Domain Authority vs Domain Rating vs Citation Flow: Complete Comparison

The Big Three Domain Metrics

If you've spent any time in SEO, you've likely encountered these metrics:

Moz Domain Authority (DA) – The original and most widely recognized
Ahrefs Domain Rating (DR) – The industry favorite for link building
Majestic Citation Flow (CF) – A flow-based metric measuring link "power"

All three use a 0-100 logarithmic scale, which means going from 30 to 40 is much easier than going from 70 to 80. But despite the similar presentation, these metrics measure fundamentally different things.

Quick Comparison Table

Feature	Ahrefs DR	Moz DA	Majestic CF
Primary Focus	Backlink Profile Strength	Ranking Potential	Link Quantity & "Power"
Calculation	Purely link-based (quality + quantity)	Machine learning ranking prediction	Iterative flow metric (volume-heavy)
Quality vs Quantity	Balances both (filters spam)	Balances both (uses Spam Score)	Quantity-heavy (pair with Trust Flow)
Internal Links	No direct effect on DR	No direct effect on DA	Yes, flow passes through internal links
Best Use Case	Link prospecting & competitor benchmarking	General health check & client reporting	Detecting spam (when CF >> TF)

Important Reminder: None of these metrics are used by Google. A high DR, DA, or CF does not guarantee high rankings. They are third-party tools trying to quantify what Google might see.

Ahrefs Domain Rating (DR): The Link Builder's Choice

Ahrefs Domain Rating is a purely link-based metric. It looks at the number of unique domains linking to your site and the "strength" of those linking domains.

How DR is Calculated

Counts unique linking root domains (not individual links)
Weighs the DR of those linking domains
Filters out spammy links to prevent artificial inflation
Ignores nofollow links for the most part

Recent Changes to Watch

In late 2024, Ahrefs performed a significant "recalibration" of their algorithm to fight score inflation. Many sites saw sudden drops in DR—not because they lost links, but because the tool became stricter about what counts as a high-quality link.

This is why tracking your metrics over time is so important. A sudden drop might be alarming, but with tools like Koala that maintain historical data, you can quickly identify whether it's a real issue or just an algorithm update.

When to Use DR

Use Ahrefs DR when you're building links. If you want to evaluate whether a website is worth getting a backlink from, DR is often considered the industry standard for assessing "link juice" potential.

Moz Domain Authority (DA): The OG Metric

Moz created Domain Authority, and it remains the most recognized metric outside the SEO industry. When clients or executives ask about "domain authority," they're usually thinking of Moz's DA.

How DA is Calculated

Uses a machine learning model trained on actual search results
Predicts how likely your site is to rank on Google
Factors in linking root domains and total links
Integrates a proprietary Spam Score to identify low-quality links

Understanding DA Volatility

Moz updates its index monthly. Because DA is a relative metric—comparing your site against the highest-authority sites like Wikipedia—your score can go down even if you didn't lose any links. This happens when other sites grow faster than yours.

This relative nature makes DA particularly valuable for competitive benchmarking. You're not just tracking your own growth; you're tracking your position in the overall landscape.

When to Use DA

Use Moz DA for high-level benchmarking and client reporting. It's the most "famous" metric and easiest to explain to non-SEO stakeholders. It's also useful for a general "health check" of your brand's online presence.

Majestic Citation Flow (CF): The Spam Detector

Majestic's Citation Flow is fundamentally different from DR and DA. It's a "flow" metric similar to the original PageRank concept—measuring how much "power" flows to a URL based on the links pointing to it.

How CF is Calculated

Uses an iterative flow algorithm based on link volume
Does not inherently account for link quality
Flow passes through internal links (unique among these metrics)
A site with 10,000 spammy links can have high CF

The Trust Ratio: CF's Essential Companion

Citation Flow should rarely be used alone. It's almost always paired with Trust Flow (TF), which measures link quality. The ratio between them tells an important story:

High CF + High TF: A genuine authority site with quality links
High CF + Low TF: Warning! Likely a spammy site or link farm
Low CF + High TF: A trusted site that hasn't built many links yet

When to Use CF

Use Majestic CF when auditing for spam or vetting potentially dangerous domains. If you see a site with CF of 50 but TF of 10, stay away—it's likely part of a spam network.

Key Differences: Internal Linking

One often-overlooked difference is how these metrics handle internal links:

Ahrefs DR & Moz DA: These are domain-level metrics determined by external factors. Improving your internal linking won't directly increase your DR or DA. However, better internal linking helps pass authority to individual pages, improving their URL Rating (UR) or Page Authority (PA).
Majestic CF: Uniquely, Majestic allows flow metrics to pass through internal links. Your site architecture can slightly influence how Flow metrics are calculated and reported.

Which Metric Should You Track?

The honest answer: all of them. Each metric provides different insights, and tracking all three gives you the complete picture.

Track All Three Metrics with Koala

Instead of juggling three different SEO platforms, use Koala to monitor all your domain authority metrics in one place:

✓Ahrefs DR, Moz DA, and Majestic CF in a unified dashboard
✓Historical charts to spot trends and algorithm changes
✓Automatic updates so you never miss a change
✓Add notations to correlate changes with your SEO efforts
✓Track backlink counts from all three providers

Using Metrics Together

The real power comes from comparing metrics across providers:

All three rising: Your link-building strategy is working across the board
DR rising, DA flat: You're acquiring links, but they may not be moving the needle on ranking potential
CF rising, TF flat: You might be acquiring low-quality links—investigate
All three dropping: Check for lost links or algorithm updates

Common Mistakes to Avoid

1. Obsessing Over a Single Number

Don't fixate on hitting a specific DA or DR. These are directional indicators, not absolute scores. A DA of 30 in a niche industry can outrank a DA 50 site if the content and intent match better.

2. Ignoring Context

A sudden drop isn't always bad news. Provider algorithm updates (like Ahrefs' 2024 recalibration) can cause score changes unrelated to your actual link profile. Always investigate before panicking.

3. Chasing Metrics Over Rankings

Remember: Google doesn't use these metrics. They're proxies, not goals. Focus on building genuine authority through great content and natural link acquisition. The metrics will follow.

4. Comparing Across Providers

A DR of 50 is not the same as a DA of 50. Each provider uses different methodologies. Compare DR to DR and DA to DA, never across providers.

Conclusion

Understanding the differences between Domain Rating, Domain Authority, and Citation Flow helps you use each metric appropriately:

Ahrefs DR for link building and prospecting
Moz DA for benchmarking and stakeholder reporting
Majestic CF + TF for spam detection and quality assessment

For the most complete picture, track all three metrics together. Tools like Koala make this easy by aggregating all metrics in one dashboard with historical tracking and automatic updates—no need to juggle multiple expensive subscriptions.

Ready to see all your domain metrics in one place? Get started with Koala today.

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Domain Authority vs Domain Rating vs Citation Flow: What's the Difference?