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Broken Link Checker – Powerful Free Audit for 500 URLs

Broken Link Checker illustration showing a website audit with broken links, 404 errors, redirects, internal links, external links, and SEO analysis.

Broken Link Checker

Scan up to 500 website pages and find broken, redirected, internal, and external links.

Enter the website homepage URL. The checker will try to discover the site's XML sitemap automatically.

A Broken Link Checker is a website auditing tool that helps you discover links that may no longer work correctly. Our free tool can scan up to 500 eligible website pages, collect internal and external links, check their HTTP responses, identify broken destinations and redirects, and provide practical recommendations for reviewing each result.

This Broken Link Checker automatically searches for your XML sitemap, discovers same-domain webpages, scans links found in the HTML of those pages, removes duplicate destination URLs from the main report, and classifies results as Working, Redirect, Broken, Blocked / Restricted, or Scan Error. You can filter the report, search individual URLs, and export the complete audit as a CSV file for further analysis.

Table of Contents

A Broken Link Checker is a tool that scans webpages for links and tests whether the destination URLs respond successfully. It can help website owners identify links pointing to pages that have been removed, moved, restricted, redirected, or become unavailable.

A small website may only contain a few dozen links, but an established blog, ecommerce website, business site, or online publication can accumulate thousands of internal and external links. Pages get deleted, domains expire, URL structures change, and external resources move over time.

Checking every destination manually becomes impractical as a website grows. A bulk link audit automates the discovery stage so you can focus on reviewing results that actually need attention.

Our Broken Link Checker begins from your website homepage, looks for a public XML sitemap, collects up to 500 eligible same-domain pages, and then extracts HTTP or HTTPS links from those pages. The discovered destination URLs are checked and organized into a report.

Broken links can create unnecessary friction for visitors and make an older website feel poorly maintained. They may also interrupt internal navigation when an important article, service page, category, download, or reference no longer exists at the linked location.

Using a Broken Link Checker regularly makes it easier to detect these problems before they accumulate across hundreds of pages.

User Experience

A visitor clicking a link expects to reach useful information. If the destination returns an error, the visitor may need to go back, search manually, or leave the website entirely.

A legitimate 404 response is not inherently a problem when content has intentionally been removed. The problem occurs when active pages continue sending users toward destinations that no longer provide the expected information.

Internal Navigation

Internal links connect related content and help visitors move between important pages. If a URL changes during a redesign, migration, category restructure, or permalink update, older internal links can continue pointing toward the previous address.

A Broken Link Checker can surface these outdated destinations so you can update the original links or implement an appropriate redirect where necessary.

Search Engine Crawling

Search engines use crawlable links to discover and understand pages across a website. Clear internal linking can therefore support a logical site structure and help crawlers move between related resources.

Broken links do not automatically mean a website will lose rankings, and normal 404 responses are a routine part of the web. However, maintaining useful internal navigation is still sensible technical SEO and website maintenance.

Content Maintenance

External references also change. Research pages move, software documentation is reorganized, businesses close, and third-party domains disappear.

A periodic Broken Link Checker audit can identify old references that deserve manual review, replacement, or removal.

Using our Broken Link Checker is straightforward and does not require registration.

  1. Enter the website homepage URL, such as https://example.com.
  2. Click the Start Link Audit button.
  3. The tool validates the website and searches for a public XML sitemap.
  4. Eligible same-domain page URLs are collected from the sitemap.
  5. The tool scans up to 500 discovered pages.
  6. HTTP and HTTPS links found in those pages are collected.
  7. Repeated destination URLs are deduplicated in the main checking queue.
  8. The checker requests each destination and reviews its HTTP response.
  9. Use the available filters to review Broken, Redirect, Working, Internal, External, or Error results.
  10. Search the report for a specific URL if required.
  11. Export the completed report as a CSV file for further review.

For the most reliable sitemap discovery, enter the website homepage rather than an individual article, category, tag, or product URL.

The Broken Link Checker performs several checks designed to make a large link report easier to understand.

Internal links point to another URL on the same website domain. These may include links to blog posts, landing pages, categories, services, contact pages, documentation, or other internal resources.

Internal broken links are usually easier to fix because you control both the source page and destination structure.

External links point to another domain. These often include citations, partner sites, tools, studies, documentation, social resources, or useful references.

The Broken Link Checker separates Internal and External links so you can review each group independently.

HTTP Status Codes

When the tool checks a destination, the server may respond with an HTTP status code. Common examples include successful 2xx responses, 3xx redirects, 4xx client errors, and 5xx server errors.

The report converts these responses into easier-to-understand audit statuses rather than expecting every user to interpret raw HTTP codes.

The same destination may appear on many pages, especially in navigation menus, footers, author boxes, legal sections, or frequently referenced resources.

The tool deduplicates identical destination URLs before the main status-checking stage. This prevents the report from being filled with hundreds of repeated copies of the same URL.

The displayed source URL represents where that destination was first captured by the current audit, so it should not be interpreted as a complete list of every page containing that link.

A broken link is a hyperlink that points to a destination that does not successfully provide the expected resource. A common example is a URL returning an HTTP 404 Not Found response because the page has been removed or the address is incorrect.

Other failures can include server errors, unavailable domains, connection failures, and resources that cannot be reached by the scanner.

Our Broken Link Checker classifies 4xx and 5xx responses as broken, except certain restricted responses such as 401, 403, and 429, which are separated into the Blocked / Restricted category because automated requests may be intentionally refused.

What Is the Difference Between a 404 and a Redirect?

A 404 response indicates that the requested resource could not be found at that URL. A redirect tells the browser or crawler to visit another location instead.

If a page has permanently moved to a clear replacement URL, a permanent redirect may be appropriate. If content has been intentionally removed and there is no suitable replacement, returning a genuine 404 or 410 can be correct.

That is why the Broken Link Checker does not automatically treat every redirect as broken. Redirects are displayed separately so you can decide whether the original link should be updated directly to its newer destination.

Once the audit identifies a problem, the correct solution depends on why the destination stopped working.

Correct the URL

Sometimes a broken link is simply caused by a typo, missing character, incorrect protocol, or outdated path.

Open the source page, compare the destination with the correct URL, and update the hyperlink.

Replace the Destination

If an external resource has disappeared, search for another trustworthy page that supports the same purpose. Replace the broken reference instead of sending visitors to an unavailable destination.

Create an Appropriate Redirect

If one of your own pages has permanently moved and a relevant replacement exists, a permanent redirect can help visitors reach the new location.

After implementing it, consider updating important internal links to point directly to the final destination rather than relying indefinitely on redirect chains.

If the linked resource is no longer necessary and there is no useful replacement, removing the hyperlink may be cleaner than forcing an unrelated destination.

Do not automatically delete every external result marked as an error. Security systems, firewalls, bot protection, rate limiting, and authentication requirements can prevent automated scanners from accessing a page that works normally for human visitors.

Use the Broken Link Checker as an audit assistant, then manually verify uncertain results before making important content changes.

  • Scan up to 500 URLs: Audit links across hundreds of eligible pages discovered from the website sitemap.
  • Automatic sitemap discovery: Checks robots.txt and common sitemap locations.
  • Sitemap index support: Can process same-domain XML sitemap indexes and their child sitemaps.
  • Homepage validation: Confirms that the entered website can be reached before starting the main audit.
  • Internal and external link detection: Separates links according to their destination domain.
  • Duplicate destination removal: Prevents identical URLs from being checked repeatedly in the main report.
  • HTTP response checking: Reviews destination status codes using server-side requests.
  • HEAD with GET fallback: Uses a fallback request when certain servers do not reliably support HEAD requests.
  • Broken-link detection: Highlights 4xx and 5xx destinations that require review.
  • Redirect detection: Separates 3xx responses from genuinely broken destinations.
  • Blocked result handling: Treats 401, 403, and 429 responses separately instead of automatically calling them broken.
  • Result filters: Review Working, Broken, Redirect, Internal, External, or Error links.
  • Report search: Find individual URLs or result details quickly.
  • CSV export: Download the full audit for Microsoft Excel, Google Sheets, or another spreadsheet application.
  • No signup required: Run the tool without creating an account.

A Broken Link Checker can be useful for bloggers, website owners, SEO professionals, content managers, developers, ecommerce teams, affiliate marketers, agencies, editors, and businesses maintaining large content libraries.

It is particularly useful after:

  • Migrating a website to a new domain or CMS
  • Changing WordPress permalink structures
  • Deleting or merging old content
  • Redesigning a website
  • Updating categories or site architecture
  • Importing articles from another platform
  • Removing discontinued products or services
  • Updating old research and external citations
  • Changing internal navigation
  • Conducting a wider technical SEO audit

Older websites are especially likely to accumulate outdated external references and internal URLs that have changed over time.

Manual testing is reasonable when reviewing one article containing ten links. It becomes inefficient when a website has hundreds of pages.

For example, a 400-page website with an average of 20 links per page could contain thousands of link placements. Opening each URL manually would take a significant amount of time.

The Broken Link Checker automates the discovery and initial status-checking stages. You can then focus on links that have been flagged instead of testing every working destination one by one.

Automation does not eliminate the need for human judgment. It simply reduces the amount of repetitive checking required to locate potential problems.

Understanding the Audit Statuses

Working

A Working result generally means the destination returned a successful 2xx HTTP response during the scan.

No immediate action is required unless the page itself contains outdated or irrelevant information that cannot be detected from the status code alone.

Redirect

A Redirect result means the destination returned a 3xx response.

A redirect is not automatically a problem. Pages frequently move, and properly configured redirects can preserve access to the correct resource.

However, you may choose to update important internal links so they point directly to the final destination and reduce unnecessary redirect hops.

Broken

A Broken result indicates that the destination returned a 4xx or 5xx status that the tool considers a genuine link failure.

Verify the page, then correct, replace, redirect, or remove the affected link depending on the situation.

Blocked / Restricted

This status is used for HTTP responses such as 401, 403, and 429.

These responses do not always mean the destination is unavailable to normal visitors. A website may require authentication, restrict automated requests, use a firewall, or temporarily rate-limit the scanner.

The Broken Link Checker therefore keeps these results separate from ordinary broken links.

Scan Error

A Scan Error can occur when the remote server times out, refuses the connection, blocks the request, experiences a network problem, or cannot be reliably reached by the auditing server.

Open the destination manually before deciding whether the link should be changed.

Broken links can appear for many reasons, even on actively maintained websites.

  • Deleted pages: An article, product, service, or document has been removed.
  • Changed URLs: A permalink or folder structure was modified without updating older links.
  • Website migrations: Content moved to another domain, subdomain, or CMS.
  • Typing mistakes: A hyperlink contains the wrong path or domain.
  • Expired external websites: A third-party domain is no longer active.
  • Moved external resources: Documentation or research has been reorganized.
  • Server failures: A destination temporarily returns a 5xx error.
  • Access restrictions: A remote website blocks automated requests.
  • Old campaign URLs: Temporary promotional pages were removed after a campaign ended.
  • Content restructuring: Categories, tags, products, or documentation were reorganized.

Running a Broken Link Checker after major website changes can help catch problems introduced during restructuring.

Although the Broken Link Checker can automate a substantial part of website link auditing, no automated checker can perfectly determine the real-world usefulness of every destination.

Keep these limitations in mind:

  • The tool scans up to 500 eligible page URLs discovered from accessible same-domain XML sitemaps.
  • A website without a readable public sitemap may not be scannable by the current version.
  • The scanner extracts standard HTML anchor links with an href attribute.
  • Links created only after complex client-side JavaScript execution may not appear in the retrieved HTML.
  • The same destination URL is deduplicated in the main audit.
  • The source column represents a discovered source page and is not a complete backlink report showing every occurrence of that destination.
  • Some websites intentionally block automated requests.
  • A 403 response can be caused by security rules rather than a genuinely unavailable page.
  • A 429 response may indicate temporary rate limiting.
  • Redirect results identify the redirect status but the current report does not map full multi-step redirect chains.
  • A successful HTTP status does not guarantee that the destination content is relevant, accurate, or high quality.
  • Temporary network failures can occasionally produce uncertain results.

Use the report as a strong diagnostic starting point rather than blindly changing every flagged link.

A broken link and a broken page are related but different concepts.

A broken link refers to the hyperlink placement that sends a user toward a destination that fails or no longer serves the intended resource.

A broken page refers to the destination itself being unavailable or returning an error.

One broken destination can therefore affect many links across a website. If ten articles all point to the same deleted resource, fixing the destination or updating those links may resolve multiple user-facing problems.

The Broken Link Checker deduplicates repeated destination URLs to make this type of issue easier to identify in the main report.

There is no universal schedule that every website must follow. The appropriate frequency depends on how quickly your content changes and how many external resources you reference.

A small static business website may need occasional audits, while a large publication, affiliate site, ecommerce store, or frequently updated blog may benefit from more regular reviews.

It is also sensible to run the Broken Link Checker after major changes such as a redesign, migration, large content cleanup, permalink update, or category restructure.

The goal is not to obsess over every temporary error. The goal is to make link maintenance part of a repeatable website quality process.

Broken-link auditing is only one part of maintaining a healthy website. After checking your links, continue reviewing headings, metadata, keyword usage, URLs, and images using our other free tools.

Using the Broken Link Checker alongside metadata, heading, image, keyword, and URL tools creates a broader website maintenance workflow. Each audit focuses on a different part of on-page or technical quality.

For additional technical guidance, read Google’s official link best practices documentation, which explains how crawlable links help Google discover pages and understand connections between content.

You can also review Google’s guidance on crawling errors and 404 responses to understand when 404, 410, and redirects are appropriate.

For a technical explanation of the HTTP 404 response itself, see the MDN 404 Not Found reference.

Yes. The Broken Link Checker is free to use and does not require registration or payment.

How many pages can the tool scan?

The current version can collect and scan up to 500 eligible same-domain page URLs discovered from the website’s accessible XML sitemap structure.

Yes. The tool detects both internal and external HTTP or HTTPS links and labels them separately in the report.

What HTTP codes are considered broken?

The current audit treats most 4xx and 5xx responses as broken. However, 401, 403, and 429 responses are categorized as Blocked / Restricted because they can occur when a server restricts automated requests or requires authentication.

Is every 404 error bad for SEO?

No. A genuine 404 is a normal and appropriate response when a resource no longer exists and there is no suitable replacement. The more important issue is whether active pages continue linking users to destinations that should have been updated.

Should I redirect every broken URL?

No. Create a redirect when a relevant replacement exists and the move makes sense for users. If a resource was intentionally removed with no appropriate replacement, a genuine 404 or 410 may be more accurate than redirecting users to an unrelated page.

Why does a working website show a 403 error?

A 403 response may indicate that the remote website blocks automated requests, applies firewall rules, or restricts access based on request behavior. Open the destination manually before treating it as broken.

HTTP 429 generally indicates that the remote server believes too many requests have been made within a period of time. The tool lists this as Blocked / Restricted rather than a normal broken link.

The current scanner analyzes standard links present in the retrieved HTML. Links that exist only after complex JavaScript rendering may not be discovered.

Why is the same destination shown only once?

The Broken Link Checker deduplicates destination URLs before the main status check. This keeps the report focused on unique URLs instead of filling it with repeated navigation, footer, or reference links.

Does the source column show every page containing the link?

No. The current report stores a discovered source URL for each unique destination. It should not be treated as a complete list of every page where that destination appears.

Can I scan a website without a sitemap?

The current version depends on discovering a readable XML sitemap so it can collect eligible pages efficiently. A website without an accessible sitemap may not complete the audit.

Yes. A destination returning a 3xx HTTP response is labeled as a Redirect. You can use the Redirect filter to review these URLs separately.

Are redirects always bad?

No. Redirects are a normal part of website management when pages move. However, updating important internal links to point directly to the current destination can reduce unnecessary redirect hops.

Yes. After the audit is complete, click the CSV export button to download the results. The file can be opened in Microsoft Excel, Google Sheets, or another spreadsheet application.

No. A Broken Link Checker is a website auditing and maintenance tool, not a ranking guarantee. It helps you find link problems that can affect navigation and content quality, but search performance depends on many additional factors.

Final Thoughts

Links naturally change as websites grow. Articles are updated, products disappear, documentation moves, domains expire, and internal URL structures evolve. Without periodic maintenance, a website can gradually accumulate destinations that no longer work as intended.

The Broken Link Checker provides a practical way to scan up to 500 eligible webpages, discover unique internal and external links, review HTTP responses, identify broken destinations, separate redirects and restricted responses, search the report, and export the results for further action.

Do not treat every flagged result as an automatic instruction to delete or redirect a URL. Review the context first. A genuine 404 may be correct, a redirect may be intentional, and a 403 may simply mean that the remote website blocks automated requests.

Run the Broken Link Checker above, review genuine problems, fix outdated internal links, replace dead external references where appropriate, and manually verify uncertain results.

After completing your link audit, continue with the Free Online SEO Tools collection to check headings, metadata, keyword usage, image optimization, alt text, URL slugs, and other important website elements.

Used regularly alongside your other website audits, the Broken Link Checker can become a practical part of a consistent SEO, content quality, and website maintenance workflow.

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Kamran Liaquat Ali

Kamran Liaquat Ali is a Software Engineer with a background in AI-assisted development. He founded Pro Articles Hub to share practical, research-backed content on technology, tools, and online growth strategies.

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