Compared, on the record
The Launch Directory as an alternative to Product Hunt
Product Hunt is the best-known launch day on the web. The Launch Directory works to a slower rhythm and keeps a dated record of everything that happens after launch.
Their facts were last checked on . Every fact about them links to the page it came from.
Side by side
| Topic | Product Hunt | The Launch Directory |
|---|---|---|
| How a launch works | Daily launches compete on a homepage leaderboard for top spots, including Product of the Daysource, 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 | Yes: "100% free to use"source, checked 2026-10-30 | Yes: with our badge on your website and a complete founder profile, the free queue, 1-2 weeks out |
| Paid options | Not published on the pages we read | Paid launch $5, live at once or in the week you pick; the Featured spot $19 |
| Votes and ranking | Community upvotes and comments; you may not ask people directly to upvotesource, checked 2026-10-30 | 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 | Company accounts are not allowed; makers are encouraged to hunt their own products; relaunch with each significant new versionsource, 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 If something here is out of date, write to launch@zinndigital.com and we will correct it.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 Product Hunt?
Product Hunt is a community where makers post, or hunt, the products they have built. Launches compete on a daily homepage leaderboard for the top places, including Product of the Day, and members upvote and comment.
Launching there is free, and the platform publishes a long guide to preparing for the day.
Who it suits
Makers of consumer and software products who can rally attention on a single day, have a launch plan ready, and want to reach a large international crowd of early adopters, investors and product people.
What Product Hunt does well
- A very large, international audience on launch day.
- It costs nothing to launch.
- Comments from experienced makers can be genuinely useful.
Where The Launch Directory is different
Product Hunt measures a launch in one day. The Launch Directory files each launch in a weekly edition, so a launch has a full week of company and the page stays in a dated archive afterwards.
Product Hunt does not allow company accounts. Here a company is listed as itself, with its founders shown by name on their own profiles.
After launch day, The Launch Directory keeps watching: the launch receipt on your listing records your Domain Rating at launch and now, referring domains, AI mentions and the visits we sent, so you can see what happened rather than guess.
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 Product Hunt is the better choice
If your goal is the biggest possible crowd in a single day, and you have the community to carry a launch, Product Hunt is hard to beat. Many founders launch there and file the same launch here for the lasting record.
File your launch Read the rate card
Questions readers ask
Can I launch on Product Hunt and The Launch Directory in the same week?
Yes. They do not conflict, and a listing here does not affect your launch there.
Is Product Hunt free?
Its launch page says it is 100% free to use. A free listing is also available here, and a paid launch is $5.
Do votes decide the order on The Launch Directory?
Community votes decide the leaderboards and Product of the Week, with one vote per person. Paid places are labelled and never add votes.