A maintained list of 1,432 directories, launch platforms, registries and marketplaces that accept product submissions. 1,134 of them are free or have a free tier, and 192 are quick wins — free, low effort, and worth doing first. Every row shows cost, effort and priority, and links straight to the submission page.
The table is wider than the screen — swipe it sideways for cost, effort and the preparation notes.
| # | Impact (sorted) | Site — sort by this | Domain | Type | Cost | Effort — sort by this | Priority | Status | What to prepare | Rules / caveat | Checked | Actions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 38 | Accessibility.com Vendor Directory | accessibility.com | Profiles and entities | Paid | Quick | Later | Live, conditional | Email the directory team to request an your tool profile for its genuine accessibility tools. | Only pursue with a clear accessibility product offering; ask for current pricing and terms first. | 2026-08-03 | Open Accessibility.com Vendor Directory submit page (new tab)Accessibility.com Vendor Directory details |
| 2 | 38 | AIapps | aiapps.com | AI tool directories | Paid | Quick | Later | Verified live | Consider only after your tool has a substantial AI feature and the directory offers business value beyond a link. | Paid annual listing; cancellation pauses the outbound link; do not buy solely for backlink value. | 2026-08-05 official submit page | Open AIapps submit page (new tab)AIapps details |
| 3 | 38 | Cloud Security Alliance | cloudsecurityalliance.org | Startup directories | Paid | Quick | Later | Live, conditional | Consider only after your tool becomes a substantive cloud or AI security vendor and can participate in CSA programs. | Commercial membership, not a backlink purchase; directory placement does not equal certification or product endorsement. | 2026-08-05 official Startup Membership Agreement | Open Cloud Security Alliance submit page (new tab)Cloud Security Alliance details |
| 4 | 38 | EOSC Federation | 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 |
| 5 | 38 | EOSC Marketplace | marketplace.eosc-portal.eu | Marketplaces and app stores | Paid | Quick | Later | Live, conditional | Onboard only when your tool is a mature, live and independently valuable service for the European research community, under a legal or hosting entity. | Provider must control delivery; service should meet EOSC relevance and maturity criteria, generally TRL 7+, and pass profile validation. | 2026-08-05 official EOSC Provider Portal inclusion criteria and marketplace | Open EOSC Marketplace submit page (new tab)EOSC Marketplace details |
| 6 | 38 | FIDO Alliance Certified Products | 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 |
| 7 | 38 | FIRST | 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 |
| 8 | 38 | IAPP | 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 |
| 9 | 38 | OpenID Certified Implementations | openid.net | Profiles and entities | Paid | Quick | Later | Live, conditional | If your tool ships an OpenID Provider or Relying Party, pass the suite, publish evidence, sign the declaration and submit the implementation. | Applicant must own or operate the implementation; separate fees apply and self-certification is not an independent security audit. | 2026-08-05 official OpenID certification guide, fees and implementation directory | Open OpenID Certified Implementations submit page (new tab)OpenID Certified Implementations details |
| 10 | 38 | SubmitWell | 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 |
| 11 | 38 | There's An AI For That | theresanaiforthat.com | AI tool directories | Paid | Quick | Later | Not submitted | Submit only AI-specific your tool modules. | Paid only; conflicts if platform not AI-first. | 2026-07-30 | Open There's An AI For That submit page (new tab)There's An AI For That details |
| 12 | 36 | Agentic AI Foundation | 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 |
| 13 | 36 | Awwwards | awwwards.com | Design galleries | Paid | Moderate | Later | Needs checking | Submit your tool web design if premium/polished. | High authority; paid and design quality gate. | 2026-07-30 | Open Awwwards submit page (new tab)Awwwards details |
| 14 | 36 | BetaTesting | betatesting.com | Startup directories | Paid | Moderate | Later | Needs checking | Recruit beta testers for new your tool feature. | Not pure backlink; useful launch validation. | 2026-07-30 | Open BetaTesting submit page (new tab)BetaTesting details |
| 15 | 36 | CiviCERT | 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 |
| 16 | 36 | CSS Design Awards | cssdesignawards.com | Design galleries | Paid | Moderate | Later | Needs checking | Submit site for CSS/design award. | Only after homepage/tool UX polished. | 2026-07-30 | Open CSS Design Awards submit page (new tab)CSS Design Awards details |
| 17 | 36 | CSS Winner | csswinner.com | Design galleries | Paid | Moderate | Later | Needs checking | Submit site for CSS award/listing. | Only if design meets award standard. | 2026-07-30 | Open CSS Winner submit page (new tab)CSS Winner details |
| 18 | 36 | Directory of Open Access Books | 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 |
| 19 | 36 | Dryad | datadryad.org | Developer registries | Paid | Moderate | Later | Live, conditional | Submit data underlying a legitimate your tool-related research paper and include related software/project identifiers. | Research-data scope only; curation, publication linkage, licensing and possible data-publishing charges apply. | https://datadryad.org/help/guides/submission | Open Dryad submit page (new tab)Dryad details |
| 20 | 36 | Fabrik | 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 |
| 21 | 36 | Krop | 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 |
| 22 | 36 | LF AI & Data Foundation | 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 |
| 23 | 36 | OASIS Open | 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 |
| 24 | 36 | Open Source Initiative | 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 |
| 25 | 36 | Stan Store | 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 |
| 26 | 36 | Startup Guys | startupguys.net | Startup directories | Paid | Moderate | Later | Needs checking | Submit startup if paid/editorial terms acceptable. | Paid per list source; verify ROI. | 2026-07-30 | Open Startup Guys submit page (new tab)Startup Guys details |
| 27 | 36 | StartupSubmit | startupsubmit.app | Startup directories | Paid | Moderate | Later | Needs checking | Use only if you want paid done-for-you directory submissions. | Quality varies; manual review still preferred. | 2026-07-30 | Open StartupSubmit submit page (new tab)StartupSubmit details |
| 28 | 36 | SubmitSaaS | submitsaas.com | Software directories | Paid | Moderate | Later | Needs checking | Use only if outsourcing manual directory submissions. | Vet quality; avoid low-quality guaranteed-link spam. | 2026-07-30 | Open SubmitSaaS submit page (new tab)SubmitSaaS details |
| 29 | 33 | PressPlugs | pressplugs.com | PR and source platforms | Paid | Involved | Later | Needs checking | Use trial/paid sprint for UK media opportunities. | UK-centric; cancel if no fit. | 2026-07-30 | Open PressPlugs submit page (new tab)PressPlugs details |
Behind the list
Every row here starts as a line in a sheet, gets normalised into one of 15 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.
One-shot launches where timing and preparation decide the outcome.
Fast-growing listings specifically for AI-powered tools.
Extension, plugin and integration stores. Real review processes, real distribution.
Startup listings, beta lists and founder media.
General tool and software catalogues with real search traffic.
B2B review sites. Slow to approve, strong once live.
Package, image and docs hosting that carries real authority.
Showcases judged on craft. A good screenshot matters more than copy.
Write once, link back. Editorial standards vary widely.
Get quoted or distribute a release. Slower, higher ceiling.
Company and local listings. Unglamorous, consistently indexed.
Owned pages you control: company, founder, knowledge-panel entities.
Answer real questions. Never drop a bare link.
Brand surface and referral traffic more than link equity.
Everything that does not fit the buckets above.