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AltF Backlinks

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

1–39 of 39 opportunities

Usefulimpact 66–62

  • ArtStation

    artstation.com

    Publish an original UI/UX visual case study showing your tool interaction design, accessibility states, and design process, with a contextual project URL.

    Estimated domain authority DA ~85NofollowFreeModerateVerified live
    SubmitArtStation (opens in a new tab)
  • balenaHub

    hub.balena.io

    Build a deployable edge privacy utility or reusable block, add balena.yml metadata, public source, configuration and multi-device tests, then publish it on balenaHub.

    Estimated domain authority DA ~65FreeModerateVerified live
    SubmitbalenaHub (opens in a new tab)
  • Charmhub

    charmhub.io

    Package your maintained self-hosted deployment as a Juju charm with canonical documentation, source, and support links.

    Estimated domain authority DA ~60FreeModerateVerified live
    SubmitCharmhub (opens in a new tab)
  • Create an age-appropriate digital-citizenship or privacy FlexBook chapter with practical your tool exercises.

    Estimated domain authority DA ~80FreeModerateVerified live
    SubmitCK-12 FlexBooks (opens in a new tab)
  • Create and fully test your Docker Compose service template, add metadata, logo, and documentation, then submit it to Coolify's next branch.

    Estimated domain authority DA ~60FreeModerateVerified live
    SubmitCoolify One-Click Services (opens in a new tab)
  • ELIXIR TeSS

    tess.elixir-europe.org

    Register a substantive life-science privacy, medical-data de-identification, or research-data training resource hosted by your tool.

    Estimated domain authority DA ~45FreeModerateVerified live
    SubmitELIXIR TeSS (opens in a new tab)
  • FAIRsharing

    fairsharing.org

    Submit your genuine -maintained database, reusable reporting standard, or data policy with complete stewardship metadata.

    Estimated domain authority DA ~60FreeModerateVerified live
    SubmitFAIRsharing (opens in a new tab)
  • GovStack

    govstack.global

    Join a working group and contribute a substantive building-block specification, use case, reference implementation or new proposal.

    Estimated domain authority DA ~45FreeModerateVerified live
    SubmitGovStack (opens in a new tab)
  • Homebrew

    brew.sh

    After releasing your real CLI or native app, submit a tested formula or cask with its canonical homepage.

    Estimated domain authority DA ~75FreeModerateLive, conditional
    SubmitHomebrew (opens in a new tab)
  • Join an approved organization and publish a documented humanitarian privacy/safety dataset with licence and responsible-access settings.

    Estimated domain authority DA ~80FreeModerateVerified live
    SubmitHumanitarian Data Exchange (opens in a new tab)
  • JSON Schema Store

    schemastore.org

    After your tool has a stable, commonly used JSON or YAML configuration format, contribute its accurate schema and test fixtures so editors can provide validation, completion, and tooltips.

    Estimated domain authority DA ~55FreeModerateLive, conditional
    SubmitJSON Schema Store (opens in a new tab)
  • Apply with your concrete privacy, security or user-autonomy FOSS work package, milestones, budget and public repository.

    Estimated domain authority DA ~65FreeModerateLive, conditional
    SubmitNLnet Foundation (opens in a new tab)
  • Octopus

    octopus.ac

    Use ORCID to publish genuine research stages—problem, method, data or analysis—with contextual your tool code/data links.

    Estimated domain authority DA ~40FreeModerateVerified live
    SubmitOctopus (opens in a new tab)
  • Create a maintained Omeka S module for collection metadata privacy, accessibility or link auditing, package it correctly and register the add-on with project and author links.

    Estimated domain authority DA ~65FreeModerateVerified live
    SubmitOmeka S Modules (opens in a new tab)
  • Create a rigorous structured comparison of published privacy, redaction, or accessibility studies and include your tool only when supported by research.

    Estimated domain authority DA ~45FreeModerateVerified live
    SubmitOpen Research Knowledge Graph (opens in a new tab)
  • OSF

    osf.io

    Create a public reproducibility project for your tool research, datasets, test methods, or privacy benchmarks and link the genuine project/site.

    Estimated domain authority DA ~85NofollowFreeModerateVerified live
    SubmitOSF (opens in a new tab)
  • portfolio.dev

    portfolio.dev

    Create a public case-study portfolio and add your tool with screenshots, live demo and build rationale.

    FreeModerateVerified live
    Submitportfolio.dev (opens in a new tab)
  • ReliefWeb

    reliefweb.int

    After your tool has eligible ReliefWeb content, request publishing access and submit humanitarian reports or training from verified owned URLs.

    Estimated domain authority DA ~85FreeModerateVerified live
    SubmitReliefWeb (opens in a new tab)
  • RenkuLab

    renkulab.io

    Create your reproducible evaluation project with code, data connectors, environment, narrative, and a public session launcher.

    Estimated domain authority DA ~40FreeModerateVerified live
    SubmitRenkuLab (opens in a new tab)
  • Whole Tale

    wholetale.org

    Create a reproducible Tale containing your evaluation's data, code, environment, outputs, and narrative, then publish through a supported repository.

    Estimated domain authority DA ~40FreeModerateVerified live
    SubmitWhole Tale (opens in a new tab)
  • Publish a Canadian-ready, openly licensed privacy or digital-citizenship textbook and use Contribute → Suggest a Textbook.

    Estimated domain authority DA ~70Free + paid tierModerateVerified live
    SubmitBCcampus Open Collection (opens in a new tab)
  • Buzzsprout

    buzzsprout.com

    Launch your real educational podcast, complete its public site, and cite relevant tools and sources in useful show notes.

    Estimated domain authority DA ~85Sometimes dofollowFree + paid tierModerateLive, conditional
    SubmitBuzzsprout (opens in a new tab)
  • Calaméo

    calameo.com

    Publish a polished original guide, research brief, or accessibility zine as a public document, with useful references and your relevant link inside the editorial content.

    Estimated domain authority DA ~85NofollowFree + paid tierModerateVerified live
    SubmitCalaméo (opens in a new tab)
  • Cargo

    cargo.site

    Create an authentic your tool or founder design portfolio with substantive case studies and contextual links to shipped tools.

    Estimated domain authority DA ~75Sometimes dofollowFree + paid tierModerateLive, conditional
    SubmitCargo (opens in a new tab)
  • Crevado

    crevado.com

    Create your complete product case study and add the canonical URL naturally within project text or a linked image.

    Estimated domain authority DA ~60Sometimes dofollowFree + paid tierModerateNot submitted
    SubmitCrevado (opens in a new tab)
  • Journo Portfolio

    journoportfolio.com

    Create a founder portfolio with original your tool launch notes or product case studies and use an external-link page for the canonical website.

    Estimated domain authority DA ~50Sometimes dofollowFree + paid tierModerateNot submitted
    SubmitJourno Portfolio (opens in a new tab)
  • Milkshake

    milkshake.app

    Build your free mobile mini-site with brand story, key collections, demos and contact links.

    Estimated domain authority DA ~50Free + paid tierModerateVerified live
    SubmitMilkshake (opens in a new tab)
  • Portship

    portship.app

    Claim a builder profile and add your tool as a shipped project using its live public URL.

    Free + paid tierModerateVerified live
    SubmitPortship (opens in a new tab)
  • pretalx

    pretalx.com

    Use pretalx for your genuine community conference or submit relevant talks to events that use the platform.

    Estimated domain authority DA ~55Free + paid tierModerateLive, conditional
    Submitpretalx (opens in a new tab)
  • Zotero Groups

    zotero.org

    Create a public privacy-tool research library with credible standards, papers, and references, including only genuinely relevant your tool documentation.

    Estimated domain authority DA ~80NofollowFree + paid tierModerateVerified live
    SubmitZotero Groups (opens in a new tab)
  • Package your deployable self-hosted architecture for IBM Cloud, complete Partner Center onboarding, and request public catalog approval.

    Estimated domain authority DA ~95NofollowNot statedModerateVerified live
    SubmitIBM Cloud Catalog (opens in a new tab)
  • Package your supported self-hosted edition or integration for RHEL or OpenShift and complete Red Hat Partner Validation for a catalog page.

    Estimated domain authority DA ~95Not statedModerateVerified live
    SubmitRed Hat Ecosystem Catalog (opens in a new tab)

Long tailimpact 56

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.

  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.

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

An 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

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.