Having broken links on your site can negatively impact user experience and search engine rankings. That‘s why running regular broken link checks and fixing any issues is essential for maintaining site health.
In this comprehensive guide, we‘ll compare 11 of the top broken link checker tools on the market to help you find and repair broken links like a pro.
What Are Broken Links and Why Do They Matter?
Before diving into the tools, let‘s briefly go over what exactly broken links are and why you should care about fixing them.
A broken link (also known as a "dead link") refers to any link on a webpage that leads to an error message or empty web page instead of its intended destination. This usually happens because the target page was deleted or moved without redirecting the links pointing to it.
Some common examples of broken links:
- 404 errors: The classic "page not found" dead end that frustrates users.
- Error messages: Vague errors like "website cannot be reached" when clicking a link.
- Missing images/resources: Images or files that are no longer stored on your site‘s server.
Needless to say, broken links create a poor user experience. But beyond that, they can also hurt your search engine rankings.
Google and other search engines want to see sites that are well-maintained and up-to-date. Lots of 404 errors and dead ends send the wrong signals and may cause pages with broken links to drop in rankings or stop getting indexed entirely.
Clearly identifying and fixing your broken links is crucial for keeping site visitors happy and search bots satisfied.
Next let‘s look at the top tools to add to your troubleshooting toolkit.
Top 11 Broken Link Checker Tools
Here are the best broken link checkers available today based on features, accuracy, and ease of use:
1. Ahrefs
Ahrefs needs no introduction as one of the top SEO tools on the market. Their built-in broken link checker allows you to:
- Analyze up to 500 URLs per batch
- Filter by internal, external, redirected, and unresponsive links
- Export full reports to track progress over time
- Set up recurring scans to stay on top of new issues
We love Ahrefs for its usability and flexibility in setting scan parameters. The full suite does come at a hefty price tag though.
Price: $99+/month
2. Dead Link Checker
The appropriately named Dead Link Checker specializes in analyzing sites for broken link issues. Use it to:
- Crawl up to 500 pages per scan
- Identify redirect chains causing multiple redirects
- Filter between internal, external, images, scripts & stylesheets
- Integrates with Google Analytics to assess impact of broken pages
For a dedicated broken link finder, Dead Link Checker hits all the right notes without getting too complex. It‘s affordable for small site owners too.
Price: Free – $39/month
3. W3C Link Checker
As a simple free online tool, W3C Link Checker makes it easy to get instant insight into broken links by:
- Testing up to 512 links per batch
- Highlighting redirect codes and invalid links
- Analyzing images and embedded media for issues
- Supporting various protocols including HTTPS, FTP
For quick spot checks, W3C gets the job done. The main limitation is scalability for large sites. But its simplicity and price make it quite handy.
Price: Free
4. Dr. Link Check
Dr. Link Check crawls the pages of your site to find and diagnose broken links rapidly. Standout features include:
- Test up to 1000 links for free
- Filter by HTTP status codes
- Export results to CSV/XLS reports
- Bulk analysis for multiple sites
- Setup weekly scans to monitor progress
Although not as full-featured as Ahrefs, Dr. Link Check provides professional-grade, bulk link analysis at a more affordable rate.
Price: Free – $27/month
5. Xenu Link Sleuth
Xenu Link Sleuth is a Windows desktop app you can use to crawl a site and pinpoint dodgy links causing errors. Key perks:
- Test unlimited links
- Filters to isolate problematic URLs
- Handy multi-site project view
- Custom page and link load limits
- Map links back to source web pages
Despite the dated interface, Xenu remains a robust solution for large-scale deep scans of your site. It also avoids limits of simpler online checkers.
Price: Free
6. LinkMiner
LinkMiner makes it simple to get an aerial view of your site‘s broken links by:
- Crawling unlimited pages out the box
- Scrape HTML to identify bad links
- Interactive visualization of linking structure
- Comparison views to monitor fixes
- PDF exports for sharing reports
The visual interface helps you instantly spot trouble areas. If digesting lots of link data is your jam, LinkMiner should suit your needs nicely.
Pricing: Free – $9/month
7. Sitebulb
Sitebulb offers its link analysis feature alongside a host of other site auditing tools. Use it to:
- Perform 500 checks/month for free
- Integrate GA data to find impacted pages
- Filter by type and HTTP status
- Save reports over time
- Limited crawler without paid plan
This isn‘t Sitebulb‘s main attraction, but the broken link capabilities make a nice bonus on top of its other SEO site testing features.
Price: Free – $48+/month
8. SEO Site Checkup
SEO Site Checkup provides an instant health check for 15 key aspects of your on-page SEO and site performance. For broken link checks it offers:
- Crawls first 10 pages of site for free
- Find 404 errors damaging SEO
- Identifies redirected and broken pages
- Download CSV data for all checks
- Additional full site scan for $19.95
This is another case of broken link analysis coming alongside other valuable site insights for the price of one tool.
Price: Free – $19.95
9. Screaming Frog
Screaming Frog SEO Spider needs no introduction for seasoned SEOs. Use it to:
- Crawl 500 URLs for free
- Isolate 40X status codes
- Tag and filter issues by type
- Identify sources linking to errors
- Plenty more SEO analysis features
As a free alternative to premium crawlers like DeepCrawl and Botify, Screaming Frog packs quite a punch.
Price: Free
10. Broken Link Check
The free Broken Link Check tool lets you easily:
- Test up to 10 pages of any web site
- Get instant email alerts for new broken links
- Check site uptime and response times
- Setup automated monitoring
For a basic yet handy link checker that won‘t break the bank, Broken Link Check is quite practical.
Price: Free
11. Integrity Checker
Last but not least, Integrity Checker provides a sleek broken link assessment service including:
- Bulk analysis of unlimited links
- Sort errors by page with source paths
- Schedule recurring monthly scans
- Get percentage-based progress reports
- Retest fixed links to confirm resolutions
The progress tracking makes it easy to monitor improvements over time as you chip away at identified broken links.
Price: $20/month
So those are 11 of top broken link finders available today with a range of features and pricing to suit different needs and budgets.
Up next, let‘s compare them head-to-head.
Broken Link Checkers Comparison
With so many options to consider, here is a direct comparison of key criteria to help narrow down your choice:
| Tool | Free Plan | Crawls Whole Site | Bulk URL Testing | Export Reports | Real-Time Alerts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ahrefs | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Dead Link Checker | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| W3C Link Checker | Yes | No | Yes | No | No |
| Dr. Link Check | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Xenu Link Sleuth | Yes | Yes | No | No | No |
| LinkMiner | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No |
| Sitebulb | Yes | Limited | No | Yes | No |
| SEO Site Checkup | Yes | Limited | No | Yes | No |
| Screaming Frog | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No |
| Broken Link Check | Yes | Limited | No | No | Yes |
| Integrity Checker | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
To break this down:
- Ahrefs, Dead Link Checker, Dr. Link Check – Best for full-site crawls with robust reporting.
- W3C Link Checker, Screaming Frog – Lightweight online and desktop checker options.
- Xenu Link Sleuth – For ultra-deep dives finding tricky hidden links causing problems.
- Broken Link Check, Integrity Checker – Offer useful alerts whenever new issues emerge.
I‘d recommend Ahrefs or Dead Link Checker for most robust use cases. W3C Link Checker, Dr Link Check and Screaming Frog also make solid free alternatives depending on your needs.
Those using broken link data more programmatically may also want to check out the Geekflare Broken Link API for integrating link checks into other apps.
Now let‘s get into best practices for using these tools effectively.
Tips for Using Broken Link Checkers
To ensure you maximize the impact of your broken link fixing efforts, keep these tips in mind:
Crawl the entire site – Spot checks have some value, but crawling your whole site is necessary to surface all issues. Prioritize tools that can traverse all pages automatically without limits or paid plans.
Run scans regularly – Links can break at any time, so checking 1x or 2x per year leaves big gaps. Schedule quarterly or even monthly scans to stay current.
Segment by link type – Break out links pointing to internal vs external destinations, images, scripts etc to better diagnose and prioritize fixes.
Identify impact – Use integrated analytics or export link reports to see which broken URLs get the most visitors to focus fixes where it matters most.
Monitor progress – Save and compare scan results over time to assess improvements and catch any new links going bad.
Fix the source – Don‘t just delete or redirect broken links – go fix the root page/content still linking to them to prevent future reoccurrence.
Prevent new issues – To minimize fresh breaks, take steps like simplifying site structure, adding versioning to resource URLs, and monitoring server health.
Following those guidelines will ensure you squash not only surface-level broken links but the weaknesses causing them to continually reappear.
Common Causes of Broken Links
To round out our guide, it helps to understand why broken links emerge in the first place. Here are the main reasons you‘ll want to diagnose and address:
- Page deletions: Pages removed without redirecting inbound links
- Content migrations: Platform changeovers or redesigns breaking existing URLs
- Resource changes: Images, scripts and files moved without updating references
- Input errors: Accidental typos when adding links manually
- Server outages: Downtime rendering site resources unavailable
Identifying which factors above are at play will clue you into appropriate solutions – i.e. fixing redirects, tightening content workflows, improving site reliability etc.
Fix Broken Links with Ease
Tracking down problematic links damaging your site doesn‘t have to give you headaches. With robust broken link checkers like the ones covered here added to your troubleshooting toolkit, you‘ll be well equipped to diagnose and resolve issues rapidly.
By implementing smart workflows for using these tools plus addressing what causes links to break in the first place, you can drastically improve site quality and search engine appeal over the long haul.
Here are some additional resources on broken link checks and related topics:
- Full Guide to Fixing Broken Links
- Managing Technical SEO During Site Migrations
- Finding Bad Links to Disavow
- Most Common SEO Problems and Fixes
Let us know if you have any other broken link challenges we can help address!
