Best directories to submit your startup in 2026, ranked by DR4

The strongest free directories to submit a startup to in 2026 are SourceForge and G2 (DR4 92), then Capterra, Crunchbase and Product Hunt (DR4 91). Of the 137 directories and launch sites we track, 125 are free to list on, and 22 of those have a DR4 of 70 or more. Under Ahrefs' new DR4 model the median directory on our list falls from DR 66 to 42, so a list ranked by today's numbers can point you at the wrong places.

#At a glance

The short version: pick free directories with a high DR4 that fit your product, do the dofollow ones first, skip AI directories unless you sell an AI product, and track everything in a sheet. All 137 are on our product directory list, ranked by DR4.

#How to pick directories

Four questions sort almost every directory. How strong is it under DR4? Is its link dofollow? Is it free? Is it made for your kind of product?

#Rank by DR4, keep DR3 beside it

Domain Rating is Ahrefs' score from 0 to 100 for how strong a site's backlinks are. Ahrefs announced a new model, DR4, in November 2026, and it replaces today's Domain Rating (DR3 here) on December 1, 2026. Ahrefs names two main changes: subdomains get their own rating, and the pool of domains whose links count is about half the size, around 132 million. It says DR4 tracks Google rankings more than 2.5 times better than the current model.

For directories the change is large. 117 of the 137 on our list score lower under DR4, 75 of them by 20 points or more, and 14 score higher. The moves range from Zivaro Launch, 70 to 0, to AI With Me, 58 to 70. In what we've seen, sites whose links come mostly from small or new sites drop the most. Links from groups of small sites that mostly link to each other count for little.

We rank by DR4 because it goes live in December, and show DR3 because it's the number you'll see everywhere until then. DR4 is still a preview, so treat a drop as a reason to look closer, not a verdict. To check a directory or your own site, paste up to 50 domains into our free DR4 checker.

#Dofollow or nofollow

A dofollow link passes ranking value to your site. A nofollow link still brings visitors and helps search engines find your pages, but doesn't count toward your rankings. Both are worth having. G2, Capterra, Crunchbase and Product Hunt all have a DR4 of 91 or 92 and nofollow links: list there for the visitors and the page, not the link.

Of the 137, 51 (37%) give every listing a dofollow link, and 23 (17%) do only when you qualify: their badge on your site, a top 3 finish or enough votes. 7 use nofollow, and 56 aren't confirmed yet, since we only mark a link once a listing of ours is live there. Our list of 51 dofollow directories has every one, and our dofollow checker tests a live listing's link.

#Free or paid

125 of the 137 let you list for free, and 89 of those also sell paid upgrades, such as a featured spot or a faster review. 12 charge to list at all. The paid ones with the highest DR4 are There's An AI For That and Futurepedia (both 73), then BetaList and AI With Me (both 70). Check a site's Domain Rating before you pay: it changes over time, and it's about to change for every site at once. The 125 free directories are where to start.

#Pick the kind that fits your product

Launch platforms give the most dofollow links, but their median falls the furthest under DR4, from 66 to 31. Startup directories keep more of their rating than launch platforms or SaaS directories, but rarely confirm a dofollow link. AI directories hold up best, and a third of them charge to list.

#AI directories only for AI products

AI tool directories are made for AI products. If yours isn't one, skip them and spend the time on directories that fit. If it is, they're some of the strongest free options left under DR4: Dang.ai (74), ToolPilot (71), AI Tool Trek (71), Future Tools (65), Submit AI Tools (62) and AiTools.inc (61). Our AI tools directory list has all 21.

#The top 25 free directories by DR4

These are the 25 directories on our list with the highest DR4 that let you list for free. "Freemium" means the basic listing is free and the site sells upgrades. "Not confirmed" means we haven't seen a live listing's link there yet. Domain Rating by Ahrefs.

What the table shows:

• 10 of the 25 give every listing a dofollow link, 4 are nofollow, and 11 aren't confirmed yet.
• SourceForge is the only one with a DR4 above 90 and a confirmed dofollow link.
• 3 are AI directories: Dang.ai, ToolPilot and AI Tool Trek. Without them, the next free ones are Startup Ranking (67), ShowMySites (64) and Startup Stash (64).

The 57 sites with a DR3 of 70 or more are on our high DR directory list, with their DR4 beside it.

#Best launch platforms

Launch platforms are sites like Product Hunt, where a launch gets upvotes and a page of its own. 50 of the 52 on our list are free, but DR4 hits them hardest: half have a DR4 of 30 or less, and only 10 have 60 or more. The strongest free ones, plus Show HN, which isn't on our list:

Several have waiting lines or fixed launch weeks, so book those on day one. BetaList (DR4 70, dofollow) is the strongest paid one: every submission is paid, and refunded if it isn't selected. All 52 are on our launch platform list, and our Product Hunt alternatives compare the bigger ones by price and fit.

We run a launch platform too. ProductsFarm is a free weekly launch board: voting stays open from Monday to Sunday (UTC), and a free listing gets a dofollow link during its launch week once its maker has upvoted 3 other products. Paying never changes rank. We're new, though: productsfarm.com is DR 28 today and 0 in the DR4 preview, as new sites can be, likely because the preview's data predates their links. Launch with us for a week-long launch and a permanent product page, not for our Domain Rating yet. Our ranking rules explain the details, and you can launch your product for free.

#Best SaaS directories

35 of the 36 SaaS directories on our list are free, but only 12 confirm a dofollow link for every listing. SourceForge (92) is the strongest dofollow link on the whole list, followed among SaaS directories by StackShare (81), SaaSHub (76), ShowMySites (64) and TechDirectory (56). SaaSHub lets makers list and verify a product for free, next to the tools it competes with. G2 and Capterra are nofollow, and still two of the strongest sites on the list. Turbo0 fell from DR3 81 to DR4 53, and is still free and dofollow. All 36 are on our SaaS directory list.

#Best startup directories

26 of the 28 startup directories on our list are free. They keep more of their rating under DR4 than launch platforms (a median of 44, against 31), but only 4 confirm a dofollow link for every listing. Crunchbase (91) is nofollow. Wellfound (89), F6S (85), brownbook.net (83) and Indie Hackers (81) aren't confirmed yet. Startup Fame (73) is the strongest dofollow one, down from a DR3 of 85, and Startup Ranking (67) is one of the few that gained, from 62. Launching Next (40, dofollow) is smaller, but free to submit.

#A realistic first 30

You don't need 137 listings in your first month. A good first round is 30: the strongest free directories that fit your product, mixed so you get both visitors and dofollow links. This is the 30 we'd pick for a product that isn't AI, all free to list on:

If every listing goes live, at least 11 carry a confirmed dofollow link (the middle row plus SourceForge), and Uneed adds one once you qualify. Adjust it to your product:

• AI product: swap in Dang.ai, ToolPilot, AI Tool Trek, Future Tools and Submit AI Tools for the five general ones that fit you least.
• Not a developer tool: swap DevHunt for Turbo0 (53, dofollow).
• Not ready for a Product Hunt launch day: plan it on its own and take the next free directory on the list instead.

Our Starter plan does this same kind of round for you: the 30 strongest free directories, submitted by hand.

#Your week, day by day

1. Day 1: write your listing once: the same name everywhere, a tagline under 60 characters, a 160-character description and a longer one, a square logo of at least 256 by 256 pixels, two or three screenshots, and an email at your own domain. Start a sheet with one row per directory, and book the launch platforms with waiting lines.
2. Day 2: the 10 biggest sites, about 5 hours.
3. Day 3: the 10 confirmed dofollow ones, about 5 hours.
4. Day 4: the other strong free lists, about 5 hours.
5. Day 5: confirm every email the directories sent, or a listing may never reach review.
6. In one to two weeks: check what went live, and test each link with the dofollow checker.

Our directory submission guide walks through each step and the mistakes to avoid.

#How long it takes by hand

Once your listing is written, each directory takes about 30 minutes: an account, a confirmation email, the form and its images. Each one then reviews on its own schedule, from a day to a few weeks, so a sheet with the date, status and listing link for each is the only way to know what went live.

Our directory submission service does this work for you: we submit your product by hand to directories that are free to list on, highest Domain Rating first. No launch on ProductsFarm is needed: add your website, pick a plan and pay once.

Starter, Growth and Complete are below their regular prices ($99, $149 and $250) right now. Every plan is picked from our full catalog, so Max goes well past the 137 on our public list. We submit every directory in Starter to Complete within 3 to 7 days, and in Max within 7 to 10. You get your listing drafted from your website and yours to edit first, each directory's status and listing link in your dashboard with a CSV sheet, and your Domain Rating read when we start and when we finish. AI products also go to AI directories.

What we can't promise is a DR number. Each directory decides whether to list you and whether its link is dofollow, and listings go live on its own schedule, over days or weeks. Some ask for a confirmation email or their badge on your site, and your dashboard tells you when. Paid directories, like BetaList, aren't in any plan.

#How we put this together

• The directories: the 137 product directories and launch sites on our public list, the same ones our team submits products to by hand. We rank them all the same way, including launch platforms that compete with ours.
• Price and link type: from our own submissions. A link stays "not confirmed" until a listing of ours is live there.
• Domain Rating: DR3 was checked October 30, 2026. DR4 is Ahrefs' preview as we read it on November 7, 2026, and it can change until December 1, 2026. Show HN isn't on our list; its DR4 comes from the same day's reading.
• Counts and medians: computed from that list. The shares by kind and the DR3 medians by kind come from our product directory study; the DR4 medians by kind are new here.

If you'd rather put the 15 hours that 30 directories take into your product, our done-for-you directory submission covers the 30 strongest free directories for $49, one time, by hand, with every listing tracked in your dashboard. If you'd rather do it yourself, everything above is free to use: start at the top of the table and work down.