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.
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 | 98 | Postman Public API Network | 90 | Nofollow | postman.com | Design galleries | Free | Moderate | Do first | Verified live | Publish a well-documented public your tool API workspace with runnable collections, examples and the canonical API website. | Only suitable for a genuine public API; remove secrets and personal data and keep collections accurate. | Official Postman API Network docs checked 2026-07-30 | Open Postman Public API Network submit page (new tab)Postman Public API Network details |
| 2 | 86 | Frontend Mentor | 65 | Nofollow | frontendmentor.io | Design galleries | Free | Quick | High | Verified live | Complete a relevant accessibility or privacy-themed challenge, submit its real live URL and public repository, and add your tool only as maker context or a case-study link. | The submission must solve an actual challenge; a live URL and public repository are required, so never upload secrets or private code. | Official Frontend Mentor submission and plan guidance checked 2026-08-07 | Open Frontend Mentor submit page (new tab)Frontend Mentor details |
| 3 | 84 | Coroflot | 70 | Nofollow | coroflot.com | Design galleries | Free | Moderate | High | Verified live | Create a real designer profile and publish an original your tool UX/accessibility case study with process artifacts, outcomes, and the official project link. | Coroflot is for genuine creative work; the official FAQ permits personal-website/social links. Use a real identity, rights-cleared visuals, and a substantive case study rather than a logo-plus-link page. Portfolio links are user-controlled UGC, can be moderated or made private, and have no indexing or followed-link guarantee. | 2026-08-03 | Open Coroflot submit page (new tab)Coroflot details |
| 4 | 84 | DagsHub | 55 | Nofollow | dagshub.com | Design galleries | Free | Moderate | High | Verified live | Publish a reproducible your tool privacy benchmark with code, synthetic data, model versions, and documentation. | Public repositories expose their full contents; remove secrets, personal data, proprietary files, and unsafe samples. | Official DagsHub project creation documentation checked 2026-08-07 | Open DagsHub submit page (new tab)DagsHub details |
| 5 | 84 | Devfolio | 65 | Nofollow | devfolio.co | Design galleries | Free | Moderate | High | Verified live | Create the real developer profile and add your tool as a genuine built project with problem, challenges, technologies, screenshots, demo, and accurate collaborator credits. | Devfolio explicitly supports personal and side projects, but the submission must be work the profile/team actually built. Do not fabricate a hackathon, team, metrics, or project history; disclose roles and use original assets. Projects/links are UGC, subject to moderation, with no indexing or followed-link guarantee. | 2026-08-03 | Open Devfolio submit page (new tab)Devfolio details |
| 6 | 84 | JSFiddle | 85 | Nofollow | jsfiddle.net | Design galleries | Free | Moderate | High | Verified live | Publish a small standalone your tool privacy or accessibility demo with explanatory comments and a stable share URL. | Use original client-side demo code and never include secrets, personal data, trackers, or a promotion-only empty fiddle. | Official JSFiddle getting-started documentation checked 2026-08-07 | Open JSFiddle submit page (new tab)JSFiddle details |
| 7 | 84 | Layers | 40 | Nofollow | layers.to | Design galleries | Free | Moderate | High | Verified live | Join as the real your tool designer and share polished, original interface explorations or accessibility improvements with useful design context and a profile website link. | Layers is for designers showcasing their own work; its terms prohibit spam and misleading content and permit moderation. Use a real identity, credit assets, and disclose the AltFTool relationship. Profiles/posts and external links are UGC, so indexing and followed-link status are not guaranteed. | 2026-08-03 | Open Layers submit page (new tab)Layers details |
| 8 | 81 | LiveCodes | 40 | Nofollow | livecodes.io | Design galleries | Free + paid tier | Moderate | High | Verified live | Publish a small original demo showing one your tool privacy or accessibility technique, then share its encoded URL or deploy the project to a controlled GitHub Pages site. | Do not include secrets, PII, or proprietary code; service-hosted short URLs cannot be deleted, so use a long encoded URL or controlled deployment when permanence matters. | Official LiveCodes documentation and sharing guidance checked 2026-08-07 | Open LiveCodes submit page (new tab)LiveCodes details |
| 9 | 81 | PlayCode | 55 | Nofollow | playcode.io | Design galleries | Free + paid tier | Moderate | High | Verified live | Publish polished public your tool demos and use their share links in genuine tutorials or reproducible examples. | Free projects are public; remove proprietary secrets and sensitive data and avoid near-duplicate promotional demos. | Official PlayCode sharing, billing, and project-limit guidance checked 2026-08-07 | Open PlayCode submit page (new tab)PlayCode details |
| 10 | 74 | MetaFilter Projects | 85 | Nofollow | metafilter.com | Design galleries | Paid | Moderate | High | Verified live | After becoming a genuine member, submit your tool as a completed web project with a plain factual description in MetaFilter Projects only. | Self-links are prohibited elsewhere; use Projects only, respect posting cadence, and participate as a community member. | Official MetaFilter Projects, FAQ, and about pages checked 2026-08-07 | Open MetaFilter Projects submit page (new tab)MetaFilter Projects details |
| 11 | 68 | Devpost | 85 | Nofollow | devpost.com | Design galleries | Free | Quick | Medium | Verified live | Enter a relevant live hackathon with a working your tool project, complete its story and demo, and include the project website where allowed. | Only submit to genuinely relevant events, follow each hackathon's eligibility and judging rules, and do not recycle an unrelated promotion. | Official Devpost submission help checked 2026-07-30 | Open Devpost submit page (new tab)Devpost details |
| 12 | 68 | Upwork | 95 | Nofollow | upwork.com | Design galleries | Free | Quick | Medium | Live, conditional | If your tool maker genuinely offers related services, add the project as a detailed portfolio item with role, outcomes, visuals, and permitted project links. | Use only an authentic accepted freelancer profile; no contact details or brand-only backlink account, and follow portfolio link rules. | Official Upwork profile and portfolio guidance checked 2026-08-07 | Open Upwork submit page (new tab)Upwork details |
| 13 | 66 | JS Bin | 80 | Nofollow | jsbin.com | Design galleries | Free | Moderate | Medium | Verified live | Create a focused educational demo for one your tool technique and share the public bin from an authentic profile. | Public bins are MIT-licensed and bots are prohibited; publish only compatible original code and create it manually. | Official JS Bin getting-started and legal pages checked 2026-08-07 | Open JS Bin submit page (new tab)JS Bin details |
| 14 | 66 | Plunker | 70 | Nofollow | plnkr.co | Design galleries | Free | Moderate | Medium | Verified live | Build a working mini-project showing an your tool browser-side feature and publish its indexed share page with useful documentation. | Keep the project executable, original, educational, and free of credentials or user data. | Official Plunker feature documentation checked 2026-08-07 | Open Plunker submit page (new tab)Plunker details |
| 15 | 65 | Freelancer.com | 90 | Nofollow | freelancer.com | Design galleries | Free + paid tier | Quick | Medium | Live, conditional | Use an authentic maker profile to publish an your tool portfolio piece containing original images, article, code, video, or audio samples. | Use only when the person genuinely offers services; publish owned work and avoid profile keyword stuffing. | Official Freelancer.com portfolio and profile guidance checked 2026-08-07 | Open Freelancer.com submit page (new tab)Freelancer.com details |
| 16 | 48 | DeviantArt | 95 | Nofollow | deviantart.com | Design galleries | Free | Quick | Later | Live, conditional | Publish original your tool UI/illustration work, then add the official website in the profile bio. | Only use for genuine visual work or design process content; generic product promotion is inappropriate. | 2026-08-03 | Open DeviantArt submit page (new tab)DeviantArt details |
| 17 | 46 | Designer News | 60 | Nofollow | designernews.co | Design galleries | Free | Moderate | Later | Needs checking | Share design/tool launch if genuinely useful. | Community norms; no bare link drop. | 2026-07-30 | Open Designer News submit page (new tab)Designer News details |
| 18 | 46 | Made in Webflow | 90 | Nofollow | webflow.com | Design galleries | Free | Moderate | Later | Needs checking | Submit only if your tool page/template is built in Webflow. | Not fit for current Next.js site unless Webflow asset. | 2026-07-30 | Open Made in Webflow submit page (new tab)Made in Webflow details |
| 19 | 45 | Dribbble | 90 | Nofollow | dribbble.com | Design galleries | Free + paid tier | Quick | Later | Not submitted | Share selected UI shots/tool pages with profile link. | Needs quality visuals; no spam shots. | 2026-07-30 | Open Dribbble submit page (new tab)Dribbble details |
Four steps that work for a new site, a SaaS or a side project. No paid link packages, nothing that risks a penalty.
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
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.