How to choose app directories
Most of the larger directories quietly assume a web product, which rules them out for a mobile app. The ones here take App Store and Play Store links, so start from this shorter list rather than working down the main table.
What counts as an app directory
An app directory indexes software you install on a phone rather than open in a browser. Entries usually link straight to the App Store or Play Store, carry the store screenshots, and are organised by platform first and category second. A handful also cover desktop and browser extensions, but the defining feature is that the product lives behind a store link.
This is the smallest category on the list, and the reason is structural: most directories assume a web product with a URL that can be crawled, previewed and screenshotted. An app behind a store listing breaks all three of those assumptions, so most of the general sites quietly exclude them.
By the numbers
These 16 directories have a median rating of DR 52. The strongest is Product Hunt at DR 91, the weakest at DR 10. 11 of them accept a submission for nothing, and 1 charge for every listing. 6 pass a dofollow link.
That is 6 points below the median for the full list of 175 directories, which sits at DR 58. By band that is 3 rated 80 or above, 4 rated 60 to 79, 5 rated 40 to 59 and 4 rated below 40. 6 of them have no traffic estimate at all, which usually means too little to measure rather than none.
What a listing actually gets you
App directories will not move your store ranking, which is driven by installs, retention and reviews. What they do is create indexable web pages about an app that is otherwise invisible to search engines, which is the single biggest discovery problem mobile products have.
They also reach the people who research on a laptop and install later, a larger group than most app teams expect, and one that store optimisation cannot touch at all.
Submitting without wasting the evening
Submit the store link, not a landing page, and check which stores the directory covers before you start: several accept iOS only. Screenshots from the store listing usually transfer over, so get those right in the store first and the directory work becomes copy and paste. Include the size, the minimum OS version and whether there is a free tier, because those are the three filters app directories most often expose.
Common mistakes
Submitting a web landing page when the directory wanted the store URL, which gets rejected without explanation. Ignoring platform: an iOS-only app on an Android-focused directory will be accepted and then never shown. And reusing store copy written for ASO keyword stuffing, which reads badly out of that context.
Where to start
By audience size, the biggest here are Product Hunt, AlternativeTo and TrustMRR, led by 4.84M visits a month. The highest-rated one you can use without paying is Product Hunt at DR 91. 6 approve quickly, AlternativeTo, SaaSHub and Dofollow Tools among them.
Questions people ask
How many are there, and what do they cost?
16 directories match on this page. 11 take a submission for nothing, 4 run a free tier with paid upgrades, and 1 charge for every listing.
Which should I submit to first?
By rating, Product Hunt (DR 91), AlternativeTo (DR 81) and SaaSHub (DR 80). By audience, Product Hunt is the largest at 4.84M 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 is an app directory?
A curated index of mobile applications, usually linking to the App Store or Play Store and organised by platform and category. Most carry store screenshots and a short description rather than a full review.
Why are there so few app directories here?
Because most of the larger directories assume a web product with a visitable URL. Anything that only exists behind a store link is out of scope for them, which leaves a much shorter list than the main table suggests.
Do app directories help with App Store ranking?
Not directly. Store ranking responds to installs and retention. What a directory gives you is a web page about your app that search engines can index, which is where most of an app's discoverable surface area otherwise does not exist.
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.