Which startup directories are dead or no longer free

BetaList: free once, paid now

I tried BetaList on 2 October with my own project, SubmitMyStartup. After signing up and verifying my email, I reached the submit step and found no free option, only three one-time plans: Lite at $39, which features a product on a random day within roughly 2 weeks; Standard at $99; and Premium at $299. BetaList refunds in full if a product isn't selected. It also requires your own domain, so free hosting subdomains and app store links don't qualify.

BetaList's support page, which I read the same day, says the same thing in so many words, and adds that BetaList used to offer free submissions. That history explains the lists. A list written a few years ago was right when it was written; it just hasn't been checked since.

On my list BetaList is marked paid, with those prices and the date, so nobody spends an afternoon looking for a free path that isn't there.

Two old directory domains now lead to casinos

On 3 October I opened two sites that older lists still include. sideprojectstack.com, once Side Project Stack, loaded a Turkish online casino and sports betting page directly, with no redirect and nothing about side projects. startuptoolslist.com, once Startup Tools List, redirected through three ad and affiliate addresses and ended on a casino's sign-up page. Two days earlier the same address had led to a parked-domain page.

I don't know how either domain changed hands, and I didn't click anything on those pages. The general mechanism is simple, though. When an owner stops renewing a domain, anyone can register it, and every old list and blog post that links to it now sends its readers to whoever holds it. A founder who clicks through an old list expecting a submit form can land on a gambling sign-up page instead. Both sites are under reported problems on my list, with the date I saw them.

Gone, or turned into something else

Five more former directories no longer do the job. Makerlog's addresses, including its app, all redirect to a personal blog (checked 3 October). remote.tools is now a blog of guides to social platforms, with no way to submit a product (3 October). Appvita redirects to a personal portfolio, and Collaborizm is a stub page that links to a Substack (both 29 September). launched.io, home of Launched, no longer resolves at all (29 September).

ToolFinder is dead in a different way. toolfinder.wiki still resolves, but its server closes every connection; I saw that on 1 and 3 October.

Broken in ways that cost you an afternoon

Some sites are still there but can't take a listing. All Startups and Loop both fail with certificate errors: All Startups' certificate expired on 1 October 2023, and Loop's in December 2021 (checked 29 September). Getworm's submit page loads, but the service behind it returns an error (Cloudflare 525), so there is no usable form. Killer Startups advertises a submit form, but only an email box and a Get Started button appear (both checked 26 September).

Discover Cloud failed more quietly. I signed up on 25 September, but the verification email never arrived, so I never reached the listing form. It's under reported problems because the free path is blocked, not because the site is down.

The last three reported problems are Reddit communities: r/shamelessplug is banned, and r/Coupons and r/thesidehustle don't allow product promotion.

Paid only, whatever older lists say

Ten directories on my list had no free path when I counted them on 3 October. Besides BetaList, I found three more that way myself that day. Productivity Directory lets you fill in its whole form for free, but "Submit for Review" leads straight to "Choose a plan", with three PayPal plans at $24, $99, and $199. Toolkitly's pricing page says there is no free tier: Starter $29, Growth $49, and Elite $99, one-time. WIP is a paid maker community rather than a directory; joining, which you need to post a project, costs $29 a month or $199 a year.

The other six were recorded as paid when the list was reviewed on 24 and 25 September: AI Collection (a free form, followed by a reported $19 publishing fee), All Top Startups (about $29 and $79), Appiod (about $29 to $249), AppsThunder (about $249), Beta Testing (a paid tester marketplace), and Next Big What (paid launch packages only). I haven't submitted to those six, so treat their prices as recorded estimates and check the site.

Watch for the free form with a paid ending. AI Collection and Productivity Directory both take your details first, so the fee only appears after the work is done.

Not dead after all: Betapage is now Pitchwall

One old complaint needs a correction. Betapage has been called dead but still listed as free. Its address now redirects to Pitchwall, which does have a free launch. I submitted on 2 October, and the status page said: "It will take more than 30 days to be published. If you are in a hurry, you can get a quick review." The free plan includes 1 day of homepage visibility; Pro at $49 has about a 2-week wait, and Premium at $99 lets you choose your date.

Why lists go stale

A list is a snapshot. Sites change their prices, shut down, or lose their domains, and a list only finds out when someone tries the site again. That's why every row on my list has a Last checked date, and why failures stay on it instead of being deleted. A dead site that someone suggests later is already on record, with what I found and when.

How to check a site before you submit

A few minutes of checking saves the most time, whichever list you're working from. Open the site directly rather than through an old link, and look at the address you land on. Find the pricing or submit page before you create an account. If your browser warns about the certificate, stop there. And if a form takes all your details before it shows a price, expect that there may be one at the end.

If you find an entry on my list that has changed, open an issue on GitHub with the date and what you saw: https://github.com/mmmmingos/where-to-submit-your-startup/issues/new. I'll check it and update the row.

What I don't know

Sites come back, and paid sites sometimes add a free tier again. Each entry here is what I saw on the date given, and nothing more. I don't know who owns the two casino domains or how long that will last. I'd avoid both.