Compared, on the record
The Launch Directory or Crunchbase: which does a launch need?
Crunchbase is a research database that investors and sales teams pay to search. The Launch Directory is where a new product is launched and listed. Founders often want both.
Their facts were last checked on . Every fact about them links to the page it came from.
Side by side
| Topic | Crunchbase | The Launch Directory |
|---|---|---|
| How a launch works | A database of private companies, funding and people; not a launch site, no launch queuesource, checked 2026-10-30 | Weekly editions: each launch is filed in a dated week, stays in the archive, and the week's top three by community votes win Product of the Week |
| Free option | Not published on the pages we read | Yes: with our badge on your website and a complete founder profile, the free queue, 1-2 weeks out |
| Paid options | Pro (billed monthly or annually), Business (billed annually), and custom data solutions (as published: Pro, per month billed monthly $99, Business, from per month $199)source, checked 2026-10-30 | Paid launch $5, live at once or in the week you pick; the Featured spot $19 |
| Votes and ranking | Not published on the pages we read | One person, one vote; votes are never sold and paid places are labelled |
| Link to your website | Not published on the pages we read | Followed on a paid launch; not followed on a free listing |
| Who can launch | Investors, sales teams, analysts and founders researching companiessource, checked 2026-10-30 | Any product, startup or business with its own website |
| Extras | Not published on the pages we read | Launch receipt, free AI answer check, founder profiles and domain records on every listing |
| Domain Rating (Ahrefs) | 91measured 31 Oct 2026 | 71measured 31 Oct 2026 |
Prices change. Where a platform shows an offer price, we quote its list price. If something here is out of date, write to launch@zinndigital.com and we will correct it.
What is Crunchbase?
Crunchbase is a data platform about private companies, their funding and their people, sold mainly as a subscription to investors, sales teams and analysts. It is not a launch site and has no launch queue.
Who it suits
Investors, sales teams and analysts researching companies, and founders researching investors or competitors.
What Crunchbase does well
- Deep data on private companies and funding.
- Search, lists and exports for research.
- Access for AI agents through its own tools.
Where The Launch Directory is different
Crunchbase is built for people searching companies; The Launch Directory is built for founders presenting one. A listing here is a public, dated launch page with your story, founders, screenshots and a link to your website.
Reading The Launch Directory costs nothing. Listing is free through the free queue, or $5 for a paid launch with a followed link.
A listing here also keeps a launch receipt of what we measured after launch.
What a launch on The Launch Directory includes
Whatever you decide about the platform above, this is what a listing here comes with.
- A paid launch at $5
- It goes live straight away or in the week you choose, with a followed link to your website and every profile section open: the founder story, milestones and demo video.
- A free way in
- With our badge on your website and your founder profile complete, a free listing joins the free queue and goes live in its week, 1-2 weeks out. Its link to you is not followed; screenshots and comparisons are shown all the same.
- A launch receipt for every listing
- Each live listing carries a dated record of what we measured after launch: Domain Rating by Ahrefs then and now, referring domains, AI mentions where we measure them, and the visits we sent you. It is updated daily, and nothing in it is estimated.
- A free AI answer check
- Every listed business can run one free check of what ChatGPT, Claude and Perplexity answer when a buyer asks about its category: whether you are named, where, and which sources they cite.
- Votes that cannot be bought
- One person, one vote. Featured places, sponsors and the Billboard are labelled as paid and never add a vote to anything.
- Our Domain Rating, in public
- Our own Ahrefs Domain Rating is printed on the pricing page, so you can judge the link before you pay for it.
- Pay without signing up first
- Your account is created at checkout. Pay by card, Apple Pay, Google Pay, PayPal or crypto; prices are in US dollars, VAT is added only where due, and invoices come from Zinn Digital® Ltd.
- Product of the Week
- The three listings with the most community votes each week win #1, #2 and #3 Product of the Week, with a badge for the listing and a page to share.
- Founders by name
- Every founder gets a profile page linked to their companies, and a paid listing can carry the founder story behind the product.
- Domain records on every listing
- Listings show the company domain's public registration record, and the free domain age checker looks up any domain.
When Crunchbase is the better choice
If you need data on companies and investors, Crunchbase is a research tool and The Launch Directory is not one.
File your launch Read the rate card
Questions readers ask
Is Crunchbase a launch platform?
No. It is a company data platform with paid subscriptions; it has no launch queue.
Do visitors pay to read The Launch Directory?
No. Every listing and launch page is free to read.
Should my company be on both?
They serve different readers, so many companies are.