Best launch platforms for 2027
We make Proof of Traction (proofoftraction.com), a weekly leaderboard that ranks indie projects by visitors measured on their own sites. Below, the best launch platforms for 2027 are ranked by the cheapest route to a followed website link in our checks, then by Domain Rating by Ahrefs. Fazier and Twelve Tools tie first under that rule; both require a backlink on the free route. Our board shows week-over-week growth when enough prior data exists.
Last updated: .
The short answer
Fazier and Twelve Tools tie first: both have a free followed-link route and a rating of 84, Domain Rating by Ahrefs, read 26 October 2026. Both free routes require a homepage or footer backlink. If you won't add one, F6S ranks third and has no such requirement in our catalogue.
Disclosure: Proof of Traction is our platform. Choose it for an ongoing visitor-based leaderboard, not a paid launch-day slot. Read how our measurements work before submitting.
Ranked by the cheapest route to a followed website link in our checks, then by Domain Rating by Ahrefs. Proof of Traction is our platform and is listed separately, not ranked. Entries without a checked followed-link route at an identified price follow the ranking, marked not ranked. Prices are as recorded in October 2026, so check each checkout before paying.
Choose the kind of discovery you want
- If you want a search-focused launch, Codehype pitches discovery through Google Search and AI services. It also says its community has 170,000+ people. That is Codehype's audience claim, not a visitor count for your launch.
- For software, use F6S's software-listing route rather than its company-profile route. Our launch catalogue records these as separate page types. For a product already released, SaaSHub accepts product submissions and rejects unreleased products.
- If homepage placement matters to your launch, our catalogue records seven featured days with LaunchAF's Alpha plan. We verified a followed link on our LaunchAF listing on 28 October 2026. Our catalogue records one homepage day with Pitchwall's free route, after at least a 30-day wait. Choose a route whose timing fits your release rather than comparing the backlink alone.
Our own platform suits makers who want visitors measured after launch, week after week. Proof of Traction shows traffic sources, including Google, X, Reddit, Hacker News and AI chats. Use that ongoing view if measured visits matter more to you than a scheduled launch placement.
Compare the launch options
Prices and link observations come from our own launch catalogue, researched on 27 October 2026, unless an entry links an official source. LaunchAF's and Launch Llama's listing checks were updated on 28 October 2026. Each platform name below links to its submission page or site so you can check the current terms. A submitted project is not yet a live listing, and a live listing does not always carry a working website link.
| Platform | Price or plan | Key feature | Who it suits | Website link |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Fazier | Free with embed badge; Lite $29; Premium $49; Super $99 | Free listing within 30 days; homepage or footer backlink required | Makers who can wait and keep the required backlink | Followed on the 80 listings in our check; free route requires a backlink |
| 1. Twelve Tools | Free; Pro $36 | Free followed link with a reciprocal homepage or footer link | Makers willing to add the required backlink | Followed; verified on our own listing |
| 3. F6S | Free software listing | A software listing distinct from a company profile | Software makers choosing the software submission route | Software listing: followed; company profile: nofollow |
| 4. SaaSHub | Free | Submissions for released products | Makers with a product that is already released | Mixed in our catalogue |
| 5. Uneed | Free queue; Fast-track $14.99; Skip the line $39.99 | Free waiting line or paid queue options | Makers who can wait or want to pay for a shorter queue | Free followed link requires an upvote score of 20 |
| 6. Launch Llama | Free; Instant Launch $39; Featured $49/week or $99/month | Free queue or paid instant launch | Makers comparing a wait with paid placement | Conditional on badge, upvotes or a paid plan |
| 7. DanielLaunches | Standard free; Pro $9.99 one-time | Permanent launch page; free plan requires a badge | Makers happy to keep a badge, or pay to remove that condition | Followed while the required badge stays on the free plan |
| 8. LaunchAF | Free; Alpha $19; Beta $39; Gamma $99; Zeus $199 | Free badge-backed listing or paid same-day Alpha launch | Makers choosing between a free queue and a faster paid launch | Free: badge required; paid: followed without a badge |
| Not ranked: Product Hunt | Free launch; ads sold separately | A launch submission separate from advertising | Makers seeking a free launch rather than a paid ad | ugc |
| Not ranked: Pitchwall (formerly BetaPage) | Free; Pro $49; Premium $99 | Free queue, shorter paid queue or a chosen launch date | Makers comparing launch scheduling options | Mixed; mostly nofollow in our sample |
| Not ranked: BetaList | Paid submission; full refund if not selected | Submission with a selection step | Makers willing to pay for a reviewed submission | Followed, through a 301 redirect |
| Not ranked: StartupBase | Free; Launch Now $39; Boost $99; Ultimate $499 | Free submission or paid launch plans | Makers comparing free and paid listing routes | Mixed; mostly followed in our catalogue |
| Not ranked: Codehype | Free to launch | Startup launches positioned around search and AI discovery | Makers looking for a search-focused launch listing | Not checked; Codehype says it gives a quality backlink |
| Our platform, not ranked: Proof of Traction | Free listing | Weekly ranking by visitors measured on each maker's own site | Indie makers who want an ongoing visitor-based listing | Followed while our snippet stays on your site |
1. Fazier
Our catalogue records free listing within 30 days; a homepage or footer backlink is required. The free route uses an embed badge. On all 80 listings we read, the Visit link carried rel="noreferrer" without nofollow. Our own project has been submitted.
84 · Domain Rating by Ahrefs, read 26 October 2026.
1. Twelve Tools
Our catalogue records a free route and Pro at $36. We verified the followed link on our own listing on 27 October 2026.
Twelve Tools' submission page offers a free dofollow link and requires a backlink on your homepage or footer. Choose the free route only if you will keep that reciprocal link.
84 · Domain Rating by Ahrefs, read 26 October 2026.
3. F6S
Use the add-software route for the listing recorded here. Our catalogue found rel="noopener" on a software listing's Visit website link, but rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" on a company profile. These are separate page types. We have submitted our software listing.
83 · Domain Rating by Ahrefs, read 26 October 2026.
4. SaaSHub
Our catalogue records free submission. In the link check, one listing's Visit website link had rel="nofollow", while some smaller listings had an empty rel attribute, so not every listing gives a followed link.
SaaSHub's submission rules say products that have not been released will be rejected immediately, so submit after release.
81 · Domain Rating by Ahrefs, read 26 October 2026.
5. Uneed
Our catalogue records at least 30 days in the free queue, extending to about five months. In the link sample, 24 of 27 listings used rel="noopener" and three were nofollow.
Uneed's pricing page lists Skip the line at $39.99 and Fast-track at $14.99. The free queue requires an upvote score of 20 for a followed link. Fast-track requires a score of 10; Skip the line guarantees the followed link.
76 · Domain Rating by Ahrefs, read 26 October 2026.
6. Launch Llama
Our catalogue records about four weeks for one free tool. A free link stays nofollow until the badge check passes or the listing reaches 50 upvotes. Below that threshold, removing the badge can make it nofollow again. Instant Launch and Featured include a permanent followed link. We verified a followed link on our own listing on 28 October 2026.
According to Launch Llama, our page is an Instant Launch listing. The free route's badge and upvote conditions are separate from our paid-plan listing check.
74 · Domain Rating by Ahrefs, read 26 October 2026.
Our listing, checked 28 October 2026: followed link verified.
7. DanielLaunches
Our catalogue records a permanent launch page and two backlinks on Standard: DanielLaunches and VerifiedDR. Removing the badge takes a free listing and its backlinks offline. Pro removes the badge requirement and offers one of four featured spots, with no review queue on launch day. We have submitted our project.
63 · Domain Rating by Ahrefs, read 27 October 2026.
8. LaunchAF
Our catalogue records a usual wait of 30+ days for the free plan. Alpha is a one-time $19 payment for a launch today and seven days featured. The 22 homepage listings we read had followed Visit website links. Sponsor links use rel="sponsored". An older free listing without the required badge was nofollow, so links on the site are not all equal. We verified a followed link on our own listing on 28 October 2026.
57 · Domain Rating by Ahrefs, read 26 October 2026.
Our listing, checked 28 October 2026: followed link verified.
Not ranked: Product Hunt
Our catalogue records no paid launch option: advertising is sold separately. The recorded website link used rel="noreferrer noopener ugc" and a ?ref=producthunt parameter.
91 · Domain Rating by Ahrefs, read 26 October 2026.
Not ranked: Pitchwall (formerly BetaPage)
Our catalogue records at least a 30-day wait and one day on the homepage for free submissions. Pro has a two-week wait; Premium lets you choose your date. The plans promise a dofollow backlink, but 10 of the 11 listings we read linked through /out/<site> with rel="noopener nofollow". One linked directly with rel="noopener".
78 · Domain Rating by Ahrefs, read 26 October 2026.
Not ranked: BetaList
Our catalogue records paid-only submission, with the price shown at checkout. The Visit Site button goes through a 301 redirect.
77 · Domain Rating by Ahrefs, read 26 October 2026.
Not ranked: StartupBase
Our catalogue records mostly rel="noopener noreferrer" website links, with one nofollow link observed. Paid plans include a dofollow link. The catalogue also records an Outrank offer starting at $15, separate from the launch plans in the table.
75 · Domain Rating by Ahrefs, read 26 October 2026.
Not ranked: Codehype
Codehype says it is free to launch and offers a quality backlink. Its homepage pitches launches as a way to be found on Google Search and AI services such as Gemini, Claude, ChatGPT, Perplexity and Grok.
According to Codehype, its community has 170,000+ people.
Our platform, not ranked: Proof of Traction
Proof of Traction is our platform. It ranks indie projects weekly using visitors measured on each maker's own site. It shows week-over-week growth when enough prior data exists, and traffic sources such as Google, X, Reddit, Hacker News and AI chats. A free listing includes a followed link to the maker's site. That followed link stays only while our snippet keeps running on the maker's site. The visitor badge shows the project's visitor count. It is an ongoing measured leaderboard, not a way to buy a launch-day position. Listing requires installing the snippet and receiving approval.
Browse the weekly leaderboard, see the visitor badge or submit your project.
How we picked
We used our first-party launch catalogue alongside the official submission pages linked above. The shortlist covers launch submissions and software listings. For each, we compared the free route with paid plans and recorded the conditions attached to the website link. We also compared the discovery each route offers: a software listing, scheduled homepage placement, search-focused discovery or an ongoing measured leaderboard.
Ranked by the cheapest route to a followed website link in our checks, then by Domain Rating by Ahrefs. Every ranked entry has a free followed-link route recorded in our catalogue; higher ratings break the price tie. Fazier and Twelve Tools share first place because their price and rating match. Conditions still apply: badges, reciprocal links and vote thresholds are shown, not treated as cash fees. SaaSHub's free listings had mixed link attributes, so its position is not a promise of a followed link on every listing.
The remaining options are not ranked. Product Hunt's checked link was marked ugc, and Codehype's followed-link status was not checked. BetaList's price is shown at checkout. For Pitchwall and StartupBase, our mixed link samples did not identify the plan attached to each observed link. These entries follow the ranking in descending rating order, with Codehype last because it has no recorded rating. Proof of Traction is our platform and is listed separately, not ranked.
The catalogue also includes Reddit r/SideProject, Crunchbase, Wellfound, AlternativeTo, Peerlist Launchpad, There's An AI For That and StackShare. We left out Show HN, Indie Hackers and Reddit r/SideProject because this comparison focuses on launch submission plans and software listings, not community-post routes. We excluded Peerlist Launchpad because our catalogue records a backlink only for the weekly top five and does not include a readable listing-page link check. The other catalogue entries remain outside this launch and software-listing shortlist.
Link labels describe what our checks found. “Followed” means the observed link did not carry nofollow; “ugc” is the recorded user-generated-content attribute. Mixed results stay mixed: F6S software listings and company profiles differ, and Pitchwall's plan promise differed from most links we read. A followed link is not evidence that a launch will bring visitors.
Each domain rating is labelled Domain Rating by Ahrefs with its reading date, and we do not use it to predict a launch result. Our own listings give narrower evidence: Twelve Tools had a followed link on 27 October 2026 and LaunchAF had one on 28 October 2026. At Launch Llama, we verified a followed link on our own listing on 28 October 2026.
Questions before you submit
Which free platforms require a badge or backlink?
Twelve Tools requires a homepage or footer backlink. Our catalogue also records that requirement for Fazier, whose free route uses an embed badge. It records badge requirements for the free plans at DanielLaunches and LaunchAF. At Launch Llama, a badge is one route to a followed link; reaching 50 upvotes is another. On our own platform, Proof of Traction, the followed link stays only while our snippet keeps running on your site.
Can I submit before the product is released?
Not to SaaSHub: its submission page says unreleased products are rejected immediately. For a separate watchlist, browse our launching-soon projects page.
Does submitting mean my website link is live?
No. Our catalogue records Fazier, F6S and DanielLaunches as submitted, not link-verified. At Launch Llama, we verified a followed link on our own listing on 28 October 2026. Check the published page itself, not the submission receipt.
More comparisons: Product Hunt alternatives for makers · Launching Next alternatives