Free Broken Links Finder — Detect & Fix Broken Links on Any Website

Broken links are one of the most common and most damaging problems a website can have — and most website owners do not even know they have them. Every time a visitor clicks a link on your site and lands on a dead page, that is a failure. Every time a search engine crawler follows one of your links and hits a 404 error, that is wasted crawl budget. And every week you leave broken links unfixed, the damage quietly adds up. Our Free Broken Links Finder solves this problem fast. Just enter any URL and the tool will scan your website, check every link it finds, and give you a full report of exactly what is broken, where it is, and what error it is returning — all for free.

No account needed. No credit card. No waiting. Just a clean, clear broken link report in seconds.

What Is This Free Broken Links Finder?

This is an online scanning tool that visits any webpage or website you provide and systematically checks every link it finds — internal links, external links, and image links — to see which ones are working and which ones are broken. For every link on your site, it sends a request to the destination URL and records the HTTP response code it receives. Any link that returns an error code is flagged as broken or a warning.

When you run a scan, the tool gives you:

• A Link Health Score — an overall rating of your website’s link health
• Total number of links found across all scanned pages
• Total broken links count
• Total warnings count (redirects and other non-critical issues)
• Total valid links count
• Internal links count with breakdown of how many are broken
• External links count with breakdown of how many are broken
• Image links count with breakdown of how many are broken
• Number of pages scanned
• A full detailed results table showing status, link type, broken URL, source page, and anchor text for every link found
• Personalized recommendations for fixing the issues found
• Export options — CSV export, HTML report export, and copy summary

You can also choose from three scan depths — Quick Scan (1 page), Standard Scan (up to 10 pages), and Deep Scan (up to 100 pages) — giving you the flexibility to run a fast check on a single page or a comprehensive audit of your entire site.

What Is a Broken Link?

A broken link is any hyperlink on a webpage that no longer leads to a working destination. When someone clicks a broken link — or when a search engine crawler follows one — instead of arriving at the expected content, they receive an error response.

The most common type of broken link is a 404 Not Found error, which means the page that the link was pointing to no longer exists. But broken links can also include server errors, connection timeouts, and links that redirect to incorrect destinations.

Broken links happen naturally over time. As websites grow and change, pages get deleted, URLs get restructured, external websites remove content, and links that worked perfectly when you first added them stop working without any warning. This is why regular scanning is so important — you cannot spot broken links just by looking at your website. You need a tool that actively checks every link and reports back on what it finds.

Understanding Your Link Health Score

The Link Health Score is the first thing you will see when your scan is complete. It gives you an instant overall picture of how healthy your website’s link structure is, calculated based on the ratio of working links to broken and warning links across all scanned pages.

Link Health Score	Status	What It Means
90 – 100	Excellent	Very few or no broken links — your link structure is in great shape
70 – 89	Good	Minor issues present — worth fixing but not urgent
50 – 69	Fair	A meaningful number of broken links — needs attention soon
30 – 49	Poor	Significant broken link problem — fix these as a priority
Below 30	Critical	Severe link health issues — immediate action required

Track this score over time. Every time you fix a broken link and re-run the scan, you will see your score improve. A consistently high Link Health Score means your website is well-maintained and provides a reliable experience for both users and search engines.

Understanding HTTP Status Codes

Every link check the tool performs returns an HTTP status code — a three-digit number that tells you exactly what happened when the tool tried to reach that URL. Understanding these codes makes it much easier to know how to fix each issue.

Here is a complete breakdown of every status code category you might see in your results:

✅ 200 OK — Link Is Working

A 200 status code means the link is working perfectly. The destination page exists, the server responded correctly, and the content loaded successfully. Any link returning a 200 is healthy and requires no action.

🔄 3xx Redirect Codes — Warnings

3xx codes mean the URL you linked to redirects to a different address. These are flagged as warnings rather than errors because the link still technically works — it just takes visitors through an extra step before reaching the final destination.

Code	Name	What It Means	What to Do
301	Moved Permanently	The page has permanently moved to a new URL	Update your link to point directly to the new URL
302	Found (Temporary Redirect)	The page has temporarily moved	Update if the redirect has been in place for a long time
307	Temporary Redirect	Similar to 302 — a temporary move	Monitor — update if it becomes permanent
308	Permanent Redirect	Similar to 301 — a permanent move	Update your link to the final destination URL

Why redirects matter even though the link still works:

When a visitor follows a redirected link, they travel from the original URL to the redirect URL and finally to the destination — adding extra loading time to each step. More importantly, each redirect in your internal link structure leaks a small amount of link equity. Updating your links to point directly to the final URL eliminates these unnecessary hops and keeps your internal authority flowing cleanly.

❌ 4xx Client Error Codes — Broken Links

4xx errors are the most common type of broken link. They mean the destination page genuinely does not exist or cannot be accessed. These need to be fixed.

Code	Name	What It Means	What to Do
400	Bad Request	The URL is malformed or contains errors	Check the URL format and correct any typos
401	Unauthorized	The page requires login or authentication	Remove the link or replace it with an accessible alternative
403	Forbidden	The server refuses access to the page	Remove the link or find an accessible replacement
404	Not Found	The page no longer exists at that URL	Update the link to the correct URL or remove it entirely
410	Gone	The page was deliberately removed permanently	Remove the link — the content is not coming back
429	Too Many Requests	The server is rate-limiting requests	Try the link later — it may be a temporary block

The 404 Not Found error is by far the most common broken link type you will encounter. It happens when a page is deleted, its URL changes, or you made a typo when adding the link in the first place.

🔴 5xx Server Error Codes — Server Issues

5xx errors mean there is a problem on the server side of the destination website. These are not necessarily permanent broken links, but they do indicate a problem that needs monitoring.

Code	Name	What It Means	What to Do
500	Internal Server Error	The destination server encountered an error	Wait and recheck — may be a temporary outage
502	Bad Gateway	A gateway or proxy server received an invalid response	Monitor — usually a temporary server problem
503	Service Unavailable	The server is temporarily down or overloaded	Recheck later — if persistent, update or remove the link
504	Gateway Timeout	The server took too long to respond	Monitor — may resolve itself, but persistent timeouts need attention

5xx errors on your own website indicate server configuration problems that need to be investigated with your hosting provider. 5xx errors on external websites you are linking to mean that site is having server problems — monitor them and update or remove the links if the issues persist.

The Three Types of Links This Tool Checks

🔗 Internal Links

Internal links are links that point from one page on your website to another page on the same website. For example, a link in a blog post that takes readers to a related article or to your contact page is an internal link.

The tool checks every internal link it finds and reports whether each one is working correctly. Broken internal links are particularly damaging because they directly interrupt the user journey through your own website. When a visitor clicks an internal link and hits a 404 error, they are stuck — they cannot continue exploring your site through that path.

What the internal links report shows:

• How many internal links were found across scanned pages
• How many of those internal links are currently broken
• Exactly which pages contain the broken links
• The full broken URL for each error
• The anchor text used for each broken link

🌐 External Links

External links are links on your website that point to pages on other websites. Adding external links to authoritative, relevant sources is a good practice — it adds value for your readers and signals to Google the topical context of your content. But when those external destinations delete or move their content, your external links break.

The tool checks every external link it finds and flags any that return errors. Broken external links are common on older content, since the web changes constantly and pages you linked to months or years ago may no longer exist.

What the external links report shows:

• How many external links were found across scanned pages
• How many of those external links are currently broken
• The source page where each broken external link is located
• The broken destination URL and the error type it is returning

🖼️ Image Links

Image links are links where an image is used as the clickable element rather than text — for example, a logo that links to the homepage, or a product image that links to a product page. The tool also checks images that are embedded in your pages to verify that the image source URLs are loading correctly and not returning errors.

Broken image links create visible problems for visitors — they show empty boxes or broken image icons instead of the intended pictures. This is particularly damaging for e-commerce stores, portfolio websites, and any site where visual content is a key part of the user experience.

What the image links report shows:

• How many image links were found across scanned pages
• How many are currently broken or returning errors
• The source page, broken image URL, and error type for each issue

Scan Options — Choose the Right Depth for Your Needs

The tool offers three different scan depths so you can balance speed and thoroughness based on your needs:

Scan Type	Pages Covered	Best For
Quick Scan	1 page	Checking a single page quickly before publishing
Standard Scan	Up to 10 pages	Regular maintenance checks on key sections of your site
Deep Scan	Up to 100 pages	Full site audit — comprehensive broken link discovery

You can also choose which types of links to include in your scan:

Option	What It Does
Scan Internal Links	Checks links pointing to other pages within your own website
Scan External Links	Checks links pointing to pages on other websites
Check Image Links	Checks image source URLs and image-based hyperlinks

Enabling all three options with a Deep Scan gives you the most complete picture of your entire website’s link health.

How to Use This Free Broken Links Finder

Running a broken link scan is fast and simple. Here is the exact process:

Step 1 — Enter Your Website URL

Type or paste the full URL of the website or page you want to scan into the input field at the top of the tool. Include the full address with https:// at the beginning.

Step 2 — Choose Your Scan Options

Select which types of links you want to check — internal links, external links, and image links. You can enable any combination of these or select all three for a complete scan.

Step 3 — Select Your Scan Depth

Choose between Quick Scan, Standard Scan, or Deep Scan based on how thoroughly you want to check your site. For a first-time audit of a website you have not checked before, the Standard or Deep Scan is recommended.

Step 4 — Click “Scan for Broken Links”

Click the 🔍 Scan for Broken Links button. The tool will begin scanning your website immediately, visiting each page within the selected scope and checking every link it finds.

Step 5 — Review Your Results

When the scan is complete, your full report will appear. Use the status filter to view all links, broken links only, warnings only, or valid links only. Use the type filter to focus on internal, external, or image links separately.

Step 6 — Read the Recommendations

Scroll to the Recommendations for Fixing Broken Links section for specific guidance tailored to the issues found in your scan. These recommendations tell you exactly what to fix and how to approach each type of error.

Step 7 — Export Your Report

Use the Export CSV button to download your complete broken links list as a spreadsheet — ideal for tracking your fixes or sharing with a developer. Use Export Report for a full HTML report. Use Copy Summary for a quick clipboard copy of the key findings.

How to Fix Broken Links — By Error Type

Once the tool gives you your broken links list, here is exactly how to handle each type of issue:

Fixing 404 Errors on Your Own Website

Option 1 — Update the link If the content still exists but has moved to a new URL, update the link on the source page to point to the correct current URL.

Option 2 — Set up a 301 redirect If the page used to exist at one URL and has permanently moved to another, set up a 301 redirect from the old URL to the new one. This ensures any existing links pointing to the old URL still reach the right content.

Option 3 — Remove the link If the destination content no longer exists and there is no suitable replacement, remove the link from your page entirely.

Option 4 — Replace with a relevant alternative If the original linked content is gone but you can find a similar, high-quality resource on another website, replace the broken link with the new alternative link.

Fixing 301 Redirect Warnings

Find the broken or redirected link in your page editor and update the URL to the final destination — the page the redirect is sending users to. This removes the unnecessary redirect hop, speeds up the link, and ensures full link equity passes through cleanly.

Fixing Broken External Links

Search for the missing content. Many times, a page you linked to has simply moved to a new URL on the same website. Try visiting the main domain and searching for the article or resource you originally linked to. If you find an updated version, update your link. If the content is completely gone, remove the link or find a comparable resource on a different authoritative website to replace it with.

Fixing Broken Image Links

For images hosted on your own website that are returning errors, check that the image file still exists at the URL path shown in the report. If it has been deleted or moved, re-upload the image or update the image path in your page editor. For images linked from external websites that are broken, replace them with images hosted directly on your own site whenever possible.

Why Broken Links Hurt Your SEO — The Full Picture

Broken links affect your website in more ways than just creating poor user experiences. Here is a complete picture of the damage they cause:

Higher Bounce Rates When a visitor clicks a link and arrives at a 404 error page, they almost always leave immediately. This increases your bounce rate, which is a negative user experience signal that search engines factor into their ranking evaluations.

Wasted Crawl Budget Google allocates a crawl budget to each website — a limit on how many pages its bots will crawl in a given period. When crawlers follow broken links and hit 404 errors, they waste that budget on dead ends instead of discovering and indexing your actual content. For larger websites, this can delay the indexing of new pages.

Lost Link Equity Internal broken links interrupt the flow of link equity through your website. Pages that should be receiving authority from other pages on your site do not receive it if the link between them is broken. Fixing broken internal links restores these authority pathways.

Damaged User Trust A website with multiple broken links looks unmaintained and unreliable. Visitors who encounter broken links on your site are less likely to trust your content, return to your site, or recommend it to others.

Reduced Crawlability When search engines discover that a significant portion of your links return errors, they may reduce how frequently they crawl your website — meaning new content you publish takes longer to be discovered and indexed.

Negative Impact on E-commerce Conversions For online stores, broken links on product pages, category pages, or checkout flows directly cost sales. A potential customer who encounters a broken link during the shopping process will almost always abandon the session.

How Often Should You Check for Broken Links?

The right scanning frequency depends on how active your website is and how often your content or external sources change:

Website Type	Recommended Scan Frequency
Active blog (new posts weekly)	Once per month
Business website (occasional updates)	Once every 2 to 3 months
E-commerce store (frequent product changes)	Once every 2 weeks
News or media website (daily updates)	Weekly
Static informational website	Once every 3 to 6 months
Any website after a major redesign or URL change	Immediately after the change

Setting a regular calendar reminder to run a broken link scan takes less than five minutes and can prevent weeks of silent SEO damage.

Who Should Use This Broken Links Finder?

Bloggers and Content Creators Older blog posts accumulate broken links over time as the external websites you referenced change or remove their content. Regular scanning keeps your archives clean, accurate, and fully functional.

SEO Professionals and Consultants Use this tool as part of your standard on-page and technical SEO audit process. A broken link report is a fast, concrete deliverable that clients can immediately understand and act on.

Web Developers After completing a website build, redesign, or migration, run a full Deep Scan to confirm that every link transferred correctly and no broken links were introduced during the process.

Digital Marketing Agencies Export the CSV report and use it as part of your monthly website maintenance deliverables to clients. Demonstrating a clean link health score is a clear and measurable indicator of site quality.

E-commerce Store Owners Product pages, category navigation, internal cross-sells, and promotional banner links all need to work perfectly. A broken link anywhere in the purchasing journey can directly cost you a sale. Scan regularly to keep every link in your store fully functional.

Small Business Owners Even simple websites accumulate broken links over time. A quick monthly scan takes minutes and ensures your contact links, service pages, and resource links all work correctly for every visitor.

Educational and Non-Profit Websites These sites often link to many external resources, research papers, and government websites. As these sources update their URLs, links break frequently. Regular scans keep your resource sections accurate and trustworthy.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Is this broken links finder completely free? Yes — 100% free with no account required, no subscription, and no scan limits. You can run as many scans as you need, whenever you need them.

Q: How many pages can the tool scan at once? The tool offers three scan modes: Quick Scan covers 1 page, Standard Scan covers up to 10 pages, and Deep Scan covers up to 100 pages in a single run.

Q: What is a 404 error and why does it appear? A 404 Not Found error means the page a link was pointing to no longer exists at that URL. This happens when pages are deleted, URLs change during a site redesign, or when external websites remove content you linked to.

Q: Does the tool check image links as well as text links? Yes. The tool checks internal links, external links, and image links — both image-based hyperlinks and embedded images that are broken and not loading correctly.

Q: What is the difference between a broken link and a redirect warning? A broken link returns a 4xx or 5xx error, meaning the destination genuinely cannot be reached. A redirect warning (3xx) means the link still works but is going through an intermediate redirect before reaching the final destination. Redirects are not broken links, but they should be updated to point directly to the final URL for better performance.

Q: Will fixing broken links improve my Google rankings? Fixing broken links improves SEO indirectly but meaningfully. It reduces bounce rates, eliminates crawl budget waste, restores internal link equity flow, and improves overall user experience — all of which contribute to stronger ranking signals over time.

Q: Can I scan a competitor’s website for broken links? Yes. You can enter any publicly accessible URL, including competitor websites. Identifying broken links on a competitor’s site can be useful for broken link building — reaching out to websites linking to that broken page and suggesting your content as a replacement.

Q: Does the tool store my scan data? No. Your scan results are processed and displayed in your browser session only. No data from your scan is stored on any server after you close the page.

Q: What should I do about 5xx server errors in my results? 5xx errors indicate server-side problems at the destination. If the errors are on your own website, contact your hosting provider to investigate. If they are on external websites you are linking to, wait a day or two and re-scan — 5xx errors are often temporary. If they persist, update or remove those external links.

Q: How do I fix broken links in WordPress? In WordPress, go to your admin dashboard and navigate to Posts or Pages. Open the relevant content in the editor, find the broken link, and update the URL to the correct destination. For large sites with many broken links, free plugins like Broken Link Checker can scan your entire WordPress database and alert you to broken links automatically.

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