AltF Backlinks

Free backlink sites list: 1,854 places to get a link

A maintained list of 1,854 legitimate backlink sites: directories, profile creation sites, guest posting sites, launch platforms, registries and marketplaces. 1,532 are free or have a free tier, 44 usually give a dofollow link, and 772 have an estimated DA of 70 or more. Every row shows authority, link type, cost and effort, and links straight to the submit page.

1,854
Opportunities: 1,532
Free or freemium: 772
Est. DA 70+: 200
Quick wins

All filters2

Filtered byPublishing platforms Est. DA 90+Clear all

The table is wider than the screen — swipe it sideways for cost, effort and the preparation notes.

Submission opportunities with impact score, cost, effort, priority, status and preparation notes. Scroll horizontally for all columns.
#	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	97	Dark Reading	90	Nofollow	darkreading.com	Publishing platforms	Free + paid tier	Quick	Do first	Verified live	Submit a sharp founder-authored opinion based on real privacy or security evidence discovered while building your tool.	Exclusive 700–800-word commentary, maximum 1,000 words; it must not be AI-written, promotional, or simultaneously submitted elsewhere.	https://www.darkreading.com/cyberattacks-data-breaches/how-to-submit-a-column-to-dark-reading	Open Dark Reading submit page (new tab)Dark Reading details
2	84	Flipboard	90	Nofollow	flipboard.com	Publishing platforms	Free	Moderate	High	Not submitted	Create a public digital-privacy magazine, curate reputable third-party resources, and occasionally add strong your tool guides with commentary.	Keep the magazine topical and balanced; Flipboard stresses authentic curation, and outbound links may be treated as UGC.	2026-08-03	Open Flipboard submit page (new tab)Flipboard details
3	84	freeCodeCamp News	90	Sometimes dofollow	freecodecamp.org	Publishing platforms	Free	Moderate	High	Verified live	Create a comprehensive tutorial around a reusable privacy, file-processing, accessibility, or security technique, with your tool only as a natural example.	Follow the current contributor and Hashnode workflow; content must teach, be original, and avoid promotional intent.	https://contribute.freecodecamp.org/faq/	Open freeCodeCamp News submit page (new tab)freeCodeCamp News details
4	84	Mendeley Data	90	Nofollow	mendeley.com	Publishing platforms	Free	Moderate	High	Verified live	Publish an original, human-verified privacy or accessibility benchmark with complete methodology, provenance, schema, license, and a relevant project citation.	Intended for research data, not promotion. Do not upload personal/confidential data or AI-generated datasets; published versions receive a DOI and generally require a new version or support request for later changes/removal.	2026-08-03	Open Mendeley Data submit page (new tab)Mendeley Data details
5	81	DEV Community	90	Nofollow	dev.to	Publishing platforms	Free	Involved	High	Not submitted	Publish #showdev article about client-side privacy tools.	Write useful technical article; avoid thin promotion.	2026-07-30	Open DEV Community submit page (new tab)DEV Community details
6	81	Smashing Magazine	90	Sometimes dofollow	smashingmagazine.com	Publishing platforms	Free	Involved	High	Verified live	Pitch a practical privacy-by-design, accessibility, frontend-security, or local-first tooling article backed by real your tool lessons.	No press releases, product walkthroughs, listicles, or content marketing; AltFTool may be cited only when editorially useful.	https://www.smashingmagazine.com/write-for-us/	Open Smashing Magazine submit page (new tab)Smashing Magazine details
7	81	Stack Overflow Blog	90	Sometimes dofollow	stackoverflow.blog	Publishing platforms	Free	Involved	High	Verified live	Pitch a rigorous developer-facing article about secure file handling, browser privacy, accessibility testing, or tool architecture.	Strict technical quality and editorial review apply; avoid product marketing and disclose conflicts or affiliations.	https://stackoverflow.blog/2020/01/27/blog-contributor-guidelines/	Open Stack Overflow Blog submit page (new tab)Stack Overflow Blog details
8	78	LinkedIn	100	Nofollow	linkedin.com	Publishing platforms	Free + paid tier	Involved	High	Not submitted	Create company page and publish case-study posts.	Use real company details; publish useful posts.	2026-07-30	Open LinkedIn submit page (new tab)LinkedIn details
9	66	Scribd	95	Nofollow	scribd.com	Publishing platforms	Free	Moderate	Medium	Verified live	Upload an original research-backed your tool guide and reference relevant tools naturally in the document.	Title and description are required; respect uploader rules and publish owned, substantive material only.	2026-08-04	Open Scribd submit page (new tab)Scribd details
10	66	SSRN	90	Link type unknown	ssrn.com	Publishing platforms	Free	Moderate	Medium	Live, conditional	Create a truthful author account and submit a substantive your tool privacy, security or accessibility working paper with legitimate citations.	Scholarly work only; accurate authors and affiliations, English title/abstract, PDF, copyright permission and applicable ethics/privacy rules are required.	2026-08-04	Open SSRN submit page (new tab)SSRN details
11	65	Issuu	90	Sometimes dofollow	issuu.com	Publishing platforms	Free + paid tier	Quick	Medium	Needs checking	Upload a guide, report or catalog as a public publication and add your website to the profile and description.	You must own the rights to what you upload; links inside documents may be limited on free plans.	Added 2026-11-01	Open Issuu submit page (new tab)Issuu details
12	60	HackerNoon	90	Sometimes dofollow	hackernoon.com	Publishing platforms	Free + paid tier	Involved	Medium	Not submitted	Pitch/write article about privacy-first browser tools.	Editorial quality required; not instant.	2026-07-30	Open HackerNoon submit page (new tab)HackerNoon details
13	60	Medium	95	Nofollow	medium.com	Publishing platforms	Free + paid tier	Involved	Medium	Not submitted	Publish founder/productivity article linking your tool.	Canonical/duplicate strategy needed.	2026-07-30	Open Medium submit page (new tab)Medium details
14	48	Tumblr	95	Nofollow	tumblr.com	Publishing platforms	Free	Quick	Later	Not submitted	Create visual/tool tip microblog with canonical links.	Only useful with regular posts.	2026-07-30	Open Tumblr submit page (new tab)Tumblr details
15	46	Blogger	95	Sometimes dofollow	blogger.com	Publishing platforms	Free	Moderate	Later	Not submitted	Create official your tool update/tutorial blog if needed.	Avoid duplicate content; canonical strategy needed.	2026-07-30	Open Blogger submit page (new tab)Blogger details
16	45	Prezi	90	Nofollow	prezi.com	Publishing platforms	Free + paid tier	Quick	Later	Needs checking	Publish a public Prezi about your topic or product and add your website in the description.	Free presentations are public by default; misleading or spam content is removed.	Added 2026-11-01	Open Prezi submit page (new tab)Prezi details
17	45	Substack	95	Nofollow	substack.com	Publishing platforms	Free + paid tier	Quick	Later	Not submitted	Create your tool updates newsletter with homepage link.	Useful if maintained; not one-off spam.	2026-07-30	Open Substack submit page (new tab)Substack details
18	45	WordPress.com	95	Sometimes dofollow	wordpress.com	Publishing platforms	Free + paid tier	Quick	Later	Not submitted	Create official tutorials/mirror with links.	Avoid thin duplicate posts.	2026-07-30	Open WordPress.com submit page (new tab)WordPress.com details
19	43	Ghost	90	Sometimes dofollow	ghost.org	Publishing platforms	Free + paid tier	Moderate	Later	Live, conditional	Run a genuine your tool privacy/security publication and add contextual links in original posts and About pages.	Requires sustained original publishing; self-hosted pages are on your own domain, not a third-party backlink.	2026-08-03	Open Ghost submit page (new tab)Ghost details
20	43	SoundCloud	95	Nofollow	soundcloud.com	Publishing platforms	Free + paid tier	Moderate	Later	Live, conditional	Create a genuine audio profile, add the website link and publish useful demo or education tracks.	Account must contain owned audio; external destinations and descriptions are moderated.	2026-08-03	Open SoundCloud submit page (new tab)SoundCloud details
21	43	Spotify for Creators	95	Nofollow	spotify.com	Publishing platforms	Free + paid tier	Moderate	Later	Live, conditional	Publish an original tool/privacy show and place contextual your tool links in HTTPS show notes.	Requires real original episodes; copied, low-content or impersonating shows are prohibited.	2026-08-03	Open Spotify for Creators submit page (new tab)Spotify for Creators details
22	43	wikiHow	90	Nofollow	wikihow.com	Publishing platforms	Free	Involved	Later	Needs checking	Write or improve a how-to article where you have real expertise, and cite sources properly.	External links are tightly controlled and nofollow; treat it as visibility, not link equity.	Added 2026-11-01	Open wikiHow submit page (new tab)wikiHow details
23	36	Squarespace	90	Dofollow	squarespace.com	Publishing platforms	Paid	Moderate	Later	Needs checking	Build a site or blog on a paid plan, typically for a project or brand page that links to your main product.	There is no free plan beyond the trial.	Added 2026-11-01	Open Squarespace submit page (new tab)Squarespace 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 view

Backlink sites by category

Product launch sites85

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 directories151

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 sites113

Startup listings, beta lists and founder media.

Software directory submission sites210

General tool and software catalogues with real search traffic.

Software review sites29

B2B review sites. Slow to approve, strong once live.

Developer platforms for backlinks127

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 sites183

Write once, link back. Editorial standards vary widely.

PR and press release sites40

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 sites58

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. 200 of the 1,854 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?

1,532 of the 1,854 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. 1,524 of the 1,854 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.

Loading page