# Domain Authority Checker (`automly/domain-authority-checker`) Actor

Check the domain authority of thousands of websites in one run: a 0-100 authority score, global rank, referring domains and subdomains for every domain or URL. Bulk DA checker for link building, SEO audits and lead lists.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/automly/domain-authority-checker.md
- **Developed by:** [Automly](https://apify.com/automly) (community)
- **Categories:** SEO tools, Lead generation
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $0.45 / 1,000 domains

This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.
Since this Actor supports Apify Store discounts, the price gets lower the higher subscription plan you have.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/actors/running/actors-in-store.md#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

An Actor is a serverless cloud program that runs on the Apify platform. It has two run modes.
In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours,
and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store.
In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server.

Apify vocabulary and the platform model are defined once, in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md.

## How to integrate an Actor?

If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects.
You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready.

Do not guess an integration path. Every one of them is in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md: the Apify MCP server, Agent Skills with the Apify CLI, the JavaScript and Python clients, the REST API, and the account-free path for an agent with no human to sign in. It also carries the rule on stating cost before the first paid run.

For examples already wired to this Actor's own input schema, see the [API](#api) section below.

Each client library has reference documentation the quickstart does not restate: [JavaScript/TypeScript](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md) (`npm install apify-client`) and [Python](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md) (`pip install apify-client`).

# README

### What is Domain Authority Checker?

**Domain Authority Checker** is a bulk tool that checks the **domain authority of thousands of websites in one run**. Paste a list of domains or URLs and get, for each one, a **0-100 authority score**, its **global rank** among about 135 million domains, the number of **referring domains** that link to it and how many subdomains it has. Click **Start** and download the table as Excel, CSV or JSON.

- ⚡ **Speed:** about 1,000 domains in 10 seconds
- 📋 **Bulk:** paste 10 or 100,000 domains; links, `www.` and subdomains are cleaned up and duplicates are checked once
- 🆓 **Unknown domains are free:** a domain with no link data is listed with `found: false` and not charged
- 🔓 **No login, no API key, no subscription:** pay only for the domains you check

### What can Domain Authority Checker do?

- 🔗 **Qualify link-building and guest-post prospects** before you email them: set a minimum score and keep only strong sites.
- 🏷 **Screen expired and auction domains** before you buy: authority, referring domains and rank in one row.
- 📊 **Benchmark a website against its competitors** in a single run.
- 🧾 **Enrich lead and partner lists** with an authority column, then sort and filter in a spreadsheet.
- 📈 **Track authority over time:** run your own list again after a data update and compare the scores.

### What data does the domain authority checker return?

| Field | What it tells you |
|---|---|
| 🌐 `domain` | The main domain that was scored (blog.example.com is scored as example.com) |
| 🏆 `domainAuthority` | Authority score from 0 to 100: how well the domain is linked from the rest of the web |
| 🎚 `authorityLevel` | very high (70+), high (50-69), medium (30-49), low (10-29), very low (under 10) |
| 🥇 `globalRank` | Position among about 135 million domains by link authority; 1 is the strongest |
| 🔗 `referringDomains` | How many other domains link to it |
| 🧩 `subdomains` | How many hosts (www, blog, shop...) were seen on the domain |
| ✅ `found` | `false` when the domain has no link data (free row) |
| 📅 `dataUpdated` | Month of the link data the scores come from |
| ✍️ `input` | The entry as you typed it, so you can match rows back to your list |

### How to check domain authority in bulk

1. [Create a free Apify account](https://console.apify.com/sign-up) (no credit card needed).
2. Open **Domain Authority Checker** and paste your domains or URLs into **Domains or URLs**, one per line.
3. Optional: set **Minimum domain authority** (for example 30) to keep only strong sites.
4. Click **Start**.
5. Open the **Output** tab and export the table to Excel, CSV, JSON or Google Sheets.

### How much does it cost to check domain authority?

You pay per domain found, and domains with no link data are free.

| Apify plan | Domains found per 1,000 |
|---|---|
| Free | $1.00 |
| Starter (Bronze) | $0.80 |
| Scale (Silver) | $0.60 |
| Business (Gold) and higher | $0.45 |

Platform usage is included in these prices, so you pay nothing else for the run. There is no start fee. Apify's free plan includes $5 of usage every month, enough for about 5,000 domains.

**Example:** a list of 10,000 domains where 9,000 have link data is billed as 9,000 domains: $9.00 on the Free plan, $4.05 on Business. The 1,000 unknown ones cost nothing. With a minimum score set, only the domains that pass it are saved and billed.

### ⬇️ Input

| Setting | What it does |
|---|---|
| **Domains or URLs** | Domains or links, one per line: `example.com`, `https://www.example.com/blog/post`, `shop.example.co.uk`. Each is scored as its main domain. |
| **Minimum domain authority** | Optional. Save only domains scoring at least this (0-100). Domains below it and domains with no data are not saved and not charged. |

```json
{
  "domains": ["apify.com", "https://www.bbc.co.uk/news", "gymshark.com"],
  "minDomainAuthority": 30
}
```

### ⬆️ Output

One row per domain. A real row from October 2026:

```json
{
  "input": "apify.com",
  "domain": "apify.com",
  "found": true,
  "domainAuthority": 80,
  "authorityLevel": "very high",
  "globalRank": 17483,
  "referringDomains": 3929,
  "subdomains": 30,
  "dataUpdated": "2026-10",
  "checkedAt": "2026-10-24T10:45:01Z"
}
```

Overview of a real run (October 2026):

| Input | domain | domainAuthority | globalRank | referringDomains |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| `https://www.bbc.co.uk/news` | bbc.co.uk | 94 | 365 | 255,769 |
| `blog.hubspot.com` | hubspot.com | 96 | 180 | 193,828 |
| `dev.to` | dev.to | 91 | 1,147 | 35,856 |
| `nike.com` | nike.com | 90 | 1,698 | 42,270 |
| `paulgraham.com` | paulgraham.com | 87 | 4,461 | 10,712 |
| `apify.com` | apify.com | 80 | 17,483 | 3,929 |
| `gymshark.com` | gymshark.com | 78 | 29,216 | 2,801 |
| `no-such-domain-zz9.com` | no-such-domain-zz9.com | (found: false, free) | | |

You can download the results as JSON, CSV, Excel, XML or RSS, or read them with the Apify API.

### Domain authority score explained

The score measures how strongly a domain is linked from the rest of the web, the same idea behind Moz Domain Authority and Ahrefs Domain Rating. It is our own score on the familiar 0-100 scale, not a copy of either one: every SEO tool computes authority from its own link data, so Moz, Ahrefs, Semrush and this tool all give a slightly different number for the same site. Use one tool's score consistently when you compare domains.

The scale is logarithmic, like the scores you know: going from 20 to 30 is easy, going from 80 to 90 is hard. About 1,700 domains in the world score 90 or more, about 19,000 score 80 or more, about 1.5 million score 50 or more, and a typical small website scores under 20.

### Use it from code, Make, Zapier or n8n

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

client = ApifyClient("YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN")
run = client.actor("automly/domain-authority-checker").call(run_input={
    "domains": ["apify.com", "dev.to", "gymshark.com"],
    "minDomainAuthority": 30,
})
for row in client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).iterate_items():
    print(row["domain"], row["domainAuthority"], row["referringDomains"])
```

The actor works with [Make](https://apify.com/integrations/make), [Zapier](https://apify.com/integrations/zapier), [n8n](https://apify.com/integrations/n8n), webhooks and schedules, so you can score every new lead or prospect automatically.

**Use with AI agents (MCP):** connect Apify's MCP server to your AI assistant and ask, for example, "Check the domain authority of these 50 websites and list the ones above 40". The agent calls this actor with `{"domains": [...], "minDomainAuthority": 40}`.

### ❓ FAQ

#### Is this the same as Moz DA or Ahrefs DR?

No. It is our own authority score on the same 0-100 scale. It ranks domains in the same order of magnitude as those tools (very large sites score 90+, established brands 60-85, small sites under 30), but the exact numbers differ, as Moz and Ahrefs also differ from each other.

#### How fresh is the data?

The link data is refreshed regularly. Each row says which month its data comes from in `dataUpdated`.

#### Why does a domain show `found: false`?

The domain has no link data: it is new, unused, parked or nobody links to it yet. These rows are free.

#### Can I check subdomains or single pages?

You can paste them, and they are scored as their main domain: `blog.example.com` and `https://example.com/page` both return `example.com`. Sites on shared platforms (for example `name.github.io` or `name.blogspot.com`) are scored as the platform's domain.

#### How many domains can I check in one run?

As many as you like: 1,000 domains take about 10 seconds, and rows are saved as the run goes. Set a maximum cost on the run if you want a hard spending cap.

#### Do I need a Moz, Ahrefs or Semrush account?

No. You need only a free Apify account. There is no API key to buy and no subscription.

#### Something isn't working?

Open the **Issues** tab with your run link and the domains that look wrong, and we will look at it.

*Not affiliated with Moz, Ahrefs or Semrush; their names are used only for comparison.*

### Your feedback

If the tool saves you time, a short review on the Store page helps other people find it.

# Actor input Schema

## `domains` (type: `array`):

Domains or links to check, one per line, e.g. example.com or https://www.example.com/blog/post. Subdomains and pages are scored as their main domain (blog.example.com -> example.com); duplicates are checked once.

## `minDomainAuthority` (type: `integer`):

Optional, e.g. 30. Save only domains whose authority score (0-100) is at least this, handy for link-building prospect lists. Domains below it, and domains with no data, are not saved and not charged.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "domains": [
    "apify.com",
    "https://www.bbc.co.uk/news",
    "gymshark.com"
  ]
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `domains` (type: `string`):

No description

## `results` (type: `string`):

No description

## `report` (type: `string`):

No description

# API

You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup.

## JavaScript example

```javascript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

// Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
// Replace the '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {
    "domains": [
        "apify.com",
        "dev.to",
        "gymshark.com"
    ]
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("automly/domain-authority-checker").call(input);

// Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any)
console.log('Results from dataset');
console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
items.forEach((item) => {
    console.dir(item);
});

// 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs

```

## Python example

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

# Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
# Replace '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = { "domains": [
        "apify.com",
        "dev.to",
        "gymshark.com",
    ] }

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("automly/domain-authority-checker").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print(f"💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/{run.default_dataset_id}")
for item in client.dataset(run.default_dataset_id).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{
  "domains": [
    "apify.com",
    "dev.to",
    "gymshark.com"
  ]
}' |
apify call automly/domain-authority-checker --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,automly/domain-authority-checker"
        }
    }
}
```

The hosted server signs you in with OAuth on first connect, so no API token belongs in this config. Clients without OAuth support can send an `Authorization: Bearer <APIFY_API_TOKEN>` header instead, using a token from API & Integrations in Apify Console (https://console.apify.com/settings/integrations).

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/e9b01LcTcfjnxTXfI/builds/sytMV4AhAyQBZuJMe/openapi.json