Domain Authority vs Domain Rating vs Trust Flow: Moz, Ahrefs and Majestic compared
Updated
The short answer
Domain Authority (DA) is Moz's prediction of how well a whole site can rank. Domain Rating (DR) is Ahrefs' score for the strength of a site's backlink profile. Trust Flow (TF) is Majestic's measure of link quality, and Citation Flow (CF) its measure of link volume. Each uses its own crawler and formula, so the same site scores differently in each, and Google uses none of them.
Key facts
- Ahrefs doesn't have Domain Authority. Its equivalent metric is Domain Rating.
- DA predicts ranking ability; DR scores backlink strength only.
- Trust Flow is about link quality, Citation Flow about link quantity.
- Semrush's Authority Score also factors in organic traffic and spam signals.
- Never compare a DA from one site with a DR from another. Compare like with like.
The four metrics side by side
All four scores answer a similar question, how strong is this site, but they get there in different ways. Here's the quick comparison:
| Domain Authority | Domain Rating | Trust Flow / Citation Flow | Authority Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Company | Moz | Ahrefs | Majestic | Semrush |
| Scale | 1 to 100 | 0 to 100 | 0 to 100 each | 0 to 100 |
| Based on | Machine learning model trained on rankings | Linking domains and their own DR | Distance from trusted seed sites (TF), link volume (CF) | Links, organic traffic and spam signals |
| Best for | Comparing ranking competition | Comparing backlink strength | Judging link quality and spotting spam | A blended health score |
| Logarithmic | Yes | Yes | Yes | Not stated the same way |
Our domain authority checker shows Moz DA, Page Authority and Spam Score next to Majestic Trust Flow and Citation Flow in one free report, which covers the two most common ways people judge a site.
Is there an Ahrefs domain authority?
This is one of the most searched questions about the topic, so let's be direct: no. Domain Authority is a Moz metric. When people search for Ahrefs domain authority, what Ahrefs actually shows is Domain Rating (DR), plus URL Rating (UR) for single pages.
DR and DA often land in a similar area for well established sites, but they can differ by 20 points or more. DR leans heavily on how many unique domains link to a site and how strong those domains are in Ahrefs' own index. DA is trained to predict rankings, so it weighs some patterns differently.
Why your DA and DR don't match
If your site is DA 35 and DR 52, nothing is broken. There are three normal reasons for the gap:
- Different crawlers. Moz and Ahrefs discover different links. A link one finds, the other may never see.
- Different formulas. DR is a backlink strength score; DA is a ranking prediction. They reward different patterns.
- Different update timing. Each company recalculates on its own schedule, so one may already count links the other hasn't processed.
Big gaps are still worth a look. A DR far above DA, with a weak Trust Flow, often means lots of links from low quality domains that Ahrefs counts and Moz's model discounts.
Trust Flow and Citation Flow explained
Majestic splits link strength into two numbers. Citation Flow measures how much link equity flows to a site, regardless of quality. Trust Flow measures how close a site sits, in links, to a hand reviewed set of trusted seed sites.
Reading them together is the fastest way we know to spot a manipulated profile. Healthy sites usually have a Trust Flow that is at least half of their Citation Flow. When CF is 40 and TF is 8, the site has plenty of links but few trusted ones.
| TF / CF ratio | What it usually means |
|---|---|
| 0.8 or higher | Healthy. Link quality keeps pace with link volume. |
| 0.5 to 0.8 | Average. Some links come from lower trust sources. |
| Below 0.5 | Unbalanced. Volume outweighs quality; audit the links. |
Majestic also shows Topical Trust Flow, the subjects a site is most trusted for. It's a great relevance check: a cooking blog whose strongest topic is gambling isn't a natural link.
What about Semrush Authority Score?
Semrush's Authority Score runs from 0 to 100 too, but it blends backlink data with organic traffic estimates and spam signals. That makes it harder to inflate with links alone, and also means it reacts to traffic changes that have nothing to do with links. Use it inside Semrush, and don't mix it into the same spreadsheet as Moz DA.
Which metric should you use?
Pick based on the decision you're making, then stick with that metric for every site you compare.
| Your goal | Best metric | Also check |
|---|---|---|
| Can I compete for this keyword? | Moz DA and PA of the ranking pages | Content quality and intent |
| Is this guest post site worth it? | Trust Flow and Spam Score | DA, topical relevance, real traffic |
| Is my link building working? | Referring domains over time | DA or DR trend |
| Is this domain pumped? | TF/CF ratio and Spam Score | Domain age and referring domain count |
For vetting long lists, the bulk domain authority checker returns DA, PA, TF, CF and Spam Score for every domain in one sortable table.
A worked example: reading all four on one site
Say you're offered a guest post on a site with these numbers: DA 48, DR 61, Trust Flow 9, Citation Flow 38, Spam Score 52%. Taken alone, DA 48 and DR 61 look attractive. Read together, they tell a different story.
The Trust Flow of 9 against a Citation Flow of 38 gives a ratio under 0.25, so most of the link volume comes from low trust sources. A Spam Score of 52% puts the site in the medium band. And DR sitting 13 points above DA suggests Ahrefs counts many links that Moz's model discounts. That combination is typical of a site built to sell links. We'd pass.
Now compare a site at DA 34, DR 38, Trust Flow 26, Citation Flow 31, Spam Score 4%. Lower headline numbers, but the ratio is above 0.8, the Spam Score is low and the two authority scores agree. That's the better link, almost every time.
Common myths
- “Google uses DA or DR.” It doesn't. Both are third party estimates built to correlate with rankings.
- “Higher DR than DA means my site is better on Ahrefs.” It only means Ahrefs' index sees your links differently.
- “A metric can be converted into another.” There's no reliable formula to turn DR into DA or the reverse.
- “Trust Flow is a Moz metric.” Trust Flow and Citation Flow belong to Majestic.
If you're new to all of this, start with what is domain authority, then come back here.
Common questions
Is Domain Rating the same as Domain Authority?
No. Domain Rating is Ahrefs' backlink strength score. Domain Authority is Moz's ranking prediction. They use different data and formulas, so numbers differ.
Which is more accurate, DA or DR?
Neither is more accurate in general. They measure slightly different things from different link indexes. Choose one and use it consistently when comparing sites.
What is a good Trust Flow?
It depends on the niche, but a Trust Flow above 20 with a TF to CF ratio of 0.5 or more usually indicates a healthy, trustworthy link profile.
Does Semrush show domain authority?
Semrush shows its own Authority Score, not Moz Domain Authority. It includes traffic and spam signals as well as links.
Can I check DA, Trust Flow and Spam Score in one place?
Yes. Our free report shows Moz DA, Page Authority and Spam Score with Majestic Trust Flow and Citation Flow for any domain.