Free SEO Tool
Free Domain Rating (DR) Checker
Check any website's Domain Rating in seconds, powered by the official Ahrefs API. See backlink authority on a 0–100 scale, compare competitors, and learn how to grow your DR.
Domain Rating data provided by the Ahrefs free API. DR is measured on a 0–100 logarithmic scale.
What is Domain Rating (DR)?
Domain Rating (DR) is a metric developed by Ahrefs that measures the relative strength of a website's backlink profile on a logarithmic scale from 0 to 100. In simple terms, it tells you how authoritative a domain is based on the websites linking to it — the more high-quality sites that link to a domain, the higher its DR.
Because the scale is logarithmic, the difficulty of raising your DR increases sharply as the number climbs. Moving from DR 20 to DR 30 might take a few solid backlinks, while moving from DR 70 to DR 80 can require hundreds of links from genuinely authoritative domains. DR is also a relative metric: a score only means something when compared to the other sites competing for your keywords.
Domain Rating Score Ranges
How to read a DR score and what each band typically means for a website.
How is Domain Rating Calculated?
DR is driven almost entirely by your backlink profile. Three factors matter most.
Referring Domains
The number of unique websites linking to you matters far more than the raw number of backlinks. Ten links from one site count once.
Link Quality
A link from a high-DR domain passes much more authority than a link from a weak or spammy one. Quality beats quantity every time.
Link Distribution
A site that links to fewer domains passes more value per link. The logarithmic scale then makes each higher band progressively harder to reach.
How to Improve Your Domain Rating
Earn links from relevant, high-DR sites
A few editorial links from authoritative domains in your niche outperform hundreds of low-quality links.
Grow unique referring domains
Prioritize getting linked by new websites rather than more links from sites that already link to you.
Create link-worthy assets
Original research, data studies, free tools, and definitive guides naturally attract backlinks over time.
Prune toxic backlinks
Audit your profile and disavow spammy or manipulative links that can drag down trust and authority.
Domain Rating (DR) vs Domain Authority (DA)
Two popular third-party authority metrics — neither is used by Google.
Domain Rating (Ahrefs)
- • Based purely on your backlink profile
- • 0–100 logarithmic scale
- • Uses Ahrefs' own web crawler and link index
- • Great for comparing backlink strength
Domain Authority (Moz)
- • Predicts overall ranking potential
- • 1–100 scale from a machine-learning model
- • Uses Moz's crawler and link index
- • Often differs from DR due to different data
Both are useful relative benchmarks. Pick one metric and track it consistently rather than chasing both.
How This DR Checker Works
Enter a domain
Type any website — with or without https:// or www. We clean it up for you.
We query Ahrefs
Your domain is checked against the official Ahrefs free Domain Rating API in real time.
Get your DR
See the 0–100 score, a strength rating, and a visual gauge — then compare more domains.
Get Weekly SEO & Growth Insights
Join founders and marketers getting actionable tips on backlinks, authority, and ranking faster.
Why Use Our Domain Rating Checker?
Real Ahrefs Data
Scores come straight from the official Ahrefs API — the same DR the industry trusts.
Instant & Free
No login, no credit card, no limits worth worrying about. Check as many domains as you like.
Compare Competitors
Check several domains in a row and see them ranked side by side to benchmark your niche.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is Domain Rating (DR)?
Domain Rating (DR) is a metric created by Ahrefs that measures the strength of a website’s backlink profile on a 0 to 100 logarithmic scale. The higher the DR, the more authoritative and link-rich the domain is compared to other sites in Ahrefs’ index. It is calculated primarily from the number and quality of unique websites (referring domains) that link to the target.
What is a good Domain Rating?
There is no universal “good” DR — it is relative to your niche and competitors. As a rough guide, DR 0–30 is typical for new or small sites, 30–60 for established sites, 60–80 for strong, well-known brands, and 80+ for elite domains like major publishers. The best benchmark is to compare your DR against the websites currently ranking for your target keywords.
Is this Domain Rating checker really free?
Yes. This tool is completely free with no sign-up, no credit card, and no Ahrefs account required. It uses the official Ahrefs free Domain Rating API, so the DR you see comes directly from Ahrefs’ live data.
Is this the same DR shown inside Ahrefs?
Yes. The score is pulled from the official Ahrefs free Domain Rating endpoint, so it matches the domain-level DR you would see in Ahrefs’ own tools. Note that DR is a domain-level metric, so www and non-www versions of a site share the same rating.
How is Domain Rating calculated?
Ahrefs calculates DR by looking at how many unique domains link to your site, the DR of those linking domains, and how many other sites each of them links out to. Links from a few high-authority, relevant domains move DR far more than many links from weak or spammy sites. Because the scale is logarithmic, climbing from DR 70 to 80 is dramatically harder than going from 20 to 30.
What is the difference between Domain Rating (DR) and Domain Authority (DA)?
Domain Rating (DR) is Ahrefs’ metric and is based purely on a site’s backlink profile. Domain Authority (DA) is Moz’s competing metric that predicts a site’s ranking potential using its own model and link index. Both run on a 0–100 scale and both are third-party estimates — neither is used by Google. They often differ because they rely on different crawlers and data.
How can I increase my Domain Rating?
Earn backlinks from authoritative, relevant websites. Focus on increasing your number of unique referring domains rather than raw link count, create link-worthy assets like original research and free tools, run digital PR and guest posting, and clean up toxic links if needed. DR grows with consistent, quality link building over time.
Does a higher DR mean higher Google rankings?
Not directly. Google does not use Domain Rating — DR is Ahrefs’ proprietary metric, not a ranking factor. However, DR strongly correlates with backlink strength, and backlinks are a major ranking signal. Use DR as a relative benchmark for competitiveness, not as a guaranteed predictor of where you will rank.
Why is my Domain Rating 0?
A DR of 0 typically means the domain is new, has very few or no backlinks from sites Ahrefs has indexed, or has not been crawled deeply yet. It does not mean the website is low quality — it simply has little measured backlink authority so far. As you earn quality links, your DR will rise.
How often does Domain Rating update?
Ahrefs recrawls the web continuously and refreshes DR scores on the order of days as it discovers new and lost backlinks. You may see your DR change as link-building efforts take effect or as Ahrefs updates its index. Results in this tool are cached briefly to stay fast, then refreshed automatically.