DA is Moz's score. DR is Ahrefs'. They measure similar things in different ways — which is why your two scores never quite match. Here's how they differ, which to track, and how to raise both.
Domain Authority (DA) is Moz's 1–100 score that predicts how strongly a website can rank, while Domain Rating (DR) is Ahrefs' 0–100 score that measures the strength of a site's backlink profile. They come from different tools and different web indexes, so the same site usually has a different DA and DR. Neither is a direct Google ranking factor — but both rise when you earn quality backlinks.
You probably know DA already. DR is its Ahrefs counterpart — here's the short version.
Domain Rating (DR) is a metric created by Ahrefs that scores the overall strength of a website's backlink profile on a scale of 0 to 100. It looks primarily at how many unique websites link to you with dofollow links, and how strong those linking sites are themselves. The more high-DR sites that link to you, the higher your own DR climbs.
DR is calculated entirely from Ahrefs' own backlink index — one of the largest link crawlers on the web. Because it's purely a backlink metric, DR doesn't try to predict rankings the way Moz's DA does; it simply quantifies link strength. Ahrefs also has a page-level version called URL Rating (UR), which is the Ahrefs equivalent of Moz's Page Authority.
Same idea, different recipe. This table shows exactly where Moz DA and Ahrefs DR diverge.
| Domain Authority (DA) | Domain Rating (DR) | |
|---|---|---|
| Created by | Moz | Ahrefs |
| Scale | 1–100 (logarithmic) | 0–100 (logarithmic) |
| What it measures | Predicted ranking strength of a domain | Strength of a domain's backlink profile |
| Based on | Many link signals + spam score, via machine learning | Dofollow links & the strength of linking domains |
| Data source | Moz web index | Ahrefs web index |
| Link types counted | Modelled across the link profile | Primarily dofollow links |
| Update frequency | Periodic recalculations | Frequent, as Ahrefs re-crawls |
| Page-level version | Page Authority (PA) | URL Rating (UR) |
| Google ranking factor? | No | No |
Seeing a DA of 28 but a DR of 41 (or vice versa) is completely normal. Three reasons explain almost every gap.
Moz and Ahrefs each crawl the web separately. If one has found links the other hasn't, your two scores will diverge.
DA predicts ranking ability and weighs spam; DR purely measures link strength. Different goals, different numbers.
DR leans on dofollow links; DA models the whole profile. The same backlinks count differently in each.
A DA of 40 is not "the same as" a DR of 40. They're separate scales from separate tools — only ever compare DA to DA, and DR to DR, against your competitors.
Neither is "better." They're different lenses on the same thing. The right one to watch depends on who you're answering to.
Track the metric your audience uses — and ideally watch both. For most businesses, guest-post sellers and clients, DA is still the most-quoted benchmark, which is why it's the score we focus on raising.
Here's the good news: because both are link-driven, the same work raises both at once.
Dofollow links from strong, real domains lift DR directly and feed DA's model at the same time.
Links from many unique sites matter to both metrics far more than repeats from one source.
Toxic links spike your Moz spam score and add no real DR. Clean, safe links protect both. Why it's safe →
The questions people ask most when comparing Moz DA and Ahrefs DR.
Domain Authority (DA) is Moz's 1–100 score predicting a site's ranking strength, while Domain Rating (DR) is Ahrefs' 0–100 score measuring the strength of a site's backlink profile. They use different tools and indexes, so the same site usually has a different DA and DR.
Domain Rating is an Ahrefs metric, scored 0–100, that measures how strong a website's backlink profile is. It's based mainly on the number of unique dofollow-linking domains and how strong those linking sites are, drawn from Ahrefs' own backlink index.
Neither is "better" — they measure related things differently. DA predicts ranking strength and factors in spam; DR is a pure backlink-strength score. The right one to track is whichever your clients, partners or tools use. DA is the most widely quoted benchmark.
Because Moz and Ahrefs crawl the web separately, use different formulas, and handle links differently. A site can easily have a DA of 28 and a DR of 41. The gap is normal and doesn't mean either score is wrong.
No. A DA of 40 is not equivalent to a DR of 40 — they're separate scales from separate tools. Always compare DA to DA and DR to DR, ideally against your direct competitors.
No. Like Moz DA, Ahrefs DR is a third-party metric that Google does not use to rank pages. However, the quality backlinks that raise DR are signals that do influence real Google rankings.
Track the metric your audience reports in. For most businesses, guest-post sellers and clients, DA is the standard benchmark, so it's the most practical to grow. Ideally you watch both, since they rise together with quality links.
Usually yes. Both metrics reward quality backlinks from strong, diverse, real domains, so a white-hat link-building campaign typically lifts DA and DR at the same time.
We focus on getting your Moz Domain Authority to 40+ in 14–21 days with safe, white-hat links from real, high-authority domains — and because those same links strengthen your backlink profile, your Ahrefs DR rises alongside it. Verifiable Moz report, full refund if missed.
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