Cost comparison · Prices checked October 18, 2026
Pay per link vs outreach software: what one link really costs
Link services sell a placement at a fixed price. Outreach software charges for the emails, and editors decide whether to add you. The two only compare once you put in how many pitches turn into links, so this page shows the published per-link prices and lets you enter your own rate.
Your assumptions
An example value, not a prediction. See what rate to enter below.
The plan price is flat, so sending less raises the cost per email. A new mailbox ramps up over about 5 weeks before it reaches its full allowance.
Cost per email
Cost per pitch
Outreach cost per link
Against published per-link prices
Break-even is the share of pitches that would have to land for outreach to cost the same as that placement. Prices checked October 18, 2026.
| Option | Tier | Per link | Break-even rate | At your rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rhino Rank listicle placements | DA30+ | $135 | ||
| Rhino Rank listicle placements | DA40+ | $220 | ||
| Rhino Rank listicle placements | DA50+ | $340 | ||
| Rhino Rank listicle placements | DA60+ | $450 | ||
| Respona placements | DR20+ | $100 | ||
| Respona placements | DR30+ | $160 | ||
| Respona placements | DR40+ | $240 | ||
| Respona placements | DR50+ | $400 | ||
| Respona placements | DR60+ | $500 | ||
| Editorial.link (agency) | 20-link package | $300 | ||
| Editorial.link (agency) | 5-link package | $350 | ||
| Editorial.link (agency) | Single link | $375 | ||
| Linkbuilder.io (agency retainer) | Startup, per link | $375 |
The published prices
Each price below was read from the vendor's own page on October 18, 2026. Services change prices often, so follow the link before you decide.
| Option | Price per link | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| BacklinkGenie (outreach, not per link) | Starter 9.9¢ per email · Growth 8.3¢ per email · Agency 6.2¢ per email | Flat $99, $249, $499/mo for 1,000, 3,000, 8,000 outreach emails, with managed mailboxes on separate domains, warmup and weekly link monitoring included. No per-link fee and no payment offered to sites. |
| Rhino Rank listicle placements | DA30+ $135 · DA40+ $220 · DA50+ $340 · DA60+ $450 | Spot in an existing list post. 12-month replacement cover. |
| Respona placements | DR20+ $100 · DR30+ $160 · DR40+ $240 · DR50+ $400 · DR60+ $500 | Guaranteed to go live; 28-day standard turnaround. Volume discounts from $3,000/mo. |
| Editorial.link (agency) | 20-link package $300 · 5-link package $350 · Single link $375 | Average DR 50–90, pre-approval included. |
| Linkbuilder.io (agency retainer) | Startup, per link $375 | $2,999/mo for 8 links a month (average DR 50–90), worked out per link. |
Linkbuilder.io's figure is its $2,999 monthly retainer divided by the 8 links it includes. Respona's tiers are named by Domain Rating (DR) and Rhino Rank's by Domain Authority (DA), two different metrics, so a DR40+ and a DA40+ placement aren't the same thing.
What rate should I enter?
Your own, if you've done outreach before: links won divided by pitches sent. If you haven't, these published numbers set a sensible range:
- About 8% of outreach emails get any reply. Backlinko's analysis of 12 million outreach emails found 8.5% received a response (Backlinko, 2019). ElvixAI's live campaign stats showed 8.1% across 17,538 prospects when we checked on October 18, 2026 (ElvixAI homepage).
- A reply isn't a link. In the same ElvixAI figures, 29.5% of replies asked for payment, 15.7% proposed a link exchange and 7.6% declined, while 6.1% were marked interested and 2.5% were about a guest post. Interested plus guest post replies come to roughly 0.7% of prospects contacted, before counting any "question" or "other" replies that later turn into a yes.
So the share of pitches that becomes a live, unpaid link is a fraction of the reply rate. Rather than trusting a single number, try values between about 0.5% and 4% and look at the break-even column: if a price only beats outreach at a rate you think you can't reach, the per-link service is the better buy for you.
What the calculator leaves out
- Guarantees. A per-link service promises delivery (Respona guarantees every placement goes live in the agreed window). Outreach doesn't promise a count; editors decide.
- Your time. Approving pitches takes far less time than researching and writing them by hand, but it isn't zero. The link building cost calculator adds your time and hourly rate.
- Timing. Respona's standard turnaround is 28 days (14 for a fee). A new BacklinkGenie mailbox ramps up over about 5 weeks, so the first month sends less than the full allowance.
- Who picks the site. Services choose from publishers they work with, sometimes with pre-approval. With outreach you pick the posts, and an editor adds you because the pitch made sense for their readers.
- Guideline risk. Google's spam policies treat links exchanged for money as link schemes unless they're marked. BacklinkGenie's quality gate blocks any pitch that offers payment.
When paying per link makes more sense
If you need a fixed number of links by a date, have budget but no time to approve anything, or your product doesn't yet give editors a reason to mention it, a per-link service is the more predictable choice. When you want links that editors chose to give, from posts you picked, at a cost that falls as your pitches improve, outreach wins. Many teams use both.
Compare specific services: BacklinkGenie vs Respona, vs Rhino Rank, vs Editorial.link, or browse every link building alternative we've reviewed.
Questions people ask
Is paying per link cheaper than outreach software?
Sometimes. It depends on one number: how many of your pitches turn into a live link. Above the break-even rate shown in the calculator, outreach costs less per link; below it, a per-link service does. Nobody can tell you your rate in advance, which is why the calculator asks for yours.
Why don't you publish a link rate for BacklinkGenie?
Because it varies too much by product, niche and the posts you target, and we don't have enough data yet to quote an honest average. Use your own past results, or test a range and look at the break-even column.
What does one outreach email cost on BacklinkGenie?
Starter: $99/mo for up to 1,000 emails, about 9.9¢ each. Growth: $249/mo for up to 3,000 emails, about 8.3¢ each. Agency: $499/mo for up to 8,000 emails, about 6.2¢ each. That's once the mailbox is warmed up and you use the full allowance; a pitch with its follow-ups uses up to 3 emails.
Are per-link placements against Google's guidelines?
Google's spam policies treat links exchanged for money as link schemes unless they're marked rel="sponsored" or nofollow. Per-link services describe their own processes differently, so ask any provider how publishers are compensated and how links are marked before you buy.
Should I count my own time?
Yes. Approving pitches takes less time than writing them, and doing outreach by hand takes much longer. The full link building cost calculator adds your time and hourly rate to the comparison.
Related
Link building cost calculator
Add your own time, an agency quote and DIY costs to the per-link comparison.
BacklinkGenie vs Respona
Guaranteed placements by Domain Rating vs editor-chosen mentions.
BacklinkGenie vs Rhino Rank
Curated links and listicle placements vs pitching editors directly.
BacklinkGenie vs Editorial.link
$300–$375 a link vs a flat monthly price for outreach.
BacklinkGenie vs a link building agency
Retainers and per-link agency pricing compared with an agent.
Outreach volume planner
How many pitches a month your mailboxes can send as they ramp up.
See where your next links could come from.
Paste your URL. The agent finds lists, comparison pages, resource pages and guides where your product fits, checks each site and finds the editor to contact. Free, no card.
