Link building tools · The $0 kit · Updated October 2026
Free link building tools, and the limit on each
You can run a small link campaign for $0: Google search operators to find pages, Ahrefs Free and Search Console for your own links, Hunter's free plan for 50 email lookups a month and follow-ups from your own inbox, and HARO for journalist requests. Free plans cap volume, not quality. Every limit below was read on the vendor's site on October 18, 2026.
- Find pages5 free
- Measure5 free
- Find the person7 free
- Monitor4 free
- Get quoted7 free
Free plans, read on the vendors' sites
Which link building tools are free?
28 tools and free tiers, with the limit that decides whether the free version is enough. Names link to the full spec card.
| Tool | Job | What's free | Paid from |
|---|---|---|---|
| Google search operators | Find pages | Unlimited searches with the footprints below | Free |
| Check My Links | Find pages | Chrome extension: flags broken links on the page you're viewing | Optional $29 lifetime key |
| Screaming Frog | Find pages | Crawls up to 500 URLs; no saving or scheduling | $279/yr |
| SparkToro | Find pages | 3 audience previews a month | $38/mo, billed yearly |
| Backlink Opportunity Finder (BacklinkGPT) | Find pages | One scan per domain: judges a handful of pages for one keyword and writes a sample first email; needs your email for the results | Free tool |
| Ahrefs Free | Measure | Your verified sites: backlinks (1,000 at a time) and Site Audit | Starter $29/mo |
| Moz free account + MozBar | Measure | 10 Link Explorer queries a month; MozBar shows Domain Authority and Spam Score as you browse | Starter $49/mo |
| Semrush Free | Measure | 10 reports a day, 1 demo project | €134/mo (shown in euros) |
| Majestic free account | Measure | Demo backlink checker and a browser plugin with Trust Flow and Citation Flow | $49.99/mo |
| Website Authority Checker (BacklinkGPT) | Measure | Authority score, backlinks, referring domains and organic traffic estimate for any domain, no account | Free tool |
| Hunter Free | Find the person | 50 credits a month (1 per email found, half per verification), plus sequences from your Gmail or Outlook | $49/mo |
| Snov.io Trial plan | Find the person | 50 credits and 100 recipients, renewed every month | $39/mo |
| Skrapp Free | Find the person | 50 credits; only valid results use one | $39/mo |
| Apollo.io Free | Find the person | 75 credits a month, Gmail sending only | $65/seat/mo |
| Voila Norbert | Find the person | 50 credits, once | $49/mo |
| MillionVerifier | Find the person | 100 email checks | $39 per 10,000 |
| ZeroBounce | Find the person | 100 checks a month with a business email signup | $39 per 2,000 |
| Google Search Console | Monitor | Links report: a sample of who links to you; exports up to 100,000 recent links | Free |
| Swappsy monitor | Monitor | 50 links checked daily | $4.99/mo for 2,000 |
| BacklinkManager.io | Monitor | 50 links | $39/mo, billed yearly |
| monitorlinks.io | Monitor | Up to 1,000 links while in private beta | Not published |
| HARO | Get quoted | Up to three request digests each weekday | Free |
| Qwoted Basic | Get quoted | 2 pitches a month, 2-hour delay | Pro $149/mo |
| Featured.com Free | Get quoted | Every tool, with a smaller daily AI allowance | Lite $39/mo |
| Connectively Free | Get quoted | 3 answers and 1 bylined article a month | Lite $19/mo |
| Source of Sources | Get quoted | Up to three request emails a day | Free |
| MentionMatch | Get quoted | B2B writers' requests by email | Free |
| SourceBottle Free | Get quoted | Journalist call-outs by email | $25 per pitch |
Work order
How do you do link building with only free tools?
Seven steps, each with the free tool that does it.
- 01
Pick one page and three competitors
Links go to a page, not a site: choose the page you want to rank and three competitors that rank for its keyword.
- 02
Build a first list of 20 to 30 pages
Run the search operators below, look up competitors with Moz's 10 free queries and Semrush's 10 free reports a day, and save every page in the tracker.
- 03
Vet each page in seconds
MozBar shows authority and spam score on the page; Check My Links shows dead links you could offer to replace.
- 04
Find the right person
Use Hunter's 50 free credits a month for the editor or author. Check addresses from anywhere else with MillionVerifier's 100 free checks.
- 05
Pitch from your own inbox
Write one email about that page and what you'd add to it, then one follow-up a few days later. Hunter's free sequences can send the follow-up for you.
- 06
Watch what you win
Search Console shows who links to you; Swappsy or BacklinkManager.io checks up to 50 won links automatically.
- 07
Answer journalists every weekday
Skim HARO and Qwoted's free plan for requests in your field and answer one or two well, the same day.
Copy and paste
Which search operators find link prospects?
Replace the brackets with your topic, a competitor or your brand.
intitle:"best" "[topic] tools"Roundups and “best X” lists you could be added to"[competitor] alternatives" -site:[competitor].comAlternatives lists that already name a competitorintitle:"[competitor] vs"Comparison posts where a third option fitsinurl:resources "[topic]"Resource pages that collect useful linksintitle:"useful links" "[topic]"Link pages on schools, clubs and associations"[topic]" "write for us"Blogs that take guest posts"[your brand]" -site:[yourdomain].comMentions of you that may not link yetintitle:"[topic] statistics"Stats pages that cite sources, if you have datainurl:links "[topic]"Older links pages, often with dead links to replace"[topic]" "recommended tools" OR "tools we use"Pages where people list the tools they use
Free template
What should a link outreach tracker include?
A spreadsheet is the free outreach CRM. These columns keep you from pitching anyone twice and from losing track of links you won.
| Column | What goes in it |
|---|---|
| Page URL | The exact page you'll pitch |
| Page type | Roundup, resource page, alternatives list, article, broken link |
| Why it fits | One line you'll reuse in the pitch |
| Contact name / Contact email | The person who edits that page |
| Verified | Yes once a verifier says the address is valid |
| Sent / Follow-up | Dates, so you follow up once and stop |
| Reply / Status | Pitched, replied, agreed, live, declined, lost |
| Link URL / Rel / Checked | Where the link is, follow or nofollow, last check date |
Upgrade path
When is it worth paying for a link building tool?
When one job eats your week. The cheapest paid fix for each, from the catalog (a full solo kit is $78 a month):
| When this happens | Buy this |
|---|---|
| Hunter's 50 credits run out in the first week | Hunter Starter, $49/mo for 2,000 credits |
| You need every link your competitors have, not a sample | Ahrefs Lite, $129/mo, or Majestic Lite, $49.99/mo |
| The spreadsheet can't keep up with replies and follow-ups | BuzzStream, $49/mo; automated follow-ups from $174 |
| You don't have the hours to pitch every week | An AI agent, from $29/mo |
| Won links keep disappearing | A daily monitor: LinkChecker Pro, $25/mo |
Not on this list
Are free backlink generators worth it?
Free backlink generators post links for you on directories, profile pages and comment sections, with nobody on the other side choosing to link. Google's spam policy lists “using automated programs or services to create links to your site” and “low-quality directory or bookmark site links” as link spam (Google Search spam policies). Every tool on this page helps you ask a person for a link instead.
FAQ
Questions about free link building tools
Can you do link building for free?
Yes. Search operators, Ahrefs Free, Search Console, Hunter's free plan (50 credits a month, sequences included), your own inbox and HARO cover every job. What you pay with is time, and free plans cap volume: 50 email lookups a month is about a dozen pitches a week.
What is the best free backlink checker?
For your own site, Ahrefs Free (verified sites, 1,000 backlinks visible at a time) and Google Search Console. For other sites, Moz gives 10 free Link Explorer queries a month and Semrush's free plan 10 reports a day.
Is Ahrefs free?
Partly. Ahrefs Free, formerly Ahrefs Webmaster Tools, shows backlinks and runs Site Audit for sites you verify, with no card and no expiry. Looking at other sites starts at Starter ($29/mo); Link Intersect and alerts at Lite ($129/mo).
Is HARO still free?
Yes. Featured.com bought HARO in April 2025 after Cision shut it down in December 2024, and it is free for journalists and sources, with up to three digests each weekday.
What is the best free email finder for link building?
Hunter: 50 credits a month, a verifier and sequences that send from your own Gmail or Outlook. Snov.io and Skrapp also give 50 credits, and Apollo.io 75 a month.