Ahrefs DR4: What the New Domain Rating Means for Your Site
Ahrefs is switching Domain Rating to a new version, DR4, on 1 December 2026. Many small and mid-size websites will see a much lower number. Here's what changed, why your DR4 may look low, and what to do about it.
On this page
Ahrefs is changing how it calculates Domain Rating. The new version, DR4, becomes the default on 1 December 2026, and for many websites the number looks very different. Ours went from 24 to 5.
If you've just seen your DR4 and felt your stomach drop, this post is for you. Here's what changed, why many small sites score lower, and what it means in practice.
What is DR4?
DR4 is the fourth version of Ahrefs' Domain Rating, the 0–100 score that shows how strong a website's backlinks are compared with every other site Ahrefs knows about. Ahrefs announced it in their DR4 post, and it brings two big changes:
- A smaller, higher-quality pool of linking sites. Links from websites that get organic search traffic now carry the weight. Only about half as many websites have a DR4 score as had a DR3 score, so links from sites outside that pool count for much less.
- Subdomains get their own rating. A subdomain like
blog.example.comno longer inherits the DR ofexample.com. It gets its own score from the links pointing to it.
Ahrefs also now labels spam domains with a machine-learning model, and spammy sites took the biggest hits: those with a DR3 between 30 and 70 dropped by a median of about 15 to 20 points.
Why your DR4 might be much lower
Domain Rating is relative: your score depends on your links compared with everyone else's. When the pool of sites that "count" shrinks, the scale shifts for everyone.
For big, established websites, not much changes. Ahrefs says the median change for non-spam sites is close to zero, and among the 1,000 websites with the most search traffic, 64% actually went up.
Smaller sites are a different story. On the 53 websites we track at DomainRating.app, measured on 6 November 2026:
| DR3 | Typical change in DR4 |
|---|---|
| 60 and up | No change |
| 40–59 | Down about 32 |
| 20–39 | Down about 21 |
| 10–19 | Down about 10 |
| Under 10 | Down about 2 (most end near 0–2) |
Fourteen of those 53 sites have a DR4 of 0. The reason is usually the same: their backlinks come from directories, launch lists, profiles and small blogs that get little or no search traffic. In DR3 those links counted. In DR4 most of them don't.
A few sites went up, because they have fewer links but from websites people actually find on Google.
Does this hurt your Google rankings?
No. Domain Rating is Ahrefs' own metric. Google doesn't use it, and nothing about your site changed overnight. The same links are pointing to you as yesterday.
What DR4 changes is how Ahrefs scores those links, and Ahrefs designed it to match Google rankings more closely. So it's a useful hint about which of your links are pulling their weight.
What to do about it
- Don't panic, and don't compare across versions. A DR3 of 24 and a DR4 of 5 can describe the same site. Compare your DR4 with your competitors' DR4.
- Look at where your links come from. Links from sites that get real search traffic now matter most. One link from a relevant blog people actually read beats twenty from directories nobody visits.
- Earn links that bring visitors. Guest posts on active sites, useful tools and data people cite, and genuine mentions in your niche are what DR4 rewards.
- Give subdomains their own links. If your app or blog lives on a subdomain, it now needs links of its own.
- Ignore spammy link offers even more than before. Spam links count for even less in DR4, and spam sites lost the most.
How DomainRating.app handles DR4
We started tracking both versions in November 2026, so nothing is lost when Ahrefs switches:
- Your website's page shows DR3 and DR4 side by side, with both on the history graph.
- The free DR checker shows both for any domain.
- Alerts follow DR3 until 1 December, so the switch itself doesn't send you a "your DR dropped" email. After that, DR4 becomes the main number.
- Your DR3 history stays as it is. Your DR4 history starts in November 2026.
- Want to show only DR3 for now? Turn off Show DR4 next to DR3 in Account → Website pages. Visitors then see DR3 only; you still see both.
The bottom line
DR4 is stricter. It counts links from websites people actually visit and largely ignores the rest. For many small websites that means a lower number, but not a weaker website. Use it as a guide to which links matter, and keep building the kind of links that bring real readers.
Curious where you stand? Check your DR3 and DR4 free.
Frequently asked questions
When does Ahrefs switch to DR4?
DR4 becomes the Domain Rating in the Ahrefs app on 1 December 2026. The old version, DR3, stays available through the Ahrefs API for a short time after that.
Why is my DR4 so much lower than my DR3?
DR4 counts links from a smaller, higher-quality pool of websites, mainly ones that get traffic from search. If many of your links come from sites without search traffic, those links now count for little or nothing.
Does a lower DR4 hurt my Google rankings?
No. Domain Rating is Ahrefs' score, not something Google uses. Your rankings depend on Google's own signals, which DR4 doesn't change.
Will my DR history on DomainRating.app change?
No. Your DR3 history stays exactly as it was. We started tracking DR4 in November 2026, so its history begins then, and both are shown side by side on your website's page.
Do subdomains get their own Domain Rating now?
Yes. In DR4 a subdomain like blog.example.com gets its own score from the links pointing to it, instead of inheriting the root domain's DR.