DevHunt vs Hacker News: Where to Show a Developer Tool
DevHunt is a launchpad that accepts only developer tools and runs a voting batch each week, while Show HN is a section of Hacker News for things people can try, with no fee and no batch. DevHunt gives every listed tool a permanent page; a Show HN post lives or sinks on its points. For a CLI, library or API you can demo without a sign-up, you can use both: list on DevHunt for the page, post a Show HN when you can answer questions. Both were read on 13 November 2026.
A voting week or an open thread: what are you entering?
The two are different kinds of thing, and comparing them as if they were rival launch platforms hides that. DevHunt is a product: a launchpad for developer tools, built by developers, where a new batch goes live each week and signed-in voters rank it until a countdown on its homepage ends. Show HN is a convention inside a general news site. You submit a story whose title begins with “Show HN”, it appears on the site’s Show HN new list, and once it clears a small points threshold it also appears on the Show page in the top bar, as the Show HN guidelines describe.
| Question | DevHunt | Show HN |
|---|---|---|
| What is it? | A launchpad only for developer tools | A label for something you made, on a general news site |
| Format | A batch each week; voting until a countdown ends | One post that rises or sinks on points |
| Who votes | Developers signed in with GitHub or Google | Hacker News users who have accounts |
| What qualifies | Tools for developers; other products are not accepted | Something people can try, non-trivial, made by you; not a landing page or sign-up page |
| Cost | Listing is free; launching in a chosen week is a one-time paid step | Free; nothing in the guidelines sells position |
| Link treatment | Nofollow on free listings, dofollow on paid launches, per its FAQ | Not described in the guidelines |
| If nobody sees it | The tool still has a permanent page | The post sinks; the guidelines ask you not to delete and repost |
What does each one require the product to be?
DevHunt’s test is who the tool is for. Its FAQ names open-source projects, APIs and SDKs, frameworks, CLIs, testing and monitoring tools, databases, auth, AI agents and MCP servers, and says tools that are not for developers, adult tools and services that sell fake engagement are not accepted. Its FAQ says nothing about whether a visitor must be able to run the tool today, so confirm that on the submit form.
Show HN’s test is whether strangers can run it today. The guidelines say people should be able to try the thing, ideally without sign-ups or emails, and that blog posts, sign-up pages, newsletters and lists are off topic. They also ask for a non-trivial project you made yourself and that you will be around to discuss, and they say quickly generated one-offs do not belong. A small illustrative case: a command-line tool that turns an infrastructure plan into a plain-language summary fits both. The same tool behind a waitlist passes DevHunt’s audience test and fails Show HN’s try-it test.
Who answers, and how do they answer?
On DevHunt the audience is chosen by the filter: voters are developers who signed in, and winners are featured in its weekly newsletter, mentioned on its social channels and given a badge, according to its FAQ. The feedback is mostly a vote and a short comment, which tells you a tool landed without telling you why.
On Hacker News the audience is broader and the feedback is a conversation. The guidelines ask commenters to be curious rather than cross-examine, and to suggest alternatives instead of saying you are doing it wrong, so a Show HN thread tends to produce specific questions about your design choices. Both guideline pages also say not to ask friends to upvote or comment, which rules out the usual launch-day message to your contacts.
What can you pay for, and what do you get for free?
Hacker News sells nothing, so the comparison is easy to state: there is no paid route to skip a queue or buy a link, and no promise either. DevHunt’s free listing gives a permanent page with a nofollow link. Its paid launch lets you choose the week, adds a newsletter spot, makes the link dofollow, and orders your tool above others on equal votes, with extra paid boosts on top. We quote no prices because DevHunt changes them; its FAQ is the place to check. The dofollow link entry explains why the attribute matters less than the visitors.
In what order should a developer tool use both?
- Get the tool to the point where a stranger can run it in under five minutes with no account. That single step decides whether Show HN is open to you.
- Create the free DevHunt listing first. It gives you a stable page and costs nothing, and you can pick a launch week later if you decide the paid step is worth it.
- Post the Show HN when you can sit with the thread for the first few hours. The Show HN playbook and the post templates cover the wording.
- Then work through the places that carry developer tools, such as package registries, newsletters and communities.
Which one first, by situation
- Runs without a sign-up: Show HN is open to you, and a thread is the fastest honest feedback either site offers.
- Needs an account, an API key or an invite: start with DevHunt, and fix the demo path before you think about Show HN.
- A weekend project you will not maintain: the free DevHunt page costs nothing, but the Show HN guidelines expect someone who is around to discuss it.
- No budget and no audience: neither site charges to enter. A third free page is our board, where you can publish a launch with no account; it is small, so the visitors are yours to bring.
Browse the developer tool ideas on the board if you are still choosing what to build, and use launching a developer tool for free for the full sequence.
Frequently asked questions
Is DevHunt only for open-source tools?
No. Its FAQ says it accepts tools for developers of many kinds, including open-source projects, APIs, SDKs, CLIs, testing and monitoring tools, databases, auth, AI agents and MCP servers. The platform itself is open source. Products that are not aimed at developers are not accepted, whether or not they are open source.
Does Show HN cost anything?
No. Hacker News charges nothing to post and the guidelines pages we read describe no paid placement. The price is the bar: the thing must be something people can try, non-trivial and made by you, and you are expected to be around to discuss it after you post.
Can I post the same tool on both?
Yes. Nothing we read on either site forbids it, and they reach different groups. Space them out so you can answer comments on each, and do not ask friends to upvote on either, since both the Show HN page and the Hacker News guidelines say that is not acceptable.
Does a DevHunt launch give a dofollow backlink?
Per its FAQ, links on free listings are nofollow and paid launches get a permanent dofollow link. Every tool page links to the tool’s website either way. Whether the attribute changes your search ranking is not something DevHunt or anyone else can promise, so judge the listing by visitors first.
Post your build ideas publishes this page and runs a free launch board that competes with some of the sites it names. Facts about other sites came from their own pages on the date shown above; terms, queues and prices change, so confirm on their sites before you decide. About the publisher.