Backlink research
Best directories for SEO: which web directory backlinks still work in 2026
Not every web directory backlink is worth the time it takes to submit. The ones that help are indexed, have a real Domain Rating and give a dofollow link. This guide covers which online directories still move DR in 2026, how to tell them from link farms, and the order that gets the most out of each hour.
Founder, SaaSCity
Updated
DR data from Ahrefs
- 1,666
- Directories tracked
- 770
- Confirmed dofollow
- 225
- DR 70 or higher
- 672
- Free to submit
Contents (7)
Web directory SEO was oversold for years, and the backlash has gone too far the other way. The truth is narrower. A small number of high-DR, indexed, dofollow directories still pass real link equity, and submitting to them is one of the better uses of an early-stage founder’s time. The rest are not worth the form: abandoned listing sites, link farms with bought DR, and directories that quietly switched to nofollow.
This page is only about SEO value: which directories pass link equity through a dofollow link, what their DR is today, and how to check that they are real. Which directories send the most launch-day traffic, or fit a particular kind of product, is a different question. The best SaaS directories page answers that one.
For every free dofollow directory in one list, see the free dofollow directories page. For the DR 70+ tier with every link type, see the high-DR directories on the hub. To check a directory’s DR before you submit, use the free Domain Rating checker.
OursSaaSCity puts your SaaS on a living city map
Every listing becomes a building on the map with a permanent profile page and a DR 65 dofollow link. It also gets a launch week in front of the founders who browse the city. The free route needs our badge on your site and a slot in the weekly launch queue. Quick Pass skips both and goes live within 24 hours.
SaaSCity is a directory too, and this is our site. We kept ourselves out of the picks below, so weigh us the way you would any other entry. A listing here is dofollow at DR 65; the free route asks for our badge on your site.
What counts as a real directory for SEO
A directory helps your rankings when three things hold. Google indexes its listing pages, not just its homepage and category pages. Its Domain Rating comes from real links, which shows in its own search traffic. And the link on your listing is dofollow on the rendered page, not only in the marketing copy. Plenty of directories advertise dofollow and deliver nofollow, or keep the followed link for paid tiers.
The data behind this page started as 2,404 rows. Dead and parked domains, news sites, company pages, social networks, articles that only list other directories and link farms were removed, leaving 1,666. DR is Ahrefs Domain Rating, last refreshed October 4, 2026, on a scale of 0 to 100. Link type comes from a live listing wherever one was checked; 605 rows have no checked link type yet, and the lists mark them as unchecked.
DR is logarithmic. The gap between DR 80 and DR 90 is much wider than the gap between DR 40 and DR 50, so one dofollow link from a DR 90 directory carries more weight than several from DR 40 sites, as long as all of them sit on indexed pages. That is why the order further down starts at the top of the DR range and works down. For what moves DR beyond directories, see the guide to increasing Domain Rating.
Dofollow vs nofollow: which directories pass SEO value
The most important filter when you choose directories for backlinks.
Dofollow directories pass link equity
- Count toward your Domain Rating in Ahrefs and similar tools
- Pass ranking signal to your domain, which can lift your positions over time
- Keep working for as long as the listing stays live
- SourceForge, SaaSHub, StackShare and DEV Community give a dofollow link on a free listing
- Check the link on a live listing, never on the pricing page
Nofollow directories send traffic only
- Pass no link equity, so your DR does not move
- Can still send visitors who are looking for a tool like yours
- Product Hunt, Hacker News, AlternativeTo, G2 and Capterra are nofollow
- Track them separately, and submit for the traffic
Product Hunt and AlternativeTo are distribution channels. Keep them in a separate batch from your link building, and use the free dofollow directories list for the links.
The best web directories for SEO, with notes
The 12 strongest directories we have written notes on that give a dofollow link on a free or freemium listing, highest DR first. DR, link type and price come from the live data; the note is what we found on the site.
- DR 93
SourceForge
sourceforge.net
Dofollow FreeOld, and still one of the strongest domains that will link to you for free. It only makes sense if you ship something people download or self-host; the audience skews IT and ops.
- DR 91
DEV Community
dev.to
Dofollow FreeA strong link, but only if you write something real. A thin launch post does more harm than no post.
- DR 86
GoodFirms
goodfirms.co
Dofollow FreeThe category pages are thin. Worth one submission, not ongoing effort.
- DR 84
Startup Fame
startupfa.me
Dofollow Free Wants a badge backLinks from a domain this strong usually cost money. Here the free route asks for their badge on your site instead. Approval is manual but quick.
- DR 83
Fazier
fazier.com
Dofollow Free Wants a badge backA Product Hunt alternative with far less competition on any given day. The free listing asks for a link back to Fazier; paying buys launch-day visibility, not a better link.
- DR 83
Twelve Tools
twelve.tools
Dofollow Free + paid tiers Wants a badge backOne form puts you on Twelve Tools and a set of smaller sister directories. The main listing is the one that counts; the smaller ones vary.
- DR 81
Findly.tools
findly.tools
Dofollow Free Wants a badge backA clean, fast-moving tool directory with decent browse traffic. The link stays dofollow for as long as their badge stays on your site.
- DR 80
SaaSHub
saashub.com
Dofollow FreeIts alternatives and comparison pages rank. Verify your listing (free, with a company email) to get the followed link; unverified listings are nofollow. You add it once and it keeps working.
- DR 78
StackShare
stackshare.io
Dofollow FreeWhere engineering teams list the tools in their stack. Useful if you sell to developers.
- DR 76
Uneed
uneed.best
Dofollow Free + paid tiers Wants a badge backThe best-run of the newer launch platforms. The free slot gets you listed; the paid tiers buy a better launch day, not a better link.
- DR 73
PeerPush
peerpush.net
Dofollow Free Wants a badge backAn indie maker network that other founders really do browse. The free route asks for a badge back.
An earlier version of this guide counted G2, Capterra, Indie Hackers, Alternative.me, SoftwareWorld, FoundrList and Open Launch as dofollow. In our data today, each of them marks the link on a listing nofollow, so they are out of the picks. They can still be worth it for buyers and visitors; they will not move your DR.
Every dofollow directory at DR 70 or higher
89 directories with a confirmed dofollow link and a DR of 70 or more. Paid ones are included, so check the price before you plan a batch.
- DR 100
- DR 93
- DR 93
- DR 92
- DR 92
- DR 91
- DR 91
- DR 90
- DR 89
- DR 87
- DR 86
- DR 86
- DR 86
- DR 84
- DR 84
- DR 83
- DR 83
- DR 83
- DR 83
- DR 82
- DR 81
- DR 81
- DR 80
- DR 80
- DR 80
- DR 80
- DR 80
- DR 80
- DR 79
- DR 79
- DR 79
- DR 78
- DR 78
- DR 78
- DR 77
- DR 77
- DR 77
- DR 77
- DR 76
- DR 76
- DR 76
- DR 75
- DR 75
- DR 75
- DR 75
- DR 75
- DR 75
- DR 75
- DR 75
- DR 74
- DR 74
- DR 74
- DR 74
- DR 74
- DR 73
- DR 73
- DR 73
- DR 73
- DR 73
- DR 73
- DR 73
- DR 73
- DR 72
- DR 72
- DR 72
- DR 72
- DR 72
- DR 72
- DR 72
- DR 72
- DR 72
- DR 71
- DR 71
- DR 71
- DR 71
- DR 71
- DR 71
- DR 71
- DR 71
- DR 71
- DR 70
- DR 70
- DR 70
- DR 70
- DR 70
- DR 70
- DR 70
- DR 70
- DR 70
How to spot a link farm before you submit
A high DR alone does not make a directory worth a submission. These signs flag sites that will waste your time or put your link next to spam.
Instant approval with no review
A real directory moderates submissions. If your listing goes live seconds after you hit submit, with no editorial check of any kind, the directory is fully automated or too thin for Google to weight its links. An approval queue of at least a day is a reasonable sign that someone looks.
High DR with almost no search traffic
Domain Rating can be inflated with links bought from private blog networks. A DR 80 directory with almost no organic traffic has almost certainly bought its backlink profile. A real directory earns its DR with pages that rank. Look at the organic traffic in Ahrefs next to the DR before you pay for any listing.
Listing pages missing from Google
If a site:thedirectory.com search returns the homepage and category pages but no individual listings, Google has chosen not to index the listings. A link from a page Google does not index passes no authority. A site: search with the name of a listed product is the fastest check before you fill in a form.
Dofollow in the copy, nofollow on the page
Some directories promise dofollow in their FAQ or pricing page, then add nofollow with JavaScript when the listing renders. Inspect a live listing in the browser, or check it in a backlink tool. Marketing copy is no proof of link type.
A badge or link back as the price of a listing
A directory that lists you only if you link back is asking for a reciprocal link, and Google’s spam policies name excessive link exchanges as link spam. A few with directories you value are fine. A site whose every listing is a badge swap is not worth the link. SaaSCity’s free listing asks for a badge too.
Many look-alike directories from one owner
Some operators run many directories with the same design from the same servers. On paper they look like separate referring domains; in practice they are one source. If several sites you submitted to share a template and an owner, count them as one link.
The order that gets the most from your time
Order matters more than volume. Working down from the highest-DR free dofollow listings gets you the most SEO return per hour.
- Claim the free dofollow listings at DR 70 and up SourceForge, DEV Community, GoodFirms, Startup Fame and Fazier are free and dofollow. They return the most per submission and cost nothing, so they come before anything else.
- Add the free dofollow listings between DR 50 and 69 Pitchwall, LibHunt, DevHunt and Microlaunch cost nothing and add referring domains. Many different referring domains make a healthier profile than a pile of links from one strong site.
- Check the link on a rendered listing before each submission Inspect a live listing on the directory in the browser or in a backlink tool. Never rely on the pricing page or the FAQ for the link type. A few minutes per directory saves you submitting to sites that switched to nofollow.
- Pay only after the free set is done If a directory has a DR above 65 and the only route to a dofollow link is a one-time fee, that can cost less than the time a guest post takes. Apply the same two tests every time: is the DR real (the site has its own search traffic), and is the link dofollow on a live listing?
- Keep launch platforms in a separate batch Product Hunt, Hacker News and most launch platforms are nofollow or tied to a launch date. Plan them around a launch week when you can bring people, and keep them out of your evergreen link work.
- Check index status six to eight weeks after each batch A sheet with the domain, submission date, link type and whether the listing shows up in a site: search tells you which directories delivered. It also stops double submissions and flags listings to resubmit.
Rather hand the forms to someone else? Our directory submission service submits your product to 50 to 150 directories, from $49, high-DR sites first, and emails you a report of every live URL.
Questions about web directories and SEO
- Do web directory backlinks still help with SEO in 2026?
- Yes, when the directory is an indexed site with real authority and the link on your listing is dofollow. A dofollow link from a DR 70+ directory passes ranking signal to your domain. Abandoned listing sites, link farms and directories whose link is nofollow on the rendered page do nothing for you.
- What makes a web directory good for SEO?
- Three things: the domain has real authority, measured as Domain Rating; the link on your listing is dofollow on the rendered page, not only in the marketing copy; and the site has its own search traffic and indexed listing pages. High DR alone is not enough. A high-DR site with almost no search traffic has usually bought its links.
- How do I tell a real SEO directory from a link farm?
- Search Google for site:thedirectory.com plus the name of a product it lists, to see whether listings are indexed. Check that the link on a live listing is dofollow. Look at its organic traffic in Ahrefs: a real directory gets visitors from search. A link farm approves everything instantly, has little search traffic despite a high DR, and its listing pages are not indexed.
- What is the difference between dofollow and nofollow directory links?
- A dofollow link passes link equity to your domain and counts toward your Domain Rating. A nofollow link (rel="nofollow", "ugc" or "sponsored") does not, though both can send visitors. SourceForge, SaaSHub, StackShare and DEV Community give a dofollow link on a free listing. Product Hunt, Hacker News, AlternativeTo, G2 and Capterra are nofollow: worth it for reach, and outside your backlink plan.
- How many directory backlinks do I need to move my Domain Rating?
- It depends on where you start. DR is logarithmic, so each point takes more work than the last: a young domain moves on fewer links than one already at DR 40 or 50, which needs more referring domains and stronger ones. Twenty to forty relevant directories is a sensible first batch. Ten strong, relevant dofollow links do more than a hundred from thin directories.
- Should I pay for directory listings?
- Only when the directory has a real DR built on real links and the paid tier is the only way to a permanent dofollow link. Many directories give a dofollow link on a free listing, so do those first. Never pay for a nofollow link on a directory with little traffic.
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