Why Reddit keeps asking this
The question surfaces across r/SaaS, r/SideProject, and r/GrowthHacking every few weeks. Answers are usually generous -- someone shares a curated list of 20, 80, or even 300+ directories in a spreadsheet -- but the honest follow-up in every thread is the same: which of these are actually worth submitting to?
The consistent answer from the discussions: a much smaller number than the spreadsheets suggest.
What the threads consistently name
A few names appear reliably across multiple recent threads.
Product Hunt -- Still the default for launch day. Algorithm visibility tends to favour founders who already have a following; a strong day-one push matters more than the listing itself.
AlternativeTo -- Surfaces in organic search when users are actively comparing tools. A slow-burn source of qualified traffic rather than launch-day spikes.
SaaSHub -- Category and comparison pages that stay indexed. Frequently mentioned in the same breath as G2 and Capterra as part of the "long shelf life" cluster.
G2 and Capterra -- Review platforms rather than pure directories. The value compounds as real user reviews arrive; a bare listing without reviews does relatively little on its own.
BetaList -- Consistently named for pre-launch and beta phases. Small but engaged subscriber base.
An r/SideProject thread compiled 80+ directories into a shared list. An r/SaaS thread went further with a 300+ entry spreadsheet. The replies on both flagged the same problem: many entries are low-traffic, rarely visited, or no longer maintained.
The quality-over-quantity consensus
Reddit's recurring advice across these threads is to start with 10 to 20 directories that have demonstrable traffic and real indexed pages -- and skip the spray-and-pray approach entirely.
The most frequently cited reason for submitting anywhere: permanent do-follow backlinks and category-page visibility that outlast a launch spike by months or years. A second thread in r/SaaS asked directly "are SaaS directory submissions still worth doing?" -- the general answer was yes, but only for the subset that actually rank and stay maintained.
Where directree fits
directree is a structured software directory built for exactly this long-tail. Every listing gets structured data, a do-follow backlink, and a tool page that stays indexed.
Submissions are free. Placement is not connected to pricing -- no pay-to-rank, no sponsored bumps. Every fact on a listing is labelled either "Observed" (confirmed from the product itself) or "AI-inferred" so you always know what was verified and what was inferred.
Submit your tool free -- paste a URL, and the listing is built automatically. Or see how directree's plans compare if you want SEO and GEO tracking alongside the listing. You can also browse directory and listing tools already indexed on directree to see what the category looks like from the inside.