DRChecker.orgDRChecker.org

DR4 vs DR3: What Changed in Ahrefs Domain Rating

A side-by-side look at Ahrefs DR4 and DR3: what each counts, why subdomains fell, and how scores moved across 4,002 websites tracked by DR Checker.

DR Checker TeamDR Checker Team

Ahrefs now has two versions of Domain Rating. DR3 is the model Ahrefs used right before DR4, and the number most tools have shown as "DR". DR4 is the new model Ahrefs announced on November 5, 2026, which rolls out in the standard Ahrefs interface on December 1, 2026.

Both are 0–100 scores calculated from backlinks, but they are not interchangeable. This guide compares them point by point, then shows how the scores of 4,002 real websites moved.

DR3 and DR4 side by side

  • What it is built from. Both: links from other websites, counted per linking domain, on a logarithmic scale. Neither looks at content quality or domain age.
  • Which websites can move your score. DR3: any domain in Ahrefs' index with a followed link to you. DR4: a smaller, higher-quality pool; Ahrefs says about half as many websites have a DR4 score.
  • Search traffic of the linking site. DR3: not weighted. DR4: links from websites (and subdomains) with estimated organic search traffic carry more weight.
  • Subdomains. DR3: a subdomain usually showed its root domain's DR. DR4: each subdomain is rated on the links pointing to it.
  • Spam. DR3: spam-labelled domains could still hold high scores. DR4: domains Ahrefs labels as spam score much lower.
  • Where you get it. DR3: the API's default today (version=dr3); Ahrefs says it stays available in the API for a short period after DR4 rolls out, with no end date. DR4: the API now with version=dr4, and the standard Ahrefs interface from December 1, 2026. Ahrefs has not said how long DR3 stays visible in its interface.

What the data shows

DR Checker requests both versions from Ahrefs for the public websites it tracks. On November 8, 2026, 4,002 websites had both scores. The sample leans towards indie products, AI tools, SaaS and link directories, so it is not a random slice of the web.

Overall

  • The DR4 score was lower for 69% of websites, the same for 10% and higher for 21%.
  • The median change was −6 points; only 30% of websites moved by 3 points or fewer.

Root domains (3,866)

  • 68% fell, 10% held, 22% rose. Median change: −5.
  • By DR3 band, the median change was −3 for DR 0–19, −14 for DR 20–39, −14 for DR 40–59, −2 for DR 60–79 and 0 for DR 80–100.
  • In the 80–100 band, more websites rose (40%) than fell (27%).

Subdomains (136)

  • 95% fell. Median change: −28 points.
  • Websites on shared platforms were hit hardest: many subdomains of Blogspot, GitHub Pages, Vercel and Netlify went from DR3 in the 90s to DR4 near 0. Under DR4 they no longer inherit the platform's score.

Well-known websites: mostly small moves, with exceptions

  • YouTube: 99 → 99
  • GitHub: 97 → 96
  • Medium: 94 → 95
  • Ahrefs: 91 → 92
  • Product Hunt: 91 → 91
  • Blogspot itself: 95 → 83

Mid-range websites fell most

Root domains with a DR3 between 20 and 59 had the largest median drop in this sample: −14 points in both bands. The data cannot say why, because these statistics do not look at where each website's links come from. What Ahrefs has said about DR4 points to the kinds of changes involved: links from websites with search traffic carry more weight, and only a smaller pool of domains can move a score.

Ahrefs' own sample of the 1,000 highest-traffic websites moved the other way: about 64% rose and 20% fell, with a median fall of 4 points among those that dropped. The two samples are very different websites, so the results do not contradict each other: Ahrefs looked at the websites with the most search traffic, while DR Checker's sample is mostly indie products, AI tools, SaaS and link directories.

Can you compare a DR3 number with a DR4 number?

For the same domain, yes: the gap between its DR3 and DR4 shows how differently the two models rate it, and that is what the DR4 vs DR3 leaderboard ranks. But that gap is not a change over time, and a DR4 of 40 does not mean the same as a DR3 of 40. Ahrefs has not published a conversion. Rank websites against each other in one version, and when you look at a trend, make sure every point comes from the same model.

Which one should you use?

  • Benchmarks and new reports: our suggestion is DR4, labelled as DR4. It is what Ahrefs shows from December 1, and in Ahrefs' analysis of 10 million hosts it correlated more strongly with top-3 and top-10 Google positions than DR3 did. A correlation is not proof that any particular link improves rankings.
  • Historical comparisons: keep an existing series in the model it was recorded in, note the version, and start DR4 as a separate series.
  • Link prospecting: look at both while the two exist. If a site's DR4 is far below its DR3, take a closer look before you pay for a link from it.

DR Checker currently shows DR3 as the main number with DR4 beside it. The DR4 vs DR3 leaderboard lists the websites with the biggest gaps in both directions.

Related reading