A Broken Link Checker for WordPress That Needs No Account
Tidy Broken Link Scan finds broken links and images in your posts, pages and menus without a cloud engine or a sign-up. Every check runs from your own server. Free.
Why people look for a Broken Link Checker alternative
No account, no cloud connection
Broken Link Checker by WPMU DEV pushes its cloud engine, which needs a WPMU DEV Hub account. Tidy Broken Link Scan has no cloud engine at all: install it, run a scan, done. No sign-up, no API key, no third-party dashboard.
Your links never leave your server
Every check is an HTTP request sent from your own site through the WordPress HTTP API. Your content and your list of URLs are never uploaded to an external service, which keeps the privacy question simple.
Each URL is checked once
The scanner collects every unique URL across your content first, checks each one once and caches the result. A link repeated on fifty pages costs one request, not fifty.
Auto-check when you save a post
Every time you publish or update a post, its links are checked in the background, so a typo in a URL shows up right away instead of at the next full scan.
Broken anchors, not just 404s
Links like /page/#pricing break silently when a heading is renamed. Tidy Broken Link Scan fetches the target page and checks that the #id actually exists.
Small, focused, free
The free version covers posts, pages, menus and public custom post types, images included, with inline editing and CSV export. Pro ($29/year) adds scheduled scans, email and Slack alerts, ACF fields and WP-CLI.
Tidy Broken Link Scan vs Broken Link Checker
| Feature | Tidy Broken Link Scan | Broken Link Checker |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free / Pro $29 per year | Free (cloud engine needs a WPMU DEV account) |
| Account required | For the cloud engine | |
| Where links are checked | Your server only | WPMU DEV cloud or your server |
| Each unique URL checked once | Not documented | |
| Check on post save | Not documented | |
| Images (src, srcset, picture) | ||
| Broken #anchor detection | ||
| Inline link editing | ||
| CSV export | Not documented | |
| Comment links | ||
| Custom fields | Pro (ACF) | |
| Scheduled scans | Pro | |
| Email alerts | Pro | |
| WP-CLI commands | Pro | |
| Multisite | Per site | |
| Active installs | New | 500,000+ |
Broken Link Checker details from its WordPress.org listing (version 2.4, October 2026). "Not documented" means the listing does not mention it.
Two ways to check links
Broken Link Checker: cloud first
Broken Link Checker is the best-known link checker in the WordPress directory, with more than 500,000 active installs. It is maintained by WPMU DEV, and its current versions put a cloud engine forward: links are checked from WPMU DEV servers, and results are also available in their Hub. Using that engine requires connecting your site to a WPMU DEV account, free with some restrictions. A local engine that runs on your own server is still available.
That model suits agencies already using WPMU DEV. It is more than many site owners want when the goal is simply to find a few dead links on a blog.
Tidy Broken Link Scan: local only
Tidy Broken Link Scan has no cloud engine to choose or configure. It reads your published posts, pages, menus and public custom post types, collects every unique URL, and checks each one once from your server through the WordPress HTTP API. Results are cached, so a link repeated across the site costs a single request, and links in a post are checked again in the background each time you save it.
The trade-off is scope. It does not scan comments, and custom fields (ACF) are a Pro feature. For a crawl of your whole site from the outside, including SSL and redirect chains, the same author offers a free online scanner at brokenlinkscan.com.
Switching takes a few minutes
Neither plugin changes your content on its own, so you can install Tidy Broken Link Scan next to Broken Link Checker, run a scan, compare the two lists, and only then deactivate the one you no longer need.
When Broken Link Checker is the better choice
- You already use WPMU DEV. If your sites are connected to the Hub, its cloud engine and central reporting fit right in.
- You need comment links checked. Broken Link Checker scans comments; Tidy Broken Link Scan does not.
- You run a large multisite network. Broken Link Checker has dedicated multisite support.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Tidy Broken Link Scan a fork of Broken Link Checker?
Do I need an account to use it?
Can I keep using the local engine of Broken Link Checker instead?
Can both plugins run at the same time?
Will my Broken Link Checker history be imported?
Does it check links in comments?
What does Pro add?
Compare with other broken link checkers
Find your broken links without signing up anywhere
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