Product Hunt alternatives worth your launch
We launched Pingsold on Product Hunt and on most of the sites below. Product Hunt is still worth doing, but it shouldn't be your only launch. Here's where else to go, and who each one suits. Updated .
Why look past Product Hunt
- One day decides it. Launches go live at 12:01 AM Pacific and the ranking is settled within those 24 hours; if your audience is asleep or busy that day, there's no second try for that launch.
- It's crowded. Every day brings a long list of launches, many with supporters lined up in advance, so a quiet product from a first-time maker is easy to miss.
- Votes aren't users. A good placement brings a spike of visitors, but whether any of them stay is a different question, and only your analytics can answer it.
Pick by what you're launching
| Best for | Launch on |
|---|---|
| A week-long launch round instead of a single day | Peerlist Launchpad |
| Pre-launch products collecting early sign-ups | BetaList |
| Indie products and tools that want a daily launch without Product Hunt's crowd | Uneed |
| Developer tools | DevHunt |
| A quick, free listing alongside a bigger launch | StartupBase |
| Technical products, with a founder who'll answer every comment | Hacker News (Show HN) |
| Side projects and honest early feedback | Reddit (r/SideProject) |
| Bootstrapped founders sharing real numbers and lessons | Indie Hackers |
| SaaS that's an alternative to a product people already search for | SaaSHub |
| Software that replaces a well-known app | AlternativeTo |
The alternatives
1.Peerlist Launchpad
FreeBest for: a week-long launch round instead of a single day.
Weekly launch rounds, Monday to Sunday, so submit before Monday. You need a Peerlist profile, and a project name must be unique, even against a project you deleted.
First-hand: we tried this launching Pingsold
2.BetaList
Free, with a waiting list (paid skips it)Best for: pre-launch products collecting early sign-ups.
Best for products that are still pre-launch or in beta and want early sign-ups.
3.Uneed
Free, with a waiting list (paid skips it)Best for: indie products and tools that want a daily launch without Product Hunt's crowd.
Daily launches for indie products and tools.
4.DevHunt
Free, with a waiting list (paid skips it)Best for: developer tools.
Developer tools only.
5.StartupBase
FreeBest for: a quick, free listing alongside a bigger launch.
Quick to list. It asks you to show its launch badge on your site while you're featured.
First-hand: we tried this launching Pingsold
6.Hacker News (Show HN)
FreeBest for: technical products, with a founder who'll answer every comment.
Show HN is currently restricted for new accounts. Build some history by commenting first, and don't repost the product as a plain link to get around it.
First-hand: we tried this launching Pingsold
7.Reddit (r/SideProject)
FreeBest for: side projects and honest early feedback.
Posts from new or low-karma accounts are often removed by Reddit's automatic filters. Message the moderators to approve it instead of posting again.
First-hand: we tried this launching Pingsold
8.Indie Hackers
FreeBest for: bootstrapped founders sharing real numbers and lessons.
The product page goes live right away, but a useful post in the community (what you learned, with real numbers) brings far more people than the page does.
First-hand: we tried this launching Pingsold
9.SaaSHub
FreeBest for: saaS that's an alternative to a product people already search for.
Reviewed before it goes live. Choose your alternatives carefully: showing up on "alternatives to X" pages is what brings visitors.
First-hand: we tried this launching Pingsold
10.AlternativeTo
FreeBest for: software that replaces a well-known app.
Moderated. Like SaaSHub, being listed as an alternative to a known product is where the traffic is.
After the launch: which one worked?
Launch-day votes on any of these sites tell you who noticed. Your analytics tell you who stayed. List on Pingsold and connect your analytics read-only, and your profile keeps a public, verified record of the traffic each launch brought, so the next launch goes where it counts.
Questions
What is the best Product Hunt alternative?
It depends on the product. For developer tools, DevHunt and Show HN. For pre-launch sign-ups, BetaList. For a week-long round instead of a single day, Peerlist Launchpad. For software that replaces a known app, AlternativeTo and SaaSHub, where people search for alternatives every day.
Should I skip Product Hunt?
Usually not: it's free and still the biggest launch audience. Treat it as one launch among several, not the only one, and line up the slower directories first so they go live around the same week.
Are Product Hunt alternatives free?
Most are free to list. Several (BetaList, Uneed, DevHunt) have free waiting lists and charge to skip them; pay only when the timing matters, such as lining up with a launch.
How do I know which launch actually worked?
Look at referrers in your analytics 30 days later: that shows which sites sent people who stayed. On Pingsold, a connected analytics tool keeps that record public, so your profile shows whether launch week moved your traffic.
List your startup on Pingsold for free. More: the full guide to startup directories, a launch checklist, and Pingsold vs Product Hunt.