Launch Platform Comparison Table: 16 Sites by Audience, Queue, Links and Ranking
This table compares 16 launch platforms across eight columns: platform, audience, free route, queue, link treatment, ranking basis, account needed and notes. Each cell comes from the platform’s own pages, read on 13 November 2026, and cells we could not confirm say so. Reading across a row shows what a platform asks of you; reading down a column shows how the field differs. No column predicts traffic, because none of them can.
How do the 16 platforms compare?
The first row is this board, which publishes the table; the method is on the state of free launch platforms page. “Not stated” means the pages we read did not say. “Could not read” means the site refused an automated request. Neither is a no.
| Platform | Audience | Free route | Queue | Link treatment | Ranking basis | Account needed | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Post Your Build Ideas | Builders and people who browse app ideas | Entire service is free | None | Launch page link followed; text people write is nofollow ugc | Verified first, then newest; Today, Week and All-time feeds | No account; one emailed link verifies | Final once published; unconfirmed launches expire after 24 hours; one launch per site every 7 days |
| Hacker News (Show HN) | Technical readers | Free to post | None; new items list on a Show new page | Not stated | Points; a small threshold admits a post to the Show page | Yes | Title begins “Show HN”; must be something people can try |
| Product Hunt | Very broad software audience | Free to submit | Not checked | Not checked | A daily ranking that resets at midnight Pacific | Sign-in | Could not read |
| Peerlist Launchpad | Designers, developers, tech professionals | Not confirmed | A new Launchpad each week from Monday | Not checked | Not checked | A Peerlist profile | Could not read |
| Indie Hackers | Founders and indie builders | Posting not known to carry a fee | None; a post sinks as newer ones arrive | Not checked | Forum activity, not a ranked day | Yes, to post | Could not read |
| Uneed | Founders and indie makers, by its own account | A free waiting line | Date assigned at least 50 days ahead | Do-follow link at a score of 20 | Upvotes; top three each day get badges | Not confirmed | Paid options skip the line or fast-track in about 14 days |
| TinyLaunch | Anyone launching a product | A free Standard Launch | Standard queue; length not stated | Dofollow if you embed its badge; backlink to the top three | Upvotes; top three rewarded | Not confirmed | A paid launch skips the queue |
| DevHunt | Developers | A free listing | A launch week is chosen at the paid step | Nofollow on free listings; dofollow on a paid launch | Votes during the week; winners reach the newsletter | Sign-in to submit and to vote | Developer tools only; platform is open source |
| Smol Launch | Indie makers | First launch of a product | 50 free verified places a week | Backlink on paid tiers | Votes on a weekly board | A free account | Badge on your site and 5 votes cast first |
| OpenHunts | Tiny startups, in its own words | A free launch, 20 places a week | About 60 weeks shown on the day | Dofollow if you finish in the top three | A top-three finish; basis not stated | Not confirmed | A badge can skip the wait; launches go out at 08:00 UTC |
| Launching Next | New startups and side projects | Free to submit | Reviewed daily; a paid upgrade for one business day | Not stated | Editorial listing plus a trending page | Not stated | Description up to 2,500 characters |
| BetaList | Early adopters, founders, investors | None | Depends on the plan paid for | Do-follow if featured | Editorial choice; a Trending section weighs engagement | An account is made at submission | Refund if not selected; own domain required |
| PeerPush | People and AI assistants looking for tools | None on the pricing page | Live on payment | A permanent link to your site | Community upvotes | Sign-up | Offers a public API and an MCP server for lookups |
| Fazier | Everyday product discovery | Its description says submit for free | Not stated | Not stated | A leaderboard; basis not read | Sign-in and join links | Partly read |
| Microlaunch | Startups, with monthly launches | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | A leaderboard; basis not read | Sign-up | Premium packs on a separate page; partly read |
| SaaSHub | People comparing software | Calls its Submit tool free | Not stated | Not stated | A directory, not a contest | Register and log-in links | A featured listing is a month-to-month subscription, per its page |
Everything quoted about another platform is a paraphrase of its own page; the full list of addresses is in the sources section of the state-of page. Prices are left out because they move.
How do you read each column?
- Audience is how the platform describes who visits. It tells you whether your product fits at all. A developer tool on a developer-only site is the closest match you will get; a consumer app there is wasted effort.
- Free route names the part that costs no money. Where it says “not confirmed”, the platform may still have one; we simply did not find it.
- Queue is the wait between applying and appearing, for the free route. Read it as time you cannot hurry, and apply early.
- Link treatment matters if you plan around search. “Nofollow” asks search engines not to count the link, and “dofollow” leaves it as an ordinary link. See dofollow link for what each does and does not prove.
- Ranking basis says what decides your position. Votes reward a community that shows up; editorial selection rewards a clear product and page; a threshold rewards early traction. Pick the basis that matches the support you can bring.
- Account needed is the cost of entry in minutes. No account means a form and an email; a profile means building one.
- Notes carry the rule that does not fit elsewhere, such as the badge requirement or the domain rule.
Which row should you start from?
| If you need | Look at | Because |
|---|---|---|
| A public page today | Rows with queue “None” and no account | Nothing stands between you and a link you can share |
| Feedback from technical readers | Show HN, DevHunt | Their audiences are developers, and Show HN asks for something people can try |
| A followed link without paying | Rows with a score or ranking rule | A threshold or a top-three finish earns it, though no result is promised |
| Editorial curation | BetaList, Launching Next | A person selects what appears, which is the pitch and the cost |
| A chance to compare with similar products | Votes-based boards | Every product sits in the same ranking |
| Least admin | Rows with no account and a short form | Your time goes to the product, not to profiles |
One row rarely covers a launch. Put a no-queue, no-account row first so you have a page to link, then add one or two rows chosen for audience. The where to launch a side project guide suggests an order, and free vs paid launch platforms says when a paid column is worth reading.
What can this table not tell you?
It cannot tell you how visible a listing is, how long a launch stays on a front page, or how an editor will judge your product. It cannot account for behaviour inside a login, such as a form field or a review step that is only visible after you sign up. And it is a snapshot: a platform that changes its pricing page tomorrow makes a cell wrong tomorrow.
Use it to shortlist, then read the platform’s page itself before you commit time. If you notice a cell that is wrong, the platform’s own page is the authority and we want to correct ours. When you are ready to publish, launch your product free first, then use the shortlist for the rest. The free launch directories list goes beyond boards to communities and newsletters, and the launch cheat sheet gathers the limits and timings in one place. Not sure what to launch yet? Browse the productivity ideas on the board.
Frequently asked questions
Which launch platform has no queue?
In this table, Post Your Build Ideas has no queue, and Hacker News has none either, since new Show HN posts list on a Show new page straight away. Several others, such as Uneed, TinyLaunch and OpenHunts, queue their free launches. Check each platform’s page, because queue lengths change.
What does the ranking basis column mean?
It states what decides a launch’s position on the platform, such as upvotes, points, a top-three finish or an editor’s selection. It matters because each basis rewards something different: community turnout, early traction, or a clear product and page. Where the pages we read did not say, the cell says so.
Why are some cells marked not stated or could not read?
Not stated means the public pages we read did not give the detail, which does not mean the answer is no. Could not read means the site refused our automated request. Product Hunt, Peerlist and Indie Hackers did on 13 November 2026, so those rows hold only well-known basics.
How often is the table updated?
It is dated 13 November 2026 and will be re-read before it is changed, with the new date shown. Launch platforms change plans and queues without notice, so use the table to shortlist and confirm each detail on the platform’s own page before you submit.
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.