Ahrefs keeps Domain Rating behind a paid subscription. This free DR checker returns a 0-100 backlink-authority score for any domain in about two seconds, with no signup and no card, and every check comes with an embeddable DR badge for your own site. The number is computed from the open OpenPageRank dataset and rescaled into the 0-100 range you know from Ahrefs — it is an independent equivalent, not Ahrefs' own figure, and the page tells you so every time.
What is Domain Rating (DR)?
Domain Rating is Ahrefs' proprietary 0-100 score of a website's backlink profile strength. It's the most-quoted backlink-authority metric in SEO. Unlike Moz's DA (focused on ranking potential), DR focuses purely on link-graph authority. Most pros track both side-by-side.
A free DR checker with an embeddable badge — the Ahrefs DR alternative
FeedPulse uses the OpenPageRank dataset (built on the open Common Crawl backlink graph) to deliver a DR-equivalent score for any domain, linearly rescaled from OPR's native 0-10 into the 0-100 framing every SEO reader recognises from Ahrefs. The methodology is published, the data is open, and the badge is yours to embed forever. No subscription required.
How a 0-10 OpenPageRank score becomes a 0-100 DR
Worth knowing before you quote the number anywhere. OpenPageRank publishes its own authority score on a 0-10 scale, computed over the Common Crawl link graph — the same raw material every backlink tool starts from. We rescale that score linearly into 0-100 because every SEO reader, client and sponsor already reads authority on the Ahrefs DR scale, and a 7.4 means nothing to them while a 74 means something immediately. The rescaling is arithmetic, not a model: no weighting, no secret sauce, nothing added. What you lose is Ahrefs' crawler coverage, which is larger and refreshed faster than Common Crawl. What you gain is a score you can read, embed and redistribute without a subscription — and one that moves in the same direction as DR when your link profile changes.
What a DR score will not tell you
DR is one number describing one thing: the strength of the sites pointing at you. It says nothing about whether those links are relevant to your niche, nothing about whether the linking pages get traffic, and nothing about whether you rank for a single keyword you care about. A DR 60 directory nobody reads and a DR 60 industry publication are the same number and wildly different assets. It is also a lagging indicator — links earned this month show up in the open graph a crawl cycle or two later, so a flat DR after a good outreach push usually means 'wait', not 'failed'. Use DR to track your own trend over months and to sanity-check a prospect before you pitch it. Do not use it to pick keywords, price a link, or settle an argument.
Drop your DR badge on any platform in 60 seconds
Copy the HTML snippet and paste it anywhere — WordPress widget area, Shopify theme footer, Wix HTML element, Webflow embed block, Ghost CMS, Squarespace, Blogger. The badge auto-updates weekly with the latest DR score.
Frequently asked questions
- What's the difference between Domain Authority and Domain Rating?
- DA (Moz) predicts how likely a site is to rank on Google's SERP, weighting backlinks + spam signals + on-page health. DR (Ahrefs) measures pure backlink-graph authority — link count and link quality, full stop. A site with high DR but low DA usually has many low-quality links; high DA + low DR suggests link-poor but content-strong. Pros track both side-by-side.
- What is a good Domain Rating score?
- DR is 0-100 like DA but skews higher on average. DR 30+ is decent for a personal blog, DR 50+ is competitive for SaaS, and DR 70+ is dominant in most niches. Wikipedia and youtube.com sit at DR 95+. The scale is logarithmic — DR 80 has ~10x the link authority of DR 70.
- How do I increase my Domain Rating?
- DR is purely a function of inbound links from authoritative sites. Earn backlinks via guest posts on high-DR publications, original research that gets cited, free tools (like the ones on this site!) that get linked, and digital PR. DR rises faster than DA because it ignores spam signals — but a too-fast rise from low-quality sources WILL get noticed by Google.
- Is FeedPulse DR the same as Ahrefs DR?
- No, and we would rather say so plainly than let you quote the wrong number. Ahrefs' Domain Rating is proprietary, computed over Ahrefs' own crawler index. This checker reads the open OpenPageRank dataset — built on the Common Crawl link graph — and rescales its native 0-10 authority score linearly into the 0-100 range Ahrefs made familiar. Same underlying question, independent data, no licence fee. Expect the two to land in the same neighbourhood and to move together as your link profile changes, but not to match digit for digit on any given domain.
- How many DR checks do I get per day?
- Two per IP per 24 hours, across a maximum of two different domains, resetting at UTC midnight. That is not an upsell step — there is no paid tier to buy — it is the ceiling that keeps a single scraper from burning the shared upstream quota that makes the tool free for everyone else. Re-checking a domain you have already looked up today is always allowed. Embedded DR badges refresh on their own schedule and never count against your two.
- Why is the DR free here when Ahrefs charges for it?
- Ahrefs sells Domain Rating as part of a paid subscription, with API access metered on top. We're not selling enterprise SEO data — we're shipping a free, embeddable DR badge for indie hackers, bloggers, and SaaS founders who used to brag with Ahrefs DR and need a free open replacement. Built on the open OpenPageRank dataset, redistributable forever.