There is nothing more frustrating than landing on a page that shows 404. Though broken links are a common occurrence on websites, if not watched closely, they harm your website’s SEO and create a negative UX by lowering your website’s click-through rate (CTR).
However, to maintain your site’s health and credibility, it’s essential to identify and fix broken links as quickly as possible.
Looking for the Best Broken Link Checker Tools for Your Website?
If yes, you are at the right place.
In this blog, we’ll explore the best broken link checker tools, including free ones, to help you keep your site optimized and user-friendly.
Why do we need broken link checker tool?
Finding broken links can be challenging, and the importance of finding broken links cannot be understated. The reason or need to check broken links may vary:
- The broken link finder tool helps you quickly find and fix broken links.
- Improves UX, increases link equity and increases page rank
- It keeps your websites safe from being penalized by search engines.
Two types of tools are available for detecting broken links: free broken link checker tools and paid ones.
Both options make it easy to find and fix broken links to maintain your website’s health and growth.
Top 11 broken link checker tools for your website
Finding and fixing invalid or broken links is very essential. Here below is a list of revised broken link checker tools. These tools can be differentiated into paid and free broken link checker tools.
Google Search Console
Google Search Console (GSC) is a versatile, free broken link checker tool for website owners of all sizes. It helps monitor and maintain website health. GSC not only identifies broken links on your website but also allows you to monitor your competitors’ broken links.
GSC serves as a helpful guide to finding broken links for website owners. However, its capabilities are limited and do not offer in-depth link analysis.
The key features of GSC
- Detecting broken internal and external links.
- Provides a detailed report
- Error detection by the Google crawler (Google bots)
- Free access to site performance data.
What Makes GSC Popular?
GSC is popular as a broken link tool due to the following points:
- Direct access to Google’s Perspective.
- It provides a ‘coverage report’ that shows the pages for which Google couldn’t find a 404 page.
- Free and accessible for any website owner.
Pricing
It’s a free tool.
Ahrefs broken link checker
Ahrefs is a powerful SEO tool for website owners, SEOs and digital marketers. The Ahref broken link checker tool requires no prior technical knowledge or programming skills.
The major advantages are that they do fast crawling of the site, find internal & external broken links, and initiate repairs with an overview of the competitor’s broken links.
The Key features of Ahrefs
- Faster website crawling
- Error code detection
- Link tracking
- Scheduling Crawls & audits
- Quick data exporting
- Shows Competitor Broken Page
What Makes Ahrefs Popular?
Ahrefs is popular as a broken link tool due to the following points:
- Navigate and interpret results easily
- Offers actionable insights for fixing the broken link
- It is a popular link-building tool
- Integrated features with Ahrefs Site Explorer and Site Audit
- Trusted for its powerful capabilities
Pricing
Ahrefs Broken Link Checker is included in Ahrefs’ monthly subscription plans, which start at $129.
SEMrush
SEMrush is a strong tool that is used by many. It provides enhanced techniques for advanced strategies, content marketing, PPC ads, social media & more.
Though SEMrush has no broken link checker feature, its backlink tool helps find all the broken links on your website. They provide in-depth insight regarding the audit results and competitors’ sites.
The Key features of SEMrush
- Automated site audits
- Detailed internal and external link analysis
- Actionable insights to fix links
- Integration with other SEMrush tools
- User-friendly dashboard
What Makes SEMrush Popular?
SEMrush is popular as a broken link tool due to the following points:
- Provides geo-distribution widgets (graphs, pie charts, etc)
- With SEMrush, you can analyze a site’s link and anchor text
- Conduct in-depth link analysis
- SEMrush helps to access Backlink diversity (IP address of referring domain & location)
Pricing
A SEMrush subscription begins at $ 139.95 per month. However, you can try a 7-day trial to evaluate the site audit features.
Screaming Frog SEO Spider
Screaming Frog SEO Spider, also known as SEO Spider, is a desktop tool for Windows, Linux, and macOS.
It is known for crawling the website to identify SEO issues and is also considered a broken link finder. This tool examines images, website links, script files, and resources to identify broken links. Thus boosting your website performance and page ranking.
However, the noticeable features of Screaming Frog SEO Spider are given below.
The Key features of SEO Spider
- Customized crawl setting
- Auditing redirects
- Analyses page title and meta description
- Auditing redirects
- Google Analytics and GSC integration
- Efficient for small to large websites
What Makes SEO Spider Popular?
SEO Spider is popular as a broken link tool due to the following points:
- It checks up to 500 URLs for free
- It has a user-friendly interface
- Custom Extraction through Xpath and CSS path
Pricing
It has a free version that allows users to crawl and download a maximum of 500 URLs.
Whereas the paid version starts at $239 per year, that eliminates the crawling limitation. Additionally, users gain access to features such as crawl configuration, scheduling, downloading and re-uploading crawls, and crawl comparison.
Sitebulb
Sitebulb is a commercial SEO auditing tool designed for professionals. It is known for its user-friendly interface and powerful reporting. The tool crawls the website and acts as a broken link finder, identifying orphan pages and other SEO issues.
It has a free version but with limited features. In the free version, the tool allows you to analyze up to 500 URLs. This tool has multiple options for users and features for teams. Therefore, businesses, big or small, tend to use this tool.
The Key features of Sitebulb
- Visual Reporting with graphs
- Link type categorization (internal link and external link)
- multilingual support
- Orphan page detection
- HTTP status code analysis
What Makes Sitebulb Popular?
- User-friendly interface with actionable insights
- Simplifies data reports for easy understanding for experts & beginners
- Regular updates to keep up with the SEO standards
- User-based pricing makes it ideal for teams of all sizes, boosting collaboration and popularity.
Pricing
Sitebulb broken link tool pricing starts at 11.25 per user a month. The monthly pricing for the Lite and Pro desktop plans can change according to the number of users added.
Link Checker Pro
Link Checker Pro is a website auditing and backlink management tool primarily used to identify and report broken links on a website. It helps find and fix non-functional links to improve the user experience and SEO performance.
It is a popular choice among broken link finder tools for website owners and SEO professionals who want to maintain website integrity and actively detect and fix broken links.
The Key features of Link Checker Pro
- Deep site crawling, which includes scanning of websites and directories
- Error code analysis, identifying various HTTP 404, 301 & 302 status codes.
- Customizable reporting, filtering options & ability to export data in different formats
- Integration with CMS platforms like WordPress, link repair & streamlined scanning
- Schedule automated scans to detect broken links
What makes Link Checker Pro popular?
- Its accuracy in identifying broken link
- It has a user-friendly
- It is scalable, crawling large websites with multiple pages.
Pricing
Link Checker Pro is a paid tool for checking broken links. Its monthly subscription starts at $25.
Lumar (formerly DeepCrawl)
Lumar is a comprehensive website crawling and analysis tool. Earlier it was known as DeepCrawl. It is a cloud-based website that goes beyond just finding broken links. It helps identify a wide range of technical SEO issues on the website.
The Lumar broken link finder tool is a preferred choice for enterprises and large-scale websites that need advanced auditing and regularly scheduled checks to maintain the error.
The Key features of Lumar
- It uses a comprehensive crawling feature that discovers all pages, including the javascript-driven elements and dynamic content.
- It has an advanced SEO analysis feature, like identifying issues in the meta title, description, alt text image and page load speed.
- It provides customized, detailed reports showcasing improvement areas and critical issues.
- It helps identify issues through website navigation and internal linking.
- The broken link checker tool tracks changes in the website’s health, helps find any issues at an early stage, and exports data.
What makes Lumar popular?
The popularity of this broken link finder tool is driven by its core feature:
- Analyse: Delivers in-depth technical SEO & website analytics
- Monitor: Tracks and detects site health and issues over time
- Protect: Offers automated SEO QA testing to prevent technical errors.
- Impact: Provide insights into how website changes affect the business performance
Pricing
No direct pricing information is offered on Lumar’s website. You can request pricing on their website as per your team’s preference.
Broken Link Checker (WordPress Plugin)
Broken Link by ManageWP is a WordPress plugin that does an automatic website scan to identify broken links. It is considered to be the fastest and most accurate broken link checker tool for WordPress. Broken Link Checker gives the option of using 2 unique engines: the cloud-based link checker and the local engine.
The broken link checker tool is used to monitor and detect broken links and non-functional links 20x faster than any other plugin with pinpoint accuracy. It is unlimited and automated broken link checking with no page limits, no ads, and no spells.
The Key features of Broken Link Checker
As mentioned above, Broken Link Checker offers 2 engine options: a club-based link checker and a local link checker. Each with its features catering to different user needs.
Let’s look into the features of each broken link checker engine option:
| Feature of Cloud-Based Link Checker | Features of Local Link Checker |
| 20x more speed | Monitors all links, including internal & external links |
| Unlimited page & URL checker | Detects website issues |
| In-depth crawling to identify broken link | Instant alerts via dashboard or email |
| Error-free Performance | Smart filtering by anchor text, URL, & more |
| Reduced Blocking Risks | Quickly fix the link directly from the dashboard |
| Edits broken links directly from the dashboard | Highlight broken links in posts & prevent following broken links. |
What makes Broken Link Checker popular?
The broken link checker tool is a go-to solution for WordPress users due to its in-depth scanning and detection features all in one dashboard. It is a popular plug-in due to the following features:
- It allows users to choose between two unique engines as per needs.
- Automated & manual scans: With this broken link finder tool, scans are run or scheduled weekly or monthly.
- It helps to easily edit & unlink the broken link directly from the dashboard.
- Broken link checker tools help fix issues quickly and provide a comprehensive summary.
- It had advanced search filtering as it quickly find and fix the broken links.
Pricing
The broken link checker offers a free version with basic link monitoring. However, for detailed understanding, automated fixes, and priority support, it is a premium product, available for monthly and yearly subscriptions based on the number of sites and tools included.
NetPeak Spider
NetPeak Spider is a desktop-based comprehensive SEO audit tool that also works as a strong broken link checker tool. It is a feature-rich broken link finder tool that helps SEO professionals and website owners find & fix broken links, redirects and other technical SEO issues. It provides an organized approach to managing a large-scale project or a small website.
The Key Features of NetPeak Spider
- It identifies all the broken links, like the 404 error codes, incorrect redirects, and broken external and internal links.
- It helps in analyzing bulk URLs
- Provides comprehensive reports with export options to Excel, Google Sheets, etc.
- It ensures the functionality of the link by monitoring the internal and external links.
- It is integrated with other SEO tools like Google Analytics, GSC and other platforms.
What makes NetPeak Spider popular?
- Fast & efficient scrolling
- User-friendly interface
- Customizable Scans
- Large- website scan
- Comprehensive reports
Pricing
Netpeak offers a 3-day free trial and a free version with basic crawling features. For advanced users, they have a monthly plan starting at $20.
Botify
Botify is a strong tool for improving SEO for large businesses. It helps solve technical SEO problems and optimize content. Although it isn’t just a broken link checker, its advanced technology can find and report broken links, redirects, and indexing problems during a full website audit.
With unique data insights, Botify helps businesses check their website’s performance, find technical issues, and improve their site’s visibility on search engines. It is perfect for big websites and SEO teams, providing a full solution to enhance crawling, indexing, and search performance.
The Key Features of Botify
- Advanced crawling & Indexing analysis
- Real-time log file analysis
- Data-driven content optimization
- Analyses JavaScript
- AI-powered SEO recommendations
- Integration with popular SEO & analytics tools
- Website performance & keyword tracking
What Makes Botify Popular?
- Botify provides AI-powered SEO recommendations.
- It caters to industries like e-commerce, publishing, classifieds, travel &consumer products.
- Help businesses understand how search engines crawl, render, and rank their pages.
- It is scalable, designed for large-scale industries and SEO teams
- Delivers data-driven insights tailored for specific insights.
Pricing
Botify offers custom prices as per the size of the industry, the website features you want to use, and business goals.
Ryte
Ryte is a powerful website optimization platform designed to help businesses improve technical SEO, content quality, and overall website performance. It has helped almost 15000+ users with their digital growth.
Ryte is widely used by SEO professionals, agencies, and businesses due to its easy-to-use interface, detailed reports, and powerful SEO features. Ryte includes a key feature of a broken link checker. It helps to detect and fix broken links, indexing errors, and on-page SEO issues as part of a comprehensive website audit.
The Key Features of Ryte
- Website crawling & SEO analysis
- Helps in providing optimized content
- Keep a check on-Page performance & UX
- Does thorough monitoring & reporting
- It has integration with famous SEO tools like GSC, SEMrush, etc.
Why is Ryte popular?
- It provides comprehensive website audits for SEO issues
- User-friendly dashboard for simplified database
- Real-time monitoring to track SEO performance
Pricing
Ryte offers different pricing plans based on your website size and business goals. It provides a free version (with limited features) and a premium service, which are customized plans.
Conclusion
Broken links can negatively impact your website’s SEO and UX. Regularly checking for and fixing these issues is crucial for maintaining a healthy and effective online presence. The tools listed above offer a range of features and pricing options to suit various needs and budgets. Whether you’re a small business owner or manage a large enterprise website, there’s a broken link checker tool out there to help you keep your site in top shape.
Ready to improve your website’s health? Explore the tools mentioned and choose the best fit for your needs. For more digital marketing tips and guides, visit Digital Guider today
FAQs – Broken Link Checker Tools
Q1. How often should I check my website for broken links?
A1. For a healthy website, run a broken link check monthly. Large websites or eCommerce stores should check weekly to avoid losing rankings.
Q2. Do broken link checker tools work for both internal and external links?
A2. Yes, these tools scan both internal links (within your site) and external links (pointing to other websites) to ensure smooth navigation.
Q3. How do I choose the right broken link finder for my needs?
A3. Choose your broken link tools considering your website size, budget, & business goals.
Q4. Do all broken link checker tools work for both internal & external links?
A4. Some tools focus only on internal links (like Screaming Frog), while others check internal and external links (like Ahrefs).
Q5. Is there a broken link checker tool that integrates with Google Analytics?
A5. SEO Spider (Screaming Frog) integrates with Google Analytics and GSC, giving deeper insights into link performance.
Q6. Do broken link checkers also check redirect chains?
A6. Yes, tools like Screaming Frog and Sitebulb provide detailed reports on redirect loops and chains.
Q7. Which broken link checker tool is suitable for large websites?
A7. DeepCrawl (Lumar) and Botify are ideal for enterprise-level websites with thousands of pages.
Q8. Are there any browser-based broken link checker tools?
A8. Check My Links (Chrome extension) allows quick broken link detection directly in your browser.
Q9. Do broken links suggest automatic fixes?
A9. No, they only identify broken links—you need to fix or redirect them manually. However, some WordPress plugins allow direct link editing.
Q10. How should I prioritize the fixing of the broken link?
A10. Start with high-priority pages, links impacting conversions or SEO, and internal links after user navigation, and then address external links.
