Majestic
The Trade Desk
| Feature | Majestic | The Trade Desk |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free / from $49.99/mo | Contact sales |
| Free Plan | ✓ Yes | ✗ No |
| Rating | 4.1 / 5 | 4.5 / 5 |
| Best For | link-builders, seo-professionals, agencies, enterprise-seo | media-buyers, agencies, enterprise-advertisers, programmatic-teams |
| Founded | 2004 | 2009 |
| Site Explorer | ✓ | ✗ |
| Trust Flow | ✓ | ✗ |
| Citation Flow | ✓ | ✗ |
| Backlink History | ✓ | ✗ |
| Bulk Backlink Checker | ✓ | ✗ |
| Topical Trust Flow | ✓ | ✗ |
| Programmatic Buying | ✗ | ✓ |
| Connected Tv | ✗ | ✓ |
| Audio Ads | ✗ | ✓ |
| Data Marketplace | ✗ | ✓ |
| Attribution | ✗ | ✓ |
| Identity Graph | ✗ | ✓ |
✓ Majestic Pros
- Largest backlink database available
- Unique Trust Flow metric
- Historical index going back years
- Powerful bulk analysis
✗ Majestic Cons
- Focused only on links (no keyword research)
- Steep learning curve
- Expensive API access
✓ The Trade Desk Pros
- Best-in-class DSP technology
- Excellent CTV capabilities
- Strong data marketplace
- Transparent pricing
✗ The Trade Desk Cons
- Enterprise minimum spend
- Requires programmatic expertise
- Complex for beginners
The Verdict
Majestic is built for link builders and seo professionals, with a focus on site-explorer and trust-flow. The Trade Desk targets media buyers and agencies and leads with programmatic-buying and connected-tv.
The Trade Desk uses custom enterprise pricing, while Majestic starts at $49.99/mo — a tangible advantage for teams with a fixed budget.
Majestic has a free plan, which gives it a meaningful edge for individuals and small teams exploring their options. The Trade Desk requires a paid subscription from day one.
The Trade Desk edges out on user ratings (4.5 vs 4.1). While both are well-regarded, that gap reflects real differences in user satisfaction worth considering.
Both tools are a solid fit for agencies — in those cases, the decision often comes down to workflow style and how your team prefers to organize work.
Bottom line: The Trade Desk has a slight overall edge — but if largest backlink database available matters most to you, Majestic may still be the right call.