The 10 startup directories with the highest Domain Rating

The ten strongest domains we track, by Domain Rating by Ahrefs. 1 of them give a followed link and 3 are free to submit to. High DR is only half of it: a nofollow link from a DR 91 site sends visitors but no authority.

Updated Share

The list

10 of the 126 directories we track, by Domain Rating
# Directory DR Link Cost Approval
1 SourceForge sourceforge.net 93 Nofollow Freemium Not stated
2 Capterra capterra.com 91 Nofollow Freemium Not stated
3 Crunchbase crunchbase.com 91 Nofollow Free within a day
4 G2 g2.com 91 Nofollow Freemium 3–5 days
5 Hacker News (Show HN) news.ycombinator.com 91 Nofollow Free live same day
6 Product Hunt producthunt.com 91 Nofollow Free not stated
7 Startup Fame startupfa.me 84 Nofollow Freemium up to 7 days
8 Fazier fazier.com 83 Dofollow Freemium up to 30 days
9 Dang.ai dang.ai 82 Nofollow Freemium up to 28 days
10 twelve.tools twelve.tools 82 Nofollow Freemium up to 3 days

Each one, in a line

  1. SourceForge · DR 93 · nofollow
    Huge B2B software review site; claiming a listing is free but Visit Website buttons are paid and nofollow.
  2. Capterra · DR 91 · nofollow
    Free profile on the G2-owned review site; only sponsored pay-per-click profiles get a Visit Website button.
  3. Crunchbase · DR 91 · nofollow
    Free company profile in the database investors and AI answer engines read; the website link is nofollow.
  4. G2 · DR 91 · nofollow
    Free B2B software review profile, vetted in 3-5 business days, but the website button is a nofollow redirect.
  5. Hacker News (Show HN) · DR 91 · nofollow
    Post a Show HN of something people can try; free, instant, and the link goes dofollow only once it earns points.
  6. Product Hunt · DR 91 · nofollow
    Daily vote-ranked launches for new tech products; free, but you need a crowd ready to comment on launch day.
  7. Startup Fame · DR 84 · nofollow
    Free dofollow listing once their badge is on your homepage; reviewed within 7 days, or pay $19/mo to skip it.
  8. Fazier · DR 83 · dofollow
    Daily Product Hunt style launches; free tier needs a badge on your site and can wait 30 days.
  9. Dang.ai · DR 82 · nofollow
    Large AI tools directory; free needs a backlink to them and waits up to 4 weeks, $49 skips both.
  10. twelve.tools · DR 82 · nofollow
    Twelve new tools a day; free dofollow listing needs a backlink to them, $36 Pro lists in 24 hours without it.

Why Domain Rating, and why these ten

Domain Rating by Ahrefs scores a domain's backlink profile from 0 to 100 on a logarithmic scale. A followed link from a DR 90 site is worth a great deal more than one from a DR 60 site, and these are the ten strongest domains among the directories, launch platforms and review sites we track.

Strength is not the whole story. A launch platform gives you a day on its front page and a link that may be nofollow; a review site gives you a permanent page but wants customer reviews first. The Link column and each directory's page say what you actually get.

How to use this list

Take the followed ones first, whatever they cost. Then take the nofollow ones for reach: a front-page day on Product Hunt or Hacker News sends more visitors than every other directory combined, and the indexing alone is worth the form.

Review sites at the bottom of this list are for when you have ten customers who will write a review. Claim the free profile now so the page exists; the link and the ranking come later.

Questions founders ask

Is a DR 91 nofollow link worth anything?

For Domain Rating, nothing. For traffic, indexing and social proof, a lot. Take it, but do not count it as a link.

Why isn't Crunchbase or LinkedIn here?

We track directories where a founder submits a product and gets a listing page with a link. Company databases and social networks are worth a profile, but they are not directories and the link is nofollow.

Does a link from a stronger domain always beat one from a weaker one?

Not always. Ahrefs discounts links from domains that link out to very many sites, and relevance matters to Google in ways DR does not capture. A followed link from a DR 60 directory in your niche can outrank a DR 90 general one.