Startup directories worth submitting to in 2026

The startup directories worth submitting to in 2026 are LaunchScaler, Product Hunt, Uneed, BetaList, SaaSCity, Microlaunch, Fazier, DevHunt, Peerlist Launchpad, TinyLaunch, PitchWall, OpenHunts and Twelve Tools, compared here on price, the wait for a free launch and the link to your site. Every price, wait and link term below was checked on the directory's own pages on 9 November 2026.

Where a directory publishes nothing on a point, the table says "Not published" rather than guessing. Directories listed inside LaunchScaler's own directory are left out of this list.

How do startup directories compare on cost, wait and link?

Most startup directories have a free route with a condition attached: a queue, a badge on your site, or a top-three finish before the link is followed. Paid routes mostly buy a date or remove the condition. The table puts price, the free wait, the link terms and the audience each directory states side by side.

Which startup directories are best in 2026?

No single directory suits every startup, because each sets a different condition: a queue, a badge, votes 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, so pick by the condition you can meet.

1. LaunchScaler: the directory that checks your site before listing it

LaunchScaler is a daily launch board and directory where a URL is the only thing you submit. Before anything is listed it runs a 156-check readiness scan across 6 of its 7 categories, from search and AI visibility to security and whether the site's forms and flows work. A listing's page is indexed once the site passes the readiness bar, and each listing can earn 1 dofollow link, which only passing earns.

The free launch takes a day at least 14 days out and gives you a permanent listing in category and search, with an About section and pros and cons written from your own site, and it asks for LaunchScaler's badge on your site or a one-time fee to skip it. The Premium launch is $29 one-time: any open day, today included, your listing written for you from your own scan, nothing to put on your site, and a place in the permanent curated index after the listing's standing decays. Launch Max, $99 one-time, adds a week of homepage Featured, 30 days of Spotlight and a review article. The pricing page adds: "The followed link still needs a pass."

2. Product Hunt: free, with a daily reset at 12:01 am Pacific

Product Hunt's launch guide says "Launching costs nothing." Every launch goes live at 12:01 am Pacific on its scheduled day and runs until midnight Pacific, and you can schedule it from tomorrow up to 30 days ahead. Not every launch is featured on the homepage: it doesn't feature waitlisted products unless immediate access is provided. Its guide also says not to ask people directly for upvotes.

3. Uneed: a free line with a vote threshold for the link

Uneed's free line assigns a date at least 50 days out. On launch day an upvote score of 20 keeps a dofollow link, 10 to 19 keeps the listing with a nofollow link, and below 10 sends it back to your dashboard. Fast-track ($14.99) gives a date about 2 weeks out; Skip the line ($39.99) lets you pick the date with a dofollow link for life. Uneed states 125K monthly visitors and 30,000+ newsletter subscribers.

4. BetaList: paid review for pre-launch and new startups

BetaList features startups "pre-launch, in beta, or already live" on their own domain, not on vercel.app or similar subdomains. All submissions are paid, prices appear at the end of the submission form, and you're refunded in full if not selected. The featured "Visit Site" button is dofollow, routed through a 301 with ref=betalist added. It generally features each startup once, except a pre-launch startup can return when it launches.

5. SaaSCity: paid listings with a followed link

SaaSCity's homepage says new listings have been paid since 6 November 2026. The Basic listing ($19.99, once) is reviewed by hand, goes live within 24 hours and links to your site with a followed link for as long as the listing is up. Premium ($39.99) adds a launch review its editor writes and publishes on its blog within 3 days, with 5 links to your site. Its pricing page is candid that directory listings, its own included, "send modest referral traffic."

6. Microlaunch: a paid launch with a followed link

Microlaunch showed no free launch on 9 November 2026: its submit link opens the Premium pricing. Launch Pro, listed at $49 and discounted to $39 with a code when checked, lets you pick your launch date, runs as a 30-day campaign and includes "Lifetime SEO DR64+ Do-follow Backlinks." Microlaunch allows re-launches "for major feature releases only." Its audience figures differ between its homepage and premium page, so none is quoted here.

7. Fazier: free with a backlink, guaranteed link on Premium

Fazier's Basic plan is free, "Reviewed & listed within 30 days," and requires a backlink to Fazier on your homepage or footer. Lite ($29, listed from $39) adds a scheduled date and a followed link for the day's top 3; Premium ($49, listed from $69) guarantees a "high-authority backlink (DR 83+)." It states 1M+ visits.

8. DevHunt: for developer tools, weekly

DevHunt takes developer tools only, and a new batch launches on its home page each week. Listing a tool is free and gives a permanent page with a nofollow link. A launch costs $49 once: you choose the week, get a newsletter spot, and the link becomes dofollow. Its stats page showed 167.4K visitors in the last 30 days and a weekly newsletter of 46,496 subscribers.

9. Peerlist Launchpad: free, weekly, for verified makers

Peerlist Launchpad's launch window opens every Monday and a launch runs for a week; a project goes live as soon as you launch it. You need a verified Peerlist profile; workplace verification is free. Only "the top 5 projects of the week are awarded a backlink." Peerlist doesn't publish an audience figure.

10. TinyLaunch: a free queue, a badge for the link

TinyLaunch's Standard launch is free, with a launch about 4 weeks after a free slot opens. Its homepage says a "dofollow backlink is granted when you embed the badge" linking to TinyLaunch, and top-3 products also get one. Premium ($39) skips the queue with a guaranteed backlink. Listings are moderator-reviewed. It states 30,000+ users.

11. PitchWall: the former BetaPage

betapage.co now redirects to PitchWall. Its free launch has at least a 30-day wait and is described as including a "Do-follow backlink (DR 70)"; Pro ($49) cuts the wait to 2 weeks and Premium ($99) lets you choose the date. On pages checked on 9 November, featured listings linked with a followed link, while non-featured listings went through a redirect marked nofollow. Every submission is manually reviewed.

12. OpenHunts: cheap Premium, long free queue

OpenHunts runs 20 free slots a week with a queue of about 60 weeks, which adding its badge skips; a free launch gets a dofollow link only in the top 3. Premium, $9.90 when checked (listed at $19), launches next Monday with a guaranteed dofollow link. It publishes its own traffic: 163,710 visits and 10,276 users over 12 months.

13. Twelve Tools: free with a reciprocal link

Twelve Tools lists twelve tools a day. The free plan gives 1 dofollow link, is "Reviewed within 72 hours," and requires a backlink to Twelve Tools on your homepage or footer; the listing can be removed if that backlink goes. Pro is $36 one-time, listed within 24 hours, with permanent dofollow links and no backlink required.

What about profile directories like Crunchbase and AlternativeTo?

Profile directories list a company or product permanently rather than launching it on a day. They're worth a complete profile because buyers and journalists check them, but most use nofollow links. AlternativeTo and SaaSHub review each submission before it appears.

AlternativeTo says paying for priority review "does not buy approval," and SaaSHub rejects waitlist pages and free subdomains.

How do you check a directory is worth submitting to?

Before you submit, confirm three things: the directory's listing pages are indexed, it launched products recently, and its link terms are ones you accept. A listing on a page Google never indexed can't rank for your name and passes nothing. Checking takes five minutes per directory.

1. Open two or three existing listings. Search Google for site: followed by one listing's full URL. Google's documentation notes a site: query "doesn't necessarily return all the URLs that are indexed," so test more than one.
2. View each listing's source for <meta name="robots" content="noindex"> and check the outbound link's rel attribute.
3. Check the homepage for a launch dated this week.
4. Read the terms for badges, reciprocal links and vote thresholds.

URL Inspection in Search Console only works on properties you own, so for a directory's pages site: and the page source are your tools. The guide to whether launch listings get indexed walks through every check, and the verdict on whether directory submissions are still worth it covers Google's link spam policies.

Which directories fit your situation?

Start from the constraint you can't move. A fixed launch date points to a directory that sells dates; no budget points to a free route whose condition you can meet; a developer tool points to DevHunt and Show HN. For more launch-day options see the product launch platforms compared, for SaaS-specific places the SaaS directories list, and for AI products the AI tool directories ranked.

Launch on the day you pick with Premium

If your launch needs a date you control and a listing written for you, LaunchScaler's Premium launch is $29, paid once. It books any open day, today included, writes the listing 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. The followed link still depends on your site passing the 156-check readiness scan, so fix what the scan flags before your day. Get Premium, or choose the free launch on the same page and let the queue reach you.