How to Check Your Backlinks in Semrush Free (and Its Limits)
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A free Semrush account lets you check the referring domains of any website, but it shows only 10 results per report and allows 10 reports a day. That is enough to see the strongest sites linking to you, not your whole link profile. Semrush says export options depend on your plan, so if you need your full list for free, Google Search Console is the better source.
Step 1: Create a free Semrush account
Sign up at semrush.com; the free plan doesn’t need a card. Unlike Ahrefs Free, you don’t have to verify that you own a website to look up its links.
Step 2: Open Backlink Analytics
In the SEO toolkit, open Link Building in the left-hand menu and choose Backlink Analytics. Enter your domain and click Analyze.
Step 3: Open the Referring Domains tab
The Referring Domains tab lists the domains linking to the site, with their Authority Score and the number of backlinks each sends. On the free plan you will see the top 10.
Step 4: Get the domains into the analyser
On a paid plan, click Export above the table and download the CSV. In the free backlink analyser, choose Semrush CSV, paste the file and click Analyse backlinks. On the free plan, the quickest route is to copy the 10 domains into the analyser’s Plain list format, one per line.
Free plan limits
- 10 reports a day across the main tools.
- 10 results per report in Backlink Analytics.
- Export options and sizes depend on your plan; Semrush doesn’t say that the free plan includes exports.
Paid plans start at around $140 a month on monthly billing (October 2026). If you only need your own site’s links, Google Search Console exports up to 100,000 linking pages for free: see how to check backlinks in Search Console. Ahrefs Free is the other option for a verified site: Ahrefs limits and workaround.
Open the free backlink analyser
Frequently asked questions
Can I check backlinks in Semrush for free?
Yes, with limits. A free account gets 10 reports a day across the main tools and 10 results per report in Backlink Analytics, and you can look up any domain.
Can I export backlinks from a free Semrush account?
Semrush says the type and size of exports depend on your plan, and exports are switched off during trials. With 10 results visible on the free plan, copying them by hand is quicker anyway.
What is Authority Score?
Semrush’s 0 to 100 score for the overall quality of a domain, based on its links and traffic. It is Semrush’s counterpart to Ahrefs’ Domain Rating, and the two aren’t interchangeable.