The short answer: you can launch an AI tool for free in at least 15 places beyond Product Hunt. Almost all of them have a catch: a review queue, a badge you must put on your site in exchange for a link, or a link that is nofollow. This guide lists the fifteen, what each one really gives you, and where the catch is, so you can pick six or eight instead of submitting everywhere.
Key Takeaways
- "Free" nearly always means free with a condition: a queue, a badge on your site, or a ranking vote.
- Two well-known names, BetaList and There's An AI For That, no longer offer free submission, according to September 2026 checks.
- Only two entries here are AI-specific: FutureTools and PeerPush. The rest accept any software, so an AI tool competes with every other category.
- Badge-for-link deals are link exchanges. Use a couple, not all of them.
- Pick six to eight places that match your audience and track signups per source, not upvotes.
Last updated: November 2026. Platforms change their rules often, so check each one's submission page before you apply.
How we compared: we used a September 16, 2026 comparison of launch platforms by SaaSCity, which checked each site's pricing and link rules, and cross-checked it against other 2026 roundups. SaaSCity sells directory listings itself, so we treat its figures as reported data, not verified fact. Domain Rating (DR) is a third-party Ahrefs metric, not a Google ranking factor. We have not submitted to these platforms ourselves.
In This Article
- What changed in 2026
- Quick verdict
- AI-focused places
- Launch boards
- Permanent directories
- Developer and open-source places
- Side-by-side comparison
- Not free anymore, and the usual names
- A four-week launch plan
- A note on backlinks and Google
- Where Vinggle fits
- FAQ
What Changed in 2026
- Some free tiers disappeared. BetaList's FAQ now says all submissions are paid, and There's An AI For That charges for both launch slots and listings.
- The badge became the currency. Several platforms give a free dofollow link only if you embed their badge on your site and verify it.
- Weekly and monthly boards replaced the one-day fight. A product that picks up votes on a Thursday can still rank.
- AI visibility became a selling point. Some directories now pitch their listings as pages that AI assistants can read, though no platform can prove that a listing leads to a recommendation.
Quick Verdict
- Best AI-specific free option: FutureTools, if it accepts you after review.
- Best free link with the highest authority: Startup Fame or Twelve Tools, in return for a badge or backlink.
- Best for a week or month of exposure: LaunchIgniter, TinyLaunch or MicroLaunch.
- Best for developer tools and open source: DevHunt and OpenAlternative.
- Best for being found when people compare tools: SaaSHub.
AI-Focused Places
1. FutureTools
A hand-curated directory of AI tools run by YouTuber Matt Wolfe, with a dofollow link and a DR of about 69. Submission is free, but every tool is reviewed by hand, so only products with a clear AI angle get in. The catch: there is no guaranteed acceptance or timeline.
2. PeerPush
A launch directory that markets itself on being readable by AI assistants, with daily, weekly and monthly top lists, a public API and an MCP server. Its dofollow link comes with every published listing. The catch: free submissions wait behind paid ones, and its headline numbers about AI systems reading listings are the platform's own claims.
Launch Boards
3. Uneed
A curated daily board with a newsletter, and the closest thing here to Product Hunt's mechanics. The catch: the free line can take up to five months, and a listing needs about 10 upvotes to stay published and 20 for the dofollow link.
4. StartupBase
Launches go live daily at midnight Pacific time. Free launches get a dofollow link from a domain with a DR of about 73. The catch: an optional pay-what-you-want ranking board rewards whoever pays the most, so free launches rarely top the board.
5. TinyLaunch
Rolling launch periods of a few days, with a badge for the top three products. A free standard launch is available. The catch: the dofollow link goes only to the top three or paid launches, and only if you embed the badge on your site.
6. LaunchIgniter
A weekly board with a free tier that includes one week of homepage visibility. The catch: the free tier needs badge verification and manual review, gives a dofollow link only to the top three, and offers no guaranteed date.
7. MicroLaunch
Ranks products across a whole month rather than a day, which suits small tools that start slowly. Free launches get a dofollow link. The catch: the audience is small, and the paid plan is aimed at people who want queue skips.
8. Launchstag
Weekly cohorts with voting that needs no account, plus a permanent indexed page for each product. Free to use. The catch: the dofollow link depends on embedding its badge.
Permanent Directories
9. Startup Fame
A reviewed startup directory with a DR of about 83. The free "Verified" tier publishes within seven days and includes a dedicated page and dofollow links. The catch: the free tier requires a badge on your homepage, and links on paid highlight plans can lapse when you cancel.
10. Twelve Tools
Lists twelve new tools a day, with a DR of about 82. The free plan gives one dofollow link and a review within 72 hours. The catch: you must link back to Twelve Tools from your homepage or footer, and there is no launch-day traffic spike.
11. SaaSHub
An alternatives directory that has been independent since 2014. Every product gets "alternatives to" pages that can rank in search, plus a dofollow link. Listing is free. The catch: it is about being found in comparisons, not about launch-day attention.
12. Launching Next
A long-running volume directory of startups with a Friday newsletter and a dofollow link. Free. The catch: a lower DR of about 54 and a crowded list, so treat it as a minor evergreen listing.
13. SideProjectors
A marketplace for side projects where you can find users, cofounders or a buyer. Basic listing is free with a dofollow link. The catch: its audience is people shopping for projects, not typical end users.
Developer and Open-Source Places
14. DevHunt
A weekly vote for developer tools, free and published as an open-source project, with a dofollow link. Each listing shows its impressions next to its votes. The catch: moderation is strict, so it only suits APIs, CLIs, SDKs and similar tools.
15. OpenAlternative
A curated directory of open-source alternatives to proprietary software, with a dofollow link. Submission is free. The catch: it is only for products with a public code repository.
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Platform | Type | DR (Sept 2026) | Free link | Main catch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FutureTools | AI directory | 69 | Dofollow | Manual review |
| PeerPush | AI-oriented directory | 75 | Dofollow | Queue behind paid |
| Uneed | Daily board | 76 | Dofollow at 20 votes | Up to 5-month queue |
| StartupBase | Daily board | 73 | Dofollow | Paid ranking dominates |
| TinyLaunch | Launch periods | 73 | Top 3, with badge | Badge required |
| LaunchIgniter | Weekly board | 74 | Top 3, with badge | No guaranteed date |
| MicroLaunch | Monthly board | 64 | Dofollow | Small audience |
| Launchstag | Weekly cohorts | 64 | Dofollow, with badge | Badge required |
| Startup Fame | Directory | 83 | Dofollow, with badge | Badge on homepage |
| Twelve Tools | Directory | 82 | Dofollow, with backlink | Reciprocal link |
| SaaSHub | Alternatives directory | 81 | Dofollow | Comparison traffic only |
| Launching Next | Volume directory | 54 | Dofollow | Crowded, low DR |
| SideProjectors | Marketplace | 71 | Dofollow | Buyer-oriented audience |
| DevHunt | Dev tools board | 63 | Dofollow | Developer tools only |
| OpenAlternative | Open-source directory | 60 | Dofollow | Needs a public repo |
Link rules and DR figures are as reported in the September 2026 comparison and may have changed. Do not choose a platform on DR alone.
Not Free Anymore, and the Usual Names
Older guides still list BetaList and There's An AI For That as free. Per the September 2026 checks, BetaList accepts only paid submissions, and There's An AI For That charges for launches and listings. Plans and prices change, so confirm on their pages before you plan around either.
You already know the other big options: Hacker News (Show HN) for technical products, Indie Hackers, relevant Reddit communities, Peerlist Launchpad, Fazier and AlternativeTo. We left them out of the fifteen on purpose, but they are all worth a look if your audience fits.
A Four-Week Launch Plan
- Week 1: prepare one submission kit (tagline, 300-word description, screenshots, logo, a UTM-tagged link per platform). Submit to the slow reviewers first: Startup Fame, Twelve Tools, FutureTools, DevHunt and, if you are open source, OpenAlternative.
- Week 2: pick your main day. Launch on StartupBase, TinyLaunch and LaunchIgniter, and join the Uneed queue now, since it can take months.
- Week 3: verify your SaaSHub listing, submit to PeerPush, and add yourself to AlternativeTo.
- Week 4: add the evergreen listings (Launching Next, SideProjectors), start a MicroLaunch run at the beginning of a month, and review your results.
A Note on Backlinks and Google
Many of these listings offer a dofollow link, and it is tempting to submit everywhere. Google's spam policies single out link schemes, which include excessive link exchanges, and a badge-for-link trade is an exchange. A handful of relevant listings is normal. Dozens of low-quality ones submitted only for links is the pattern to avoid.
- Choose six to eight places that match your audience.
- Use no more than two or three badge-for-link deals.
- Tag each listing with its own UTM and count signups per source after 7 and 30 days.
- Check each listing page gets indexed, since a page Google has not indexed passes nothing.
- Check monthly whether AI assistants mention you, as covered in our AEO guide for AI tool builders.
With search clicks shrinking on many queries, as we covered in Is AI Search Killing Website Traffic?, direct visibility on boards and communities matters more than it used to.
Where Vinggle Fits
We run Vinggle, so we did not rank ourselves among the fifteen. For transparency: Vinggle's free listing is reviewed by hand, the stated maximum wait is 21 days, and the outbound link on a free listing is nofollow, so it gives visibility but not link authority. Adding our optional badge moves a submission up the review queue. You can compare us with other AI directories in our list of the best AI tools directories, or submit your tool to Vinggle.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where can I launch my AI tool for free besides Product Hunt?
Options with a free path include FutureTools, PeerPush, Uneed, StartupBase, TinyLaunch, LaunchIgniter, MicroLaunch, Startup Fame, Twelve Tools, SaaSHub and DevHunt, each with its own catch.
Are BetaList and There's An AI For That free?
Not according to September 2026 checks. BetaList accepts only paid submissions, and There's An AI For That charges for launches and listings.
Do these listings give dofollow backlinks?
Most do, often in exchange for a badge or a reciprocal link, but rules change and Google may ignore low-value links. Treat listings as visibility first and link authority second.
How many platforms should I submit to?
Six to eight that match your audience is enough. Submitting to everything adds work and little benefit.
Is a badge-for-link deal safe?
One or two are fine. Doing many of them looks like a link exchange scheme, which Google's spam policies discourage.
Sources: SaaSCity's Product Hunt alternatives comparison (checked September 16, 2026), cross-checked against other 2026 roundups. More AI tools and the people who use them are on Vinggle's AI Business Tools directory.