How do you check whether a directory link is dofollow?

We open a live listing in Chrome and read the anchor that links to the listed product. A link with no nofollow, ugc or sponsored value in its rel attribute, pointing straight at the product, is dofollow. A link through the directory's own redirect URL is marked as a redirect, and the review says whether the redirect can pass anything: BetaList's 301 can, while Future Tools blocks its redirect in robots.txt.

Why is a directory I use not reviewed here?

A directory gets a full review when there is something to check that its homepage does not tell you, and when founders search for it by name. All 1,666 sites in our dataset are in the full directory list, with their DR, link type and price.

Do the reviews include SaaSCity?

No. SaaSCity is our own directory, so reviewing it here would not be worth much. Each review says where SaaSCity fits next to the site it covers, marked as ours.

How often are the reviews updated?

Each review shows the date it was last checked by hand. Domain Rating refreshes automatically from Ahrefs; prices, rules and the link check are re-done by hand when a site changes them.

Did any directory pay to be reviewed?

No. Nobody paid for a review or for its verdict, and SaaSCity runs a launch directory of its own, which each review says.

Directory reviews

Launch directory reviews, link-checked by hand

What each directory really gives you: the link on a live listing, the free route and its catch, the cheapest plan and how to get in. One page per site, dated.

ghosty

Founder, SaaSCity

Updated October 7, 2026

Checked by hand. DR from Ahrefs.

17
Sites reviewed: 4
Followed on every listing we checked: 14
Have a free route: 1,666
In the full list

Contents (9)

All reviews compared
Launch platforms
Communities
AI tool directories
Software discovery sites
Software review sites
Company databases
How we review a directory
FAQ

How to read these reviews

We open each directory the way a maker would: read its pricing and rules, find a live listing and inspect the link it gives the listed product in Chrome. The table below puts those checks side by side, so you can see which sites send a followed link, which route it through a redirect and what the free route really costs before you spend a launch day on it.

All reviews compared

Link type as we saw it on a live listing (an archived copy for G2 and Crunchbase, which blocked our checker), which can differ from what a site says about itself.

Directory reviews compared
Directory	DR	Link (our check)	Free route	Paid from
Product Hunt	DR 91	Nofollow	Yes, always	None to launch
BetaList	DR 77	Followed via 301	No	Shown after sign-in
Uneed	DR 76	Depends on plan and score	Yes, with a long wait	$14.99
Fazier	DR 83	Dofollow	Yes, with a badge on your site	$29 Lite
Microlaunch	DR 64	Dofollow	Yes, wait not published	$39 Launch Pro
Peerlist Launchpad	DR 77	Nofollow	Yes, with a verified profile	$29 Featured Launch
DevHunt	DR 65	Followed if paid	Yes, after a long queue	$19 by its FAQ
Hacker News (Show HN)	DR 91	Depends on points	Yes, always	None
There's An AI For That	DR 77	Dofollow	One pick a month on X	$49
Toolify.ai	DR 73	Dofollow	No	$99 ($29 for a GPT)
Futurepedia	DR 72	Nofollow	No	$497
Future Tools	DR 69	Blocked redirect	Yes, if picked	Prices on request
SaaSHub	DR 80	Depends on verification	Yes, after approval	$99 a month
AlternativeTo	DR 81	Nofollow on new listings	Yes, with a long queue	$5 priority review
G2	DR 91	No link	Yes, after a 3 to 5 day check	$299 a month (Starter)
Capterra	DR 91	No link	Yes, through G2's product form	Pay per click, rates unpublished
Crunchbase	DR 91	Nofollow	Yes, always	None needed to list

SaaSCity's isometric city map, where every listed product is a building

Ours

SaaSCity puts your SaaS on a living city map

DR 66 Dofollow Free with our badge Quick Pass $19.99 509,821 visitors in 30 days

Every listing becomes a building on the map with a permanent profile page and a DR 66 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.

Submit your SaaS See the map

Launch platforms

Product Hunt
DR 91
Nofollow Free: Yes, always Paid: None to launch
Launching on Product Hunt costs nothing and its link is marked ugc. We read the launch guide and help center and checked live product pages on October 7, 2026.
Read the Product Hunt review
BetaList
DR 77
Followed via 301 Free: No Paid: Shown after sign-in
BetaList now charges for every submission and refunds you if it passes on your startup. We read its FAQ, criteria and pricing pages and checked live listings on October 7, 2026.
Read the BetaList review
Uneed
DR 76
Depends on plan and score Free: Yes, with a long wait Paid: $14.99
Uneed still has a free launch, with a long wait and a vote target attached. For this Uneed review we checked its rules and 60 recent listings on October 7, 2026.
Read the Uneed review
Fazier
DR 83
Dofollow Free: Yes, with a badge on your site Paid: $29 Lite
Fazier launches products every day and has a free route, paid for with a badge on your site. We read its plans and help center and checked 22 launch pages on October 7, 2026.
Read the Fazier review
Microlaunch
DR 64
Dofollow Free: Yes, wait not published Paid: $39 Launch Pro
Microlaunch has a free route, but it does not say how long the wait is. We read its rules, pricing and FAQ and checked 69 product pages on October 7, 2026.
Read the Microlaunch review
Peerlist Launchpad
DR 77
Nofollow Free: Yes, with a verified profile Paid: $29 Featured Launch
Peerlist Launchpad costs nothing, but it wants a verified personal profile and it links out sparingly. We read its help center and checked 15 project pages on October 7, 2026.
Read the Peerlist Launchpad review
DevHunt
DR 65
Followed if paid Free: Yes, after a long queue Paid: $19 by its FAQ
DevHunt costs nothing to join, but its free route is slow and links with nofollow. We read its FAQ, About page and queue and checked 190 tool pages on October 7, 2026.
Read the DevHunt review

Communities

Hacker News (Show HN)
DR 91
Depends on points Free: Yes, always Paid: None
Show HN costs nothing and rewards products people can try in a minute. We read its rules and checked how its links are marked on October 7, 2026.
Read the Hacker News (Show HN) review

AI tool directories

There's An AI For That
DR 77
Dofollow Free: One pick a month on X Paid: $49
TAAFT is the largest AI tools catalog by its own account, and getting your own tool onto it costs money, with one narrow exception. We checked its prices, its terms and two live listings on October 7, 2026.
Read the There's An AI For That review
Toolify.ai
DR 73
Dofollow Free: No Paid: $99 ($29 for a GPT)
Toolify sells a $99 listing with a promise of followed links. We tested the promise on live listings and read every price on its submit and ad pages on October 7, 2026.
Read the Toolify.ai review
Futurepedia
DR 72
Nofollow Free: No Paid: $497
Futurepedia now belongs to HubSpot Media, and its submit page returns a 404. The one listing offer we found costs $497; we checked what it buys and what the link does on October 7, 2026.
Read the Futurepedia review
Future Tools
DR 69
Blocked redirect Free: Yes, if picked Paid: Prices on request
Future Tools is Matt Wolfe's hand-curated AI tool directory. Submitting is free; getting picked is the hard part. We read its submit form, FAQ and advertising page and checked tool pages on October 7, 2026.
Read the Future Tools review

Software discovery sites

SaaSHub
DR 80
Depends on verification Free: Yes, after approval Paid: $99 a month
Listing on SaaSHub is free, and verification is what makes its main link followed. We read the submit, verification and featured pages and opened 43 live listings on October 7, 2026.
Read the SaaSHub review
AlternativeTo
DR 81
Nofollow on new listings Free: Yes, with a long queue Paid: $5 priority review
AlternativeTo lists apps as alternatives to software people already use. Submitting yours is free but slow, and whether the link counts depends on the listing. Checked October 7, 2026.
Read the AlternativeTo review

Software review sites

G2
DR 91
No link Free: Yes, after a 3 to 5 day check Paid: $299 a month (Starter)
G2 lists B2B software for free and ranks it on reviews. We read its vendor pages, plans and rules on October 7, 2026, and checked what a profile links to.
Read the G2 review
Capterra
DR 91
No link Free: Yes, through G2's product form Paid: Pay per click, rates unpublished
Capterra still lists software for free and still sells clicks. What changed in 2026 is the owner: G2 bought Capterra, GetApp and Software Advice from Gartner, and the vendor side now runs through G2.
Read the Capterra review

Company databases

Crunchbase
DR 91
Nofollow Free: Yes, always Paid: None needed to list
A Crunchbase company profile costs nothing; the paid plans are for researching other companies. We read its pricing page and help center on October 7, 2026.
Read the Crunchbase review

How we review a directory

The same five steps for every site, so the reviews can be compared.

Read the offer The pricing, submit and FAQ pages, as a signed-out visitor. Plans and prices are copied as printed and dated.
Find a live listing A recent product page on the directory, ideally one free and one paid listing when the plan changes the link.
Inspect the link We load the listing in Chrome and read the anchor that points to the product: its rel value, whether it goes straight to the site or through a redirect and whether the listing page itself is indexable. When a site blocks every client we try, we read an Internet Archive copy and say so.
Capture it Screenshots of the homepage, the offer and the link, with the link framed, so you can see what we saw.
Date it Every review carries its check date. DR comes from Ahrefs and refreshes on its own; prices and rules are re-checked by hand.

Directory reviews FAQ

How do you check whether a directory link is dofollow?: We open a live listing in Chrome and read the anchor that links to the listed product. A link with no nofollow, ugc or sponsored value in its rel attribute, pointing straight at the product, is dofollow. A link through the directory's own redirect URL is marked as a redirect, and the review says whether the redirect can pass anything: BetaList's 301 can, while Future Tools blocks its redirect in robots.txt.
Why is a directory I use not reviewed here?: A directory gets a full review when there is something to check that its homepage does not tell you, and when founders search for it by name. All 1,666 sites in our dataset are in the full directory list, with their DR, link type and price.
Do the reviews include SaaSCity?: No. SaaSCity is our own directory, so reviewing it here would not be worth much. Each review says where SaaSCity fits next to the site it covers, marked as ours.
How often are the reviews updated?: Each review shows the date it was last checked by hand. Domain Rating refreshes automatically from Ahrefs; prices, rules and the link check are re-done by hand when a site changes them.
Did any directory pay to be reviewed?: No. Nobody paid for a review or for its verdict, and SaaSCity runs a launch directory of its own, which each review says.