Product Hunt alternatives

A high-authority backlink without the Product Hunt circus

A launchpad with a strong domain and a real community. The free queue works; paying gets you a date you choose. A followed backlink needs a top placement or a paid tier, so read the rules before submitting.

Free queue; Skip the line $39.99; Fast-track $14.99; Pro $99/yr.

A low-effort second launch with a paid backlink option

A Product Hunt alternative with a free basic listing and paid tiers that add scheduling, homepage placement and a guaranteed followed link. The free tier requires a badge backlink on your site.

Basic free; Lite $29; Premium $49; Super $99 (one-time).

A friendly first launch with feedback

A monthly leaderboard with a maker-friendly tone. Free launches compete for the month; paid placement gets featured slots. Useful when you want a second wave of feedback rather than a huge spike.

Free launches; paid Pro placement and sponsorship.

Developer and design tools

A weekly launchpad inside a professional network for builders. The audience is technical and the launch is free; paid placements exist but are not required. A good fit for dev tools, APIs and design products.

Free to launch. Ads start at $29/day; $129/wk for the Launchpad feed.

Developer tools, MCP servers, open-source projects

A weekly leaderboard built specifically for developer tools. Domain rating is in the high 60s and the audience is technical. If your product is not for developers, this is not the room.

Free to launch; ads from $89/wk.

Developer tools and technical products

No badges, no launch-day theatre. A plain Show HN post that explains what you built and why. If it lands, the traffic is enormous and the feedback is blunt. If it does not, it is gone in an hour.

Free.

A simple launch with a badge and a shot at a backlink

Short cycles and a clean launch page. Free launches queue up; Premium skips the queue and guarantees a high-authority backlink. Top-three free launches also earn a badge and backlink.

Free launch; Premium $39/launch; featured spots from $15/wk.

Pre-launch products collecting early users

One of the oldest startup directories. The audience is explicitly looking for things they can try before everyone else. Better for a waitlist than a paid product launch.

Free queue; paid priority available.

SaaS products with clear competitors

A software directory built around alternatives and comparisons. Publishing a listing also puts you in front of people searching for a replacement for an incumbent. The comparison pages do the long-tail work.

Free listing; paid promotion available.

Products with an obvious incumbent

The largest alternatives directory. A listing is free and can bring search traffic for years. The audience is not browsing for fun; they are trying to leave something else.

Free listing.

Open-source alternatives to paid SaaS

An open-source-first alternatives directory. The listing works best when your project is genuinely self-hostable and the comparison is honest. Good long-tail search surface.

Free for qualifying open-source projects.

Build-in-public updates and feedback

A founder community, not a launch board. The products section and the forum reward a real story with numbers. Posting a launch link alone gets ignored; sharing what you learned does not.

Free.

A quick second launch listing

A smaller launch board with a simple submission flow and a paid queue jump. It will not replace a primary launch, but it adds a permanent listing and a little extra discovery.

Free queue; paid skip-the-line options.

Pre-launch products looking for beta users

A launch and beta-discovery site where new products can collect early interest. The audience is smaller than Product Hunt, which makes it a better fit for a focused beta.

Free queue; paid priority and featured options.

Another permanent launch listing

A smaller launch and startup discovery site. Effort is low and the listing persists. Treat it as part of a batch submission day rather than a standalone channel.

Free listing; paid featured options.

Honest feedback on a landing page

A feedback-first subreddit where founders post a product and get blunt criticism. It is not a traffic channel, but it is one of the cheapest ways to find a confusing headline.

Free; community rules apply.

A paid shortcut to several launch listings

A service that submits a product to a bundle of launch platforms and directories. Buy it if the time saved matters more than the fee; check the current outlet list before paying.

Paid submission.

A permanent listing and a small launch bump

A lightweight launch directory that publishes a daily selection. Free submissions are reviewed; paid options get a featured slot. Good as one more link in a launch-week push, not as the main event.

Free listing; paid featured placement.

Consumer hardware and unusual products

A crowdfunding platform with more flexible funding options than Kickstarter. The same campaign work applies: a real audience, a clear video and a plan for fulfilment.

Platform fee; flexible and fixed funding options.

A public product pitch and feedback

A wall of product pitches with upvotes and comments. The format rewards a clear one-liner and a real ask. Low effort, and a decent place to rehearse the pitch before a bigger launch.

Free to post.

A permanent startup profile

A simple startup directory with categories and search. Low effort and low traffic compared with the big platforms, but another durable link and another place for your launch to surface.

Free listing.

A public pitch and feedback

A simple directory of startup pitches with a short description and link. It is a low-cost addition to a directory batch and a place to point people who ask what you are building.

Free pitch submission.

B2B and professional tools

Underrated for B2B launches. A plain post about the problem and what you built often outperforms a polished ad. Ask a question in the first line; LinkedIn rewards comments over clicks.

Free (organic).

Side projects and honest feedback

One of the friendlier launch subreddits. Read the rules, post as a person rather than a brand, and answer every comment. A single good post can outperform a small directory.

Free.

Free, delightful, instantly understandable web products

A huge subreddit for interesting websites. The bar is high and the audience is not forgiving of marketing. If your product is genuinely fun or surprising in five seconds, it can explode; otherwise skip it.

Free.

Ongoing distribution and relationships

Not a launch button, a habit. The launch-day post works only if there is an audience already there. Build the list for weeks before the link matters; a thread with screenshots and a clear ask travels furthest.

Free (organic).

Idea validation and early feedback

A community for testing ideas before building. Useful for a pre-launch conversation or a short survey; low value once the product is live and needs distribution.

Free; community rules apply.

B2B SaaS with real customers to review it

The biggest B2B software review site. A listing is free, but the value comes from verified reviews. Worth claiming early so you can collect reviews from your first customers.

Free listing; paid buyer-intent products.

A low-effort directory listing

A small product discovery site that accepts new launches and keeps a permanent page. Useful as part of a directory batch, not as the centrepiece of launch week.

Free listing; paid featured placement.

Startup programs and credibility

A startup community used heavily by accelerators and grant programs. A profile is free and sometimes required for applications. Not a launch channel on its own.

Free company profile.

Developer and startup tools with a budget

A large daily tech newsletter with multiple editions. Sponsorships are expensive and book out; the payoff is a concentrated burst of qualified traffic. Worth it only after the landing page converts.

Paid sponsorship (varies by edition).

A permanent startup profile

A long-running startup showcase with a free editorial review queue. The $99 upgrade only buys speed, not placement. Worth submitting for the permanent profile and the occasional newsletter pickup.

Free review; $99 for one-business-day review.

Hardware, consumer products and creative projects

A crowdfunding campaign is a launch with money attached, not a directory listing. It suits a product with a physical or creative story and a budget for video, rewards and fulfilment.

Platform fee on successfully funded projects.

B2B SaaS with a clear category

A Gartner-owned software marketplace with category comparisons and reviews. The listing is a trust signal for buyers; the links are usually nofollow.

Free vendor listing; paid lead programs.

B2B products with a category fit

A Gartner-owned software directory with strong search visibility. Free listings are possible; paid placement drives the actual leads. The listing also appears across GetApp and Software Advice.

Free listing; paid placement.

Operational questions and startup lessons

A large founder subreddit with strict self-promotion rules. A launch link usually gets removed; a detailed post about a decision or a metric can do well. Read the rules twice.

Free.

B2B products in a defined category

A comparison and review site for business software. Like GetApp, it is a credibility and lead surface rather than an SEO backlink play.

Free vendor listing; paid lead programs.

A permanent startup profile

A browsable startup directory with categories, funding information and product profiles. The listing is a reference page more than a traffic spike.

Free listing; paid promotion available.

Business lessons and operational questions

A broad entrepreneurship community where stories and operational lessons outperform announcements. Contribute before linking, and read the self-promotion rules for the week.

Free; community rules apply.

Revenue, growth and build-in-public stories

A small subreddit focused on the business of indie products. Launch links are tolerated less than lessons. Share a number, a mistake or a teardown and the response is much better.

Free.

Founder relationships and local visibility

A global founder community with local chapters and events. The value is the room, not a listing; show up, tell the story and follow up with the people you meet.

Free community membership; event tickets vary.

Recruiting beta testers

A small subreddit built for exactly one thing: finding people to test a product. Low traffic, high intent. Best used before launch to get usability feedback.

Free.

SaaS lessons and build-in-public discussion

A founder-heavy subreddit for SaaS operations, pricing and growth. Direct launch posts are usually removed; a useful teardown or lesson with the link in context works better.

Free; community rules apply.

Long-form launch stories

A publishing surface rather than a launch platform. A story about why you built the thing can travel further than the product page. Mirror it with a canonical link to your own blog so the SEO stays yours.

Free (partner program optional).

Company credibility and press research

Not a launch platform, but a company profile is often the first thing a journalist or investor checks. Free to add and worth keeping current. Do not expect launch traffic from it.

Free company profile; paid data products.

AI products with a budget

A daily AI newsletter with a large, engaged readership. Sponsorship is a direct buy rather than a submission. Best for AI tools that already convert, since the traffic is expensive.

Paid sponsorship.

Products with a marketing budget

A curated startup resource directory. Listings are paid, so treat it as an SEO purchase rather than a launch. Worth considering once you know which keywords you are trying to own.

Paid listing (varies by placement).

A paid SaaS directory placement

A SaaS directory and deal site. Treat it as paid distribution and measure the trial-to-paid rate rather than the raw click count.

Paid listing and promotion.

Developer tools with a clear stack fit

A directory of developer tools organized around company stacks. A complete profile is worth it when engineers are already comparing tools in your category.

Free tool profile; paid promotion available.

Technical articles, not product pages

One of the largest programming communities, with strict rules against product promotion. A deep technical write-up can travel; a homepage link usually cannot.

Free; community rules apply.

A visual case study

Adobe's creative portfolio network. A case study of the product's design can bring attention from designers and agencies, but it is not a launch traffic channel.

Free portfolio.

Technical articles and projects that hit HN

A weekly digest of the best Hacker News links. It picks up what already did well on HN, so the work is making the original post good. No direct submission button, but worth knowing about.

Free submission; editorial selection.

Slack apps with a clear team workflow

The official directory for Slack apps. Review is strict and the install flow needs polish, but approval puts the product in front of teams already working inside Slack.

Free listing; review required.

Developer tools with a technical story

A developer blogging community with strong search visibility. A technical post that solves a problem and mentions the product at the end beats a launch announcement. Cross-post your own blog with a canonical link.

Free.

A technical project with a real story

A small, high-signal link community for developers. Self-promotion is tolerated only when the project is technically interesting, so write the post for the community, not the launch.

Free; invite-based accounts.

Obsidian plugins

The official plugin directory for Obsidian. A focused plugin with a clear README and no telemetry tends to do well; the audience is technical and quick to inspect the code.

Free and open-source listing.

Indie products with a clear category

A curated list of resources and products for indie makers. It is a small, low-effort listing that works best as part of a batch rather than a standalone channel.

Free listing.

A concise product pitch in a newsletter

A discovery newsletter built around ten-word product descriptions. The constraint forces a clear pitch, which is useful practice even if the send does not move traffic.

Free submission; paid featured options.

Developer-facing web tools

A large web-development community. Show the work with a technical explanation and expect scrutiny; a bare link drop will be removed or ignored.

Free; community rules apply.

Technical content and dev-tool launches

A developer blogging platform with a built-in community. Useful for launch-week writeups and evergreen technical posts. Like DEV, the post has to stand on its own before it mentions the product.

Free.

Developer tools delivered as an extension

The main distribution channel for VS Code extensions, with strong in-editor search discovery. The competition is heavy, so a narrow job and a good README matter.

Free to publish extensions.

A frontend tool with a demoable idea

A frontend playground and showcase. A small, open demo is often a better launch asset than a screenshot and can keep sending traffic through search.

Free; paid Pro options.

Products with a clear 'best for' question

A community comparison site organized around questions like 'What is the best tool for X?'. Answer the question honestly and the product can earn a durable recommendation.

Free to add a product or answer.

A local demo night or launch event

Local events still convert better than another link drop. Hosting a small demo night or sponsoring an existing meetup is slow, but the relationships compound.

Organizer subscription for hosting events.

Design tools with a genuine craft story

A design-focused link community with a critical audience. The best posts show a workflow or a design decision, not a feature list.

Free; account required.

A site with a strong visual point of view

A curated gallery of excellent web design. Selection is editorial and narrow, so submit only when the site has a distinctive visual idea.

Free submission; curation applies.

Open-source and developer tools

A long-running software directory and project host. It matters most for open-source projects that already have a downloadable release or repository to point at.

Free project hosting and listing; paid promotion.

Building an owned audience

A publishing platform, not a directory. Starting a launch journal builds an audience you can email again next time. The first ten posts are the hard part; after that it compounds.

Free to publish; paid subscriptions optional.

Open-source WordPress plugins

The official plugin repository and a serious distribution channel for WordPress products. Code review and ongoing maintenance are part of the deal, not a one-off submission.

Free open-source listing.

Open-source tools with a category list

Curated GitHub lists are still one of the most durable discovery surfaces for developer tools. Find the list that genuinely fits, follow its contribution rules and send a clean pull request.

Free pull request.

AI tools that solve a real job

A curated AI tool list run by Matt Wolfe. Submission is free but selection is editorial, so a clear use case and polished demo matter. A listing often comes with newsletter exposure.

Free submission, curator-reviewed.

SaaS products that need an integration story

Being listed as a Zapier integration makes a product more useful to existing customers and surfaces it to people building workflows. The build and review take real engineering time.

Free integration listing; review required.

AI demos and open models

A public home for AI demos that people can try in the browser. It is not a launch board, but a working demo is one of the strongest launch assets an AI product can have.

Free public Spaces; paid hardware upgrades.

An AI tool with a clear category

A curated AI tools database attached to a large newsletter. The listing can send qualified traffic when the tool matches a popular category.

Free listing.

Notion templates and workspace systems

A large template marketplace inside Notion's own discovery surface. It is a product in itself, so submit only if the template solves a specific workflow better than the free alternatives.

Free to submit templates; pricing is set by the creator.

E-commerce apps and storefront tools

The highest-intent marketplace for Shopify apps. Review is demanding and the revenue share matters, but the installation flow and merchant trust are already built.

Free listing; Shopify takes a revenue share on app charges.

A visual product with a strong interface

A portfolio and inspiration community. It is a place to show the craft behind the product, not to submit a launch; the referral value comes from other designers noticing the work.

Free portfolio; paid Pro options.

Browser extensions and web tools

The default distribution channel for a Chrome extension. The listing can send durable search traffic, but approval, permissions and policy review take real preparation.

One-time developer registration fee.

AI tools with a searchable use case

A large AI tool directory with category and task pages. Submit with a specific use-case description so the listing can match real search queries.

Free listing; paid featured options.

Products ready to trade margin for volume

A marketplace for lifetime deals. Acceptance is selective and the economics are not for everyone, but a campaign can bring a large batch of users and feedback quickly. Read the terms before applying.

Revenue share; selective acceptance.

A broad AI directory listing

A general AI directory with categories and tool profiles. Treat it as a batch listing and confirm the current submission rules before paying for placement.

Free listing; paid promotion.

SaaS products in a crowded category

A SaaS comparison directory with category pages and alternatives. Free listings are possible, though visibility is limited without paid promotion. Another long-tail search surface.

Free listing; paid promotion available.

AI products and agents

A large AI tools directory with categories and newsletter distribution. The free queue is competitive; paid placement shortens the wait and adds visibility. Only worth it if your product is unmistakably AI.

Free queue; paid featured listing.

A minimal, content-first site

A gallery for clean, minimal web design. It is a niche showcase, not a launch platform; the value is design credibility and a small stream of referrals.

Free submission; curation applies.

A curated AI directory listing

An AI directory paired with a newsletter. The curation is tighter than the largest aggregators, which makes the listing more useful when the category fits.

Free listing; paid featured options.

JavaScript and frontend tools

A widely read JavaScript newsletter with a humorous voice. Sponsorship works when the product is directly useful to JS developers; general SaaS pitches are a waste of the slot.

Paid sponsorship.

Open-source libraries and dev tools

A directory for open-source projects with comparisons, mentions and trend pages. If your product has a public repository, this is a permanent, low-effort listing that developers actually use.

Free listing for open-source projects.

Figma plugins, templates and UI kits

The built-in marketplace for Figma plugins and community files. A well-made plugin earns discovery from designers already inside the tool; a generic template rarely does.

Free to publish plugins and resources.

A reference profile and ranking page

A long-running startup directory that ranks companies by web presence and activity. The listing is a credibility reference; do not expect meaningful referral traffic.

Free listing.

AI tools with a clear category

An AI directory with a growing tool index. It is a low-effort listing; check whether the category page is indexed before expecting search value.

Free listing; paid placement available.

Frontend, CSS and design-engineering tools

A weekly frontend newsletter with a practical, tutorial-heavy audience. Sponsor when the product removes a real frontend chore.

Paid sponsorship and classifieds.

A polished, interaction-heavy site

A design award gallery judged on visual and frontend craft. It suits a marketing site with real art direction, not a standard SaaS dashboard.

Paid submission.

AI products with a clear use case

The AI edition of the TLDR newsletter network. Sponsorship is priced for reach; measure the click quality rather than the open rate.

Paid sponsorship.

Selling or showing a side project

A marketplace for side projects. If you are building in public, a listing can bring curious makers; if you are exiting a project, it is a place to find a buyer. Not a growth channel for a live SaaS.

Free listing; paid featured options.

Another AI directory listing

A smaller AI tool directory with category browsing. Use it as part of a batch, with the same use-case copy you use everywhere else.

Free listing; paid featured options.

A well-designed landing page

A landing-page gallery organized by style and industry. A listing brings design-aware visitors and a reference page you can link from your press kit.

Free queue; paid fast-track.

Practical AI tools for small teams

An AI tools directory with a practical, business-oriented bent. A clear use case and pricing page matter more than a long feature list.

Free directory; paid promotion available.

Developer tools in the JS ecosystem

A long-running weekly roundup with a large developer list. The classifieds are the affordable entry point; editorial inclusion is earned by the story, not bought.

Paid sponsorship and classifieds.

AI tools for non-technical work

A daily AI newsletter written for a broad professional audience. Good for productivity and marketing AI tools; less useful for deep developer infrastructure.

Paid sponsorship.

A visually distinctive marketing site

A juried showcase for exceptional web design. Entry is paid and the bar is high, but a win is a durable design credential rather than a launch-day traffic spike.

Paid submission per site.

React libraries and tooling

A React-focused newsletter from the Cooperpress group. It is a narrow but high-intent audience, so the fit needs to be real.

Paid sponsorship and classifieds.

A toolkit directory listing

A curated directory of tools for creators and small teams. Category fit matters more than volume here, so submit only if the product solves a creator workflow.

Free listing; paid featured placement.

A quick AI directory listing

A smaller AI directory with a straightforward submission flow. It adds another permanent page and a small discovery surface at low effort.

Free listing; paid featured options.

Consumer and business AI tools

A high-volume AI newsletter with a broad readership. Sponsorship is a reach play; use a dedicated landing page so the traffic can be measured separately.

Paid sponsorship.

Products ready to trade margin for volume

A lifetime-deal marketplace with an audience that buys software at a discount. It can produce a cash bump and a burst of users, but the cohort is deal-driven and support-heavy.

Revenue-share or paid campaign; apply as a vendor.

AI tools with a specific use case

The biggest task-based AI directory. Listings are indexed by the job someone wants done, so the copy matters more than the logo. Free submissions can take a while; paid gets reviewed sooner.

Free listing queue; paid priority.

AI tools with a clear category

A high-volume AI directory with a large catalogue. Free listings are reviewed, paid options get featured placement and faster review. Another backlink and discovery surface for AI products.

Free listing; paid featured options.

Selling a template, guide or small tool

A storefront for digital products with almost no setup. It is not a SaaS launch platform, but it is a fast way to sell a companion template or guide around the launch.

10% platform fee on sales.

New AI tools

An AI directory and newsletter that highlights new tools. Free submissions are reviewed; paid placement gets more prominent treatment. Useful for an AI product's first backlinks.

Free submission; paid promotion available.

Local startup events and launches

A network of city-level startup newsletters. It is best for events and community launches with a local angle, not for a generic global SaaS launch.

Paid sponsorship and event listings.

Workflow and productivity AI products

A large AI newsletter focused on practical work use cases. The audience is broad, so a specific workflow demo converts better than a general launch message.

Paid sponsorship.

A permanent category listing

A large software directory organized by category and use case. It is a reference surface, best used alongside a real launch rather than as a standalone campaign.

Free listing; paid featured options.

Open-source products that live in the open

A public repository is not a launch listing, but for open-source tools it is the product page, the issue tracker and the trust signal. A good README can keep sending users for years.

Free public repositories; paid team plans.