Guide · SEO

How Do I Check Website Authority for Free?

You can check any website's authority score for free using Open PageRank, Moz DA, or Ahrefs DR, no paid subscription needed. The free Website Authority Checker on this site uses the Open PageRank API to return a score instantly. Paste a domain, get a number. That number tells you how much trust search engines assign to that site relative to everyone else.

Published 13 July 2026 Updated 13 July 2026 Read ~8 min Topic SEO · Tools

I check authority scores for every client's competitors as part of my initial SEO audit. Before I touch keyword research or content planning, I want to know what I'm up against. A Pune-based physiotherapy clinic competing against WebMD for a keyword is a different fight than competing against another local practice. Authority tells you which fight you're actually in. Below is a practical breakdown of what website authority measures, the three metrics worth paying attention to, and how to check any domain for free using a tool I built for exactly this.

What website authority actually measures

Website authority is a score that estimates how likely a domain is to rank in search results, based primarily on the quality and quantity of other websites linking to it. The logic is straightforward: if reputable sites link to yours, search engines treat your content as more trustworthy. More trust means better chances of ranking.

No authority metric is an official Google ranking factor. Google has said this directly. But the signals these metrics track (backlinks, referring domains, link diversity) are exactly the signals Google's algorithm does care about. Think of authority scores as a useful shorthand. When I'm evaluating whether a client can realistically rank for a keyword, the authority gap between their site and the current top-10 results tells me more than any keyword difficulty score ever will. If you want the full picture on what this metric means and where it comes from, I wrote a deeper dive on what domain authority actually is.

Three authority metrics compared: Moz DA, Ahrefs DR, and Open PageRank

There isn't one universal authority score. Three metrics dominate the SEO space, and each calculates authority differently.

Moz Domain Authority (DA) scores domains from 0 to 100 based on their link profile, using Moz's own link index. It factors in the number of linking root domains, total backlinks, and a machine-learning model trained against Google search results. DA has been around since 2004, so it's the metric most marketers reference by default. The free tier of Moz Link Explorer gives you 10 lookups per month.

Ahrefs Domain Rating (DR) also runs 0 to 100 but focuses specifically on the strength of a site's backlink profile. It weights the authority of linking domains and how many other sites those domains link to. A backlink from a high-DR site that links to very few others is worth more than one from a high-DR site that links to thousands. Ahrefs' free webmaster tools let you check DR for sites you own, but checking competitor DR requires a paid plan.

Open PageRank scores domains from 0 to 10, based on the original PageRank algorithm patent from Google. It uses a publicly available web graph and provides a completely free API with no usage cap for reasonable volumes. This is what my free Website Authority Checker uses under the hood, because it's the only metric you can check for any domain, unlimited, without paying for a subscription.

Which one should you use? All three, if you have access. For a quick free check on any domain, Open PageRank. For a deeper competitive analysis, Moz DA or Ahrefs DR. I use all three when auditing a client's competitive landscape, because each index crawls the web differently and sometimes one catches links the others miss.

How to check website authority using a free tool

The simplest way is to use the free Website Authority Checker I built on this site. Here's how it works:

  1. Go to the tool page. No login, no email, no signup required.
  2. Enter the domain you want to check. Just the domain, like example.com, no need for https:// or a full URL.
  3. Hit check. The tool queries the Open PageRank API and returns the authority score on a 0–10 scale within a couple of seconds.
  4. Compare. Check your own domain, then check your top 3–5 competitors. The gap between your score and theirs tells you how much link-building work sits between you and page one.

For Moz DA, head to moz.com/link-explorer and paste any URL. You get 10 free queries per month. For Ahrefs DR on your own site, sign up for Ahrefs Webmaster Tools (free, requires site verification). For competitor DR, you'll need a paid Ahrefs account.

What counts as a "good" authority score

This depends entirely on your niche and who you're competing against. There's no universal "good" number. Here's a rough framework I use with clients:

  • Open PageRank 0–2 (Moz DA 1–20): New or very small sites. Most local businesses, personal blogs, and fresh domains sit here. You can still rank for low-competition, long-tail keywords.
  • Open PageRank 2–4 (Moz DA 20–40): Established small businesses, niche blogs with some backlink history. Competitive for local and mid-tail keywords.
  • Open PageRank 4–6 (Moz DA 40–60): Strong regional or niche authority. You're competing for meaningful keywords and winning some.
  • Open PageRank 6–8 (Moz DA 60–80): Major publications, well-known brands, large media sites. Getting here takes years of consistent content and link building.
  • Open PageRank 8–10 (Moz DA 80–100): Wikipedia, government sites, global brands. Not a realistic target for most businesses.

The number that matters isn't your absolute score; it's the gap between you and whoever currently ranks for the keywords you want. When I audit a Pune-based client, I'm not asking "is DA 25 good?" I'm asking "the top 3 results for your target keyword all have DA 30–40, so what's the plan to close that gap?" That reframing changes the entire strategy.

How to improve your website authority score

Authority grows when other reputable websites link to yours. There are no shortcuts, but there are practical strategies that actually work:

  • Create content worth linking to. Original research, free tools, data-driven guides, and genuinely useful resources attract links naturally. Nobody links to a generic "Top 10 SEO Tips" post. My on-page SEO checklist earns links because it's practical and specific.
  • Guest posting on relevant sites. Write for publications in your niche. Not for the backlink alone, for the audience. A single link from a high-authority, relevant site outweighs 50 links from random directories.
  • Fix broken backlinks. Use Ahrefs or Google Search Console to find pages on other sites that link to your 404 pages. Redirect those URLs or reach out and suggest an updated link.
  • Get listed in legitimate directories. Industry-specific directories, local business listings (Google Business Profile, Justdial, Sulekha for Indian businesses), and professional associations all count.
  • Build relationships, not just links. Comment thoughtfully on industry blogs. Share others' work. Collaborate on content. The links follow the relationships, not the other way around.

Authority doesn't move fast. Expect months, not weeks. For the broader picture of how authority fits into a ranking strategy, see my guide on how to rank on the first page of Google.

Common mistakes when interpreting authority scores

  • Treating it as a Google metric. DA, DR, and PageRank are third-party estimates. Google does not use them. A site with DA 15 can outrank a site with DA 60 if its content is better matched to the search intent and its on-page SEO is tighter.
  • Comparing scores across different tools. Moz DA 40 and Ahrefs DR 40 do not mean the same thing. They use different crawl data, different algorithms, and different scales. Compare DA to DA, DR to DR. Never cross-reference them as if they're interchangeable.
  • Chasing the number instead of the strategy. I've seen businesses buy thousands of spammy backlinks to inflate their DA. It works for about a month, then Google's spam filters catch up and the site drops harder than before. Build authority through legitimate links.
  • Ignoring page-level authority. Domain authority is a domain-wide metric, but Google ranks individual pages, not domains. A single high-authority page on a low-DA site can rank if it has its own strong backlinks and great content.
  • Checking once and forgetting. Authority shifts as competitors build links and algorithms update their indices. I check client authority scores monthly as part of ongoing SEO tracking. A quarterly check is the bare minimum.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best free tool to check website authority?

Open PageRank is the best completely free option. It provides a 0–10 authority score based on Google's original PageRank patent, with no login or usage cap. For Moz Domain Authority specifically, Moz's free Link Explorer gives you 10 queries per month. I built a free Website Authority Checker on this site that uses the Open PageRank API to return a score instantly, no account needed.

Is domain authority a Google ranking factor?

No. Domain Authority (DA) is a metric created by Moz, not Google. Google has confirmed they do not use any third-party authority score in their ranking algorithm. However, the signals that DA measures (backlink quantity, quality, and diversity) do correlate with what Google values. Think of DA as a useful proxy for competitive strength, not as a direct ranking signal.

How often does a website's authority score change?

It depends on the metric. Moz updates DA roughly once a month. Ahrefs DR recalculates more frequently as their crawler discovers new backlinks. Open PageRank updates its index periodically, typically every few weeks. A single new backlink won't move your score overnight; authority reflects your cumulative link profile over time. Consistent link building across months is what shifts the number meaningfully.

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