Free Startup Directories With Dofollow Backlinks (2026)

Search for "free dofollow directories" and you get lists with 100+ entries. Many repeat the same entries, and a lot of the "free dofollow" claims come with conditions nobody mentions: a badge on your homepage, a top 3 finish, or a queue that is months long.

So I did two things for every site on this list, on October 18, 2026:

1. Read the site's own pricing or submit page.
2. Opened live listing pages and looked at the actual rel attribute on the link to the product's website.

Prices and free-tier rules were rechecked on October 23, 2026. Where I couldn't see the link in the page source, I say so. Where a site's claim and what I saw don't line up, I say that too.

First, what "dofollow" actually means

There is no rel="dofollow". A link is "followed" when it has no qualifying rel value. Google's guide to qualifying outbound links says regular links that you expect Google to fetch and parse "without any qualifications" don't need a rel attribute. It lists three qualifiers:

• rel="sponsored" for ads and paid placements
• rel="ugc" for user-generated content like comments and forum posts
• rel="nofollow" when the site would rather not be associated with the linked page

Values like noopener and noreferrer are about browser security and referrer data. They don't make a link nofollow.

One honest caveat: the same Google page asks sites to mark paid placements as sponsored. So be wary of buying a "guaranteed dofollow" link and nothing else. Pay for visibility if it's worth it, and treat the link as a bonus.

Free directories where I saw a followed link

These have a free route, and the listing pages I opened linked to the product without nofollow, ugc or sponsored.

BuildShipper

Disclosure: this is ours. Every BuildShipper listing gets a project page with a followed link to your site, and the page is in the sitemap. On the listing I checked, the website link carries only rel="noopener". Listing is free, with no badge to add and no fee. The main "Visit" button goes through a redirect so we can count clicks for the weekly ranking. The plain website link underneath is the direct, followed one.

Fazier

The free Basic tier asks you to add a backlink to Fazier on your homepage or footer, and review takes up to 30 days. The two live launch pages I opened linked to the product with noopener or noreferrer only. Note that the pricing page only guarantees the high-authority backlink on Premium ($49).

Twelve Tools

Free if you link back, reviewed within 72 hours, with "1 dofollow link" stated. The listing I opened linked out with rel="noopener".

PitchWall

The free launch has a minimum 30-day wait and states a do-follow backlink. The listings I opened linked to the product with rel="noopener".

Dang.ai (AI tools)

Free with a crawlable backlink to Dang.ai, review up to 4 weeks, one category. The listing I opened linked to the product with noopener noreferrer.

Smol Launch

Free launches are paced at 50 per week, per the homepage FAQ, with a separate free pool for listings that verify the Smol Launch badge. The product links on the two listings I opened used noopener noreferrer. I couldn't tell from the page which tier those listings were on.

Free, by the site's own policy (I couldn't see the link)

These sites state a do-follow link on a free tier, but the product link wasn't in the page source I fetched (it's likely added by script or a redirect). Check your own listing after it goes live.

| Site | Free route | Condition | Source | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Uneed | Free queue | Upvote score of 20 for the do-follow link, date assigned up to 5 months out | Pricing | | Startup Fame | Verified plan | Startup Fame badge on your homepage, then review | Pricing | | Tiny Startups | Free submit | Curated, hand picked | Submit | | What Launched Today | Standard launch | Standard queue | Pricing |

Free, but only if you finish top 3

| Site | Free tier | Dofollow rule | Source | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | TinyLaunch | Standard launch | Backlink for the top 3. The two listings I opened were nofollow. | Pricing | | OpenHunts | 20 weekly slots, about a 60-week queue when I checked | Dofollow if top 3 | Pricing | | Firsto | 5 daily slots, about a 180-day queue | Dofollow for top 3, badge required | Pricing |

Free listing, but the link is nofollow

Still useful for traffic and credibility, just not for link equity.

• DevHunt. The FAQ says free listings are nofollow and paid launches ($19) get a permanent dofollow link. The free listing I opened matched that.
• StartupBase. The FAQ page says every paid launch carries a dofollow link. One listing I opened was nofollow and another was followed. I couldn't see which tier each was on.
• Indie Hackers. Some lists call it dofollow. The product pages I opened linked out with rel="nofollow noopener".

Paid only

• BetaList. The FAQ says all submissions are paid, refunded if not selected, and featured listings get a do-follow "Visit Site" link through a 301 redirect.
• Microlaunch. The premium page lists do-follow backlinks in Launch Pro ($49). The listings I opened linked out without nofollow.

How to check a backlink yourself

Don't trust any list, including this one. Policies change. Here's the 2-minute check:

1. Open your live listing page.
2. Right click the link to your site and choose Inspect.
3. Look at the <a> tag. If rel contains nofollow, ugc or sponsored, it's not a followed link.
4. Check where href points. A link to the directory's own redirect URL (like /go/ or /out/) is different from a direct link to your domain.
5. View the page source and search for noindex. A followed link on a page that isn't indexed is worth little.
6. Optional: check the site's sitemap.xml for your listing URL.

Is a directory backlink worth the effort?

Some honest perspective:

• One relevant link beats many random ones. A listing in a directory your users actually browse can send visitors. A link on a page nobody visits mostly sends nothing.
• Directories are slow. Queues of weeks or months are common. Submit early.
• Badges cost you something too. A badge on your homepage is a link out from your site. Decide if you're fine with that.
• Mass submission services exist. Several sites sell submissions to 100+ directories. I didn't test them, so I won't judge them here. Startup Fame's own FAQ argues that one do-follow from a strong directory beats a hundred cheap ones.

A short plan

1. List on two or three free sites where I saw a followed link (BuildShipper, Twelve Tools, PitchWall, or Fazier if you're fine with the link-back).
2. Add one or two "top 3" launch boards and treat the link as a prize, not a given.
3. Add nofollow communities (Indie Hackers, DevHunt listing) for people, not PageRank.
4. Check every live listing with the steps above, and keep a spreadsheet.

For the bigger picture beyond backlinks, see our list of the best launch directories, the where to launch guide and our Product Hunt alternatives page.

If you want a followed link with no badge and no fee, list your project on BuildShipper. Drop the URL, we fill in the name, tagline and image, and you edit before it goes live.