Hacker News (Show HN) ↗Community
Post your launch as a Show HN. High risk, high reward — a front-page hit sends serious technical traffic.
DR 93Free
Where to launch your product
A curated list of 16 launch directories, ranked by domain rating, with what each one is best for and whether it is free or paid. Launch on several: each is another audience, and where the link is dofollow, another backlink.
What is a launch directory?
A launch directory is a website that lists new products so people can discover them. Founders submit their product to reach an audience, get early users, and (on some directories) earn a backlink to their site.
AlternativeTo ↗General
A crowdsourced software alternatives site. Gets you in front of people actively looking to switch tools.
DR 91Free
Product Hunt ↗General
The largest launch platform. A daily leaderboard and a huge maker audience — the default first launch for most products.
DR 91Free
Indie Hackers ↗Community
A founder community rather than a directory — but a well-timed "Show IH" post can drive real early traffic.
DR 90Free
The best-known AI tools directory. High-intent traffic for anything AI. Listing is paid.
DR 86Paid
A large AI tools directory with category browsing and rankings. Free and paid tiers.
DR 81Freemium
SaaSHub ↗General
A software alternatives and listings site. Evergreen discovery — people find you when searching for competitors.
DR 79Freemium
Peerlist ↗Community
A maker community with a fast-growing launch section. Strong for developers and design-led products.
DR 74Free
BetaList ↗General
Early-stage and pre-launch startups. Good for collecting your first signups before a full launch. Paid option skips the queue.
DR 72Freemium
Dev Hunt ↗Developer
A launch board specifically for developer tools. The right audience if you ship SDKs, CLIs, or APIs.
DR 70Free
Launching Next ↗General
A long-running directory of new startups. Simple submission, evergreen listing.
DR 61Freemium
SideProjectors ↗Indie
Showcase, buy, or sell side projects. A niche audience of makers browsing for tools and deals.
DR 59Free
StartupBase ↗Indie
An indie startup directory with an engaged community and upvotes. Good long-tail discovery.
DR 56Freemium
Uneed ↗General
Daily product discovery with a clean, no-noise feed. Free listing plus paid options for premium placement.
DR 55Freemium
Fazier ↗Indie
A launch platform with embeddable badges and a weekly leaderboard. Popular with indie makers.
DR 52Freemium
MicroLaunch ↗Indie
Built for micro-startups and indie products. Simple, founder-friendly, with a supportive community.
DR 49Freemium
DR = approximate Ahrefs Domain Rating; values drift over time.
Want a guaranteed dofollow without karma?
Most big directories use nofollow links, and getting seen there means winning votes or an algorithm's favor. InstantLaunch skips both. Paid listings receive permanent dofollow links immediately. Free listings start nofollow and become dofollow after badge verification. Paid plans start at $5 one-time.
Launch NowLaunch directory FAQ
Are backlinks from launch directories dofollow?
It varies. Many large platforms use nofollow links. InstantLaunch gives paid listings a permanent dofollow backlink from $5 one-time. Free listings start nofollow and unlock dofollow after badge verification.
How many launch directories should I submit to?
Submit to the directories that match your audience. Each listing is another discovery surface. Where the link is dofollow, it is also another backlink. Start with the general platforms, then add niche ones.
Which launch directory is best?
Product Hunt has the largest audience. BetaList works well for pre-launch signups. Dev Hunt fits developer tools. The right pick depends on who you want to reach, which is why most founders launch on more than one.