Where should I list my AI app first?

Start with a niche AI directory people search by task — There's An AI For That or Futurepedia — plus Vibedonalds if it's a vibe-coded product. They index you and make you quotable by AI engines before launch day.

Are AI directories worth it?

Yes, if you pick well. The good ones send high-intent visitors, give you a backlink, and feed AI engines that cite directory listings. Skip zombie directories with high DR but no real traffic.

Do directory backlinks help SEO?

Dofollow links from trafficked, curated directories help; nofollow links (like Product Hunt's) send visitors but don't move your domain rating. Below about DR 30, the backlink value is negligible.

How many directories should I submit to?

There's no magic number — a couple dozen relevant ones over a few weeks is plenty. Prioritize dofollow and topical relevance over raw count; relevance beats volume.

Where can I list a vibe-coded product specifically?

Vibedonalds is a directory built for vibe-coded and AI-built products — free after review or $10 instant. It's new, so treat it as niche discovery and AI-citation rather than an SEO-authority play.

Where can I submit my AI tool?

Submit it to niche AI tool directories first — There's An AI For That, Futurepedia, Toolify, and Vibedonalds for vibe-coded products — then add a couple of general startup and SaaS directories like Startup Stash or AlternativeTo. Prioritise trafficked, curated, dofollow directories over raw count.

What are the best startup directories to list your product?

Curated ones with real traffic: Startup Stash and AlternativeTo for general reach, SaaSHub if you have clear competitors, plus AI tool directories if your product uses AI. Skip the '300+ directory submission sites' lists — most are zombie backlink farms that send no one.

Maker Playbook

Where to Submit Your AI Tool: The Best Directories to List Your App (2026)

Submit your AI tool where people already search for one. Start with a niche AI tool directory (There's An AI For That, Futurepedia, and Vibedonalds for vibe-coded products), add a couple of general startup and SaaS directories, launch on one platform (Product Hunt or a smaller one like Uneed), and post in one community (a relevant subreddit or Show HN). Spread more directory submissions over the following weeks to get your first users.

This is the playbook we'd give a maker who just shipped something with Cursor, Lovable, or Bolt and has zero users. It covers where to list, which directories are worth it, which to skip, and the order to do it in. When your domain is brand new, distribution beats SEO — directories and launch platforms put you in front of people, and AI engines, who are actively looking.

By Andrew DyuzhovUpdated July 2026

Where to Submit Your AI Tool: The Best Directories to List Your App (2026) — illustration

What actually gets you your first users?

Three things, in order: people who are already searching for a tool like yours, a backlink that helps you get found later, and a listing that AI engines can quote when someone asks them for a recommendation. Directories and launch platforms give you all three; your marketing site, on day one, gives you none of them.

When your domain is brand new you can't out-rank an established site yet — but you can show up where the high-intent traffic already is, and increasingly where ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google's AI Overviews pull their answers from.

Which AI tool directories are worth submitting to?

AI tool directories are where people go when they want an AI tool, not a generic app. A handful of genuinely-trafficked ones are worth the few minutes each to submit to:

There's An AI For That (TAAFT)
One of the largest AI-tools directories — people browse it by task, so the traffic is high-intent. Worth it if your product does a clear job.
Futurepedia
One of the biggest general AI directories. List here if your product uses AI at all.
Toolify
Large AI directory whose category and ranking pages rank in Google — useful for long-tail discovery.
Vibedonalds
This directory — niche, built specifically for vibe-coded and AI-built products. Free listing after review, or $10 instant. We're new (low domain authority, and we'll say so), so treat it as niche discovery and AI-citation, not an SEO-authority play.
SaaSHub
Software directory with strong 'alternatives to X' pages — good if you compete with a known product.

What about general startup and SaaS directories?

Beyond AI-specific sites, a few general startup and SaaS directories are worth a listing — they carry buyers who don't search 'AI' by name, and some pass a real dofollow link. Add two or three that fit your product; don't chase the giant 'submit to 300 directories' lists, which are mostly zombie backlink farms (see below).

Startup Stash
A large, curated directory of startup tools and resources whose category pages rank in Google — solid general-startup discovery.
AlternativeTo
High-traffic, crowd-sourced 'alternatives to X' site. List yourself as an alternative to an incumbent in your niche to catch comparison searches.
SaaSHub
Software directory with strong 'alternatives to X' pages — good if you compete with a known product.
G2 & Capterra
Review directories buyers and AI engines trust. Slower to set up (they want real reviews), but high-authority and frequently cited once you have a few customers.

Where do you actually launch — Product Hunt or its alternatives?

A launch platform gives you a spike of attention on one day. Product Hunt is still the biggest, but its links are nofollow and the front page is competitive — so pair it with smaller platforms that are easier to top and that index fast. (For the full rundown, see our guide to Product Hunt alternatives.)

Product Hunt
The biggest launch audience. Links are nofollow, so treat it as distribution and social proof, not SEO.
BetaList
Best for early-stage products hunting beta signups.
Uneed
Smaller and founder-friendly, with newsletter exposure to indie makers.
MicroLaunch
Tiny and fast — a good soft-launch to gather first feedback and social proof.
Startup Fame
Known for including a backlink to your site as part of the listing.

Which communities convert without getting you banned?

Communities send the most engaged users, but only if you contribute instead of dropping a link. The rule: post where your specific user already hangs out, lead with the problem you solve, and let people ask for the link.

Reddit (the subreddit for your niche, not r/SideProject alone), Indie Hackers, and Hacker News (a 'Show HN' post) are the three that reliably surface AI products. Hacker News is unpredictable but a front-page hit sends a flood; Reddit rewards a genuine story over a launch announcement.

Which directories should you skip?

Not every directory is worth your time, and some actively waste it. Skip these:

01Directories that charge a steep flat fee (often $200+) for a basic listing with no dofollow link — the math rarely works.
02High domain-rating sites with near-zero organic traffic ('zombie' directories) — the backlink looks good in a tool but sends no one.
03Auto-approve-everything directories with tens of thousands of unfiltered listings — Google weights curated directories more, and your entry drowns.
04Very low-authority directories (a common rule of thumb is under ~DR 30) if your only goal is the backlink — the SEO value is negligible.

How do you evaluate a directory in 30 seconds?

Before you spend time on a submission, check four things:

01Dofollow or nofollow? Check an existing listing's link in the page source. Dofollow passes SEO equity; nofollow is distribution only.
02Real traffic or just DR? See whether its category pages actually rank in Google for terms your buyers use — high DR with no traffic is a zombie.
03Curated or auto-approve? A human review is a quality signal Google and AI engines trust more.
04Relevant audience? A smaller directory aimed at exactly your user beats a giant general one.

What's the step-by-step launch order?

Spread it over a few weeks instead of one frantic day:

01Polish the assets first: a clear one-liner, a real screenshot or 30-second demo, and a landing page that loads fast. Every listing reuses these.
02Submit to 2-3 niche AI directories (There's An AI For That, Futurepedia, Vibedonalds). They index you and make you quotable by AI engines while you prepare the launch.
03Soft-launch on a small platform (MicroLaunch or Uneed) to gather first feedback and a few testimonials.
04Run a launch day: post on Product Hunt and one community (Show HN or your niche subreddit) the same morning, then reply to every comment.
05Over the next few weeks, submit to more relevant directories for a diverse backlink profile (a couple dozen is plenty) — prioritize dofollow and topical relevance over raw count.
06Keep the listings current. A dead link or stale screenshot is worse than no listing, and AI engines re-crawl.

Where do AI engines send people — and how do you get cited?

More buyers now ask ChatGPT or Perplexity 'what's a good tool for X' instead of searching Google. Those answers are assembled from pages the engines crawl — and directory listings are a big source.

So the same submissions that earn backlinks also get you into AI answers. To improve the odds: be listed on directories the engines actually crawl, write a clear one-line description of the job your tool does, and keep your own site answer-first. Vibedonalds, for example, publishes an llms.txt that points AI assistants at its listings — being in it is one more place an answer can come from.

Frequently asked questions

Where should I list my AI app first?: Start with a niche AI directory people search by task — There's An AI For That or Futurepedia — plus Vibedonalds if it's a vibe-coded product. They index you and make you quotable by AI engines before launch day.
Are AI directories worth it?: Yes, if you pick well. The good ones send high-intent visitors, give you a backlink, and feed AI engines that cite directory listings. Skip zombie directories with high DR but no real traffic.
Do directory backlinks help SEO?: Dofollow links from trafficked, curated directories help; nofollow links (like Product Hunt's) send visitors but don't move your domain rating. Below about DR 30, the backlink value is negligible.
How many directories should I submit to?: There's no magic number — a couple dozen relevant ones over a few weeks is plenty. Prioritize dofollow and topical relevance over raw count; relevance beats volume.
Where can I list a vibe-coded product specifically?: Vibedonalds is a directory built for vibe-coded and AI-built products — free after review or $10 instant. It's new, so treat it as niche discovery and AI-citation rather than an SEO-authority play.
Where can I submit my AI tool?: Submit it to niche AI tool directories first — There's An AI For That, Futurepedia, Toolify, and Vibedonalds for vibe-coded products — then add a couple of general startup and SaaS directories like Startup Stash or AlternativeTo. Prioritise trafficked, curated, dofollow directories over raw count.
What are the best startup directories to list your product?: Curated ones with real traffic: Startup Stash and AlternativeTo for general reach, SaaSHub if you have clear competitors, plus AI tool directories if your product uses AI. Skip the '300+ directory submission sites' lists — most are zombie backlink farms that send no one.