Backlink Checker API: Compare Limits, Prices, and Bulk Use

A backlink checker API returns link data as structured records that a script or workflow can read, store and compare. Ahrefs, Moz, Semrush, DataForSEO and SE Ranking all offer one, and they differ in price, rate limits and bulk support. Google Search Console has no backlink endpoint in its API (Google Search Console API reference, 2024).

Key Takeaways

• Five vendors sell a backlink checker API: Ahrefs, Moz, Semrush, DataForSEO and SE Ranking. Each charges differently, so match the pricing model to your volume.
• Moz has the only free API tier in this list, at 50 rows a month. SE Ranking offers a 100K-credit free trial.
• Google Search Console is free, but its API has no links endpoint.
• Store each pull and compare it with the last one to find new and lost links.

What is a backlink checker API?

A backlink checker API is a web interface that returns the links pointing to a domain or page as data, usually JSON. Each record holds the linking page, the target page, anchor text and dates. A script can request these records on a schedule and store them without anyone opening a dashboard.

The same data powers the web tools of each vendor. The API adds filters, bulk requests and automation. That is the reason to choose an API over a manual report: you can run the same check every day on many sites.

Which backlink checker API fits your needs?

Pick the API by pricing model first, then by limits. Moz offers a free tier. DataForSEO and SE Ranking charge for what you use. Ahrefs and Semrush tie access to a paid plan or to API units. The table below lists each vendor's published limits, checked on 30 October 2026.

Provider	Free access	Rate limit	Pricing model	Bulk support
Ahrefs API v3	Free test queries only	60 requests a minute by default	Paid plans only, 50 units minimum per request	Batch Analysis, up to 100 targets
Moz Links API	50 rows a month	One request every 10 seconds on the free tier	Starter $20 to $75 a month, Growth $125 to $500 a month	Billed per row
Semrush API	None listed	Not stated on the page	40 API units per line	Comparison of up to 200 targets
DataForSEO	Free account for the API Explorer	Not stated on the page	$0.024 per request plus $0.000036 per row	Up to 1,000 targets per request
SE Ranking	100K-credit trial	10 requests a second per API key	From $50.00 per 250K credits	Up to 100 domains per request

Sources: vendor documentation and pricing pages, October 2026. Prices change, so confirm them on the vendor page before you budget.

How much does a backlink checker API cost?

A backlink checker API costs from nothing to several hundred dollars a month, depending on the vendor and volume. Moz lists $20 to $75 a month for Starter and $125 to $500 for Growth (Moz API pricing, 2026). DataForSEO charges $0.024 per request and $0.000036 per row, so 1,000 rows cost $0.06 (DataForSEO, 2026).

SE Ranking starts at $50.00 for 250K credits (SE Ranking, 2026). Ahrefs requires a paid plan, and Semrush bills 40 API units per line. Compare the vendors on your expected rows per month, not on the headline price.

Is there a free backlink checker API?

Yes, Moz has a free tier, but it is small. The free Moz Links API tier allows 50 rows a month and one request every 10 seconds (Moz API pricing, 2026). SE Ranking gives a 100K-credit free trial, and DataForSEO gives a free account for its API Explorer. Ahrefs offers free test queries only.

Does Google Search Console have a backlink checker API?

No, the Google Search Console API has no backlink endpoint. Its reference lists four areas: Search Analytics, Sitemaps, Sites and URL Inspection (Google Search Console API reference, 2024). None returns the links that point to your site, so a script cannot pull backlinks from Google directly.

Use Search Console for what it covers, such as queries and indexing status. Use one of the five vendors above for link data. The older claim that the API returns the top 1,000 linking sites is not in the current reference.

Can a backlink checker API check many domains at once?

Yes, all five vendors support bulk requests, but the limits differ. A bulk endpoint takes a list of targets and returns data for each in one call. This is the cheapest way to monitor many client sites or competitors, because each call carries fewer fixed costs.

• DataForSEO: up to 1,000 targets per request (DataForSEO, 2026).
• Semrush: backlink comparison for up to 200 targets (Semrush API docs, 2026).
• Ahrefs: Batch Analysis for up to 100 targets (Ahrefs API docs, 2026).
• SE Ranking: bulk summary for up to 100 domains per request (SE Ranking, 2026).
• Moz: billed per row, so batch size is set by your row allowance.

How do you track new and lost backlinks with an API?

To track new and lost backlinks, save each API response and compare it with the previous one. A link in the new response but not the old one is new. A link in the old response but not the new one is lost. Two vendors also report these changes directly.

DataForSEO offers a history endpoint with data back to 2019 (DataForSEO, 2026). SE Ranking reports new and lost links daily, with loss reasons (SE Ranking, 2026). With a vendor that has no change feed, run the same request each day and compare the two lists yourself.

How do you handle rate limits and large exports?

Respect each vendor's rate limit, and use pagination or export for large result sets. Ahrefs allows 60 requests a minute by default, SE Ranking allows 10 requests a second per API key, and Moz allows one request every 10 seconds on the free tier. Spread requests over time instead of sending them in a burst.

For large profiles, SE Ranking can stream up to 100,000 backlinks per call with cursor pagination, or export to a compressed CSV file (SE Ranking, 2026). The article on API rate limiting explains how to retry safely after a limit error.

Which metrics show backlink quality?

Each vendor returns its own quality score, and the scores are not interchangeable. Moz returns Domain Authority, Page Authority and Spam Score (Moz API, 2026). Semrush returns Authority Score columns. DataForSEO offers a Rank metric, and SE Ranking offers InLink Rank. Compare scores only within one vendor.

Counts alone say little about link quality. Pair a count with the quality score, the anchor text and the first-seen date. Semrush reports follow and nofollow counts, first and last seen dates, and anchors in its report types (Semrush API docs, 2026).

How do you automate a backlink check with CodeWords?

On CodeWords, you describe the workflow you want, and Cody builds and connects it. A workflow can run on a schedule, a trigger or a request, and it can connect to 3,000+ integrations (CodeWords, 2026). A backlink check is one more workflow: call a vendor API, compare the result, and send the changes to your team.

Start from the workflow templates. Related guides: how to automate API monitoring, how to automate SEO rank tracking and how to automate competitor monitoring.