If you’re looking to check the domain authority or page authority of a website, there are several excellent free tools available. Below, we’ve compiled the best free domain authority checkers you can use right now.
What Is Domain Authority?
Domain authority (DA) represents how authoritative a website is on a scale of 0–100. It describes the relevance and credibility of the website in a related niche. Having a high domain authority score is important because it directly impacts the ranking potential of the website on SERPs.
Third-party SEO tools like Moz, SEMrush, Ahrefs, and Majestic calculate DA. The score is based on the quality of links going to a website.
It’s important to remember that the domain authority score is an estimate made by a third-party company and not Google. When you use domain authority checker tools, you’re always getting a third-party metric.
What Is Page Authority?
Page Authority is a metric similar to domain authority used to estimate how a specific URL from the site will rank in search engine results. Many domain authority checkers will also evaluate page authority.
The Difference Between Domain Authority and Page Authority
Both terms may sound similar, but there’s a difference between them. Page authority is concerned with a particular web page’s ranking potential, while domain authority is concerned with the overall authority of a website, which encompasses all of the web pages on the site.
Why Are Authority Metrics Important for SEO?
There are one hundred trillion web pages indexed on Google alone. There are bound to be more than ten good answers for each search query — but Google only shows ten results on the first page.
Search engines predominantly rely on the authority of pages and websites to identify which pages to rank above the others. According to search engines, the more authoritative a web page (and the website to which it belongs) is, the more likely it is to offer reliable answers to its visitors.
In SEO, this authority is determined by links — more specifically, quality links from other sites to yours. In general:
- A page with a higher page rating score is more likely to rank higher than a page with a lower page rating score.
- If two web pages have similar page rating scores, the domain rating score can break the tie.
However, domain rating is a relative metric that is not possible to judge in absolute terms. There is a huge number of ranking factors that search engines consider to rank pages.
Best Free Domain Authority Checkers
1. Moz Link Explorer
Moz created the original Domain Authority metric. Their free tool lets you check DA, PA, and linking domains for any URL. You get 10 free queries per month with a Moz Community account.
Best for: The original DA score — most widely recognized in the industry.
2. Ahrefs Free Website Authority Checker
Ahrefs offers their own authority metric called Domain Rating (DR). Their free checker shows DR, referring domains, and total backlinks. No account required for basic lookups.
Best for: Quick, no-signup authority checks with backlink counts.
Check Ahrefs Website Authority Checker →
3. SEMrush Authority Score Checker
SEMrush provides an Authority Score that combines link data, organic traffic data, and spam signals. You can check it for free with a limited number of queries.
Best for: A holistic authority score that factors in traffic, not just links.
4. Majestic
Majestic offers two proprietary metrics: Trust Flow (quality of links) and Citation Flow (quantity of links). The free tier lets you check any URL’s profile.
Best for: Distinguishing between link quality and link quantity.
5. Small SEO Tools DA Checker
A simple, free tool that checks Moz DA and PA for multiple URLs at once. No signup required. Good for bulk checks on a budget.
Best for: Quick bulk DA lookups without creating an account.
6. Ubersuggest
Neil Patel’s Ubersuggest includes a domain overview with a “Domain Score” metric similar to DA. The free version provides limited daily lookups.
Best for: Beginners who want authority data alongside keyword and traffic estimates.
7. Sitechecker
Sitechecker provides DA checking as part of their broader site audit toolset. The free version lets you check individual URLs and see basic link metrics.
Best for: Combining authority checks with a broader site health audit.
8. Mangools LinkMiner
Part of the Mangools SEO suite, LinkMiner focuses on backlink analysis and includes authority scores. The free trial gives you access to their full toolset for a limited time.
Best for: Visual backlink analysis with authority context.
What Influences Domain Authority?
In SEO, links determine authority — more specifically, links from other sites to yours. You can think of a link as a vote. When a site links to your site, the search engine algorithm views that link as an endorsement of the content on your site.
Off-page optimization, also known as link building, is the process of strategically acquiring links from third parties to your site to increase the authority of your pages. Generally speaking, more links = higher domain authority. However, not all links are created equal:
- Links from unique root domains are more valuable than multiple backlinks from the same domain (ten links from ten different sites are better than ten links from a single website).
- Links from high-authority referring domains are considered high-quality backlinks (pages and sites that also have a lot of links pointing to them).
- Links from relevant sites are more valuable (links from sites about a similar topic are better than links from sites about a completely unrelated topic).
- Links with relevant anchor text are more valuable (a link containing your target keyword is better than one that only reads “click here”).
- Links placed in the body of the page are more valuable versus links in the footer, sidebar, or header.
Link building is considered to be a complicated part of SEO — which is why, if you manage to master it, you’ll have an unfair advantage against the competition.
How Do I Improve My Domain Authority?
1. Publish Fresh and High-Quality Content
There is nothing more substantial than meaningful and updated content to improve your website authority. The better your content, the more likely it is to be shared by readers and receive backlinks from other websites.
- Create relevant and engaging content for linking domains to find worthy of sharing.
- Regularly update your content to make sure it stays relevant.
- Make your content easy to read with images and relevant links.
- Do your keyword research and write content based on it, but avoid stuffing keywords.
2. Earn Backlinks and Provide Relevant Internal Links
Follow these tips to get backlinks and bring readers to your site:
- High-quality content is the priority in receiving external links.
- Link relevant web pages on your site within your content.
- Promote your content on relevant forums and social media channels.
- Link to other high-authority websites in your posts.
- Write guest posts on other websites and provide a link back to your web page.