Broken links are the internet’s version of leaving a banana peel on the stairs. You don’t notice them until a user slips, your analytics screams, or Google starts treating your crawl budget like a limited‑edition snack.

This guide compares broken link checker tools that people actually use in 2025 — from quick web scanners to heavy desktop crawlers. I’ll keep it practical: what to pick, what to skip, and what you’ll wish you’d checked before you ran a 6‑hour crawl.

TL;DR: the quick picks

  • Want “paste URL → get a CSV”? Use a web-based checker like TinyUtils Dead Link Finder.
  • Need deep crawling + rules? Use a desktop crawler (Screaming Frog / Sitebulb).
  • Cleaning up backlinks? Use an SEO suite (Ahrefs / Semrush) so broken pages connect to link data.
  • Want alerts every week? Use a monitoring tool (or schedule your crawl and save exports).

What matters (so you don’t pick the wrong tool)

“Broken link checker” sounds like one category. It’s not. The right tool depends on your site and what you’re trying to fix.

  • Crawl depth: do you need to check one page, a folder, or an entire site? (If it’s “entire site”, you want a crawler, not a single-page checker.)
  • JavaScript rendering: if links appear after React/Vue runs, basic crawlers can miss them.
  • Actionable exports: the golden output is: broken URL + status + “found on” page(s). A list of 404s without context is just a sad list.
  • Redirect intelligence: chains and loops can be “working” while still being a performance mess.
  • Workflow fit: one-off audit vs weekly monitoring vs agency handoff. Pick for the workflow you actually do.

Quick comparison (2025)

Pricing and feature sets change. Use this as a “type selector”, not gospel.

Tool Type Best for Notes
TinyUtils Dead Link Finder Web Fast checks + exports No install, good for quick audits
Screaming Frog SEO Spider Desktop Deep crawling + rules Powerful; bring coffee for huge sites
Sitebulb Desktop Audits + visuals Nice reports, can handle complex sites
Ahrefs Site Audit Suite SEO audit + links Great when broken pages intersect backlinks
Semrush Site Audit Suite SEO audit + reporting Solid for teams that live in dashboards
Google Search Console Platform Finding what Google actually saw Not a crawler; great for verification
Dr Link Check Web Monitoring + reports Good when you want scheduled checks
ContentKing Monitoring Continuous changes Great for “tell me when it breaks”
Integrity (Mac) Desktop Simple local crawling Lightweight option for quick scans
W3C Link Checker / validators Utility Spot checks Useful for one-off validation, not full audits

The 10 best broken link checker tools (with honest tradeoffs)

1) TinyUtils Dead Link Finder

If your ideal workflow is “paste a URL, get results, export, fix”, this is the vibe. It’s a web-based broken link checker designed for quick audits and clean exports.

  • Best for: quick checks, small-to-mid sites, shareable CSV results
  • Not great for: heavy JavaScript rendering, very large crawls with lots of rules
  • Try it: TinyUtils Dead Link Finder

2) Screaming Frog SEO Spider

The classic desktop crawler. If you need deep crawling, custom rules, and the ability to slice reports 27 ways, Screaming Frog is a strong choice.

  • Best for: technical audits, deep crawling, agency workflows
  • Watch for: crawl settings, memory usage, and not accidentally crawling the whole universe

3) Sitebulb

Sitebulb is a desktop audit tool that’s often picked for its reporting and “explain the issue” approach. If you want output you can hand to someone without a technical decoder ring, it’s worth a look.

  • Best for: audits you need to explain, JS-heavy sites (depending on setup)
  • Not great for: ultra-fast quick checks

4) Ahrefs (Site Audit + backlinks)

Ahrefs is useful when broken links aren’t just “oops”: they’re tied to backlinks, rankings, and cleanup priorities. If you’re repairing high-value pages, this context matters.

  • Best for: prioritizing broken pages with link data
  • Watch for: it’s a suite — you’re paying for a lot more than link checking

5) Semrush (Site Audit + reporting)

Similar category to Ahrefs, with a different reporting ecosystem. If you’re already living in Semrush for projects and reports, the audit tooling can be a convenient home base.

  • Best for: team reporting, recurring site audits
  • Not great for: lightweight “just check this URL” tasks

6) Google Search Console (for verification)

Search Console is not a broken link checker in the crawling-a-site sense. It’s the place you go to see what Google actually encountered. Use it to verify fixes and to catch problems your crawler didn’t.

  • Best for: confirming how Google sees errors, validating post-fix improvements
  • Watch for: it won’t tell you every “found on” page the way a crawler can

7) Dr Link Check

If you want web-based checks with a monitoring angle (and you don’t want to run a desktop crawler), this category is where to look.

  • Best for: scheduled scans and ongoing monitoring
  • Not great for: deep technical SEO crawling workflows

8) ContentKing (monitoring-first)

Some teams don’t want a “big crawl every quarter”. They want “tell me when something broke.” Monitoring tools shine here.

  • Best for: continuous monitoring on active sites
  • Watch for: pricing can be higher than one-off tools (because it’s ongoing)

9) Integrity (Mac)

A lightweight desktop option for simple crawling. If you don’t need a full SEO suite and you prefer something that feels like a utility app, this is the lane.

  • Best for: small sites, quick local crawling, sanity checks
  • Not great for: complex audit workflows

10) W3C Link Checker / validators

Sometimes you don’t need a “tool”. You need a quick sanity check. Validators and small utilities can be perfect for that.

  • Best for: spot-checking a single page or template output
  • Not great for: full-site audits

How to choose (the 30-second decision tree)

  • My site is mostly static pages: start with a web checker (fast feedback, easy export).
  • My site is large or JS-heavy: use a desktop crawler with rendering.
  • I’m cleaning up backlinks: use a suite so you can prioritize what matters.
  • I don’t want surprises: use monitoring or schedule a recurring crawl.

FAQ

Do broken links hurt SEO?

A few won’t tank your site overnight, but they do create friction: users bounce, crawlers waste time, and internal linking signals get messy. If you have a lot of broken internal links, it’s worth fixing.

What’s the difference between a 404 and a redirect?

A 404 means “not found.” A 301 means “permanently moved.” Redirects are often the right fix for old URLs — but avoid long redirect chains.

What should I export from a broken link checker?

Minimum: broken URL, status code, and the page(s) where it was found. Bonus points for anchor text and redirect chain details.

Next steps

Ready to fix your links instead of thinking about fixing your links? Run a quick scan with TinyUtils Dead Link Finder, export the results, and then follow the workflow in How to Find and Fix Broken Links for SEO.