Free Backlink Checker Tools: 9 Options Compared

Most "free backlink checker" pages promise a full backlink profile and then show you a handful of rows. That is not a scam, it is a sales funnel: the tool vendor shows a sample and hopes you upgrade. The useful question is which free tools show enough data to make a decision, and which limits you should know about before you rely on them.

I have checked link profiles since 2016, and I use a few of these every week to vet exchange partners in our community. Below are nine free options, with the limits I could confirm on each tool's own site or in a recent source. Where a vendor's pages disagree with each other, I say so and leave the number out.

What a free backlink checker can and cannot tell you

Every tool builds its own index by crawling the web, so no two tools show the same links. Google Search Console reports what Google knows, but only for sites you own. Third-party tools can look at any domain, but they cap what they show for free.

That matters because links are scarce. In a study of 912 million blog posts, Backlinko and BuzzSumo found that 94% got zero external links. If you are checking whether a prospect site earns real links, you are looking at an unusual site, and a sample of its links is usually enough to judge it.

The 9 free backlink checkers compared

Limits change often. Treat this table as a snapshot taken on the date this article was published, and check each tool before you build a workflow around it.

The free tiers, one by one

1. Ahrefs Free (Ahrefs Webmaster Tools)

This is the best free option for a site you own. Ahrefs says you can use it on an unlimited number of verified websites, and its FAQ says you can see up to 1,000 backlinks at a time with sorting and filtering. Ownership verification is required for Site Explorer. Ahrefs has renamed the product, but the account is the same, per its help article.

2. Ahrefs free Backlink Checker

The public checker works on any domain without an account. Reviews quote different caps (I saw both 20 and 100), so I will not give you a number. Use it to peek at a prospect's top links and anchors.

3. Google Search Console

Google's Links report shows top linking sites, top linked pages and anchor text for sites you verify. It is a sample, but it is the only source that reflects Google's own view. You can export it to CSV or Google Sheets.

4. Semrush free Backlink Checker

The no-account checker works once per day and shows up to 15 backlinks sorted by Authority Score. That is a teaser, but it does show the best links, which is often what you want from a prospect.

5. Semrush free account

A recent Semrush post says the free plan gives 10 analytics requests per day across its tools. Older help pages describe the cap per tool, so check the Subscription Info tab in your account.

6. Moz Link Explorer

A free Moz Community account includes Link Explorer, reportedly with 10 queries per month (The Next Web, March 2026). I could not open Moz's own pricing page from my session, so confirm before you plan around it. It is handy for Domain Authority and spam score.

7. Ubersuggest

Per the Ubersuggest help center, a free account gets 3 searches or reports per day and can view up to 100 backlinks per site. Other pages on its site describe the free plan differently, so test it in your account.

8. SEO SpyGlass free edition

This desktop app from SEO PowerSuite analyzes up to 1,100 backlinks per website in the free version, according to the vendor's comparison, and it does not save projects. Its marketing pages claim "no limits", while its help pages list caps, so go by the documentation.

9. Linkody

Linkody publishes a comparison of free checkers and has its own limited free plan. I could not confirm current numbers, so I am listing it without them.

A simple workflow for vetting a link partner

When someone in our Free Backlinks community offers an exchange, I run the same short check before replying.

1. Run the domain through one no-login checker (Semrush or Ahrefs) and look at the top links. Are they editorial, from real sites in a related niche?
2. Open Ubersuggest or Moz for a second index. If the two tools disagree wildly, dig deeper.
3. Look at the anchors. A wall of exact-match commercial anchors is a warning sign.
4. Visit the site. Does it publish for readers, and does it have real traffic?
5. Only then reply with your offer.

This pairs well with the process in how to get backlinks for free, and with the checks I describe in our link exchange guide.

Template reply once a partner passes

Hi Sam, I looked at your site and the content on remote hiring fits our audience. I can offer a guest post on our blog with one contextual link to you, in exchange for one link from your resources page. Would a swap like that work for you?

Posts like this are why a checker matters. Members state their own minimums, and a quick look at a partner's profile tells you in two minutes whether you both meet them.

Mistakes to avoid

• Trusting one number. Domain-rating style metrics are each vendor's own estimate. They are not Google's.
• Judging a site by link count. A few relevant editorial links beat thousands of directory and profile links.
• Ignoring Google's rules. Google's spam policies list "excessive link exchanges" and buying or selling links that pass ranking credit. A checker helps you spot partners who look like link-sellers; here is the full breakdown of the guidelines.
• Skipping the sample size. With a 15-link sample, you cannot say a site has a clean profile. You can only say the best visible links look good.

Which tools to pick

• Your own site: Ahrefs Free plus Search Console. Both cost nothing and show the most.
• Vetting many prospects: rotate Semrush, Ubersuggest and Moz so you do not hit daily caps.
• Bigger audits without paying: SEO SpyGlass free, if you accept a desktop install.

Once your toolkit is ready, you need people to swap with. You can join Free Backlinks, or build a wider toolkit with our guide to free link building tools and our list of free backlink sites that still help.

A worked example: auditing a link offer in ten minutes

Say a partner proposes a swap and sends you their domain. Here is a quick audit using only free tools.

1. Run their domain through a free checker and look at how many different domains link to them, not just the total link count. A large number of links from very few domains is a warning sign.
2. Look at the linking pages. Do they sit in real articles on relevant sites, or in footers and comment sections?
3. Check the anchor texts. A natural profile is mostly brand and URL anchors; a profile full of exact-match commercial phrases looks manufactured.
4. Open the page they would link from. Is it indexed, does it get any visits, and does it have other outbound links of its own?
5. Decide, and write the reasons in your notes.

Questions to ask before trusting any number

• Is this a sample or the full link index? Free tools often show only part of it.
• When was the data last refreshed?
• Does a second tool agree on the main pattern, even if the exact numbers differ?

Numbers will never match across tools, so look for agreement on the direction rather than the digits. Once a domain passes the audit, you can move on to a safe link exchange or ask for feedback from members of a link building community.

Use checkers to rule partners out, not to prove they are great. A clean report does not replace reading the site.

Sources

• Ahrefs – Ahrefs Webmaster Tools (Ahrefs Free)
• Ahrefs – FAQ
• Ahrefs Help – What can I use for free in Ahrefs?
• Google – Links report, Search Console Help
• Semrush – Free Backlink Checker
• Semrush – What can you do with a free Semrush account?
• The Next Web – Moz Pro free trial deal (March 2026)
• Ubersuggest Help – Free Account: Key Features and Limits
• SEO PowerSuite – SEO SpyGlass
• Linkody – Free backlink checker comparison
• Backlinko – Content study of 912 million blog posts
• Backlinko – Google search ranking factors study
• Google Search Central – Spam policies