A maintained list of 1,432 directories, launch platforms, registries and marketplaces that accept product submissions. 1,134 of them are free or have a free tier, and 192 are quick wins — free, low effort, and worth doing first. Every row shows cost, effort and priority, and links straight to the submission page.
The table is wider than the screen — swipe it sideways for cost, effort and the preparation notes.
| # | Impact (sorted) | Site — sort by this | Domain | Type | Cost | Effort — sort by this | Priority | Status | What to prepare | Rules / caveat | Checked | Actions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 100 | CSA STAR Registry | 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 | 100 | OpenSSF Best Practices Badge | bestpractices.dev | Profiles and entities | Free | Quick | Do first | Live, conditional | Open-source a well-scoped your tool component, document its governance, tests, security process, and complete the passing-badge self-assessment. | Only genuine FLOSS projects qualify; claims are checked and must be backed by public evidence, including a public repository, license, contribution path, HTTPS, tests, and vulnerability-reporting process. | 2026-08-03 | Open OpenSSF Best Practices Badge submit page (new tab)OpenSSF Best Practices Badge details |
| 3 | 100 | Postman | postman.com | Profiles and entities | Free | Quick | Do first | Live, conditional | Create an your tool public workspace with sanitized API collections, examples, documentation, and a canonical homepage link on the publisher profile. | Never publish tokens, cookies, secrets, private endpoints, or user data; run the secret scan before making a workspace public. | https://learning.postman.com/v11/docs/collaborating-in-postman/using-workspaces/public-workspaces | Open Postman submit page (new tab)Postman details |
| 4 | 100 | StartupTN | startuptn.in | Startup directories | Free | Quick | Do first | Live, conditional | Use the official Register flow and build a verified your tool company profile if Tamil Nadu startup rules are met. | Use the homepage registration flow because deep URLs change; public visibility and acceptance remain conditional. | 2026-08-04 | Open StartupTN submit page (new tab)StartupTN details |
| 5 | 86 | APIList.fun | apilist.fun | Other opportunities | Free | Quick | High | Live, conditional | Recommend an official your tool API with its documentation URL, concise Markdown description, category, and technical details. | Submit only an active public API with accurate auth, SSL, request, and response information. | 2026-08-05 | Open APIList.fun submit page (new tab)APIList.fun details |
| 6 | 86 | APIs.guru OpenAPI Directory | apis.guru | Other opportunities | Free | Quick | High | Live, conditional | When your tool exposes a stable public API, host an official OpenAPI definition at a permanent URL and submit it with accurate ownership, category, logo, and metadata. | The API must be public through clearly documented access steps, persistent, independently useful, and described by a valid machine-readable definition. APIs.guru aggregates rather than hosts the specification and automatically rechecks its source, so keep the canonical spec stable and current. | 2026-08-03 | Open APIs.guru OpenAPI Directory submit page (new tab)APIs.guru OpenAPI Directory details |
| 7 | 86 | AppDirectory.org | appdirectory.org | Software directories | Free | Quick | High | Live, conditional | Submit your tool once with its strongest free-use case, correct category, concise copy, and product URL. | The app must be free or have a meaningful free tier; listings are curated and duplicate submissions are not allowed. | 2026-08-03 | Open AppDirectory.org submit page (new tab)AppDirectory.org details |
| 8 | 86 | Awesome-Selfhosted | awesome-selfhosted.net | Software directories | Free | Quick | High | Live, conditional | Submit a mature self-hosted your tool edition using the required YAML entry and canonical website/source links. | Must be a working FOSS network app with a release at least four months old; LLM-generated contributions are prohibited. | 2026-08-05 | Open Awesome-Selfhosted submit page (new tab)Awesome-Selfhosted details |
| 9 | 86 | GeM | gem.gov.in | Marketplaces and app stores | Free | Quick | High | Live, conditional | Register an authorized Indian business seller and list only real eligible your tool services with accurate catalogue details. | Requires authorized entity, Aadhaar/PAN, business PAN, incorporation and bank data; an external backlink is not guaranteed. | 2026-08-04 | Open GeM submit page (new tab)GeM details |
| 10 | 86 | Goodpods | goodpods.com | Other opportunities | Free | Quick | High | Live, conditional | Search for and claim a real your tool podcast, then keep its RSS-supplied website and episode metadata accurate. | Claim only a show AltFTool owns; authentic podcast content and RSS ownership are required. | 2026-08-04 | Open Goodpods submit page (new tab)Goodpods details |
| 11 | 86 | Listen Notes | listennotes.com | Other opportunities | Free | Quick | High | Live, conditional | Submit a real your tool podcast RSS feed whose show website and episode notes naturally reference relevant tools. | Valid human-made podcast with substantive episodes only; low-quality or link-only feeds are rejected. | 2026-08-04 | Open Listen Notes submit page (new tab)Listen Notes details |
| 12 | 86 | Open VSX Registry | open-vsx.org | Marketplaces and app stores | Free | Quick | High | Live, conditional | Publish a useful your tool editor extension whose marketplace metadata links to its homepage and documentation. | Requires a genuine VSIX extension, namespace ownership and an access token; do not republish third-party work without rights. | https://open-vsx.org/ | Open Open VSX Registry submit page (new tab)Open VSX Registry details |
| 13 | 86 | OpenSourceAlternative.to | opensourcealternative.to | Software directories | Free | Quick | High | Live, conditional | Submit a genuinely open-source, maintained and self-hostable your tool component as an alternative to a named proprietary tool. | Requires real open source, self-hosting and active maintenance; submission does not guarantee inclusion. | 2026-08-04 | Open OpenSourceAlternative.to submit page (new tab)OpenSourceAlternative.to details |
| 14 | 86 | Pipedream Registry | pipedream.com | Marketplaces and app stores | Free | Quick | High | Live, conditional | Build your tool triggers/actions, submit them to the public registry by GitHub PR, and address review feedback. | Components must follow registry patterns; approved PRs become available in Pipedream Marketplace and workflows. | https://pipedream.com/docs/components/contributing | Open Pipedream Registry submit page (new tab)Pipedream Registry details |
| 15 | 86 | Player FM | player.fm | Other opportunities | Free | Quick | High | Live, conditional | Submit a genuine your tool podcast RSS feed or Apple Podcasts URL with accurate show-website and episode metadata. | Feed must be public, accessible and contain playable audio enclosures; do not submit a fake link-only feed. | 2026-08-04 | Open Player FM submit page (new tab)Player FM details |
| 16 | 86 | Pocket Casts | pocketcasts.com | Other opportunities | Free | Quick | High | Live, conditional | Submit a real public your tool podcast RSS feed whose metadata and episode notes reference the official site naturally. | Requires a valid public RSS feed and genuine episodes; do not submit a shell or private feed as public. | 2026-08-05 | Open Pocket Casts submit page (new tab)Pocket Casts details |
| 17 | 86 | PRISM Break | prism-break.org | Software directories | Free | Quick | High | Live, conditional | Propose a qualifying open-source your tool privacy project through the official contribution process. | Strong privacy and free-software fit is required; follow maintainers' criteria and avoid promotional-only changes. | 2026-08-05 | Open PRISM Break submit page (new tab)PRISM Break details |
| 18 | 86 | PulseMCP | pulsemcp.com | Other opportunities | Free | Quick | High | Live, conditional | Submit your tool MCP repository or public server URL, preferably after publishing it to the official MCP Registry. | Registry data is processed periodically; only submit a real repository, server or client. | 2026-08-04 | Open PulseMCP submit page (new tab)PulseMCP details |
| 19 | 86 | PWA Directory | pwa.directory | Other opportunities | Free | Quick | High | Live, conditional | First pass PWA checks, then submit the installable HTTPS app with manifest, service worker, offline behavior, icons, and screenshots. | Requires a valid manifest, registered service worker, useful offline behavior, HTTPS, no broken links, and more than a bare website wrapper. | 2026-08-03 | Open PWA Directory submit page (new tab)PWA Directory details |
| 20 | 86 | Sessionize | sessionize.com | Profiles and entities | Free | Quick | High | Live, conditional | Create a founder expert profile and submit substantive talks about privacy-first tools, accessibility or web security. | Directory visibility should reflect real expertise and sessions; free event mode excludes promotional or commercial events. | 2026-08-05 | Open Sessionize submit page (new tab)Sessionize details |
| 21 | 86 | Terraform Registry | registry.terraform.io | Developer registries | Free | Quick | High | Live, conditional | Publish a maintained Terraform provider for your tool stable API, or a genuinely reusable deployment module, with signed releases, generated documentation, examples, tests, and semantic versions. | A provider must use a public lowercase terraform-provider-* GitHub repository, signed cross-platform release assets, a valid manifest, docs, and SemVer tags. A module has separate public-repository, naming, structure, documentation, and tag requirements. Publish only a functional reusable artifact. | 2026-08-03 | Open Terraform Registry submit page (new tab)Terraform Registry details |
| 22 | 68 | Apify Store | apify.com | Marketplaces and app stores | Free | Quick | Medium | Live, conditional | Build a working your tool automation Actor, publish it to the Store and include contextual project/documentation links. | Actor must perform a real automation use case, meet Store quality/security rules and avoid unauthorized scraping or data use. | https://docs.apify.com/actors/publishing | Open Apify Store submit page (new tab)Apify Store details |
| 23 | 68 | AppImageHub | appimage.github.io | Software directories | Free | Quick | Medium | Live, conditional | Package a legitimate your tool desktop app as an official AppImage, then file the requested issue or pull request for inclusion. | Requires a maintained downloadable AppImage and compliant metadata; a browser-only site is not eligible. | 2026-08-05 | Open AppImageHub submit page (new tab)AppImageHub details |
| 24 | 68 | Astro Showcase | astro.build | Design galleries | Free | Quick | Medium | Live, conditional | If an your tool property genuinely uses Astro, use the Submit site action to propose it for the public showcase. | Only submit an actual Astro-built production site; acceptance is curated and not guaranteed. | 2026-08-05 | Open Astro Showcase submit page (new tab)Astro Showcase details |
| 25 | 68 | Cloudsmith | cloudsmith.com | Developer registries | Free | Quick | Medium | Live, conditional | Create a public your tool package repository for genuine releases and complete its namespace, description, licence and source/homepage metadata. | Only host real maintained artifacts; the open-source plan requires public licensed software and public distribution can incur usage limits. | 2026-08-05 official Cloudsmith repository docs and pricing | Open Cloudsmith submit page (new tab)Cloudsmith details |
| 26 | 68 | CocoaPods | cocoapods.org | Developer registries | Free | Quick | Medium | Live, conditional | Publish a genuine iOS or macOS your tool SDK and set homepage/source URLs in its podspec. | Requires a valid podspec and Trunk registration; package must be an actual reusable Apple-platform library. | https://guides.cocoapods.org/making/getting-setup-with-trunk.html | Open CocoaPods submit page (new tab)CocoaPods details |
| 27 | 68 | Django Packages | djangopackages.org | Developer registries | Free | Quick | Medium | Live, conditional | After releasing a genuinely Django-relevant open-source component, sign in and add its GitHub or GitLab repository and accurate project links. | Package must be useful to Django developers and hosted on a supported public repository; listings are community-maintained and not DSF endorsement. | 2026-08-05 official Django Packages FAQ, documentation and live directory | Open Django Packages submit page (new tab)Django Packages details |
| 28 | 68 | FlakeHub | flakehub.com | Developer registries | Free | Quick | Medium | Live, conditional | Publish a genuine versioned your tool Nix flake under the correct GitHub owner and maintain its README and project links. | Published versions are archived permanently; ownership, licence and repository association must be accurate and squatting is inappropriate. | 2026-08-05 official FlakeHub homepage, usage policy and pricing | Open FlakeHub submit page (new tab)FlakeHub details |
| 29 | 68 | freshcode.club | freshcode.club | Developer registries | Free | Quick | Medium | Live, conditional | Submit a real maintained your tool open-source release with accurate categories and project metadata. | Use only for an actual open-source project and keep releases maintained. | 2026-08-05 | Open freshcode.club submit page (new tab)freshcode.club details |
| 30 | 68 | Haxelib | lib.haxe.org | Developer registries | Free | Quick | Medium | Live, conditional | Release a useful Haxe SDK or privacy utility and set haxelib.json's URL to the relevant your tool documentation page. | Requires reusable code, semantic versions and accurate metadata; promotional-only packages are not appropriate. | 2026-08-05 official Haxelib package guide | Open Haxelib submit page (new tab)Haxelib details |
| 31 | 68 | itch.io | itch.io | Other opportunities | Free | Quick | Medium | Live, conditional | Publish a genuine browser or desktop your tool utility with screenshots, documentation and an official-site link. | Content must be an actual downloadable or browser-run project and follow itch.io quality/content rules; not a generic directory listing. | https://itch.io/developers | Open itch.io submit page (new tab)itch.io details |
| 32 | 68 | Joomla Extensions Directory | joomla.org | Marketplaces and app stores | Free | Quick | Medium | Live, conditional | Build a functional your tool Joomla integration and submit a complete listing with an approved download route. | Actual installable extension required; GPL, trademark, update-system, security and listing checks apply. | 2026-08-05 official JED submission guide and entry checklist | Open Joomla Extensions Directory submit page (new tab)Joomla Extensions Directory details |
| 33 | 68 | Liberapay | liberapay.com | Profiles and entities | Free | Quick | Medium | Live, conditional | Create an your tool project team, connect verified project accounts, and describe the official website and repository contextually. | Teams are for genuine shared projects; one-contributor projects are allowed, but a single-company shell is not the intended use. | 2026-08-05 | Open Liberapay submit page (new tab)Liberapay details |
| 34 | 68 | OpenTofu Public Registry | registry.opentofu.org | Developer registries | Free | Quick | Medium | Live, conditional | Release a reusable your tool-related security or privacy module from a correctly named public GitHub repository. | Requires standard module structure, terraform-NAME-TARGETSYSTEM naming and semantic Git tags; confirm external homepage display before investing. | 2026-08-05 official OpenTofu module publishing guide | Open OpenTofu Public Registry submit page (new tab)OpenTofu Public Registry details |
| 35 | 68 | PitchBook | pitchbook.com | Profiles and entities | Free | Quick | Medium | Live, conditional | Search for your tool; submit an accurate profile update or request research coverage with authoritative company data and website. | Inclusion is not guaranteed and may require an account; do not exaggerate funding or company facts. | 2026-08-04 | Open PitchBook submit page (new tab)PitchBook details |
| 36 | 68 | PublicAPIs.io | publicapis.io | Other opportunities | Free | Quick | Medium | Live, conditional | List a legitimate documented your tool API in the relevant developer category using the normal or Pro review queue. | API must be real and documented; paid placement should be disclosed and does not guarantee organic ranking value. | 2026-08-05 | Open PublicAPIs.io submit page (new tab)PublicAPIs.io details |
| 37 | 68 | Raycast Store | raycast.com | Marketplaces and app stores | Free | Quick | Medium | Live, conditional | Build your tool actions as a Raycast extension and publish through the official GitHub PR workflow. | Extension must follow Store guidelines and generally be open-source under the required license. | https://developers.raycast.com/basics/publish-an-extension | Open Raycast Store submit page (new tab)Raycast Store details |
| 38 | 68 | Repoz | repoz.io | Developer registries | Free | Quick | Medium | Live, conditional | Submit a maintained your tool open-source component for community review. | Requires a genuine public open-source project; do not submit an empty promotional repository. | 2026-08-05 | Open Repoz submit page (new tab)Repoz details |
| 39 | 68 | ResearchGate | researchgate.net | Profiles and entities | Free | Quick | Medium | Live, conditional | An eligible active researcher can publish genuine your tool studies, code or datasets and add the official website where appropriate. | Membership is for active researchers; upload only owned research and respect publisher copyright. | 2026-08-04 | Open ResearchGate submit page (new tab)ResearchGate details |
| 40 | 68 | Scoop | scoop.sh | Developer registries | Free | Quick | Medium | Live, conditional | Publish and maintain a tested Scoop manifest for an actual portable your tool Windows CLI or app. | Requires a real release, immutable URLs and hashes, silent install behavior, updates and bucket-specific acceptance. | 2026-08-04 | Open Scoop submit page (new tab)Scoop details |
| 41 | 68 | Software Heritage | softwareheritage.org | Software directories | Free | Quick | Medium | Live, conditional | Archive a genuine public your tool source repository and add its resulting SWHID permalink to release and citation metadata. | Public cloneable VCS origin only; this is preservation/citation, not a promotional directory. | 2026-08-04 | Open Software Heritage submit page (new tab)Software Heritage details |
| 42 | 68 | Statamic Marketplace | statamic.com | Marketplaces and app stores | Free | Quick | Medium | Live, conditional | Build a functional privacy, accessibility or security add-on, publish it on Packagist and create its Marketplace product page. | Requires a genuine Composer add-on and seller account; paid add-ons additionally need payment and bank setup. | 2026-08-05 official Statamic add-on publishing guide | Open Statamic Marketplace submit page (new tab)Statamic Marketplace details |
| 43 | 68 | Upwork | 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 |
| 44 | 68 | Vestbee | vestbee.com | Startup directories | Free | Quick | Medium | Live, conditional | Create an accurate your tool startup profile and complete its product, team, traction and website details. | Investable-startup fit required; public indexing and an external backlink are not guaranteed. | 2026-08-04 | Open Vestbee submit page (new tab)Vestbee details |
Behind the list
Every row here starts as a line in a sheet, gets normalised into one of 15 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.
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.