20 startup directories, and what each one actually gave us.
We submitted ShubHQ to 18 of them. 9 published a listing, 6 of those gave a link, and Google has counted 2.
One site, one submission each. Dates come from our own submission records, link type from opening the published listing, and the Search Console column from the Links report. Updated September 3, 2026.
What the numbers showed
- Of 18 submissions, 9 produced a published listing.
- 6 of those published listings carry a link. 3 carry no link at all.
- Google Search Console has counted 2 of them.
- The two highest rated directories here produced opposite results. Capterra at DR 87 links nowhere. G2 at DR 88 gave a dofollow link that Google counted in weeks.
- Two submissions have been waiting 70 days with no rejection and no message. One listing was published and then removed 15 days later.
| # | Directory | DR | Cost | Status | Timing | Link | Search Console | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | G2 g2.com The only listing here that went live fast, gave a dofollow link, and was counted by Google. | 88 | Free | Live | 13 days | Dofollow | Counted | 10 /10 |
| 02 | Startupfa.me startupfa.me The strongest free directory here after G2, and it publishes. The link is nofollow, so the listing is worth more for the mention than for the link. | 83 | Free | Live | Live, date not recorded | Nofollow | Not yet | 8 /10 |
| 03 | Startupbuffer startupbuffer.com Took 47 days to publish, then showed up in Search Console within weeks. | 63 | Free | Live | 47 days | Dofollow | Counted | 8 /10 |
| 04 | TinyLaunch tinylaunch.com The listing page exists and shows a launch date 11 days out, so the queue is visible instead of silent. That alone puts it above every other pending submission here. See our listing | 73 | Free | Waiting | 18 days, waiting | 8 /10 | ||
| 05 | Pitchwall pitchwall.co Dofollow link, live for 16 days, not counted by Google yet. | 48 | Free | Live | 33 days | Dofollow | Not yet | 8 /10 |
| 06 | Viberank viberank.dev Published the same day with a dofollow link. Live for 4 days, too early to judge. See our listing | 47 | Free | Live | Same day | Dofollow | Not yet | 8 /10 |
| 07 | Saasboard saasboard.app Same day publication, but the link is nofollow, so it may never be counted. | 16 | Free | Live | Same day | Nofollow | Not yet | 6 /10 |
| 08 | SideProjectors sideprojectors.com A strong directory, but 20 days in it is still marked under review with no date attached. | 79 | Free | Waiting | 20 days, waiting | 6 /10 | ||
| 09 | Launchingnext launchingnext.com Submitted 18 days ago, nothing published and no date given. | 54 | Free | Waiting | 18 days, waiting | 4 /10 | ||
| 10 | Launchnest launchnest.io Gave a publication date roughly two weeks out at submission. Nothing live yet. | 50 | Free | Waiting | 4 days, waiting | 4 /10 | ||
| 11 | Devresourc.es devresourc.es Submitted 18 days ago and still not published. | 40 | Free | Waiting | 18 days, waiting | 4 /10 | ||
| 12 | Capterra capterra.com A DR 87 listing, live for 33 days, linking nowhere. Authority on the directory is not authority that reaches you. See our listing | 87 | Free | Live | 37 days | No link | Nothing to count | 3 /10 |
| 13 | ki-suche.io ki-suche.io Published in two days and links nowhere. Fast publication of a listing without a link buys nothing. See our listing | 26 | Free | Live | 2 days | No link | Nothing to count | 2 /10 |
| 14 | TrustRadius trustradius.com Submitted 70 days ago and still not published. No rejection, no message. | 74 | Free | Waiting | 70 days, waiting | 1 /10 | ||
| 15 | The SaaS Directory thesaasdirectory.com Submitted the same day as TrustRadius, same result: 70 days, nothing. | 12 | Free | Waiting | 70 days, waiting | 1 /10 | ||
| 16 | AlternativeTo alternativeto.net The listing existed when we submitted, and 15 days later it had been taken down. A page on a directory is not a permanent one. | 72 | Free | Removed | 15 days, then removed | 0 /10 | ||
| 17 | The AI Generation theaigeneration.com Submitted and not published. At DR 9 there is nothing worth waiting for either way. | 9 | Free | Waiting | 18 days, waiting | 0 /10 | ||
| 18 | Microlaunch microlaunch.net The product page is published and links nowhere. The link itself costs 39 dollars, which makes this a purchase decision rather than a submission result. | 63 | $39 for the link | Live | Live, date not recorded | No link | Nothing to count | Not rated |
| 19 | DevHunt devhunt.org A product listing is paid only. A personal profile is free and links out immediately, but a profile is not a product listing, which is a distinction worth knowing before you count it as a win. See our listing | 63 | Paid only | Not submitted | Not submitted | Not rated | ||
| 20 | BetaList betalist.com Publication runs through a paid launch package that bundles promotion and a newsletter the site advertises at around 70,000 subscribers. Held until launch day, because what it sells is timing and reach rather than a link. | 59 | $99 launch package | Not submitted | Not submitted | Not rated |
Last updated September 3, 2026. Search Console checked September 2, 2026. Google can take weeks to discover a new link, so a recent listing marked Not yet is not a verdict.
How to read the table.
Each column answers a different question, and two of them are routinely confused with each other: whether a listing is live, and whether it gives you a link.
- DR
- The directory domain rating reported by a third party tool. It describes the directory, not your listing. Shown struck through when the listing links nowhere, because authority that never reaches your site is not authority you gained.
- Cost
- What it costs to appear. Most rows here are free. Some directories publish a product page for free and charge for the link itself.
- Status
- Live means the listing is published. Waiting means submitted and not published. Not submitted means we have not sent it yet. Removed means it was published and then taken down.
- Timing
- Days between submitting and the listing going live, or days waited so far if nothing has been published.
- Link
- Dofollow, nofollow, or no link at all. A listing can be live and still link nowhere.
- Search Console
- Whether Google Search Console has counted the link in its Links report. Discovery takes weeks, so a recent link that is missing is not a verdict.
- Score
- Our own reading, 0 to 10, of whether a directory is worth an afternoon. Resolved rows are scored on what they produced. Waiting rows are scored on directory strength and how long they have been silent. Directories we have not submitted to carry no score.
Questions about directory submissions.
Answered from the table above rather than from a general idea of how directories behave.
Does a directory listing give you a backlink?
Not always. Of the 9 directories that published our listing, 3 link nowhere at all. Capterra has a domain rating of 87 and its listing of our product carries no link to our site. The listing looks live, which is what makes this easy to miss.
What is the difference between a dofollow and a nofollow directory link?
A dofollow link passes ranking signals to your site. A nofollow link tells search engines not to pass them. Both are real listings and both can send visitors, but only the dofollow link is doing link building work. In this list G2, Startupbuffer, Pitchwall and Viberank publish dofollow links, while Startupfa.me and Saasboard publish nofollow links.
Does a high domain rating mean a directory is worth submitting to?
No. Domain rating describes the directory, not what the directory passes to you. The two highest rated directories in this list produced opposite results: Capterra at DR 87 links nowhere, and G2 at DR 88 gave a dofollow link that Google counted. Rating tells you the ceiling, not the outcome.
How long does a directory take to publish a listing?
In this set, anywhere between the same day and 47 days. Two submissions have been waiting 70 days with no rejection and no message. A directory that gives you a publication date, as TinyLaunch does, is easier to plan around than a faster one that tells you nothing.
How long before a directory link shows up in Google Search Console?
Weeks rather than days. Of the 6 links in this list, Google has counted 2. A link that is a few days old and missing from the Links report is not evidence that the link is worthless, only that Google has not crawled the page yet.
Is a directory profile link the same as a product listing?
No. Some directories give you an instant free profile page that links out, while the product listing itself is paid or held for review. DevHunt works this way. A profile link is easy to mistake for a directory backlink when you are counting results, so it is worth recording which one you actually got.
Should you pay for a directory listing?
We cannot answer that from this data, and the list says so rather than guessing. Microlaunch publishes a product page for free and charges 39 dollars for the link itself. BetaList sells a launch package that bundles promotion and a newsletter. Those rows carry a price and no score until one is bought and the result recorded.
Can a published directory listing be removed?
Yes. AlternativeTo had our listing live and it was gone 15 days later. This is why a submission tracker needs the publication date kept separately from the submission date: without it, a listing that disappears looks the same as one that was never published.
How many directories should you submit to?
The number that matters is not how many you submit to. Of 18 submissions here, 6 produced a link and 2 have been counted by Google so far. Submitting to more directories does not change that ratio, choosing better ones does.
What should you record for each directory submission?
Three dates, kept apart: the day you added the record, the day you submitted, and the day the listing went live. Then the link type once it is published, whether Search Console has counted it, and anything the directory is waiting on from you. A single date cannot answer any of those questions.