BacklinkDog vs Monitolink (2026): which should you pick?
As of Oct 23, 2026, Monitolink grades higher than BacklinkDog: 2.2 against 1.8 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 23, 2026 · graded Oct 23, 2026 by ToolGPA
BacklinkDog grades higher on value for money. Monitolink grades higher on the free plan, features and platforms. They get the same grade on ease of use.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
BacklinkDog
Backlink checker that emails you when a link you placed changes
Monitolink
Backlink monitor with daily checks and lost-link recovery emails
Which one is for you
Pick BacklinkDog if
- Fits if you bought guest posts or placements and want to know if the links vanish
- Works for small sites that prefer a one-time payment to a subscription
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want backlinks found for you, as you add each page where a link should be
- Not for you if you want to try first, as there's no free plan or trial, only a 30-day money-back guarantee
- Tight if weekly checks are too slow, as daily checks need the $49-a-month Agency plan
- Too light for teams that want alerts outside email, as no Slack or webhooks are named
Pick Monitolink if
- Fits if you want to know within a day when a paid or earned link disappears
- Works for agencies reporting backlink status to several clients
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you stay free, with weekly checks, a monthly crawl, watermarked reports and 7 days of history
- Watch out: recovery emails only go out through your own Gmail, and 500 more contact lookups cost $15 a month
- Pricey if you need white-label reports, which start at Agency for $124 a month on yearly billing
- Not for you if you need an API or SSO, which come only with custom-priced Enterprise
- Watch out: the pricing page's plan cards and comparison table disagree on some limits, so check before buying
How we grade them
| 1.8GPABacklinkDogWeak | 2.2GPAMonitolinkFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | ABasic is $12 a month for 500 links, or $120 a year, about 60% of this category's cheaper quarter. The Lifetime plan is $49 once for 50 links checked weekly, less than a year of the category's typical subscription. | CStarter is $24 a month billed yearly ($29 monthly) for 2,500 backlinks, 3 projects and daily checks, a little above this category's cheaper quarter. White-label reports wait on Agency at $124. |
| Free plan and trial | FNothing free: no free plan and no trial. Every plan has a 30-day money-back guarantee, which isn't the same thing. | CA free plan with 1 project, a few hundred links checked weekly, a monthly crawl and watermarked reports, plus a 14-day trial of any paid plan with no card. Weekly checks and 7 days of history are a cap you'll feel. |
| Features | DOne narrow function: you type in the pages where a link should be, and it emails you when that link changes. It doesn't discover links, there's no index check, and the cheaper plans check weekly. | CDaily checks, alerts, recovery emails to the site owner, gap analysis against competitors, AI insights from Pro and client reports. It does monitoring fully and a bit more, but it's still a smaller job, and the API is Enterprise only. |
| Ease of use | CNo rating on record. There's not much to it, but you add every page yourself, one at a time unless you're on Pro or Agency with mass import. | CNo rating on record. You add projects and competitors, import links if you have them, and connect Gmail before recovery emails can go out. |
| Platforms and integrations | CWeb only, with email alerts and no apps, integrations or API on record. | BWeb only, with no desktop or phone app. It connects to Gmail, Slack and Snov.io and takes link exports from Ahrefs, Semrush, Search Console, Moz and Majestic. |
| Best for | watching links you've paid for | backlink alerts with lost-link recovery |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: BacklinkDog and Monitolink. How we grade
Price against what you get
BacklinkDog starts at $12 a month and scores 1.7 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Monitolink starts at $24 a month and scores 2.3.
Monitolink scores higher, and starts $12 a month higher: the question is whether the extra is worth that to you. Of the other link building tools on the chart, 10 score higher than BacklinkDog for less, and none scores higher than Monitolink for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- BacklinkDog can be bought with a one-time purchase.
- Monitolink also covers reports and link outreach.
At a glance
| BacklinkDog | Monitolink | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Paid | Free plan |
| Starts at | $12 per month for 500 backlinks, billed monthly | $24 per month, billed annually ($29 billed monthly) |
| Free plan | None | 1 project with a few hundred backlinks (200 or 300; the page gives both), checked weekly, a monthly discovery crawl and watermarked reports. Trials end on it. |
| Free trial | None listed | 14-day free trial of any paid plan, no credit card required |
| Web | ||
| Made by | BacklinkDog | Linkee, Inc. |
| Price read from | backlinkdog.com | backlinkmonitoring.ai |
| Checked | Oct 23, 2026 | Oct 23, 2026 |
Worth knowing
BacklinkDog
- It does not find backlinks on its own: you add each page where a link should be.
- There is no free plan or free trial; every plan has a 30-day money-back guarantee instead.
- Lifetime and Basic check links only once a week; daily checks need the $49-a-month Agency plan.
- Alerts arrive by email; the pages name no Slack, webhook or other alert channels.
Monitolink
- The free plan checks links only weekly; daily checks and recovery outreach start at Starter.
- Recovery emails go out through your own Gmail account, and contact lookups are capped monthly; 500 more cost $15 a month.
- White-label reports start at Agency; API access and SSO come only with custom-priced Enterprise.
- The pricing page's plan cards and comparison table give different limits for some plans, so confirm the numbers before buying.
Key features
BacklinkDog
- Link change alerts
- Emails you when a monitored link is removed, the page returns a 404 or redirects, or the anchor text or target URL changes.
- Attribute checks
- Notices when a link is switched between dofollow and nofollow, sponsored or UGC, and when a dofollow link comes back.
- Pages you choose
- You enter the pages where a link should be and the site it should point to; the www and non-www versions of a domain are both tracked.
- Check frequency by plan
- Links are checked weekly on Lifetime and Basic, every other day on Pro and daily on Agency.
- Mass import
- Pro and Agency can bring in many backlink pages at once instead of adding them one at a time.
- Notes per link
- Each monitored link can carry a note, such as the guest post or partner deal it came from.
Monitolink
- Daily link checks
- Every paid plan re-checks each known backlink every 24 hours and emails when it is lost, broken, redirected, or its anchor or follow status changes.
- Link recovery outreach
- Looks up the linking site's contact through Snov.io and sends a recovery email from your connected Gmail, in one click or automatically when a link drops.
- Backlink gap analysis
- Compares your links with competitors' and lists sites that link to them but not to you, sorted by Domain Authority, with CSV export.
- AI profile insights
- From Pro, a weekly set of cards flags urgent issues, opportunities and trends such as anchor text over-optimization and toxic domains.
- Import and tagging
- Finds a domain's backlinks itself or takes a CSV from Ahrefs, Semrush, Search Console or Majestic, then groups links by client, campaign or custom tag.
- Client reports
- PDF and CSV reports of live, lost and recovered links; reports carry your own logo and colors on the Agency plan and above.
Plans
BacklinkDog
Basic$12
per month for 500 backlinks, billed monthly
Weekly checks, email alerts and tracking of active, lost and broken links with their dofollow or nofollow status.
Pro$29
per month for 1,500 backlinks, billed monthly
Checks every other day and adds mass import of backlinks.
Agency$49
per month for 5,000 backlinks, billed monthly
Daily checks and mass import, aimed at agencies and teams.
Lifetime$49
one-time payment for 50 backlinks
Pay once for weekly checks of up to 50 backlinks, email alerts and lifetime updates, with no recurring fee.
Monitolink
Free$0
1 project, 1 seat, weekly status checks, a monthly crawl for new links, watermarked reports and 7 days of history.
Starter$24
per month for 2,500 backlinks, billed annually ($29 billed monthly)
3 projects and 3 competitors, daily status checks, weekly discovery, recovery outreach, 100 contact lookups and 10 reports a month.
Pro$66
per month for 10,000 backlinks, billed annually ($79 billed monthly)
5 projects, 10 competitors, 3 seats, weekly AI insights, 400 contact lookups a month, Slack and Gmail integration and unlimited reports.
Agency$124
per month for 50,000 backlinks, billed annually ($149 billed monthly)
20 projects, 60 competitors, 10 seats, discovery every 3 days, white-label reports and client dashboards. The comparison table says 75,000 links.
EnterpriseCustom
Unlimited projects and seats, up to 1 million backlinks, daily AI insights, API access, SSO and a dedicated manager. Through sales.
Ways to pay less
BacklinkDog
- Annual discount
Yearly billing at $120, $290 or $490
The pricing section's Yearly option lists Basic at $120, Pro at $290 and Agency at $490 a year, against $144, $348 and $588 paid monthly.
- Lifetime license
Lifetime plan for a one-time $49
BacklinkDog sells lifetime access for one payment of $49, covering up to 50 backlinks checked weekly, with lifetime updates.
Monitolink
- Annual discount
17% off with annual billing
Monitolink's pricing page lists annual billing at 17% off every paid plan: Starter is $24 a month billed annually instead of $29 monthly.
- Nonprofit
Reduced rate for nonprofits and education
The pricing FAQ says nonprofits and educational buyers who get in touch are offered a reduced rate on the Pro or Agency plan.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, BacklinkDog or Monitolink?
As of Oct 23, 2026, BacklinkDog is cheaper to start with: $12 a month, against $24 a month for Monitolink. BacklinkDog starts at $12 per month for 500 backlinks, billed monthly, and Monitolink starts at $24 per month, billed annually ($29 billed monthly).
Which has a free plan, BacklinkDog or Monitolink?
As of Oct 23, 2026, only Monitolink has a free plan. BacklinkDog does not.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.