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 filters3
Usefulimpact 66–62
- SubmitArtStation (opens in a new tab)
ArtStation
artstation.comPublish 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 - SubmitbalenaHub (opens in a new tab)
balenaHub
hub.balena.ioBuild 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 - SubmitCharmhub (opens in a new tab)
Charmhub
charmhub.ioPackage your maintained self-hosted deployment as a Juju charm with canonical documentation, source, and support links.
Estimated domain authority DA ~60FreeModerateVerified live - SubmitCK-12 FlexBooks (opens in a new tab)
CK-12 FlexBooks
ck12.orgCreate an age-appropriate digital-citizenship or privacy FlexBook chapter with practical your tool exercises.
Estimated domain authority DA ~80FreeModerateVerified live - SubmitCoolify One-Click Services (opens in a new tab)
Coolify One-Click Services
coolify.ioCreate 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 - SubmitELIXIR TeSS (opens in a new tab)
ELIXIR TeSS
tess.elixir-europe.orgRegister a substantive life-science privacy, medical-data de-identification, or research-data training resource hosted by your tool.
Estimated domain authority DA ~45FreeModerateVerified live - SubmitFAIRsharing (opens in a new tab)
FAIRsharing
fairsharing.orgSubmit your genuine -maintained database, reusable reporting standard, or data policy with complete stewardship metadata.
Estimated domain authority DA ~60FreeModerateVerified live - SubmitGovStack (opens in a new tab)
GovStack
govstack.globalJoin a working group and contribute a substantive building-block specification, use case, reference implementation or new proposal.
Estimated domain authority DA ~45FreeModerateVerified live - SubmitHomebrew (opens in a new tab)
Homebrew
brew.shAfter releasing your real CLI or native app, submit a tested formula or cask with its canonical homepage.
Estimated domain authority DA ~75FreeModerateLive, conditional - SubmitHumanitarian Data Exchange (opens in a new tab)
Humanitarian Data Exchange
data.humdata.orgJoin an approved organization and publish a documented humanitarian privacy/safety dataset with licence and responsible-access settings.
Estimated domain authority DA ~80FreeModerateVerified live - SubmitJSON Schema Store (opens in a new tab)
JSON Schema Store
schemastore.orgAfter 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 - SubmitNLnet Foundation (opens in a new tab)
NLnet Foundation
nlnet.nlApply with your concrete privacy, security or user-autonomy FOSS work package, milestones, budget and public repository.
Estimated domain authority DA ~65FreeModerateLive, conditional - SubmitOctopus (opens in a new tab)
Octopus
octopus.acUse ORCID to publish genuine research stages—problem, method, data or analysis—with contextual your tool code/data links.
Estimated domain authority DA ~40FreeModerateVerified live - SubmitOmeka S Modules (opens in a new tab)
Omeka S Modules
omeka.orgCreate 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 - SubmitOpen Research Knowledge Graph (opens in a new tab)
Open Research Knowledge Graph
orkg.orgCreate 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 - SubmitOSF (opens in a new tab)
OSF
osf.ioCreate 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 - Submitportfolio.dev (opens in a new tab)
portfolio.dev
portfolio.devCreate a public case-study portfolio and add your tool with screenshots, live demo and build rationale.
FreeModerateVerified live - SubmitReliefWeb (opens in a new tab)
ReliefWeb
reliefweb.intAfter 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 - SubmitRenkuLab (opens in a new tab)
RenkuLab
renkulab.ioCreate your reproducible evaluation project with code, data connectors, environment, narrative, and a public session launcher.
Estimated domain authority DA ~40FreeModerateVerified live - SubmitWhole Tale (opens in a new tab)
Whole Tale
wholetale.orgCreate 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 - SubmitBCcampus Open Collection (opens in a new tab)
BCcampus Open Collection
bccampus.caPublish a Canadian-ready, openly licensed privacy or digital-citizenship textbook and use Contribute → Suggest a Textbook.
Estimated domain authority DA ~70Free + paid tierModerateVerified live - SubmitBuzzsprout (opens in a new tab)
Buzzsprout
buzzsprout.comLaunch 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 - SubmitCalaméo (opens in a new tab)
Calaméo
calameo.comPublish 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 - SubmitCargo (opens in a new tab)
Cargo
cargo.siteCreate 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 - SubmitCrevado (opens in a new tab)
Crevado
crevado.comCreate 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 - SubmitJourno Portfolio (opens in a new tab)
Journo Portfolio
journoportfolio.comCreate 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 - SubmitMilkshake (opens in a new tab)
Milkshake
milkshake.appBuild your free mobile mini-site with brand story, key collections, demos and contact links.
Estimated domain authority DA ~50Free + paid tierModerateVerified live - SubmitPortship (opens in a new tab)
Portship
portship.appClaim a builder profile and add your tool as a shipped project using its live public URL.
Free + paid tierModerateVerified live - Submitpretalx (opens in a new tab)
pretalx
pretalx.comUse pretalx for your genuine community conference or submit relevant talks to events that use the platform.
Estimated domain authority DA ~55Free + paid tierModerateLive, conditional - SubmitZotero Groups (opens in a new tab)
Zotero Groups
zotero.orgCreate 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 - SubmitIBM Cloud Catalog (opens in a new tab)
IBM Cloud Catalog
ibm.comPackage your deployable self-hosted architecture for IBM Cloud, complete Partner Center onboarding, and request public catalog approval.
Estimated domain authority DA ~95NofollowNot statedModerateVerified live - SubmitRed Hat Ecosystem Catalog (opens in a new tab)
Red Hat Ecosystem Catalog
redhat.comPackage 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
Long tailimpact 56
- SubmitDigital Public Goods Alliance (opens in a new tab)
Digital Public Goods Alliance
digitalpublicgoods.netAfter your tool has a genuinely open-source, well-documented public-interest component, complete the eligibility assessment and nominate that specific component.
Estimated domain authority DA ~55PaidModerateVerified live - SubmitDunked (opens in a new tab)
Dunked
dunked.comCreate a portfolio for genuine your tool product/design work and use each project's external URL field for the matching live page.
Estimated domain authority DA ~50PaidModerateLive, conditional - SubmitFormat (opens in a new tab)
Format
format.comCreate a founder or product-design portfolio with your original case study and add the canonical site as an external menu link.
Estimated domain authority DA ~75Sometimes dofollowPaidModerateNot submitted - SubmitLemon Squeezy (opens in a new tab)
Lemon Squeezy
lemonsqueezy.comCreate a legitimate free or paid your tool resource or software product and publish it on a branded hosted storefront.
Estimated domain authority DA ~70NofollowPaidModerateLive, conditional - SubmitOpen Technology Fund (opens in a new tab)
Open Technology Fund
opentech.fundApply only with a validated open-source privacy or anti-surveillance project that directly helps users facing repressive censorship or surveillance.
Estimated domain authority DA ~65PaidModerateLive, conditional - SubmitOpenSSF (opens in a new tab)
OpenSSF
openssf.orgApply as a General Member only if your tool will meaningfully contribute engineering or resources to open-source security.
Estimated domain authority DA ~70PaidModerateLive, conditional - SubmitPrinciples for Digital Development (opens in a new tab)
Principles for Digital Development
digitalprinciples.orgObtain senior approval, submit the signed endorsement materials, implement the Principles and share a real case study.
Estimated domain authority DA ~55PaidModerateVerified live
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
One-shot launches where timing and preparation decide the outcome.
Publications that accept contributed articles. Slow and editorial, but the links are earned.
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.