research · price index · September 2026
Backlink Price Index, September 2026
What link placements cost, as one number that can be compared month to month. A fixed basket of placement type and rating cells, re-priced each month at the cheapest ask per domain across every marketplace we buy from, suspect domains excluded. 2026-09 = 100.
Published 2026-09-05. Immutable: this month’s figures will not change. Download CSV · Method · CC BY 4.0, cite as “Placement API Backlink Price Index, September 2026”.
Commentary
The Backlink Price Index launches at its base value of 100 for September 2026, built from asking prices on roughly 270,000 non-suspect publisher domains measured on 2026-09-05. The basket median buyer price is $259, while the mean ask of $364 sits well above it, pulled up by expensive placements at the top of the market. At the cheap end, the 10th percentile ask is $46.13.
Placement types separate clearly. Homepage links carry the highest median at $252, guest posts sit at $191, and niche edits and link inserts cluster near $100 and $95. Prices climb steeply with domain rating: medians run from around $174 in the lower bands to $1,399 near the top of the scale, with the very highest band settling lower at $1,062, likely a thin-sample effect. Dispersion remains wide: across some 56,000 domains sold by more than one supplier at the same placement type, the median gap between the cheapest and most expensive seller is 80%, and at the 90th percentile it reaches 296%.
These are asking prices, not transactions, so the index describes what suppliers quote rather than what buyers pay, and any ranking movement after a placement is observed, not attributed.
Drafted from the figures on this page and reviewed before publication (2026-09-07). Every number in it is one of the facts above.
By placement type
| placement type | publishers | 25th pct | median | 75th pct | vs last month |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| guest post | 148,193 | $79 | $191 | $391 | — |
| niche edit | 47,944 | $70 | $100 | $179 | — |
| link insertion | 49,485 | $56 | $95 | $229 | — |
| homepage link | 24,148 | $128 | $252 | $567 | — |
By claimed DR
By measured traffic
Root domains with an independent traffic reading, by monthly US organic visits. Traffic is the one thing a seller cannot buy into a rating; it is also where the price premium lives.
| traffic | publishers | 25th pct | median | 75th pct |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| under 1k | 242,324 | $71 | $137 | $299 |
| 1k–10k | 15,954 | $183 | $321 | $677 |
| 10k–100k | 8,999 | $230 | $455 | $954 |
| 100k+ | 2,661 | $428 | $914 | $1,854 |
By subject
| subject | publishers | 25th pct | median | 75th pct | vs last month |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| News | 76,616 | $70 | $129 | $314 | — |
| Lifestyle | 52,871 | $86 | $154 | $287 | — |
| Technology | 51,623 | $71 | $135 | $290 | — |
| Business | 44,413 | $86 | $169 | $337 | — |
| Finance | 43,628 | $56 | $86 | $197 | — |
| Gambling | 40,688 | $108 | $230 | $428 | — |
| Arts | 32,757 | $89 | $186 | $379 | — |
| Entertainment | 32,628 | $96 | $190 | $390 | — |
| Sports | 29,711 | $86 | $172 | $378 | — |
| Health | 28,509 | $71 | $136 | $287 | — |
| Society | 27,027 | $123 | $235 | $403 | — |
| Crypto | 26,622 | $154 | $276 | $463 | — |
| Home | 23,436 | $91 | $179 | $340 | — |
| Gaming | 22,366 | $70 | $123 | $259 | — |
| Travel | 22,030 | $78 | $170 | $340 | — |
| Education | 19,398 | $86 | $170 | $325 | — |
| Marketing | 18,355 | $89 | $172 | $340 | — |
| Food | 17,125 | $71 | $163 | $322 | — |
| Adult | 16,967 | $144 | $259 | $413 | — |
| Fashion | 16,503 | $71 | $144 | $289 | — |
| Family | 12,958 | $111 | $228 | $421 | — |
| Shopping | 9,146 | $102 | $190 | $350 | — |
| Fitness | 9,067 | $111 | $218 | $391 | — |
| Music | 8,979 | $77 | $170 | $383 | — |
| Real Estate | 7,766 | $70 | $176 | $349 | — |
| Automotive | 7,651 | $80 | $181 | $391 | — |
| Science | 6,833 | $92 | $192 | $365 | — |
| Beauty | 6,767 | $125 | $233 | $391 | — |
| Career | 5,584 | $118 | $239 | $424 | — |
| Legal | 4,876 | $81 | $168 | $325 | — |
| Pets | 3,976 | $71 | $146 | $328 | — |
| Environment | 3,699 | $111 | $204 | $372 | — |
Dispersion
Across 55,512 domains sold by more than one marketplace at the same placement type, the most expensive seller asks a median 80% more than the cheapest, and 296% more at the 90th percentile. The mean ask across all publishers is $364; the cheapest tenth ask $46 or less. The cheap tail is where bought authority concentrates, which is why the index excludes suspect domains rather than averaging them in.
Method, briefly
Cells are placement type × claimed-DR decade with at least 100 non-suspect root domains in the base month; each carries the median of the cheapest ask per domain, in the price a buyer pays through the API. The composite re-prices the base month’s basket (weights = base-month domain counts) with this month’s cell medians and divides by the base. Weights are fixed so the index moves with prices, not with what happens to be listed. Full method on the pricing methodology page; every figure here is a Fact with its sample size on hover.
All months
- September 2026 · index 100 · median $259
96 published figures on this page, measured 2026-09-05. Dotted numbers carry their sample size on hover. Methods: pricing methodology, data sources.