Backlinks & Link Building

Contents

1. 01WelcomeWhat these tools do, how many we grade and what to know before choosing
2. 02Our top threeThe three we'd look at first, and who each one suits
3. 03What they costWhat paid plans start at, the best buy at each budget and the free plans
4. 04The gradesThe highest graded, and how the whole category does on each subject
5. 05Keep or make?Which are worth paying for, and which you could make yourself
6. 06Every toolAll of them, best graded first, with what each costs
7. 07Quick answersThe questions people ask when choosing, each answered in a line or two
8. 08About ToolGPAWho made this guide, what else is on the site, and how to cite it

ToolGPA put this guide together from each tool’s own pages, their app-store listings and our grades. Every fact in it is on the Backlinks & Link Building page too, where it is kept up to date. Checked Oct 23, 2026.

See who links to you and your rivals, find sites worth asking for a link and keep track of the outreach.

Before you choose, here are 7 things to know about link building tools, worked out from every one we grade.

1. 1

   We grade 51 link building tools

   20 of them are free or have a free plan, and 18 more let you try before paying. Everything in this guide comes from their own pages and our grades.

2. 2

   Paid plans start at $49 a month in the middle

   From $1 (OutreachFlow) to $599 (LinkResearchTools), going by what each one's paid plans start at.

3. 3

   Best value: Featured and LinkCheck

   Nothing on our chart scores higher than these without costing more.

4. 4

   0 of 51 have iPhone and Android apps

   51 run in a web browser and 0 have a Windows app. Check the one you need before you fall for anything.

5. 5

   The middle GPA is 2.0

   1 score 3.0 or higher. The highest is LinkCheck, at 3.0.

6. 6

   Best free option: LinkCheck

   LinkCheck has the highest GPA of the free ones, 3.0. Free backlink monitor for up to 5,000 links you import.

7. 7

   49 worth keeping, 0 you could make

   By our keep-or-make rules, 49 do something you couldn't reasonably build yourself, 0 are simple enough to make with an AI app builder, and 2 are a close call.

Part 02 · Top three

Our top three

The three we'd look at first, and who each one suits

The three link building tools we'd look at first. First place suits the most people; second and third are the best picks for the people it leaves out. Each has an Insider's Guide of its own.

1. 1st

   

   2.2GPA

   BuzzStream

   Free trial · from $49/mo

   For: Most people building links by outreach

   BuzzStream finds contact details and site metrics for prospects, sends pitch emails with open and reply tracking, keeps every conversation with a site in one shared record, adds prospects from a Chrome extension and watches the links you win. Starter is $49 a month for 1 user, 500 contacts and 1,000 monitored links. Know the limits: bulk sends, automated follow-ups and reports start at Growth, $174 a month for 3 users; the API needs Professional at $424; there is no free plan, and the 14-day trial charges on day 15 unless you cancel.

   The BuzzStream Insider’s Guide

2. 2nd

   

   2.4GPA

   Featured

   Free plan · from $29/mo

   For: Founders and experts earning links through the press

   Featured matches journalist requests from HARO, Connectively, Substack, X and LinkedIn to your expertise, finds podcasts, bylines and awards through a plain-language chat, and drafts each pitch for you to send. The free plan has every feature on a small daily AI allowance, about 2 to 3 opportunities a week, and Lite is $29 a month billed annually ($39 monthly). It is second because it works only on press openings, not outreach to sites you pick; it drafts but does not send, workflows queue once the daily allowance runs out, and it also sells paid placements.

   The Featured Insider’s Guide

3. 3rd

   

   2.8GPA

   HARO

   Free

   For: Anyone who wants to pay nothing

   HARO emails journalist requests for expert sources three times each weekday, and answering them costs nothing. Staff check each request, outlets need a Domain Authority of 20 or 10,000 monthly visitors, and reporters' addresses are masked. It is third because it is an email and nothing more: search, filters and reply tracking are in Connectively, a separate platform; every edition carries ads, there are no weekend editions, one spam strike bans an account, and the journalist decides whether to quote you or link back.

   The HARO Insider’s Guide

Going by our grades, Featured and LinkCheck give the most for the money among link building tools: no tool on this chart scores higher without costing more.

Paid plans start at a middle price of $49 a month across the 42 that charge, from $1 (OutreachFlow) to $599 (LinkResearchTools). 3 more cost nothing at all.

15 of the 45 score above the category's average while starting at or below its middle price. 7 cost more than the middle price and score below the average.

Every tool gets five grades, A to F, each with its reason, and a GPA that averages them. Here are the 12 highest graded link building tools, then how the whole category does on each subject.

Tool	Value	Free	Features	Ease	Platforms	GPA
LinkCheck	A	A	C	C	B	3.0
HARO	A	A	D	B	C	2.8
Internal Link Juicer	A	A	C	C	C	2.8
Link Whisper	A	B	C	C	B	2.8
MentionMatch	A	B	C	B	C	2.8
Source of Sources	A	A	D	B	C	2.8
LinkBoss	A	C	C	C	B	2.6
Linkody	A	C	C	C	B	2.6
BacklinkOS	B	B	C	C	C	2.4
BacklinkScan	A	C	C	C	C	2.4
Featured	C	C	B	C	B	2.4
JournoFinder	C	C	B	C	B	2.4

Some software does something you couldn’t reasonably build yourself. Some is simple enough that an AI app builder could make the core of it in an afternoon. Here’s where link building tools land, by the same rules for every tool.

• 49

  Keep it

  It does something you could not reasonably make for yourself, or it costs nothing.

• 2

  Your call

  You could make the core of it, and you would give something up.

• 0

  You could make this

  What it does is the kind of thing an AI app builder makes well, and it charges every month.

Every link building tool we grade, with its GPA and what it costs. Each one has a page of its own on toolgpa.com, with its Insider’s Guide.

1. 1LinkCheckFree3.0
2. 2HAROFree2.8
3. 3Internal Link JuicerFree plan · from $69.99/yr2.8
4. 4Link WhisperFree plan · from $97/yr2.8
5. 5MentionMatchFree plan · from $500/mo2.8
6. 6Source of SourcesFree2.8
7. 7LinkBossFree plan · from $87/yr2.6
8. 8LinkodyFree trial · from $11.20/mo2.6
9. 9BacklinkOSFree plan · from $15/mo2.4
10. 10BacklinkScanFree plan · from $6/mo2.4
11. 11FeaturedFree plan · from $29/mo2.4
12. 12JournoFinderFree plan · from $119/mo2.4
13. 13ResponseSourceFree trial · from £625/yr2.4
14. 14SourceBottleFree plan · from $65/mo2.4
15. 15Backlink PilotFree plan · from $15/mo2.2
16. 16BuzzStreamFree trial · from $49/mo2.2
17. 17Dot Star MediaFree trial · from £40/mo2.2
18. 18GuestPostCRMFree plan · from $20/mo2.2
19. 19LinkiloFrom $59/yr2.2
20. 20LinkStormFree trial · from $30/mo2.2
21. 21LinkSwapyFree trial · from $49/mo2.2
22. 22MajesticFree plan · from $41.67/mo2.2
23. 23MentionAgentFree trial · from $99/mo2.2
24. 24MonitolinkFree plan · from $24/mo2.2
25. 25Outlink AIFree trial · from $70/mo2.2
26. 26AutoBacklinksFree trial · from $49/mo2.0
27. 27BacklyzerFree plan · from €24/mo2.0
28. 28BrandMentionsFree trial · from $79/mo2.0
29. 29ColdSEOFree plan · from $63/mo2.0
30. 30EditorielleFrom £10/mo2.0
31. 31LinkChecker.proFrom $20.8/mo2.0
32. 32LinkeeFree trial · from $80.83/mo2.0
33. 33LinkomaticFree trial2.0
34. 34ListBrewFree trial · from $49/mo2.0
35. 35Muck RackPaid2.0
36. 36PitchboxFree trial · from $210/mo2.0
37. 37PrezlyFree trial · from $120/mo2.0
38. 38Unveil SEOFree trial · from €27.30/mo2.0
39. 39AnewstipFree plan · from $160/mo1.8
40. 40BacklinkDogFrom $12/mo1.8
41. 41BacklinkGPTFrom $149/mo1.8
42. 42JustReachOutFree trial · from $98/mo1.8
43. 43LinkIntelFrom $99/mo1.8
44. 44LinkResearchToolsFrom $599/mo1.8
45. 45OutreachFlowFrom $1/mo1.8
46. 46QwotedFree plan · from $149/mo1.8
47. 47RoxhillPaid1.8
48. 48Semrush AI PR ToolkitFree trial · from $149/mo1.8
49. 49SEOkicksPaid1.8
50. 50UpranklyFrom $37 one-time1.6
51. 51ontoloFrom $97/mo1.4

ToolGPA grades software the way a school report grades a pupil: five subjects, a letter for each with the reason written beside it, and a GPA that averages them. Prices, plans and platforms are read from each maker’s own pages and dated, so you always know how fresh a figure is.

Every grade, review and ranking on ToolGPA is our own judgement. No company can pay for a grade or change one. Every tool on the site has a guide like this one, free to download and pass on. It all lives at toolgpa.com.

• 3,189

  tools graded

• 94

  categories

• 426

  price changes on record

• 579

  apps priced in 12 countries