DR4 Directory Report
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Takes effect Dec 1

Ahrefs DR4 is here. How much DR do your directories have left?

On Dec 1, 2026 Ahrefs replaces Domain Rating with DR4. We checked the old and new DR of 2221 popular launch boards, directories and backlink platforms. Search it, filter it, download it.

“69% of directories
just got a lower DR.”

Directory DR distribution
  • DR3
  • DR4

More sites at the bottom, fewer at the top

At a glance

69% of directories got a lower DR

DR4 only counts links from sites that get organic search traffic, and it scores subdomains on their own. Directories whose DR came from swapping links and badges with each other dropped hard.

Directories checked
2058
plus 99 subdomain sites and 64 major platforms, listed separately
Median DR
27→7
DR3 → DR4
Sites with DR ≥ 50
500→346
DR3 → DR4
Sites with DR ≥ 70
205→161
DR3 → DR4
Dropped 20+ points
482
23% of all directories
Was DR ≥ 10, now zero
210
405 sites went up

02 — Rankings

Who fell the furthest,
who held up

See all sites

Most of the losers lived on link swaps

03 — By type

Subdomains fell hardest, major platforms barely moved

Directory · 2058 sites

Median DR 27 → 7

210 zeroed

Subdomain · 99 sites

Median DR 61 → 2.8

26 zeroed

Major platform · 64 sites

Median DR 92 → 92

0 zeroed

Zeroed: DR3 ≥ 10 and DR4 < 1. Subdomain sites (such as xxx.notion.site or tools.example.com) no longer inherit their root domain’s score in DR4. Major platforms are root domains with DR3 ≥ 90, such as GitHub or Medium.

04 — All sites

Every site in the report

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05 — FAQ

My DR dropped. Should I worry?

Start with these four questions. If you want to dig into the numbers yourself, download the CSV.

Download the full CSV

Not directly. DR is an Ahrefs metric and Google does not use it. But DR4 stops counting links from sites with no search traffic, which is close to how Google thinks: if a directory’s DR4 is zero, its link probably never carried much weight with Google either.