191 app directories, by the numbers
Every founder asks where to submit an app and whether the paid listings are worth it. Our directory catalogue already holds the numbers, so we counted them.
- Published by
- SpacerrApps
- Published
- Data
- 191 rows, CSV
Key findings
- 88 of the 191 app directories we track (46%) are free to list on. Another 85 are free with a paid upgrade, and 18 (9%) charge to list at all.
- Paying does not buy a stronger site. The median Ahrefs Domain Rating is 64.5 for free directories and 63.5 for paid ones.
- 40 directories are free to list on and have a Domain Rating of 70 or higher.
- 111 of the 191 directories (58%) carry a strong backlink rating in our catalogue.
What it costs to get listed
| Listing | Directories | Share | Median DR |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free to list | 88 | 46% | 64.5 |
| Free, with a paid upgrade | 85 | 45% | 64 |
| Paid to list | 18 | 9% | 63.5 |
The median Domain Rating of the three groups is within 1 point of each other. A price tag on a listing tells you what the directory charges, not how strong its site is. If you are weighing a paid one, this guide on paid listings covers what else to check.
Domain Rating
| Domain Rating | Directories | Share |
|---|---|---|
| 80 to 100 | 22 | 12% |
| 60 to 79 | 89 | 47% |
| 40 to 59 | 45 | 24% |
| 20 to 39 | 30 | 16% |
| 0 to 19 | 5 | 3% |
Half of the directories have a Domain Rating of 64 or higher. What Domain Rating measures, and what it does not, is its own guide.
Backlink strength
| Rating | Directories | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Strong | 111 | 58% |
| Okay | 44 | 23% |
| Weak | 36 | 19% |
Free directories with a Domain Rating of 70 or higher
These 40 cost nothing to list on and sit on the strongest sites in the catalogue.
| Directory | DR | Backlinks |
|---|---|---|
| SourceForge | 92 | strong |
| Crunchbase | 91 | strong |
| G2 | 91 | strong |
| Hacker News | 91 | strong |
| Proven Expert | 91 | strong |
| Indiegogo | 90 | strong |
| DevPost | 88 | strong |
| Good Firms | 86 | strong |
| Manta | 86 | strong |
| YourStory | 85 | strong |
| Merchantcircle | 84 | strong |
| Trustradius | 84 | strong |
| F6S | 83 | strong |
| Smartcustomer | 81 | strong |
| findly.tools | 80 | strong |
| Turbo0 | 80 | strong |
| AlternativeTo | 79 | strong |
| Brownbook | 79 | strong |
| SaaSHub | 79 | strong |
| StackShare | 79 | strong |
| SoftwareSuggest | 78 | strong |
| BetaList | 76 | strong |
| Callupcontact | 76 | strong |
| Cybo | 76 | strong |
| DigitalAgencynetwork | 76 | strong |
| MossAI | 76 | strong |
| Alternative.Me | 75 | strong |
| FindUsHere | 75 | strong |
| n49 | 75 | strong |
| SaaSworthy | 75 | strong |
| ActiveSearchResults | 74 | strong |
| Orynth | 74 | strong |
| Place123 | 74 | strong |
| Webwiki | 74 | strong |
| What's the Big Data | 74 | strong |
| A-zbusinessfinder | 73 | strong |
| Linkcentre | 73 | strong |
| Owler | 73 | strong |
| SideProjectors | 71 | strong |
| Nick Launches | 70 | strong |
How we did this
Every directory here is a row in our directory catalogue. We left SpacerrApps itself out, so the study covers 191.
Domain Rating is the Ahrefs score for the strength of a site's backlinks, from 0 to 100. The values were collected for the catalogue in mid 2026 and were not rechecked for this report, so some will have moved since. Backlink strength is the catalogue's own rating of strong, okay or weak, and pricing is what the catalogue records each directory charging to list an app. Directories change their prices, so check before you pay.
Nothing on this page is a ranking, and every outbound link is nofollow. The 40 above are sorted by Domain Rating and nothing else. For the free directories we would actually start with, see the best free directories to submit your app.
