There is no single backlink checker that sees every link on the web. Each tool crawls the internet with its own bot and builds its own index, so the best choice depends on one question: do you want to check your own website or someone else’s? This guide compares the free and paid options and tells you when to use each one.
While you choose, you can check the authority of any domain, including the sites that link to you, with our free tool:
Quick comparison
| Tool | Price | Your own site | Other sites | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Google Search Console | Free | Yes | No | The most reliable view of your own links, straight from Google |
| Bing Webmaster Tools | Free | Yes | Partly | Backlinks of your site and a comparison with competitors |
| Ahrefs Webmaster Tools | Free | Yes | No | Full backlink data for sites you verify |
| Ahrefs Free Backlink Checker | Free | Yes | Yes, top links | A quick look at the strongest links of any domain |
| Semrush (free account) | Free, limited | Yes | Yes, limited | A few checks a day with authority and anchors |
| Moz Link Explorer (free account) | Free, limited | Yes | Yes, limited | Domain Authority and top linking domains |
| Ahrefs | Paid | Yes | Yes | One of the largest link indexes, deep competitor research |
| Semrush | Paid | Yes | Yes | All-in-one SEO suite with backlink audits |
| Majestic | Paid | Yes | Yes | Historic link data and Trust Flow |
| SE Ranking | Paid | Yes | Yes | Lower-cost suite for small teams and agencies |
Free backlink checkers
Google Search Console
The first stop for your own site. The Links report shows your top linking sites, your most linked pages and the most common anchor texts, straight from Google’s own data. It only works for verified sites and shows a sample, not every link.
Bing Webmaster Tools
Bing’s free platform includes a Backlinks report for your site and lets you compare your link profile with competitor domains, which makes it one of the few free official sources with data about other websites.
Ahrefs Webmaster Tools
A free account from Ahrefs for site owners. Once you verify your site, you get its backlinks, referring domains and site audit data from Ahrefs’ index. It does not cover competitors.
Free versions of the SEO suites
Ahrefs offers a free backlink checker that shows the top links of any domain. Semrush and Moz give free accounts a limited number of backlink reports. They are enough to spot a competitor’s strongest links or to check a single page now and then.
Paid backlink checkers
If backlinks are central to your work, such as link building, digital PR, agency audits or competitor research, a paid tool is worth it. Ahrefs and Semrush are the most complete, Majestic specializes in link history and Trust Flow, Moz is known for its Domain Authority metric, and SE Ranking is a more affordable all-in-one option. Most offer a trial or a limited free plan, so test two of them with a site you know well before you decide.
Developers can also get backlink data through APIs such as DataForSEO, paying per request.
How to choose
- Only your own site: Google Search Console plus Ahrefs Webmaster Tools, both free, are enough for most site owners.
- A competitor now and then: the free versions of Ahrefs, Semrush and Moz, combined with Bing Webmaster Tools.
- Link building or client work: a paid suite. Pick one and stick with it, because numbers from different tools do not match.
- Judging link quality: check each linking domain with our Domain Authority Checker above.
Want the step-by-step method? Read how to check backlinks for free, and learn what the scores mean in domain authority explained. We are also working on a free backlink checker of our own.
Frequently asked questions
What is the most accurate backlink checker?
For your own site, Google Search Console, because the data comes from Google. For other sites, the large paid indexes such as Ahrefs and Semrush, although none of them sees every link.
Can I check a competitor’s backlinks for free?
Partly. The free versions of Ahrefs, Semrush and Moz show a competitor’s top links, and Bing Webmaster Tools lets you compare your profile with other domains.
Why do backlink checkers show different numbers?
Each one crawls the web with its own bot, updates at a different speed and counts links differently.