📊 Domain Authority Checker: Free DA and PA Score Out of 100
By Shihab Mia · Updated 2026-07-10
Enter a bare domain (no https://, no path). We return the Domain Authority on the standard 0 to 100 scale.
Enter a domain and click the button. 2 free lookups per day.
Estimated from DataForSEO backlink authority data on the standard 0 to 100 scale. It tracks closely with Moz Domain Authority but is computed independently, so it can differ by a few points.
Domain Authority is a 0 to 100 score that predicts how strongly a website can rank in search, and this free domain authority checker returns that number for any domain in one click. Enter a domain such as github.com and it shows the Domain Authority (DA) out of 100 with a coloured meter and band, plus the Page Authority (PA) of the home page as a secondary score. For context, a brand-new blog usually scores under 20, an established business site lands in the 40s or 50s, and global giants sit in the high 80s. Use it to size up competitors, vet link partners, and track your own authority over time.
What is the Domain Authority Checker?
Domain Authority is a single 0 to 100 score that estimates how strong and trusted a website is in the eyes of search engines, based mainly on the quality and quantity of other sites that link to it. A domain authority checker turns the fuzzy idea of "this site seems authoritative" into one comparable number, so you can glance at any domain and immediately understand roughly where it sits. On this 0 to 100 scale, a brand-new blog might score in single digits, a solid established business site might land in the 40s or 50s, and global giants like github.com sit up near the high 80s. Nothing on the public web sits at a true 100; the very top sites cluster in the 90s.
The score is logarithmic, which is the single most important thing to understand about it. Moving from a Domain Authority of 20 to 30 is relatively quick and ordinary, but moving from 70 to 80 is extremely hard and takes a huge volume of high-quality links. That is by design: the scale is built so that the top is reserved for the most linked-to sites on the web. So do not expect linear progress. The higher your domain authority climbs, the more effort each additional point demands, and the more a single strong new link is worth near the bottom of the scale compared with near the top.
Alongside Domain Authority, this domain authority checker also reports Page Authority (PA), which uses the same 0 to 100 scale but measures the strength of a single page rather than the whole domain. Here we show the Page Authority of the home page. DA answers "how strong is this website overall?" while PA answers "how strong is this specific URL?". A powerful domain can still have a weak individual page, and a focused page with great links can punch above the domain it sits on, which is why looking at both numbers together is more informative than either alone. When you plan content, you are really trying to raise the PA of the pages you care about, which the domain authority lifts over time.
Authority is driven by backlinks. Search engines treat a link from one site to another as a vote of confidence, and a vote from a strong, relevant site counts far more than a vote from a weak or spammy one. A domain that has earned links from many high-authority sources scores high; a new domain with almost no links scores near the bottom. This is why authority is slow to build: it depends on other people choosing to link to you over time, which you cannot fully control. It is also why chasing the number directly, by buying cheap links, tends to backfire, since low-quality and irrelevant links add little and can attract manual penalties.
A high domain authority score does not guarantee rankings. Authority is one important signal, but rankings also depend on content relevance, search intent, page-level signals, technical health and competition for each keyword. The smartest way to read this domain authority checker is comparatively: check your own domain, then check two or three direct competitors, and study the gap. A site that out-ranks you with a lower DA is a sign your content or technical SEO can win; a large authority gap explains why some keywords feel out of reach for now. Pair the DA reading with a look at the number of referring domains, since diversity of linking sites matters as much as raw volume.
Because every lookup queries a paid backlink database, this domain authority checker is limited to 2 free lookups per day per visitor, with no sign-up required. That keeps the tool genuinely free while protecting the underlying data budget. Recent results may be served from a short cache to keep things fast. Since authority moves slowly, checking the same domain daily is wasteful; checking monthly, or before and after a link-building push, tells a far more meaningful story about whether your domain authority is actually improving.
When to use it
- Sizing up a competitor before you target their keywords, so you know whether you are fighting a much stronger or a beatable domain.
- Vetting a potential backlink, guest post, or partner site to see if it carries real authority or is a weak, low-value domain.
- Tracking your own domain authority over months to confirm that a link-building or digital PR campaign is actually moving the needle.
- Filtering a list of prospects (directories, outreach targets, sponsorships) quickly by their authority score before investing time in each one.
- Explaining to a client or stakeholder, in one simple number out of 100, why a competitor currently out-ranks them and how big the authority gap is.
- Sanity-checking a domain you are considering buying, so an aged domain with a strong-looking score is not actually a spam-built or penalised site.
How to use the Domain Authority Checker
- Type the domain you want to check into the box (for example github.com). Paste a full URL if you like, the tool strips the https:// and any path for you.
- Click "Check authority". The domain authority checker does not run automatically on page load, so you only spend a lookup when you actually click.
- Read the big number: that is the Domain Authority on the 0 to 100 scale, with a coloured meter and a band describing how strong the authority is.
- Check the secondary Page Authority score for the home page, also out of 100, to see how strong that single page is versus the domain overall.
- Compare domains: run your own site, then run two or three competitors, and look at the gaps to judge how hard the niche is.
- Watch your remaining free lookups (2 per day). Space your checks out, and recheck monthly rather than daily since authority changes slowly.
Formula & method
Worked examples
You check a very large, widely linked site such as github.com to see what a top-tier domain authority looks like.
- Enter github.com and click Check authority.
- The domain authority checker returns a Domain Authority of about 87 out of 100, in the Exceptional band.
- The secondary Page Authority for the home page reads about 67 out of 100.
Result: A DA near the top of the scale means a huge, high-quality backlink profile. Expect to need strong content and relevance, not just links, to out-rank a domain this authoritative.
You compare your own site against a direct competitor to judge how winnable a niche is.
- Check your domain first and note the score, for example a Domain Authority of 28 out of 100.
- Check the competitor and note theirs, for example a Domain Authority of 45 out of 100.
- Compare: the competitor has roughly 17 points more domain authority.
Result: A gap of about 17 points means the competitor has a meaningfully stronger backlink profile, but it is not an impossible lead. Focus on earning quality links and on pages where your content can clearly out-do theirs.
You vet a guest-post site that offered you a backlink, to decide if the link is worth pursuing.
- Enter the prospect domain and click Check authority.
- The domain authority checker returns a low Domain Authority, for example 12 out of 100, in the New / Low band.
- Read the band label and the Page Authority of the home page, which is also low.
Result: A DA around 12 signals a weak domain with little earned authority. A link from it will pass little value, so spend your outreach time on stronger, more relevant sites instead.
You audit two link prospects with the same DA to decide which one to pursue first.
- Check prospect A: it returns a Domain Authority of 40 out of 100 but is off-topic to your niche.
- Check prospect B: it also returns a Domain Authority of 40, and it is a closely relevant industry site.
- Compare the two identical DA readings against topical relevance rather than the number alone.
Result: When domain authority ties, relevance breaks the tie. A link from the on-topic prospect B usually passes more real ranking value than the same DA from an unrelated site, so pursue B first.
Domain Authority bands (0 to 100) used by this domain authority checker
| DA / PA score (0 to 100) | Band | What it usually means |
|---|---|---|
| 81 to 100 | Exceptional | Massive, high-quality backlink profile. Top global sites and major brands. |
| 61 to 80 | Strong | Well-established site with many strong referring domains, competes widely. |
| 41 to 60 | Moderate | Solid, maturing site with a real but still limited link profile. |
| 21 to 40 | Building | Younger site, some links earned, still building trust and reach. |
| 0 to 20 | New / Low | New or thinly linked domain with little earned authority yet. |
How this domain authority score compares to other authority metrics
| Metric | Provider | Scale | Same number? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Domain Authority (this tool) | DataForSEO estimate | 0 to 100 | The DA value shown here. |
| Domain Authority (DA) | Moz | 0 to 100 | Same scale. Tracks closely, can differ by a few points. |
| Domain Rating (DR) | Ahrefs | 0 to 100 | Same scale. Comparable signal, different link index. |
| Authority Score | Semrush | 0 to 100 | Same scale. Comparable signal, different provider. |
Typical domain authority by site type (rough real-world ranges)
| Site type | Typical DA range (0 to 100) | Why it lands there |
|---|---|---|
| Brand-new blog or startup | 1 to 15 | Few or no earned backlinks yet, so authority is near the floor. |
| Growing small business site | 20 to 35 | Some links from local, directory and partner sources. |
| Established regional business | 35 to 55 | Years of content, press mentions and a diverse link profile. |
| Well-known national brand | 55 to 75 | Wide media coverage and thousands of referring domains. |
| Global platform or major publisher | 80 to 95+ | Millions of high-quality links from across the web. |
Common mistakes to avoid
- Treating domain authority as a guarantee of rankings. Authority is one signal among many. Relevance, search intent, content quality and technical SEO all matter. A strong domain can still lose a specific keyword to a more relevant page on a weaker site.
- Expecting the score to climb in a straight line. The 0 to 100 scale is logarithmic. Going from 20 to 30 is ordinary, but 70 to 80 takes a huge volume of high-quality links. Do not panic when growth slows at the top, that is by design.
- Comparing scores across different tools as if identical. A DA of 45 here, a Moz DA of 45, and an Ahrefs DR of 45 are close but not identical, because each tool indexes a slightly different set of links. Compare numbers from the same tool for a fair read.
- Checking the same domain every day. Domain authority moves slowly because it depends on backlinks accumulating over time. Daily checks waste your free lookups and show no real change. Recheck monthly or around a campaign instead.
- Chasing the score instead of real links. The number reflects your backlink profile, it is not a lever you pull directly. Buying low-quality links to inflate a score can backfire. Earn relevant links and the authority follows.
- Ignoring Page Authority entirely. A strong domain can host a weak page, and a focused page can out-perform its domain. Reading the Page Authority alongside the Domain Authority gives a fuller picture than either score alone.
- Judging a link by DA alone and ignoring relevance. A high-DA link from an unrelated site often passes less value than a mid-DA link from a site in your niche. Weigh topical relevance and traffic next to the raw domain authority number.
Glossary
- Domain Authority (DA)
- A 0 to 100 score estimating how strong and trusted a whole website is, driven mainly by the quality and quantity of sites that link to it. Higher means more ranking strength.
- Page Authority (PA)
- A 0 to 100 score on the same scale as DA, but measuring the link strength of a single page rather than the entire domain. This tool shows the PA of the home page.
- Logarithmic scale
- A scale where each step up is harder than the last. On the 0 to 100 authority scale, climbing from 70 to 80 needs far more links than climbing from 20 to 30.
- Moz Domain Authority
- The original 0 to 100 DA metric from Moz. The score in this tool is an independent estimate on the same scale that tracks closely with it but can differ by a few points.
- Backlink
- A link from one website to another. Search engines treat it as a vote of confidence, and links from strong, relevant sites carry far more weight than weak ones.
- Referring domain
- A unique website that links to a given domain. Many distinct referring domains generally build authority faster than many links from a single site.
- Backlink profile
- The full set of links pointing at a domain, considered together. Its size, quality and diversity are what the authority score tries to summarise into one number.
- Domain Rating (DR)
- Ahrefs own 0 to 100 authority metric. It measures the same idea as DA from a different link index, so DR and DA for one site are comparable but rarely identical.
Frequently asked questions
What is a good domain authority score?
A good domain authority score is relative to your competition, not a fixed number. On the 0 to 100 scale, under 20 is typical for new sites, the 20s and 30s for growing sites, 40 to 60 for established businesses, and 70 plus for major authoritative brands. The practical answer is to compare your score with your direct competitors rather than chasing a universal target, since beating the domains you actually compete with matters more than any single milestone.
Is this the same as Moz Domain Authority?
It is on the same 0 to 100 scale and tracks closely with Moz Domain Authority, but it is an independent estimate, not the official Moz product. Our score is computed from DataForSEO backlink data, while Moz uses its own link index, so for the same site the two can differ by a few points. Use it as a reliable directional Domain Authority signal that lines up well with Moz DA, just do not expect the numbers to match to the exact point.
Where does the domain authority data come from?
Every lookup queries the DataForSEO backlink database through our own rate-limited server function, which returns the Domain Authority and Page Authority already computed on the 0 to 100 scale. We never call the data provider from your browser and we keep no API keys client-side, which is why each check goes through our server.
What is the difference between Domain Authority and Page Authority?
Domain Authority (DA) measures the strength of an entire website, while Page Authority (PA) measures the strength of a single page, both on the 0 to 100 scale. This domain authority checker shows the DA as the main score and the PA of the home page as a secondary stat. A strong domain can host a weaker page, so reading both together is more useful than either alone.
How accurate is the domain authority score?
It is a solid, data-backed estimate, but it is still an estimate. No tool sees every link on the web, so DataForSEO, Moz and Ahrefs all index slightly different link sets and report somewhat different numbers for the same site. Treat the score as a comparative gauge, most useful when you check several domains the same way, rather than as an exact, absolute grade.
Why is the domain authority checker limited to 2 lookups a day?
The data behind each check comes from a paid backlink database, so unlimited free lookups are not sustainable. Limiting it to 2 free lookups per day per visitor keeps the tool genuinely free with no sign-up while protecting the data budget. Recent results may be served from a short cache to keep things fast.
Does a higher domain authority guarantee better rankings?
No. Authority is one important signal, but rankings also depend on content relevance, search intent, page-level signals, technical health and competition for each keyword. A high domain authority makes ranking easier, but a strong, relevant page on a weaker domain can still out-rank a more authoritative but less relevant competitor.
How can I increase my domain authority?
Earn high-quality, relevant backlinks over time. Publish content worth linking to, do genuine outreach and digital PR, get listed in reputable industry directories, and avoid spammy or paid link schemes that can backfire. Authority grows slowly because it reflects other people choosing to link to you, so consistency over months matters more than any quick trick.
How long does it take to raise domain authority?
Expect months, not weeks. Because domain authority depends on other sites linking to you over time, meaningful movement usually takes three to six months of steady link earning, and more at the top of the scale where each point is harder to gain. A new site can climb out of single digits fairly quickly, but jumping from, say, 40 to 50 is a sustained effort. Recheck monthly rather than daily to see real change.
Can I check any website, including my competitors?
Yes. The domain authority score is based on public backlink data, so you can check any domain, including competitors and potential link partners. In fact comparing your domain authority against two or three competitors is the most useful way to use this checker, since it reveals the size of the authority gap you are working with.
Should I enter the full URL or just the domain?
Just the bare domain (for example example.com) is ideal, because Domain Authority is measured at the domain level. You can paste a full URL with https:// and a path if it is easier; the tool strips the scheme, the leading www and any path for you before checking.