Free backlink sites list: 1,964 places to get a link
A maintained list of 1,964 legitimate backlink sites: directories, profile creation sites, guest posting sites, launch platforms, registries and marketplaces. 1,628 are free or have a free tier, 44 usually give a dofollow link, and 781 have an estimated DA of 70 or more. Every row shows authority, link type, cost and effort, and links straight to the submit page.
- 1,964
- Opportunities
- 1,628
- Free or freemium
- 781
- Est. DA 70+
- 208
- Quick wins
All filters2
The table is wider than the screen — swipe it sideways for cost, effort and the preparation notes.
| # | Impact (sorted) | Site — sort by this | Est. DA — sort by this | Link | Domain | Type | Cost | Effort — sort by this | Priority | Status | What to prepare | Rules / caveat | Checked | Actions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 88 | FOSS United Grants | 45 | Link type unknown | fossunited.org | Other opportunities | Paid | Moderate | Do first | Live, conditional | Propose a genuinely open-source, privacy-preserving your tool component with a public roadmap, Indian community benefit, budget, milestones, and maintenance plan. | Funding is for FOSS creators, maintainers, projects, and communities in India; a closed-source commercial site or a marketing-only proposal is not eligible. | 2026-08-03 | Open FOSS United Grants submit page (new tab)FOSS United Grants details |
| 2 | 74 | Civic Tech Field Guide | 40 | Link type unknown | civictech.guide | Other opportunities | Paid | Moderate | High | Verified live | Submit only your tool tools with a clear civic or public-interest use case, using the official project name, URL, one-sentence description, accurate category, and contact email. | The project must genuinely fit civic technology or an adjacent public-interest field. Submissions enter a moderation queue; quote third-party text only with attribution and do not treat the form as a generic SaaS directory. | 2026-08-03 | Open Civic Tech Field Guide submit page (new tab)Civic Tech Field Guide details |
| 3 | 74 | IAAP | 45 | Link type unknown | accessibilityassociation.org | Other opportunities | Paid | Moderate | High | Live, conditional | Enroll an eligible your tool entity as a small-organization Associate Corporate member and opt into the directory. | Approval and membership terms apply; strong fit requires genuine accessibility practice and participation. | 2026-08-04 | Open IAAP submit page (new tab)IAAP details |
| 4 | 74 | MyData Global | 45 | Link type unknown | mydata.org | Other opportunities | Paid | Moderate | High | Live, conditional | Join as an eligible small business and opt in to publication of your tool organization name and profile. | Strong fit only if AltFTool commits to human-centric data-rights principles; not for backlink-only membership. | 2026-08-04 | Open MyData Global submit page (new tab)MyData Global details |
| 5 | 58 | Intigriti Public Programs | 65 | Nofollow | intigriti.com | Other opportunities | Paid | Quick | Medium | Verified live | Start privately, mature the process, then publish an your tool program indexed in Intigriti's public directory. | Define exact scope, rewards, exclusions, researcher rules, triage capacity, and remediation SLAs. | Official Intigriti bug-bounty program documentation checked 2026-08-07 | Open Intigriti Public Programs submit page (new tab)Intigriti Public Programs details |
| 6 | 56 | Digital Public Goods Alliance | 55 | Link type unknown | digitalpublicgoods.net | Other opportunities | Paid | Moderate | Medium | Verified live | After your tool has a genuinely open-source, well-documented public-interest component, complete the eligibility assessment and nominate that specific component. | High bar: open licensing, ownership, documentation, platform independence, standards, privacy, security, non-PII handling, lawful content, and Sustainable Development Goal relevance must all be evidenced. Nomination is not guaranteed recognition. | 2026-08-03 | Open Digital Public Goods Alliance submit page (new tab)Digital Public Goods Alliance details |
| 7 | 56 | Dunked | 50 | Link type unknown | dunked.com | Other opportunities | Paid | Moderate | Medium | Live, conditional | Create a portfolio for genuine your tool product/design work and use each project's external URL field for the matching live page. | Only showcase work actually produced; complete project descriptions and avoid duplicate promotional pages. | 2026-08-04 | Open Dunked submit page (new tab)Dunked details |
| 8 | 56 | Format | 75 | Sometimes dofollow | format.com | Other opportunities | Paid | Moderate | Medium | Not submitted | Create a founder or product-design portfolio with an original your tool case study and add the canonical site as an external menu link. | This is a paid portfolio platform; the case study should demonstrate real work and should not exist only to manufacture a link. | 2026-08-03 | Open Format submit page (new tab)Format details |
| 9 | 56 | Lemon Squeezy | 70 | Nofollow | lemonsqueezy.com | Other opportunities | Paid | Moderate | Medium | Live, conditional | Create a legitimate free or paid your tool resource or software product and publish it on a branded hosted storefront. | Store activation requires identity and business review; never create a dummy product only for a link. | 2026-08-05 | Open Lemon Squeezy submit page (new tab)Lemon Squeezy details |
| 10 | 56 | Open Technology Fund | 65 | Link type unknown | opentech.fund | Other opportunities | Paid | Moderate | Medium | Live, conditional | Apply only with a validated open-source privacy or anti-surveillance project that directly helps users facing repressive censorship or surveillance. | OTF requires concrete internet-freedom impact and identifiable beneficiary communities in repressive environments; a generic privacy-tool catalogue or claim that it helps everyone will not qualify. | 2026-08-03 | Open Open Technology Fund submit page (new tab)Open Technology Fund details |
| 11 | 56 | OpenSSF | 70 | Link type unknown | openssf.org | Other opportunities | Paid | Moderate | Medium | Live, conditional | Apply as a General Member only if your tool will meaningfully contribute engineering or resources to open-source security. | Not worthwhile for a backlink alone; free Associate tier is restricted to qualifying nonprofits, academia or government. | 2026-08-04 | Open OpenSSF submit page (new tab)OpenSSF details |
| 12 | 56 | Principles for Digital Development | 55 | Link type unknown | digitalprinciples.org | Other opportunities | Paid | Moderate | Medium | Verified live | Obtain senior approval, submit the signed endorsement materials, implement the Principles and share a real case study. | This is a public operational commitment; organization must apply the Principles in policy/process and participate in the community. | 2026-08-05 — https://digitalprinciples.org/endorsers/ | Open Principles for Digital Development submit page (new tab)Principles for Digital Development details |
| 13 | 38 | EOSC Federation | 55 | Link type unknown | eosc.eu | Other opportunities | Paid | Quick | Later | Verified live | Onboard an operational research-facing your tool service through an eligible EOSC Node using the Federation Handbook process. | Organization-level service onboarding, not a directory form; maturity, policies, interoperability, support, and Node acceptance are required. | EOSC Federation Handbook checked 2026-08-05 | Open EOSC Federation submit page (new tab)EOSC Federation details |
| 14 | 38 | FIDO Alliance Certified Products | 75 | Link type unknown | fidoalliance.org | Other opportunities | Paid | Quick | Later | Live, conditional | Only if your tool builds a real commercial FIDO2 or passkey server, complete conformance and interoperability testing and submit it. | Requires a commercial implementation and complete evidence; product certification is protocol-specific and higher assurance programs cost more. | 2026-08-05 official FIDO functional certification and fees | Open FIDO Alliance Certified Products submit page (new tab)FIDO Alliance Certified Products details |
| 15 | 38 | FIRST | 75 | Link type unknown | first.org | Other opportunities | Paid | Quick | Later | Verified live | Apply as Associate or full Member only after operating a credible incident-response team/program and completing sponsorship/review. | Full membership requires sponsors and SIM3/site-visit process; associate status needs a valid response mission and contribution value. | 2026-08-05 — https://www.first.org/membership/ | Open FIRST submit page (new tab)FIRST details |
| 16 | 38 | IAPP | 80 | Link type unknown | iapp.org | Other opportunities | Paid | Quick | Later | Live, conditional | Consider organizational membership if your tool actively participates in privacy or AI governance; complete the member directory profile. | Genuine membership and industry participation only; not a low-cost SEO listing. | 2026-08-04 | Open IAPP submit page (new tab)IAPP details |
| 17 | 38 | SubmitWell | — | Link type unknown | submitwell.com | Other opportunities | Paid | Quick | Later | Needs checking | Use if outsourcing submissions with proof screenshots. | Not a backlink site itself; service. | 2026-07-30 | Open SubmitWell submit page (new tab)SubmitWell details |
| 18 | 36 | Agentic AI Foundation | — | Link type unknown | aaif.io | Other opportunities | Paid | Moderate | Later | Verified live | Apply only with a meaningful open agent-security or MCP-governance contribution and an ongoing participation plan. | Linux Foundation prerequisites and parent-company headcount rules apply; associate status is restricted and membership is not certification. | 2026-08-05 official Agentic AI Foundation members page | Open Agentic AI Foundation submit page (new tab)Agentic AI Foundation details |
| 19 | 36 | CiviCERT | 40 | Link type unknown | civicert.org | Other opportunities | Paid | Moderate | Later | Verified live | Apply only after operating a real civil-society digital-security help desk and meeting network operations and vetting requirements. | Adopt vetting/information policies and code of conduct, track cases/share threats, and obtain vouches from two members at different organizations. | 2026-08-05 — https://www.civicert.org/apply-to-be-a-member/ | Open CiviCERT submit page (new tab)CiviCERT details |
| 20 | 36 | Directory of Open Access Books | 70 | Link type unknown | doabooks.org | Other opportunities | Paid | Moderate | Later | Verified live | Apply only after your tool operates a genuine OA scholarly-book publishing program, then submit peer-reviewed privacy-tech books. | Publisher-level path, not a one-off product listing; transparent peer review, open licences, HTTPS publishing site and scholarly books required. | 2026-08-05 — https://www.doabooks.org/en/publishers/join-doab | Open Directory of Open Access Books submit page (new tab)Directory of Open Access Books details |
| 21 | 36 | Fabrik | 55 | Sometimes dofollow | fabrik.io | Other opportunities | Paid | Moderate | Later | Live, conditional | Publish real your tool film, design, illustration or product case studies and connect them to the appropriate project pages. | Strong creative-work fit only; no credit card for trial, but a lasting public portfolio requires a paid plan. | 2026-08-04 | Open Fabrik submit page (new tab)Fabrik details |
| 22 | 36 | Krop | 55 | Sometimes dofollow | krop.com | Other opportunities | Paid | Moderate | Later | Live, conditional | Build a real founder or your tool creative portfolio and link relevant case studies to the corresponding live tools. | Designed for creative professionals; paid ongoing hosting and authentic portfolio work are required. | 2026-08-04 | Open Krop submit page (new tab)Krop details |
| 23 | 36 | LF AI & Data Foundation | 55 | Link type unknown | lfaidata.foundation | Other opportunities | Paid | Moderate | Later | Verified live | Join only when your tool will fund and actively contribute to open-source AI or data work. | Linux Foundation corporate membership rules apply; free associate status is limited to approved nonprofits, projects or government bodies. | 2026-08-05 official LF AI & Data join page | Open LF AI & Data Foundation submit page (new tab)LF AI & Data Foundation details |
| 24 | 36 | OASIS Open | 80 | Link type unknown | oasis-open.org | Other opportunities | Paid | Moderate | Later | Verified live | Join only to contribute substantively to relevant security or privacy technical committees and use approved organization metadata. | Reconfirm current dues before purchase; membership is not endorsement and lower tiers may not include a linked logo. | 2026-08-05 official OASIS join and members pages | Open OASIS Open submit page (new tab)OASIS Open details |
| 25 | 36 | Open Source Initiative | 85 | Link type unknown | opensource.org | Other opportunities | Paid | Moderate | Later | Verified live | After releasing meaningful OSI-licensed code, consider sponsorship only when supporting OSI aligns with your tool strategy. | Financial sponsorship is not certification, governance influence or product endorsement; do not pay solely for a backlink. | 2026-08-05 official OSI benefits and sponsorship document | Open Open Source Initiative submit page (new tab)Open Source Initiative details |
| 26 | 36 | Stan Store | 70 | Nofollow | stan.store | Other opportunities | Paid | Moderate | Later | Live, conditional | Use only if your tool has a genuine creator offer, guide or service; complete the storefront and connect relevant site pages. | Paid commercial fit required; do not open an empty store solely for a backlink. | 2026-08-04 | Open Stan Store submit page (new tab)Stan Store details |
How to build backlinks with this list
Four steps that work for a new site, a SaaS or a side project. No paid link packages, nothing that risks a penalty.
Get the basics right first
Before submitting anywhere, have a one-line description, a 150-word description, a square logo and two or three screenshots ready. Every form asks for some mix of these.
Claim profiles and free listings
Start with the free, quick rows: profile creation sites and free directories. They are one form each and build the entity signals search engines use to understand who you are.
Go after a few strong links
Then pick a handful of high DA and dofollow sites that fit your niche, and write proper guest posts or launch posts for them. Ten relevant links beat a hundred random ones.
Track and keep it clean
Note where you submitted and when. Recheck after a month, update stale descriptions, and never pay for bulk link packages: they put the whole site at risk.
Behind the list
A link opportunity is not a link.
Every row here starts as a line in a sheet, gets normalised into one of 16 groups, scored for cost, effort and impact, and written up with the steps to actually submit. The floor below represents that pipeline.
Open the sheet viewAn illustration of the AltF Backlinks floor: opportunities sourced at the back, vetted for cost and effort by the engineering pod, written up for outreach by the design pod, then tracked to placement along a line.
Backlink sites by category
Product launch sites87
One-shot launches where timing and preparation decide the outcome.
Guest posting sites55
Publications that accept contributed articles. Slow and editorial, but the links are earned.
AI tool directories200
Fast-growing listings specifically for AI-powered tools.
App stores and marketplaces273
Extension, plugin and integration stores. Real review processes, real distribution.
Startup directory submission sites120
Startup listings, beta lists and founder media.
Software directory submission sites215
General tool and software catalogues with real search traffic.
Software review sites29
B2B review sites. Slow to approve, strong once live.
Developer platforms for backlinks139
Package, image and docs hosting that carries real authority.
Web design galleries for backlinks87
Showcases judged on craft. A good screenshot matters more than copy.
Web 2.0 and publishing sites214
Write once, link back. Editorial standards vary widely.
PR and press release sites41
Get quoted or distribute a release. Slower, higher ceiling.
Business directory submission sites109
Company and local listings. Unglamorous, consistently indexed.
Profile creation sites163
Owned pages you control: company, founder, knowledge-panel entities.
Forum and community backlink sites61
Answer real questions. Never drop a bare link.
Social bookmarking sites18
Brand surface and referral traffic more than link equity.
More backlink opportunities153
Everything that does not fit the buckets above.
Common questions
Do backlinks still matter for ranking in 2026?
Links remain one signal among many, and low-quality bulk links do more harm than good. What still works is being listed where your buyers actually look — directories with real traffic, registries your peers use, and launch platforms with engaged audiences. Every entry in this list is a place a human might plausibly find you, which is why they are worth submitting to regardless of link equity.
Which submissions should I do first?
Start with the quick wins filter: free, low effort, and not in the lowest priority band. 208 of the 1,964 entries qualify, and those are the ones where a single form submission gets you a live listing the same week. Launch platforms are worth saving until your product is genuinely ready, because you only get one good attempt at each.
How is the impact score calculated?
It starts from a hand-assigned priority band (do first, high, medium, later), then adjusts for cost and effort. A free, quick opportunity scores above a paid, involved one in the same band, because it is the one you can realistically finish today. The score is a queueing aid, not a measure of domain authority.
Are these links free?
1,628 of the 1,964 entries are free to submit to or offer a free tier that includes a listing. Cost is shown on every row, and the "nothing to pay" filter narrows the list to exactly those.
Which backlink sites are dofollow?
44 entries are known to give a followed link on a normal listing, and more give one only in some placements. The link type is shown on every row and can be filtered. Sites change their link policy without notice, so treat the label as a starting point and check the live page after you are listed. A nofollow link from a busy site still sends visitors and helps search engines discover you.
What does the DA number mean?
It is our estimate of the site's domain authority, a third-party style 0-100 score of how strong a domain's link profile is, rounded to the nearest 5. 1,580 of the 1,964 sites have one. It is useful for comparing sites, not a Google metric, so relevance to your niche still matters more.
How do I get backlinks for a new website?
1. Get the basics right first: Before submitting anywhere, have a one-line description, a 150-word description, a square logo and two or three screenshots ready. Every form asks for some mix of these. 2. Claim profiles and free listings: Start with the free, quick rows: profile creation sites and free directories. They are one form each and build the entity signals search engines use to understand who you are. 3. Go after a few strong links: Then pick a handful of high DA and dofollow sites that fit your niche, and write proper guest posts or launch posts for them. Ten relevant links beat a hundred random ones. 4. Track and keep it clean: Note where you submitted and when. Recheck after a month, update stale descriptions, and never pay for bulk link packages: they put the whole site at risk.
Will submitting everywhere hurt my site?
Submitting to spam directories can. That is why this list is curated rather than scraped, and why entries carry a status showing whether they have been verified as live. Skip anything that promises hundreds of links for a fee, and prefer places where a real person reviews submissions.