If you’re short on time, here’s the quick answer:
After evaluating 26+ backlink sellers for quality, safety, and impact on ROI, our top pick for the best place to buy backlinks in 2026 is Link Building Services IO by SharpRocket. As a shameless plug, I’m going to put us at #1. However, I’d also like to share with you alternatives that do good things in this industry as well.
Table of Contents
ToggleHow We Evaluated Backlink Sellers
There are many overnight link building agencies (or backlink vendors) that tend to recycle the same low-quality publishing sites, often inflating DR metrics to make their lists appear credible. However, if you’re looking to separate the real value from spam – the one that moves the needle for clients’ businesses, you’ll see a big difference. So we have reviewed each link building provider using our strict quality benchmarks.
1. Relevance and Traffic
Arguably, the most critical factor when assessing any backlink seller is relevance – essentially, how closely the linking website aligns with the brand’s content theme, niche, or target audience. If a backlink comes from a highly relevant website, it tells search engines that your page’s content deserves to rank for related topics. For example, a finance blog linking to a fintech brand carries more weight than a random lifestyle website linking to the same webpage.
We also highly consider organic traffic quality, in addition to authority metrics like Ahrefs’ Domain Rating (DR), as many sellers tend to manipulate these by aggressively pulling in PBN or expired domain links to boost their DR scores quickly.
Fundamentally, we use Ahrefs and SEMRush to check the consistency of traffic trends and keyword visibility of our prospects’ sites.
Our benchmark is 2,000+ estimated organic visits per month as a minimum signal of genuine engagement. Additionally, we also examine traffic stability (traffic projection), keyword diversity (quick look at Ahrefs ranking keywords), and the ratio of branded to commercial keywords – all these to ensure websites were not propped up by any artificial link scheme.
Simply put, a website with real readers and topical alignment carries more authority and trust to the site it links to. However, a website with just inflated metrics and zero traffic will add no ranking power, and often accompanies this with high negative risk.
2. Transparency
Next to topical relevance, transparency beats all risky sellers. A trustworthy link building agency or vendor should clearly show you where your links will be coming from, how much each link costs (with agreed and given metrics), and how they’re placed – before you spend a single cent.
Sellers who conceal information on link quality and costs usually have something to hide, including low-quality websites, inflated link metrics, or resold link placements from other vendors or marketplaces.
So, we evaluate whether each link seller actually provided:
- Full or partial list of websites showing actual domain names, traffic data, and niche categories.
- Sample link placements that prove real content – and not any AI auto-generated posts.
- Pricing clarity, including cost per link, any optional add-on (on top of the link building service per se, and some delivery timelines.
- Reporting transparency – access to the dashboard for monthly reports or a complete post-purchase report with live page URLs.
Ultimately, lack of transparency is one of the biggest red flags in this industry. Link building sellers who claim you should trust them without providing real evidence that they can actually deliver links are often a waste of time and money.
Whereas having transparent sellers builds confidence and trust by giving you the power to evaluate options for link quality and link placements that are aligned with your niche and current SEO context.
3. Link Safety and Compliance
The next crucial factor we analyzed was link safety – basically, how well a backlink seller protects your website/brand from any penalty or algorithmic devaluation. As we know in the industry, Google’s spam detection systems have become more advanced than ever, with the use of AI models to instantly identify unnatural link patterns, overly optimized anchors, and any pattern in link networks.
It’s critically important that you only buy from safe and compliant sources.
Next, we look for the type of links they build. Editorial and contextual links, in my opinion, are the best type of links, as they are naturally placed within the content on real sites.
Our strict evaluation process also filters out:
- PBN footprints – websites sharing the same IPs, themes, or even outbound backlink patterns.
- Spammy link velocity – backlink sellers who just deliver dozens of links instantly, which might trigger Google’s link spam systems.
- Over-optimized anchors – frequently used exact match anchors that can signal manipulation
We simply prioritize link vendors who build clean, diversified, natural link profiles that blend partial-match and branded anchors.
4. Value for Money
The price for links varies widely across the industry. The difference comes down to markup, transparency, and the sourcing method (link prospecting), as well as efficiency in outreach – that’s why it’s critically important to assess value for money.
In our list of link building vendors, we compared the average cost per link across the three primary pricing tiers:
- Budget links ($20–$80) – mostly visible on marketplaces, VA, or freelance websites – in my opinion, most are junk, low-traffic blogs, or recycled domains that aren’t suitable for trial-testing on established websites.
- Mid-range links ($100–$300) – sweet spots for most link building campaigns (not too expensive, not too cheap) – you’ll expect contextual, editorial link placements on niche-relevant publishing sites, or news websites with solid organic traffic.
- Premium links ($400–$1,000+) – high-authority link placements on established websites, SaaS blogs, and even top-tier media outlets that will improve your site’s branding, SEO, and referral traffic.
As someone looking to invest in link building services, you also have to factor in link permanence – will the link stay long enough to give your website the authority and trust it needs?
Moreover, backlink sellers that offer clear pricing, bulk options (with discounts for better budgeting), and transparent value justification score the highest in our list. Our top-rated providers certainly have reasonable costs, visible impact or results for clients, and long-term link retention to build solid momentum of trust and authority for your website.
5. Diversity and Natural Profile
Generally, a healthy link profile comprises a diverse range of sources, domains, and content types that are either editorially placed or naturally acquired by the website/brand. Search engines use link diversity as one of the signals of the naturalness and authenticity of a website. Therefore, when most of your links originate from a single type of website or feature very similar anchor texts, it raises red flags, leading to algorithmic filtering.
In our industry, you’ll find that the best backlink vendors offer a balanced mix of:
- Authority websites that will strengthen domain credibility.
- Niche publishers or blogs that will reinforce more topical relevance
- News and media websites that will build more trust and brand visibility
- Brand mentions and citations that will create more natural, supporting trust signals (especially in helping your brand show up in AI-generated answers in AIO and LLM).
In today’s time, diversity is a must for every brand’s link profile – the sources, where your links appear, can significantly affect how your website produces the most organic-looking link graphs.
6. Customer Experience
While it’s difficult to initially evaluate customer experience, as you can only observe a glimpse of it during your initial discovery call or interaction with the backlink seller, it would significantly impact your confidence in your partnered vendor.
If you have the best list of links, it loses its value if the vendor fails to provide reliable and quality service and transparency after purchase.
We assessed each backlink seller based on these three primary areas:
- Communication Speed and Clarity – how fast their respective support responds to inquiries on process, pricing, and how they handle revisions or customer requests – prompt communication often reflects professionalism, trust, and builds confidence that your link building campaign is in good hands.
- Delivery Accuracy and Timelines – we verify if backlinks were delivered on time, placed exactly as agreed and described, and if included in real, indexed pages’ content. All link sellers who delivered late, used substitute domains, or changed agreed-upon or promised metrics lost credibility points.
- Post-Purchase Support and Reporting – we reviewed vendors to determine if they can submit full reports with live URLs, along with link metrics and specific publication details. Those who excellently offer follow-up assistance for replacements actually show long-term accountability.
Overall, this six-point framework helped us identify and assess backlink sellers who can deliver quality, measurable, and sustainable SEO growth – that isn’t just vanity metrics or temporary ranking spikes.
The Top 5 Types of Places to Buy Backlinks
Every backlink seller is different in terms of how they provide value—and that’s apparent. Many link vendors focus on volume, but the rare solid providers prioritize link authority so they can maximize ROI impact for their clients.
Here are the five key players – marketplaces and link building agencies to buy backlinks in 2026 – ranked by ROI impact, quality, transparency, and reliability.
1. Link Building Services IO by SharpRocket – Best Overall for White-Hat Authority Links
Best for: Enterprise SEO teams, SaaS, eCommerce brands, and SEO and digital agencies seeking white-label backlinks to improve both brand and topical authority.

Why it’s #1:
Link Building Services IO by SharpRocket leads the SEO industry with manual, relationship-driven link building campaigns designed for scale and measurable results, especially for established and growing brands.
Unlike typical marketplaces that only resell recycled lists of links, SharpRocket secures editorial backlinks from real sites with organic traffic through genuine outreach emails and publisher connections.
What sets Link Building Services IO by SharpRocket apart:
- 100% real-site placements on topically-relevant, good traffic websites – no Private Blog Networks (PBNs), no extreme automation.
- White-label reporting is perfect for digital and SEO agencies managing multiple client accounts.
- Custom link building strategies built around your niche, SEO context, authority goals, and target keywords and webpages.
- Detailed metrics, including Ahrefs’ Domain Rating (DR), traffic, anchor text, and live URL tracking – dashboard or via Google Sheets.
With a proven track record of working with enterprise SEO teams and global SEO agencies, SharpRocket delivers brand- and niche-relevant links that help improve the topical and brand authority of your website.
2. PressWhizz – Best for Fast and Transparent Marketplaces
Best for: Companies looking for quick, full inventory access and straightforward ordering.
Why it’s popular:
PressWhizz functions like the Amazon of backlink marketplaces, enabling users to take full control of domain selection and filter thousands of websites by link metrics.
Pros:
- Transparent pricing for domain lists and website visibility.
- Fast delivery or turnaround time within 24 to 48 hours
- Advanced filters for more metrics, such as language and niche category.
Cons:
- Shared inventory is publicly available to all, which means your competitors may be buying from the same websites.
- Quality depends on various factors – so this means it will consume more time on your end to vet the right opportunities.
PressWhizz is ideal for agencies or affiliate SEOs that require rapid link placements with minimal hassle.
3. Authority Builders – Best for Growing and Established, High-Traffic Blog Placements
Best for: Brands seeking editorial links on legitimate blogs with good organic traffic.
Why it’s trusted:
Originally founded by SEO veteran Matt Diggity, Authority Builders has a long-standing reputation in the SEO industry, thanks to his thought leadership and continuous knowledge sharing with the community.

Pros:
- Matt has earned his right to a reputation in the agency, transferring his solid personal brand to his agency.
- Manageable inventory of link targets from different categories.
- Great reporting through dashboards and timely fulfillment.
Cons:
- Expensive prices for high-tier link opportunities.
- Limited section in tightly narrow niches.
Authority Builders appears to be a solid choice for SEOs with mid-to-high-end budgets for link-building investments.
4. WhitePress – Best for Global (International) and Corporate Link Placements
Best for: Digital and SEO agencies and companies that need targeted multi-country link building campaigns.
Why it’s unique:
WhitePress is one of the good operators for networks of international publishers, covering dozens of languages and countries.

Pros:
- Huge inventory across global or international markets.
- Seamless dashboards for a large volume of links.
- Best for founders, SEO, and marketing teams who need to expand into other regional or international markets.
Cons:
- The quality of links, of course, varies significantly across different website sizes, niches, and geographic regions.
- There are high-DR link opportunities, but they don’t have real traffic.
WhitePress is suitable for companies and SEOs seeking broad international visibility, but strict and careful vetting is necessary to avoid low-engagement or low-quality link placements.
5. Collaborator.Pro – Best for Budgeted SMEs and Local and News Links
Best for: Budgeted SMEs who want to have a diversified link profile for their websites.

Why it’s worth considering:
Collaborator. Pro is very affordable for first-time users and has a somewhat impressive inventory of backlink lists. While you may expect its interface to be less confusing or polished, it gives you quick access to local publishers and niche-relevant sites that are often overlooked by bigger link building agencies or marketplaces.
Pros:
- Competitive pricing for links.
- Transparent listings with good traffic data.
- Useful for regional and local SEO and authority building
Cons:
- Limited customer or client support.
- Interface can be clunky for first-timer customers or users.
Collaborator.Pro works pretty well for diversifying link sources and types without actually overspending their budget.
Final Thoughts
The SEO industry, like any other market, will always be divided between those who truly care for their brands (who buy safely) and those who just buy recklessly – without due diligence. What really separates successful SEO campaigns from failed ones is not whether backlinks are outsourced or delegated to a specialized team, but rather how and where these links are acquired.
Our comprehensive review of the best backlink sellers in 2025 reveals a clear trend in the industry: Google continues to value trust, authority, and relevance – not shortcuts. The best and strongest backlink sellers will and are focusing on editorial real placements, organic traffic verification, and trusted and transparent reporting, not inflated DR scores or other link metrics, and recycled website lists.
Among all link building agencies and marketplaces tested, Link Building Services IO by SharpRocket consistently stood out for its quality of service, strategy, and manual outreach, as well as its data-driven link acquisition system. They remain the best place to buy backlinks in 2026 for enterprise SEO teams, SaaS, e-commerce brands, and agencies seeking sustainable brand and authority growth.
Written By
Venchito Tampon
Founder of Link Building Services IO and CEO and Co-Founder at SharpRocket, a link building agency. With a decade of experience, Venchito has a proven track record of leading hundreds of successful SEO (link builidng) campaigns across competitive industries like finance, B2B, legal, and SaaS. His expert advice as a link building expert has been featured in renowned publications such as Semrush, Ahrefs, Huffington Post and Forbes. He is also an international SEO spoken and has delivered talks in SEO Zraz, Asia Pacific Affiliate Summit in Singapore, and Search Marketing Summit in Sydney, Australia.
Reviewed By

Sef Gojo Cruz
COO at SharpRocket, overseeing end-to-end operations, from crafting link building strategies to leading high-performing teams. Previously led SEO initiatives at Workhouse, a digital agency in Australia, and Keymedia, a real estate media company based in New Zealand.





