [Manifold vs Moz API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/manifold-mcp-vs-moz-api.md)
- [Manifold vs SE Ranking API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/manifold-mcp-vs-se-ranking.md)
- [Moz API vs Semrush API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/moz-api-vs-semrush.md)
- [Moz API vs Similarweb](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/moz-api-vs-similarweb.md)
- [SE Ranking API + MCP vs Semrush API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/se-ranking-vs-semrush.md)
- [SE Ranking API + MCP vs Similarweb](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/se-ranking-vs-similarweb.md)
- [Google Search Console API vs Moz API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/google-search-console-vs-moz-api.md)
- [Google Search Console API vs SE Ranking API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/google-search-console-vs-se-ranking.md)