Free Domain Rating checker
Check any website’s Ahrefs Domain Rating (DR) from 0 to 100 — instantly, in bulk, with no signup and no daily limit. See exactly how strong a site’s backlink profile is, and what the score means.
Domain Rating (DR) is Ahrefs’ 0–100 logarithmic measure of how strong a website’s backlink profile is. This free checker pulls DR straight from Ahrefs’ official API — paste up to 10 domains and get each score instantly, colour-coded by strength, with no signup. As a guide: 0–10 is new, 31–50 is established, and 71–100 is elite.
What is Domain Rating (DR)?
Domain Rating is a score from 0 to 100, created by Ahrefs, that estimates the overall strength of a website’s backlink profile relative to every other site in Ahrefs’ index. The more high-quality, unique websites that link to a domain, the higher its DR. The scale is logarithmic — climbing from 70 to 80 is dramatically harder than from 10 to 20. DR is not an official Google ranking factor, but it’s one of the most widely used proxies for a site’s link authority.
Domain Rating score ranges
What each DR band actually means in practice, and where most sites realistically sit.
| DR range | Tier | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| 71–100 | Elite authority | Global brands, major news publishers, and the most-linked sites on the web (Wikipedia, Amazon, government and university domains). A link from here is extremely rare and valuable. |
| 51–70 | Strong authority | Well-established sites with a mature, diverse backlink profile. Most successful niche leaders and mid-size SaaS companies live here. Links carry real weight. |
| 31–50 | Established | A healthy, growing site that has earned solid links over time. This is a realistic, strong target for most startups and content businesses within a year or two. |
| 11–30 | Growing | Early-stage sites building momentum. The backlink profile is still thin, but the foundation is there. Links from here still help — and many directories sit in this band. |
| 0–10 | New / low | Brand-new domains or sites with very few referring domains. DR is logarithmic, so the climb from 0→10 is the easiest part of the journey. |
How to check a domain’s DR
Paste a domain
Type or paste any domain — example.com, a full URL, or a competitor. We strip it to the bare host automatically.
Check up to 10 at once
Add more domains, one per line, to compare your site against competitors in a single click. No signup, no daily limit.
Read the DR + interpretation
Get the 0–100 Domain Rating instantly, colour-coded with what the score means and how to act on it. Copy results or download a CSV.
Domain Rating vs Domain Authority
Domain Rating (DR) is Ahrefs’ metric; Domain Authority (DA) is Moz’s. Both are third-party 0–100 estimates of backlink strength and usually move together, but they’re built on different link indexes and formulas, so the two scores won’t match exactly. Neither is used by Google directly — they’re useful, popular proxies, not the real ranking algorithm. This tool reports DR because Ahrefs runs one of the largest, freshest backlink crawlers in the industry.
How to improve your Domain Rating
DR only moves when more authoritative sites link to you. Here’s what actually works.
Earn links from higher-DR sites
DR is driven by the quantity and quality of unique referring domains. One editorial link from a DR-60 site moves the needle more than dozens from DR-5 blogs.
Submit to quality directories
Reputable directories are the fastest early wins for a new domain. Use our free Startup Directory Submission List — 400+ directories ranked by authority with dofollow status. Startup Directory Submission List →
Publish genuinely linkable content
Free tools, original data, and definitive guides earn links passively. A single-purpose utility page can pull hundreds of referring domains on its own.
Get the technical foundation right
Make sure your best pages are crawlable and that internal links flow authority to them. Broken links and orphan pages leak the link equity you worked for.
Be patient — DR is logarithmic
Moving from DR 30 to 40 takes far more links than 10 to 20. Sustained, steady link-earning beats any short-term burst.
Domain Rating checker — FAQ
Is this domain rating checker really free?
Yes — completely free, no signup, no daily limit, no watermark. It is powered by Ahrefs’ official public Domain Rating API, which Ahrefs opened up free of charge in 2026. Check as many domains as you like.
What is a good Domain Rating?
It depends on your niche, but as a rough guide: 0–10 is new, 11–30 is growing, 31–50 is established, 51–70 is strong, and 71–100 is elite. For most startups, climbing into the 30–50 band within a year or two is a healthy, realistic goal.
How is Domain Rating (DR) calculated?
Ahrefs’ DR is a 0–100 logarithmic score based on the strength of a domain’s backlink profile — specifically the number of unique websites (referring domains) linking to it, weighted by how authoritative those linking domains are themselves. It does not factor in content quality, traffic, or on-page SEO directly.
What’s the difference between Domain Rating and Domain Authority?
Domain Rating (DR) is Ahrefs’ metric; Domain Authority (DA) is Moz’s. Both are third-party 0–100 estimates of backlink strength and they usually correlate, but they use different link indexes and formulas, so the numbers won’t match exactly. Neither is an official Google ranking factor — they’re useful proxies, not ground truth.
Can I check multiple domains at once?
Yes — paste up to 10 domains, one per line (or comma-separated), and check them all in one click. It’s ideal for comparing your site against a list of competitors or vetting a batch of link prospects.
How accurate is the DR score?
It comes straight from Ahrefs’ live index — the same number you’d see inside a paid Ahrefs account. DR updates as Ahrefs recrawls the web, so it can shift by a point or two between checks. Treat it as a directional estimate of link authority, not an exact constant.
Does a higher Domain Rating mean more traffic?
Not directly. DR measures backlink strength, not search traffic. High-DR sites tend to rank and get more traffic because authority helps, but a high DR with thin content won’t rank on its own — and a focused niche site can out-traffic a higher-DR competitor on specific keywords.
How can I increase my domain rating?
Earn links from higher-authority sites: publish linkable assets (free tools, original data, definitive guides), submit to quality directories, and build relationships for editorial links. Avoid spammy link schemes — low-quality or toxic links do little and can hurt. DR is logarithmic, so consistency over months matters more than any single push.
Where does the data come from?
Directly from Ahrefs’ official Domain Rating API. Ahrefs is one of the largest backlink indexes in the world, and DR is their well-known authority metric. We display the score exactly as Ahrefs reports it, with attribution.
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Codersera helps companies move faster — from earning the kind of content that attracts links to hiring the vetted remote developers who build it. Explore our free tools, grab the directory submission list, or hire a developer.
