20 startup directories.
Real submission results.
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.
Browse the directory list
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.
- 2 submissions share the longest recorded wait: 70 days. 1 listings were published and then removed.
The measured list
Choose with evidence.
18 directories measured so far. We add more every week.
Measured by us, one submission each. Read it as a worked example. More rows are added as we submit.
20 directories shown. All rows are public.
| Directory and note | DR | Cost | Status | Stage and timing | Link type | Counted by Google | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G2 Measured g2.com The only listing here that went live fast, gave a dofollow link, and was counted by Google. | 88 | Free | Live | Live in 13 days | Dofollow | Counted | 10/10 |
| Startupfa.me Measured 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, publication time not recorded | Nofollow | Not yet | 8/10 |
| Startupbuffer Measured startupbuffer.com Took 47 days to publish, then showed up in Search Console within weeks. | 63 | Free | Live | Live in 47 days | Dofollow | Counted | 8/10 |
| TinyLaunch Measured 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 | Submitted, waiting 18 days | Not checked | Nothing to check | 8/10 |
| Pitchwall Measured pitchwall.co Dofollow link, live for 16 days, not counted by Google yet. | 48 | Free | Live | Live in 33 days | Dofollow | Not yet | 8/10 |
| Viberank Measured viberank.dev Published the same day with a dofollow link. Live for 4 days, too early to judge. See our listing | 47 | Free | Live | Live in 0 days | Dofollow | Not yet | 8/10 |
| Saasboard Measured saasboard.app Same day publication, but the link is nofollow, so it may never be counted. | 16 | Free | Live | Live in 0 days | Nofollow | Not yet | 6/10 |
| SideProjectors Measured sideprojectors.com A strong directory, but 20 days in it is still marked under review with no date attached. | 79 | Free | Waiting | Submitted, waiting 20 days | Not checked | Nothing to check | 6/10 |
| Launchingnext Measured launchingnext.com Submitted 18 days ago, nothing published and no date given. | 54 | Free | Waiting | Submitted, waiting 18 days | Not checked | Nothing to check | 4/10 |
| Launchnest Measured launchnest.io Gave a publication date roughly two weeks out at submission. Nothing live yet. | 50 | Free | Waiting | Submitted, waiting 4 days | Not checked | Nothing to check | 4/10 |
| Devresourc.es Measured devresourc.es Submitted 18 days ago and still not published. | 40 | Free | Waiting | Submitted, waiting 18 days | Not checked | Nothing to check | 4/10 |
| Capterra Measured 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 | Live in 37 days | None | Nothing to count | 3/10 |
| ki-suche.io Measured 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 | Live in 2 days | None | Nothing to count | 2/10 |
| TrustRadius Measured trustradius.com Submitted 70 days ago and still not published. No rejection, no message. | 74 | Free | Waiting | Submitted, waiting 70 days | Not checked | Nothing to check | 1/10 |
| The SaaS Directory Measured thesaasdirectory.com Submitted the same day as TrustRadius, same result: 70 days, nothing. | 12 | Free | Waiting | Submitted, waiting 70 days | Not checked | Nothing to check | 1/10 |
| AlternativeTo Measured 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 | Live in 15 days, then removed | Not checked | Nothing to check | 0/10 |
| The AI Generation Measured theaigeneration.com Submitted and not published. At DR 9 there is nothing worth waiting for either way. | 9 | Free | Waiting | Submitted, waiting 18 days | Not checked | Nothing to check | 0/10 |
| Microlaunch Measured 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, publication time not recorded | None | Nothing to count | Not rated |
| DevHunt Not measured yet 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 yet | Not checked | Nothing to check | Not rated |
| BetaList Not measured yet 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 yet | Not checked | Nothing to check | Not rated |
No directories match these filters.
Dataset updated Sep 3, 2026. Search Console checked Sep 2, 2026. These are historical results, including the recorded waiting times; links, prices and status may have changed. “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 yet means it is planned. Not submitted with a reason means we chose not to submit. 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?
Recorded publication times range from 0 to 47 days. 2 submissions share the longest recorded wait of 70 days. 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.
