Quick answer: For your own site, start with Google Search Console and Ahrefs Webmaster Tools. To check any other site, use Bing Webmaster Tools, Ahrefs' free backlink checker, Semrush (free account), Moz Link Explorer and Ubersuggest. Use two or three together, because every tool sees a different slice of the web.
You do not need a paid subscription to understand your backlink profile. Between Google Search Console, Bing Webmaster Tools and the free tiers of the big SEO platforms, you can see who links to you, spot competitors' best links, and catch problems early. The catch is that every free tool shows a different, partial slice of the web, so the skill is in combining them.
This guide covers the free backlink checkers worth using, what each one is good for, and a simple process for checking your own links and your competitors'.
Why backlink checking still matters
Links from relevant, trusted sites remain one of the clearest signals that a page deserves to rank. Checking your backlinks regularly helps you:
- Understand why pages rank, or why they do not
- Find lost links to pages you deleted or moved, so you can redirect them and recover the value
- Spot link opportunities by seeing which sites link to competitors but not to you
- Catch unusual activity such as sudden spikes of spammy links
- Measure outreach and PR by tracking which campaigns actually earned links
A quick word on how backlink tools work
Third-party tools run their own crawlers and build their own link indexes. None of them sees the whole web, and each has different coverage, freshness and metrics. Authority scores like Ahrefs' Domain Rating, Moz's Domain Authority and Semrush's Authority Score are each company's own estimate. They are useful for comparing sites against each other, but Google does not use any of them.
Only the search engines' own tools show links they have actually found, and only for sites you have verified.
The best free backlink checkers
1. Google Search Console (your own site)
Best for: seeing the links Google itself has found.
Open Links in the left menu. You get top linking sites, top linked pages and top linking anchor text, all exportable. It shows a sample rather than every link, and it gives no authority metrics, but it is the most trustworthy source for your own site. Start here.
2. Bing Webmaster Tools (your site and competitors)
Best for: free competitor comparison from a search engine's own data.
The Backlinks section lists referring domains and pages for your verified site, and lets you add other domains to compare their backlink profiles side by side. It is one of the few genuinely free ways to look at competitors' links without a query cap, and Bing's index also feeds several AI assistants.
3. Ahrefs Webmaster Tools (your own site)
Best for: deep analysis of your own links, with authority metrics.
Verify your site (you can import it directly from Search Console) and you get access to Ahrefs' Site Explorer data for that domain, including referring domains, anchors, new and lost links, and broken backlinks. For your own site it is the most complete free option available.
4. Ahrefs Free Backlink Checker (any site)
Best for: a quick look at any domain's strongest links.
Enter any URL to see headline numbers and a short list of its top backlinks. It is limited, but ideal for a fast competitor check.
5. Semrush (free account)
Best for: occasional competitor lookups.
A free account includes a small number of daily Backlink Analytics requests with truncated results. That is enough to review a handful of competitors each week and see their top referring domains and anchor text.
6. Moz Link Explorer (free account)
Best for: checking Domain Authority and top links.
A free Moz account allows a limited number of Link Explorer queries per month. It is useful when clients or partners ask about Domain Authority specifically.
7. Ubersuggest (free tier)
Best for: simple, beginner-friendly overviews.
Offers a few free searches a day with a basic backlink summary and a list of linking pages. It is less deep than the others but easy to read.
Comparison at a glance
| Tool | Your site | Competitors | Authority metric | Main limit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Google Search Console | Yes | No | None | Sampled data |
| Bing Webmaster Tools | Yes | Yes | None | Bing's index only |
| Ahrefs Webmaster Tools | Yes (verified) | No | Domain Rating | Verified sites only |
| Ahrefs Backlink Checker | Yes | Yes | Domain Rating | Top links only |
| Semrush free | Yes | Yes | Authority Score | Daily request cap |
| Moz Link Explorer | Yes | Yes | Domain Authority | Monthly query cap |
| Ubersuggest | Yes | Yes | Domain Authority (own) | Daily search cap |
Free-tier limits change often, so check each tool's current allowance before building a routine around it.
How to check your own backlinks for free
- Export from Search Console. Links → Top linking sites → Export.
- Export from Ahrefs Webmaster Tools and Bing. Each finds links the others miss.
- Merge and de-duplicate by referring domain in a spreadsheet. Referring domains matter more than raw link counts, because 500 links from one site are worth far less than 50 links from 50 relevant sites.
- Check which of your pages receive links. If linked pages now return 404, 301-redirect them to the closest live page. This is one of the quickest wins in SEO.
- Review anchor text. A natural profile is dominated by brand names and plain URLs. A high share of exact-match commercial anchors can look manipulated.
How to analyse competitor backlinks for free
- Pick three to five competitors who rank for the queries you want.
- Add them in Bing Webmaster Tools' comparison view, and check each in Ahrefs' free checker and your Semrush free requests.
- List referring domains that link to two or more competitors but not to you. These are your most realistic opportunities: industry directories, associations, media, resource pages and partners.
- Look at why each link exists: original research, a free tool, a guest article, a supplier listing. That tells you what to create or pitch.
Should you worry about toxic backlinks?
For most sites, no. Google's systems are designed to ignore spammy links rather than penalise you for them. The disavow tool is meant for sites with a manual action for unnatural links, or those who knowingly bought or built manipulative links in the past. If Search Console's Manual Actions report is clear and you have not done anything like that, leave random spam links alone.
What you should avoid is building manipulative links: paid links without proper attributes, large-scale guest posting purely for anchors, or private blog networks. Google's spam policies cover these explicitly.
How often should you check?
- Monthly: review new and lost referring domains, and fix broken linked pages.
- Quarterly: run a competitor gap analysis.
- After any migration or URL change: confirm linked pages still resolve.
When free tools are not enough
Free tiers are ideal for small sites and occasional checks. If you manage several sites, need historical data, or run ongoing outreach, a paid plan quickly pays for itself in time saved.
If you would rather earn links than audit them, our high-authority link building and editorial outreach services focus on relevant, editorially placed links that hold their value.
