• Link Building

What’s the Going Rate for a Backlink in 2025?

  • Felix Rose-Collins
  • 2 min read

Intro

Backlink pricing in 2025 varies wildly depending on quality, domain authority, traffic, and type of placement. As SEO has grown more competitive, so have the costs. If you’re buying links to grow rankings, improve domain authority, or drive traffic, you need to understand what you’re paying for—and what a fair price looks like.

Before looking at averages, it's important to know what impacts link cost:

  • Domain Authority (DR): Higher DR usually means higher cost, but not always better results.

  • Organic Traffic: Sites with real, sustained traffic are more expensive and more valuable.

  • Niche Relevance: Highly targeted placements cost more because they’re harder to acquire.

  • Link Type: Guest posts, niche edits, digital PR, and homepage links all have different price points.

  • Turnaround Time: Faster delivery may come at a premium.

  • Link Placement: Contextual in-content links tend to cost more than sidebar or footer links.

Here are general pricing benchmarks for various types of links:

  • DR 20–40, 500+ traffic: $40–$100

  • DR 50+, 1,000+ traffic: $100–$250

  • Top-tier placements: $300+

Niche edits are typically cheaper and faster to deliver than full guest posts.

2. Guest Posts

  • DR 20–40, decent niche fit: $80–$150

  • DR 50+, strong content sites: $200–$400

  • Premium publications (news, finance, SaaS): $500–$2,000+

The cost includes writing, outreach, and placement. Custom-written content often justifies higher prices.

  • Mid-tier press mentions: $500–$1,000

  • Top-tier media (Forbes, TechCrunch, etc.): $2,000+

  • Often earned through campaigns or high-end agencies.

  • Lower value for SEO but still used for brand visibility

  • Typically cost $25–$75/month

  • Rarely recommended for long-term SEO

5. Bulk Package Deals

  • 10 guest posts/month: $800–$1,500

  • 25 niche edits/month: $1,000–$2,000

  • Monthly link retainers often come with lower per-link cost

What’s a “Good Deal” in 2025?

A good backlink deal balances authority, relevance, traffic, and indexation. Here's how to spot value:

  • DR alone doesn’t justify high pricing—check traffic, niche, and content quality

  • Look for manual outreach and editorial context

  • Avoid PBNs, link farms, or auto-generated content

  • Make sure the link is do-follow, indexed, and in-content

A $120 link from a DR 35 site with 1,000+ visitors and niche relevance may outperform a $300 DR 70 link from a general site with no traffic.

Why Ranktracker Offers the Best Value in 2025

Ranktracker’s link building service delivers premium quality without inflated costs:

  • Guest posts and niche edits from real, traffic-rich websites

  • Manual outreach only—no automation or PBNs

  • Full transparency: see DR, traffic, and domain before publishing

  • Links are contextual, do-follow, and placed in original editorial content

  • Affordable packages with bulk discounts available

  • Bonus: Use Ranktracker’s full SEO suite to track link impact and ROI

Whether you're a startup, agency, or in-house SEO, Ranktracker helps you build smart, sustainable backlink strategies that work long-term.

Final Thoughts

In 2025, the going rate for a backlink ranges from $40 to $2,000+, depending on type, quality, and context. But pricing alone isn’t the metric that matters—ROI is. Paying more for a relevant, traffic-generating backlink will always beat chasing the cheapest option With Ranktracker, you’re not just buying backlinks—you’re investing in results.

Felix Rose-Collins

Felix Rose-Collins

Ranktracker's CEO/CMO & Co-founder

Felix Rose-Collins is the Co-founder and CEO/CMO of Ranktracker. With over 15 years of SEO experience, he has single-handedly scaled the Ranktracker site to over 500,000 monthly visits, with 390,000 of these stemming from organic searches each month.

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