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 filters2
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 | 100 | CB Insights | 90 | Nofollow | cbinsights.com | Profiles and entities | Free | Quick | Do first | Not submitted | Request an Analyst Briefing and complete the company survey with product, customer, growth, funding, and market evidence. | Submission does not guarantee profile or research inclusion; all metrics and claims must be supportable and current. | 2026-08-03 | Open CB Insights submit page (new tab)CB Insights details |
| 2 | 86 | CodeSandbox | 90 | Nofollow | codesandbox.io | Profiles and entities | Free | Quick | High | Not submitted | Publish a small open demo that explains one your tool algorithm or UI pattern and add the product website to the founder profile links. | The sandbox must run and provide reusable technical value; public projects and profile links are UGC and may be nofollowed. | 2026-08-03 | Open CodeSandbox submit page (new tab)CodeSandbox details |
| 3 | 86 | daily.dev | 75 | Nofollow | daily.dev | Profiles and entities | Free | Quick | High | Not submitted | Complete the founder's developer profile, add your tool as real project experience, and publish useful privacy or security engineering posts with contextual links. | Participate as a genuine community member; avoid promotional link dumps, and do not assume any particular search-link attribute. | 2026-08-03 | Open daily.dev submit page (new tab)daily.dev details |
| 4 | 86 | gitconnected | 50 | Nofollow | gitconnected.com | Profiles and entities | Free | Quick | High | Not submitted | Create the founder developer profile, add your tool as a real project, and link the live product and supporting repository where applicable. | Use a real individual profile with accurate work history; this is not a generic company-directory listing. | 2026-08-03 | Open gitconnected submit page (new tab)gitconnected details |
| 5 | 86 | Open Makers | — | Link type unknown | openmakers.io | Profiles and entities | Free | Quick | High | Not submitted | Join as your tool founder, create a product page, and document meaningful launches, milestones, and lessons learned. | Sign up as an individual maker, not as a product; product-only and spam accounts may be deleted, and X sign-in is required. | 2026-08-03 | Open Open Makers submit page (new tab)Open Makers details |
| 6 | 84 | YouTube | 100 | Nofollow | youtube.com | Profiles and entities | Free | Moderate | High | Not submitted | Create tutorials for top your tool tools with links. | Needs useful videos; links mostly referral/brand. | 2026-07-30 | Open YouTube submit page (new tab)YouTube details |
| 7 | 76 | WIP | 50 | Link type unknown | wip.co | Profiles and entities | Paid | Quick | High | Not submitted | Join as the founder, create one your tool project page, and share genuine shipped improvements with links only when useful. | Profiles and projects are public by default; the community expects real shipped work, not promotional link dumping or future-only todos. | 2026-08-03 | Open WIP submit page (new tab)WIP details |
| 8 | 68 | Flickr | 95 | Nofollow | flickr.com | Profiles and entities | Free | Quick | Medium | Not submitted | Create a truthful your tool/founder profile or content page and add the website link where allowed. | Use a real brand/founder identity; do not create thin duplicate pages. Listing link is currently reported nofollow. | 2026-07-30 • https://www.submission.directory/site/flickr | Open Flickr submit page (new tab)Flickr details |
| 9 | 68 | GitLab | 90 | Nofollow | gitlab.com | Profiles and entities | Free | Quick | Medium | Not submitted | Mirror open-source embed SDK or examples with homepage link. | Useful only with real OSS artifact. | 2026-07-30 | Open GitLab submit page (new tab)GitLab details |
| 10 | 68 | Stack Exchange | 90 | Nofollow | stackexchange.com | Profiles and entities | Free | Quick | Medium | Not submitted | Build a real founder profile and answer narrowly relevant questions, linking to an your tool resource only when it directly substantiates the answer. | Strict anti-self-promotion rules apply; disclose affiliation, never seed questions, and expect links in posts to be UGC or nofollow. | 2026-08-03 | Open Stack Exchange submit page (new tab)Stack Exchange details |
| 11 | 68 | Stack Overflow | 95 | Nofollow | stackoverflow.com | Profiles and entities | Free | Quick | Medium | Not submitted | Create a truthful your tool/founder profile or content page and add the website link where allowed. | Use a real brand/founder identity; do not create thin duplicate pages. Listing link is currently reported nofollow. | 2026-07-30 • https://www.submission.directory/site/stack-overflow | Open Stack Overflow submit page (new tab)Stack Overflow details |
| 12 | 66 | LiveJournal | 90 | Nofollow | livejournal.com | Profiles and entities | Free | Moderate | Medium | Not submitted | Create a truthful your tool/founder profile or content page and add the website link where allowed. | Use a real brand/founder identity; do not create thin duplicate pages. Dofollow is reported but recheck after approval. | 2026-07-30 • https://www.submission.directory/site/livejournal | Open LiveJournal submit page (new tab)LiveJournal details |
| 13 | 66 | Slashdot | 90 | Nofollow | slashdot.org | Profiles and entities | Free | Moderate | Medium | Not submitted | Create a truthful your tool/founder profile or content page and add the website link where allowed. | Use a real brand/founder identity; do not create thin duplicate pages. Dofollow is reported but recheck after approval. | 2026-07-30 • https://www.submission.directory/site/slashdot | Open Slashdot submit page (new tab)Slashdot details |
| 14 | 65 | About.me | 90 | Dofollow | about.me | Profiles and entities | Free + paid tier | Quick | Medium | Not submitted | Create clean founder/product profile linking your tool. | Easy brand entity citation. | 2026-07-30 | Open About.me submit page (new tab)About.me details |
| 15 | 65 | Bento | 70 | Nofollow | bento.me | Profiles and entities | Free + paid tier | Quick | Medium | Not submitted | Create visual link hub for your tool categories. | Good branded profile; low friction. | 2026-07-30 | Open Bento submit page (new tab)Bento details |
| 16 | 65 | Jimdo | 90 | Sometimes dofollow | jimdo.com | Profiles and entities | Free + paid tier | Quick | Medium | Not submitted | Create a truthful your tool/founder profile or content page and add the website link where allowed. | Use a real brand/founder identity; do not create thin duplicate pages. Listing link is currently reported nofollow. | 2026-07-30 • https://www.submission.directory/site/jimdo | Open Jimdo submit page (new tab)Jimdo details |
| 17 | 65 | Linktree | 90 | Nofollow | linktr.ee | Profiles and entities | Free + paid tier | Quick | Medium | Not submitted | Create your tool link hub for top pages. | Referral/entity profile; links may be nofollow. | 2026-07-30 | Open Linktree submit page (new tab)Linktree details |
| 18 | 65 | Vimeo | 95 | Nofollow | vimeo.com | Profiles and entities | Free + paid tier | Quick | Medium | Not submitted | Create a truthful your tool/founder profile or content page and add the website link where allowed. | Use a real brand/founder identity; do not create thin duplicate pages. Listing link is currently reported nofollow. | 2026-07-30 • https://www.submission.directory/site/vimeo | Open Vimeo submit page (new tab)Vimeo details |
| 19 | 65 | Weebly | 90 | Sometimes dofollow | weebly.com | Profiles and entities | Free + paid tier | Quick | Medium | Not submitted | Create a truthful your tool/founder profile or content page and add the website link where allowed. | Use a real brand/founder identity; do not create thin duplicate pages. Link treatment varies by tier/page. | 2026-07-30 • https://www.submission.directory/site/weebly | Open Weebly submit page (new tab)Weebly details |
| 20 | 48 | Behance | 90 | Nofollow | behance.net | Profiles and entities | Free | Quick | Later | Not submitted | Publish UI/brand case study for your tool. | Design case study only; not generic submission. | 2026-07-30 | Open Behance submit page (new tab)Behance details |
| 21 | 48 | Bitbucket | 90 | Nofollow | bitbucket.org | Profiles and entities | Free | Quick | Later | Not submitted | Create public repo for embed SDK/example package. | Lower discovery than GitHub; still profile link. | 2026-07-30 | Open Bitbucket submit page (new tab)Bitbucket details |
| 22 | 48 | Bluesky | 90 | Nofollow | bsky.app | Profiles and entities | Free | Quick | Later | Not submitted | Create founder/brand profile linking your tool. | Developer/indie audience; referral/link discovery. | 2026-07-30 | Open Bluesky submit page (new tab)Bluesky details |
| 23 | 48 | Codeberg | 75 | Nofollow | codeberg.org | Profiles and entities | Free | Quick | Later | Not submitted | Host privacy-friendly OSS helper repo linking your tool. | Community values open source; avoid pure promo. | 2026-07-30 | Open Codeberg submit page (new tab)Codeberg details |
| 24 | 48 | Index by Dodo Payments | — | Link type unknown | index.dodopayments.com | Profiles and entities | Free | Quick | Later | Not submitted | Create a truthful your tool/founder profile or content page and add the website link where allowed. | Use a real brand/founder identity; do not create thin duplicate pages. Listing link is currently reported nofollow. | 2026-07-30 • https://www.submission.directory/site/index-by-dodo-payments | Open Index by Dodo Payments submit page (new tab)Index by Dodo Payments details |
| 25 | 48 | Mastodon | 90 | Nofollow | mastodon.social | Profiles and entities | Free | Quick | Later | Not submitted | Create profile; share privacy-first tools in relevant communities. | Instance rules matter; avoid cross-post spam. | 2026-07-30 | Open Mastodon submit page (new tab)Mastodon details |
| 26 | 48 | Quora | 95 | Nofollow | quora.com | Profiles and entities | Free | Quick | Later | Not submitted | Answer relevant questions genuinely; profile links to your tool. | No link stuffing; answers must stand alone. | 2026-07-30 | Open Quora submit page (new tab)Quora details |
| 27 | 48 | sitelike.org | 55 | Link type unknown | sitelike.org | Profiles and entities | Free | Quick | Later | Not submitted | Create a truthful your tool/founder profile or content page and add the website link where allowed. | Use a real brand/founder identity; do not create thin duplicate pages. Listing link is currently reported nofollow. | 2026-07-30 • https://www.submission.directory/site/sitelike-org | Open sitelike.org submit page (new tab)sitelike.org details |
| 28 | 48 | Threads | 90 | Nofollow | threads.com | Profiles and entities | Free | Quick | Later | Not submitted | Post build updates and tool launches. | Brand/referral, not direct SEO. | 2026-07-30 | Open Threads submit page (new tab)Threads details |
| 29 | 45 | Buy Me a Coffee | 90 | Nofollow | buymeacoffee.com | Profiles and entities | Free + paid tier | Quick | Later | Not submitted | Create support profile with your tool link. | Profile backlink/referral only. | 2026-07-30 | Open Buy Me a Coffee submit page (new tab)Buy Me a Coffee details |
| 30 | 45 | Gumroad | 90 | Nofollow | gumroad.com | Profiles and entities | Free + paid tier | Quick | Later | Not submitted | Offer free your tool cheatsheet/template linking site. | Must provide real downloadable asset. | 2026-07-30 | Open Gumroad submit page (new tab)Gumroad details |
| 31 | 45 | 95 | Nofollow | instagram.com | Profiles and entities | Free + paid tier | Quick | Later | Not submitted | Tool demos/reels with bio link. | Referral only; use Linktree/Bento for multiple links. | 2026-07-30 | Open Instagram submit page (new tab)Instagram details | |
| 32 | 45 | Notion | 90 | Nofollow | notion.so | Profiles and entities | Free + paid tier | Quick | Later | Not submitted | Create public resource hub: best free tools by use case. | Good for sharing; not a directory submission. | 2026-07-30 | Open Notion submit page (new tab)Notion details |
| 33 | 45 | ThePopularApps | — | Link type unknown | thepopularapps.com | Profiles and entities | Free + paid tier | Quick | Later | Not submitted | Create a truthful your tool/founder profile or content page and add the website link where allowed. | Use a real brand/founder identity; do not create thin duplicate pages. Listing link is currently reported nofollow. | 2026-07-30 • https://www.submission.directory/site/thepopularapps | Open ThePopularApps submit page (new tab)ThePopularApps details |
| 34 | 45 | TikTok | 95 | Nofollow | tiktok.com | Profiles and entities | Free + paid tier | Quick | Later | Not submitted | Short demos of suspicious/privacy tools. | Profile link and referral; low SEO. | 2026-07-30 | Open TikTok submit page (new tab)TikTok details |
| 35 | 43 | AlphaDigits | — | Link type unknown | alphadigits.com | Profiles and entities | Free + paid tier | Moderate | Later | Not submitted | Create a truthful your tool/founder profile or content page and add the website link where allowed. | Use a real brand/founder identity; do not create thin duplicate pages. Dofollow is reported but recheck after approval. | 2026-07-30 • https://www.submission.directory/site/alphadigits | Open AlphaDigits submit page (new tab)AlphaDigits details |
| 36 | 43 | AppRater | — | Link type unknown | apprater.net | Profiles and entities | Free + paid tier | Moderate | Later | Not submitted | Create a truthful your tool/founder profile or content page and add the website link where allowed. | Use a real brand/founder identity; do not create thin duplicate pages. Dofollow is reported but recheck after approval. | 2026-07-30 • https://www.submission.directory/site/apprater | Open AppRater submit page (new tab)AppRater details |
| 37 | 43 | Carrd | 80 | Sometimes dofollow | carrd.co | Profiles and entities | Free + paid tier | Moderate | Later | Not submitted | Make mini landing page for your tool categories linking home/tools. | Avoid doorway spam; make useful. | 2026-07-30 | Open Carrd submit page (new tab)Carrd details |
| 38 | 43 | Ko-fi | 85 | Nofollow | ko-fi.com | Profiles and entities | Free + paid tier | Moderate | Later | Not submitted | Create support page linking your tool. | Support/referral; not core SEO. | 2026-07-30 | Open Ko-fi submit page (new tab)Ko-fi 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 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
Product launch sites87
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 directories200
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 sites120
Startup listings, beta lists and founder media.
Software directory submission sites215
General tool and software catalogues with real search traffic.
Software review sites29
B2B review sites. Slow to approve, strong once live.
Developer platforms for backlinks139
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 sites214
Write once, link back. Editorial standards vary widely.
PR and press release sites41
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 sites61
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. 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.