How much does a backlink exchange cost?
Published prices of seven platforms, each read on its own pricing page on 24 September 2026. CrossMention is our product.
| Platform | Published price | What you pay for |
|---|---|---|
| CrossMention | Free for the first 100 founding members; card required, never charged | Membership; mentions are paid in credits earned by hosting mentions |
| Ranking Raccoon | Pro $25/month; Lite free | Trades are negotiated one to one in chat, and starting a chat needs the $25/month Pro plan. |
| Swappsy | Free during beta | Each swap is negotiated in messaging; there is no fixed rate by domain rating. |
| Outrank | $99/month or $999/year | Links go into articles its AI writes, and taking part requires the $99/month writing plan. |
| ViSPR | $12/month or $94/year (Starter) | A backlinks exchange partner directory that runs as a WordPress plugin, so a site needs to be on WordPress. |
| Ranklytics | $49/month per location (Search) | Backlink exchange is one feature of an SEO suite with an AI blog writer and rank tracking, sold as a subscription. |
| EarlySEO | $799/year (Growth) | Backlink exchange is one feature of an AI article generator that publishes to your CMS. |
What changes the price
Exchange only or a bundle
Outrank, Ranklytics and EarlySEO sell backlink exchange as part of an AI writing or SEO subscription, so the price covers articles and tools as well. Ranking Raccoon, Swappsy, ViSPR and CrossMention offer the exchange on its own.
How each link is paid for
On Ranking Raccoon and Swappsy each trade is agreed in chat, so what a link costs depends on what you offer back. Outrank and CrossMention use credits, and a higher domain rating earns more per hosted link. CrossMention's table is 1 credit per mention below DR 20 up to 15 credits at DR 80 and above.
Cash per link
None of these platforms publishes a cash price per link. Paying cash for a placement is a separate market (link sellers and agencies) and is not covered here.