Dr. Link Check vs httpstatus.io (2026): which should you pick?

Pick Dr. Link Check if

• Fits if you want broken links found and emailed to you on a schedule
• Works for checking outbound links against malware and phishing lists

Look elsewhere if

• Skip it if your site builds links with JavaScript, which the crawler doesn't run
• Tight if you stay free, at 1,500 links on 2 sites, run by hand with no export
• Watch out: CSV or PDF export and soft-error checks start on Professional at $49, as do login checks, set up on request
• Pricey if your site has lots of resources, as prices rise per 10,000 links and every unique file counts
• Tight if you check several sites, as only one check runs at a time per account

Pick httpstatus.io if

• Fits if you're checking redirects in bulk after a site migration
• Works for developers adding status and redirect checks to scripts or no-code flows

Look elsewhere if

• Too light for a site audit, as it takes 100 URLs a batch and doesn't crawl
• Watch out: API prices are in euros before VAT, and the free 500 calls are one-time and non-commercial
• Tight if you're on Starter, which stops at 20,000 calls a month; higher plans bill each call over
• Not for you if your staging site lets visitors in by IP, as it has no fixed address

Dr. Link Check

• The crawler does not run JavaScript, so links created by scripts are missed unless you start from the XML sitemap.
• Prices rise with the link limit, billed per 10,000 links; each website counts unique resources, not just pages.
• Export to CSV or PDF and soft error checks start at Professional; checking behind a login is set up by request on Professional and up.
• Only one check runs at a time per account, and payment is by card or PayPal only.

httpstatus.io

• The web checker takes 100 URLs per batch and does not crawl a site; the help page points to crawlers for larger jobs.
• API prices are in euros and exclude VAT, and the API's free 500 calls are one-time and not for commercial use.
• Starter stops at 20,000 calls a month; higher plans bill overage per call instead of stopping.
• It has no fixed IP address, so a staging site cannot allow it by IP; the help page suggests a secret request header.

Dr. Link Check

Whole-site link crawl

Starts from one URL and checks internal links, outbound links, images, style sheets and other resources found in the HTML and CSS.

Several checks per link

Looks at URL format, server response time, error codes such as 404 and 500, and, on paid plans, SSL certificate validity.

Malware and phishing blacklists

Paid plans check outbound links against Google Safe Browsing, Professional adds PhishTank, and Premium two more lists.

Soft error detection

From Professional, flags pages that answer 200 OK but whose content shows an error or placeholder message.

Scheduled checks and reports

Runs checks monthly, biweekly, weekly or daily depending on plan, and emails a status report to chosen recipients.

URL lists and rules

Accepts up to 10,000 URLs to check in bulk, and lets you include or exclude URLs and limit crawl speed.

httpstatus.io

Bulk status checks

Paste up to 100 URLs to see each status code and redirect count, then filter by status code, redirect type or request URL.

Redirect chains and latency

Follows up to 10 redirects and shows every hop's headers, response body and round-trip time.

Custom request settings

Send requests as Googlebot, Bingbot, Applebot or a chosen browser, with basic authentication or headers such as cookies and Accept-Language.

Canonical domain check

Tests whether the http, https, www and non-www versions of a domain all redirect to one canonical version.

Exports

Sends URLs, status codes, redirect targets and errors to Google Sheets or to CSV and XLS files.

URL checking API

Returns redirect chains, IP addresses, latency, TLS certificate checks and page metadata such as title, robots and canonical tags as JSON.

Dr. Link Check

• Lite$0

  2 websites and 1,500 links each, broken link checks only, run one at a time by hand.

• Standard$13

  per month for 10,000 links, billed monthly

  5 websites, Google Safe Browsing blacklist checks, SSL checks, include and exclude rules, and monthly or biweekly scheduled checks.

• Professional$49

  per month for 50,000 links, billed monthly

  10 websites, soft error checks, PhishTank, weekly checks and CSV or PDF export. Can be set from 20,000 links; the price follows the limit.

• Premium$159

  per month for 200,000 links, billed monthly

  15 websites, two more blacklists and daily checks. Can be set from 30,000 links; the price follows the limit.

httpstatus.io

• Web checker€0

  Status codes, headers and redirect chains for up to 100 URLs per batch in the browser. The help page says it will stay free.

• Basic Plan€10

  one-time for 10,000 API calls, used as you go

  API credits that never expire and can be topped up, at 2 requests per second.

• Starter Plan€15

  per month for 20,000 API calls, billed monthly

  A hard limit of 20,000 calls a month at 2 requests per second.

• Standard Plan€35

  per month for 50,000 API calls, billed monthly

  3 requests per second; calls above 50,000 cost €0.00070 each.

• Pro Plan€65

  per month for 100,000 API calls, billed monthly

  5 requests per second; calls above 100,000 cost €0.00065 each.

• Premium Plan€150

  per month for 250,000 API calls, billed monthly

  10 requests per second; calls above 250,000 cost €0.00060 each. Larger needs get a quote.

Dr. Link Check

• Annual discount

  One month free with yearly billing

  Dr. Link Check's pricing page offers yearly billing with one month free compared with paying monthly.

httpstatus.io

No public discounts listed.