Free + dofollow is the best combination for a startup link-building campaign. These 144 directories list your startup at no cost and pass PageRank to your domain, which supports your search rankings. Of the 182+ directories tracked by backlinks.fyi, these are the first ones to submit to before spending any budget on paid placements.
144
Free + Dofollow
15
Instant Approval
DR 93
Top Score
A free directory that gives you a dofollow backlink beats a paid directory or a nofollow one, everything else being equal. You pay nothing and the link still counts toward your authority.
Free means zero acquisition cost. Dofollow means the link passes PageRank, the signal Google uses to rank websites. For an early-stage startup, that combination is hard to beat. Work through this list before spending on paid placements or nofollow-only sites.
Of these 144 directories, 15 offer instant approval, so your listing can go live within hours of submission. Start there.
Authority
Median DR 48
Range DR 0–93
Speed
10.4% instant
15 listings can go live quickly
Friction
45.8% account-required
0.7% require reciprocal links
Ordering still matters within this list. Start with DR 80+ directories and instant approvals to get crawled early, then work through the rest in DR order.
SourceForge
⏱ 3-7 days
Crunchbase
⏱ 1-3 days
Product Hunt
⏱ Instant after launch
Capterra
⏱ 3-7 days
AngelList / Wellfound
⏱ 1-3 days
GeekWire
⏱ 7-14 days
Tech in Asia
⏱ 5-10 days
MakeUseOf
⏱ 14-30 days
G2
⏱ 3-7 days
Software Advice
⏱ 5-10 days
GetApp
⏱ 3-7 days
Get App
⏱ 5-10 days
F6S
⏱ Instant
Devpost
⏱ Instant
Clutch
⏱ 3-7 days
FinancesOnline
⏱ 5-10 days
Changelog
⏱ 3-7 days
TrustRadius
⏱ 3-5 days
StackShare
⏱ Instant
AlternativeTo
⏱ 1-3 days
SiteJabber
⏱ Instant
Built In
⏱ 5-10 days
Webwiki
⏱ Instant
EU-Startups
⏱ 7-14 days
SoftwareSuggest
⏱ 3-7 days
Inc42
⏱ 7-14 days
Dang
⏱ 1-3 days
Gust
⏱ 3-7 days
CrozDesk
⏱ 3-7 days
SaaSHub
⏱ 1-3 days
SoftwareWorld
⏱ 3-7 days
Tool Pilot
⏱ 1-3 days
SaaSworthy
⏱ 1-3 days
e27
⏱ 5-10 days
Alternative.me
⏱ 3-7 days
Slant
⏱ Instant
Toolify
⏱ 1-3 days
Side Projectors
⏱ 1-3 days
CrowdReviews
⏱ 3-7 days
Tekpon
⏱ 3-7 days
Uneed
⏱ 1-3 days
PeerSpot
⏱ 3-7 days
Land-book
⏱ 7-14 days
Peerlist
⏱ Instant
Startup Stash
⏱ 3-7 days
Supertools (The Rundown AI)
⏱ 3-7 days
Future Tools
⏱ 7-14 days
Open Source Alternative
⏱ 3-7 days
Netted
⏱ 14-30 days
Arctic Startup
⏱ 7-14 days
Tiny Startups
⏱ 3-7 days
FlowGPT
⏱ Instant
Next Big What
⏱ 5-10 days
VentureRadar
⏱ 3-7 days
All My Faves
⏱ 5-7 days
Devhunt
⏱ Instant
DevHunt
⏱ Instant
TechDirectory
⏱ 3-7 days
Startup Ranking
⏱ 1-3 days
Magnitt
⏱ 5-10 days
SaaS AI Tools
⏱ 3-7 days
StartupBase
⏱ 1-3 days
Serchen
⏱ 5-7 days
TopAI.tools
⏱ 3-7 days
That AI Collection
⏱ 3-7 days
AppAgg
⏱ 3-7 days
FoundrList
⏱ 3-7 days
BetaBound
⏱ 3-5 days
InnMind
⏱ 3-7 days
backlinks.fyi
⏱ 1-2 days
Snapmunk
⏱ 5-10 days
BetaPage
⏱ 3-7 days
Startup Inspire
⏱ 3-7 days
Insidr AI
⏱ 3-7 days
FiveTaco
⏱ 3-7 days
SimilarSiteSearch
⏱ 5-10 days
Workspaces
⏱ 5-10 days
SaaSPirate
⏱ 3-7 days
Postmake
⏱ 3-7 days
Altern
⏱ 3-7 days
Bens Bites News
⏱ 7-14 days
Owwly
⏱ 3-7 days
Cuspera
⏱ 5-10 days
Tapscape
⏱ 5-7 days
Startup Tracker
⏱ 1-3 days
TechPluto
⏱ 5-10 days
Discover Cloud
⏱ 5-7 days
Startup Buffer
⏱ 1-3 days
AppVita
⏱ 3-7 days
The Startup Pitch
⏱ 3-7 days
Startup Beat
⏱ 5-7 days
AI Tools Directory
⏱ 3-7 days
Tech Map
⏱ 3-7 days
AI Search
⏱ 3-7 days
Productivity Directory
⏱ 3-7 days
NoCodeList
⏱ 3-7 days
Awesome Tools
⏱ 3-7 days
LaunchDirectories
⏱ Instant
Fazier
⏱ Instant
All Startups
⏱ 3-7 days
Victrays
⏱ 3-7 days
TopApps
⏱ 3-7 days
Apps Mamma
⏱ 3-5 days
Launched
⏱ 1-3 days
DoMore.ai
⏱ 3-5 days
Feedough
⏱ 7-14 days
Website Hunt
⏱ 3-5 days
Startup Benchmarks
⏱ 5-7 days
RocketHub
⏱ 3-7 days
OpenFuture
⏱ 3-7 days
Project Hatch
⏱ 5-10 days
AIHunt
⏱ 3-5 days
The Startup INC
⏱ 3-7 days
10words
⏱ 1-3 days
Apps Listo
⏱ 3-5 days
ProfitHunt
⏱ 3-5 days
SaaSRow
⏱ 3-5 days
Get Worm
⏱ 3-7 days
Robin Good Tools
⏱ 7-14 days
Startups Watch
⏱ 3-7 days
Tiny Launch
⏱ 3-5 days
AI Valley
⏱ 3-7 days
Startups Gallery
⏱ 3-5 days
Simple Lister
⏱ Instant
Startups.fyi
⏱ 3-7 days
LaunchIgniter
⏱ 3-7 days
9Sites
⏱ 1-3 days
Startup88
⏱ 3-7 days
AwesomeIndie
⏱ 3-7 days
Trendy Startups
⏱ 3-7 days
EarlyHunt
⏱ 1-3 days
ToolScout
⏱ 3-7 days
Startups FIY
⏱ 1-3 days
Product Canyon
⏱ 1-3 days
AppRater
⏱ 7-14 days
PayOnceApps
⏱ 3-7 days
Startup Heroes
⏱ 1-3 days
Invent List
⏱ 1-3 days
Wired Business (ToolListed)
⏱ instant after badge/crawl verification
Findly.tools
⏱ a few days to 1-2 weeks
BuildHop
⏱ Instant
TheMacApps
⏱ 1-3 days
SaaSFame
⏱ not explicitly stated
ToolFame
⏱ not explicitly stated
Free dofollow startup directories are platforms where you can list your startup at no cost and receive a dofollow backlink in return. A dofollow link passes PageRank, Google's measure of authority, directly to your domain. For early-stage startups with no budget, they are the best place to start.
Free + dofollow is the best combination for a startup SEO campaign. You're getting the full PageRank benefit of a dofollow link while paying nothing. By contrast, paid directories cost money, and nofollow directories don't pass link equity. Start with every free dofollow directory before spending a dollar on paid placements or investing time in nofollow-only directories.
With prepared listing assets (product name, URL, one-liner, longer description, logo), submitting to all 144 free dofollow directories takes 6-10 hours spread over a few days. The 15 instant-approval directories can be done in one sitting and go live within hours.
Prioritize by Domain Rating (DR) and submit to the highest-DR directories first. High-DR dofollow backlinks carry more weight in Google's algorithm. If you have limited time, start with the top 10 free dofollow directories by DR; the full list builds on that.