What Is MozRank and How Is It Different from Domain Authority?
If you have spent time studying Moz’s SEO metrics, you have probably come across both MozRank and Domain Authority. They sound similar. They are both made by Moz. They are both based on backlinks.
So what is the actual difference — and which one should you pay attention to?
This guide answers both questions completely.
What Is MozRank?
MozRank is a link popularity score developed by Moz that measures the strength of a URL’s backlink profile. It was one of Moz’s original core metrics — created as a modern alternative to Google’s PageRank after Google stopped publicly updating PageRank in 2016.
MozRank scores run on a logarithmic scale from 0 to 10, where 10 is the highest possible score.
The score reflects how many links point to a URL and — more importantly — how authoritative those linking pages are. A single link from a page with MozRank 8 contributes far more than one hundred links from pages with MozRank 2.
Key characteristics of MozRank:
- Measures link popularity at the page level (individual URL)
- Scale: 0 to 10 (logarithmic)
- Heavily influenced by the quality of linking pages
- An older metric — predates Domain Authority
- Used internally by Moz but less prominently displayed than DA today
What Is Domain Authority — A Quick Recap
Domain Authority (DA) is a more recent Moz metric that predicts how likely an entire website is to rank in search engine results. Unlike MozRank, DA looks at the whole domain — not just individual pages.
DA scores run on a scale from 1 to 100, also logarithmic.
Domain Authority was built using a machine learning model trained on real Google ranking data, which makes it a ranking prediction tool rather than just a link popularity counter. It incorporates MozRank signals alongside many other factors.
MozRank vs Domain Authority — Core Differences
| MozRank | Domain Authority (DA) | |
|---|---|---|
| What it measures | Link popularity of a page or domain | Ranking likelihood of an entire website |
| Scale | 0 to 10 | 1 to 100 |
| Level | Page-level or domain-level | Domain-level only |
| Based on | Raw link quality and quantity | Multiple signals including MozRank |
| Purpose | Measure backlink strength | Predict Google ranking potential |
| Introduced | ~2004 (Moz’s first metric) | ~2010 (replaced MozRank as primary metric) |
| Used today | Background signal inside Moz tools | Primary metric — widely used industry-wide |
| Includes spam signals | No | Yes — Spam Score influences DA |
The simplest way to understand the difference: MozRank measures the raw power of links. Domain Authority predicts what those links mean for rankings.
Why Did Moz Create Domain Authority If MozRank Already Existed?
MozRank was Moz’s first attempt at a link-based authority metric — and it worked well for its time. But it had a fundamental limitation: it only counted link power. It did not attempt to predict whether that link power would actually translate into Google rankings.
Over time, Moz recognized that raw link counts and link quality were only part of the story. Google’s ranking algorithm was becoming more sophisticated, weighing factors like:
- The diversity of referring domains (not just total links)
- The relevance of linking sites to your topic
- Spam and manipulation signals in link profiles
- The overall trustworthiness of a domain
So Moz built Domain Authority — a machine learning model trained on actual Google ranking data — to produce a score that better predicted ranking outcomes. DA absorbed MozRank as one of its inputs but added many more dimensions.
The result: DA became Moz’s flagship metric, while MozRank moved into the background as one of many signals feeding the DA calculation.
How MozRank Is Calculated
MozRank uses a calculation closely modeled on Google’s original PageRank algorithm — the foundational idea that a link is a vote of confidence, and a vote from a highly voted page is worth more than a vote from a low-voted page.
The calculation works like this:
Every page starts with a base MozRank value. That value gets distributed across all the pages it links to. A page linking out to only 2 other pages gives each linked page a large share of its MozRank. A page linking out to 500 other pages gives each linked page a tiny share.
This process is iterative. Every page’s MozRank depends on the MozRank of pages linking to it — which in turn depends on the MozRank of pages linking to them. The calculation runs across Moz’s entire web index until scores stabilize.
The logarithmic scale means small number differences represent large authority gaps. Moving from MozRank 3 to MozRank 4 requires far more link authority than moving from 1 to 2. A MozRank of 8 or 9 is reserved for the most linked-to pages on the entire internet — Wikipedia articles, BBC news stories, major government pages.
How Domain Authority Is Calculated Differently
Domain Authority is not just MozRank for domains. It is a fundamentally different type of model.
While MozRank is a mathematical calculation based on link flow, DA is a machine learning prediction model trained to answer a specific question: “Given everything we know about this domain’s link profile, how likely is it to rank well in Google search results?”
The inputs to DA include:
MozRank of the domain — the overall link power of the entire site MozTrust — a separate Moz metric measuring how closely a domain is connected to trusted seed sites (major universities, government sites, established media) Number of unique referring domains — how many different websites link to the domain, not just total backlinks Spam Score signals — domains with high spam signals get penalized in DA even if their raw link count is high Link profile diversity — the variety of link types, anchor texts, and source domains Root domain vs subdomain signals — how links are distributed across the site’s structure
The machine learning model then weights all these inputs to produce a single 1-to-100 score that correlates as closely as possible with actual Google ranking performance.
This is why DA is considered a more useful metric than MozRank for most practical SEO purposes — it tries to predict real outcomes rather than just measure raw link power.
MozRank Score Ranges — What They Mean
Since MozRank uses a 0 to 10 scale, here is what different scores typically represent:
| MozRank | What It Represents |
|---|---|
| 0 – 1 | New or barely linked page — minimal authority |
| 1 – 3 | Low link authority — typical for new blog posts |
| 3 – 5 | Average — decent number of quality links |
| 5 – 7 | Strong — well-linked pages on established sites |
| 7 – 8 | Very strong — major resource pages, popular articles |
| 8 – 9 | Exceptional — top pages on authoritative publications |
| 9 – 10 | Elite — Wikipedia, major government pages, BBC homepage |
Because MozRank uses a logarithmic scale, the difference between 7 and 8 is enormous compared to the difference between 2 and 3. Most pages on the internet — including many high-traffic blog posts — sit below MozRank 4.
Domain Authority Score Ranges — Comparison
| Domain Authority | What It Represents |
|---|---|
| 1 – 20 | New or weak domain — limited backlink profile |
| 20 – 35 | Developing site — gaining traction |
| 35 – 50 | Average — competitive in mid-level niches |
| 50 – 65 | Strong — established site with solid authority |
| 65 – 80 | Very strong — major niche publications |
| 80 – 100 | Elite — Wikipedia, BBC, major universities |
The practical difference in scale: a MozRank of 7 roughly corresponds to what most people would consider a very strong site — similar to a DA in the 60 to 70 range. The 0-10 and 1-100 scales are not directly comparable, but both reflect the same underlying idea: more quality links from more authoritative sources equals a higher score.
Which Metric Should You Actually Use?
For most SEO practitioners today, the honest answer is: Domain Authority.
Here is why:
DA is more widely recognized. When you search for guest posting opportunities, sites list DA minimums — not MozRank minimums. When clients ask about website authority, they talk about DA. When you buy or sell a website, DA is part of the conversation. MozRank is rarely discussed outside of technical SEO circles.
DA is a better predictor of ranking performance. Because it incorporates machine learning and considers multiple signals beyond just link power, DA correlates more closely with real Google search rankings than MozRank alone.
DA includes spam detection. A site can have a very high MozRank based purely on link volume — including spam links. DA penalizes sites with toxic link profiles. This makes DA a more trustworthy signal when you are evaluating whether a site is genuinely authoritative or just heavily linked.
When MozRank is still relevant: MozRank remains useful in one specific context: when you want to understand the raw link power of individual pages rather than entire domains. If you are analyzing which pages on a site are its most link-rich assets — for content strategy or internal linking purposes — looking at page-level MozRank data inside Moz tools gives you useful granular information.
MozTrust — The Third Metric Worth Knowing
When you learn about MozRank and Domain Authority, you will occasionally encounter a third Moz metric called MozTrust.
MozTrust measures how closely connected a page is to trusted “seed sites” — a curated list of highly trusted domains like major universities (.edu), government sites (.gov), and established media organizations.
The logic: if a trusted seed site links to you, and you link to another page, that page inherits some level of trust. MozTrust traces these trust chains across the web.
| Metric | Measures | Scale |
|---|---|---|
| MozRank | Raw link popularity | 0 to 10 |
| MozTrust | Proximity to trusted seed sites | 0 to 10 |
| Domain Authority | Predicted ranking ability (combines both + more) | 1 to 100 |
All three are inputs into Domain Authority’s calculation. You rarely need to track MozRank and MozTrust separately — DA effectively summarizes what matters from both of them for practical SEO purposes.
How All Three Moz Metrics Work Together
Here is the simplest way to understand the relationship between these metrics:
MozRank answers: “How many powerful links does this page have?”
MozTrust answers: “How connected is this page to trusted, established sources?”
Domain Authority answers: “Based on everything above — plus spam signals, referring domain diversity, and machine learning trained on real Google data — how likely is this entire website to rank well?”
DA is the synthesis. It is the final score that takes raw link power (MozRank), trust proximity (MozTrust), spam signals, and domain-level diversity into account and produces a single prediction.
This is why most SEO professionals check DA rather than MozRank — it does all the integration for you.
Practical Takeaway — What to Track and When
Track Domain Authority when:
- Comparing your site’s overall strength to competitors
- Deciding whether a site is worth building links from
- Reporting SEO progress to clients or stakeholders
- Evaluating a domain to buy or sell
- Setting backlink outreach targets (e.g. “only pitch sites with DA 30+”)
Look at MozRank when:
- Analyzing link power at the individual page level inside Moz’s tools
- Researching which specific pages on a competitor’s site have the most link authority
- Doing technical link equity analysis across a large site’s internal structure
For day-to-day SEO work, Domain Authority is the number that matters. MozRank is background data that feeds into it.
Summary
- MozRank is Moz’s original link popularity score — 0 to 10, page-level, based on raw link quality and quantity
- Domain Authority is Moz’s flagship metric — 1 to 100, domain-level, machine-learning based, incorporates MozRank plus many other signals
- DA replaced MozRank as the primary Moz metric because it better predicts real Google ranking outcomes
- MozRank is still used internally by Moz but is rarely tracked directly by SEO professionals
- For practical SEO work — outreach, competitor analysis, reporting — Domain Authority is the metric to use
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
What is MozRank in SEO? MozRank is Moz’s original link popularity score that measures how many quality backlinks point to a page or domain. It runs on a logarithmic scale from 0 to 10 and is based on the quantity and authority of links pointing to a URL. It was Moz’s primary metric before Domain Authority was introduced.
What is the difference between MozRank and Domain Authority? MozRank measures raw link popularity on a 0 to 10 scale, at the page or domain level. Domain Authority measures overall website ranking potential on a 1 to 100 scale, incorporating MozRank as one of many inputs alongside spam signals, referring domain diversity, and machine learning trained on real Google data. DA is the more comprehensive and widely used metric.
Is MozRank still used in 2026? MozRank still exists as a background signal within Moz’s tools and is used internally in the Domain Authority calculation. However, it is rarely tracked directly by SEO professionals. Domain Authority has largely replaced MozRank as the primary Moz metric in everyday SEO practice.
Which is more accurate — MozRank or Domain Authority? Domain Authority is more accurate as a predictor of search ranking performance because it incorporates more signals, including spam detection and machine learning trained on actual Google ranking data. MozRank measures only link popularity and does not account for spam or ranking correlations the way DA does.
What is a good MozRank score? MozRank above 5 is considered strong, as the logarithmic scale makes high scores increasingly rare. Most legitimate websites and blog posts sit between MozRank 2 and 5. Scores of 7 or above are typically reserved for pages on major publications that have accumulated thousands of quality backlinks over many years.
What is MozTrust and how does it relate to MozRank? MozTrust is a separate Moz metric that measures how closely a page is connected to trusted “seed sites” like major universities, government domains, and established media organizations. Both MozRank (link popularity) and MozTrust (trust proximity) are inputs into Domain Authority’s calculation. They measure different aspects of a site’s authority profile.
Why do SEOs use Domain Authority instead of MozRank? Domain Authority is preferred because it is a more complete signal — it combines link power, trust, spam detection, and machine learning into a single score that correlates better with actual Google rankings. DA is also on a 1 to 100 scale that is easier to communicate than MozRank’s 0 to 10 scale. Most SEO tools, outreach platforms, and client reports now use DA as the standard authority benchmark.
Can a site have high MozRank but low Domain Authority? Yes. A site can accumulate a large number of backlinks — even from relatively strong pages — while also having a toxic Spam Score or low referring domain diversity. MozRank would register the link power, but DA would penalize the domain for spam signals. This is why DA is considered a more trustworthy metric for evaluating real-world authority.
Does improving Domain Authority also improve MozRank? They are related but not directly interchangeable. The actions that improve DA — earning quality backlinks from diverse, authoritative domains — also tend to improve the underlying MozRank signals. But DA improvements also come from reducing Spam Score and improving trust signals, which do not affect MozRank directly.
