App Directories Where People Find Software: Free Listings by Platform
People browse apps in a directory for their own platform, so list where your users’ devices look: MacBase for Mac, Flathub for Linux, the Microsoft Store for Windows, Amazon Appstore for Fire devices, and SaaSHub or AlternativeTo for apps that have a website. Each is free to list or says a free account is enough, and each asks for different metadata. Match the directory to the platform, not to a list of the biggest names.
Why should an app directory match your platform first?
The person who searches a Mac directory owns a Mac. The person who opens Flathub runs a Linux desktop. A listing on the wrong platform’s directory is not just wasted; it creates a visitor who cannot install what they found. That makes the platform the first filter, ahead of audience size or domain strength.
| Platform | Directory or store | Free to list? | Gate |
|---|---|---|---|
| macOS | MacBase | Yes, per its homepage | Review; badge for a followed link |
| Linux | Flathub | Submission is documented, no fee mentioned | Review; Git and Flatpak knowledge |
| Windows | Microsoft Store | Check the account page for a fee | Certification |
| Fire devices | Amazon Appstore | Page says free developer account | Portal review |
| Any, with a site | SaaSHub | Submit tool described as free | Approval; released product |
| Any, with a site | AlternativeTo | Not confirmed | Our check was refused |
This page covers directories that list apps from outside the Apple and Google stores. For the two big mobile stores and the places that display finished mobile apps, see mobile app showcases and how to promote an app for free.
Which directories accept an app today?
Everything below was read from the directory’s own pages on 13 November 2026, except AlternativeTo, which refused an automated check.
01 MacBase
A directory of Mac apps with category pages, alternatives pages and filters for open-source and offline apps.
- Cost
- Free to list; sign-in creates an account at first use
- Verified listing
- Gets a check mark, top placement and a followed link after you add its badge to your site
- Unverified
- Linked with nofollow
Its badge page spells out the exchange and the check: once the badge link is on your home page or footer, you press a button and the site reads the page, then looks again every week and emails you if the badge disappears. That is the whole mechanism, so decide in advance whether you will keep a third-party badge on your site.
Separate filters for apps that work offline or whose code is public give a small app a way to be found by what it is, not only by its category. Mark those attributes truthfully when you fill the form.
02 Flathub
The main store for Flatpak desktop apps on Linux.
- Listing data
- A MetaInfo file that sits inside the app
- Verification
- Done by proving you own the domain behind the app ID
- Rejected
- Submissions can fail at any stage or be recalled after merge
The listing is not a form but a file. Its MetaInfo guidelines describe fields such as the app ID, summary and screenshots, and say the ID should stay constant. Treat the file as the product page and review it as you would a landing page.
Verification links the listing to you through domain ownership, which is why apps with a proper domain look more trustworthy. If you cannot control a domain for the app ID, plan for that early.
03 Microsoft Store
The store for Windows 10 and 11 apps and games, published through Partner Center.
- Package types
- MSIX, MSI or EXE, and PWA
- Account
- An individual or a company developer account
- Gate
- Certification, with separate steps by package type
The publishing overview treats a progressive web app as a first-class path, next to installers. A product that already runs well as a web app may reach Windows users with less packaging work than a native build.
We did not read a registration price on the pages we opened, so look at the account-creation page before you start and decide whether a fee changes your plan.
04 Amazon Appstore
Amazon’s store for Android apps and Fire TV, with a developer portal.
- Cost
- The portal says you can create a free developer account
- Platforms
- Android apps and Fire TV apps
The portal also announces Vega, a toolkit for Fire TV apps written in React Native. Unless you know that your users own Fire devices, this is a store to skip, since it cannot reach people who do not own them.
05 SaaSHub
A software marketplace that also accepts mobile apps if they have a decent website.
- Accepts
- Most software products and apps; mobile apps with decent websites
- Rejects
- Unreleased products, waiting-list pages, free subdomains, agencies
For an app, the website is the listing’s anchor. If the only page you have is a store link, build a small site first; the directory’s own rules point at it.
06 AlternativeTo
A well-known directory organised around the question “what can I use instead of this?”
- Catch
- Its pages refused our automated check; we cannot describe its submission steps
Platform tags and an alternatives structure make it a natural home for a desktop or mobile app that replaces a known one. Read its current rules on adding an application, and compare siblings in AlternativeTo alternatives.
07 Post your build ideas (our launch board)
A free launch board, ours, that links to any product website.
- Cost
- Free; one verified email
- Catch
- A small audience, and a gallery of four images at most
It is not an app directory and has no platform filters. It is useful as the public page a directory entry can point to, and you can launch your app here for free in the time it takes to write a tagline.
What does every directory ask you for?
Prepare these once and paste them into each form. The names differ, but the content is the same.
- One-line job: what it does, in a sentence a stranger repeats.
- Platform and minimum version: the oldest system it runs on, stated honestly.
- Price in plain words: free, one-time, subscription, or open source.
- A link that installs or runs it, not a page that links to a page.
- Screenshots of the real app, at the sizes each directory names on its own page.
- A privacy statement with plain language about what is collected.
If you are unsure what the app should do at all, the app ideas board has ideas from people who will not build them.
How do you keep a listing from going stale?
A listing that shows last year’s screenshots or a retired price is worse than none. Put a reminder in your calendar for each release: update the directory pages the same day you ship, and test one link from each page. Follow the launch metrics checklist to count which directory sends installs, and remove listings that send none. The app store launch checklist covers the two big mobile stores, which this page leaves out.
Frequently asked questions
Which app directories are free to list on?
MacBase says you can list a Mac app for free, Amazon’s developer portal says you can create a free developer account, SaaSHub describes its submit tool as free, and Flathub documents a submission process without a fee. Check the Microsoft Store account page for any registration cost. Always read the current terms before you submit.
Do app directories give backlinks?
Sometimes. MacBase says a verified listing gets a followed link and an unverified one gets nofollow. Other directories do not say. Treat any link as a possible bonus and judge directories by whether they send installs, not by link type.
Should I list my app on every directory?
No. List where your users’ platform browses and where people compare tools in your category. A directory for the wrong platform sends visitors who cannot install your app. Two or three accurate listings you maintain are better than a dozen you forget.
What do I need to list a desktop app?
A working installer or package, a one-line description, screenshots, a price statement and a privacy note, plus the platform’s own account or submission steps. Flathub also needs a MetaInfo file, the Microsoft Store needs certification, and MacBase asks you to sign in. Prepare the common fields once and reuse them.
How long does it take to get listed?
It varies by directory and nobody can promise a date. MacBase says verified listings are reviewed first, SaaSHub puts a submission without competitors at the bottom of its queue, and stores run certification. Submit early, keep the listing details ready, and do not announce a date until the page is live.
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.