How Much Does a Backlink Cost? [Calculator]

Ask five SEOs what a backlink costs, and you’ll get five different answers.
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Some will tell you $50 per link is normal. Others say $1,000 is the new standard.

Ahrefs reported average price of niche edit is $361.44. According to Siege Media backlink pricing can vary between $100 - $1500 depending on the industry.

So who’s right?

The truth is, backlink pricing depends on a lot of moving parts: authority, traffic, relevance, niche, and how you’re getting the link in the first place.

That’s why I created the backlink cost calculator.

This tool gives you a rough idea of how backlink pricing works in the real world. It takes key factors like Domain Rating (DR), traffic, and relevance into account and estimates what a link might cost in different scenarios.

P.S. We don’t use this to price our own links at the agency.

How the Calculator Works

This is not a random number generator. There’s a system behind it.
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The calculator uses six core inputs that influence how much most people charge for backlinks:

1. Domain Rating (DR): Higher DR means stronger authority and higher cost
2. Organic Traffic: If a site gets real visitors from Google, the link is more valuable
3. Relevance Score: Links from closely related websites are worth more
4. Niche Type: Some industries are riskier or more expensive to work in
5. Website Type: Blogs, media outlets, or business domains all price links differently
6. Link Type: Guest posts usually cost more than niche edits due to the content involved

It takes these factors and runs them through a formula to give you an estimated price. That price reflects typical market behavior, not our own pricing or recommendations.

What drives the cost of a backlink?

Most people think backlink prices are all about Domain Rating.
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And while DR definitely matters, there’s a lot more going on under the hood.Here are the five main factors that influence how much a backlink might cost:

1. Quality (DR + Organic Traffic)

But DR alone doesn’t tell the whole story. A DR 80 website with zero organic traffic?
Probably inflated. Or completely irrelevant.
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The most obvious pricing factor is link quality. And yes, Domain Rating (DR) plays a big role here.

In practice, a DR 60 site with 30,000 monthly visits from Google is usually way more valuable than a DR 85 site with none.

That’s why our calculator looks at both DR and traffic together. It gives you a more realistic idea of what that link is actually worth in the eyes of Google (and your future rankings).

2. Relevance

Backlinks are worth more when they come from websites that are topically relevant to your own. Think of it like this:

1. You run a chatbot SaaS company.
2. Would you rather get a backlink from a generic tech blog?
3. Or from a site focused on customer support, automation, or conversational AI?

The answer is obvious. Search engines prefer links that make contextual sense. So do your users. And so do most people who sell links, which is why relevant backlinks usually cost more.

3. Link type

Not all backlinks are created the same way.
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There are two common formats people pay for:

1. Niche edits (aka link insertions): You get your link placed inside an existing article
2. Guest posts: You write a brand new article that includes your link

Niche edits are usually cheaper. There’s no new content involved, and the post is already indexed and possibly ranking.

Guest posts give you more control over the topic, anchor text, and context. But they also take more time and effort, so the price tends to be higher.

4. Website type

Some websites are naturally more “link-friendly” than others.

Here’s a quick hierarchy based on difficulty and pricing:

Business sites rarely link out to others, especially competitors, unless there’s a strong reason. That makes those backlinks expensive, if not impossible.

Blogs are the easiest, but even then, you still need to vet their quality.

5. Niche

Some industries are just harder to build links in.

If you’re in crypto, gambling, CBD, legal, or finance… You’re playing on hard mode.

These niches usually have fewer trustworthy linking opportunities, stricter editorial standards, and more risk for publishers.

As a result, prices go up.

On the other hand, niches like marketing, productivity, or general tech tend to have more outreach-friendly sites, which often means lower costs and better link volume.

Should you buy backlinks?

The short answer? Yes, but only if you know what you’re doing.

‍Backlink buying has always been a controversial topic in SEO. But let’s be honest here:‍‍

‍Big brands do it. All the time.

‍Take a look at the link profiles of companies like Forbes, Printify, or ExpressVPN, and you’ll find clear signs of paid placements, sponsored content, and digital PR campaigns.

They’re not shouting it from the rooftops. But if you know what to look for, it’s obvious.

And if they’re doing it, there’s a very good chance your competitors are too.

Why companies buy backlinks?

Backlinks are still one of the strongest signals in Google’s algorithm.

More high-quality links = more authority = higher rankings.

Companies that buy links aren’t trying to cheat the system. They’re just speeding things up.

Here’s what paid links help with:

1. Outranking competitors: If your rival has 200 strong links, you’ll need to catch up
2. Increasing domain authority: Trusted sites linking to you builds credibility in Google’s eyes
3. Boosting organic traffic: Higher rankings mean more visibility and more clicks

In short, backlinks help you win search faster. And sometimes, buying them is the most efficient path forward.

Two ways to buy backlinks (and which one is safer)

1. Buying links directly

This means reaching out to website owners and negotiating link placements yourself. In theory, it gives you full control over where your links appear.
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But in reality, this route comes with a few risks:

1. You might waste time chasing unresponsive or unqualified sites
2. You could overpay for weak placements

Slack link building communities can help here. You can often find editors, marketers, and site owners who are open to placements, but you still need to vet every opportunity carefully.

2. Buying links through an agency

If you're new to this, working with a saas link building agency is usually the better option.

The best agencies already have trusted relationships with high-quality websites, so you’re not starting from scratch.

They know how to avoid risky placements, navigate Google’s guidelines, and build links that actually help you rank.

Instead of wasting time chasing editors or worrying about penalties, you’re working with people who’ve already done it all, and can deliver results without the guesswork.

Final Words

Buying backlinks is not a dirty secret. It’s a strategy, and like any strategy, it only works if it’s done right. If you treat it like a shortcut, you’ll probably regret it.
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But if you treat it like an investment, and focus on quality over quantity, it can be one of the fastest ways to grow your rankings and organic traffic.

So yes, buying backlinks can work, just make sure you’re doing it smart.

Article by

Mykolas Bartkus

Mykolas is the founder of saaslinkbuilder and has built over 5,000 high-quality links for SaaS companies. He got his start working with top Lithuanian SaaS brands and now shares insights on link building, content marketing, and SEO.