What it means
The score looks at how many unique websites link to a domain and how strong those linking sites are. The scale is logarithmic, so moving from 70 to 80 takes far more links than moving from 20 to 30. It is a vendor metric, not a Google signal. The nearest neighbour is domain authority, a similar score from Moz that uses a different formula, so the two numbers do not match.
Why it matters when you buy software
A software vendor's domain rating shows how well linked its website is. It does not show how good the product is, how secure it is or how satisfied customers are. For those questions, use review platform ratings, documented customer outcomes and published security certifications. Domain rating is mainly useful when you choose SEO software or judge a tool's online reach.
How it works in practice
Ahrefs recalculates the score as its crawler finds or loses links, so the number changes over time. Compare it only between sites measured in the same tool, and read it as a rough guide to link strength rather than a ranking factor.
See also: Editorial backlink, White label SEO and the glossary index.