BacklinkManager vs LinkGuard: a partner CRM, or a monitoring engine?
Both put "backlink monitoring" on the box, but they're built around different jobs. BacklinkManager is a CRM for link partnerships and exchanges, with monitoring bolted on. LinkGuard is a monitoring engine with no CRM at all. Here's where each one wins — including where they're the smarter pick.
The short version
These are the rows where the two diverge — not a feature checklist.
| LinkGuard | BacklinkManager | |
|---|---|---|
| Built around | A dedicated monitoring engine | A link-partnership CRM |
| Free starting point | 1,000 tokens (~83 full checks), no card | 250 links monitored free |
| Pricing model | Prepaid tokens, spent per check | Subscription from $19/mo |
| What a check reads | Anchor text, dofollow/nofollow, Google index | Mostly status-level (is it up) |
| JavaScript-rendered donor pages | Real-browser fallback (Browserbase) | Plain-fetch class — false "lost" alerts likely |
| Partnership CRM & Kanban | No | Yes — this is their core |
| Link-exchange tracking | No | Yes |
| Cost while you pause | $0 — tokens wait, never expire | Monthly fee keeps running |
Why I kept this narrow
You've already got the stack: Notion for partners, a sheet for placements, Slack, a couple of dashboards you half-check. The last thing your day needs is one more board to maintain. When I was buying links for clients, I didn't want a CRM bolted onto my monitor — I wanted one tool that watched the links well and stayed out of the way.
So LinkGuard does one job: it watches the links you earned and tells you the moment one breaks. Keep your partners wherever they already live. And because you pay per check, the months you're not monitoring cost you nothing.
— Andrii, founder of LinkGuard · LinkedIn
What a flat plan costs in the months you pause
Link work comes in waves. A subscription bills you every month regardless. Set how much of the year you monitor and see the gap. The math runs in your browser, no sign-up.
Assumptions: balanced ≈ 130 tokens per link per month, economy ≈ 45, at the $25 package rate of $0.001 per token. BacklinkManager anchored at their entry paid plan ($19/mo). Their free 250-link tier (basic status checks) is covered above — this compares active, paid monitoring. A planning estimate, not a quote.
Their free tier is bigger. That's the wrong question.
BacklinkManager's 250 free links is the most generous free tier in this category, and it's a real reason people start there. But "how many links can I park for free" and "how good are the checks" are two different questions.
The free tiers aren't the same shape. Theirs caps the number of links you can keep under watch. Ours caps the number of checks you run: 1,000 signup tokens buy about 83 full checks or 200 HTML-only checks, then you top up only when you need more. So if you keep a large, mostly-stable list and glance at it now and then, 250 free links stretch further. If you monitor actively — and you bought those links to defend them — what matters is whether each check is accurate, and what it costs to run a lot of them.
That's the trade we'd rather be judged on: not the size of a free parking lot, but whether the check tells you the truth about a JavaScript-heavy donor page, and whether you're paying for checks you're not running.
Which one fits you
Two different tools for two different jobs. The split:
Pick BacklinkManager if…
- You run link exchanges or partnerships and want a CRM with vendor contacts and Kanban boards.
- You'd rather keep relationships and basic monitoring together in one place.
- You manage a large, stable list you only check occasionally — their free 250-link tier covers it.
- Tracking who you swapped links with matters more than the depth of each check.
Pick LinkGuard if…
- Monitoring accuracy is the actual job — anchor text, nofollow flips, index drops, on JS-heavy pages.
- You check actively and would rather pay per check than a flat monthly fee.
- You already track partners in Notion or a spreadsheet and just want the checks done right.
- You want $0 months when a client pauses, with your balance waiting when you return.
Where LinkGuard falls short (so you're not surprised)
- No CRM, no link-exchange tracking, no Kanban. If managing partner relationships is your bottleneck, BacklinkManager is built for exactly that and we aren't.
- For a big portfolio you only check occasionally, their free 250 links can cost less than topping up tokens.
- We're new, with fewer integrations than an established CRM.
Moving the links over takes about five minutes
Export your list to CSV from BacklinkManager or a spreadsheet, upload it to LinkGuard, and monitoring starts on import — no API keys, no call. Keep your partner CRM wherever it already lives; bring just the links you want watched properly. Your 1,000 signup tokens cover a first full pass so you can compare the checks side by side.
Common questions
Is LinkGuard a free BacklinkManager alternative?
There's a free starting point, not a permanent free plan: 1,000 tokens on signup, no card — about 83 full checks or 200 HTML-only checks. BacklinkManager instead lets you keep up to 250 links free. Theirs caps how many links you track; ours caps how many checks you run.
Does LinkGuard have a link-partnership CRM?
No — that's BacklinkManager's. We're a monitoring engine: we watch the state of your links, not your vendor relationships. If you need a CRM and Kanban for partnerships, they're the better fit.
250 free links or 1,000 free tokens — which is more?
Depends on how often you check. A big, stable list glanced at occasionally favors their 250 free links. Active, frequent monitoring favors pay-as-you-go, where every check is a JS-aware verification and you only pay for what you run.
Will LinkGuard catch problems BacklinkManager misses?
Often, yes. Our checks read anchor text, dofollow/nofollow, and Google index status — not just whether the page loads — and they fall back to a real browser on JS-rendered donor pages, so fewer false "lost" alerts. Monitoring is the whole product here, not a side feature.
Can I import my links?
Yes — CSV export, upload, done. Monitoring starts on import.
Do unused tokens expire?
No expiry, and unused balance is refundable within 14 days.
Two Mondays
A spotless partner board doesn't help if nothing is watching the links themselves.
Without monitoring
Your partnership board is immaculate — every vendor, every swap, neatly tracked. But a $400 placement quietly dropped six weeks ago, and nothing was watching the link itself. The client found it first. The CRM told you who placed it; it never told you it was gone.
With LinkGuard
The check flagged the drop the morning it happened. You pulled the seller's details from your own notes, sent the email, and had it restored before the monthly review. Your relationship tracking stayed where it lives; the watching got done.
Run a few links through both
Keep your partner CRM where it is. Bring a handful of links to LinkGuard, run a full check, and see how the verdicts compare. The signup tokens cover it.
Start free1,000 tokens on signup · no credit card · tokens never expire