If you’re serious about SEO, you’ve definitely come across the terms Domain Rating (DR) and Domain Authority (DA). These two metrics are used by popular SEO tools—Ahrefs and Moz, respectively—to evaluate the strength of a website and its potential to rank in search results.
But here’s the catch: they don’t measure the same thing. And if you’re blindly relying on one without understanding the difference, you might be missing out on smarter SEO decisions.
In this guide, we’ll break down Domain Rating vs. Domain Authority—how they’re calculated, why they matter, and how to actually use them to improve your link building and search rankings. Whether you’re a startup, agency, or in-house SEO, this breakdown will help you focus on what actually moves the needle in 2025.
What is Domain Rating (DR)?
Domain Rating is a metric developed by Ahrefs that measures the strength of a website’s backlink profile on a scale from 0 to 100. The higher the DR, the stronger the site’s link authority—and the more SEO value it can pass to sites it links to.
But here’s what makes DR unique:
It doesn’t take traffic, content quality, or technical SEO into account. It’s 100% based on backlinks—specifically, the quantity and quality of unique referring domains linking to a site.
Ahrefs calculates DR by analyzing how many websites link to your domain and how authoritative those sites are. Not all links are created equal. A single backlink from a DR90 website can have more impact than 100 links from DR20 blogs.
And yes, DR is logarithmic—which means going from DR10 to DR20 is way easier than jumping from DR70 to DR80. That’s why high DR sites are so valuable in the world of link building.
Want a quick snapshot of your own DR?
Ahrefs offers a free DR checker that shows your current score, total backlinks, and how many unique domains are linking to you.
What is Domain Authority (DA)?
Domain Authority is a metric created by Moz to predict how likely a website is to rank in search engine results—especially on Google. Like Domain Rating, DA is measured on a scale from 0 to 100. But while DR focuses only on backlinks, DA considers a broader set of ranking signals.
Moz uses over 40 factors to calculate DA, including:
- The number of linking root domains
- The quality and spam score of inbound links
- The site’s overall link profile health
- How often the site appears in Google’s top search results
DA is built on machine learning, meaning its calculations evolve over time. The metric compares your domain’s likelihood to rank against all other sites in Moz’s index—not Google’s. That means it’s best used as a comparative benchmark rather than an absolute ranking factor.
While DA isn’t used directly by Google, it still helps SEOs quickly assess the potential strength of a domain, especially when evaluating link opportunities or analyzing competitors.
You can check your site’s DA using Moz’s Link Explorer, which also shows Page Authority, top pages, and linking domains.
Key Differences Between DR and DA
While Domain Rating (DR) and Domain Authority (DA) are often used interchangeably in the SEO world, they’re actually quite different under the hood. Let’s break down the major differences that matter for marketers and link builders.
1. Who Created It?
- DR was developed by Ahrefs.
- DA was developed by Moz.
Each tool uses its own database, crawling mechanisms, and scoring formulas—so a website may have a very different DR than DA.
2. What Do They Measure?
- DR measures the strength of your backlink profile based purely on quantity and quality of referring domains.
- DA predicts how well a domain might rank in search results, based on a wider range of factors including linking domains, spam score, and overall SEO performance.
3. How Are They Calculated?
- DR is link-profile only. More high-quality referring domains = higher DR.
- DA includes more variables, using a machine learning model to estimate ranking potential based on multiple signals.
4. Responsiveness to Changes
- DR updates frequently and reacts quickly to new backlinks or lost links.
- DA is slower to respond, as it requires broader pattern recognition across the Moz index.
5. Use Case
- DR is best for link building—if a site has a high DR, it likely has strong backlinks.
- DA is helpful for competitive research—understanding which sites may outrank you in SERPs.
Quick Example:
Imagine a site that suddenly gains 100 new dofollow backlinks from relevant, high-authority domains.
- Its DR will likely rise significantly within a few days.
- Its DA might increase slowly (or barely at all) depending on other ranking signals.
Why Both Metrics Matter in SEO
If you’re serious about link building or SEO strategy, you can’t afford to focus on just one metric. Domain Rating and Domain Authority each tell a different story—and together, they paint a full picture of your website’s overall strength and potential.
DR helps you judge backlink power
A strong DR means your site is earning links from other high-authority websites. Since backlinks remain a major Google ranking factor, this directly influences how competitive your pages can be in organic search. It’s also a fast way to evaluate the quality of a website’s backlink profile—whether you’re analyzing your own site or vetting a potential linking opportunity.
DA shows your competitive potential
DA considers more ranking signals, so it reflects how likely your domain is to compete in the SERPs. It’s valuable for understanding your site’s authority relative to your competitors. If you’re in a niche where top-ranking pages have a DA of 60+, but your site sits at 15, it’s a sign you need to level up your content and authority.
Use both to shape strategy
Let’s say you’re planning a link building campaign. A DR of 50+ tells you the site has good link equity—but if its DA is low, it might lack technical SEO strength or content relevance. On the flip side, a site with high DA but weak DR might not pass on much link juice, even if it ranks well.
Smart SEOs use both DR and DA to:
- Vet backlink targets
- Report on client growth
- Identify gaps between competitors
- Prioritize pages for improvement
Neither metric is perfect. But when used together, they can guide smarter decisions and track real growth across both link building and content marketing.
Practical Insights Through Case Studies
Do you want to know how to increase the DR of a website from 11 to 60 in less than a year? Let’s look at one example of our client and understand the main strategies that helped us skyrocket their Domain Rating.
Our work started in April when the client had only 11 DR. Our primary goals with this social media tool were to optimize the backlink profile (and at the same time DR), keyword rankings, and improvement of organic traffic. Detailed competitive analysis, broken link building, and continuous work in skyscraper link building techniques helped us increase DR to 60 in six months.
This Social Media Ads Tool case study is a great example that with the correct link building strategies and hard work, it is always possible to improve backlink profile and page authority.
Final Thoughts: Domain Rating vs. Domain Authority?
At the end of the day, both Domain Rating (DR) and Domain Authority (DA) are valuable SEO metrics—but they serve different roles. DR gives you a clear picture of your backlink strength, while DA provides a broader look at your overall ranking potential.
Instead of choosing one over the other, smart SEOs and marketers know how to leverage both. Use DR to track your link building performance and DA to understand how your site stacks up in the competitive search landscape.
And remember: these are just metrics—not goals in themselves. What matters most is how you turn those numbers into real-world results: better rankings, higher traffic, and meaningful growth.
If you’re serious about boosting both your DR and DA with white-hat strategies that move the needle, book a free strategy call with LinkyJuice. Let’s get your SEO performance where it should be—at the top.
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