You can check backlinks in Google Search Console (free), Ahrefs, Semrush, Majestic, SE Ranking, Senuto, or Moz. Each tool works differently, shows different data, and has different limitations. In this guide you’ll go through all the options – from free to paid – so you can pick the one that fits your situation.
What are backlinks and where do they come from?
A backlink is a link from someone else’s site that points to yours. Someone wrote an article, mentioned your site, and added a link. That’s how a natural backlink is born.
But you can also acquire backlinks actively. You buy a sponsored article on an industry portal, publish a guest post on someone else’s blog, add your site to a business directory – each of these creates a new backlink. The process is called link building and it’s one of the foundational SEO strategies.
Google treats inbound links like “votes of confidence”. The more valuable sites link to you, the higher you can appear in search results. That’s why it pays to know who links to you, what kind of links those are – and whether your link building efforts are paying off.
Google Search Console – the free starting point
If your site is verified in Google Search Console (GSC), you have access to backlink data straight from Google. No fees.
How to do it:
- Sign in to GSC at search.google.com/search-console.
- Pick your property from the dropdown in the top-left corner.
- Click “Links” in the left-hand menu – you’ll find this option at the very bottom of the menu.
GSC splits the data into two columns: external links (backlinks from other sites) and internal links (links between your subpages).
In the external links section you’ll see:
- Top linked pages – which of your subpages get the most backlinks.
- Top linking sites – the domains the links come from.
- Top linking text – the anchor texts (the clickable text of the link) other sites use.
You can also export the data to Excel – click “Export external links” in the top-right corner and choose “Latest links”.
Pros: free, data straight from Google, simple to use.
Limitations: GSC shows only a sample of links – the tables are capped at around 1,000 rows, and duplicates are grouped. You can’t check competitor backlinks. You also won’t see quality metrics like Domain Rating or Trust Flow. To get access, you have to verify your site first.
If you don’t have your site connected yet – do it now. Verification takes a few minutes, and GSC is useful for more than just backlinks. 😉
Ahrefs – the largest link database in the industry
Ahrefs started in 2010 as a backlink tool and to this day remains the leader in the category. According to the State of Link Building survey, 68.1% of respondents consider Ahrefs the most accurate and comprehensive provider of backlink data. Source: Editorial
What you get:
- Massive database – the Ahrefs index contains around 35 trillion external links from 494 million domains, with data refreshed every 15-30 minutes.
- Link history – you can see when a link appeared and when it disappeared. Historical data goes back to 2013.
- Anchor texts, link types (dofollow/nofollow), quality metrics (Domain Rating, URL Rating).
- Competitor analysis – you can check the backlink profile of any site, not just your own.
- Link Intersect – shows domains that link to your competitors but not to you.
Free option: Ahrefs offers free SEO tools, including a Backlink Checker that shows the top 100 backlinks for any domain. Ahrefs Webmaster Tools (free, after site verification) gives a fuller view of backlinks for your own site.
Pricing: The Lite plan starts at $108 per month on annual billing. Access to historical data older than 6 months requires the Standard plan or higher.
Who it’s for: people who take SEO seriously and need the most accurate link data. The first pick of many professional link builders.
Semrush – backlinks plus audit and competitor comparison
Semrush is a full-stack marketing platform, and backlink analysis is one of its strongest modules.
What sets Semrush apart:
- The largest backlink database on the market – 43 trillion links from 390 million domains, with continuously updated data. Source: Semrush
- Backlink Audit – automatically rates which links may be problematic and suggests next steps.
- Backlink Gap – compares your link profile with competitors and shows domains that link to them but not to you.
- Detailed filters: by country, link type, anchor text, Authority Score.
- Real-time notifications about new and lost links.
Free option: Semrush offers a free Backlink Checker on their site – you enter a domain and get a basic report. Full functionality requires a paid plan (a trial period is available).
Pricing: The Pro plan starts at $165 per month on annual billing.
Who it’s for: people and agencies who want one tool for everything – backlinks, keywords, technical audits, competitor analysis, content marketing.
Majestic – backlink specialist with data going back to 2006
Majestic is one of the few tools that has focused exclusively on backlinks from day one. It doesn’t try to be a Swiss Army knife – it does one thing and does it well.
What sets Majestic apart:
- Two indexes – Fresh Index (data from the past ~120 days, updated daily) and Historic Index with data going back to 2006. That’s nearly 20 years of link history.
- Proprietary quality metrics – Trust Flow (domain credibility) and Citation Flow (domain popularity). Widely recognized in the SEO industry.
- Topical Trust Flow – shows the topics linking domains are associated with. Useful for evaluating whether links are topically relevant.
- Clique Hunter – the Majestic equivalent of Ahrefs’ Link Intersect. Shows domains that link to several of your competitors but not to you.
Free option: a free browser extension (Majestic Browser Plugin) gives you a quick metrics preview for any site.
Pricing: The Lite plan starts at $49.99 per month, but access to the Historic Index requires the Pro plan (from $99.99).
Who it’s for: people who need deep link analysis, especially historical data. A popular pick among link building specialists.
SE Ranking – a large link database at an accessible price
SE Ranking is mainly known for rank tracking, but its backlink module can pleasantly surprise you.
What you get:
- A database of 2.9 trillion indexed backlinks from 411 million referring domains, with 14 billion pages crawled daily. Jasper AI
- Link toxicity scoring split into levels: high, medium, low.
- Dofollow/nofollow split, anchor text analysis, list of linking domains.
- Backlink Gap – comparison with competitors.
- Data on new and lost links.
Free option: you can test the Backlink Checker directly on the SE Ranking site, no account required. The full version is available in a 14-day trial.
Pricing: from $87 per month on annual billing – one of the more accessible options in this roundup.
Who it’s for: freelancers and agencies looking for a solid SEO tool at a reasonable price. Good data quality-to-price ratio.
Senuto – a Polish platform with a link analysis module
If your site targets the Polish market, Senuto has an edge over foreign tools – it handles the Polish Google index and Polish-language phrases very well.
The Link Analysis module in Senuto lets you check backlinks for any domain – your own and your competitors’. After entering an address you’ll see:
- Number of backlinks and number of linking domains.
- Link attributes: follow, nofollow, sponsored, UGC (user generated content).
- List of anchor texts and their distribution.
- Chart showing backlink count over time alongside site visibility.
- Filtering by page title, anchor text, or URL.
Extra plus: Senuto integrates with the WhitePress platform – linking domains carry a marker if you can order a sponsored article on a given site.
Pricing: from PLN 107 / month on annual billing
Who it’s for: owners of Polish sites and SEO specialists working on the Polish market. If besides backlinks you also need visibility analysis and content planning in Polish, Senuto packs it all in one tool.
Moz – Domain Authority and Link Explorer
Moz is one of the SEO industry’s pioneers, and its Domain Authority (DA) metric is still one of the most widely cited indicators of domain quality.
What the Link Explorer module offers:
- Domain Authority and Page Authority metrics – widely recognized in the industry.
- Backlink list with filters by link type, anchor text, and authority.
- Spam Score – a risk rating for a given domain.
- Discovery and analysis of new/lost links.
Free option: Moz provides a free Link Explorer with a limit of 10 queries per month. All you need is a free account.
Pricing: from $39 per month on annual billing
Who it’s for: people who value the Domain Authority metric and want a quick way to assess linking domain quality.
Free tools for a quick start
If you don’t want to set up accounts and pay subscriptions, there are a few options for checking backlinks “right here, right now”:
- Ahrefs Free Backlink Checker (ahrefs.com/backlink-checker) – top 100 backlinks for any domain, no login required.
- Semrush Free Backlink Checker (semrush.com/analytics/backlinks) – basic report with link count, referring domains, and Authority Score.
- Moz Free Link Explorer – 10 free queries per month after registration.
- Seobility Backlink Checker – a free tool with basic metrics: follow/nofollow ratio, referring domains, anchor texts.
- Small SEO Tools Backlink Checker – simple, free preview of a link profile. The data is limited compared to paid tools, but for a quick diagnosis it’s enough.
No single tool will show you 100% of backlinks. Each one uses its own crawlers, so results differ. Pros often check data in two tools at the same time.
Quick tool comparison
| Tool | Entry cost | Competitor backlinks | Historical data | Best for… |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Google Search Console | Free | No | Limited | Basic monitoring of your own links |
| Ahrefs | Free (limited) / from ~$108/mo. | Yes | Since 2013 | The most accurate link analysis |
| Semrush | Free (limited) / from ~$165/mo. | Yes | Yes | Comprehensive SEO audit + backlinks |
| Majestic | From ~$49/mo. | Yes | Since 2006 | Deep analysis and link history |
| SE Ranking | From ~$87/mo. | Yes | Yes | Solid data at a good price |
| Senuto | 14 days free / paid plans / from PLN 107/mo. | Yes | Partially | The Polish market and Polish keywords |
| Moz | 10 queries free / paid plans / from $39/mo. | Yes | Yes | Quick Domain Authority assessment |
What to look out for in the results?
The number of linking domains, not the total link count. 50 links from 50 different sites beats 200 links from one domain. Google values diversity of sources.
Quality of the linking sites. A link from a major news portal weighs more than a link from a freshly launched blog. Check authority metrics – Domain Rating in Ahrefs, Authority Score in Semrush, Trust Flow in Majestic, Domain Authority in Moz. Each tool calculates these slightly differently, but the idea is the same: the higher the score, the stronger the domain (in theory; aside from that, what also counts is site traffic, the number of ranking keywords, topical relevance to your site, and many other factors worth paying attention to).
Anchor texts. A natural link profile contains a mix: your brand name, the bare URL, topical phrases, “click here”. If 80% of your anchors are the same phrase – Google may read it as a manipulation attempt.
Dofollow vs. nofollow vs. sponsored vs. UGC links. Dofollow links pass so-called “SEO juice”. Nofollow links – formally less, although Google treats them as a hint rather than a hard directive. The sponsored and UGC attributes mark advertising links and user-generated content respectively. A natural profile contains different types – and that’s a good thing.
How often to check, and what to do with the results?
For most sites, once a month is enough. Running active link building or seeing a sudden drop in rankings? Check immediately.
After every analysis, ask yourself three questions:
- Did any new links appear? Where from? Which piece of content attracted them?
- Did I lose any links? Why – did the source page disappear, did the article change, did someone remove the link?
- Do I see links from suspicious sites – link farms, spammy directories, random domains unrelated to my industry?
Do “toxic” backlinks really hurt?
This is a topic surrounded by plenty of myths. The short answer: in most cases, Google ignores low-quality links on its own and you don’t need to take any action.
John Mueller from Google said it plainly:
“The disavow tool is not something that you need to do on a regular basis. It’s not a part of normal site maintenance.”
He also added that the term “toxic backlinks” is more of a marketing label used by SEO tools than an internal Google category. Source: Ideastoreach
Google’s algorithms are designed to automatically ignore random or spammy backlinks. The Disavow tool (link disavowal in Google Search Console) is worth considering only in two situations:
- You received a manual action from Google for unnatural links – you’ll see a notification in GSC.
- You know someone deliberately built manipulative links to your site in the past (e.g., a negative SEO attack or actions of a previous SEO agency that used risky tactics).
If neither situation applies to you – spammy links from random directories probably aren’t doing anything to you. Unnecessary disavowing through Disavow can actually hurt, because you risk removing links that are genuinely helping your site.
FAQ
Can I check backlinks for free?
Yes. Google Search Console is free. Ahrefs, Semrush, and Moz offer free versions of their Backlink Checkers with limitations. For a quick look they’re more than enough.
Which tool shows the most backlinks?
Semrush claims 43 trillion links, Ahrefs 35 trillion, Majestic has a historical index going back to 2006. No tool sees 100% of the links – which is why it’s worth checking the data in at least two sources.
Do backlinks still matter for SEO?
Yes. Inbound links remain one of Google’s most important ranking factors – alongside content quality and user signals.
What is anchor text and why does it matter?
Anchor text is the visible, clickable text of a link. Google analyzes it to understand what the destination page is about. A natural link profile has varied anchors – brand name, topical phrases, generic expressions, bare URLs.
Is buying backlinks safe?
It depends on what you mean by “buying”. Publishing sponsored articles on industry portals is a standard link-building practice – provided the content is valuable and placed on thematically related sites.
How many backlinks do I need?
There’s no single answer. 10 links from authoritative, thematically related domains can produce a better effect than 500 low-quality links. What counts is quality, source variety, and a natural link profile.
