# Backlink Value Calculator

> Estimate a backlink's value from DR, dofollow or nofollow, placement, relevance, page traffic and outbound links. Get a 0–100 score and a rough cost range.

Use it free at https://swipetolaunch.com/tools/backlink-value-calculator

## How to use it

1. **Enter the linking site's DR.** Type it, or paste the domain and fetch its Ahrefs Domain Rating.
2. **Describe the link.** Dofollow or nofollow, where it sits on the page, and how relevant the site is to yours.
3. **Add page details.** Rough monthly visits to the linking page and how many other links it carries.
4. **Compare.** Read the score and the breakdown, then compare it with other opportunities on the same scale.

## Not every link is worth the same

Two links can both say "DR 60" and be worth wildly different amounts. One sits in the body of a relevant article that real people read. The other is a nofollow link in a footer next to 200 others. This calculator weighs the factors SEOs broadly agree on so you can put opportunities side by side.

## What the score weighs

- **Authority (up to 35 points).** The linking site's Domain Rating, on a curve, because DR is logarithmic: the step from 60 to 70 is worth more than from 10 to 20.
- **Placement (up to 20).** Links inside body copy count most. Directory listings are solid when the directory is curated. Sidebars, profiles and footers are discounted.
- **Relevance (up to 20).** A link from a site about your topic looks earned. An unrelated one is mostly an authority signal.
- **Page traffic (up to 15).** Visitors who can click through. This counts in full even for nofollow links, because referral traffic does not care about rel attributes.
- **Dilution (up to 10).** The more outbound links on a page, the thinner each one's share.

Nofollow, sponsored and UGC links scale the ranking factors down to about a third. Search engines treat them as hints rather than votes, so they still carry some weight, just less.

## About the cost range

The cost range is a rough estimate of what placements of similar quality sell for, from guest posts to paid listings. It exists to answer one question: is this worth an afternoon of outreach, or a listing fee? It is not a quote. Search engines ask that paid links carry rel="sponsored".

## Using it well

1. Check a list of targets with the [bulk DR checker](/tools/bulk-domain-rating).
2. Confirm whether a page's links are followed with the [dofollow checker](/tools/dofollow-nofollow-checker).
3. Score the top few here and start with the highest.

The score is a model for comparing opportunities, not a number any search engine publishes.

## What you get

- 0–100 score with a factor-by-factor breakdown
- Accounts for dofollow, nofollow, sponsored and UGC
- Optional live Ahrefs DR lookup
- Rough market cost range, clearly marked as an estimate
- Runs in your browser

## Questions

### How much is a backlink worth?

It depends on the linking site's authority, whether the link is followed, where it sits, how relevant the site is, and whether the page gets traffic. A followed in-content link from a relevant DR 60 site is worth many low-quality directory links. Use the calculator to compare specific opportunities.

### Are nofollow links worth anything?

Yes. Search engines treat nofollow as a hint and may still use it, and a nofollow link on a busy page can send real visitors. In this calculator nofollow links keep their traffic value and get about a third of the ranking value.

### Is it okay to pay for backlinks?

Search engines require paid links to be marked rel="sponsored" or nofollow. Paying for followed links to manipulate rankings breaks Google's spam policies and can get a site penalised. Paying for a listing or sponsorship that is labelled as such is fine.

### Where does the Domain Rating come from?

You can type any DR, or fetch the live Ahrefs Domain Rating for a domain with the Fetch DR button, which uses Ahrefs' free Domain Rating API.