Free Domain Rating (DR) Checker
Check the Domain Rating of any website along with its backlinks, referring domains and dofollow metrics. Instant results, no sign-up required.
How to check Domain Rating (DR) in seconds
Checking a website's Domain Rating with our free DR checker takes three quick steps:
1. Enter a domain
Type any website or URL into the field above — for example apify.com. You don't need to add https:// or www.
2. Run the check
Click “Check DR” and our tool instantly looks up the domain's backlink profile and authority score.
3. Review the results
See the Domain Rating, total backlinks, referring domains and dofollow metrics — then compare against competitors.
What is Domain Rating (DR)?
Domain Rating (DR) is a metric, popularised by Ahrefs, that measures the strength of a website's backlink profile on a scale from 0 to 100. The more high-quality websites that link to a domain, the higher its Domain Rating climbs.
DR is logarithmic, which means it gets progressively harder to move up as the score increases — going from 20 to 30 is far easier than going from 70 to 80. It's a relative metric, so it's most useful for comparing one site against another rather than as an absolute measure of quality.
What this free DR checker shows you
For every domain you check, our tool returns the core off-page SEO metrics you need to judge a site's authority:
Domain Rating (DR)
A 0–100 score that estimates the overall strength of a website's backlink profile. The higher the score, the more authoritative the domain.
Backlinks
The total number of links pointing to the domain from across the web, including multiple links from the same site.
Referring Domains
The number of unique websites linking to the domain. Links from many different domains usually count for more than many links from one.
Dofollow Backlinks
Backlinks that pass authority (“link equity”) to the target site, as opposed to nofollow links that don't.
Dofollow Referring Domains
The number of unique domains that link with at least one dofollow link — often the clearest signal of earned authority.
How is Domain Rating calculated?
Domain Rating is calculated primarily from a website's backlink profile. In simple terms, the calculation looks at:
- The number of unique referring domains linking to the site.
- The authority of those linking domains — a link from a high-DR site is worth more than one from a low-DR site.
- How many other sites each linking domain links out to (links are “shared” across their outbound links).
Domain Rating deliberately ignores factors like organic traffic, domain age and on-page content — it is purely a backlink-based authority score.
What is a good Domain Rating score?
There's no single “good” DR — it depends entirely on your niche and competitors. As a general guide, here's how to interpret the ranges:
| DR range | What it means |
|---|---|
| 0–30 New / low authority | Brand-new sites or domains with few quality backlinks. Normal when you're just starting out. |
| 30–50 Growing authority | A solid, established profile. Many successful niche sites and SMBs sit here. |
| 50–70 Strong authority | Competitive in most niches. The domain has earned links from a range of reputable sites. |
| 70–100 Very high authority | Major brands, news outlets and category leaders with huge, diverse backlink profiles. |
Domain Rating examples
For context, here are approximate Domain Ratings for some well-known websites (values are illustrative and change over time):
How to increase your Domain Rating
Because DR is driven by backlinks, improving it comes down to earning more links from more unique, trustworthy domains:
- Earn backlinks from new, unique referring domains — diversity matters more than raw link volume.
- Publish genuinely useful, link-worthy content (data studies, guides and free tools) that people want to cite.
- Run digital PR and guest posting to get mentioned on relevant, authoritative sites in your niche.
- Reclaim lost links and fix broken backlinks pointing to your domain.
- Disavow or clean up spammy, low-quality links that can drag down trust.
- Be patient — authority compounds over months as you consistently earn quality links.
How to use the DR checker for SEO
A Domain Rating checker is one of the most practical tools in your SEO workflow. Common ways to use it:
Benchmark against competitors
Check your DR next to competitors to see where you stand and how much link-building ground you need to make up.
Vet link-building prospects
Before pitching a guest post or partnership, check a site's Domain Rating to make sure a link is actually worth pursuing.
Qualify backlink opportunities in bulk
Quickly screen a list of potential link sources and prioritise the domains with the strongest authority.
Track your authority over time
Re-check your domain periodically to confirm your link-building efforts are moving the needle.
Domain Rating (DR) vs Domain Authority (DA) and other metrics
Domain Rating is just one of several “domain authority” style metrics. They all try to estimate a site's backlink strength on a 0–100 scale, but each tool uses its own index and formula, so the numbers won't match across tools:
| Tool | Metric | Scale | Based on |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ahrefs | Domain Rating (DR) | 0–100 | Backlink profile strength |
| Moz | Domain Authority (DA) | 0–100 | Predicted ranking ability |
| Semrush | Authority Score | 0–100 | Links + traffic + spam signals |
| SE Ranking | Domain Trust (DT) | 0–100 | Backlink quality & quantity |
You may also see URL Rating (UR), which measures the backlink strength of a single page rather than the whole domain, and a spam score, which flags potentially manipulative link patterns. Use them together for a fuller picture of a domain's off-page SEO health.
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