Launch: where to post · Stage 4: ship and find users
Product Hunt alternatives for a vibe-coded app: venue rules, costs and what brought users
Product Hunt, Hacker News, nine subreddits and twelve launch sites each set their own rules on new accounts, AI-written posts and how often you can post. Here are those rules and prices with a source and date for each, and what builders said their 2026 launches brought.
Updated
Key takeaways
- Product Hunt is free to post on, from a personal account only. New accounts wait at least a week. Each product or root domain gets one launch every six months unless a relaunch request is approved (as of October 2026).
- A waitlist is a poor fit for the big venues: Product Hunt does not feature waitlists without immediate access, Show HN excludes landing and sign-up pages, and SaaSHub rejects waitlist pages. BetaList takes pre-launch products, and it is paid only.
- Show HN has been restricted for users new to Hacker News since March 2026. HN's guidelines ban generated text in posts and generated or AI-edited text in comments, and its moderator asks you not to use an LLM even to edit a Show HN post.
- Reddit caps are explicit. r/SaaS allows one self-promotion every 60 days, and r/indiehackers one Self Promotion post per product. r/startups allows it only in its share thread, and r/webdev only on Showoff Saturday, never for commercial products.
- Launch sites run from free queues (a Uneed free date can be up to 5 months out) to $497 (Futurepedia). Free tiers often ask for a badge or a link back, and BetaList and SaaSHub reject free subdomains such as vercel.app.
Launch venues at a glance
The venues builders ask about most. Prices in USD, as of October 2026. Detail for each group, and eight more launch sites, follow below.
| Venue | Your own app allowed? | How often | Cost | Watch for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Product Hunt | Yes, from a personal account | One launch per product or root domain every 6 months | Free | Waitlists, templates and directories are not featured. No upvote requests. |
| Hacker News (Show HN) | Yes, if people can try it now | A new version only if it is significantly different, once or twice a year at most | Free | Restricted for new users since March 2026. Write posts and comments yourself, without an LLM. |
| Depends on the sub: yes in r/SideProject, never as commercial promotion in r/webdev | r/SaaS once per 60 days; r/indiehackers once | Free | Several subs remove AI-written posts. Dated rules are in the Reddit table. | |
| Indie Hackers (the site) | Yes: a product page and Build Board updates, with an account | No written cap found | Free; advertising is sold separately | No posting-rules page exists. On 2026-10-13 the top 5 Build Board entries were all launch directories. |
| BetaList | Pre-launch or recently launched only | A pre-launch feature, then once more at launch | Paid only; the price appears at checkout | Your own domain is required. |
| Uneed | Yes | Relaunching costs $15 | Free queue, or $14.99 or $29.99 | A free launch date can be up to 5 months out. |
| DevHunt | Developer tools only | Weekly batches | Free listing, $19 launch or $49 boosted | Free listings get a nofollow link. |
| AlternativeTo | Yes, as an app entry | One entry per app | Free, or $5 for a priority review | The free queue holds several thousand apps. |
Prices checked on vendor pages 2026-10-13. Rules were read on each venue's own page the same day. The Reddit row comes from dated third-party captures and moderator posts. Indie Hackers blocks automated reads and was read in a browser on 2026-10-13.[1], [2], [3], [4], [6], [8], [9], [10], [12], [13], [14], [15], [16], [24], [27], [28], [29], [30], [31], [35], [41]
Which venues fit your app
Our call (editorial), for a solo builder using AI coding tools with no audience. Each cell follows a venue rule cited on this page.
| If your app is | Start with | Skip or wait | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Only a waitlist or a landing page | BetaList (paid) and r/alphaandbetausers to find testers | Product Hunt, Show HN and SaaSHub | Product Hunt does not feature waitlists, Show HN excludes landing and sign-up pages, and SaaSHub rejects waitlist pages. BetaList takes products nobody can use yet. |
| A developer tool, API or CLI | DevHunt, r/webdev on Showoff Saturday, and Show HN once you have a history on HN | r/webdev on any other day, and any commercial pitch there | DevHunt is for developer tools only. r/webdev never allows commercial promotion. Show HN is restricted for new users. |
| An AI tool | There's An AI For That, Futurepedia (if the budget allows) and Product Hunt | r/SaaS, if the tool writes or automates promotional posts, DMs or ad content | r/SaaS bans promotion of those tools outright. |
| An app you built with Lovable, Bolt, Cursor or Claude Code, with a build story to tell | r/vibecoding with a write-up of how you built it, r/SideProject and r/IMadeThis | r/vibecoding if the product is a tool for vibe coders and the sub's mods have not approved it on X | r/vibecoding removes bare links and asks how you built it. Tools for vibe coders need mod approval first. |
| A browser extension | Product Hunt, r/SideProject and r/IMadeThis | BetaList, until the extension has a landing page on its own domain | Extensions are not on Product Hunt's not-featured list. BetaList requires your own domain and rejects direct links to app stores such as Google Play. Check the Chrome Web Store for rivals by hand: Olune has no Web Store signal. |
| Software for buyers who are not builders, such as landlords or clinics | AlternativeTo and SaaSHub, where buyers search by competitor name, then the places those buyers already talk | Builder launch sites as your main channel | Builder launch sites mostly reach other builders, per the 2026 threads on First users (editorial reading, self-reported). |
Editorial. The rules behind each cell were checked on 2026-10-13; the Reddit rules come from dated captures.[4], [8], [9], [13], [14], [20], [21], [24], [25], [26], [29], [30], [35], [39], [40], [41], [42]
Product Hunt in 2026
Product Hunt is the venue most launch lists start with, and several of its rules changed in 2026. As of October 2026:
- Free to post. Product Hunt says it is free for everyone to use. Advertising is sold separately from the leaderboard.[1]
- You can hunt it yourself. Product Hunt says 79% of featured posts came from makers who hunted their own product (its own figure). You do not need a well-known hunter.[2]
- One launch every six months. Wait at least six months between launches of the same product or root domain. An earlier relaunch needs an approved request and a substantial change, such as a new mobile app; a new UI or new pricing does not count (help article dated 2026-07-07).[6]
- What Product Hunt will not feature. Waitlisted products without immediate access, directories and lists, templates and boilerplates, courses, services and stores. Featuring weighs usefulness, novelty, craft and creativity, and Product Hunt says engagement is "not the sole factor".[4]
- What 2026 launches brought (self-reported). In an August 2026 r/SaaS thread, one founder reported 110 upvotes on Product Hunt, and 0 upvotes after paying $30 to skip the Uneed queue; another got about 11 comments that looked fake and no visits. In a February 2026 thread, a team reported about 200 signups and treated the launch as PR. Several replies said these sites mostly reach other founders, so they pay off only when your buyers are builders. More launches from 2026 are in the thread table on First users.[45], [46]
- Our call (editorial). Launch once the app works without a waitlist and you can answer comments through the day. You get one launch per product every six months, so spend it on a version you have evidence people want.
Hacker News and Show HN
Hacker News is free to post on. Its Show HN rules are among the strictest here (our reading), as of October 2026:
- What counts as a Show HN. Something you made that people can try now. Blog posts, sign-up pages, newsletters and lists are not Show HNs, and HN says to make a regular submission for those instead. HN also says not to post landing pages or fundraisers.[8]
- Let people try it without hurdles. HN asks for something easy to try, "ideally without barriers such as signups or emails". An app that needs an account first works against that.[8]
- No quick one-offs. The project should be non-trivial, and the Show HN page says "Don't post quickly-generated one-offs".[8]
- Restricted for new users since March 2026. On 2026-03-08 HN's moderator wrote that HN would restrict Show HNs for a while. On 2026-10-13 the notice still said Show HNs are temporarily restricted after a flood of new users, and asked newcomers to become good contributors first. No karma or account-age threshold is published.[11], [9]
- Our call (editorial). New to HN, or your app needs a sign-in before it does anything? Skip Show HN for now and comment on other threads first.
A launch post you write yourself
Built from the HN moderator's Show HN tips and the Reddit rules on this page. Write it by hand: HN bans generated text in posts, and several subs remove AI-written posts.
- How you built it. Tools, process and one build lesson. r/vibecoding removes project posts without this.[20]
Six months between Product Hunt launches. Check demand before you spend one.
Product Hunt gives each product one launch every six months, and Show HN takes a new version once or twice a year. Before you spend either, describe your app and who it is for. Olune scores it free. After a free sign-in, it researches search demand, public complaints in Reddit threads found through Google and in Hacker News search, and competitors from Google and Product Hunt. You get Cook it, Sleep on it or Kill it, with the reasoning. 3 a day, no card. Olune does not post anywhere or bring you users.
Reddit, by subreddit
Reddit's rules pages sent our automated reads to a login page on 2026-10-13, so each row below is labelled: rules as captured by Rankhog (a third-party tracker) on the date shown, plus moderator posts read through Reddit's RSS feed where they exist. Rules change. Open the sub's rules in your browser before posting.
| Subreddit | Members | Your own project allowed? | How often | Rule source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| r/SideProject | About 855,000 | Yes. No sub-specific rules were shown, so Reddit-wide rules apply. | Not stated | Rules as captured by Rankhog on 2026-09-29; check the sub before posting. |
| r/SaaS | About 815,000 | Occasionally: at most 1 mention or 3 links every 60 days, with your affiliation disclosed. No AI-generated text, no shortened or tracking links, no posts that only collect emails. Tools that generate or automate promotional posts, DMs or ad content may not be promoted at all. | Once per 60 days, counting posts, comment plugs and links | Moderator post of 2026-04-14; rules as captured by Rankhog on 2026-09-29; check the sub before posting. |
| r/indiehackers | About 195,000 | Once, with the Self Promotion flair, for feedback and critique. Revenue or MRR claims need proof. New Reddit accounts must wait and use modmail. | 1 time | Moderator post of 2026-07-18; rules as captured by Rankhog on 2026-09-29; check the sub before posting. |
| r/microsaas | About 219,000 | Only with value: the backstory, stack, revenue or a lesson. A moderator wrote that self-promotion breaks the rules and is tolerated only inside a useful post, or for a fully free product. Links without context are removed. | Not stated; repeated link-dropping is removed | Moderator post of 2026-06-02; rules as captured by Rankhog on 2026-09-29; check the sub before posting. |
| r/vibecoding | About 361,000 | An app you built: yes, if the post explains how you built it (tools, process, insights). A tool for vibe coders: mod approval through the sub's X community first. Fully AI-generated posts are removed. | Tools: one intro post after approval, then major updates only | Rules as captured by Rankhog on 2026-09-18; moderator post of 2025-08-13; check the sub before posting. |
| r/startups | About 2.13 million | No, except as a comment in the stickied share-your-startup thread. Other posts discuss methods without naming or linking your project, with at least 250 characters. Feedback requests, including surveys and polls, go in its feedback thread or another weekly thread. | Each share thread. The rules say monthly; the newest thread, titled quarterly, went up on 2026-10-11 | Rules as captured by Rankhog on 2026-09-29; share thread of 2026-10-11; check the sub before posting. |
| r/webdev | About 3.31 million | Never as commercial promotion. Projects only on Showoff Saturday, with the right flair and a focus on technical details. LLM-generated posts and comments are removed. | Saturdays only | Rules as captured by Rankhog on 2026-09-29; check the sub before posting. |
| r/alphaandbetausers | About 46,000 | No sub-specific rules were shown. Rankhog files it under product feedback and launch validation. | Not stated | Rules as captured by Rankhog on 2026-09-26; check the sub before posting. |
| r/IMadeThis | About 45,000 | No sub-specific rules were shown, so Reddit-wide rules apply. | Not stated | Rules as captured by Rankhog on 2026-09-18; check the sub before posting. |
Member counts are Rankhog's, from the capture dates shown. Rankhog pages and the r/SaaS and r/microsaas moderator posts were re-read on 2026-10-13.[13], [14], [15], [16], [17], [18], [19], [20], [21], [22], [23], [24], [25], [26]
Launch sites and directories, and what they cost
Twelve sites that come up when builders ask for Product Hunt alternatives. Prices in USD, as of October 2026, read on each site's own pricing or rules page.
| Site | Who it accepts | Free option | Paid options | Rules worth knowing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BetaList | Pre-launch, private beta or recently launched startups | None: all submissions are paid | Plans and prices appear only at the end of the submission form | Needs your own domain: free hosting subdomains such as vercel.app and netlify.app are rejected, as are templates and links straight to an app store. Full refund if not selected. |
| Uneed | No category limit stated | Join the line: a date up to 5 months out; an upvote score of 10 on the day keeps it published, 20 earns a dofollow link | Fast-track $14.99 (a slot in about 14 days); Skip the line $29.99 (pick your date); relaunch $15 | Fast-track does not let you pick the date; only Skip the line does. Fast-track's dofollow link also needs an upvote score of 10. |
| Microlaunch | No category limit stated | None shown: the submit link opens the paid plans | Launch Pro $49, or $39 with the week's code; Launch Plus $99, or $79 with a code | Relaunches are for major feature releases only. Launch Pro's code was shown as this week's 20% offer, with no end date. |
| Peerlist Launchpad | Individual profiles only, never company profiles | No fee is mentioned on its help pages | None seen | The weekly window opens on Mondays. Zero tolerance for messaging strangers for upvotes. |
| Smol Launch | No category limit stated | One free launch: 50 verified slots a week; its badge on your site, or the link is nofollow. The next free week was December 7, with 350 makers ahead, when checked | Premium $19; Premium+ $39 | Later launches of the same product need a paid tier. |
| TinyLaunch | No category limit stated | Standard queue; a backlink only for the top 3 | Premium $39 per launch | Premium skips the queue. |
| Fazier | No category limit stated | Basic: listed within 30 days, with a backlink to Fazier required | Lite $29 and Premium $49, shown as discounts from $39 and $69; Super shown as both $99 and $139 | Paid tiers drop the backlink requirement. |
| DevHunt | Developer tools only: APIs, CLIs, open source, AI agents, MCP servers | A permanent listing with a nofollow link | Launch $19 (pick the week, newsletter, dofollow link); Boosted $49 | Weekly vote; the newsletter goes out on Tuesdays. |
| There's An AI For That | AI tools, MCPs and GPTs | One tool listed free from each monthly thread on X | $49 one-time review fee; $437 Maximum Exposure | Manual review, 1 to 2 days on average. Refund if not published. |
| Futurepedia | AI tools | None described | $497 one-time verified listing | Full refund if the editors deny it. |
| AlternativeTo | Any app, listed as an alternative to others | Free after email verification; the queue holds several thousand apps, with no date given | $5 priority review, usually 1 to 2 business days; it does not buy approval | No links or contact details in descriptions. No advertising from user profiles. |
| SaaSHub | Released software in English | Free | Paid featuring exists; prices are not on the page | No waitlist pages, unreleased products, free subdomains or agencies. List competitors or the product goes to the back of the queue. |
Prices checked on vendor pages 2026-10-13. Vendors' backlink-strength and click estimates are left out: they are the sellers' own claims.[29], [30], [31], [32], [33], [34], [35], [36], [37], [38], [39], [40], [41], [42]
What the free tiers ask in return
A free listing usually costs something else. Check these before you submit, as of October 2026:
- Nofollow links by default. DevHunt free listings carry a nofollow link; the $19 launch makes it dofollow.[35]
- Upsells to bulk submission. Uneed sells submission to 100+ directories for $249, and Smol Launch's packages start at $99 for 30+ directories. In the 2026 builder threads we read, the one builder who called directories a steady source of visits used a few niche lists that matched what buyers search (editorial reading, self-reported).[31], [37], [47]
A launch order that fits the caps
Our call (editorial). The free queues are slow and the best venues are capped, so the order matters more than the day.
Before you post, and what the launches brought
The checks to run before any of these venues, from your own domain to account history and a post you wrote yourself, are on Before you launch.
In the 20 builder threads from 2026 we read, first users more often came from one-to-one conversations in a narrow niche, from search, and from niche directories where buyers browse. Builder launch sites mostly reached other builders. The thread-by-thread table is on First users. This is our reading of those threads (editorial), and every number in them is self-reported.
For the plan around launch day, from the pre-launch list to the follow-up, see How to launch a product.
Write the launch post after the verdict
The best venues on this page cap how often you can post, and none of them tells you whether anyone wants the app. Describe what it does and who it is for. Olune scores it free. After a free sign-in, it checks search demand, public complaints found through Google, and competitors, including a Product Hunt search. You get Cook it, Sleep on it or Kill it, with the reasoning. The analysis is AI-assisted and can vary between runs. Kill is a normal answer, with 3 to 5 pivots instead of a Build Kit.
Common questions
Is Product Hunt still worth it for an app with no audience?
Our call (editorial): yes, once, if your buyers are builders or you treat the day as PR. Builders in 2026 threads say it mostly reaches other builders, and reported results ran from about 200 signups to comments and no visits (self-reported, r/SaaS). Each product gets one launch every six months, so use it on a version people can try straight away.
Is Product Hunt free, and how much does it cost?
Posting a launch on Product Hunt is free, as of October 2026. It sells advertising separately from the leaderboard, and its rules ban paying anyone to hunt your product, send it traffic or reward upvotes.
What are the best Product Hunt alternatives?
It depends on what you built: DevHunt for developer tools, There's An AI For That or Futurepedia for AI tools, BetaList for a product that is not public yet, and AlternativeTo or SaaSHub for a released app people find by competitor name. Uneed, Peerlist, Microlaunch, Smol Launch, TinyLaunch and Fazier run Product-Hunt-style boards; see the directory table.
Can I post my app on Hacker News?
You can submit it as a regular story, but Show HN has been restricted for users new to Hacker News since March 2026. Show HN also expects something people can try now, ideally without signing up. HN bans generated text in posts, and generated or AI-edited text in comments.
Which subreddits allow self-promotion?
r/SideProject, r/IMadeThis and r/alphaandbetausers showed no sub-specific rules against it when Rankhog captured them in September 2026. r/SaaS allows it once every 60 days, r/indiehackers once with the Self Promotion flair, r/vibecoding only with a build write-up, r/startups only in its share thread, and r/webdev never for commercial products. Check each sub's rules before posting.
Do launch directories help SEO?
Nothing we read shows that directory listings improve rankings; the backlink claims come from the sites selling them. Several free tiers give a nofollow link or ask you to link back, and a Uneed free launch needs an upvote score of 20 for a dofollow link. Pick directories your buyers actually browse.
Where should I post my side project first?
Post it first where sharing your own project is the point: r/SideProject, r/IMadeThis, r/alphaandbetausers for testers, and r/vibecoding with a build write-up. Join the slow free queues (Uneed, Smol Launch, AlternativeTo) the same week, and save Product Hunt and r/indiehackers for when the app works without a waitlist. This order is our call (editorial).
Sources
Each number in brackets on this page points here. Prices and limits change; the date is when we read the page.
- [1]Product Hunt, How Product Hunt works · accessed
- [2]Product Hunt, Before launch (launch guide) · accessed
- [3]Product Hunt Help, Community guidelines (2025-04-11) · accessed
- [4]Product Hunt Help, Product Hunt featuring guidelines (2026-03-10) · accessed
- [5]Product Hunt Help, Daily hunt limits (2026-04-03) · accessed
- [6]Product Hunt Help, Can I relaunch my product? (help article dated 2026-07-07) · accessed
- [7]Product Hunt Help, How to schedule a post (2026-02-02) · accessed
- [8]Hacker News, Show HN guidelines · accessed
- [9]Hacker News, Update re Show HNs (restriction notice) · accessed
- [10]Hacker News, Guidelines · accessed
- [11]Hacker News, moderator comment on restricting Show HNs (2026-03-08) · accessed
- [12]Hacker News, moderator tips for Show HN posts (edited 2026-03-28) · accessed
- [13]Rankhog, r/SideProject rules and stats (captured 2026-09-29) · accessed
- [14]Rankhog, r/SaaS rules and stats (captured 2026-09-29) · accessed
- [15]r/SaaS, New rule against self-promo (moderator post, 2026-04-14) · accessed
- [16]Rankhog, r/indiehackers rules and stats (captured 2026-09-29) · accessed
- [17]r/indiehackers, Community reorganisation and new posting guidelines (moderator post, 2026-07-18) · accessed
- [18]Rankhog, r/microsaas rules and stats (captured 2026-09-29) · accessed
- [19]r/microsaas, Addressing self-promotion in this sub (moderator post, 2026-06-02) · accessed
- [20]Rankhog, r/vibecoding rules and stats (captured 2026-09-18) · accessed
- [21]r/vibecoding, rules update on self-promotion (moderator post, 2025-08-13) · accessed
- [22]Rankhog, r/startups rules and stats (captured 2026-09-29) · accessed
- [23]r/startups, Share your startup, quarterly post (2026-10-11) · accessed
- [24]Rankhog, r/webdev rules and stats (captured 2026-09-29) · accessed
- [25]Rankhog, r/alphaandbetausers rules and stats (captured 2026-09-26) · accessed
- [26]Rankhog, r/IMadeThis rules and stats (captured 2026-09-18) · accessed
- [27]Indie Hackers, homepage, about page and terms (read in a browser) · accessed
- [28]Indie Hackers, Products and Build Board (read in a browser) · accessed
- [29]BetaList, FAQ · accessed
- [30]BetaList, Criteria · accessed
- [31]Uneed, Pricing · accessed
- [32]Microlaunch, Premium · accessed
- [33]Peerlist Help, Launchpad guidelines and FAQs · accessed
- [34]Peerlist Help, Launchpad introduction · accessed
- [35]DevHunt, FAQ · accessed
- [36]Fazier, Submit · accessed
- [37]Smol Launch, Pricing · accessed
- [38]TinyLaunch, Pricing · accessed
- [39]There's An AI For That, Launch · accessed
- [40]Futurepedia, Verified enhanced listing · accessed
- [41]AlternativeTo, FAQ · accessed
- [42]SaaSHub, Submit your product · accessed
- [43]Lovable, How to launch and get traffic to an app built with Lovable (2025-01-31) · accessed
- [44]launched.lovable.dev (returned HTTP 301 to lovable.dev when checked) · accessed
- [45]r/SaaS, Founders who launched on Product Hunt, MicroLaunch, Uneed: was it worth it? (2026-08-08) · accessed
- [46]r/SaaS, Has anyone actually had a positive experience with Product Hunt? (2026-02-15) · accessed
- [47]Indie Hackers, 7 months of a free to-do app: what worked so far (2026-10-07) · accessed
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