8 Best Backlink Checker Tools (Free Limits Verified)

Every link building decision starts with the same question: who links to this site, and are those links worth anything? Backlink checker tools exist to answer it. This guide explains what they report, compares eight of them in one table, and then covers each tool with its free limit and 2026 pricing read from the vendor’s own pages on 20 September 2026.

A backlink checker is a tool that shows which pages link to a website, how many distinct domains those links come from, whether each link passes authority, and how strong the linking pages are on the vendor’s own scoring scale. Each vendor runs its own crawler and keeps its own index, so counts differ from tool to tool, and the sensible way to use any of them is to stay inside one index when comparing month to month.

What a Backlink Checker Tool Reports

Whichever tool you open, the report is built from the same handful of figures, and they are the same numbers the best niche edit services quote when they sell you a placement:

• Referring domains: the number of unique websites linking to the target. This is the count that matters most, because fifty links from one site are still one referring domain
• Backlinks: every individual link found, including repeats from the same site. Sitewide footer and sidebar links inflate this number quickly
• Dofollow and nofollow split: how much of the profile can pass authority. Our free dofollow and nofollow link checker confirms the attribute on any single page
• Authority score: the vendor’s own 0 to 100 estimate of link strength. Domain Rating, Authority Score, Domain Authority, Trust Flow and Domain Trust are all different scales, which we compare in our guide to domain authority checker tools
• Anchor text: the clickable words used in each link. A profile dominated by exact-match commercial anchors is the pattern Google’s link spam systems are built to catch, and our anchor text distribution checker shows the split for any site
• New and lost links: the change over time, which tells you whether a profile is growing or quietly losing the links it earned

Beyond those basics, the tools separate on three things: how large and fresh the index behind them is, how many free lookups they allow before asking for an account or a card, and what each one costs once you need more. The table below puts those three things side by side.

#	Tool	Free option	Entry plan	Authority metric
1	Ahrefs	Top backlinks for any domain	$29 / mo	Domain Rating
2	Semrush	1 check, then an account prompt	$139 / mo	Authority Score
3	Moz Link Explorer	10 queries a month with a verified account	$49 / mo	Domain Authority
4	Majestic	Free checker behind a human check	$49.99 / mo	Trust Flow, Citation Flow
5	SE Ranking	5 checks a day stated on the page	$129 / mo	Domain Trust
6	Mangools LinkMiner	Trial only	$37.70 / mo annual	Link Strength
7	Ubersuggest	1 search; 3 a day with a free account	$29 / mo	Domain Authority
8	Google Search Console	Unlimited for your own verified sites	Free	None

8 Backlink Checker Tools Worth Using in 2026

Prices are monthly unless stated. Vendors change free-tier limits without notice, so re-check before relying on any of them.

1. Ahrefs Backlink Checker, the largest live index

Ahrefs states on the tool page that its backlink index is updated with fresh data every 15 minutes, and its Backlinks report is the one most agencies treat as the reference. Each linking page carries Domain Rating, URL Rating and an estimated organic traffic figure, which no other tool in this list shows next to a backlink. The free version returns a top slice of backlinks for any domain, and Ahrefs Free gives full backlink data for a site you can verify.

• Index figures published by Ahrefs: 493 billion pages, 209 million domains, and 35 trillion external backlinks in historical records
• Starter plan at $29, then Lite $129, Standard $249, Advanced $449 and Enterprise $1,499 on an annual commitment
• Best for agencies and in-house teams that need the deepest backlink data and per-link traffic estimates

2. Semrush Backlink Analytics, the all-in-one option

Semrush, now labelled An Adobe Company on its own logo after the acquisition completed in April 2026, folds backlink analysis into a full marketing suite. Backlink Analytics reports referring domains, Authority Score, dofollow share, anchor text, new and lost links, and a toxicity view for disavow work. The free checker is the tightest in this group: the counter on the page reads 1/1, and the report loads behind a create-account prompt that offers a limited version without registration.

• Database of more than 43 trillion backlinks and 390 million referring domains, refreshed at least hourly
• SEO plan $139, Starter $199, Pro+ $299 and Advanced $549 per month, with a seven-day free trial
• Best for teams that already run rank tracking, site audits and content work in Semrush and want links in the same login

3. Moz Link Explorer, home of Domain Authority

Moz invented Domain Authority, and Link Explorer is where the canonical DA and Page Authority figures come from, alongside Spam Score and a Link Intersect report that compares up to five competitor profiles against yours. The free path is spelled out on the page in four steps: enter a URL, create a Moz account, verify your email, then receive 10 free queries per month.

• Index of 45.5 trillion links, 8.7 trillion URLs and 1 billion domains
• Standard $99, Medium $179 and Large $299 per month, 20% less on yearly billing, plus a $49 Starter plan for one site
• Backlink query allowances rise from 5,000 per month on Standard to 70,000 on Large
• Best for anyone whose clients or publishers quote DA and want the number from its source

4. Majestic, the link-only specialist

Majestic has done nothing but links since 2008, and it shows in the metrics. Trust Flow scores the quality of linking sites, Citation Flow scores the volume, and Topical Trust Flow breaks authority down by subject, which is the fastest way to spot a domain whose links come from an unrelated niche. The free checker sits behind a Cloudflare human check before any data loads.

• Fresh Index covering 178 billion crawled URLs from 22 May to 19 September 2026, alongside a Historic Index last updated on 3 May 2024
• Lite $49.99, Pro $99.99 and API $399.99 per month
• Best for experienced link builders who qualify prospects on Trust Flow and topical relevance

5. SE Ranking Backlink Checker, built for agency reporting

SE Ranking reports Domain Trust and Page Trust, a toxicity score per link, new and lost referring domains, broken backlinks, and a ready-made Data Studio report, all inside a platform priced for agencies. The page displays a counter of five free backlink checks per day, though the Analyze button may route first-time visitors to the 14-day trial sign-up, so expect to register before you see a full report.

• Database of 2.9 trillion backlinks and 428 million domains, with 6 billion pages crawled daily and 58% of backlinks refreshed every 90 days
• Core $129 and Growth $279 per month, 20% less on annual billing, with the backlink API limited to Growth
• Best for agencies that need white-label backlink reports and a gap analysis against up to five competitors

6. Mangools LinkMiner, the budget pick with Majestic data

LinkMiner does not run its own crawler. It licenses Majestic’s Fresh and Historic indexes, which the page states add up to 9.5 trillion backlinks, and wraps them in a far simpler interface. Its distinctive feature is a live preview of the referring page with the anchor highlighted, so you can judge placement without opening a tab per link. A Link Strength score blends Citation Flow, Trust Flow and other signals into one number.

• Basic $37.70, Premium $52.70 and Agency $97.70 per month on annual billing, or $61, $81 and $141 billed monthly
• Backlink row limits of 100,000, 500,000 and 1.2 million per month across the three plans
• Best for freelancers and small teams who want Majestic-grade data without the Majestic interface

7. Ubersuggest Backlink Checker, the most generous unregistered result

Ubersuggest hands over a full overview without an account: Domain Authority, referring domains, total backlinks, the nofollow count, a backlinks-over-time chart, referring domains by DA, and the top anchor texts. The unregistered version allows one search, and a free account raises that to three per day. Its authority score is on the Moz scale, and its link counts tend to run higher than other indexes for the same domain, which is a reason to keep comparisons inside one tool.

• Individual $29, Business $49 and Enterprise $99 per month, with a seven-day free trial and lifetime plans on offer
• Backlink rows of 2,000, 5,000 and 10,000 per report with three years of link history and 30 days of new and lost links
• Best for site owners who want a readable backlink overview at the lowest paid price

8. Google Search Console Links report, the only view from Google itself

Search Console is not a competitor checker, because it only reports on properties you have verified, but it is the one source that shows which links Google has actually recorded. The Links report lists top linking sites, top linked pages, and top linking text, with each table capped at 1,000 rows. For a small or mid-sized site that cap covers most of the profile; for a large site it is a sample.

• Free, with no query limits, for any site you can verify
• No authority scores, no dofollow flag and no competitor lookups
• Best used alongside a paid checker to confirm that links a vendor reports are ones Google has also found

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best free backlink checker tool?

Ubersuggest returns the most complete report without an account: authority score, referring domains, total and nofollow backlinks, anchor text and a history chart from a single unregistered search, rising to three a day with a free account. Ahrefs’ free checker returns a top slice of backlinks with Domain Rating, and Google Search Console is free without limits for sites you own. Semrush, Moz, Majestic and SE Ranking gate their free results behind an account, a human check or a trial sign-up.

What is the best backlink tool overall?

Ahrefs remains the reference tool for backlink analysis because of its index depth, 15-minute refresh cycle and per-link traffic estimates, with plans from $29 to $1,499 per month. Semrush is the better choice when backlinks are one part of a wider SEO workflow, and Majestic wins for link-only specialists who work from Trust Flow. The best tool is the one whose numbers you use consistently, because switching indexes mid-campaign makes every comparison meaningless.

Is it worth paying for a backlink checker?

It is worth paying once you need more than a handful of lookups a month, competitor profiles rather than only your own, exports, or alerts on lost links. Entry plans start at $29 with Ahrefs Starter and Ubersuggest Individual, and $37.70 with LinkMiner on annual billing. If you only check your own site occasionally, Search Console plus the free tiers covers the job at no cost.

Which backlink checker is the most accurate?

None of them measures Google’s index, so accuracy means index coverage and freshness rather than truth. Two tools will report different referring-domain counts for the same site on the same day because each counts only what its own crawler has found and kept. Ahrefs and Semrush publish the largest live indexes and the fastest refresh cycles, and Search Console is the only source showing links Google has actually recorded for your own site.

Pick One Index and Stay With It

Backlink checker tools all answer the same question from different data. Choose the one whose free limits and pricing fit your workload, keep every comparison inside that one index, and spend your attention on the links themselves: which domains, which pages, which anchors, and which ones your competitors hold that you do not. Earning those placements is the slow part, and it is the part our link building services team handles from prospect qualification through outreach to the monthly report.

Also read:

• Internal vs External Links: How Each One Works in SEO
• Niche Edits vs. Guest Posts: Which Link Building Strategy Wins?
• Brand Mentions in SEO: What Google Counts and What AI Search Rewards
• 10 Best SEO Chrome Extensions for On-Page Checks