Techcrunch
techcrunch.com
Leading technology media property, dedicated to obsessively profiling startups.
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400 listings • Updated August 2026
Dofollow Startup Directories That Pass Link Equity
TL;DR • Dofollow directories • as of August 2026
400 entries match this filter. Directories whose outbound links are dofollow, so the listing can pass authority to your domain.
AI Tools by Neil Patel
aitools.neilpatel.com
Neil Patel's curated AI tools directory featuring top AI tools across categories like marketing, content, coding, and productivity.
Free + paid
Dofollow
Tier 1
G2
g2.com
Platform for discovering and comparing software.
Free
Dofollow
Tier 1
Product Hunt
producthunt.com
The premier platform for discovering and launching new products daily.
Free
Dofollow
Tier 1
DEV Community
dev.to
Open-source community platform for developers to share articles, participate in discussions, and grow their careers.
Free + paid
Dofollow
Tier 1
Launched by Lovable
launched.lovable.app
Showcase of projects built with Lovable platform.
Free
Dofollow
Tier 2
Boing Boing
boingboing.net
Long-running technology and culture blog covering digital rights, gadgets, maker culture, and internet trends.
Free
Dofollow
Tier 1
Built In
builtin.com
National tech recruitment platform featuring startup jobs, company profiles, and tech industry insights.
Free
Dofollow
Tier 2
FinancesOnline
financesonline.com
B2B software review platform providing expert reviews, user ratings, and comparisons of business software and SaaS products.
Free + paid
Dofollow
Tier 1
Hackernoon
hackernoon.com
Independent technology publishing platform where developers and tech professionals share stories, tutorials, and insights.
Free
Dofollow
Tier 1
AlternativeTo
alternativeto.net
Crowdsourced software recommendations and alternatives.
Free
Dofollow
Tier 1
Turbo0
turbo0.com
Fast-track platform for launching products quickly.
Free
Dofollow
Tier 1
Brownbook
brownbook.net
Global business listing directory allowing companies to create free profiles with contact details and business information.
Free + paid
Dofollow
Tier 2
Active Search Results
activesearchresults.com
Free web directory and search engine allowing website owners to submit and promote their sites for increased visibility.
Free + paid
Dofollow
Tier 2
Readwrite
readwrite.com
Technology media platform covering IoT, AI, connected transportation, and digital transformation trends.
Free
Dofollow
Tier 2
Webwiki
webwiki.com
Website directory and review platform where users can rate and review websites, providing trust signals and visibility.
Free + paid
Dofollow
Tier 2
Yourstory
yourstory.com
India's largest digital media platform for entrepreneurs, covering startup stories, funding, and innovation.
Free
Dofollow
Tier 2
There's An AI For That
theresanaiforthat.com
Comprehensive database of AI tools for every use case.
Free
Dofollow
Tier 1
Callupcontact
callupcontact.com
Free online business directory for companies to list their services, contact information, and business profiles.
Free + paid
Dofollow
Tier 2
Webrazzi
webrazzi.com
Turkey's leading technology news platform and startup directory, covering tech ecosystem in the MENA region.
Free + paid
Dofollow
Tier 2
BetaList
betalist.com
Platform for discovering and getting early access to tomorrow's startups.
Free
Dofollow
Tier 1
Exactseek
exactseek.com
Web directory and search engine offering free website submissions and categorized listings for improved online visibility.
Free + paid
Dofollow
Tier 2
Neeed
neeed.directory
Tools Directory
Free
Dofollow
Tier 2
Toolify
toolify.ai
Comprehensive AI tools directory with 20,000+ tools, revenue rankings, and traffic analytics for discovering AI solutions.
Paid
Dofollow
Tier 1
Magicbox
magicbox.tools
Featuring over 20,000 awesome AI tools
Free
Dofollow
Tier 2
SaaSworthy
saasworthy.com
Software discovery and review platform providing SaaS product comparisons, ratings, and user reviews.
Free + paid
Dofollow
Tier 1
E27
e27.co
Southeast Asian startup ecosystem platform covering tech news, events, funding, and community connections.
Free
Dofollow
Tier 2
Smol Launch
smollaunch.com
Lancio settimanale per indie maker: una settimana intera in home page e listing permanente.
Free + paid
Dofollow
Tier 1
Starter Story
starterstory.com
Platform featuring interviews with successful founders sharing how they built and grew their businesses.
Free
Dofollow
Tier 1
Hotvsnot
hotvsnot.com
Web directory allowing users to submit and vote on websites, providing exposure through community-driven rankings.
Free + paid
Dofollow
Tier 2
Tinylaunch
tinylaunch.com
Product launch platform with visibility
Free
Dofollow
Tier 2
Listly
list.ly
List-making platform allowing users to create, share, and discover crowdsourced lists on any topic.
Free
Dofollow
Tier 2
EU-Startups
eu-startups.com
European startup news platform and directory covering funding rounds, ecosystem events, and EU tech trends.
Free
Dofollow
Tier 2
Toolsfine
toolsfine.com
better tools, better work
Free
Dofollow
Tier 2
Aitoolsdirectory
aitoolsdirectory.com
Comprehensive directory of AI tools organized by category, helping users discover the best AI solutions for their needs.
Free + paid
Dofollow
Tier 1
Aiwith
aiwith.me
Discover the latest and best AI tools
Free
Dofollow
Tier 2
ufind.best
ufind.best
Directory a coorti settimanali: i primi 3 per voti ottengono un dofollow a vita da dominio DR 66.
Free + paid
Dofollow
Tier 2
Startup Stash
startupstash.com
Curated directory of resources and tools for startups.
Free
Dofollow
Tier 1
Viesearch
viesearch.com
Human-edited web directory offering categorized website listings with editorial review for quality assurance.
Free + paid
Dofollow
Tier 2
Addon Biz
addon.biz
Business web directory providing categorized listings for companies to improve their online presence and SEO.
Free + paid
Dofollow
Tier 2
Sprout24
sprout24.com
Software discovery and review platform helping businesses find the right tools through expert reviews and comparisons.
Free + paid
Dofollow
Tier 2
Submission Web Directory
submissionwebdirectory.com
Free web directory accepting website submissions across multiple categories for link building and online visibility.
Free + paid
Dofollow
Tier 2
Betakit
betakit.com
Canadian technology news platform covering startups, venture capital, and the innovation ecosystem.
Free
Dofollow
Tier 2
Aura++
auraplusplus.com
Increase Your Online Aura
Free
Dofollow
Tier 1
Startup Savant
startupsavant.com
Startup resource hub offering guides, tools, and inspiration for entrepreneurs starting new businesses.
Free
Dofollow
Tier 2
KillerStartups
killerstartups.com
Startup review and news platform featuring in-depth reviews of new internet startups and digital products.
Free
Dofollow
Tier 2
High Rank Directory
highrankdirectory.com
SEO-focused web directory offering dofollow listings to help websites improve their search engine rankings.
Free + paid
Dofollow
Tier 2
Agenthunter
agenthunter.io
Best AI Agents in One Place
Free
Dofollow
Tier 1
Showing 48 of 400
How to work through this list
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1. Prepare the submission kit once
Almost every directory asks for the same nine things: product name, URL, a 60-character tagline, a 250-character short description, a long description, logo (square, 512px), 3–5 screenshots, pricing model and category. Write them once in a doc; you will paste them 50 times.
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2. Do Tier 1 first, on separate days
The 60 Tier 1 destinations drive the majority of real traffic. Space out the big launches — Product Hunt, Hacker News and the large communities each deserve their own day, because they each need you present to answer comments.
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3. Batch the long tail
Tier 2 and Tier 3 listings are a volume game: two to three hours in one sitting, copy-paste from your kit, no customisation beyond the category. Track which ones you completed so you never submit twice.
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4. Prioritise dofollow when you need links
400 entries pass link equity. If the goal is domain authority rather than traffic, sort by dofollow and DR and ignore everything else. Nofollow listings still matter for brand search and for LLM answers, but they will not move rankings directly.
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5. Re-check and re-submit after launch
Directories churn: listings get lost in migrations, and about one in ten links breaks within a year. Re-verify your live listings every quarter and resubmit anywhere the page 404s.
How to get real results from directory submissions
What separates a directory worth your time from one that wastes it
Four signals predict whether a listing produces anything: editorial review, indexed traffic, link type and category fit. If a site accepts every submission automatically, its pages are usually thin, poorly indexed and ignored by search engines. If it reviews submissions and has a real audience, a single listing can send buyers for years.
- Editorial review: is there a human approving submissions?
- Indexed traffic: does the directory rank for its own category terms?
- Link type: dofollow passes authority, nofollow does not.
- Category fit: a niche list of 200 relevant readers beats a general list of 200,000 irrelevant ones.
The submission order that works best
Order matters because early listings feed later ones. Journalists and curators check whether a product already exists somewhere credible before featuring it, so a handful of established listings makes later approvals easier and faster.
- Week 0: your own site, Crunchbase-style databases, and two or three evergreen directories.
- Week 1: launch platforms and the communities where your users already hang out.
- Week 2–4: the long tail, batched, plus review platforms once you have customers who can leave reviews.
- Quarterly: re-verify listings and add anything new to the category.
Directory submissions and AI answer engines
Assistants like ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google's AI answers assemble product recommendations from category pages and comparison lists rather than from individual product sites. Being present on the directories that rank for '<category> tools' is now one of the most reliable ways to appear in generated recommendations — even when the link itself is nofollow.
- Prioritise directories whose category pages already rank on page one.
- Use identical product naming and category wording everywhere so entity matching works.
- Keep descriptions factual and specific; vague marketing copy is rarely quoted.
Startup directory submissions: common questions
Do startup directory submissions still help SEO in 2026?
Yes, but selectively. Low-quality bulk directories were devalued years ago; what still works is a listing on an editorially reviewed site with real traffic. Of the 1077 entries here, 400 pass link equity and 111 sit at Domain Rating 70 or above. Those are the ones that move the needle — the rest are worth doing for referral traffic, brand search and citation in AI answers rather than for rankings.
Dofollow or nofollow — does it matter which directories I use?
Dofollow links pass authority and directly influence rankings, so they are the priority when your goal is domain strength. Nofollow links still earn referral visits, get your brand name indexed alongside your category, and are frequently used as sources by AI assistants. A healthy backlink profile contains both; a profile that is 100% dofollow directory links looks manipulated.
How many directories should I actually submit to?
For a normal launch: the 20 highest-priority destinations in week one, then 50–80 more over the following month. Beyond roughly 150 listings the marginal return collapses. Quality of the listing copy matters more than volume — a well-written Product Hunt launch beats 200 auto-submissions.
What is a good Domain Rating for a directory?
Treat DR 70+ as high value (111 entries here), DR 50–69 as solid, DR 30–49 as fine for volume, and anything under 30 as optional. DR alone is not enough though: an unmoderated DR 80 site with no traffic is worth less than a curated DR 45 newsletter your buyers actually read.
Are paid directory listings worth it?
Occasionally. Paid placement makes sense on review platforms your buyers search (G2, Capterra) and on the two or three category-defining directories in your niche. It rarely makes sense on generic paid lists that promise 100 submissions for a flat fee — those are the sites search engines discount hardest.
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