Links disappear quietly. A site redesigns, an editor prunes old posts, a partner switches your link to nofollow, and nobody tells you. Months later the rankings soften and the cause is invisible.
Backlink monitoring exists to close that gap. The tools differ on three things that matter: how large the index is, how quickly you get told, and how much it costs to watch a profile continuously. Tools for acquiring the links in the first place are a separate category, covered in our list of backlink builder software.
How we checked this list
Every tool below was loaded on its live site in August 2026 and captured there. Index sizes and update frequencies are as the vendors describe them, since independent verification of a link index is not something we can perform. Prices appear where the vendor publishes them readably.
What to compare on
| Factor | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Index size and freshness | A link the tool never found cannot be monitored |
| Alert speed | Reclaiming a link is far easier in week one than in month six |
| Lost link history | Whether you can see what you had two years ago |
| Anchor and attribute tracking | Catching a dofollow quietly switched to nofollow |
| Cost to monitor continuously | Some tools charge per domain, some per plan |
1. Ahrefs, the largest live index
$129 a month on Lite, $249 on Standard, $449 on Advanced, with extra users at $40 to $80 a month. Alerts notify you when a monitored domain gains or loses backlinks, and the underlying index is the most complete generally available.
If a link exists, Ahrefs is the tool most likely to have found it. For reclamation campaigns that matters more than the interface.
Honest limit: expensive, especially once you add users. Overkill if monitoring is the only thing you need it for.
2. Semrush, huge index with continuous updates
A very large link database updated continuously, with new, lost and broken backlink reporting, attribute tracking and anchor text analysis, plus notification options.
Comparable to Ahrefs for this job and better if you also want the rest of the platform.
Honest limit: the full agency stack costs well above the headline plan, and backlink depth still trails Ahrefs slightly.
3. Linkody, the budget specialist
Built specifically for monitoring rather than research, with alerts on lost and changed links at a fraction of the platform prices.
For a site that already has links and simply needs to keep them, this does the whole job cheaply.
Honest limit: a smaller index than the big platforms, so it may not see every link. No research or prospecting features.
4. Backlink Manager, monitoring built for partnerships
From $39 a month billed annually for 200 backlinks and 50 partnerships, $99 for Growth, $249 for Scale. It tracks the links you agreed with partners and alerts you when one is removed or nofollowed.
The partnership framing is the difference. It monitors deals rather than a whole profile, which suits exchanges and outreach relationships. Our comparison of backlink exchange platforms covers the networks those partnership deals tend to come from.
Honest limit: it will not discover links you did not tell it about. Pair it with an index-based tool.
5. Majestic, the historical record
Trust Flow and Citation Flow alongside new and lost backlink reporting, anchor shifts and link context, with unusually deep historical data.
If you need to recover a link from three years ago, Majestic is the most likely place to find evidence it existed.
Honest limit: a different mental model that takes time to learn, and the interface is dated.
6. Monitor Backlinks by SEOptimer, simple alerts
$29, $39 and $59 a month for the wider SEOptimer product. The monitoring side is deliberately simple: new links, lost links, and an email when something changes.
For a small business owner who wants to be told and nothing more, simplicity is the feature.
Honest limit: shallow compared with the index-led tools, and the wider product is an audit tool rather than a link platform.
7. SE Ranking, monitoring inside a platform
Backlink monitoring alongside rank tracking, audits and research, with white label reporting on the agency tiers.
The consolidation is the argument: one subscription covering monitoring and the reporting a client sees.
Honest limit: backlink data is behind Ahrefs and Semrush, and pricing was not readable on their page for us.
8. Serpstat, affordable profile tracking
Backlink analysis and monitoring inside a broad SEO platform at a price well below the leaders.
Reasonable when you want monitoring plus keyword and competitor tools without agency-tier pricing.
Honest limit: a smaller index, so the long tail of links is thinner than the leaders report.
9. Moz, monitoring with a recognisable metric
Link Explorer with new and lost link tracking, Spam Score, and Domain Authority, which remains the metric non-specialists recognise.
That recognition has practical value when reporting to someone outside SEO.
Honest limit: a smaller index than Ahrefs or Semrush and slower to reflect changes.
10. Linkee, monitoring for link builders
Aimed at teams running active link building, with tracking of placements and their status over time.
Built around the workflow of someone acquiring links rather than someone auditing a profile.
Honest limit: a narrower product than the platforms, and less useful if you are not actively building.
11. LinkAssistant, verification on the desktop
Part of the SEO PowerSuite family, built around organised link campaigns with recurring verification that links are still live and audit-ready tracking.
The verification loop is the reason to consider it: knowing which of last year's links survived is worth more than adding two more.
Honest limit: desktop software, so it runs on one machine and does not alert you while you are elsewhere.
12. SpyFu, competitor link history
Focused on historical competitor data, which surfaces a different question: what links did a competitor gain or lose, and when.
Useful for spotting when a rival lost a placement you could take.
Honest limit: US-centric data and a dated interface. Not a monitoring tool for your own profile primarily.
Where Distribb fits, which is not here
We build Distribb and it does not monitor backlinks. There is no link index, no alerting and no lost-link report, and an earlier version of this page implied otherwise by listing it alongside Ahrefs and Semrush.
What it does is the opposite side: earning links. It runs a contextual backlink exchange across a network of real businesses and publishes the content those links point at. If you came here to be told when a link disappears, pick one of the twelve above. If the profile you are monitoring is thin, that is the different problem, and our comparison of automatic backlink software covers the acquisition side properly.
How to actually use monitoring
Set the alert threshold sensibly. Alerting on every change on a large profile produces noise you will start ignoring within a fortnight. Alert on links from domains above a relevance or traffic threshold.
Act within days, not months. Reclaiming a link is a short polite email while the editor still remembers the piece. After six months you are effectively starting a new outreach conversation.
Watch attributes, not just presence. A link switched from dofollow to nofollow still shows as present in a crude report and has stopped doing most of its job.
Check the linking page still gets traffic. A link on a page that has been deindexed or buried is technically alive and practically gone, which is the distinction our guide to dofollow backlinks draws out.
Keep a record independent of the tool. If you change platforms, your link history usually does not come with you.
FAQ
What is the best backlink monitoring tool? Ahrefs if budget allows, because the index is the largest. Linkody if you want the same job done for far less. Backlink Manager if you are tracking agreed partnerships rather than a whole profile.
Is there a free backlink monitoring tool? Google Search Console shows a sample of links to your site at no cost. It is incomplete and slow to update, and it is genuine data straight from Google.
How often should I check? Weekly alerts are enough for most sites. Daily is worth it only if you are actively running campaigns and reclamation is part of someone's routine.
Why did I lose a backlink? Usually a redesign, a content prune, an editor replacing an outdated reference, or a partner cleaning up outbound links. Rarely anything you did.
Can I get a lost link back? Often, if you ask quickly and politely, and especially if the page still exists and your resource is still relevant. Reclamation has a better success rate than cold outreach by a wide margin.
Do lost links actually hurt rankings? Individually, rarely. In volume, yes, and the effect is gradual enough that it is usually blamed on an algorithm update instead.
Should I monitor competitors too? Yes. Links they gain show you who is willing to link in your niche, and links they lose are placements that may now be available.
Where to start
Pick one tool and set alerts on the links that matter rather than on everything. Linkody at the budget end or Ahrefs if you are already paying for it will both do the job.
If monitoring keeps showing a profile that is shrinking rather than growing, the fix is acquisition. Distribb's backlink exchange places contextual links from real businesses without outreach, and produces the pages those links point at. Three-day free trial.