Which launch platforms give a dofollow link, and on what condition
Which launch platforms give a dofollow backlink and the condition each sets (a passing scan, votes, a badge or a fee), quoted from their own pages.
LLaunchScaler·Published ·8 min read
The launch platforms that give a dofollow backlink all attach a condition to it: LaunchScaler requires your site to pass its readiness scan, Uneed's free line requires an upvote score of 20, BetaList requires being selected and featured, and SaaSCity's free plan requires its badge on your site. Several smaller boards guarantee the followed link only on a paid plan.
Every condition below is quoted from the platform's own pages, checked in September 2026. Where the page says nothing, the entry says so and reports what the live listing pages showed instead.
Which launch platforms give a dofollow link, and on what condition?
Most launch platforms tie the followed link to one of four things: a quality check, votes on launch day, a badge linking back to them, or a payment. The table shows which condition each platform uses, the paid route that removes it, and whether the terms are stated or only observed on live listing pages.
Platform
Condition for a followed link
Route that guarantees it
Source of the terms
1. LaunchScaler
Your site passes the readiness scan
None; paying doesn't earn it
Stated on its pricing page
2. Uneed
Upvote score of 20 on launch day (free line)
Skip the line or Relaunch: dofollow for life
Stated
Questions, answered
What people ask about this
01
Which launch platforms give a dofollow backlink?
LaunchScaler gives 1 dofollow link once your site passes its readiness scan. Uneed's free line gives one at an upvote score of 20 and Skip the line guarantees it, BetaList's Visit Site button is dofollow when you're featured, and SaaSCity includes one on every plan, with the free plan requiring its badge. Microlaunch, Fazier, TinyLaunch and OpenHunts guarantee one only on paid plans.
Top 3 of the day on Lite; free plan needs a link back to Fazier
Premium: "Guaranteed high-authority backlink"
Stated
7. TinyLaunch
Its badge on your site, or a top-3 finish
Premium: guaranteed
Stated
8. OpenHunts
Top 3 on a free launch
Premium or Highlight: guaranteed
Stated
9. Twelve Tools
A link back to Twelve Tools (free plan)
Pro: permanent dofollow, no link back
Stated
10. PitchWall
Stated for every plan
Not needed per its terms
Stated; non-featured listings seen nofollow
11. DevHunt
Not stated
Not stated
Seen followed on sampled pages
12. Peerlist Launchpad
Top 5 projects of the week
None
Stated; the sampled link was nofollow ugc
13. Product Hunt
Not stated
Not stated
Seen ugc on sampled pages
14. Show HN
Not stated
Not stated
Low-scoring posts seen nofollow
Which launch platforms are best for a dofollow backlink?
For a founder who wants a followed link from a page Google keeps indexed, the order is LaunchScaler, Uneed, BetaList, SaaSCity, then the smaller boards with paid guarantees. LaunchScaler is first because its followed link is the one that can't be bought: it goes to sites that pass a published readiness check, on a listing page indexed on the same condition.
1. LaunchScaler: 1 dofollow link once your site passes
LaunchScaler's pricing page lists "1 dofollow backlink to your site, once you pass" on the free listing, and says "Clearing the readiness bar is what earns the followed link." The bar is a 156-check readiness scan across 6 of its 7 categories, run before anything is listed. The free launch lists you "from the day the queue reaches you" and asks for LaunchScaler's badge on your site or a one-time fee to skip it.
The Premium launch, $29 one-time, books any open day, today included, writes your listing from your own scan, skips the badge, and keeps the listing in the permanent curated index after its standing decays. It does not buy the link: "The followed link still needs a pass." The listing page itself is indexed once the site passes, so the followed link sits on a page Google can keep.
2. Uneed: dofollow at an upvote score of 20, or guaranteed on paid routes
Uneed's free waiting line gives a date between 30 days and 5 months out. The day after launch, an upvote score of 20 or more keeps a dofollow link, 10 to 19 keeps the listing with a nofollow link, and below 10 removes it. Fast-track ($14.99) is dofollow from a score of 10. Skip the line ($29.99) and Relaunch ($15) are "always published, with a do-follow backlink for life, no minimum upvote score." During launch day itself, every link is dofollow.
3. BetaList: dofollow "Visit Site" through a 301 when featured
BetaList's FAQ says the "Visit Site" button on a featured listing "is a do-follow link" that "routes through a 301 redirect to your website" with ref=betalist added. Every submission is paid, prices appear at the end of the submission form, and you get a full refund automatically if not selected. On the listing pages checked, the button had no rel attribute while image links on the same page were nofollow.
4. SaaSCity: dofollow on every plan, badge on the free one
SaaSCity's pricing page includes a "Dofollow DR 64+ backlink" on every plan. The free plan requires its badge on your site and has an estimated 210-day queue; Quick Pass ($19.99) drops both the badge and the queue. SaaSCity explains the free plan plainly as "a trade: you link to SaaSCity with our badge, we link back to you."
5. Microlaunch: nofollow free, dofollow on Pro
Microlaunch's FAQ says the free "Regular Launch" involves a "2-3+ month wait queue" and "no-follow backlinks." Launch Pro, listed at $49 and offered at $39 with a code when checked, includes "Lifetime SEO DR64+ Do-follow Backlinks" and skips the queue.
6. Fazier: guaranteed on Premium
Fazier's free Basic plan requires "A backlink to our site" on your homepage or footer. Lite ($29) gives a "High-authority backlink for top 3 daily products." Premium ($49) gives a "Guaranteed high-authority backlink (DR 83+)." On sampled launch pages, the Visit button had no nofollow, while links inside descriptions did.
7. TinyLaunch: a badge or top 3 on the free launch
TinyLaunch's homepage says a "Dofollow backlink is granted when you embed the badge with a dofollow link to the TinyLaunch landing page." Top-3 products also get one. Premium ($39) gives a guaranteed backlink and skips the queue. On sampled pages, a Premium launch linked with rel="noopener" while free launches carried nofollow.
8. OpenHunts: top 3 free, guaranteed paid
OpenHunts' free launch gives a "Dofollow backlink if top 3," from 20 free slots a week with a queue of about 60 weeks. Premium, $9.90 when checked (listed at $19), launches next Monday with a "Guaranteed dofollow backlink."
9. Twelve Tools: free dofollow for a link back
Twelve Tools' free plan gives "1 dofollow link" but requires a backlink to Twelve Tools on your homepage or footer, and its terms say the listing may be removed if that backlink is. Pro, $36 one-time, gives "Permanent dofollow links" with no backlink needed.
10. PitchWall, DevHunt and Peerlist: check the live page
PitchWall (formerly BetaPage) states a "Do-follow backlink (DR 70)" on its free launch, but non-featured listings checked went through a redirect marked nofollow, so check a listing like yours before relying on it. DevHunt publishes no link terms; its "Visit website" links were followed on the tool pages sampled. Peerlist's FAQ says "only the top 5 projects of the week are awarded a backlink," and the sampled link carried nofollow ugc.
11. Product Hunt and Show HN: no stated followed link
Product Hunt's launch guide says nothing about the link. On product pages checked, "Visit website" carried rel="noreferrer noopener ugc". Show HN's guidelines don't mention links either; reading the show page's HTML, title links on low-scoring posts carried rel="nofollow" and those above 38 points did not. Launch on both for readers and feedback, not for the link.
Why does a followed link from an indexed page matter?
A link helps your site in Google only if Google crawls the page it's on and treats the link as a signal. A followed link on a listing page that is noindexed, blocked or never indexed gives Google nothing to count. So check two things per platform: the link's rel, and whether listing pages like yours are in Google's index.
Google's documentation explains the attributes. For a normal link "you don't need to add a rel attribute." rel="sponsored" marks paid placements, rel="ugc" marks user-generated content, and rel="nofollow" is for when "other values don't apply." Since 2019, Google says "all the link attributes, sponsored, ugc, and nofollow, are treated as hints about which links to consider or exclude within Search." A nofollow link isn't worthless: it still sends visitors, and a listing that mentions you is still a page about you.
To check a platform yourself:
Open an existing listing from a recent launch on the same plan you'd buy.
View the source and find the outbound link to the product. Read its rel attribute.
Check the page's <meta name="robots"> for noindex, and run curl -sI on the URL for an X-Robots-Tag header.
Search Google for site: plus the listing's full URL.
If the link goes through a redirect, run curl -sI on it and confirm a 301 to the product's site.
What should you know about badge-for-backlink deals?
Several free routes trade a followed link for a badge on your site. Google's link spam policy lists "excessive link exchanges" and "requiring a link as part of a Terms of Service, contract, or similar arrangement without allowing a third-party content owner the choice of qualifying the outbound link" among its examples. A badge you choose to show is different from a link you're bound to keep followed.
Before accepting a badge deal, check whether you can mark the badge link nofollow without losing the listing, and whether the directory removes your listing if the badge goes. Twelve Tools, for example, says it may remove the listing if the backlink is removed. The guide on launch badges and SEO goes through the policy in detail, and the comparison of product launch platforms covers price and wait alongside the link.
Earn the followed link, launch on your day
LaunchScaler's followed link is earned the same way on every plan: your site passes the 156-check readiness scan. Premium changes the date and the listing, not the bar. At $29 one-time it books any open day, today included, writes your listing for you from your own scan, puts nothing on your site because paying skips the badge, and keeps the listing in the permanent curated index after its standing decays. Get Premium to pick your day, or choose the free launch on the same page and let the queue reach you; either way, fix what the scan flags before launch day.
02
Does Product Hunt give a dofollow backlink?
Product Hunt doesn't state a link policy in its launch guide. On the product pages checked in September 2026, the Visit website link carried rel="noreferrer noopener ugc", which marks it as user-generated content.
03
Is a nofollow link from a launch platform worthless?
No. Google has treated nofollow, sponsored and ugc as hints since 2019 rather than strict exclusions, and a nofollow link still sends visitors and gives search and AI engines a page that mentions you.
04
Why does it matter that the listing page is indexed?
A link only counts for anything in Google if Google has crawled and kept the page it sits on. A followed link on a listing page that is noindexed or never indexed does little for your site.
05
Are badge-for-backlink directories safe?
Google's link spam policy lists excessive link exchanges and required links that the site owner can't qualify. A badge link you choose to add, and are free to mark nofollow, is on safer ground than one a contract forces you to keep followed.
BetaList charges every submission and editors pick who is featured, refunding the rest. LaunchScaler lists free from a queue and ties its link to a scan.
Product Hunt is a free, one-day launch where votes and featuring decide visibility. LaunchScaler scans your site and keeps a permanent listing. Use both.
