How to find similar platforms for your indie project

The short answer

A platform is similar to another when it sends the same kind of visitor, not when it has the same layout. So start from what the first platform did for you: the visitors it sent in the days after you posted, the link it left behind, and the feedback you got. Then look for platforms where the same thing happened to projects like yours.

Two instruments do most of the work. Our source data: each project page on Proof of Traction lists the channels and sites that sent its visitors, week by week, so the platforms that reach indie projects right now are visible rather than guessed. And a similar-sites tool for the general case: Similarweb's help page on Similar Sites describes a view that returns up to 40 domains similar to the analysed site in content, audience, keywords and referrals.

The list below is read from our board as the page loads: the largest listed projects by measured visitors, each with the source most of its visits came from. Open a project to see every channel and the sites behind it.

Step by step

1. Write down what the first platform gave you. Visitors, with the days they arrived. A link, and whether it was followed. Replies or sign-ups. If your project is listed with us, read it off your project page: Where visitors come from shows each channel's visits, and a click on a channel lists the sites behind it. A launch site appears there under its own host; Product Hunt has a channel of its own.
2. Look at where comparable projects get their visitors. Open the weekly market, pick three projects doing a job like yours, and read their sources. The sites you find there sent measured visitors to an indie project this week. That is a shortlist built from visits, not from votes or from a list someone else compiled.
3. Widen the list with a similar-sites tool. According to Similarweb's Knowledge Center, you go to Website Analysis, enter a website, and go to Similar Sites, and you can click +Compare to add up to 4 competitors. Run it on the platform that worked for you and on the sites from step 2.
4. Check each platform's terms before you submit. Price, waiting time, and what the link on your listing carries. We keep a comparison of launch platforms with prices and link types from our own catalogue and our own listings, and a guide to product directories for indie projects.
5. Measure what the new platform sends. With our script on your site, the days after you post show up on your project page, and the platform shows up as a source if it sent anyone. The next week's figure, compared with the launch week, tells you whether it was a spike or a platform worth keeping.

Common mistakes

• Judging a platform by its size. A large audience is not visitors to you. The only number that settles it is what arrived on your site, which is why we measure there.
• Counting launch day as the platform's steady value. Compare the following week. On our board, week-over-week growth is shown only once a project has a full previous week with at least 200 visitors, so one spike does not top the list.
• Copying someone else's platform list. It tells you where they posted, not what it sent them. Check the sources of projects like yours first.
• Forgetting the platforms that are not launch sites. In our data, Google, X, Reddit, Hacker News and AI assistants are channels like any other. The platform most similar to the one that worked for you may be a subreddit or a search engine, not another launch board.
• Submitting before you can measure. Without measurement you will never know what a platform sent, and you will keep paying attention to the ones that are loudest rather than the ones that deliver.

Where Proof of Traction fits

Proof of Traction is our platform. It ranks indie projects weekly by visitors measured on each maker's own site, shows week-over-week growth when a project has enough prior data, and displays each project's traffic sources, such as Google, X, Reddit, Hacker News and AI chats. If you browse it to find sites like one you like, every tile is a project with a one-line description and a measured number.

For makers, listing is free and includes a followed link to your site from your project page while our script keeps running there; we approve every project by hand. A site badge shows your visitor count. Read how the counting works, then submit your project.

Questions people ask

How do I find platforms similar to a website?

Use a similar-sites tool: Similarweb's help page describes entering a website under Website Analysis and opening Similar Sites, which returns up to 40 similar domains. For indie projects, the sources on our project pages show which sites actually sent visitors.

Which platforms send visitors to indie projects?

It differs by project and by week, which is why we show it per project rather than publish one list. The block above shows, for the largest listed projects in the week it names, the source most of their visits came from; each project page lists every channel and the sites behind it.

Is a platform with a followed link better than one that sends visitors?

They are different things. A followed link is a term you can check once; visitors are measured every week. Decide which one you are after before you submit, and read our launch platform comparison for the link terms we found.