Ahrefs DR vs Moz DA vs MozRank: Which Should You Use?
Domain Rating, Domain Authority, and MozRank all claim to measure a website's authority — so which should you actually use? They overlap, but each answers a slightly different question and uses its own scale. This guide puts all three side by side so you can pick the right one and stop comparing numbers that were never meant to be compared.
The three metrics in one place
Two companies, three metrics. Ahrefs produces Domain Rating. Moz produces both Domain Authority and MozRank. Each is built from that company's own crawl of the web and its own formula, which is why their numbers rarely line up — and why you can never convert one into another.
| Metric | Provider | Scale | Measures | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Domain Rating (DR) | Ahrefs | 0–100 | Backlink profile strength | Gauging raw link power |
| Domain Authority (DA) | Moz | 0–100 | Predicted ranking potential | Competitive benchmarking |
| MozRank | Moz | 0–10 | Link popularity (PageRank-style) | Page-level link value |
What each one actually measures
Domain Rating (DR) focuses on the strength of a site's backlink profile — how many unique domains link to it, weighted by their own strength. It's a clean read on raw link power. Check it with our DR Checker.
Domain Authority (DA) is modeled to predict how well a domain is likely to rank, trained against real search results. It's the most widely quoted authority figure in the industry. Check it with our Domain Authority Checker.
MozRank is the most focused of the three — a PageRank-style measure of link popularity for a page or domain, on a 0–10 scale rather than 0–100. It's less about whole-domain ranking potential and more about classic "link juice." Check it with our MozRank Checker.
Scale and calculation differences
Two practical points. First, the scales differ: DR and DA run 0–100, MozRank runs 0–10, so a "5" means nothing across them. Second, DR and DA are logarithmic — climbing the top of the scale is far harder than the bottom — so equal-looking gaps represent very unequal amounts of authority. Combined with each provider's separate link index, this is why the same site can show, say, DR 58, DA 44, and MozRank 5.2 all at once. None is wrong; they're three different lenses.
A worked example: one site, three scores
Say you check a single domain across all three tools and get DR 58, DA 44, and MozRank 5.2. At a glance that looks contradictory — is the site strong or middling? It's actually all consistent once you read each number in its own context:
- DR 58 (out of 100) says the backlink profile is solidly strong in Ahrefs' index — a healthy spread of referring domains.
- DA 44 (out of 100) says Moz's model predicts moderate ranking potential, likely because its index sees a slightly different, smaller link set.
- MozRank 5.2 (out of 10) says page-level link popularity is above average — roughly the middle-upper part of that scale.
Three lenses, three scales, one site. The mistake would be averaging them or assuming the DA "contradicts" the DR. They simply answer different questions with different data. Check the same site yourself across our DR Checker, Domain Authority Checker, and MozRank Checker and you'll see the pattern.
When to use which
- Use DR when you want a quick, link-focused read on a site's overall backlink strength — great for sizing up competitors or link prospects.
- Use DA when you want the most widely recognized benchmark, especially if clients or partners quote it, or you're comparing ranking potential across domains.
- Use MozRank when you care specifically about link popularity at the page level rather than whole-domain authority.
For most people, picking one 0–100 metric (DR or DA) as your primary benchmark and tracking it consistently is the right call. MozRank is a useful supplementary lens rather than a headline number. The deeper DR-vs-DA decision is covered in Domain Rating vs Domain Authority.
Which should YOU pick? A quick decision guide
Match the metric to your situation rather than tracking all three out of habit:
- Freelancer or small business owner — pick one 0–100 metric (DR or DA) and track it monthly. Simplicity and consistency beat juggling three numbers.
- Agency reporting to clients — use whichever your clients already recognize. DA is the most widely quoted in the wider market; DR if your clients live in the Ahrefs ecosystem.
- Link builder vetting prospects — DR is a fast, link-focused filter, and bulk-checking a prospect list against it is efficient. See evaluating a site before a backlink.
- Analyzing a specific page's link equity — MozRank's page-level focus is the right lens here.
Whatever you choose, the rule below never changes.
The golden rule: never mix scales
The single most important habit is to compare like-for-like. Compare a site's DR only to another site's DR, DA only to DA. Mixing them — "their DA is 50 but our DR is 60, so we're ahead" — produces meaningless conclusions. Each metric is internally consistent but externally incompatible.
Do any of them affect Google rankings?
No — none of the three is used by Google. They're all third-party estimates. They correlate with ranking ability because they reflect a strong backlink profile, but they aren't ranking inputs. Use them to compare and prioritize, not as goals. Full explanation in is domain authority a ranking factor?
How to check all three, free
You don't have to choose blind — check all three for any site in seconds:
- DR Checker — Domain Rating (single or up to 10 domains at once).
- Domain Authority Checker — Moz DA.
- MozRank Checker — link popularity.
For how these metrics fit into the bigger SEO picture, see our guide to website authority.
Frequently asked questions
Which is best: DR, DA, or MozRank?
None is universally "best" — they measure different things. For a single headline benchmark, most people use DR or DA; MozRank is a more focused, page-level link metric.
Why are my DR, DA, and MozRank so different?
Because they come from different providers, use different link indexes and formulas, and run on different scales. A gap between them is completely normal.
Can I compare DR to DA?
No. Always compare the same metric across sites. DR-to-DA comparisons are meaningless.
Do these scores affect my Google ranking?
No. All three are third-party metrics Google doesn't use. They estimate authority, which correlates with — but doesn't cause — better rankings.
Check all three metrics now
See where your site stands on every scale: run it through our free DR Checker, Domain Authority Checker, and MozRank Checker — then benchmark against your competitors on the same scale.