Free backlink gap tool
Find the backlinks your competitors have and you don't.
Run a backlink gap analysis in seconds. Upload your referring domains, paste a competitor's backlinks, and instantly see which links you already have and which gaps are still worth chasing. Free, no signup, and it runs entirely in your browser so nothing is ever uploaded.
Your backlinks
Export your backlinks from Ahrefs, Semrush, or Google Search Console and upload the CSV.
Sites to check
Paste any list, one per line: a competitor’s backlinks, a guest-post target list, anything.
How the backlink gap tool works
Three steps, no account, no waiting on a crawl. The whole comparison happens on your machine.
Upload your backlinks
Export your referring domains from Ahrefs, Semrush, or Google Search Console and drop the CSV in. We auto-detect the domain column.
Paste sites to check
Paste a competitor's backlink list, a guest-post target list, or any set of domains. One per line, URLs are fine.
Get your gap list
See instantly which domains already link to you and which are gaps to pursue, then download the gap list as a clean CSV.
What is a backlink gap analysis?
A backlink gap analysis compares your backlink profile against one or more competitors to find the referring domains that link to them but not to you. Each of those gaps is a pre-qualified opportunity: a site that has already, demonstrably, been willing to link to a company like yours. That is what makes link gap analysis the fastest way to build a credible prospect list — instead of guessing where you might earn links, you start from sites with a proven track record of linking to your competitive set. This free backlink gap tool runs that comparison for you in seconds, then hands you a clean list of the domains you are missing so you can go and win them.
How to find competitor backlinks (with this tool)
Here is the honest version of how to find competitor backlinks with this tool: you bring both lists, and the tool does the matching. Export your own referring domains from Ahrefs, Semrush, Moz, or Google Search Console and drop the CSV in. Then run the same referring-domains export on a competitor and paste it into the second box. The tool instantly performs the referring domains comparison and shows every site that links to them but not to you. It is a client-side comparison — it does not crawl the web or fetch a competitor's backlinks for you — but it turns the slow, error-prone part of competitor backlink analysis, reconciling two lists by hand, into a one-click job that never leaves your browser.
Why referring domains, not raw backlinks
A single website can send you dozens or hundreds of individual backlinks — sitewide footer links, multiple blog posts, category pages. For a gap analysis, all of those collapse into one thing you actually care about: do you have a link from that domain or not? Comparing at the referring-domain level keeps your gap list clean and actionable, avoids double-counting, and mirrors how outreach really works — you pitch a site once, not each of its URLs. That is why this tool does a referring domains comparison rather than diffing raw backlink URLs. Fewer, better rows, each one a real prospect you can email, pitch a guest post to, or check for availability.
What makes a gap worth pursuing
Not every gap is equal. The strongest targets are domains that link to several of your competitors at once — a site linking to three rivals is far more likely to link to you than a one-off mention. After that, weigh relevance and real traffic over raw authority: a niche blog your buyers actually read beats a high-DR site with no audience. Run the comparison across three to five competitors, look for the overlap, and prioritise sites that are topically close to what you sell. Because this free backlink checker has no usage limit, you can re-run the comparison as often as you refine your competitor set — layering in new rivals to keep the gap list sharp.
Backlink gap analysis vs a full backlink audit
People sometimes conflate a backlink gap analysis with a backlink audit, but they answer opposite questions. A gap analysis looks outward, at links your competitors have and you do not. An audit looks inward, at the health of your own profile. You need both over time, but they are separate jobs — and this backlink gap analysis tool is built for the first one. Here is the short version:
| Backlink gap analysis | Full backlink audit | |
|---|---|---|
| Looks at | Competitors' referring domains | Your own backlink profile |
| Answers | Which links can I still win? | Which links should I keep or disavow? |
| Output | A prospect list of gap domains | Toxic, lost, and anchor-text findings |
| This tool does it | Yes — instantly, in your browser | No — use a dedicated audit tool |
The practical takeaway: use this backlink gap tool to decide where to spend your outreach effort next, and reach for a full audit when you need to defend or clean up the profile you already have. Kept separate, each stays fast and gives you a clear, single answer.
Want the gap run for you, by hand?
If you would rather not wrangle CSV exports, give us your domain and up to three competitors. A real person pulls the data in Ahrefs and Semrush, strips the dead and low-quality links, and flags exactly which gap sites you can buy today. Free, human-reviewed, built only for SaaS.
Backlink gap analysis, answered
What is a backlink gap analysis?
A backlink gap analysis compares your backlink profile against one or more competitors to find the referring domains that link to them but not to you. Those gaps are your highest-probability link targets: sites already proven to link to companies like yours. This free tool runs that comparison for you in seconds.
Is this backlink gap tool really free?
Yes. It is completely free, with no signup and no usage limit. It runs entirely in your browser, so your backlink files are never uploaded to a server. You can run as many comparisons as you want.
Where do I get my backlinks CSV?
Export your referring domains from any backlink tool you already use. In Ahrefs, open Site Explorer, go to Referring Domains, and export. In Semrush, use the Backlinks report. You can also export linking sites from Google Search Console under Links. Any CSV with a domain or URL column works.
How do I find my competitor's backlinks to paste in?
Run the same referring-domains export on a competitor's domain in Ahrefs or Semrush, then paste that list into the right-hand box. The tool will show you every site linking to them that does not yet link to you. No competitor list handy? Use any prospect list, like a roundup of guest-posting sites in your niche.
Does my data get uploaded anywhere?
No. All parsing and comparison happen locally in your browser. Nothing is sent to us or stored. You can disconnect from the internet after the page loads and the tool still works.
What do I do with the gap list once I have it?
Those domains are where your competitors earn links and you do not yet. You can pitch them yourself, or, if you run a SaaS, you can check which of them are buyable in the Saaslinks catalog and order placements that are guaranteed indexed within 30 days.
Does this tool find competitor backlinks automatically?
No, and it is important to be honest about that. This is a client-side comparison tool: you supply both lists. It does not crawl the web or fetch a competitor's backlinks for you. You export the competitor's referring domains from Ahrefs, Semrush, Moz, or another backlink tool and paste them in. What this backlink gap tool does brilliantly is the tedious part — matching two lists and surfacing the exact gap domains — instantly and privately.
Why compare referring domains instead of individual backlinks?
One domain can send you dozens of links, but for a gap analysis those all collapse into a single opportunity: get a link from that site. Comparing at the referring-domain level keeps the gap list clean and actionable, avoids double-counting sitewide links, and matches how link prospecting actually works — you pitch a site once, not each of its pages. That is why this tool does a referring domains comparison rather than a raw backlink URL diff.
How is a backlink gap analysis different from a full backlink audit?
A backlink gap analysis is outward-looking: it finds link opportunities your competitors already have. A full backlink audit is inward-looking: it reviews your own profile for toxic links, lost links, anchor-text balance, and disavow candidates. They answer different questions. Use this gap tool to build a prospect list of links to win, and a separate audit when you need to clean up or defend your existing profile.
How many competitors should I compare at once?
Start with three to five direct competitors that rank for the keywords you want. Paste each competitor's referring domains and note which sites show up across several of them — a domain that links to three of your rivals is an unusually strong, well-qualified target. You can run the comparison as many times as you like since the free backlink checker has no usage limit.