How do I submit my app to AlternativeTo?

Create a free account, verify your email, then choose Suggest new application from the user menu and fill in platforms, license, description and tags. The app then waits in the review queue, as of October 2026.

How long does AlternativeTo take to approve an app?

The free queue has no date: as of October 2026 its FAQ says it holds several thousand apps and most will not be looked at for a very long time. A $5 priority review is usually done within 1 to 2 business days.

Is AlternativeTo dofollow or nofollow?

It depends on the listing. On October 7, 2026, the Official Website link was nofollow on every new app we checked and followed on many established apps, such as Obsidian and Joplin. AlternativeTo does not publish the rule.

Why was my app rejected by AlternativeTo?

As of October 2026, its FAQ lists the usual reasons: content rather than software, single-purpose web tools, thin wrappers around another company's AI model, services, clones and unreleased or regional apps. Priority reviews explain a decline; otherwise, its terms say, a reason is not always given.

Does priority review improve my AlternativeTo ranking?

No. As of October 2026, the FAQ says paying only changes when a human looks at your submission and has no effect on rank, likes or placement in alternative lists.

Can I add UTM tags to my AlternativeTo link?

No. As of October 2026, the FAQ asks for a clean Official Website URL and suggests tracking AlternativeTo traffic through the HTTP referrer instead.

Directory review · Software discovery site

AlternativeTo review and how to submit your app

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.

ghosty

Founder, SaaSCity

Updated October 7, 2026

Checked by hand. DR from Ahrefs.

81
Domain Rating: Nofollow on new listings
Followed on some older apps: Yes, with a long queue
Free route: $5 priority review
Paid from

Contents (9)

AlternativeTo at a glance
What AlternativeTo is
Is AlternativeTo dofollow?
What AlternativeTo costs
How to submit your app to AlternativeTo
What AlternativeTo rejects
Is AlternativeTo worth it?
Alternatives to AlternativeTo
FAQ

The short answer

As of October 2026, adding an app to AlternativeTo is free: sign up, verify your email and use Suggest new application. The free queue holds several thousand apps and gives no date, while a one-time $5 priority review is usually done within 1 to 2 business days, with no promise of approval. On the 22 app pages we checked, the Official Website link was nofollow on every new listing and followed on many established ones, so plan on nofollow.

AlternativeTo homepage with a search box above 156,407 apps and software alternatives ranked by 2,046,091 user opinions, under an Official Partner banner — AlternativeTo's homepage on October 7, 2026.

AlternativeTo at a glance

Type: Crowd-sourced software alternatives site
Run by: 27 Kilobyte AB, Stockholm; made by Ola and Markus
Size: 156,407 apps and 2,046,091 user opinions, by its homepage
Free route: Yes: account, verified email, Suggest new application
Paid: $5 one-time priority review, not approval
Review time: Free queue: no date given; priority: 1 to 2 business days
Link: Official Website: nofollow on new apps, followed on many established ones
Language: English listings; the app must support English
Not accepted: Unreleased, regional and hardware products; thin AI wrappers
Domain Rating: 81 (Ahrefs)
Website: alternativeto.net

What AlternativeTo is

AlternativeTo answers one search: what can I use instead of a given app. Every app has an about page and an alternatives page, and users suggest and vote on the alternatives. Its About page says almost every recommendation comes from people who use the software, not from the companies that make it.

27 Kilobyte AB in Stockholm runs the site, which credits Ola and Markus as its makers. The homepage counts 156,407 apps ranked by 2,046,091 user opinions. It is free to use and funded by ads, donations and one paid option for makers.

For a maker, the prize is a spot on the alternatives pages of better-known products, in front of people who already want to switch. Order inside those lists comes from AlternativeTo's own rank algorithm, where likes are one of the most important inputs.

Is AlternativeTo dofollow?

Nofollow on new listings Checked on October 7, 2026 on a live AlternativeTo listing

It depends on the listing. On October 7, 2026, the Official Website button on an app page was a direct link with rel="nofollow noopener" on every new app we checked, and plain rel="noopener", which is followed, on many established apps. AlternativeTo does not publish the rule, so a new listing should expect nofollow.

We checked 22 app pages, rendered and in the server HTML. The Official Website link was followed on Obsidian, Joplin, Logseq, Zettlr, Trilium Notes, QOwnNotes, SiYuan, Product Hunt, Capterra and Top Best Alternatives. It was nofollow on six recent additions (WMPal, Spotifast, Cloudflare Clef, Audionaut, Zirbe and Helicon) and on SaaSHub, GetApp and alternative.me. KeepNote and Turtl, both marked Discontinued, were nofollow too.

Likes do not explain the split: Capterra is followed with 39 likes, while alternative.me is nofollow with 95. Notion's button is the odd one out, routed through AlternativeTo's own /outgoing/ redirect to a Notion affiliate link. On Obsidian's page the creator link to the same site is nofollow, and links in user comments are nofollow ugc.

App pages are indexable and canonical to themselves. The alternatives pages, where most visitors find you, link to your AlternativeTo page rather than your site. In our sample, a followed link is something established apps have and new ones do not.

The link as rendered on alternativeto.net

<a data-testid="external-link" title="https://spotifast.rocks" href="https://spotifast.rocks" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Official Website</a>

Spotifast app page on AlternativeTo with 44 likes and its Official Website button framed and labeled rel="nofollow noopener" — A recently added app: the Official Website link is nofollow. Obsidian's, on an established page, is not.

What AlternativeTo costs

Listing is free. The one thing makers can pay for is a faster review, per its FAQ and its terms (updated October 6, 2026).

AlternativeTo prices as of October 7, 2026
Plan	Price	What you get
Free submission	$0	A listing after review, from a backlog its terms call usually months long; no date or queue position is given
Priority review	$5 one-time	Moves one submitted app to the front of the queue, usually reviewed within 1 to 2 business days (up to a week over holidays), with notes on what to add; approval is not included
Listing fix after a decline	Not stated	If an app is declined over the listing itself (too little information, a wrong name, language), AlternativeTo may offer to fix it for a one-time fee and review it again, refunded if it still declines

The $5 is not refunded once the review is done, even if the app is declined; before then you can cancel for a full refund. Verified members, power users and long-time contributors can be moved up the queue for free. The Official Partner banner is advertising, sold by email.

AlternativeTo FAQ text on the review queue: several thousand apps waiting and a one-time $5 priority review usually done within 1-2 business days — AlternativeTo's FAQ on review times and the $5 priority review, October 7, 2026.

How to submit your app to AlternativeTo

You add the app yourself, from a free account. Read the rejection reasons below before you start; the steps follow its FAQ as of October 2026.

Create an account and verify your email Sign up with Google, GitHub, Apple or email. Submitting a new app needs a verified email address; voting, commenting and editing work right away.
Open Suggest new application It sits in the user menu, top right. Fill in platforms, license, description and tags, plus the URL fields for the official and creator websites, app stores and social links.
Keep the description clean No links, email addresses or phone numbers in the description, and no UTM tags on the Official Website URL. Pick one license (Free, Freemium, Free for personal use or Commercial) and flag open source.
Choose free or priority review Right after submitting you can pay $5 for priority review, or later from My submissions with Get reviewed sooner. Until it is approved, the app page is visible only to you.
Get listed as an alternative Once approved, open the pages of the products you replace and use Contribute to this page, then Suggest Alternatives. The free AlternativeTo badge can go on your site.

Open the AlternativeTo submission page

Ours DR 66 Dofollow Free with our badge, or $19.99

Pair the listing with a launch

An AlternativeTo listing pays off slowly, as people search for alternatives. If you also want a launch date, SaaSCity, which we run, gives SaaS and AI tools a Monday launch, a permanent page and a building on our city map, free with one of 15 slots a week or within 24 hours with $19.99. Our link turns dofollow once our badge is on your homepage, or straight away with Quick Pass, on a DR 66 domain.

List your product on SaaSCity Have us submit it everywhere, from $49

What AlternativeTo rejects

Its FAQ lists the usual reasons for a decline, as of October 2026. Approval is at the admins' discretion, paid or not.

Thin AI wrappers
AI humanizers, paraphrasers, headshot generators, AI companions, general-purpose image, video or music generators, upscalers, other basic LLM tools and directories of AI tools.
Single-purpose web tools
Calculators, converters, PDF tools, QR code generators, resume builders, invoice generators and similar one-job pages, even when bundled into a suite.
Unreleased apps
Coming soon, closed beta, invite-only and early access apps are not accepted. An open public beta probably is.
Regional apps and services
Apps for one country or city are declined unless they cover all of Europe or all of the USA. Agency work and custom builds count as services.
Content and clones
Blogs, review and coupon sites, clone scripts and repackaged copies of one app are declined.

Is AlternativeTo worth it?

Yes, for a real desktop, mobile or web app that people would look up as an alternative to something they know. A place on a well-known product's alternatives page reaches people who are already shopping for a switch, and that traffic does not expire. For an open-source project, our guide to promoting one shows where AlternativeTo fits next to Show HN and the awesome lists.

Pay the $5. The free queue has no date, and the FAQ itself says most apps in it will not be looked at for a very long time. Five dollars for a review within two business days, with notes if the listing is missing something, is the easiest money you will spend on a directory.

Lower your expectations if your product is an AI wrapper, a single-purpose web tool, a regional service or unreleased; the FAQ spells out those declines. And do not submit for a backlink: every new listing we checked had a nofollow Official Website link.

Good fit

Desktop, mobile and web apps that replace a known product
Open source projects looking for people ready to switch
Makers happy to pay $5 to skip the queue

Skip it if

Your app is an AI wrapper or a single-purpose web tool
It is unreleased, invite-only or for one country
You want a dofollow link from a new listing

Alternatives to AlternativeTo

Other places where people compare software, checked on October 7, 2026.

SaaSHub
DR 80
The closest match, built on alternatives pages; submissions that list no competitors go to the bottom of its approval queue.
Product Hunt
DR 91
A daily launch board, which complements a permanent alternatives listing.
Capterra
DR 91
For B2B software, where buyers compare vendors by category and read reviews.
G2
DR 91
A B2B review site where a vendor profile collects reviews from users.
There's An AI For That
DR 77
If AlternativeTo turns down your AI tool as a thin wrapper, TAAFT lists AI tools, MCPs and GPTs from $49.

AlternativeTo FAQ

How do I submit my app to AlternativeTo?: Create a free account, verify your email, then choose Suggest new application from the user menu and fill in platforms, license, description and tags. The app then waits in the review queue, as of October 2026.
How long does AlternativeTo take to approve an app?: The free queue has no date: as of October 2026 its FAQ says it holds several thousand apps and most will not be looked at for a very long time. A $5 priority review is usually done within 1 to 2 business days.
Is AlternativeTo dofollow or nofollow?: It depends on the listing. On October 7, 2026, the Official Website link was nofollow on every new app we checked and followed on many established apps, such as Obsidian and Joplin. AlternativeTo does not publish the rule.
Why was my app rejected by AlternativeTo?: As of October 2026, its FAQ lists the usual reasons: content rather than software, single-purpose web tools, thin wrappers around another company's AI model, services, clones and unreleased or regional apps. Priority reviews explain a decline; otherwise, its terms say, a reason is not always given.
Does priority review improve my AlternativeTo ranking?: No. As of October 2026, the FAQ says paying only changes when a human looks at your submission and has no effect on rank, likes or placement in alternative lists.
Can I add UTM tags to my AlternativeTo link?: No. As of October 2026, the FAQ asks for a clean Official Website URL and suggests tracking AlternativeTo traffic through the HTTP referrer instead.

How we checked

Every fact on this page was read on the site it describes. Last checked on October 7, 2026. Prices and rules change, so check the site before you pay.

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SaaSCity runs a launch directory, so we are not a neutral party. Nobody paid for this review, and the facts in it come from the pages listed under How we checked.