SaaS Directories and Review Sites: Which to List On and What Each One Asks
A SaaS directory puts your product where buyers compare software, which is slower than a launch board and closer to a purchase. SaaSHub accepts released products after approval, G2 says you can claim a profile for free, and OpenAlternative takes open-source alternatives after sign-in. Capterra and AlternativeTo are well known, but their pages refused our check. List where your buyer compares, and nowhere else.
Why do SaaS directories behave differently from launch boards?
A launch board shows what is new, so its readers are browsing. A software directory shows what exists in a category, so its readers are comparing. Someone who types a competitor’s name plus “alternatives” is nearer to paying than someone scrolling a feed of new products. That is why a modest listing can matter more here than a loud launch elsewhere, and why the work is different: you maintain a page, you do not run an event.
It also explains the gates. Directories that serve buyers want the product to be real, so they ask for a working website, a pricing page and a category. Two of the entries below turn away anything unreleased. Plan to list after you have a version people can sign up for, and before that use the places in where to launch a startup.
Facts come from each site’s own pages, read on 13 November 2026. Capterra and AlternativeTo refused an automated check, so those two entries say only what is well known.
Which SaaS directories are worth a listing?
01 SaaSHub
An independent software marketplace that builds lists of alternatives from articles, algorithms and user votes.
- Cost
- The submission tool is described as free; promotion is separate
- Accepts
- SaaS, IaaS and PaaS, most software and apps, mobile apps with decent websites
- Verification
- An email on your product’s domain gives higher priority
Its submit page lists the categories and competitors you must fill in and says that a submission without listed competitors is slowed and goes to the bottom of the queue. Fill both with care, since they decide where your product appears in someone else’s search.
Its about page describes a quarterly one-click prompt to re-verify your listing, so the page stays accurate without much work. It also says some products are shown with affiliate or promotional links, which is why the free listing should not be mistaken for an endorsement.
02 G2
A software review marketplace whose seller site covers profiles, reviews and buyer intent products.
- Free
- Its page says you can claim your profile for free
- Sells
- Advertising, buyer-intent data and review services
- Audience
- Business buyers reading reviews
The seller page describes profiles as the place where you claim your page, share your story and connect with buyers, and reviews as verified customer voice. The free part is the claim; most of what it sells goes beyond that.
A profile with no reviews looks empty, so claim it when you have customers willing to write one. Do not offer a reward for a good rating; ask for an honest one.
03 Capterra
A widely used software directory and review site for business buyers.
- Catch
- Its pages refused our automated check; we cannot state costs or terms
It is named here because buyers use it, not because we verified a route. Open its vendor pages yourself, read whether a basic listing is free, and see whether the review process asks for customers you may not have yet.
04 AlternativeTo
A site where people search for alternatives to the software they use now.
- Catch
- Its pages refused our automated check; terms unconfirmed
The search habit it serves is the strongest buying signal on this page: a named incumbent and a wish to leave. Read how a new application is added, then pick one incumbent whose users you can describe, and say plainly in what way you differ. AlternativeTo alternatives compares it with sibling sites.
05 OpenAlternative
A directory of open-source alternatives to proprietary software.
- Fits
- Open-source SaaS and self-hostable tools
- Route
- Submit link; it asks you to sign in with an email link, Google or GitHub
Each entry shows a repository, a licence and the proprietary product it replaces. If your SaaS is open source, the page doubles as proof of activity; if it is closed, it does not apply.
06 Startup Stash
A curated directory of tools for startups with editorial lists and a weekly newsletter.
- Fits
- SaaS that sells to startups and founders
- Route
- A “List A Product” link; we could not read a form or fee
Its review page describes choosing a few tools after checking first-party pages and talking to people who have used them. That selectivity is a reason a founder-facing SaaS belongs here and a consumer app does not.
07 Post your build ideas (our launch board)
A free launch board, ours, which is a launch page and not a software directory.
- Cost
- Free; no paid placement; one verified email
- Role
- A public page you can link from every directory
Do not expect comparison traffic here. Use it to create a public page with a followed outbound link before you submit to the directories above. Launch the SaaS here for free, then reuse that description. Browse productivity tool ideas to see how others describe a problem and a product in a sentence.
What should be ready before you fill in a software listing?
- A site on your own domain. SaaSHub rejects free subdomains; others judge you by it too.
- A pricing page, or a plain way to ask. Comparison pages show price fields, and buyers leave when they are empty.
- Named competitors. You need the list for the form, and it is the sentence a buyer wants.
- Three screenshots and a logo, if the form takes them. Check each directory’s required sizes on its own page.
- A reply address. Several forms contact you about sponsor options; use one you can filter.
Write the description once, for a buyer who is comparing, and reuse it. The SaaS launch checklist has the full list, and the launch copy generator gives a draft.
How do you get reviews without paying for them?
Ask real customers, one at a time, about a moment they remember, and send them the direct link. Reviews written by people who did not use the product are against the rules of the review sites and visible to buyers. A product with five honest reviews beats one with fifty that read alike.
Hi [name], you told me [specific thing the product did for them]. Would you write two or three sentences about that on [review site]? It helps people who are choosing a tool like this. Here is the link: [direct link]. Thank you either way.
Wait until a customer has had a good result before asking. The testimonial request template has more wording.
Frequently asked questions
Is it free to list a SaaS product on SaaSHub?
Its submit page describes the submission tool as free, and every product goes through an approval process. It rejects unreleased products, waiting-list landing pages, free subdomains and non-English sites. Promotion and featured placement are sold separately, so decide whether you want them after a free listing has run for a while.
Can I list on G2 for free?
G2’s seller page says you can claim your profile for free. It also sells advertising, buyer-intent data and review services. A profile is most useful once you have customers who will write honest reviews, so claim it when you do and ignore the paid products until you know a listing works for you.
Do SaaS directories send customers?
They can send people who are comparing, which is closer to buying than browsing a launch feed, but nobody can promise a number. Tag each listing with its own link and count signups and payments, not visits. Maintain the few that perform and drop the rest.
Should I list before I have customers?
You can list once the product is released and has a pricing page, though a listing without reviews looks thin. Use the early weeks to collect two or three honest reviews from real users, then ask for them to be added. Do not list a waiting-list page.
Do I need Capterra and G2 and SaaSHub?
No. Pick the ones where your buyer compares. Business software buyers lean on review sites, developers and founders on tool directories. Start with one or two, keep them current and add another only when you can say what the first sent.
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.