Top 20 Sites to Submit Your Startup to Promote It in 2024

If you are a new founder at the very beginning of your entrepreneurial journey, and you just launched an MPV, or a prototype, or anything, you are living in an exciting time.

But there is one problem (out of many that you'll resolve, eventually). How is anyone going to know your startup exists? How will you reach out to the masses with the message you have for the value you provide? If you don’t get your business in front of the right audiences, it will eventually die a cold and lonely death.

For starters, you can follow several proven but difficult customer acquisition strategies, from cold outreach campaigns to paid ads. However, before you go down that road, a smarter approach would be to get eyeballs on your startup by submitting it to communities and directories of similar businesses.

This way, it becomes economical and much easier to build visibility for your business and to test the waters before committing to any expensive marketing campaigns.

Read on and learn more about the best startup directories out there to help promote your business.

Best Startup Directories to Launch, Relaunch and List Your Product

You can find hundreds of free and paid startup directories and databases, but not all are worth your time. To save you from trouble, we’ve done the legwork for you! Here are 20 of the best sites that are considered authority figures in the space to list and promote your startup online.

1. Crunchbase

Crunchbase is a huge directory of in-depth company information, with profiles for over 1 million businesses, from small startups to Fortune 1000 companies. While you might not necessarily get referral traffic from Crunchbase, it’s free and quick to create a profile, and doing so sends strong signals that your business is real and worth taking seriously.

How to list your startup:

You’ll first need to register a personal account on Crunchbase. Once you have done that, make sure you’re logged in and go to crunchbase.com/add-new. Choose “Company”, and fill out your startup’s details on the following screen.

2. AlternativeTo

There’s a good chance the pitch for your startup begins with “a better version of (competitor)”. If so, this is the site to show off your product to people searching for an alternative to that competitor.

AlternativeTo is a great opportunity to piggyback off the name of established tools in your niche, and hopefully drive referrals from people looking for other options.

How to list your startup:

Start by signing up for an account on alternativeto.net. Once you’re signed in, click on the profile icon on the right side and then click “Add new application” from the dropdown menu.

3. KillerStartups

KillerStartups is a community for startup founders and entrepreneurs, where you can get your startup listed, or even reviewed, in front of an audience on the lookout for the hottest new startups. KillerStartups boasts that they have over 125,000 unique views each month, and 6 million total views annually. Based on these stats, there’s more than enough upside here - especially considering how straightforward the submission process is.

How to list your startup:

Right on the homepage, hit the “Submit Your Startup” button, or go straight to www.killerstartups.com/submit-startup.

4. Slant

One of the first things you see on Slant’s homepage; over 2.8 million people come to Slant each month to find the right products to solve their problems. Listings are organized based on the solution they provide. For example: “what is the best video editing software?” or “what are the best zoom alternatives?” Submit your product to show it off to people who are looking for a solution that your product provides.

How to list your startup:

You don't directly list your startup. Instead, you’ll find a question that relates to your startup, and offer it as an option to its viewers.

Search for a keyword or write a question - e.g. flash player alternatives. Click the icon with the three dots (next to “Follow” in the right-hand corner), and hit “Add Option”. Type your product's name in the search bar, go down to “Add a new product”, and add your startup’s details.

5. BetaList

BetaList is a community for brand new upcoming startups. It’s designed for the tech niche, for both hardware & software ideas currently in beta or only recently released. This is a great place to get valuable early feedback from people who have been there in your shoes and have relevant experience.

How to list your startup:

Hit the “Submit Startup” button in the header. You’ll be asked to sign in with your personal Twitter account, after which you can list your startup in all its glory. Be sure to check out the submission criteria before you start.

6. Product Hunt

Product Hunt has helped countless tech products get visibility and build a user base. Product Hunt is a community-driven site, with users able to browse through listings and upvote any product they like.

It’s quite competitive, and there’s no guarantee you’ll get visibility when you list your product. But if you do make it to the front page, you’re likely to see a huge uptick in new users.

How to list your startup:

You’ll need an account to get started. Once you’re signed in, click “Submit”, then “New product”. From here you can fill in your product details and write an engaging post describing what makes your product great.

It’s worth mentioning that just posting your startup is unlikely to do much. You need a plan for how you’re going to launch and get upvotes to make it worthwhile. This post on Product Hunt’s blog offers great insight into crafting an effective launch plan.

7. AppSumo

AppSumo is an online marketplace where consumers can browse a wide range of software deals, often heavily discounted and offered as a lifetime deal. The advantage of AppSumo is its highly engaged community of users (known as Sumo-lings), who keep an eye out for hot new software product lifetime deals.

On the downside, you do need to offer your product at a considerable discount, and it takes care and attention to put together an effective product listing. You’ll also need to be active and engage with questions posted on your page if you want to get any traction. And on top of it, if your product truly shows potential, the AppSumo team will often chip in with the promotion of their own, which makes for a ton of upside.

How to list your startup:

From the homepage, click “Sell on AppSumo”, or go to sell.appsumo.com. You’ll be asked to sign in or create an account, and then you can start working with the AppSumo team to build your product listing.

8. Show HN

Show HN is a section of the news aggregator site Hacker News dedicated to the self-promotion of new tech products. Submissions show up in a Reddit-style format, where people can leave comments and ask questions, and upvoted submissions rise to the top of the page.

How to list your startup:

First, check out the Show HN guidelines to ensure your startup meets its criteria. If so, just hit “Submit” and fill in a title for your post (starting with “Show HN”), and your product’s URL. Be sure to check in and engage with any comments on your thread too.

9. Betapage

BetaPage is a community for founders and early-stage adopters to discover new startups. It’s super easy to list your product in the directory, allowing BetaPage users to learn how you make their lives easier. If people like your product they can upvote it, pushing you up to the most valuable real estate on the directory feed.

How to list your startup:

Just hit “Submit Startup” from the homepage (you’ll need to create an account). Fill out your startup’s name, and your website and write a short description of what it does, and you’re done.

10. Betabound

Betabound is designed to connect startups with beta testers. It’s not the best fit if your product is already established and operational, but if you’ve just finished building it and you're on the lookout for people to try your MVP, the feedback you get from a small group of beta testers can be invaluable. Listing on Betabound is free and easy, so it’s a no-brainer for any startup in its beta stage.

How to list your startup:

Go to betabound.com and hit “Submit a Beta”. Check out their FAQ page before you start to make sure your product fits the bill.

11. Launching Next

At the time of writing, Launching Next boasts nearly 30,000 startups as having been featured on their site. The site is a simple, no-frills directory, with startups listed in a grid format, and each page features a title, description, image, and a button to visit your site. It takes around a minute to submit your product, so there’s very little reason not to get your startup out there.

How to list your startup:

Go to launchingnext.com/submit. From here, fill out the simple form with your startup’s details.

12. StartupBase

StartupBase is a place for makers and early adopters to find new products or promote their startups. It’s quite straightforward, offering discoverability via its homepage feed, and transparency by attaching the name and face of each founder to their startup.

How to list your startup:

Hit the “+ Startup” button to get started. If you don’t already have an account, you’ll have to log in with Twitter and fill out a little info about yourself. Read up on their selection criteria first to ensure you check all the boxes.

13. Crazy About Startups

Crazy About Startups is a community for people who are as the name suggests… crazy about startups. Members can write articles or submit their startups to be added to its directory and get in front of the community for free.

How to list your startup:

Hit “Share Startup” from the homepage. You’ll be asked to log in, or create a free account if you’re not already a member. Once you’re logged in, click “Share Startup” and fill out all the necessary details.

14. The Startup Pitch

The Startup Pitch is your opportunity to tell the world why your startup is destined for success. You’ll create a pitch for your product, answering questions like “what does it do?” and “why do we need it?”

Your pitch gets shown in front of The Startup Pitch’s audience and can drive valuable referral traffic if your pitch is of high quality.

How to list your startup:

Click “Submit a Startup Pitch”, then fill out your company and pitch information. Alternatively, you can submit a Beta pitch if your product is not yet fully launched.

15. Indie Hackers

Indie Hackers is a hugely popular community for people interested in building online businesses. The site features a lot of quality discussions for budding founders, coders, and marketers, as well as a directory of startups sharing details on their journey. This includes revenue and key milestones.

How to list your startup:

Before you can publish new posts or list a product, you’ll need to prove yourself as a valuable member of the community. Create an account, and then contribute to the community by commenting on existing discussions. After some time, you’ll be given the ability to post and upvote, at which time you can list your startup at indiehackers.com/products.

16. Designer News

Designer News is another community-driven directory of stories and interesting content. While it’s targeted toward designers, they adopt a broad definition of what’s acceptable as far as content goes, covering most tech-related topics.

How to list your startup:

You’ll need to create an account, and wait a week until you’re allowed to post. Once your account is approved, go ahead and post about your startup. Be aware, however, that overly promotional posts are not allowed, so you’ll have more success posting about the problem your startup solves or posing your post as a request for feedback.

17. Feedough

Feedough is a site dedicated to content and resources for startups and entrepreneurs. This includes a directory of startups, and with 800,000 monthly visitors, there’s more than enough potential for visibility should you get your business listed. You can get your startup posted in a review format, showing founders or potential users just what kind of value you can bring to their life.

How to list your startup:

Go to feedough.com/submit-your-startup and fill out the form with details on your startup. It’s free to post, and your startup review will get featured on Feedough’s homepage, as well as shared on social media and their email newsletter.

18. Feed My App

Feed My App is a platform made to showcase web and mobile apps, primarily those that have just recently launched. Submitting to Feed My App allows you to communicate to readers why your app was made and how it stands out. If your startup does stand out, the Feed My App team may review it and give your review a featured spot on the homepage for even more visibility.

How to list your startup:

Hit “Submit an App” on the Feed My App homepage. From here, fill out all the necessary details for your submission, including a description of what makes your app great.

Submissions do come with a small cost, starting from $2.99. You can also pay to have a guaranteed full-length review done for your app.

19. SaaSHub

SaaSHub is an independent marketplace for software alternatives and reviews. Featuring over 1,300,000 monthly page views, it offers a huge audience to put your product in front of the right audiences and gives you the chance to pitch your startup as a point of difference over more well-known and established competitors.

How to list your startup:

Click the “Submit a product” button on saashub.com. Submit your startup’s URL, and wait for it to pass the approval process.

20. Reddit

Finally, Reddit can be an extremely powerful platform to promote your new startup. Reddit is massive, with over 52 million daily active users, and countless communities (known as subreddits) dedicated to just about every topic imaginable.

The caveat is that you generally can’t just post a link to your product and be done with it. Most of Reddit frowns upon self-promotion, so blatantly advertising your startup will only result in downvotes and negative sentiment. You’ll want to be an active member of the community first, and only mention your startup where appropriate.

Promoting your startup on Reddit takes some work, but offers a huge audience of potential followers if you do it right.

How to list your startup:

Look for the specific subreddits you want to participate in. You can try r/startups or r/SideProject for feedback from other founders, or look for a subreddit focused on the sector you’re in (e.g. r/Wordpress or r/PPC). Spend some time to see what kind of content regularly gets posted in the community, and ideally try and contribute in discussions yourself before thinking about making a post that is at all promotional.

Some subreddits feature specific posts dedicated to self-promotion - such as this post in r/startups.

Summing Up

Simply listing your startup on one of these sites won’t guarantee your business will be successful. You need to have a great product, to start with, that solves a real-world problem with market validation. And you’re going to need a comprehensive user generation strategy, outside of submitting your startup to a bunch of directories.

However, this list offers you a great way to get started. It’s almost always the hardest to find your first handful of users, and these are the most valuable when it comes to giving early feedback on your product. Use these startup directories and listing sites as a jumping-off point for your new business, and you’ll be on the right track to gaining traction.

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