Is Moz legit? Who owns it, what users rate it, and the billing complaints
By Jean Luc Poitier, SEO and growth marketing strategist · Moz Reviews · Updated October 5, 2026
Yes, Moz is a legitimate company with a long record. Rand Fishkin and Gillian Muessig founded it in 2004 as SEOmoz, and Ziff Davis, a publicly traded media company, has owned it since 2021. Business users rate the software well: 4.3 on G2 and 4.5 on Capterra.
The scam accusations come from billing. On Trustpilot, unprompted reviewers describe a 7-day trial that turned into a charge, renewals they say came without warning, and refunds Moz refused. If you try Moz Pro, cancel before day 7 and keep the confirmation.
Who is behind Moz
Moz started in 2004 as SEOmoz, a blog and community where early SEOs shared research, then grew into a consultancy and a software company. It raised venture funding, including a Series B from Foundry Group, renamed itself Moz in 2013, and bought the enterprise rank tracker STAT in 2018. Its Domain Authority score became a standard metric across the industry.
In June 2021 iContact, a subsidiary of Ziff Davis (NASDAQ: ZD), acquired Moz. Ziff Davis reported the price as $67.0 million, net of cash acquired and assumed liabilities. Moz is based in Seattle with an office in Vancouver. The company name on its site is SEOMoz, Inc.
Moz ratings on each review platform
| Compared on | Rating | Reviews |
|---|---|---|
| G2 (Moz Pro) | 4.3 / 5 | 608 |
| Capterra (Moz Pro) | 4.5 / 5 | 350 |
| TrustRadius (Moz Pro) | 7.9 / 10 | 373 |
| G2 (Moz Local) | 4.2 / 5 | 476 |
| Trustpilot (Moz as a company) | 2.4 / 5 | 242 |
| Chrome Web Store (MozBar) | 3.3 / 5 | 2.5K |
Figures checked against each company's published pages and review-platform listings as of 2026-10-05. “Not published” means the company does not publish that figure.
What the Moz scam complaints describe
Trustpilot shows whether each review was invited by the company or written unprompted. Across the 228 Moz reviews we collected, the 129 invited ones average 4.88 and the 99 unprompted ones average 2.25. Among the 50 most recent (March 2025 to July 2026), the 34 unprompted reviews average 1.29. Almost all of them are about money, not about the software:
“I signed up for Moz's trial and canceled the subscription after 2 or 3 days, but I was still charged $179.”Dragan Oliver, Trustpilot, December 2025
“They charged my card after a free trial. I cancelled an hour later and they wouldn't refund me.”Emily Arendt, Trustpilot, June 2025
“The problem I have is that they renewed my subscription without clearly notifying me.”Andrew Martin, Trustpilot, December 2025
Two patterns repeat. The trial asks for payment details at signup and becomes a paid plan ($179 a month on Medium) unless you cancel within 7 days. Several reviewers also say their cancellation didn't go through and that Moz pointed to a no-refund policy. For the steps that avoid this, see how to cancel Moz without being charged.
Moz awards and expert reviews
PCMag named Moz Pro an Editors' Choice in its 2019 review, rating it 4.5 out of 5. PCMag and Moz have shared a parent company, Ziff Davis, since 2021, and the review now carries an editors' note saying so. We found no current G2 or Capterra award for Moz; the badges on moz.com show its G2 and Capterra ratings. See Moz awards for the record.
What reviewers say about the software
On G2, Capterra, and TrustRadius, reviewers praise how easy Moz Pro is to learn, its Domain Authority scores, keyword research, and client reports. The common criticisms are price for small businesses and link and keyword data that power users find smaller than Ahrefs or Semrush. The Moz review statistics break down all 1,834 reviews by platform, rating, and year, and the full review list lets you read the critical ones first.
Is Moz legit FAQ
Is Moz a scam?+
No. Moz is an SEO software company founded in 2004 as SEOmoz and owned by Ziff Davis (NASDAQ: ZD) since 2021. Reviewers who call it a scam on Trustpilot describe billing disputes: charges after a trial, renewals they didn't expect, and refunds Moz refused.
Who owns Moz?+
Ziff Davis, through its iContact subsidiary, which bought Moz in June 2021. Ziff Davis's SEC filing puts the price at $67.0 million, net of cash acquired and assumed liabilities. Ziff Davis also owns PCMag.
Why is Moz rated so low on Trustpilot?+
Moz's TrustScore is 2.4 from 242 reviews. Reviews Moz invited average 4.88 (129 reviews), while unprompted ones average 2.25 (99 reviews), and most unprompted reviews are about billing. On G2 (4.3, 608 reviews) and Capterra (4.5, 350 reviews), where reviewers rate the software, the scores are much higher.
Does Moz give refunds?+
Reviewers on Trustpilot repeatedly say Moz refused refunds after a trial converted or a plan renewed, and several quote a no-refund policy. Moz's pricing FAQ says you can cancel or change plans at any time. Cancel before the 7-day trial ends and keep the confirmation email.