--- title: "Is there a website that can check if a link is safe?" url: https://isthereathing.com/a-website-that-can-check-if-a-link-is-safe/ answer: "yes" summary: "Yes: VirusTotal, Google's Safe Browsing site status and URLVoid all check a web address. VirusTotal says it only aggregates other vendors' verdicts and makes none of its own, so a clean result is no guarantee." category: "Safety & privacy" published: 2026-10-02 updated: 2026-10-02 author: "Jack Stovell" publisher: "Adapt Progress Evolve Limited" language: en-GB --- # Is there a website that can check if a link is safe? **Answer: yes.** Yes: VirusTotal, Google's Safe Browsing site status and URLVoid all check a web address. VirusTotal says it only aggregates other vendors' verdicts and makes none of its own, so a clean result is no guarantee. (Source: [VirusTotal docs: false positives](https://virustotal.readme.io/docs/false-positive)) Yes, VirusTotal, Google's Safe Browsing site status and URLVoid will all check a web address for you, and the basic checks are free (VirusTotal's for non-commercial use). The catch is what a result means: VirusTotal says it only aggregates other vendors' verdicts and makes none of its own, so a clean result is no guarantee. ## The shortlist ### VirusTotal Checks a URL, domain or file against over 70 antivirus scanners and URL or domain blocklisting services. - Link: https://www.virustotal.com/ - Free tier: yes. Free to end users for non-commercial use under its Terms of Service. - Paid from: not checked (free for non-commercial use; paid commercial plans not verified) - Best at: Showing many scanners' verdicts in one place; you can submit via the website, browser extensions or the API. - The catch: VirusTotal says it simply aggregates the output of different antivirus vendors and URL scanners and does not produce any verdicts of its own, so a clean result is not a guarantee. - Platforms: web, chrome, api - Source: [VirusTotal docs: How it works](https://docs.virustotal.com/docs/how-it-works) ### Google Safe Browsing site status A tool in Google's Transparency Report that lets anyone check whether a site contains content Safe Browsing has flagged as dangerous. - Link: https://transparencyreport.google.com/safe-browsing/search - Free tier: yes. Free to use; no account shown on the pages we read. - Paid from: not checked (no price) - Best at: Checking a link against the same Safe Browsing data that Chrome uses to warn people before they visit a dangerous site. - The catch: It only reports what Safe Browsing has flagged, so a site that isn't flagged is not proven safe. - Platforms: web - Source: [Google Safe Browsing](https://safebrowsing.google.com/) ### URLVoid Website reputation checker that scans an address against 30+ blocklist engines and online reputation services. - Link: https://www.urlvoid.com/ - Free tier: yes. Basic website scanning is free; a paid API (URL Reputation API by APIVoid) exists, price not checked. - Paid from: not checked (free scanning; API price not verified) - Best at: Showing which blocklists flag a site, plus its IP address, domain creation date and server location. - The catch: It says data submitted is shared with security companies, so do not paste private links such as password-reset or document-share URLs. - Platforms: web, api - Source: [URLVoid](https://www.urlvoid.com/) ## How they compare ### If you want many scanners' verdicts in one place VirusTotal is the one for this. It checks a URL, domain or file against over 70 antivirus scanners and blocklisting services, and it's free for non-commercial use, so you paste the link in and see the lot at once. You can submit through the website, browser extensions or the API. What you give up is a straight answer. VirusTotal says it simply aggregates what the different vendors and scanners report and makes no verdicts of its own. Each vendor decides what it flags. So you're reading a pile of opinions, and you've got to decide what to make of them. A clean page looks reassuring, but it's only as good as the scanners behind it. ### If you want the data Chrome warns from Google's Safe Browsing site status is the pick here. It lives in Google's Transparency Report, and it checks a link against the same Safe Browsing data that Chrome uses to warn people before they visit a dangerous site. It's free, and on the pages we read there was no account to set up. Web only. The cost is narrowness. It only tells you what Safe Browsing has flagged, so a site that isn't flagged hasn't been proven safe. You get one source, and just the one. ### If you want to see which blocklists flag a site URLVoid suits this need. It scans an address against 30+ blocklist engines and online reputation services, and shows you which of them flag it. It also gives you the IP address, the domain creation date and the server location. Basic scanning is free, and there's a paid API too, though we didn't check its price. The price you pay is privacy. URLVoid says data you submit is shared with security companies, so anything private shouldn't go in. Whichever checker you use, read its terms and privacy policy before pasting a link in. ### When paying is worth it Put side by side, the trade is breadth against a single source. VirusTotal pulls together many vendors' verdicts and makes none itself, while Google's tool reports only what Safe Browsing has flagged. URLVoid adds its extra background details, at the cost of that data sharing. Paying doesn't come into it for checking a link. Nothing here needs it: VirusTotal is free for non-commercial use, Google's tool is free, and URLVoid's basic scanning is free. We didn't verify paid commercial plans or the price of URLVoid's API, so if you're a business with a different need, that's a question for their own pages. ## What to watch for A clean result is no guarantee. VirusTotal says it doesn't produce any verdicts of its own, and a site Safe Browsing hasn't flagged isn't proven safe. Don't paste private links into URLVoid, such as password-reset or document-share addresses, because it says submitted data is shared with security companies. Then there's the message itself. The NCSC says scammers claim authority, create urgency and trigger emotion, and its list of signs also includes messages that offer scarce items or refer to current events. Forward suspicious emails to report@phishing.gov.uk and texts to 7726. ## How we checked On 2026-10-02 we read VirusTotal's How it works and false-positive documentation, Google's Safe Browsing home page and Transparency Report FAQ, URLVoid's home page and the NCSC's phishing pages. Norton Safe Web's own pages and Google's Site Status page itself wouldn't load for our fetch, so Norton isn't listed. Nothing was hands-on tested. ## If none of these fit Don't rely on a checker alone. The NCSC advises not using the numbers or addresses in the message, and going to the details on the organisation's official website instead. To report, forward suspicious emails to report@phishing.gov.uk and texts to 7726, and report scam websites through the NCSC's process. If you've lost money, contact your bank and Report Fraud (Police Scotland, if you're in Scotland). ## Also typed as - is there a website that checks if links are safe ## Related questions - [Is there an app that blocks spam calls?](https://isthereathing.com/an-app-that-blocks-spam-calls/) - [Is there a website that can detect ai images?](https://isthereathing.com/a-website-that-can-detect-ai-images/) ## Sources - [VirusTotal docs: How it works](https://docs.virustotal.com/docs/how-it-works) (checked 2026-10-02) - [VirusTotal docs: false positives](https://virustotal.readme.io/docs/false-positive) (checked 2026-10-02) - [Google Safe Browsing](https://safebrowsing.google.com/) (checked 2026-10-02) - [Google Transparency Report Help: Safe Browsing FAQs](https://support.google.com/transparencyreport/answer/7380435?hl=en) (checked 2026-10-02) - [URLVoid](https://www.urlvoid.com/) (checked 2026-10-02) - [NCSC: phishing, how to report](https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/section/respond-recover/phishing) (checked 2026-10-02) - [NCSC: how to spot phishing scams](https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/collection/phishing-scams/spot-scams) (checked 2026-10-02) ## Questions people ask ### Does a clean VirusTotal result mean a link is safe? No. VirusTotal says it only aggregates the output of antivirus vendors and URL scanners and produces no verdicts of its own, so each vendor decides what it flags. ### Where do I report a suspicious link in the UK? The NCSC says to forward suspicious emails to report@phishing.gov.uk, texts to 7726, and to report scam websites through its dedicated process. ### What are the signs of a phishing message? The NCSC lists messages that claim authority, create urgency, trigger emotion, offer scarce items or refer to current events. ### Is it safe to paste a link into a checker? URLVoid says data submitted is shared with security companies, so avoid pasting private links, and read each tool's terms and privacy policy first.