Launching

Most design galleries aren't directories in the Product Hunt sense — they're curated collections that pick you. We checked all nine of ours: what's actually open for submission, what's judged, and what blocks verification outright.

There are not thirty good directories for a developer tool. There are eight, one invite-only, and a README that does more work than any of them.

Most launch boards run on a ranking formula nobody outside the company knows. We looked at what is actually disclosed, and wrote down the one number we could find that is.

Three names every 'where should I launch' thread mentions, and they are not interchangeable. What each one actually is, who reads it, and which to lead with.

Not another 'write a good tagline' list. The specific sequence of decisions a founder actually has to make before, during and after submitting to a launch board — with the deep dive on each step linked, not crammed onto one page.

Across the launch directory market, free slots have quietly become scarce. Some platforms shut the free path entirely; most of the rest now gate it behind a badge or a multi-week queue.

Most Product Hunt alternative lists copy each other. We fetched a real listing page on each platform, read the link's rel attribute, and wrote down the free-tier rules as they actually stand.

Four have quietly rebranded into something else, seven answer nothing at all, one is parked for sale. Every one of them is still being recommended on 'where to launch' lists published this year.