Free Domain Rating Checker: Check Your DR Score Instantly (2026)

You want to check your domain rating for free. You do not want to sign up for an expensive SEO tool, sit through a trial, or hand over a credit card. You just want the number.

If you want to understand what Domain Rating actually measures before checking yours, start with our what is domain rating guide. If you want the full breakdown of how the score is calculated, see how DR is calculated.

What is Domain Rating?#

Domain Rating (DR) is a metric created by Ahrefs that measures the strength of a website's backlink profile on a scale from 0 to 100. It tells you how your site's link authority compares to every other site in the Ahrefs index.

The key things to know:

• It is based on backlinks. Specifically, the number and quality of unique referring domains (other websites) linking to your site.
• The scale is logarithmic. Going from DR 0 to DR 20 is achievable in weeks. Going from DR 70 to DR 80 might take years and thousands of new high-authority links.
• It is not a Google ranking factor. Google does not use DR in its algorithm. But DR summarizes the same backlink signals that Google does care about, which is why it correlates with rankings.
• It is different from Domain Authority. Moz's DA is a separate metric with different inputs and a different scale. A DR 40 and DA 40 are not the same thing. See our DR vs DA comparison for the full breakdown.

For most founders and marketers, DR serves as a quick health check on your site's link profile. A rising DR means your link building is working. A stagnant DR means you need to earn more backlinks from more unique domains.

That is the short version. For the deep dive, read our complete what is domain rating guide.

How to use our free domain rating checker#

Our DR checker tool is designed to get you from URL to actionable data in under 30 seconds. Here is how it works:

No account needed for your first check. Just enter a URL and get your results. If you want to run more checks, signing up gives you 5 free checks per month.

What you get in your report#

Every check on our free domain rating checker generates a report with five components:

1. Your DR score (animated gauge)#

The centrepiece of the report is an animated gauge that fills to your exact DR score. It gives you an instant visual read on your backlink profile strength:

• 0-10: Brand new or very few backlinks
• 10-25: Building momentum with directory listings and initial links
• 25-50: Competitive for most niches
• 50+: Strong authority, established brand

2. AI-powered competitor matching#

Our system does not just find competitors by keyword overlap. It uses semantic AI matching to identify sites that are genuinely similar to yours — sites in the same market, targeting the same audience, solving similar problems. This gives you a more accurate competitive benchmark than keyword-based matching.

3. Competitor DR scores#

Each matched competitor shows their current DR. This lets you see exactly where you stand in the pecking order and how much ground you need to cover (or how far ahead you are).

4. Competitor MRR data#

This is the feature that makes our DR checker unique. For each competitor, we show their actual Monthly Recurring Revenue. Why? Because DR in isolation tells you about links. DR combined with revenue tells you about business outcomes. A competitor with DR 45 and $50K MRR tells a very different story than a competitor with DR 45 and $2K MRR.

5. Downloadable PNG report#

Everything — your score, the competitor comparison chart, the MRR data — is exportable as a single PNG image. No screenshots, no manual stitching. One click and you have a shareable report.

Why this DR checker is different#

There are several ways to check domain rating for free. Here is what makes our tool different from the alternatives:

AI-powered competitor matching (not keyword-based)#

Most competitive analysis tools match based on shared keywords or manual input. Our tool uses semantic AI to find competitors who genuinely operate in your space. If you run an AI video editing SaaS, it will find other AI video editing tools — not just any site that mentions "video" in their content.

Actual MRR alongside DR#

No other free domain rating checker shows revenue data next to DR scores. This matters because DR without business context is just a number. Seeing that a competitor with DR 30 is generating $15K/month MRR while another with DR 50 generates $3K/month reveals that link authority is only part of the picture.

Visual report you can share#

Most free DR checkers give you a number on a page. You can screenshot it, crop it, and email it — or you can just download our PNG report that packages everything cleanly.

No account needed for your first check#

Enter a URL, get results. No email, no credit card, no trial. You can create a free account for 5 checks per month if you want to run more.

Multiple data sources for accuracy#

Behind the scenes, our tool pulls data from multiple providers including BlogSEO, RhinoRank, and Mediaboost with an automatic fallback chain. If one source is unavailable, the next one picks up. This means you get a result every time, and the data is cross-referenced for reliability.

Other ways to check domain rating#

Our tool is built for speed, competitor context, and revenue data. But it is not the only way to check DR. Here are the main alternatives:

Ahrefs Website Authority Checker (free)#

Ahrefs Website Authority Checker is the source-of-truth tool for Domain Rating, since Ahrefs created the metric. It is free, requires no account, and gives you DR alongside referring domain count and backlink count. The limitation is that it only shows your own score — no competitor matching, no revenue data, no downloadable report.

Best for: Quick, one-off DR lookups when you only need the number.

Ahrefs Site Explorer (paid)#

The full Ahrefs tool gives you DR trends over time, detailed backlink profiles, competitor analysis, and keyword data. Plans start at $99/month. It is the most comprehensive option if you are doing serious SEO work across multiple sites.

Best for: Professional SEO teams who need deep backlink analysis.

Semrush Domain Overview (free with account)#

Semrush shows its own metric called Authority Score, not DR. Authority Score combines link data, organic traffic estimates, and spam signals. It is a different metric on a different scale — do not compare it to DR. The free tier gives you 10 queries per day.

Best for: Getting a second opinion on overall site authority.

Moz Link Explorer (free with account)#

Moz Link Explorer shows Domain Authority (DA), not DR. DA is Moz's proprietary metric that uses 40+ factors. You get 10 free lookups per month with a free Moz account.

Best for: Checking DA specifically, or getting a cross-reference alongside your DR data.

For a complete comparison of all these tools and when to use each one, see our guide to checking domain authority.

What to do with your DR score#

Checking your domain rating is useful, but only if you act on what you find. Here is what to do based on your results.

If your DR is 0-10: build your foundation#

You are starting from scratch or close to it. The good news: this is the fastest growth zone on the logarithmic scale. Every new referring domain has an outsized impact.

Next steps:

• Submit to quality directories. Each listing is a new referring domain, and at this DR level, each one visibly moves your score. Our directory submission service handles this systematically across 150+ curated directories.
• Publish 5-10 foundational content pieces targeting long-tail keywords in your niche.
• Set up your profiles on major platforms (GitHub, Product Hunt, Indie Hackers) that link back to your site.

What is realistic: DR 0 to DR 20+ in weeks. Here are real results from sites that started near zero:

These are real customers who used RankInPublic's directory submission service. The pattern is consistent: systematic directory submissions build the referring domain base that DR depends on.

If your DR is 10-25: start competing#

You have a foundation. Now it is time to build on it.

Next steps:

• Start guest posting on sites with DR higher than yours in your niche (2-4 posts per month).
• Create one linkable asset — a free tool, data study, or comprehensive guide that earns backlinks naturally.
• Pitch resource pages in your industry for inclusion.
• Earn high authority backlinks through HARO responses and podcast appearances.

If your DR is 25-50: optimize and scale#

You are competitive in most niches. The logarithmic scale means each point now requires more effort.

Next steps:

• Focus on earning editorial links from high-DR publications (DR 60+).
• Publish original research that becomes a cited source in your industry.
• Reclaim unlinked mentions — search for your brand name and ask sites to add a link.
• Build content clusters that establish topical authority.

If your DR is 50+: maintain and diversify#

At this level, maintaining your position is as important as growing. Lost referring domains can cause your DR to drop, and the effort to replace them increases.

Next steps:

• Monitor your backlink profile monthly for lost links.
• Diversify your link sources — avoid over-reliance on any single type of backlink.
• Invest in brand-driven PR that earns editorial coverage.

For a complete playbook with 12 proven methods, timelines, and more case studies, see our guide to increasing domain rating.

FAQs#

Is this really free?#

Yes. Your first DR check requires no account and no payment. Just go to rankinpublic.com/website-authority-checker, enter a URL, and get your results. If you want to run additional checks, creating a free account gives you 5 checks per month at no cost.

How accurate is the DR score?#

Our tool pulls DR data from multiple established providers (BlogSEO, RhinoRank, Mediaboost) with an automatic fallback chain. The scores you see are sourced from the same backlink data that powers the Ahrefs ecosystem. Minor variations of 1-2 points between tools are normal because of differences in crawl timing — this is true across all DR checking tools, not just ours.

What is MRR and why do you show it?#

MRR stands for Monthly Recurring Revenue — the predictable monthly income a SaaS or subscription business generates. We show it alongside DR because domain authority without business context is incomplete. If a competitor has DR 40 but only $1K MRR, that tells you their link strength has not translated into revenue. If another has DR 25 and $20K MRR, they are doing something right beyond just SEO. This context helps you set smarter benchmarks.

How often should I check my DR?#

Monthly is sufficient for most sites. DR does not change dramatically from week to week, and the logarithmic scale means small daily fluctuations (1-2 points) are normal noise. Check monthly, track the trend over quarters, and focus on the activities that drive growth — earning new referring domains.

Can I check competitor domains?#

Absolutely. Our tool works with any URL, not just your own. Enter a competitor's domain to see their DR, get AI-matched competitors for that domain, and see revenue data for the whole set. This is one of the most valuable uses of the tool — understanding where you stand relative to your actual competition.

Why does my DR differ from what Ahrefs shows?#

Small differences (1-3 points) are normal and happen because of crawl timing. Ahrefs updates DR on a rolling basis as their crawler discovers new and lost backlinks. Our data providers may pull from a slightly different snapshot. If you see a large discrepancy (5+ points), it could mean one source has not yet indexed recent link changes. In either case, the directional accuracy — whether your DR is low, moderate, or strong — will be consistent.

How is DR different from Domain Authority?#

Domain Rating (DR) is an Ahrefs metric based purely on backlink profile strength. Domain Authority (DA) is a Moz metric that uses 40+ factors including link data and predictive modeling. A site can have very different DR and DA scores. Never compare them directly — always compare scores within the same metric. For the full breakdown, see our DR vs DA comparison.

Can I use this to track my DR over time?#

Yes. Download your report as a PNG after each monthly check and save it. Over time you will build a visual timeline of your DR progress. Pair this with Google Search Console data to see whether DR improvements are translating into actual search visibility and traffic gains.