Nofollow SaaS directories, in short
A nofollow link does not pass ranking signals directly, so the case for these is traffic and audience rather than SEO. Several of the largest sites on the whole list are nofollow, and they are still the ones worth launching on.
Nofollow directories, defined
A nofollow link carries rel="nofollow" (or increasingly rel="sponsored" or rel="ugc"), an attribute that tells search engines not to pass ranking signals through it. Several of the largest directories on this list are nofollow by policy, including some with millions of monthly visitors.
The attribute is a publisher decision, not a quality judgement. Sites that accept open submissions often mark every outbound link nofollow simply because they cannot vouch for what gets submitted, which says nothing about whether their audience is worth reaching.
By the numbers
These 11 directories have a median rating of DR 62. The strongest is Product Hunt at DR 91, the weakest at DR 17. 7 of them accept a submission for nothing, and 2 charge for every listing.
That is 4 points above 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, 1 rated 40 to 59 and 3 rated below 40. 1 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 listing on a maintained SaaS directory gives you a comparison page you do not control but do benefit from, and those pages rank for exactly the queries a buyer types near the end of their decision. It also gives you a citation that review sites, analyst pages and language models pick up when they assemble software shortlists.
The secondary value is diagnostic. Directories that let visitors compare you against competitors will show you, often for the first time, how your pricing actually reads next to theirs. Several founders change their pricing page after seeing it in that context.
Submitting without wasting the evening
Have the boring things ready before you submit: a pricing page with real numbers, a trial or demo that works without a sales call, and a one-line description that survives being read out of context. Most SaaS directories copy your meta description straight into the listing, so fix that first and half the work is already done. Prepare a square logo on a transparent background and one screenshot of the product doing its job, not a dashboard full of placeholder data.
Common mistakes
Skipping the biggest directories in the category because the link is nofollow, which is the most expensive mistake on this page. Treating nofollow as a reason to put less effort into the listing. And assuming the attribute is permanent: several sites switch it on upgrade, and some have changed policy site-wide.
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. 2 approve quickly, Indie Hackers and AlternativeTo among them.
Questions people ask
How many are there, and what do they cost?
11 directories match on this page. 7 take a submission for nothing, 2 run a free tier with paid upgrades, and 2 charge for every listing.
Which should I submit to first?
By rating, Product Hunt (DR 91), Indie Hackers (DR 81) and AlternativeTo (DR 81). 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 does nofollow mean?
It is an attribute on a link telling search engines not to pass ranking signals through it. Introduced to fight comment spam, it is now standard on sites that accept open submissions and cannot vouch for every entry.
Is a nofollow link pointless?
No. It does not pass ranking signals directly, but it still sends visitors, still gets your name in front of people, and still appears in the link graph that other tools and models read. Pointless would be a dofollow link on a page nobody visits.
How do I tell if a link is dofollow or nofollow?
Open the page, view the source, find the link to your site and look for rel="nofollow" or rel="sponsored". A browser extension will highlight them all at once if you are checking a batch.
What is a SaaS directory?
An index of subscription software, organised so a buyer can compare several options against each other. Most include pricing, categories and integrations; the better ones add verified reviews and keep the entries current.
Are SaaS directories worth it for B2B?
Usually more than for consumer tools. B2B buyers research through comparison pages, and a directory listing puts you in that comparison at the point where the decision is being made rather than at the top of the funnel.
Do I need reviews before submitting?
No, but a listing with no reviews on a directory that shows them will sit below ones that have them. If the directory supports reviews, line up three or four customers to leave one in the week after your listing goes live.
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.