Freemium dofollow directories, in short
Freemium is the most common model here: get listed for nothing, then pay to skip the queue, remove a badge requirement, or turn a nofollow link into a dofollow one. The free tier is usually worth taking first to see what the traffic looks like.
Freemium directories, defined
A freemium directory lets you list for nothing and charges for something extra: skipping the review queue, a position near the top of a category, removing a badge requirement from your own site, or converting a nofollow link to dofollow. It is the most common model on this list by a wide margin.
The upgrade is usually framed as speed, but what you are really buying is placement. On a directory where browsing stops after the first two rows, that distinction decides whether the listing does anything at all.
By the numbers
These 84 directories have a median rating of DR 57. The strongest is Twelve Tools at DR 82, the weakest at DR 22.
That puts them in line with the list as a whole, which runs to a median of DR 58. By band that is 3 rated 80 or above, 31 rated 60 to 79, 36 rated 40 to 59 and 14 rated below 40. 46 of them have no traffic estimate at all, which usually means too little to measure rather than none.
What a listing actually gets you
A dofollow link passes ranking signals to your domain, which is why most people work through a list like this at all. The effect of any single directory link is small; the effect of a dozen relevant ones accumulated over months alongside everything else you do is real but slow.
Relevance matters more than rating. One link from a directory that actually covers your category is worth several from a general index with a higher score, because the surrounding context is part of what the link communicates.
Submitting without wasting the evening
Do not submit to all of them in one week. A burst of identical directory links pointing at a new domain is the oldest pattern in link spam, and it is the one thing that can turn a useful list into a liability. Spread them out, start with the ones relevant to what you built, vary the anchor text naturally, and let the rest accumulate over months rather than days.
Common mistakes
Upgrading before the free listing has had time to produce a number. Paying for a dofollow link on a directory nobody visits, which is buying the least valuable half of the offer. And missing that the free tier requires a badge, then getting delisted for not adding it.
Where to start
By audience size, the biggest here are Dang.ai, PitchWall and AI Directories, led by 194K visits a month. 20 approve quickly, Twelve Tools, Findly.tools and ShowMeBestAI among them.
Questions people ask
How many are there, and what do they cost?
84 directories match on this page. 0 take a submission for nothing, 84 run a free tier with paid upgrades, and 0 charge for every listing.
Which should I submit to first?
By rating, Twelve Tools (DR 82), Dang.ai (DR 82) and Findly.tools (DR 81). By audience, Dang.ai is the largest at 194K visits a month. Relevance beats both: a directory that actually covers what you built will do more than a stronger one that does not.
What does the paid tier normally add?
Most commonly: skipping the review queue, removing a badge requirement, a position near the top of a category, and turning a nofollow link dofollow. Which of those you get varies per site, so check before paying.
Should I pay straight away?
Rarely. The free tier tells you what the audience is worth to you, and that number is the only sensible basis for deciding what the upgrade is worth.
Is freemium better than free?
It gives you more options, which is not the same as being better. A free-only directory with real traffic beats a freemium one without it, every time.
What is a dofollow backlink?
A normal link that passes ranking signals to the page it points at. Links are dofollow unless the publisher adds rel="nofollow" or rel="sponsored", so the term describes the absence of an attribute rather than the presence of one.
How do I tell if a link is dofollow?
View the page source, find the link to your site and check for rel="nofollow" or rel="sponsored". An extension can highlight them in bulk. Check after your listing goes live, because the attribute often differs between free and paid tiers.
How many dofollow directory links are safe?
There is no number, but pace and relevance matter more than volume. A handful from directories that cover your category, added over weeks, looks like what it is. Eighty in a weekend does not.
Are directory backlinks still relevant?
As one modest input among many, yes. As a strategy on their own, no, and they have not been for a long time. Treat the good directories as a traffic and discovery channel that happens to leave a link behind.
Every figure quoted above is read off the table on this page, so it moves as the list does. Domain rating and traffic are third-party estimates captured in September 2026: useful for ordering a shortlist, not precise figures.