How Do I Check Website Authority for Free?

I check authority scores for every client's competitors before I touch keyword research, because the number tells me which fight I'm actually in. A Pune physiotherapy clinic competing against a hospital chain for a keyword is a different problem than competing against another local clinic down the road. Below is the practical version: what authority actually measures, why Moz DA, Ahrefs DR, Semrush AS, Majestic TF and Open PageRank never quite agree with each other, a step-by-step way to check any domain for free, how to read the number against your competitors, and what actually moves it once you know where you stand.

What website authority actually measures

Website authority is an estimate of how likely a domain is to rank in search results, built mainly from the quality and quantity of other websites linking to it. The logic behind every version of the metric is the same: when reputable sites link to yours, search engines treat your content as more trustworthy, and more trust means a better shot at ranking.

No authority score is an official Google ranking factor, and Google has said so directly. But the signals these tools track (backlinks, referring domains, link diversity) are exactly the signals Google's own algorithm does care about. Treat an authority score as a shorthand for competitive strength, not as a number Google reads. When I'm deciding whether a client can realistically rank for a keyword, the authority gap between their site and the current top 10 tells me more than any keyword-difficulty score does. For the fuller picture of where this metric comes from, I wrote a deeper piece on what domain authority actually is.

Five authority metrics compared, and why the numbers never match

There is no single, universal authority score. Five metrics dominate the SEO space, and each one is built differently, which is exactly why the same site can look strong on one and merely average on another.

Moz Domain Authority (DA) runs 0 to 100, using Moz's own link index and a machine-learning model trained against actual Google results. It has been around since 2012, which is why most marketers still reach for it by default. The free tier of Moz Link Explorer gives 10 lookups a month.

Ahrefs Domain Rating (DR) also runs 0 to 100 but focuses specifically on backlink strength: how many unique domains link to you, and how strong those referring domains are themselves. A link from a high-DR site that links to almost nobody else is worth more than one from a high-DR site that links to thousands. Ahrefs' free Webmaster Tools show DR for sites you verify; checking a competitor's DR needs a paid plan.

Semrush Authority Score (AS) also runs 0 to 100 and blends three inputs: linking domain quality, organic traffic estimates, and spam signals. Because it folds traffic into the formula, a site with modest backlinks but strong organic visibility can score higher on Semrush AS than on DA or DR for the same domain.

Majestic Trust Flow (TF) runs 0 to 100 and measures how closely your linking sites sit to a hand-picked set of trusted seed sites, paired with Citation Flow, which measures raw link volume regardless of quality. Majestic calls this pairing its trust metric, which is where the phrase domain trust score comes from when people use it loosely for any of these five numbers.

Open PageRank runs 0 to 10, based on the original PageRank patent, using a public web graph. It is the only one of the five with an unlimited free API and no login, which is what my free Website Authority Checker uses under the hood. People also call this reading a domain score, and technically that description fits any of the five, since each is just one company's estimate of how strong a domain's links look.

The numbers never line up because each tool crawls a different slice of the web, weighs link quality differently, and updates on its own schedule. Moz DA 40 and Ahrefs DR 40 are not the same claim about your site; they are two different companies' estimates, built from two different datasets. Compare DA against DA and DR against DR, never across tools. Here is the same information side by side:

How to check your website authority score for free

Here is the process I use for a new client or a competitor, using tools that cost nothing.

Step 1: Open the free Website Authority Checker

Go to the Website Authority Checker tool page. No login, no email, no signup. It queries the Open PageRank API, the only one of the five metrics above with no usage cap for reasonable, one-at-a-time checking.

Step 2: Enter the domain you want to check

Paste just the domain, like example.com, no https:// and no path. The tool normalises the request. Check one domain per query so you can read the result cleanly before moving to the next.

Step 3: Hit check and read the score against the bands

The tool returns a 0 to 10 score in a couple of seconds. Roughly: 0 to 2 is a new or very small site, 2 to 4 is an established small business, 4 to 6 is strong regional authority, 6 to 8 is a major publication, 8 to 10 is Wikipedia and global-brand territory. Your own score on its own doesn't tell you much yet, which is why the next two steps matter more than this one.

Step 4: Cross-check with Moz DA or Ahrefs DR for a second opinion

Head to moz.com/link-explorer for 10 free DA lookups a month, or sign up for Ahrefs Webmaster Tools (free, requires verifying you own the site) for your own DR. A second metric matters because each tool's index misses different links, and a site can look stronger on one than another.

Step 5: Check your top 3 to 5 competitors and record the gap

Run the same check on whoever currently ranks for your target keyword. Write down your score and theirs side by side. The gap between you and them, not your score in isolation, is what tells you how much link-building work actually sits between you and page one.

Step 6: Re-check monthly and track the trend, not the single number

Authority moves slowly. Re-run the check once a month and log it in a sheet next to your competitors' scores. A single new backlink won't move the number overnight, but a rising trend over three to six months tells you whether the link building you're doing is actually compounding.

How to read the number against your competitors

The score that matters isn't your absolute number, it's the gap between you and whoever currently occupies page one for your target keyword. An Open PageRank of 3 sounds low in isolation. Next to three competitors sitting at 1 and 2, it's a lead. The same 3 next to competitors at 5 and 6 is a gap you need a plan for.

When I audit a Pune-based client, I never ask "is DA 25 good?" I ask "the top 3 results for this keyword sit at DA 30 to 40, so what closes that gap?" That reframing is the entire point of checking authority at all. A score with no competitor next to it is trivia. A score next to three competitors is a strategy input.

Niche matters as much as the number. A local service business competing only against other local businesses can rank comfortably at Open PageRank 2 to 3. A site trying to outrank national publications or e-commerce marketplaces for a broad keyword is looking at a multi-year climb regardless of how good its content is. Match your keyword targets to the gap you can realistically close within the next two quarters, and save the bigger gaps for later.

What actually moves your authority score, and how long it takes

Authority rises when other reputable, relevant websites link to yours. There's no shortcut around that, but there is a practical order that compounds faster than randomly chasing links:

• Publish something worth linking to. Original data, a free tool, a specific guide, not a generic "10 tips" post. Nobody links to a page that already exists in fifty other forms. My on-page SEO checklist earns links because it's specific and usable, not because it's clever.
• Get listed on real, relevant directories. For Indian businesses that means Justdial, Sulekha, Practo for clinics, and any industry-specific platform, all with consistent NAP. This is off-page SEO at its most basic, and most small businesses haven't finished it.
• Fix broken backlinks. Search Console's Links report or a free Ahrefs check surfaces pages linking to your old, now-broken URLs. A redirect recovers a link you already earned once.
• Write for other people's audiences. One guest post on a relevant, real publication outweighs fifty links from directory farms. You're not chasing the link, you're chasing the readers, and the link follows.
• Check which links actually count. Not every link passes authority the same way; a nofollow link can still send traffic and trust, but most tools weigh it differently from a followed one.

None of this moves fast, and it doesn't need to feel abstract either. The same principle sat behind a Pune dental clinic's move from position 59 to the top 5 in two months, and behind a content push that reached 742K+ Instagram views with 94% of that reach from outside the account's own followers: build something worth linking to and sharing, then let the earned trust compound. Expect three to six months of consistent work before a small site's authority score shifts meaningfully, because every tool above recrawls on its own schedule before new links even register. My deeper guide on building backlinks for a small business covers the outreach side in full, and the SEO KPIs worth tracking monthly puts authority in its place next to numbers that actually reflect revenue, like organic leads.

Mistakes people make when checking or interpreting authority

• Treating it as a Google ranking factor. DA, DR, AS, TF and Open PageRank are all third-party estimates. A DA 15 page can outrank a DA 60 page when it matches search intent better and the on-page SEO is tighter.
• Comparing scores across tools. DA 40 and DR 40 are not the same claim. Compare a tool to itself over time, or to a competitor checked with that same tool.
• Chasing the number instead of the links. Buying a bundle of spammy backlinks can nudge a score up for a few weeks, then the index refreshes, spam detection catches up, and the score drops harder than before.
• Ignoring page-level authority. These are domain-wide scores, but Google ranks individual pages. A single strong page on a low-authority domain can still rank if it has earned its own links. My piece on page authority vs domain authority covers the difference.
• Checking once and never again. Competitors keep building links and every tool keeps recrawling. A quarterly check is the minimum; monthly is better once you're actively link building.

Run a free website SEO checker alongside the authority check so you're fixing on-page issues at the same time. Authority gets you in the door; on-page SEO decides whether the visit turns into an enquiry.

Frequently asked questions

Is a 0-10 Open PageRank score comparable to a 0-100 DA or DR score?

Not directly, since the scales and formulas differ, but you can compare shape rather than an exact number. Multiplying an Open PageRank score by 10 gives a rough, order-of-magnitude comparison to DA or DR, useful only as a sanity check, not a conversion. What actually matters is tracking each metric against itself over time, and against competitors checked with that same tool, rather than converting between them.

Why do Moz DA, Ahrefs DR and Semrush AS show different numbers for the same site?

Because each company crawls a different slice of the web, indexes a different number of backlinks, and weighs link quality with its own formula, then updates on its own schedule. A site can sit at DA 30, DR 25 and AS 35 at the same time, and all three can be correct by their own tool's logic. Compare a score against itself over time, or against a competitor checked with the same tool, never against a different tool's number.

How many backlinks do I need to raise my website authority score?

There is no fixed count, because quality matters more than volume in every one of the major scoring formulas. Ten links from relevant, real sites (a local news mention, a supplier page, an industry directory) move a score further than a thousand links from spam directories, which some tools now discount entirely. For a small business, two to five new relevant referring domains a month is a realistic, sustainable pace that compounds over two to three quarters.

Does a higher authority score mean I will outrank a competitor?

Not on its own. Authority is one input among the roughly 200 signals Google's algorithm weighs, and it is not even a signal Google calculates itself, it is a third-party estimate. A lower-authority page that matches search intent precisely, loads fast and answers the query completely regularly outranks a higher-authority page that does not. Use authority to gauge how hard a keyword will be to win, not to predict the exact outcome.

How do I check a competitor's website authority for free?

Run their domain through my free Website Authority Checker for an instant Open PageRank score, no account needed. For Moz DA, moz.com/link-explorer gives 10 free lookups a month for any domain, including competitors. Ahrefs DR is the exception: free access covers only domains you verify ownership of, so checking a competitor's DR needs a paid Ahrefs plan or a free trial.

Related guides

• Domain Trust Score: What It Is and How to Check It Free
• Free Website Authority Checker: paste any domain, get an Open PageRank score instantly.
• Free website SEO checker: check the on-page side once you know the authority gap.
• What is domain authority? Full explanation: the deeper dive on what the metric means.
• Page authority vs domain authority: why a single page can outrank a stronger domain.
• How to build backlinks for a small business: the outreach process behind moving this score.
• What is off-page SEO: link building in the context of the wider strategy.
• What is a nofollow link: why not every backlink counts the same way.
• SEO KPIs to track: where authority fits next to the numbers that reflect revenue.

Your next step

Check your score with the free Website Authority Checker, check your top 3 competitors the same way, and write the gap down somewhere you'll actually look at again next month. For the fuller strategy once you know where you stand, from authority through content to technical SEO, see how to rank on the first page of Google. If you'd rather I run this audit against your real competitors and hand you the gap analysis, get in touch and tell me your target keywords.