Domain Authority vs Domain Rating

Compare Moz Domain Authority and Ahrefs Domain Rating, understand why the scores differ, and use each metric without treating it as Google ranking data.

8 min read Jan 15, 2026 Practical guide
Maya Collins Written by · Reviewed by Laura Bennett ·Updated
Domain Authority vs Domain Rating
Quick summary
  • DA and DR are different proprietary scores: Domain Authority belongs to Moz; Domain Rating belongs to Ahrefs.
  • Neither score comes from Google: They do not expose Google’s internal ranking data and cannot guarantee rankings or traffic.
  • The numbers are not interchangeable: A DA of 40 and a DR of 40 do not mean the same thing or represent the same percentile.
  • Use each score comparatively: Compare similar sites inside the same provider, scope, and observation date.
  • Inspect the evidence beneath the score: Live referring pages, relevance, link context, target URLs, search performance, and business outcomes matter more than the headline number.

Domain Authority vs Domain Rating: The Short Answer

Domain Authority (DA) and Domain Rating (DR) are third-party domain-level metrics created by different SEO software companies. They summarize different models built from different web indexes. Neither is a Google score, and there is no valid formula for converting one into the other.

Domain Authority (DA)

A Moz score intended to predict a domain’s relative ability to rank, using a machine-learning model and data from Moz’s Link Explorer index.

Scale: 1–100; comparative rather than an absolute quality grade.
Domain Rating (DR)

An Ahrefs score representing the relative strength of a website’s backlink profile compared with other sites in Ahrefs’ database.

Scale: 0–100; relative and backlink-focused.
Google Search data

Search Console reports first-party information such as impressions, clicks, indexing, and sampled links for a verified property.

Use: Verify actual Google Search outcomes; it does not provide DA or DR.

The shared 100-point presentation makes DA and DR look directly comparable, but the resemblance ends there. Each provider chooses its own source data, normalization, features, training or calculation method, grouping rules, and update schedule.

What Is Moz Domain Authority?

Moz describes Domain Authority as a proprietary search-engine ranking score that predicts how likely a website is to rank in search results relative to other domains. It is calculated from data in Moz’s Link Explorer index using a machine-learning model and multiple link-related factors.

DA is designed for comparison. A score is more informative when comparing genuine competitors or tracking the same domain in Moz over time than when labeling a site “good” or “bad” from a universal cutoff. Moz has also changed the model in the past and may update its link index or methodology again, so score movement can reflect model and data changes as well as changes to a site’s links.

Do not confuse DA with Moz Page Authority (PA). DA summarizes a domain or subdomain according to Moz’s selected scope; PA is a separate prediction for an individual page.

What Is Ahrefs Domain Rating?

Ahrefs describes Domain Rating as the relative strength of a website’s backlink profile compared with other websites in its database. Ahrefs’ current explanation says the model considers the strength of linking domains and how many other unique domains each source links to before scaling the result to 0–100.

Ahrefs also describes DR as relative. A site can move even without an obvious link change because the underlying web index and the rest of the scored population change. Ahrefs advises against judging a website solely by sitewide authority and recommends considering relevance, content, traffic, backlink quality, and whether the site appears sustainable.

DR is not the same as Ahrefs URL Rating (UR). DR is domain-level; UR evaluates the link profile of an individual URL and includes a different calculation scope.

How DA and DR Differ

1. Their Stated Purpose Is Different

Moz frames DA as a predictive ranking score. Ahrefs frames DR as a measure of relative backlink-profile strength. Both draw heavily on link data, but one should not rewrite those definitions as if the products calculate the same hidden concept.

2. They Use Different Web Indexes

Moz and Ahrefs operate their own crawlers and link databases. They will discover, refresh, canonicalize, and group different sets of URLs and domains. A source page may appear in one database before the other, be treated as live in one and lost in another, or be grouped differently because of subdomains and service platforms.

This is the same reason referring-domain totals differ between tools. A score difference may begin with different observed evidence before the calculation even starts.

3. They Use Different Models

Moz uses a machine-learning approach intended to predict ranking ability from its features. Ahrefs documents a relative link model in which linking-domain strength and the number of domains a source links to affect the distributed value. Neither provider publishes a complete reproducible formula, and both can revise their systems.

4. Their Scales Cannot Be Converted

Both scores use 100-point scales and are described as non-linear or logarithmic, but that does not create a shared unit. There is no defensible statement such as “DA 30 equals DR 35.” Even when the displayed values match, their inputs and reference populations do not.

5. They Can Move at Different Times

A newly discovered link, removed page, canonical change, crawler block, database refresh, or model update may affect one provider first—or only one provider. A divergence is an investigation prompt, not proof that one score is correct and the other is wrong.

Are DA and DR Google Ranking Factors?

No. DA is a Moz metric and DR is an Ahrefs metric. Google’s current guidance says third-party tools do not have access to its internal ranking data, cannot guarantee performance, and may provide predictions that do not happen. Google recommends checking third-party advice against official guidance and using Search Console for data directly from Google Search.

A higher score does not cause a ranking: A score may correlate with link observations that are also associated with successful sites, but correlation does not make the vendor score an input to Google’s systems. Pages rank for queries; a domain-level summary cannot establish that a particular page is useful, relevant, indexable, or competitive.

Do not market a domain as “Google-authoritative” because it has a high DA or DR. Likewise, a score drop is not a Google penalty. Check Search Console, live pages, links, technical changes, and verified performance before using penalty language.

Which Score Should You Use?

Use DA

Your organization already uses Moz, the comparison set is measured in Moz, and you need a consistent Moz-based benchmark.

Rule: Retain Moz’s scope, date, and methodology context.
Use DR

Your workflow is based in Ahrefs and you need a relative summary of backlink-profile strength within its database.

Rule: Open the referring-domain and backlink evidence behind it.
Use both

The purchase or audit is consequential and disagreement could reveal index coverage, grouping, or manipulation worth investigating.

Rule: Do not average the scores or convert one into the other.
Use neither as the decision

You need to decide whether a domain is safe, relevant, commercially valuable, or likely to meet a specific search intent.

Rule: Evaluate the underlying evidence and outcomes directly.

The correct metric is usually the one that keeps a comparison internally consistent. Switching providers mid-report can manufacture a trend that never occurred.

A Reproducible Domain Comparison Workflow

  1. Define the decision: Competitive benchmark, acquisition review, link-source prioritization, or performance monitoring.
  2. Choose comparable sites: Same market, audience, geography, business model, and maturity where practical.
  3. Fix the scope: Root domain, subdomain, path, protocol, and historical or live index mode.
  4. Record both scores correctly: Provider, date, selected scope, DA or DR, and any visible data-update notes.
  5. Export the underlying links: Referring domains, exact source pages, attributes, anchors, target URLs, and first/last-seen dates.
  6. Inspect meaningful samples: Verify live source context, topical relevance, editorial control, destination, and signs of manipulation.
  7. Check first-party outcomes: Search Console clicks, impressions, queries, indexing, analytics, referral visits, leads, and revenue where access exists.
  8. Document limitations: Missing access, sampled data, archive gaps, crawler differences, and observations that remain unverified.

For a domain purchase, place this inside the broader domain-vetting process. A site with DR 60 and DA 15 is not automatically a bargain or a red flag. Inspect why the tools disagree and whether the live evidence fits the proposed use.

Why Might DA and DR Disagree?

  • One crawler discovered more linking pages or refreshed them more recently.
  • The tools grouped subdomains, canonicals, redirects, or duplicate links differently.
  • The observed links affect the providers’ models differently.
  • A score or index update occurred in one product.
  • The site has an unusual pattern—such as redirects, network links, sitewide links, or many low-quality sources—that one model discounts differently.
  • The compared reports use different scopes or live/historical settings.

Investigate the underlying backlink profile instead of explaining a gap with guesswork. If either score changes suddenly, use the domain-metrics diagnostic workflow to separate real link loss from crawler, scope, and model changes.

Common DA and DR Mistakes

  • Calling DA or DR “Google authority”
  • Using a universal threshold to approve a domain purchase
  • Converting, averaging, adding, or subtracting DA and DR
  • Comparing different provider scopes or observation dates
  • Assuming score movement proves a penalty or ranking change
  • Choosing a link source from sitewide authority alone
  • Ignoring the page that contains the link and the page receiving it
  • Buying links or domains solely to inflate a third-party score
  • Reporting correlation as proof of causation

Primary Sources

Bottom line: DA and DR are useful labels inside their own tools, not universal units of authority. Compare like with like, preserve the provider and scope, and let verified links, search data, relevance, and business outcomes decide what a domain is worth.
About Daniel
Maya Collins

Maya Collins

Technical SEO Writer

Maya writes plain-English guides to backlink metrics, redirects, and technical SEO trade-offs.

Her articles focus on how search engines interpret links, redirects, canonical signals, and domain-level metrics, turning technical concepts into checks readers can reproduce instead of relying on a single score or tool.

Laura Bennett Reviewed by Laura Bennett Laura fact-checks Learn content for source quality, balanced claims, and a clear line between evidence and opinion.
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