Domain Rating (DR) is associated with Ahrefs. Domain Authority (DA) is associated with Moz. Both attempt to summarize the relative strength of a website’s backlink profile, but each uses its own crawler, database, calculations, and update schedule.

Key differences

  • Provider: DR is an Ahrefs metric; DA is a Moz metric.
  • Methodology: Each platform evaluates links with its own index and model.
  • Scale: Both use a 0–100 scale, but a DR 50 is not equivalent to a DA 50.
  • Best use: Use the metric inside the tool that produced it, especially for consistent comparisons.

Which metric should you use?

Use the platform your team already uses for research, then keep the comparison consistent. If you benchmark competitors in Ahrefs, use DR for every competitor. If a publisher reports DA from Moz, do not convert it into DR with a made-up formula; inspect the underlying links instead.

What matters more than either score?

Relevance, editorial placement, topical fit, traffic potential, and the quality of the linking page are more actionable than a single authority number. A smaller specialist site can be a better partner than a large general site with an impressive score but no connection to your audience.

For a deeper foundation, read what Domain Rating means. When you are ready to benchmark, use the free Domain Rating checker.