Domain Rating Checker
The Domain Rating Checker is a free tool to check any website's Domain Rating (DR) — a 0-100 score of backlink strength, powered by Ahrefs' public data.
How to Use It
- Enter a domain (e.g.,
stripe.com— just the domain, not a full URL). - Run the check to get the current DR score, along with a plain-language rating band from "Emerging" up to "Excellent."
- Use the result to quickly benchmark your own site, a competitor, or a potential guest-post or directory target.
When to Use It
- Tracking your own site's authority over time — check periodically as you build backlinks to see the trend.
- Vetting a directory or guest-post prospect — before submitting or paying for a placement, a quick DR check tells you roughly how much authority the site actually has.
- Comparing yourself to competitors — see how your backlink profile stacks up against others in your space.
What It Doesn't Do
DR is not a Google ranking factor — it's Ahrefs' proprietary estimate of backlink-profile strength, useful for relative comparison but not a guarantee of ranking position. It also doesn't show you the underlying backlinks themselves; for that, you'd need a full backlink report from Ahrefs, Moz, or a similar tool. See our comparison of free backlink checkers for how to combine multiple free sources into a fuller picture.
Where to Go Next
If your DR is lower than you'd like, building real directory backlinks is one of the more accessible ways to start moving it — see BacklinkBot's done-for-you plans, or browse our free directory database to see what's available to submit to yourself.