Domain Rating (DR) is Ahrefs' 0–100 score for how strong a website's backlink profile is. Enter a domain and this tool pulls its live DR, so you can judge a directory, a guest-post target or a competitor in seconds.
How to use the Domain Rating checker
- Type a domain or paste any URL from the site (the path is ignored).
- Run the check. We ask Ahrefs for the current DR.
- Compare the score with the other sites on your list before you spend time on outreach.
What DR measures
DR looks at how many unique websites link to a domain with dofollow links, and how strong those linking sites are themselves. It is logarithmic: going from DR 10 to 20 is far easier than going from 60 to 70. DR is a domain-level score, so it says nothing about a single page, and it does not count nofollow links at all.
How to read the score
Below 20 is a new or small site. 20–50 is an established niche site. 50–70 is a strong publication or popular tool, and 70+ is a major brand. For backlinks, a dofollow link from a relevant DR 30 site that links out sparingly is often worth more than a link from a DR 80 directory that links to thousands of products.
When DR looks wrong
DR is relative. When the biggest sites gain links, other scores can slip a point even if nothing changed for them. A new link only counts once Ahrefs has crawled the page it sits on, which can take days or weeks. If a score is far lower than you expected, check you entered the domain the links actually point to: links to a blog on a separate domain don't count for the main site. And treat a sudden jump of 20+ points with suspicion; bought link networks inflate DR without bringing any traffic.