Where to launch a startup in 2026
By Leo I, founder of StartupList. Updated .
Launch where your first users already look: Product Hunt or Hacker News for one big day, and a few directories for pages that keep sending visitors after it. Most launch sites are free if you can wait in their queue, and charge from about $10 to $100 to pick your day or skip the line.
| Site | How it works | What it costs | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| BetaList | Its editors choose startups to feature; faster plans add a newsletter spot | Paid only, with prices shown as you submit; a full refund if you aren't chosen | Products before or just after launch |
| DevHunt | A week of votes from developers, who sign in with GitHub or Google | Free listing; $19 to launch in a week you choose, $49 boosted | Developer tools |
| Fazier | Daily launches, with weekly and monthly leaderboards | Free with a link back to Fazier; $29 to $99 to go live sooner with more promotion | Indie makers on a budget |
| Foundrlist | A new board each Monday, ranked by upvotes | Free with their badge on your site; $29 to skip the queue | SaaS and AI tools from indie makers |
| Hacker News (Show HN) | Post something people can try now; it's ranked by points over time | Free | Developer tools and open source |
| Launching Next | An edited list of new startups, with an email every Friday | Free; $99 to be considered within a business day | Early-stage startups and side projects |
| Microlaunch | Products rank over a whole month, with feedback from other makers | From $39 | SaaS and AI products |
| OpenHunts | A week of launches, starting every Monday | Free, with a long queue; $9.90 to choose your week | Makers on a tight budget |
| Product Hunt | A day on its leaderboard, starting at 12:01 AM Pacific | Free | Finished products with an audience to bring |
| StartupList (ours) | A day in Today ranked by members' upvotes, then a permanent page in its category with a direct link to your site | $49 once, money back if it isn't listed; Featured $799 | Startups and AI tools that want a page that lasts |
| TinyLaunch | Timed launch periods with upvotes and badges for the top three | Free in a queue; $39 to skip it | A free launch |
| Twelve Tools | Twelve hand-picked tools a day | Free with a link back; $36 to be listed within a day | Web tools and small SaaS |
| Uneed | A new batch of launches every day, then a directory listing | Free with a date at least 30 days out; $14.99 or $39.99 to launch sooner | Indie makers and SaaS |
Pick by what you need
For one big day, Product Hunt and Hacker News are the best known, and both are free. Both reward products people can try straight away, and neither allows you to ask for upvotes, so bring an audience of your own: your users, your newsletter and the people who follow you.
For a page that keeps working, use the directories and launch sites that keep a permanent page for your product, StartupList among them. People find those pages through categories and search long after launch day.
Before launch, BetaList features products that are new to its audience, and its faster plans include a spot in its newsletter, which it says has more than 70,000 subscribers.
For developer tools, Show HN takes anything people can try, and DevHunt gives you a week of votes from developers.
Free or paid
Most of these sites have a free way in and paid ways to skip the wait. Free queues run from days to months: Uneed's free line gives a date at least 30 days out, and OpenHunts' free queue was about 60 weeks long when we checked. Paying usually buys a date you choose, a higher place on the page or a follow link.
Follow links
A few sites say their links pass on search ranking only on paid plans. DevHunt's free listings are nofollow and its paid launches get a permanent follow link; Foundrlist says only paid launches get one. A handful of links won't change your rankings much on their own. The visitors they send, and a page that ranks for your product's name, count for more.
Also worth a look
We couldn't check these on their own pages, so they aren't in the table: There's An AI For That, Peerlist Launchpad, SaaSHub, AlternativeTo, Toolify and Indie Hackers. Reddit's r/SideProject and r/startups can work too, if you follow each community's rules on self-promotion.
How we checked
We read each site's own pricing, submission and help pages on 1 November 2026. We run StartupList, so its row keeps to the same kind of facts as the others.
Questions
Is Product Hunt still worth it?
Yes, if people can try your product today and you have an audience to tell. It's free, but not every post is featured on its homepage, and you can't ask people directly for upvotes, so a launch there works best with people of your own ready to come.
Should I launch on more than one site?
Yes. Each launch is another chance to be seen and another page about your product. Space them a week or two apart, so you can answer the comments on each and fix what the last one taught you.
Which launch sites are free?
Product Hunt and Hacker News are free. Uneed, Fazier, Foundrlist, Launching Next, TinyLaunch, Twelve Tools and OpenHunts have free options, usually with a wait or a link back to them. BetaList is paid only.
How much does it cost to launch on StartupList?
$49 once for a permanent listing, reviewed in 2 to 3 days, with your money back if it isn't listed. Featured, at $799, adds priority review, guaranteed places on the site, an article about your product and a newsletter spot.