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The honest playbook

Directory submission, without the spam

Directory submission earned a bad name because of link farms and "submit to 500 sites" tools. The real version still works: a curated set of high-authority, relevant directories that pass link equity and put your product in front of buyers. Here is the method, and the 124 directories ranked by live Domain Rating.

124
Directories tracked
100
Dofollow links
34
DR 70+
103
Free to submit

The whole method in five steps

  1. 01Write a copy kit once: name, one-liner, 50/100/200-word descriptions, logo, screenshots. Every directory asks for the same things in different lengths.
  2. 02Sort directories by Domain Rating and relevance — not by count. Start with the dofollow DR 50+ ones.
  3. 03Do the free dofollow listings first. Only pay when a directory has real authority and an audience that matches your product.
  4. 04Submit manually, a handful at a time. Skip anything not indexed in Google or with no measurable DR.
  5. 05Track what you submitted and revisit. Listings get approved on their own schedule (1-5 days is normal).

The one rule

If a directory is not indexed by Google and has no measurable Domain Rating, a link from it is worth nothing — and a hundred of them can look manipulative. Relevance and authority over volume, every single time.

Pick your playbook

Submission guides by product type

Each one sequences the right directories for that niche, with what to prepare and the order to submit.

Avoid these

Mistakes that waste the effort

  1. -Bulk auto-submission

    Blasting your URL to hundreds of directories creates spammy, irrelevant listings that can look manipulative and return nothing.

  2. -Paying before exhausting free

    103 directories here accept free submissions — many dofollow. Spend the free authority before opening your wallet.

  3. -Chasing count over DR

    Twenty dofollow DR 60+ links beat two hundred from dead, unindexed pages.

  4. -Skipping the copy kit

    Without prepared assets you will rush descriptions and submit weaker listings. Write once, paste everywhere.

Updated 2026-06-14

All 124 directories, ranked by live Domain Rating

Filter by free, dofollow and paid. Domain Rating is fetched live, so the ranking reflects reality — not a stale list.

DirectoryDRLinkPriceSubmit
Reddit
reddit.com
95NofollowFreeVisit
Sourceforge
sourceforge.net
92 DofollowFree + PaidVisit
TechCrunch
techcrunch.com
92NofollowPaidVisit
Capterra
capterra.com
91 DofollowFree + PaidVisit
G2
g2.com
91 DofollowFree + PaidVisit
Hacker News
news.ycombinator.com
91NofollowFreeVisit
Product Hunt
producthunt.com
91NofollowFreeVisit
StartupFA.me
startupfa.me
83 DofollowPaidVisit
Fazier
fazier.com
82 DofollowFree + PaidVisit
Dang AI
dang.ai
81 DofollowFreeVisit
Indie Hackers
indiehackers.com
81 DofollowFreeVisit
Twelve Tools
twelve.tools
81 DofollowFree + PaidVisit
AlternativeTo
alternativeto.net
79NofollowFreeVisit
findly.tools
findly.tools
79 DofollowFree + PaidVisit
SaaSHub
saashub.com
79 DofollowFreeVisit
Turbo0
turbo0.com
79 DofollowPaidVisit
There's An AI For That
theresanaiforthat.com
77 DofollowPaidVisit
Toolpilot
toolpilot.ai
77 DofollowPaidVisit
Peerlist
peerlist.io
76NofollowFreeVisit
Alternative.me
alternative.me
75 DofollowFreeVisit
BetaList
betalist.com
75 DofollowFreeVisit
LaunchIgniter
launchigniter.com
75NofollowFree + PaidVisit
SubmitAiTools
submitaitools.org
75NofollowPaidVisit
PeerPush
peerpush.net
74 DofollowFree + PaidVisit
Uneed
uneed.best
74 DofollowPaidVisit
SoftwareWorld
softwareworld.co
73 DofollowFree + PaidVisit
TinyLaunch
tinylaunch.com
72 DofollowFree + PaidVisit
FoundrList
foundrlist.com
71 DofollowFreeVisit
neeed.directory
neeed.directory
71 DofollowFreeVisit
Open Launch
open-launch.com
71 DofollowFreeVisit
Aura++
auraplusplus.com
70 DofollowFree + PaidVisit
magicbox.tools
magicbox.tools
70 DofollowFree + PaidVisit
SideProjectors
sideprojectors.com
70 DofollowFree + PaidVisit
startupfa.st
startupfa.st
70NofollowFree + PaidVisit
Pitchwall
pitchwall.co
69NofollowFree + PaidVisit
AiTools
aitools.inc
68NofollowFree + PaidVisit
Future Tools
futuretools.io
68 DofollowFreeVisit
TrustMRR
trustmrr.com
67 DofollowFreeVisit
NextGen Tools
nxgntools.com
66 DofollowFree + PaidVisit
acidtools.com
acidtools.com
65 DofollowFreeVisit
Startup Stash
startupstash.com
65NofollowFreeVisit
toolsfine
toolsfine.com
65 DofollowFreeVisit
Tiny Startups
tinystartups.com
64 DofollowFreeVisit
DevHunt
devhunt.org
62 DofollowFree + PaidVisit
Launch Llama Tools
tools.launchllama.co
60 DofollowFreeVisit
Super Launch
superlaun.ch
60 DofollowFree + PaidVisit
aiwith.me
aiwith.me
59 DofollowPaidVisit
FridayHunt
fridayhunt.com
59 DofollowFree + PaidVisit
Openhunts
openhunts.com
59 DofollowFree + PaidVisit
Indie Deals
indie.deals
58 DofollowPaidVisit
MicroLaunch
microlaunch.net
58 DofollowFreeVisit
Toolfio
toolfio.com
58 DofollowFree + PaidVisit
Indiehunt
indiehunt.io
57 DofollowFree + PaidVisit
Startups Lab
startupslab.site
56 DofollowFree + PaidVisit
Unite List
unitelist.com
56 DofollowFreeVisit
EarlyHunt
earlyhunt.com
55 DofollowFree + PaidVisit
rankinpublic.xyz
rankinpublic.xyz
55NofollowFree + PaidVisit
Firsto
firsto.co
54NofollowFreeVisit
Huzzler
huzzler.so
54 DofollowFree + PaidVisit
AI Tech Viral
aitechviral.com
52NofollowFreeVisit
Launch
trylaunch.ai
52 DofollowFree + PaidVisit
SaasHunt
saashunt.best
52 DofollowFree + PaidVisit
Shipybara
shipybara.com
52 DofollowFree + PaidVisit
Open Alternative
openalternative.co
51 DofollowFreeVisit
StartupBase
startupbase.io
51 DofollowFree + PaidVisit
AppaList
appalist.com
50 DofollowFree + PaidVisit
Launching Next
launchingnext.com
50 DofollowFreeVisit
We Like Tools
weliketools.com
49NofollowFree + PaidVisit
Promote Project
promoteproject.com
48 DofollowFreeVisit
StartupTrusted
startuptrusted.com
48 DofollowFree + PaidVisit
Micro SaaS Examples
microsaasexamples.com
47NofollowFree + PaidVisit
Awesome Tools
awesome.tools
46NofollowFree + PaidVisit
AiTools
aitools.fyi
45 DofollowPaidVisit
SoloPush
solopush.com
45 DofollowPaidVisit
SaaSBison
saasbison.com
43 DofollowFree + PaidVisit
SaaSCityThat's us
saascity.io
42 DofollowFree + PaidSubmit free
IdeaKiln
ideakiln.com
41 DofollowFreeVisit
Proofstories
proofstories.io
41 DofollowFree + PaidVisit
startuplist.ing
startuplist.ing
41 DofollowPaidVisit
TinyLaunchpad
tinylaunchpad.com
41 DofollowFree + PaidVisit
FindYourSaaS
findyoursaas.com
40 DofollowFree + PaidVisit
Startups.fm
startups.fm
40 DofollowPaidVisit
IndieHub
indiehub.best
39NofollowPaidVisit
ProductBurst
productburst.com
39 DofollowFreeVisit
Versily
versily.com
39 DofollowFreeVisit
1000.tools
1000.tools
38NofollowPaidVisit
TechTrendin
techtrendin.com
38 DofollowFreeVisit
toolfolio
toolfolio.io
38NofollowFree + PaidVisit
Saaspa.ge
saaspa.ge
37 DofollowFreeVisit
BuildVoyage
buildvoyage.com
36 DofollowFree + PaidVisit
ConfettiSaaS
confettisaas.com
36 DofollowFree + PaidVisit
Sumodir
sumodir.com
36 DofollowFree + PaidVisit
Web Review
web-review.com
36 DofollowFree + PaidVisit
launch.cab
launch.cab
35 DofollowFreeVisit
RankYourAI
rankyourai.com
35 DofollowFreeVisit
aat.ee
aat.ee
34 DofollowFree + PaidVisit
Best of Web
bestofweb.site
34 DofollowFreeVisit
Daily Pings
dailypings.com
34 DofollowFree + PaidVisit
Made with Lovable
madewithlovable.com
34 DofollowFreeVisit
SubmitHunt
submithunt.com
34 DofollowPaidVisit
DodoDirectory
dododirectory.com
33 DofollowFree + PaidVisit
SaaSGrow
saasgrow.app
33 DofollowFree + PaidVisit
ShipYard HQ
shipyardhq.dev
33 DofollowFree + PaidVisit
Resource.fyi
resource.fyi
31 DofollowFreeVisit
Startups.fyi
startups.fyi
31 DofollowPaidVisit
LLM Relevance
llmrelevance.com
30 DofollowFreeVisit
Stellar Launch
stellarlaunch.org
30NofollowFree + PaidVisit
Builtbyindies
builtbyindies.com
29 DofollowFree + PaidVisit
HUNT0
hunt0.com
29 DofollowFree + PaidVisit
AwesomeIndie
awesomeindie.com
28NofollowFreeVisit
EuroAlternative
euroalternative.co
28 DofollowFreeVisit
IndieHackerStacks
indiehackerstacks.com
28 DofollowFreeVisit
hot100
hot100.ai
27 DofollowFreeVisit
ToolHub
toolhub.me
26 DofollowPaidVisit
Bulletin
bulletin.so
24 DofollowFreeVisit
ProductLaunchpad
productlaunchpad.app
24 DofollowFreeVisit
startuups
startuups.com
23 DofollowFree + PaidVisit
Saassy Board
saassy-board.com
21 DofollowPaidVisit
Toollist
toollist.ai
21 DofollowPaidVisit
Justgotfound
justgotfound.com
20 DofollowFreeVisit
madewithbolt
madewithbolt.com
20NofollowFreeVisit
Launch Vibe
launchvibe.app
12 DofollowFreeVisit
Launchy.tools
launchy.tools
7 DofollowFree + PaidVisit
Postioo
postioo.com
6 DofollowPaidVisit

Showing 124 of 124. DR = Domain Rating by Ahrefs.

Domain Rating by Ahrefs

Directory submission FAQ

What is directory submission?
Directory submission is the practice of adding your product to online directories — software catalogs, launch platforms, and review sites — to earn backlinks, referral traffic, and discovery. Done with real, indexed directories it still helps in 2026; done as bulk "submit to 500 sites" it does nothing or hurts you.
Do directory submission services still work in 2026?
For early-stage products, yes — but only with real directories. A new domain has almost no backlink profile, so a handful of dofollow links from DR 50+ directories measurably help. The catch: it has to be genuine, indexed directories with measurable Domain Rating, never the automated link-farm "services" that blast your URL across hundreds of dead pages.
How many directories should I submit to?
Aim for the 20-40 highest-authority, most relevant ones, not all 124. Dofollow DR 50+ links carry nearly all the value; below that, returns drop off fast. Quality and relevance beat volume every time.
Are free or paid directory submissions better?
Exhaust the free ones first — 103 of the directories here accept free submissions, many with a dofollow link. Pay only when a directory has real authority, a permanent dofollow link, and an audience that fits your product. Paying for a nofollow link on a low-DR page is wasted money.
Should I use an automated directory submission tool?
No. Automated bulk submitters create low-quality listings on irrelevant or spammy directories, which can look manipulative to Google and waste the effort. Submit manually to a curated shortlist — it takes a few hours once, using a prepared copy kit, and the links are worth keeping.