Every SEO tool claims to be “free,” but in practice that word means very different things depending on the platform. Some let you check any domain with zero sign-up; others cap you at three searches a day or lock the real data behind a trial. Below is a straightforward look at nine free backlink checkers what you actually get without paying, and where each one falls short so you can pick the right one for your workflow.
Quick Comparison
| Tool | Daily/Monthly Limit | Backlinks Shown | Account Needed? |
| Collaborator | 5/day (20/day with free account) | Up to 100 | No |
| Seobility | 3/day | ~600 (10 per page) | No |
| Ahrefs | No hard limit observed | 20 | No |
| Semrush | 3/day | 5 | No |
| SEOptimer | No hard limit observed | 8 | No |
| SE Ranking | 14-day free trial | Unlimited during trial | Yes |
| Moz Link Explorer | 10 searches/month | 50 rows per query | Yes |
| SEO Review Tools | No hard limit observed | 100 | No |
| Ubersuggest | 1/day | 100 | No (first search) |
1. Collaborator Free Backlink Checker
Collaborator’s checker runs on SE Ranking’s underlying data and is built with a specific angle: it doesn’t just show you who links to a site, it flags which of those referring domains are available to purchase placements from directly in Collaborator’s own marketplace.
What you get for free: up to 100 backlinks per search (the 50 strongest plus the 50 most recent), Domain and Page InLink Rank for each one, anchor text, and dofollow/nofollow tags. You can run 5 checks a day without an account, or 20 a day if you create a free one — no credit card required.
Where it falls short: the 100-link cap means it’s not built for deep historical audits of large sites, and it’s not a substitute for a full SEO suite if you need that level of detail.
Best for: quick competitor snapshots, especially if you’re also interested in acquiring links rather than just spotting them.
2. Seobility Backlink Checker
Seobility runs its own crawler and has a proprietary metric called Link Rating a percentage score calculated for each individual backlink rather than just the domain as a whole.
What you get for free: Domain Rating, total backlinks, and referring domains as headline numbers, plus a genuinely large list of individual backlinks (roughly 600 for a well-linked domain in testing), paginated 10 per page. Each row includes the Link Rating, the referring page’s title and URL, anchor text, target URL, and follow/nofollow status. No account is required.
Where it falls short: you’re limited to 3 checks per day, and the “free trial” prompt can auto-renew into a $50/month Premium plan if you’re not careful about cancelling.
Best for: getting the deepest free backlink list on this list, if you don’t mind the daily cap.
3. Ahrefs Free Backlink Checker
Ahrefs runs one of the largest backlink databases in the industry, and its free checker is a fast way to get a read on a domain’s authority though it’s openly designed as a teaser for the paid product.
What you get for free: Domain Rating (DR), total backlink count, number of linking websites, a dofollow percentage breakdown, and up to 20 individual backlinks with referring page and anchor text.
Where it falls short: 20 backlinks is enough for a feel of a site’s profile but not enough for real analysis. There’s no dofollow/nofollow column or filtering in the free view, no historical data, and URL Rating is only available through the browser extension. Paid plans start at €27/month.
Best for: a fast, trustworthy authority check when you just need a DR number and a rough sense of scale.
4. Semrush Backlink Analytics
Semrush’s backlink database is enormous tens of trillions of backlinks and hundreds of millions of referring domains, refreshed frequently but the free checker only exposes a thin slice of it.
What you get for free: Authority Score, total backlinks and referring domains count, dofollow backlink percentage, and a list of just 5 individual backlinks with anchor text and target URL. No account needed.
Where it falls short: only 3 checks per day, a handful of visible backlinks per check, and competitor comparisons are locked behind a paid plan. Full access to Backlink Analytics requires a subscription.
Best for: a quick Authority Score gut-check, especially if you already use Semrush for other SEO work.
5. SEOptimer Backlink Checker
SEOptimer is primarily an SEO audit and reporting tool, and its backlink checker is one of several free utilities bundled alongside the main product. No sign-up is needed you just drop in a URL.
What you get for free: Domain Strength and Page Strength scores, total backlinks and referring domains, a nofollow/dofollow split plus .edu and .gov backlink counts, the top 8 backlinks with domain strength and anchor text, plus top-pages and top-anchors breakdowns and referring-domain geography data.
Where it falls short: you only see the top 8 backlinks, with no way to view the full list for free. Ongoing monitoring and alerts require a paid plan starting at $39/month.
Best for: a broader domain-level summary rather than a deep individual-link list.
6. SE Ranking Backlink Checker
SE Ranking’s checker is often grouped with “free” tools, but it’s more accurately described as a generous 14-day trial for first-time users, backed by a database of trillions of backlinks and hundreds of millions of referring domains.
What you get for free (during the trial): total backlink count and referring domains, Domain and Page Trust scores, dofollow/nofollow ratio, anchor text breakdown, gained and lost backlinks, and full competitor backlink analysis.
Where it falls short: it’s not permanently free — returning users get redirected straight to a paid plan, and the trial only lasts 14 days. Plans start at $65/month afterward.
Best for: the two weeks you actually have access, it’s arguably the most complete tool on this list — good for a short, intensive audit.
7. Moz Link Explorer
Moz’s Link Explorer requires a free account (no credit card) but rewards you with its own well-known metrics: Domain Authority and Page Authority.
What you get for free (with an account): 10 searches per month with up to 50 rows of data per query, Domain Authority for the overall site, Page Authority for top pages and followed links, top anchor text, a follow/nofollow breakdown, lost-link tracking, and a limited Top Pages report.
Where it falls short: the account requirement is a small barrier, and you’re capped at 10 queries and 50 rows a month, resetting monthly. Full access requires Moz Pro starting at $99/month.
Best for: tracking lost links over time using a well-established authority metric, if you’re comfortable creating an account.
8. SEO Review Tools Backlink Checker
This is one of the more generous no-account options on the list, showing up to 100 backlinks per search without any sign-up.
What you get for free: external backlinks, Domain Authority, referring domains, and referring IPs as headline metrics, up to 100 backlinks sorted by Domain Authority, anchor text and follow/nofollow status per link, plus tabs for the most popular anchor text and most-linked URLs.
Where it falls short: you’re capped at 100 backlinks with no way to see the full list for free, and the data isn’t real-time since new links still need to be crawled.
Best for: a no-friction, no-account way to pull a reasonably sized backlink list fast.
9. Ubersuggest Backlink Checker
Ubersuggest, from Neil Patel’s NP Digital, runs on its own backlink index and doesn’t require an account for your first search though you’re limited to one free check per day.
What you get for free: Domain Authority, referring domains, and total backlinks (with a nofollow count) as headline numbers, up to 100 backlinks in the table with Domain Authority, Page Authority, Spam Score, anchor text, and first/last-seen dates, plus filters for follow/nofollow/one-link-per-domain, advanced filtering by region and anchor text, a competitive-gap view, and CSV export.
Where it falls short: only 1 free search per day without signing up, capped at 100 backlinks, and historical trend charts are locked behind account creation.
Best for: the most feature-rich single free check on this list — filtering, Spam Score, and export are genuinely useful for a one-off deep dive, as long as you don’t need to run it more than once a day.
Final Thoughts
There’s no single “best” free backlink checker it really comes down to what you need it for. If you want the deepest backlink list without creating an account, Seobility and SEO Review Tools give you the most rows. If you care more about a trusted authority score than a long list, Ahrefs and Semrush are fast, reliable gut-checks. If you’re willing to hand over an email address, Moz and SE Ranking unlock noticeably more SE Ranking especially, for the two weeks its trial lasts. And if you want a free check that also points you toward actually acquiring links, Collaborator’s marketplace integration is the standout.
Looking for more verified SEO resource lists? Check out our Image Submission Sites, PPT Submission Sites, PDF Submission Sites, and Infographic Submission Sites guides, or explore our Link Submission, Bookmarking, and Citation categories.