7 Best Free Backlink Checkers (2026): Tested & Compared

🥇 Ahrefs Webmaster Tools

If you want the most comprehensive backlink data for your own website, Ahrefs Webmaster Tools is the clear winner. After verifying site ownership (same process as Google Search Console), you get full access to Ahrefs' industry-leading backlink index — referring domains, anchor text, follow/nofollow ratio, new/lost links timeline, and Domain Rating. This is the same data paid Ahrefs subscribers see, completely free for sites you own. The Site Audit (5,000 pages) and organic keyword visibility data are included too.

🥈 Ahrefs Free Backlink Checker

For checking any domain's backlinks without creating an account, Ahrefs' free checker at ahrefs.com/backlink-checker shows the top 100 backlinks, total referring domains, and Domain Rating for any URL. While 100 links is a small sample of most profiles, it's enough to quickly assess a competitor's link quality, identify their strongest link sources, and find potential outreach opportunities. No signup, no credit card, no limits on queries.

Moz Link Explorer

Moz's free Link Explorer shows Domain Authority, Page Authority, Spam Score, referring domains, and the top 50 backlinks for any domain. The Spam Score metric is unique to Moz and identifies potentially toxic links in your profile that could trigger Google penalties. Limited to 10 free queries per month with a Moz account, but sufficient for monthly competitor monitoring. The DA metric, while not a Google ranking factor, remains the most widely used authority score in outreach and link building negotiations.

#4 Ubersuggest — Shows ~100 backlinks per query with referring domain authority. The interface is the most beginner-friendly of all backlink checkers. 3 free searches per day. Best for: bloggers and small business owners new to link analysis.

#5 Google Search Console — The "Links" report shows which external sites link to you most, your most linked pages, and the anchor text used. It's first-party Google data, so it's authoritative. The limitation: it only shows links to sites you own and doesn't show competitor data.

#6 SEO SpyGlass — A downloadable desktop app that builds backlink profiles without query limits. The free version shows up to 1,100 links per project. Unlike web-based tools, it runs on your computer and can be used offline. Best for: users who need to analyze multiple sites without daily query limits.

#7 OpenLinkProfiler — The largest fully free backlink database available, showing up to 200,000 backlinks per domain. The trade-off is freshness — the data lags behind Ahrefs and Moz by days or sometimes weeks. Best for: users who need large-scale backlink data without any restrictions.