Launch guides
Startup Directories That Give Dofollow Backlinks, Verified
The startup directories that give free dofollow backlinks in 2026 are Toolfound, SaaSHub, AlternativeTo, F6S and Launching Next, plus Uneed's listings. BetaList's dofollow link comes with a paid submission, and Product Hunt's becomes dofollow only for top products of the day.
Last updated August 2026
The comparison table
A warning that belongs on every list like this: a dofollow link is a by-product of a good listing, not a product to farm. Directories that sell dofollow placement at scale, or condition the link on a badge or a link back, match Google's published definition of a link scheme — links from them are the kind that get discounted or worse. The table below only marks a platform "Yes" where the policy is stated by the platform itself or verified on live listing pages; everything we could not verify shows a dash instead.
Toolfound publishes this list and is included in it. Our own policy: every verified listing gets a dofollow link, free, never conditioned on a badge, a reciprocal link, or payment — that is written policy, not a promise.
| # | Platform | Best for | Launch model | Dofollow link | Cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Product Hunt | Consumer and prosumer products with a polished story | Daily ranking | Conditional | Free | Dofollow only for top products of the day; a lottery without an existing audience |
| 2 | Uneed | Indie makers who want a calmer daily board with a real link policy | Daily ranking | Yes | Free + paid skip-the-line | Smaller than the biggest boards but launches are less crowded, so odds are better |
| 3 | ToolfoundOur platform | Agent-native launches and a permanent, dofollow directory listing | Daily ranking | Yes | Free (first 100 launches), then paid skip-the-line | Our platform — mandatory ownership verification, public queue and launch dates |
| 4 | BetaList | Pre-launch startups collecting early adopters before the public launch | Evergreen listing | Yes | Paid | Submissions are paid; dofollow on acceptance; strongest before you launch, not after |
| 5 | SaaSHub | An evergreen alternatives-style listing that compounds through search | Evergreen listing | Yes | Free + paid options | Free dofollow listing; value accrues slowly via alternatives pages, not launch spikes |
| 6 | AlternativeTo | Being discovered by people searching for alternatives to incumbents | Tool database | Yes | Free | Crowd-moderated; your listing gains from being an alternative to something big |
| 7 | F6S | Startup programs, accelerator applications, and founder deals | Tool database | Yes | Free | Free dofollow profile; the real product is program applications and startup deals |
| 8 | Launching Next | A quick, free evergreen listing among thousands of new startups | Evergreen listing | Yes | Free | Low effort, free dofollow listing; modest traffic, part of the checklist tier |
Every platform, one by one
Each entry links to the platform’s own submit or FAQ page — the primary source. The full cross-segment comparison, sequencing advice and launch-day playbook live in the complete launch guide; how we source these facts is on the methodology page.
1. Product Hunt
Still the biggest general launch board, and still the one your investors will ask about. Successful launches report anywhere from a couple of thousand to over ten thousand visits in a day — but the median launch gets a small fraction of that, and without an existing network the front page is close to a lottery. The mechanics have flattened: hunters matter far less than they used to, and the work is in your first comment, your gallery, and having real users show up before noon. The listing link is nofollow by default and becomes dofollow only for top products of the day. Treat it as the finale of a launch sequence, not the opener: launch here after you have practised the pitch on smaller boards and have users who will genuinely comment.
2. Uneed
A daily launch board run by an indie maker, and one of the platforms that popularised publishing its own launch-directory comparisons — which tells you the team understands why founders come: traffic, feedback, and a dofollow link. The daily competition is far less crowded than the biggest boards, so a good product with a small push has a real shot at the top spots, and listings persist afterwards. The free queue can mean a wait of weeks; the paid skip-the-line option exists if your date matters. The audience skews indie-maker and early-adopter, so B2B products with long sales cycles get less from it than consumer tools do. A sensible week-two launch: big enough to matter, small enough to win.
3. Toolfound
Toolfound is our platform, so read this entry knowing that. What it does differently: the entire launch lifecycle — submit, verify, track, claim — works over MCP as well as the web, so your agent can run the launch; ownership verification is mandatory for every listing; and the queue is public, so you see your exact launch date and position before you commit. Every listing keeps a permanent page with a free dofollow link — never conditioned on a badge or a link back, which is written policy, not a promise. The honest trade-off: the audience is newer and smaller than the incumbents above and below it in this table. The first hundred launches are free, and the counter is public. If you want the biggest possible day-one spike, launch elsewhere first and here for the durable page.
4. BetaList
One of the oldest names in the space, focused on a moment most boards ignore: before your public launch. The audience is early-adopter subscribers who sign up for betas, so the useful output is waitlist signups rather than a traffic spike. Know two things going in. First, submissions are paid now — the free path has effectively given way to paid processing, and the listing link is dofollow on acceptance, which BetaList states plainly in its own FAQ. Second, the fit is narrow: if you have already launched publicly, you are not a beta and the listing will underperform. Used at the right moment — working product, pre-launch, hungry for first users — it remains one of the few places purpose-built for exactly that.
5. SaaSHub
Not a launch board — an alternatives engine. SaaSHub's pages rank for thousands of "X alternatives" and "X vs Y" queries, and a free listing puts your product inside that surface with a dofollow link. Nothing dramatic happens on submission day; the value accrues slowly as your product appears beside the incumbents people are actually searching for, which is precisely the query that converts. That also defines the limit: if nobody searches for alternatives in your category, there is little surface to appear on. Paid options exist for more prominence. The right way to use it: submit once, early, fill the listing properly with real alternatives, and forget about it — it is infrastructure for the long tail, not an event.
6. AlternativeTo
One of the largest software databases on the web, and the canonical answer to "what can I use instead of X". Listings are free, crowd-moderated, and carry dofollow links. The mechanism to understand: your page's traffic comes almost entirely from being listed as an alternative to something people already search for — so a listing that names its big-name alternatives honestly can pull steady, high-intent traffic for years, while a listing in a category with no famous incumbent pulls almost nothing. Because it is crowd-moderated, you do not fully control the page: users add alternatives, likes, and comments, and blatant self-promotion in the wrong places gets reverted. Submit early, be accurate about what you replace, and let it compound. AI engines cite it constantly, which is worth something on its own.
7. F6S
A large, long-established startup network built around programs: accelerator applications, grants, competitions, and founder deals all run through F6S profiles, which is why millions of startups have one. For launch purposes the appeal is simple — the profile is free and the link is dofollow, making it one of the easy wins on the checklist. Beyond the link, expect little organic discovery: people come to F6S to apply to things and claim deals, not to browse for new tools. The profile pays for itself the first time you apply to an accelerator or claim a cloud-credits deal, since you will need it anyway. Create it once, keep the company data accurate, and collect the incidental benefits.
8. Launching Next
A long-running startup directory that publishes a steady stream of new-project listings and syndicates them to a subscriber base. The transaction is straightforward: a free submission gets you a permanent page with a dofollow link, usually within days, with no launch-day mechanics to orchestrate. Direct traffic per listing is modest — this is the checklist tier of the ecosystem, not a needle-mover — but the effort is fifteen minutes and the link is real, which is exactly the trade the checklist tier exists for. It pairs naturally with the other evergreen directories in a single submission session during week one or two. Write a proper description rather than pasting your tagline; syndicated listings with substance travel further than one-liners.
Common questions
Which startup directories give dofollow backlinks?
Toolfound, SaaSHub, AlternativeTo, F6S and Launching Next give free dofollow links; BetaList's is paid; Product Hunt's becomes dofollow only for top products of the day.
How many dofollow directory links do I need?
Fewer than the roundups imply: 5–8 listings on reputable, relevant directories beat 100 spam submissions, which can actively hurt. Directory links are a baseline, not a strategy — editorial links from content people cite are what actually move authority.
Are paid dofollow links from directories safe?
Paying for a listing on a legitimate, curated directory (as with BetaList) is normal. Paying specifically for a dofollow link, at scale, from sites that exist to sell them is textbook link scheme territory and gets discounted or penalised. Judge the directory, not just the rel attribute.
Ready to launch? Book a date on Toolfound — you will see your queue position and launch date before committing to anything. More segment guides: The 15 Best Launch Platforms for B2B SaaS, Compared · The 10 Best Launch Platforms and Directories for AI Tools · The 10 Best Launch Platforms for Developer Tools · The 18 Best Places to Post a Side Project, Compared · 22 Free Startup Directories and Launch Platforms, Compared · The 15 Best Product Hunt Alternatives, Honestly Compared