The best free broken link checkers.
Ten free ways to find broken links, from a single page to a whole website, and where each one's free limit ends.
We make Useful Work, one of the tools on this page. Every other tool's details come from its own website, checked on 5 November 2026. Free limits change, so check before you rely on one.
- One page, right now: the Check My Links extension for Chrome, or our free check, with no sign-up.
- A whole small website: Dr. Link Check's free plan, or Ahrefs Webmaster Tools if you can verify the site.
- WordPress: the Broken Link Checker plugin by WPMU DEV.
- What Google itself trips over: the “Not found (404)” list in Google Search Console.
What's free, and where it stops.
| Tool | What it checks | Free limit | How it runs | Paid from |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Useful Work free check | One page: up to 60 links and images, each failure asked again; plus speed, certificate and domain | No sign-up; a few dozen pages a day | Website | A whole site, checked on a schedule, from US$5 of credit |
| Check My Links | Links on the page you're looking at | No paid tier listed | Chrome extension | — |
| W3C Link Checker | One page, or part of a site, following links a set depth | No account needed; the number of pages followed is limited | Website, or a command-line tool | — |
| Dr. Link Check | A whole site; images, stylesheets and scripts count as links | 2 sites, 1,500 links each, one-off checks | Website | $13 a month, with scheduled checks |
| Dead Link Checker | A site or a page, up to 10 levels deep | Manual checks, with a captcha | Website | $9.95 a month, with scheduled checks |
| Ahrefs Webmaster Tools | Broken pages and images, redirects and 170+ other issues | Sites you verify; 5,000 crawl credits a month each | Website | $29 a month |
| Screaming Frog SEO Spider | Broken links, server errors and missing alt text | 500 addresses per crawl; crawls can't be saved | Desktop app | £199 a year per user |
| Broken Link Checker (WPMU DEV) | A whole WordPress site: links, images and redirects | Free, on your server or theirs; free cloud scans 15 minutes apart | WordPress plugin | — |
| Broken Link Checker (AIOSEO) | A WordPress site's links, images and embeds | 250 links a month | WordPress plugin | $4.99 a month |
| Google Search Console | Pages that answered “Not found (404)” when Google visited | Free for sites you verify; the past month only | Website | — |
Pick by the job.
- Checking a page before you share it: Check My Links or our free check. Both take seconds.
- A first full sweep of a small site: Dr. Link Check's free plan is usually enough, but it counts every image and script towards its 1,500 links.
- A site you own and can verify: Ahrefs Webmaster Tools has the biggest free allowance here, and Search Console shows the broken pages Google actually found.
- A technical check from your own computer: Screaming Frog's free version crawls up to 500 addresses.
- Keeping it checked: scheduled re-checks are paid nearly everywhere. Useful Work's whole-site check re-reads on the schedule you choose, and also reads every paragraph for typos.
Links are only half of it.
A link checker tells you a button goes nowhere. It won't tell you the price beside it is wrong, the opening hours contradict another page, or the special ended in March. Those are the mistakes customers notice. If you'd like those caught too, our comparison of AI website checkers covers tools that read the words as well.
About free broken link checkers
What is the best free broken link checker?
For one page, the Check My Links Chrome extension or Useful Work's free check. For a whole small website, Dr. Link Check's free plan (1,500 links on each of 2 sites, one-off) or Ahrefs Webmaster Tools for sites you can verify. On WordPress, the Broken Link Checker plugin by WPMU DEV.
Can I check my whole website for broken links for free?
Yes, within limits. Ahrefs Webmaster Tools gives 5,000 crawl credits a month per verified site, Dr. Link Check checks 1,500 links on each of two sites, and Screaming Frog's free version crawls up to 500 addresses. Scheduled re-checks are usually paid.
Why does a checker say a link is broken when it works for me?
Some websites block or slow down automated requests, and some answer a burst of them with errors a visitor never sees. A good checker asks again before reporting a link as broken.
Each tool's own website, checked on 5 November 2026: Check My Links, W3C Link Checker, Dr. Link Check, Dead Link Checker, Ahrefs Webmaster Tools, Screaming Frog, WPMU DEV's plugin, AIOSEO's plugin and Google Search Console. Prices are as each website shows them. Spotted something out of date? Tell us and we'll fix it.