Canonical list of directories organized by tier.
Canonical list of directories organized by tier. DR values are approximate and drift over time — verify via Ahrefs or Moz before building a plan around them.
Column legend:
Submit only during launch week. These are time-sensitive with limited re-submission windows.
| Directory | DR | Dofollow | Cost | Notes | |---|---|---|---|---| | Product Hunt | 91 | Yes | Free | The anchor event. Requires 3-week warm-up. 2026 algorithm weights comment quality over upvotes. Launch Tue/Wed/Thu at 12:01 AM PT. | | Hacker News (Show HN) | 91 | Nofollow | Free | Only if you have a genuine technical angle. Post title format: "Show HN: [Product] — [hook]". Moderator death penalty for hype. | | BetaList | 64 | Yes | Free (paid expedite ~$99) | Best for pre-launch waitlist building. Submission → 2–4 week queue unless expedited. | | Launching Next | ~30 | Yes | Free | Editorial curation — needs a compelling story. | | Fazier | ~30 | Yes | Free | Daily ranking with much lower competition than PH. Achievable #1. | | Uneed | ~40 | Yes | Free | Curated, smaller audience, quality backlink. | | Microlaunch | ~30 | Yes | Free | Month-long visibility vs one-day spike. | | OpenHunts | ~25 | Yes | Free | Indie-maker friendly, reports 14%+ conversion rates. | | DevHunt | ~35 | Yes | Free | Dev-focused. Best fit for developer tools and technical products. | | PeerPush | ~25 | Yes | Free | Similar to Fazier. Low competition. | | LaunchVault | ~20 | Yes | Free | Anti-VC positioning. Good for bootstrapped narrative. | | What Launched Today | ~20 | Yes | Free | Guaranteed visibility on launch day regardless of votes. | | Firsto | ~25 | Yes | Free tier | Sustained discovery, not one-day spike. | | GetByte | ~20 | Yes | Free | Lightweight listing + promotional support. | | Best of Web | ~30 | Yes | Free | Easy fast submission, free dofollow. | | Tiny Launch | ~20 | Yes | Free | Lightweight, fast approval. | | PitchWall | ~25 | Yes | Free | Indie-hacker friendly. |
Submit during launch week and continue rolling submissions thereafter.
| Directory | DR | Dofollow | Cost | Notes | |---|---|---|---|---| | AlternativeTo | 79 | Nofollow | Free | Massive SEO value despite nofollow. Submit as alternative to your top 4 competitors. | | SaaSHub | 77 | Yes | Free | Ranks well for "[tool] alternatives" queries. High intent. | | G2 | 92 | Yes | Free listing | 10 reviews required for Grid appearance. Paid badges start at $2,999/yr. | | Capterra | 93 | Yes | Free listing | Owned by G2 (acquired Feb 2026). Reviews drive everything. | | GetApp | 78 | Yes | Free | Auto-syncs from Capterra in some cases. Owned by G2. | | SourceForge | 92 | Yes | Free | Legacy but still high DR. Trivial to list. | | Slashdot | ~88 | Yes | Free | Legacy but high DR. Company profile submission. | | Startup Stash | ~50 | Yes | Free | Curated, organized by startup need. | | SideProjectors | ~35 | Yes | Free | Discovery + marketplace. Community-driven. | | F6S | 65 | Yes | Free | Startup platform used by accelerators. | | Stackshare | ~60 | Yes | Free | Dev-centric. Show your tech stack. | | Resource.fyi | ~40 | Yes | Free | Curated for designers/devs/marketers. | | Shipybara | ~30 | Yes | Free | Shows which companies use your tool. | | TrustRadius | 72 | Yes | Free | Smaller but respected B2B review platform. | | Crozdesk | ~55 | Yes | Free | Feeds into Gartner ecosystem. | | Software Advice | 88 | Yes | Free | Gartner property. Auto-syncs with Capterra in some categories. | | TheSaaSDirectory | 88 | Yes | Free | SaaS-specific directory. Good categorization. | | Tech.co | 80 | Yes | Free | Startup/SaaS directory + media. | | Taalk | 80 | Yes | Free | Startup directory. | | Startup Fame | 77 | Yes | Free | Startup showcase directory. | | Indie Hackers | 76 | Yes | Free | Build-in-public community + product directory. | | Slant | 75 | Yes | Free | "What is the best..." recommendation platform. | | Gust | 75 | Yes | Free | Startup/investor platform. Profile with links. | | Inc42 | 75 | Yes | Free | Indian startup media + directory. | | Wefunder | 76 | Yes | Free | Equity crowdfunding. Product profile with links. | | Startups.com | 68 | Yes | Free | Startup community + resources. | | IndieHustles | 66 | Yes | Free | Indie SaaS directory. | | SaaSWorthy | 65 | Yes | Free | SaaS review/comparison site. | | ToolsFine | 65 | Yes | Free | SaaS tool directory. | | Bizcommunity | 65 | Yes | Free | Business news + directory. | | StartUs | 62 | Yes | Free | Startup directory + insights. | | Today Launches | 60 | Yes | Free | Daily launch directory. | | StartupBuffer | 57 | Yes | Free | Startup promotion platform. | | Feedough | 55 | Yes | Free | Startup resources + directory. | | Indie Hacker Tools | 55 | Yes | Free | Tools for indie hackers. | | Open Launch | 55 | Yes | Free | Product launch directory. | | New SaaSly | 52 | Yes | Free | New SaaS product directory. | | Business Software | 49 | Yes | Free | Business software directory. | | Promote Project | 47 | Yes | Free | Project promotion directory. | | FiveTaco | 47 | Yes | Free | SaaS tool directory. | | Cuspera | 45 | Yes | Free | SaaS comparison platform. | | BetaBound | 45 | Yes | Free | Beta testing community + directory. | | Makerthrive | 45 | Yes | Free | Maker community + tools. | | StartupTracker | 44 | Yes | Free | Startup tracking directory. | | BusinessHunt | 43 | Yes | Free | Business product directory. | | Launched.io | 40 | Yes | Free | Launch directory. | | ProfitHunt | 40 | Yes | Free | Profitable startup directory. | | 10words | 40 | Yes | Free | SaaS directory (10-word descriptions). | | TrustMRR | 40 | Yes | Free | MRR-verified startup directory. | | the agentDir | 35 | Yes | Free | Open directory. | | Build Voyage | 33 | Yes | Free | Startup builder directory. | | AlphaDigits | 32 | Yes | Free | SaaS directory. |
Relevant only for AI-native products. Submit during weeks 1–3.
| Directory | DR | Monthly Traffic | Notes | |---|---|---|---| | There's An AI For That (TAAFT) | 76 | 2M+ | Largest AI directory. Task-based search. Worth the effort to list well. | | Futurepedia | 70 | 1M+ | 5,000+ tools, 54 categories. Matt Wolfe YouTube (2M+ subs) drives traffic. | | Toolify.ai | 71 | 500K+ | 26K+ tools, 450+ categories. Tracks traffic trends. | | Future Tools (futuretools.io) | 69 | 400K+ | Curated by Matt Wolfe. Smaller but influential. | | AI Tools Neilpatel | 91 | n/a | Highest DR free AI directory. | | Good AI Tools | 66 | n/a | Curated, quality over quantity. | | NewTools.site | 51 | n/a | Dofollow backlink for every approved submission. |
| Directory | Est. DR | Notes | |---|---|---| | aitools.inc | ~66 | "10x your output" positioning. | | AIStage | ~66 | Includes open source + news. | | AItrendytools | ~69 | Comprehensive listing. | | Grabon AI Directory | ~70 | High DR, broad audience. | | TopAI.tools | ~60 | Task-based search similar to TAAFT. | | Supertools | ~61 | Clean interface, good categorization. | | AI Tools Directory (aitoolsdirectory.com) | ~55 | Curated; featured placement available. | | AI Tools Love | ~25 | Comparison-focused. | | AIChief | ~35 | Business-focused. | | LogicBalls | ~40 | 3,500+ verified tools. | | SaasAITools | ~30 | SaaS + AI crossover. | | PoweredByAI | ~35 | Growing directory with newsletter reach. | | TheAISurf | ~30 | Newer, actively promoting submissions. | | Aixyz | ~30 | 1,500+ tools, smart filters. | | AI Pedia Hub | ~40 | "Largest directory, updated daily." | | Dofollow.Tools | ~30 | Explicitly free dofollow backlinks. | | AIBacklinkList | ~25 | Aggregated list of 2500+ AI backlink opportunities. | | AI Scout | ~25 | Emerging, less competition. | | AiMatchPro | ~20 | Use-case search. | | GPTForge | ~30 | Domain created 2025 — DR 88 from source list is implausible. Verify via Ahrefs. | | AI Tools Guide | 77 | Curated AI tools directory. | | AIToolly | 69 | AI tool discovery. | | All The AI Tools | 66 | Comprehensive AI tool listing. | | Aiforme.wiki | 66 | AI tool wiki/directory. | | Noxilo | 66 | AI tools directory. | | AI Generation | 55 | AI tools directory. | | Every AI | 55 | AI tool aggregator. | | BAI.tools | 53 | AI tools directory. | | The Rundown Tools | 40 | AI newsletter's tool directory. | | AI NavHub | 38 | AI navigation directory. | | WhatTheAI | 35 | AI tools directory. | | ToolAI | 31 | AI tools directory. | | LLM Relevance | 30 | LLM-focused directory. |
Relevant only if the product exposes agent capabilities or MCP servers. These are a real moat for AI-native tools — traditional SaaS products cannot list here.
| Directory | Category | Notes | |---|---|---| | AI Agents List (aiagentslist.com) | Agents | Hosts the 593+ MCP server directory. | | Glama.ai MCP servers | MCP | 20K+ security-graded MCP servers. A/B/C/F grades matter — optimize for a good grade. | | APITracker MCP directory | MCP | 110+ servers, 90 official integrations. | | Linux Foundation MCP Registry | MCP | Canonical registry (PR-based submission, low volume but high signal). Anthropic donated MCP to LF in Dec 2025. | | AI Agent Store | Agents | Compare agents, platforms, frameworks. | | AI Agents Base | Agents | All-in-one directory. | | AI Agents Directory | Agents | Specialized, updated daily. | | AI Agents Verse | Agents | Curated directory. | | AgentHunter | Agents | "Discover the best AI agents." | | Add AI Directory | Agents | Catalogs agents + tools. | | AI Agents Live | Agents | Discovery + sharing. | | AI Agents Marketplace | Agents | Organized by 300+ human role equivalents. |
Relevant for no-code platforms and builder tools.
| Directory | Est. DR | Notes | |---|---|---| | NoCodeFinder | ~45 | Accepts submissions. | | No Code MBA Tools Directory | ~55 | Categorized by project type. | | We Are No Code Tools Repository | ~40 | Curated. | | NoCodeList | ~30 | — | | NoCodeDevs | ~25 | — | | NoCode.Tech | ~35 | — | | MakerPad / Zapier | ~62 | Now owned by Zapier. No-code tool directory. | | NoCodeFounders | ~45 | No-code community + forum. |
Not directories per se — these are blog posts on high-DR domains that you get included in via cold outreach. Often more valuable than directories because they combine a dofollow backlink with editorial trust + in-market buyer traffic + AI citation weight.
Search patterns to find opportunities:
"best [category] tools" 2026"best [competitor] alternative""top AI [category]""[category] tools review"Outreach template (short):
Hey [name], saw your post on [best X tools]. We launched [product] recently — thought it might be worth a mention. Happy to give you a free account + credits for readers. Here's a 60s demo: [link]. No worries if not a fit.
Target: 10 inclusions in 30 days. Each = dofollow backlink from DR 40–70 + referral traffic + AI citation fuel.
Only relevant once the product has integrations. These are the highest-DR backlinks available — worth engineering effort just to land them.
| Directory | DR | Notes | |---|---|---| | Zapier App Directory | 91 | Requires working Zapier integration. | | HubSpot App Marketplace | 93 | Requires HubSpot app. | | Slack App Directory | 89 | Requires Slack integration. | | Airtable Marketplace | 82 | Requires Airtable integration. | | Notion Integrations Gallery | 88 | Requires Notion integration. | | Make (Integromat) | ~70 | Requires Make module. | | Pipedream | ~70 | Requires Pipedream action. |
Create a profile or publish content on these high-DR platforms to earn a dofollow backlink. These are not traditional directories — they're content and identity platforms where your profile or published content links back to your site. Highest DR backlinks available without building integrations.
| Platform | DR | Category | Type | Notes | |---|---|---|---|---| | WordPress.com | 100 | Any | Blog | Create a free blog, link to main site in posts and profile. | | Blogger | 100 | Any | Blog | Google property. Free blog with dofollow links. | | Tumblr | 99 | Design | Blog | Highest DR blog platform. Project blog or microblog. | | GitHub | 98 | Tech | Code host | Profile + repo README links. Every software product should have this. | | SoundCloud | 96 | Music | Profile | Niche — relevant for audio/music products. | | Weebly | 95 | Any | Blog | Free site builder with dofollow profile link. | | SlideShare | 95 | Any | Content | Upload pitch decks, guides, presentations. | | Flickr | 95 | Photography | Profile | Product screenshot galleries with profile link. | | GitLab | 94 | Tech | Code host | Profile link. Mirror repos if open source. | | eBay Stores | 94 | E-commerce | Profile | Niche — relevant for physical/digital goods. | | Etsy | 93 | E-commerce | Profile | Niche — templates, digital downloads. | | Substack | 93 | Tech | Newsletter | Publish product updates, thought leadership. High-intent readers. | | Bitbucket | 93 | Tech | Code host | Profile link. Atlassian property. | | Scribd | 93 | Any | Content | Upload whitepapers, guides, case studies. | | Disqus | 93 | Professional | Profile | Profile with website link. Comment on industry blogs. | | Behance | 93 | Design | Profile | Portfolio/project links. Best for design-adjacent products. | | Pastebin | 93 | Tech | Code host | Code snippets with profile link. | | Patreon | 93 | Creator | Profile | Creator page with product links. | | Imgur | 93 | Any | Profile | Image hosting with profile link. | | Dun & Bradstreet | 93 | B2B | Directory | Business credibility. Feeds AI training corpora. | | Ghost.org | 92 | Any | Blog | Publish content with dofollow links. | | Evernote | 92 | Any | Content | Public notebooks with links. | | Issuu | 92 | Any | Content | Upload marketing PDFs, brochures, reports. | | CodePen | 92 | Tech | Profile | Front-end demos and profile link. | | Kaggle | 92 | AI | Profile | AI/data science community. Notebooks with links. | | Houzz | 92 | Home | Profile | Niche — home/interior products. | | LiveJournal | 91 | Any | Blog | Legacy but high DR. Blog with dofollow links. | | Bandcamp | 91 | Music | Profile | Niche — audio products. | | Dev.to | 90 | Tech | Blog | Technical articles with dofollow links. Cross-post with canonical URL. | | Gravatar | 90 | Professional | Profile | Profile with website link. Quick setup. | | Replit | 90 | Tech | Code host | Profile link. Interactive demos. | | CodeProject | 90 | Tech | Blog | Technical articles for dev audience. | | Jimdo | 89 | Any | Blog | Free site builder with profile link. | | Calameo | 89 | Any | Content | Digital publishing platform. Upload PDFs. | | Buy Me a Coffee | 88 | Creator | Profile | Creator page with product links. | | ArtStation | 88 | Design | Profile | Portfolio for creative/design products. | | 500px | 88 | Photography | Profile | Product imagery with profile link. | | IndiaMART | 87 | B2B | Profile | Indian B2B marketplace. Niche but high DR. | | Strikingly | 87 | Any | Blog | Free one-page site with backlink. | | Hashnode | 85 | Tech | Blog | Dev blogging. Custom domain support. Dofollow links. | | About.me | 85 | Professional | Profile | One-page profile. Quick dofollow backlink. | | Mixcloud | 85 | Music | Profile | Niche — audio/podcast products. | | 4Shared | 85 | Any | Content | File sharing with profile link. | | HubPages | 84 | Any | Blog | Article publishing platform. | | AppSumo | 84 | E-commerce | Marketplace | SaaS deals marketplace. Great for launch visibility + backlink. | | TeachersPayTeachers | 84 | Education | Profile | Niche — education products. | | AuthorStream | 70 | Any | Content | Presentation sharing. | | Model Mayhem | 72 | Design | Profile | Niche — creative industry. | | Penzu | 60 | Any | Blog | Online journal with profile link. | | Crevado | 50 | Design | Profile | Portfolio platform. | | MyFolio | 55 | Design | Profile | Portfolio platform. |
Relevant for products with a physical presence, local customer base, or business address. Also useful for any product wanting pure DR-building backlinks from established directories.
| Directory | DR | Category | Notes | |---|---|---|---| | Manta | 76 | Local business | US business directory. Free listing. | | ActiveSearchResults | 74 | General | Search engine directory. | | Hotfrog | 72 | Local business | International business directory. | | Spoke | 70 | B2B | Business profile directory. | | Locanto | 70 | General | Classifieds + business listings. International. | | MerchantCircle | 68 | Local business | US small business directory. | | Just Landed | 65 | Local business | International directory. | | Showmelocal | 64 | Local business | US local search directory. | | Cylex | 64 | Local business | International business directory. | | Brownbook | 63 | Local business | Global business directory. | | Tupalo | 62 | Local business | European business directory. | | WebWiki | 60 | General | Website directory with reviews. | | iBegin | 60 | Local business | US business directory. | | CitySquares | 55 | Local business | US local business directory. | | eLocal | 55 | Local business | US service provider directory. | | 2FindLocal | 53 | Local business | US local directory. | | Chamber of Commerce | 50 | Local business | Business directory + resources. | | FindUsLocal | 50 | Local business | Local search directory. | | ezlocal | 50 | Local business | US local business listings. | | Yellow Pages Goes Green | 49 | Local business | Eco-friendly business directory. | | Where To? | 46 | Local business | Local discovery directory. |
Create a profile and participate in relevant communities. Most give dofollow profile links. Value comes from both the backlink and referral traffic from genuine participation. Follow the 90/10 rule: 90% helpful, 10% promotional.
| Forum | DR | Category | Notes | |---|---|---|---| | Strava Clubs | 90 | Fitness | Niche — fitness/health products only. | | Foursquare | 90 | Hospitality | Business listing with dofollow link. | | SitePoint Forums | 89 | Tech | Web dev community. Genuine participation required. | | Mumsnet Forums | 85 | Family | Niche — family/parenting products. Large UK audience. | | Digital Point | 82 | Marketing | SEO/marketing forum. | | WebmasterWorld | 77 | Marketing | SEO/webmaster community. High editorial standards. | | BlackHatWorld | 77 | Marketing | SEO/marketing forum. Despite the name, has legitimate discussions. | | GrowthHackers | 76 | Marketing | Growth marketing community. Dofollow articles + profile. | | Warrior Forum | 73 | Marketing | Internet marketing community. | | Apsense | 72 | Marketing | Business networking + marketing forum. | | ActiveRain | 70 | Real estate | Niche — real estate industry. | | Quibblo | 55 | General | Quiz/poll community with profile links. |
Publish articles or press releases to earn dofollow backlinks. Best for product launches, funding announcements, major feature releases. Some accept any topic, others are PR-specific.
| Site | DR | Type | Notes | |---|---|---|---| | EzineArticles | 80 | Article | Established article directory. Editorial review. | | Feedspot | 80 | Blog directory | Blog discovery + RSS aggregation. Submit your blog. | | Alltop | 73 | Blog directory | Guy Kawasaki's blog aggregator. | | ArticlesBase | 70 | Article | Article publishing platform. | | Blogarama | 64 | Blog directory | Blog directory with categories. | | Sooper Articles | 60 | Article | Article submission site. | | OnToplist | 60 | Blog directory | Blog ranking directory. | | BlogEngage | 55 | Blog directory | Blog promotion community. | | BizSugar | 55 | Business | Small business content sharing. | | TechPluto | 50 | Marketing | Tech/marketing blog directory. |
| Site | DR | Notes | |---|---|---| | PRLog | 80 | Free press release distribution. Good reach. | | PR.com | 77 | Free + paid press releases. Business directory too. | | OpenPR | 72 | Free international press release distribution. | | 1888 Press Release | 69 | Free press release site. | | NewswireToday | 65 | Free press release distribution. | | Online PR News | 62 | Free press release distribution. | | PR Free | 62 | Free press release site. |
| Site | DR | Notes | |---|---|---| | SubmissionWebDirectory | 61 | General web directory. | | Site Promotion Directory | 46 | Marketing-focused directory. | | Semfirms | 45 | Marketing services directory. | | CabinetM | 45 | Marketing technology directory. | | Cold Email Kit | 44 | Email marketing directory. | | Directory LDM Studio | 40 | General directory. | | Quality Internet Directory | 39 | General web directory. | | ProofStories | 32 | Marketing stories/case studies. |
Bookmark or curate content with dofollow links. Lower effort than publishing full articles. Most useful for building diverse backlink profile.
| Platform | DR | Notes | |---|---|---| | Scoop.it | 91 | Content curation platform. Create topic pages with links. | | Diigo | 85 | Social bookmarking + annotation. Profile + bookmark links. | | Pearltrees | 84 | Visual content curation. Organize links into collections. | | BibSonomy | 70 | Academic bookmarking. Best for research/data products. | | Folkd | 64 | Social bookmarking. Tag and share links. |
Industry-specific directories. Only submit if your product genuinely fits the vertical — forced listings get rejected and waste time.
| Directory | DR | Notes | |---|---|---| | Justia | 85 | Legal services directory. | | Lawyers.com | 82 | Legal directory. | | HG.org | 75 | Legal resources directory. |
| Directory | DR | Notes | |---|---|---| | Porch | 80 | Home services marketplace. | | BuildZoom | 73 | Construction/contractor directory. | | Tradify (FreeIndex) | 55 | UK trades directory. | | iBuildNew | 45 | Australian home building directory. |
| Directory | DR | Notes | |---|---|---| | AllMenus | 76 | Restaurant directory. |
| Directory | DR | Notes | |---|---|---| | LandBook | 72 | Web design inspiration gallery. Submit landing pages. | | Curated.design | 52 | Design inspiration directory. | | Webdesign Inspiration | 45 | Website design showcase. |
| Directory | DR | Notes | |---|---|---| | Wellness.com | 60 | Health & wellness directory. | | YogaTrail | 55 | Yoga/wellness directory. | | MassageTherapy (AMBP) | 45 | Massage therapy directory. | | Athlinks | 72 | Fitness/race results. Profile with links. | | Fit Pro Directory | 40 | Fitness professional directory. |
| Directory | DR | Notes | |---|---|---| | Placester | 60 | Real estate marketing directory. |
| Directory | DR | Notes | |---|---|---| | Sulekha | 73 | Indian business directory. | | EU-Business | 46 | European business directory. |
| Directory | DR | Notes | |---|---|---| | Evensi Events | 62 | Event discovery platform. |
| Directory | DR | Notes | |---|---|---| | (TeachersPayTeachers listed in Tier 8 — Profile Platforms) | | |
After any submission goes live, verify the backlink exists and is dofollow. You can:
rel="nofollow" or rel="ugc". If absent, the link is dofollow.curl -sIL https://directory.com/your-listing | grep -i linkRe-verify quarterly. Directories sometimes change all outbound links to nofollow without warning — if DR stops moving, check whether your biggest inbound links have silently flipped.