A backlink gap report answers one question: which sites link to your competitors but not to you?
Every big SEO suite now has one. They differ in how many rivals you can compare, which plan unlocks the report and how many rows you get.
Most "best backlink tools" lists skip those limits, and many don't give prices at all.
We checked 8 backlink gap tools on their own pricing and help pages on 8 November 2026. We compared listed limits; we didn't test index size or accuracy.
No budget? SEO SpyGlass (SEO PowerSuite) has a free edition that compares 2 sites. You can also size up 3 domains side by side with the free seotools.pro Batch Domain Analysis.
Best value for a full gap report? Moz Pro Link Intersect (5 competitors) or SE Ranking Backlink Gap Analyzer (5 competitors, $129 a month on Core).
Most competitors at once? Ahrefs Link Intersect takes up to 10 (Standard, $249 a month, per its plan comparison). SEO SpyGlass Enterprise compares 11 sites for $599 a year.
- Compare limits first. Serpstat takes 2 or 3 domains, Semrush 5 including yours, Ahrefs your site plus up to 10 competitors.
- The gap report is often not on the cheapest plan. Majestic puts Clique Hunter on PRO, not LITE.
- Row limits matter for big niches: 2,000 results per report on Serpstat Individual, 30,000 rows on Ahrefs Standard.
- Each tool uses its own link index, so the same gap report gives different lists in different tools.
- A gap list is a prospect list, not a to-do list. Filter it for relevance before you pitch anyone.
Backlink gap tools at a glance
| Tool | Gap report | Domains compared | Cheapest plan with it | Price* |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| seotools.pro | No dedicated gap report yet (new one in development) | Competitor Analysis: yours + up to 2 rivals, link totals | Free tools; Backlink Analyzer on Pro | Free; $49/mo Pro ($41 yearly) |
| Semrush | Backlink Gap | Up to 5, including yours | SEO plan | $139/mo ($117.33 yearly) |
| Ahrefs | Link Intersect | Up to 10 competitors | Standard, per Ahrefs' plan comparison | $249/mo |
| Moz Pro | Link Intersect | Up to 5 competitors plus your site | Not named in Moz's help page | $99/mo Standard ($79 yearly) |
| SE Ranking | Backlink Gap Analyzer | Up to 5 competitors | Core | $129/mo ($103.20 yearly) |
| Majestic | Clique Hunter | Up to 10 root domains (2013 tutorial) | PRO | $99.99/mo ($83.33 yearly) |
| SEO PowerSuite | SEO SpyGlass Link Intersection | 2 sites free, 6 Professional, 11 Enterprise | Free edition | Free; $349/yr Professional |
| Serpstat | Links Intersect | 2 or 3 domains, yours included | Not stated | $69/mo Individual ($50 yearly) |
*Monthly billing, USD, before tax, from vendor pricing and help pages checked 8 November 2026. Yearly-billing rates in brackets where the vendor shows them.
What a Backlink Gap Tool Actually Does
You enter your domain and a few competitors. The tool lists sites that link to one or more of them but not to you.
The logic is old and simple. Zeke Camusio of Mad Fish Digital put it this way in 2009:
"[W]hen a website links to more than one competitor, they're much more likely to link to you too."
Zeke Camusio, My #1 Link Building Tactic, Mad Fish Digital (28 December 2009)So the most useful rows link to several of your rivals at once. Most tools let you filter for exactly that.
- Domain view: referring domains that link to rivals but not to you. Best for outreach lists.
- Page view: the exact pages that carry the links. Best for spotting resource pages, roundups and directories.
- Overlap filters: "links to all competitors" or "links to at least 2". Best for cutting a long list down.
Not sure who your real search competitors are? Our competitor analysis guide covers how to pick three to five domains that keep showing up for your topics.
How We Compared the Tools
- Prices, plans and limits come from each vendor's pricing page or help centre, checked on 8 November 2026.
- "Domains compared" is the limit the vendor states for the gap report itself, not for other reports.
- "Cheapest plan with it" is the lowest plan the vendor says includes the report. Where a vendor doesn't say, we write that.
- We didn't run test reports, so we make no claims about index size or which tool finds more links.
- Vendors' own index claims are quoted as claims, with the vendor named.
The 8 Best Backlink Gap Tools
1. seotools.pro: free competitor sizing before a gap report
Disclosure: seotools.pro publishes this article.
Our free tools cover the first step: finding out how far behind you are. The Batch Domain Analysis tool puts 3 domains side by side, once a day, with no signup.
It shows organic traffic, keywords, Domain Trust and link counts in one table. That tells you which rival is worth a full gap check.
Then run each rival through the Backlink Analyzer. It shows referring domains, the dofollow split, anchors and the strongest links. Free accounts get 3 checks a day, up to 50 links each.
- Pro ($49 a month, $41 yearly): Backlink Analyzer, one domain at a time.
- In the app: Competitor Analysis puts your domain next to up to 2 rivals you name, with backlinks side by side.
- Watch out: there's no dedicated backlink gap list yet. The old Backlink Gap report was retired and we're building a new one. Until then, compare rivals' referring domains by hand.
Best for: sizing up rivals for free and keeping backlinks, audits and rank tracking in one subscription.
2. Semrush Backlink Gap
Backlink Gap compares up to 5 domains, and your own domain counts as one of them. So you get your site plus 4 competitors.
Semrush's pricing page lists the SEO plan at $139 a month, or $117.33 billed yearly. Its knowledge base still describes older tiers, with 10,000 results per report on Pro.
- Good: the "Best" filter shows domains that link to all your competitors but not to you. A "Matches" column counts how many rivals each domain links to.
- Index claim: Semrush says it has "43T+ backlinks" (feature page, 8 Nov 2026).
- Watch out: 4 competitors is less than Ahrefs or Majestic. A 7-day trial is available.
Best for: teams that already use Semrush for keywords and want outreach in the same place.
3. Ahrefs Link Intersect
Link Intersect takes up to 10 competitors, the joint-highest limit here (SEO SpyGlass Enterprise also compares 11 sites). You can view results by referring domain or by page.
The plan is the catch. Ahrefs' plan-comparison article lists Link Intersect as a Standard feature ($249 a month). A separate how-to article says it's on all plans.
- Rows: Standard shows up to 30,000 rows per report; Lite shows 2,500.
- Index claim: Ahrefs' big-data page says "35T" historical external backlinks (no date given).
- Watch out: check Link Intersect in your account before you pick Lite ($129) to save money.
Despina Gavoyannis, a senior SEO specialist at Ahrefs, gives the rule of thumb behind the tool:
"If a site links to all your competitors and not to you, it's likely worthwhile for you to get a link from it."
Despina Gavoyannis (Ahrefs), How to Do a Backlink Gap Analysis (30 January 2025). She works for the vendor.Best for: crowded niches where you need 6 to 10 competitors in one view.
4. Moz Pro Link Intersect
Link Intersect in Moz Link Explorer compares your site with up to 5 competitors. Moz's help page doesn't say which plan includes it.
Moz Pro Standard costs $99 a month, or $79 billed yearly. It allows 5,000 backlink queries a month and 10,000 results per query.
- Index claim: Moz's pricing page says "Explore over 40 trillion links".
- Watch out: Moz's $49 Starter plan allows 75 backlink queries a month, and its help page doesn't name Link Intersect. Confirm it's included before you choose it.
Best for: small teams that want a full gap report at the lowest monthly price among the big suites.
5. SE Ranking Backlink Gap Analyzer
SE Ranking compares your profile with up to 5 competitors and shows up to 10,000 backlinks per domain or URL.
Plans have new names: Core, Growth and Enterprise. Core costs $129 a month or $103.20 a month billed yearly, with a 14-day trial.
- Good: the pricing page lists "unlimited" competitor and backlink research on Core.
- Watch out: the pricing page doesn't name the Gap Analyzer itself; the help centre describes it. SE Ranking gives no index size number.
Best for: agencies that want rank tracking, audits and gap reports at a mid-range price.
6. Majestic Clique Hunter
Clique Hunter finds sites that link to several of the domains you enter. Majestic's 2013 tutorial says up to 10 root domains; we couldn't confirm that on a current page.
It's a PRO feature: $99.99 a month, or $83.33 billed yearly. LITE ($49.99) doesn't include it.
- Good: Majestic publishes live index counts, including a Fresh Index of about 190 billion URLs crawled over the last 120 days.
- Watch out: Majestic is built around link data. It has a keyword checker but no site audit, so you'll need another tool for that.
Best for: link builders who care most about link data and topical trust metrics.
7. SEO PowerSuite SEO SpyGlass
SEO SpyGlass is desktop software. Its Domain Comparison module has a Link Intersection view that shows "prospective domains" your rivals have and you don't.
The pricing page lists comparison of 2 sites on Free, 6 on Professional ($349 a year) and 11 on Enterprise ($599 a year).
- Good: the only free gap view we could confirm on a vendor page. Free projects hold up to 1,100 backlinks.
- Index claim: SEO PowerSuite says "Access 6.5T backlinks in our index".
- Watch out: "Monitor 1 competitor per project" on Free suggests "2 sites" includes yours, but the SpyGlass FAQ says "compare 2 competitors". It runs on your computer, not in a browser.
Best for: freelancers who want a free or yearly-priced gap tool.
8. Serpstat Links Intersect
Serpstat's Links Intersect takes two or three domains. That's the smallest limit here, but enough for a quick head-to-head.
Individual costs $69 a month, or $50 a month billed yearly. It allows 2,000 backlink results per report.
- Index claim: Serpstat's Links Intersect page says "Backlinks 1.1T" (undated).
- Watch out: the pricing page doesn't say which plan includes Links Intersect. A 7-day trial needs a $1 refundable card check.
Best for: comparing yourself with one or two rivals inside a budget all-in-one suite.
Also considered: Ubersuggest's Backlink Opportunity report. Its pricing page only showed "US$ 29 - US$ 99" and no competitor limit, so we left it out of the table. Mangools' plan guide lists no gap report for LinkMiner.
How to Run a Backlink Gap Analysis in 6 Steps
- Pick 3 to 5 search competitors. Use sites that rank for your money keywords, not just business rivals. The free Batch Domain Analysis helps you shortlist.
- Run the gap report. Start with domains that link to at least 2 competitors.
- Remove junk. Drop scraper sites, irrelevant directories and anything you'd never want to be linked from.
- Check each prospect. Run it through the Backlink Analyzer to see who else it links to and how it links.
- Find the reason they linked. A review, a list, a quote, a tool? That tells you what to pitch.
- Log and follow up. Track who you contacted and the result in a sheet or CRM.
Step 3 matters more than any tool choice. Gavoyannis says it plainly in the same Ahrefs guide:
"[T]here will always be links your competitors get that are not relevant to your brand or industry."
Despina Gavoyannis (Ahrefs), How to Do a Backlink Gap Analysis (30 January 2025)Also expect blind spots. Dmytro Sokhach, founder of the link-building agency Editorial.Link, warns:
"Some of your competitors may be hiding their backlink profiles" from SEO crawlers (Editorial.Link, updated 26 February 2026).
For the outreach itself, our link building strategy template and competitor backlink outreach email template are free to copy.
Want the wider picture first? Our comparison of the best backlink checker tools covers index size, metrics and free plans.
See traffic, keywords, Domain Trust and links for 3 domains in one table.
- No signup and no card
- Once a day, 15 Google markets
- Then check any domain's links in the Backlink Analyzer
Rather Have Someone Earn the Links for You?
A gap report gives you a list. Turning it into links takes content worth linking to, outreach and follow-up.
Our link building service and digital PR team do that work for you. Scope and pricing depend on your niche and goals.
Book a free consultation with Anatolii Ulitovskyi to talk it through.
The Verdict
No budget yet? Compare 3 domains free in seotools.pro, then use SEO SpyGlass Free for a 2-site gap view.
One gap tool at a sensible price? Moz Pro Standard ($99) or SE Ranking Core ($129), both with 5 competitors.
Already on Semrush? Backlink Gap is fine for you plus 4 rivals.
Many competitors in one view? Ahrefs Link Intersect (10) or Majestic Clique Hunter, if link data is all you need.
FAQ
What is a backlink gap analysis?
It lists sites that link to your competitors but not to you. Those sites already link to your topic, so they're warmer outreach prospects than a cold list.
Is there a free backlink gap tool?
SEO SpyGlass Free compares 2 sites with up to 1,100 backlinks per project. The free seotools.pro Batch Domain Analysis compares 3 domains' size but isn't a gap list.
How many competitors should I compare?
Three to five that rank for your main keywords. More rivals give a longer list, but the best prospects usually link to at least two of them.
Is Ahrefs Link Intersect on the Lite plan?
Ahrefs' help centre disagrees with itself. The plan-comparison article lists it from Standard; a how-to says all plans. Check in your account first.
Why do tools show different gap lists?
Each vendor crawls the web with its own bot and keeps its own index. Some sites also block SEO crawlers, so no tool sees every link.
Sources
seotools.pro (checked 8 November 2026): pricing, Backlink Analyzer, Batch Domain Analysis.
Gap reports and limits (checked 8 November 2026): Semrush Backlink Gap, SEO Toolkit plans and feature page and pricing; Ahrefs Link Intersect, plan comparison, pricing and big data; Moz Link Intersect and pricing.
More vendors (checked 8 November 2026): SE Ranking Backlink Gap Analyzer, help and pricing.
Link-only and budget tools (checked 8 November 2026): Majestic plans and Clique Hunter tutorial; SEO PowerSuite pricing and SEO SpyGlass and how-to; Serpstat Links Intersect and plans; Ubersuggest pricing; Mangools plans.
Quotes: Zeke Camusio, Mad Fish Digital (2009); Despina Gavoyannis, Ahrefs (2025); Dmytro Sokhach, Editorial.Link (2026).