Which launch platforms give a dofollow link, and on what condition

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 requires a paid listing. Several smaller boards guarantee the followed link only on a paid plan.

Every condition below is quoted from the platform's own pages, checked on 9 November 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.

Which launch platforms are best for a dofollow backlink?

Which one suits you depends on the condition you can meet: a passing scan, votes, a badge or a fee. LaunchScaler is listed first because it is our site. The numbers on the rest follow the table above and are not a ranking.

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 takes a day at least 14 days out 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. Launch Max, $99 one-time, adds a week of homepage Featured, 30 days of Spotlight and a review article. Neither buys 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 at least 50 days 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 ($39.99) 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 help page says the "Visit Site" button on a featured listing points to a betalist.com address that sends visitors on to your site with "a permanent 301," adding ref=betalist, and that "The link is do-follow too." 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 on 9 November, the button had no rel attribute while image links on the same page were nofollow.

4. SaaSCity: a followed link on every paid listing

SaaSCity's homepage says new listings have been paid since 6 November 2026. Its pricing page lists a dofollow backlink on both plans, "A followed link from your listing page on saascity.io to your site, for as long as the listing is up." The Basic listing is $19.99 and Premium, which adds a launch review on its blog, is $39.99, both one-time, reviewed by hand and live within 24 hours.

5. Microlaunch: dofollow on Launch Pro

Microlaunch showed no free launch on 9 November 2026: its submit link opens the Premium pricing. Launch Pro, listed at $49 and offered at $39 with a code when checked, includes "Lifetime SEO DR64+ Do-follow Backlinks" and lets you pick your launch date.

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 a launch page checked on 9 November, the Visit button had no nofollow.

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 pages sampled on 9 November, Premium launches 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 on 9 November went through a redirect marked nofollow, so check a listing like yours before relying on it. DevHunt's FAQ says links on free listings are nofollow and paid launches ($49) get a permanent dofollow link. Peerlist's FAQ says "only the top 5 projects of the week are awarded a backlink."

11. Product Hunt and Show HN: no stated followed link

Product Hunt's launch guide says nothing about the link. Show HN's guidelines don't mention links either; reading the show page's HTML on 9 November 2026, title links on most posts with 12 points or fewer carried rel="nofollow", and none with more than 15 points did. 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:

1. Open an existing listing from a recent launch on the same plan you'd buy.
2. View the source and find the outbound link to the product. Read its rel attribute.
3. Check the page's <meta name="robots"> for noindex, and run curl -sI on the URL for an X-Robots-Tag header.
4. Search Google for site: plus the listing's full URL.
5. If the link goes through a redirect, run curl -sI on it and confirm a 301 to the product's site.

The guides on nofollow vs dofollow and on backlinks for a new website cover how much weight to give each link type.

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.