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 | 100 | CSA STAR Registry | 80 | Sometimes dofollow | cloudsecurityalliance.org | Developer registries | Free | Quick | Do first | Live, conditional | Complete the current CAIQ or AI-CAIQ truthfully and submit your tool real cloud service to the STAR Registry. | Cloud/SaaS fit only; disclose actual controls and update annually. Never overstate security practices. | 2026-08-04 | Open CSA STAR Registry submit page (new tab)CSA STAR Registry details |
| 2 | 98 | e27 | 70 | Sometimes dofollow | e27.co | Startup directories | Free | Moderate | Do first | Not submitted | Create your tool company profile with accurate product, team, media, and website details, then submit it for verification. | Profiles are manually verified; agencies, consulting, non-tech, and pure software-development service companies are prohibited. | 2026-08-03 | Open e27 submit page (new tab)e27 details |
| 3 | 98 | Flipsnack | 75 | Sometimes dofollow | flipsnack.com | Publishing platforms | Free | Moderate | Do first | Verified live | Upload or design a useful your tool privacy report and add contextual external links before public sharing. | Use original reader-focused material; avoid duplicated sales decks and stay within free-plan limits. | 2026-08-04 | Open Flipsnack submit page (new tab)Flipsnack details |
| 4 | 98 | Leanpub | 80 | Sometimes dofollow | leanpub.com | Publishing platforms | Free | Moderate | Do first | Verified live | Write and publish a substantial original handbook on local-first privacy, web safety, or accessible-tool engineering, including reproducible examples and relevant your tool references. | Use only original or properly licensed text, code, and images; provide a real book rather than a thin SEO ebook. Leanpub is self-publishing and may enforce terms after publication rather than pre-reviewing quality. | 2026-08-03 | Open Leanpub submit page (new tab)Leanpub details |
| 5 | 95 | Buttondown | 70 | Sometimes dofollow | buttondown.com | Publishing platforms | Free + paid tier | Moderate | Do first | Verified live | Launch a human-reviewed Privacy & Accessibility Field Notes newsletter with original experiments, implementation lessons, and contextually relevant links to your tool resources. | Build an authentic opt-in audience, publish original issues on a consistent cadence, and do not import scraped or unconsented addresses. Hosted archives are public; advanced analytics, automations, and other add-ons cost extra. | 2026-08-03 | Open Buttondown submit page (new tab)Buttondown details |
| 6 | 95 | Console.dev | 50 | Sometimes dofollow | console.dev | Software directories | Free | Involved | Do first | Verified live | Email the strongest developer-focused your tool feature with a self-service demo, documentation, privacy model, and concise reason it is novel. | Primary users must be developers; the tool should be high quality, fast, maintained, documented, privacy-safe, and independently interesting. | https://console.dev/selection-criteria | Open Console.dev submit page (new tab)Console.dev details |
| 7 | 95 | Educative | 75 | Sometimes dofollow | educative.io | Other opportunities | Free | Involved | Do first | Verified live | Propose a text-based, interactive course on web privacy, security headers, local-first tools, or accessible frontend testing, with practical code exercises and clear outcomes. | Applicants need real subject expertise and clear teaching ability. The outline, lessons, code, and claims receive Author Success, technical, and editorial review; the course must teach independently of AltFTool promotion. | 2026-08-03 | Open Educative submit page (new tab)Educative details |
| 8 | 95 | FeaturedCustomers | 60 | Sometimes dofollow | featuredcustomers.com | Profiles and entities | Free + paid tier | Moderate | Do first | Live, conditional | Add the company, verify ownership, and supply genuine customer references, case studies, and brand assets. | Designed for B2B software and services; customer references must be genuine and the vendor must pass verification. | 2026-08-03 | Open FeaturedCustomers submit page (new tab)FeaturedCustomers details |
| 9 | 95 | Help Net Security | 85 | Sometimes dofollow | helpnetsecurity.com | Publishing platforms | Free | Involved | Do first | Verified live | Send a concise exclusive angle on a new your tool security feature, dataset, vulnerability study, or expert commentary. | Send pitches to the listed editorial address; relevance is essential and the team cannot reply to or publish every pitch. | https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/contact/ | Open Help Net Security submit page (new tab)Help Net Security details |
| 10 | 95 | Security Boulevard | 70 | Sometimes dofollow | securityboulevard.com | Publishing platforms | Free | Involved | Do first | Verified live | Pitch a vendor-neutral security article using original your tool tests, threat-model findings, or privacy research. | Content must be original, transparent about authorship, and vendor-neutral; promotional posts belong in paid programs. | https://securityboulevard.com/write-for-security-boulevard/ | Open Security Boulevard submit page (new tab)Security Boulevard details |
| 11 | 95 | Towards AI | 60 | Sometimes dofollow | towardsai.com | Publishing platforms | Free | Involved | Do first | Verified live | Submit a useful AI privacy, local processing, prompt-security, or responsible-tooling tutorial with reproducible examples. | Submit a complete draft for editorial review; avoid thin AI-generated or product-led content and expect no guaranteed placement. | https://towardsai.com/contribute/ | Open Towards AI submit page (new tab)Towards AI details |
| 12 | 92 | eLearning Industry | 75 | Sometimes dofollow | elearningindustry.com | Guest posting sites | Free + paid tier | Involved | Do first | Verified live | Submit an original L&D article on teaching practical privacy or accessibility skills, linking only to a genuinely informative your tool guide where it supports the lesson. | Free guest posts may link to informative content but cannot mention or promote the company/product; promotional links belong to sponsored articles. Relevant, original, reader-friendly work is editorially reviewed, HR-only topics are excluded, affiliation should be disclosed, timing/inclusion is not guaranteed, and any author/content link should be treated as editorial/UGC with no followed-link promise. | 2026-08-03 | Open eLearning Industry submit page (new tab)eLearning Industry 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.