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Broken Link Checker

By WPMU DEV - Your All-in-One WordPress Platform

Site Administration & Utilities / URL Redirects & 301 Management

Reviewed by Omar Dabbas

Trusted WordPress expert with 20+ years of experience evaluating plugins for the WP ecosystem.

Broken Link Checker Review - In-Depth Analysis

Broken Link Checker helps you catch broken links and images quickly, protecting your SEO and user experience. Easily scan and bulk-fix issues from one dashboard.

Performance Overview

WPS Score

7.12/10

User Rating

3.8/5 (based on 604+ reviews)

Active Installations

500,000+

Update Frequency

Outstanding It is calculated using the weighted average of same category plugins.

Security Score

6.53 / 10 (Medium Risk) It is calculated using the weighted average of all versions.

What It Does

Automatically monitor your WordPress site for broken links and missing images, so you can fix them proactively and protect your SEO.

Broken links aren’t just annoying for your visitors, they negatively impact your rankings and make your site look outdated and untrustworthy. But manually checking hundreds of links? Ain’t nobody got time for that!

Broken Link Checker detects issues 20x faster and more accurately than other plugins, thanks to cloud-based link checking. This powerful plugin scans your pages, posts, comments and custom fields, spotting broken or redirected URLs and giving you a quick way to fix them all from one centralized dashboard.

With over 17 million downloads and 50,000+ broken links found daily, Broken Link Checker leaves no URL behind. You can even receive email alerts when something breaks, so you’re never caught off guard.

Every broken link is a strike against your credibility, and your SEO score. But staying on top of them can feel like fighting a never-ending battle. Broken Link Checker gives you an easy way to scan your content and fix issues before anyone notices.

Whether you’re maintaining a personal blog, a client-heavy agency setup, or a content-rich eCommerce site, this plugin saves hours of manual work and helps you keep things tidy.

Broken Link Checker scans your site deeply and frequently, to make sure no broken links are missed. The plugin will scan every inch of your sites, including within posts, pages, custom post types, comments and even embedded media, to ensure your site’s SEO and user experience are not compromised in any way.

Choose how and when you want to be notified about broken links. You can receive instant email alerts, get a summary in your WordPress dashboard, and stay in control with flexible scan settings that meet your needs.

Broken Link Checker makes it easy to fine-tune your scan settings, with search and filtering tools that help you check what really matters. Look for specific URLs, or filter by status or error type.

Manage broken links efficiently. No need to dig through old posts. Broken Link Checker lets you resolve all detected links right from your BLC dashboard. Bulk action means you can clean up dozens of links from the plugin interface with just a few clicks.

Comparing to Alternatives

Broken Link Checker is one of the most well-known link-monitoring tools in the WordPress space, but it now competes with a wide range of redirection and 404-focused plugins that take different approaches to the same underlying problem.

Top alternatives

Strengths

Long-established plugin with wide name recognition and a large install base
Simple setup that quickly surfaces broken links without manual checking
Free cloud scanning option in addition to the local scanning engine
Useful for catching broken links buried in onboarding flows or old content

Weaknesses

Long history of security vulnerabilities, including critical RCE and XSS issues
Cloud scanning has usage limits and pushes users toward a paid upgrade
False positives on working links are a recurring frustration
Alternatives like Redirection or 404 Solution focus more narrowly on redirects with fewer reported stability issues

User Sentiment Analysis

With 605 ratings, the plugin holds a 3.8/5 average, but the distribution is polarized: 60.3% give it 5 stars while a substantial 28.8% rate it just 1-2 stars, pointing to a plugin that works very well for some setups and poorly for others.

Positive highlights

neekfenwick found it quick and easy, catching 6 broken links including some hurting onboarding conversions
coolbie called it an 'awesome plugin' that solved their issues
walter526877 simply noted 'It works'
nmrockswp has relied on it for years and called it 'very helpful' despite some annoyances

Common complaints

A database crash and corrupted tables reported after an update, with no clear support resolution
The Cloud option is described as effectively a paid feature disguised as free, requiring a year-long upfront subscription
The Local option using the WayBack Machine causes working images/links to be wrongly flagged as broken
Language settings are ignored, with the Cloud interface staying in English despite changing site language
Frontend strikethrough on falsely flagged working links, requiring frequent manual correction

Weaknesses

A serious security track record with 15 known vulnerabilities, including critical RCE and high-severity XSS issues
False positives on working links create ongoing maintenance burden rather than saving time
Cloud scanning has restrictive limits and unclear free-vs-paid boundaries
At least one report of a corrupted database following a plugin update

Who Should Use This?

Best for

Site owners wanting a quick, no-cost way to spot obviously broken links on smaller sites, particularly those comfortable troubleshooting false positives manually and keeping the plugin fully updated for security patches.

Not ideal for

Larger or business-critical sites, especially given the plugin's extensive history of vulnerabilities including a critical unauthenticated RCE and unauthenticated stored XSS. Users needing accurate, low-maintenance link checking or built-in redirect management may also be frustrated by false positives and the cloud scanning limitations.

Pricing & Value

Free version includes

The free version includes both a local link-checking engine and access to a cloud-based scanner, letting users detect broken links, redirects, and missing images across their site without cost for basic use.

Final Verdict

Broken Link Checker remains a recognizable name for a common WordPress need, and many users still find real value in its quick setup and ability to surface broken links, especially in the free local scanning mode. However, the nearly 29% share of 1-2 star reviews reflects genuine, recurring frustrations: false positives, confusing cloud/paid boundaries, and in at least one case, a serious database corruption issue tied to an update.

The more pressing concern is security: with 15 documented vulnerabilities including a critical unauthenticated RCE and high-severity stored XSS, this plugin's historical risk profile is significant, even though issues have been patched over time. Combined with reliable, actively maintained alternatives like Redirection or 404 Solution, cautious site owners—particularly those running business-critical sites—may want to weigh those options carefully before committing to this plugin.

Other Notable Features

Here are a few other notable features of this free Broken Link Checker plugin.

Broken links

SEO monitoring

Link management

Screenshots

FAQ

Yes! The plugin is completely free and includes all the core scanning features. The plugin works either locally on your own server, or 20x faster, better and more accurately on WPMU DEV cloud servers. The Local version only works in your site admin, while the Cloud version works in both your site admin and in your Hub.

The cloud version requires a connection to WPMU DEV to access its API. However, you don’t need to be a premium WPMU DEV member to access the cloud version! You can create a free Hub account (with some restrictions) directly in the plugin while settings things up.