What is Broken Link Checker

Broken Link Checker finds the links on your website that no longer work. This page covers what a scan checks, where to run one and what is free.

What a scan finds#

A scan visits the pages of your site and checks every link on them. For each broken link you get the page it sits on, its anchor text and the answer the server gave. That is enough to find the link in your editor and fix it in minutes.

A scan reports:

• Links to pages that answer with an error, such as 404 Not Found or 500 Server Error.
• Soft 404 pages, which load normally but show a "page not found" message.
• Links to hosts that no longer exist, and links to sites with a broken SSL certificate.
• Links that redirect to a page that no longer works.

Some sites, such as LinkedIn and Facebook, block automated checkers. Links to those sites show up as warnings when they block the checker.

Three ways to use it#

• The website. Scan from the homepage at brokenlinkchecker.io, with or without an account. With an account you get a projects dashboard with scan history for every domain you add.
• The WordPress plugin. The free Check for Broken Links plugin scans from wp-admin. It edits, unlinks or redirects broken links right where they sit. Read more on the WordPress plugin page.
• The Chrome extension. Scan the page or site in your current tab. Broken links light up right on the page. Read more on the Chrome extension page.

The website is the product. The plugin and the extension sign in to the same account. In the plugin, Pro features work on the sites your plan covers. Plans at a glance explains how.

What is free#

Without an account, you can scan up to 250 pages at a time, 2 times a day. A free account raises that to 500 pages per scan and 50 scans a month. You can also add as many projects as you like.

Paid plans add scheduled weekly scans, public report pages, AI link fixes and higher limits. Plans at a glance compares all four plans.

Where to go next#

• Scan a site without an account for a first look at your site.
• Create an account to keep your scans in one place.
• Create your first project to track a site over time.