Knowing your website’s Domain Authority (DA) is a useful first step toward understanding how well it might perform in search engine results. Even though DA is not used by Google directly, it's a powerful metric to help you track your site's overall strength and competitive standing.
The good news?
You don’t need expensive tools to find it out.
In this page, we’ll walk you through the easiest and most accurate ways to check Domain Authority for free, how to interpret the results, and how to use them for better SEO planning.
Domain Authority gives you a rough idea of how likely your site is to rank on search engines, compared to others in your niche. It's helpful for:
If you’re serious about improving your SEO, checking your DA regularly is as important as monitoring traffic or keyword rankings.
For deeper context, review:
Why Domain Authority Matters in SEO Strategy
There are several trusted tools that let you check DA at no cost. Here are the top ones:
As the creator of the Domain Authority metric, Moz offers a reliable free tool.
Note: You can check up to 10 queries per month on a free Moz account.
Ubersuggest’s DA metric may differ slightly from Moz, but it provides a quick snapshot and useful beginner-friendly reports.
Ahrefs uses a similar metric called Domain Rating (DR), which evaluates link strength.
Though DR ≠ DA, both serve the same purpose — estimating ranking potential.
It’s a quick way to compare multiple websites or evaluate potential backlink sources.
Once you have your DA score, here's a general guide to understand what it means:
| DA Score | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 1–20 | New or very low-authority site |
| 21–40 | Growing authority, early SEO potential |
| 41–60 | Established presence, moderate trust |
| 61–80 | Strong SEO authority and trust |
| 81–100 | Top-tier sites like Wikipedia, Amazon |
Important:
Don’t panic if your score is below 30. DA naturally increases over time with consistent SEO work — especially content and backlinks.
To learn more about what influences DA, visit:
How Domain Authority Works and What Influences It
Once every 2 to 4 weeks is ideal.
Checking too frequently doesn’t help because Moz (and other tools) update their link index on a periodic basis — usually monthly. Your score may stay the same even if you’ve done good SEO work.
SEO is about momentum. DA reflects long-term patterns, not overnight results.
We explain this concept in:
The Tipping Point in SEO – When Growth Becomes Exponential
Absolutely — and you should.
Enter a competitor’s URL into the same tools to:
It’s also a smart move before running campaigns like digital PR or outreach — which we explore in:
Blue Ocean Strategy in SEO
Now that you’ve checked your score, here’s how to use it effectively:
Your Domain Authority can act like a “visibility budget.”
The higher your score, the more competitive you can afford to be.
To support your site’s internal strength, we recommend reading:
Internal Linking for SEO Success
That’s okay — it’s common for newer websites.
Here’s what to do:
Our guide on How to Update Your Website for SEO can help you make steady, trust-building improvements.
Checking your Domain Authority should become a regular part of your SEO practice — but it’s just a reflection of your site’s current position, not your future potential.
You don’t need a perfect DA score.
You just need to know where you are and what to improve next.
By using the free tools listed above, benchmarking against competitors, and aligning your efforts with smart strategy, you’ll gradually climb the ladder of authority.
And over time, that number becomes more than a score —
It becomes proof that your brand can be trusted.
