Link Redirect Trace vs NoFollow (2026): which should you pick?
As of Oct 23, 2026, Link Redirect Trace grades higher than NoFollow: 3.0 against 2.8 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 23, 2026 · graded Oct 23, 2026 by ToolGPA
Link Redirect Trace grades higher on features. They get the same grade on value for money, the free plan, ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Link Redirect Trace
Free redirect checker that also reads canonicals, robots and headers
Free
Which one is for you
Pick Link Redirect Trace if
- Fits if you check that redirects pass links cleanly after a migration
- Works for following affiliate and ad links to see where they land and which cookies they set
Look elsewhere if
- Watch out: the Chrome version was last updated in June 2024 and the Firefox one in April 2024
- Too light for checking a site or a list of URLs, since it traces the URLs you visit one at a time
- Skip it if you want link strength from Ahrefs or Moz, as Power and Trust are LinkResearchTools' own scores
- Not for you if you browse in Safari or Edge, as only Chrome and Firefox are listed
Pick NoFollow if
- Fits if you need to know whether links on a page pass on ranking credit
- Works for link builders confirming that a placed link isn't nofollow
Look elsewhere if
- Watch out: ugc and sponsored links get the same outline as nofollow, so you can't tell them apart
- Too light for audits, as it marks links on the page you're viewing and doesn't list or crawl them
- Skip it if you're on Safari, which IgorWare doesn't support until further notice
- Watch out: the developer hasn't identified itself as a trader, so EU consumer rights don't apply
How we grade them
| 3.0GPALink Redirect TraceVery good | 2.8GPANoFollowGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | AFree, listed among LinkResearchTools' free SEO tools, and a free install on Chrome and Firefox. The company's paid link tools are sold separately. | AFree, with no paid version anywhere on IgorWare's site. |
| Free plan and trial | AFree outright: every hop, the indexing and canonical checks, cookies, headers and image or CSV export. | AFree outright: link outlines, the robots meta tag box, site filters and custom CSS styles, with nothing to upgrade to. |
| Features | CEvery 301, 302, 307, 308 and meta refresh hop timed, robots, noindex, nofollow and X-Robots-Tag checked on each, canonicals flagged, cookies shown and traces exported. It does redirect tracing fully, a smaller job, with no headings, schema or search data. | DOne narrow function: outlines for nofollow, ugc, sponsored, followed and external links, Yandex noindex tags and a robots meta info box. The three rel values share one style, and there's no report of the links. |
| Ease of use | BNo rating on record, but nothing to set up: install it, follow a link and the trace is there. | BNo rating on record, but nothing to set up: install it and outlines appear on the next page, with styles you can change later. |
| Platforms and integrations | CChrome and Firefox, so computers only, in English. It ties into LinkResearchTools' own Power and Trust scores and nothing else. | CA browser extension for computers only, with no phone version and no integrations. IgorWare says its Safari version isn't supported until further notice. |
| Best for | redirect chains with indexing checks per hop | spotting nofollow links on a page |
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: Link Redirect Trace and NoFollow. How we grade
Price against what you get
Link Redirect Trace has no paid plan and scores 2.3 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. NoFollow has no paid plan and scores 2.0.
Link Redirect Trace scores higher for the same starting price. Of the other SEO browser extensions on the chart, none scores higher than Link Redirect Trace for less, and none scores higher than NoFollow 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
In commonFree planBrowser extensionSite auditBacklink analysis
At a glance
| Link Redirect Trace | NoFollow | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free | Free |
| Starts at | Free | Free |
| Free plan | The extension is listed among LinkResearchTools' free SEO tools and installs free from the Chrome and Firefox stores. | The extension is a free download for Chrome and Edge, with no paid version listed on IgorWare's site. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Browser extension | ||
| Made by | LinkResearchTools GmbH | IgorWare |
| Price read from | smart.linkresearchtools.com | igorware.com |
| Checked | Oct 23, 2026 | Oct 23, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Link Redirect Trace
- The Chrome version was last updated in June 2024 and the Firefox version, 0.9.13.2, in April 2024.
- LRT Power and Trust are LinkResearchTools' own metrics; its paid link tools are sold separately.
- It traces the URLs you visit one at a time and does not crawl a site or a list of URLs.
- Listed for Chrome and Firefox only, with an English interface.
NoFollow
- Only Chrome and Edge are supported; IgorWare says its Safari version is not supported until further notice.
- UGC and sponsored links get the same outline as nofollow links, as its changelog notes.
- It outlines links in place on the page you are viewing rather than crawling a site or listing links in a report.
- The developer has not identified itself as a trader, so EU consumer rights do not apply, as the store listing notes.
Key features
Link Redirect Trace
- Every redirect hop
- Detects each 301, 302, 307 or 308 hop and meta refresh in a chain, and times each one to show which redirect or URL shortener is slow.
- Indexing checks per hop
- Checks robots.txt, HTML noindex and nofollow, and X-Robots-Tag noindex, nofollow and noarchive on every step of the chain.
- Canonical checks
- Parses rel-canonical tags so a page that is canonicalized to another URL is flagged alongside real redirects.
- LRT Power and Trust
- Shows LinkResearchTools' Power and Trust scores for each URL in the chain, as a gauge of link strength.
- Cookies and cache-busting
- Shows which URL in a chain drops cookies, useful for affiliate links, and can bypass a redirect the browser has cached.
- Image and CSV export
- Exports the full redirect trace as an image or a CSV file, and shows full HTTP headers for each response.
NoFollow
- Nofollow, UGC and sponsored outlines
- Outlines links whose rel attribute is nofollow, ugc or sponsored; the three values share one style and cannot yet be told apart.
- Followed and external links
- Optional outlines for links with no nofollow attribute and for links that point to other sites.
- Robots meta tag info box
- Shows nofollow and noindex meta tags found for Googlebot, Googlebot-News, Bingbot, Slurp, msnbot, Teoma and Applebot.
- Yandex noindex tags
- Highlights the <noindex> HTML tag that Yandex and Rambler use to keep parts of a page out of their index.
- Site filters and custom styles
- Turn the extension on or off for listed websites, edit the CSS used for each outline, and export or import settings.
Plans
Link Redirect Trace
Free$0
Redirect tracing with robots, canonical and header checks for every hop, free on Chrome and Firefox.
NoFollow
Free$0
Link outlining, robots meta tag info box, site filters and custom styles, free for Chrome and Edge.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Link Redirect Trace or NoFollow?
As of Oct 23, 2026, both Link Redirect Trace and NoFollow are free to use.
Which has a free plan, Link Redirect Trace or NoFollow?
As of Oct 23, 2026, both Link Redirect Trace and NoFollow have a free plan.
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.