Where to submit your app: directories, launch sites and leaderboards worth your time

Once your app is live on the App Store or Google Play, the next question is where to submit your app so that people outside the stores can find it. Search for "app submission sites" and you get lists of 100 or 200 websites, most of them dead, spammy or built for web startups. A new iOS or Android app needs a much shorter list, a reusable submission kit, and a way to tell which listing actually sent installs.

This guide sorts the places worth submitting your app into four groups: launch platforms with a launch day, startup directories with a review queue, pay-to-rank leaderboards, and the stores' own featuring programs. For each one we note the cost and the rules as published on the site when we checked them in October 2026, and what you can realistically expect.

Key takeaways

• Directories rarely bring a flood of installs. Their value is a burst of early users on launch day, a few lasting referral visits and links back to your site.
• Prepare one submission kit (name, tagline, description, icon, screenshots, video, landing page, tracked store links) and reuse it everywhere.
• Some directories reject plain store links. BetaList, for example, requires your own domain, so have a simple landing page ready.
• Give every listing its own App Store campaign token and Google Play UTM referrer, or you will never know which one worked.

What submitting your app to directories does, and does not, do#

Be realistic before you spend a weekend filling in forms. A directory listing can:

• Put you in front of early adopters on a launch platform's front page for a day or a week. These are people who like trying new things and leaving feedback.
• Send a trickle of referral visits for months from a listing page that ranks for your app's name or category.
• Give you links back to your website, which helps the site, and therefore your app, show up when people search for your app's name.
• Add social proof: a "top 3 of the day" badge or a launch page with comments is something you can show later.

It will not replace store search, where people go looking for an app like yours, and it will not fix a store page that does not convert. If your listing is not ready, start with our guide to writing a store listing that converts and our checklist for when your app is not showing in App Store or Google Play search.

Build a submission kit once#

Every site asks for the same things in slightly different shapes. Collect them in one document so each submission takes ten minutes, not an hour.

With a submission kit ready, each directory form is copy and paste. Photo: RDNE Stock project / Pexels

Where to submit your app: launch platforms with a launch day#

These sites rank new products by votes over a launch period. A strong launch day brings a spike of visitors; an average one brings a handful. All of them accept apps, but they are dominated by web tools, so mobile apps stand out more and compete with fewer similar products.

Product Hunt#

The largest launch platform. According to Product Hunt's guide to posting a product, launches run on 24-hour days and a scheduled post goes live at 12:01 a.m. Pacific time. You need a personal account, because "company accounts cannot hunt or post products", and Product Hunt recommends posting your own product rather than finding a hunter. You can add App Store and Google Play links to the listing. Schedule ahead, and plan to answer comments all day.

Uneed#

A daily launch site with a free queue. Its pricing page lists a free option where Uneed assigns your launch date "at most 5 months out", a $14.99 fast-track with a slot in about 14 days, and $29.99 to choose your own date. A free launch needs an upvote score of 10 to stay published and 20 for a do-follow backlink.

TinyLaunch#

Products launch in periods and are ranked by votes. According to its pricing page, a standard launch is free and stays on the homepage for several days, with a badge and backlink for the top three. A premium launch costs $39, skips the queue and guarantees the backlink.

Microlaunch and Fazier#

Microlaunch runs a launch leaderboard with a premium tier for "Pro launches", and its listings are filtered by type, including Mobile App. Fazier lists new products by day with weekly and monthly leaderboards, and its front page includes iPhone apps among the web tools. Both are smaller than Product Hunt, which makes a top spot more reachable.

Startup directories with a review queue#

These sites review submissions and publish the ones they accept. There is no voting race, so the work ends when you submit.

• Launching Next says "Submitting to Launching Next is free", reviews submissions every day, and offers a $99 upgrade for consideration within one business day.
• BetaList features pre-launch and recently launched startups. Every submission is paid, with a full refund if you are not selected. It does not accept free hosting subdomains or direct app store links, so you need your own landing page.

Both lean toward startups and web products. A consumer app with a clear landing page and a real problem to solve fits; a simple utility may not be accepted.

Pay-to-rank leaderboards#

A leaderboard sells position directly. There is no review, no voting and no launch day: you pay, and your listing appears at the rank your total buys.

• AppRanker is a pay-to-rank listing platform for apps and browser extensions, and an Outbid alternative built for store listings. It supports the App Store, Google Play, the Chrome Web Store, Microsoft Edge Add-ons and Firefox Add-ons. You paste your store link, the card is built from your store metadata and screenshots, and rank is a plain sort on what each listing has paid. A new listing starts at $5 at the time of writing, with no account and no queue. Our post on how AppRanker ranks apps shows the exact rule, and what a paid leaderboard listing buys is honest about what it does not.
• Outbid (outbid.lol) is the pay-to-rank board AppRanker was modeled on, rebuilt here for app store listings.

The advantage of a leaderboard is that the listing stays up. A launch-day spike fades in a day; a position on a board keeps linking to your store page until someone pays more.

The stores' own programs#

Do not skip the free channels inside the stores, which reach far more people than any directory:

• App Store featuring nominations and In-App Events. Apple has a nomination form for apps and updates. Our guide on how to get featured on the App Store covers timing and what to write.
• Google Play promotional content and pre-registration. If you have not launched on Android yet, Google Play pre-registration lets people sign up before launch day.

Communities, newsletters and review sites#

Directories are only one part of a launch. Niche communities, newsletters and small review blogs often send fewer visitors but better users, because the audience already cares about your category. Our guide on how to promote your app for free covers how to post in communities without getting banned and how to pitch reviewers.

A directory is a notice board: worth pinning to, but only one of many places people look. Photo: Wictor Cardoso / Pexels

Compare the options#

Costs as published by each site when we checked in October 2026. They change often, so confirm before you pay.

Track every submission#

Give each directory its own tracked link, so your analytics tell you which one sent installs. On the App Store, create a campaign link in App Store Connect and change only the campaign token. On Google Play, add a URL-encoded UTM referrer:

https://apps.apple.com/app/apple-store/id123456789?pt=123456&ct=producthunt&mt=8
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.example.app&referrer=utm_source%3Dproducthunt%26utm_medium%3Dlaunch

A small script saves you from hand-encoding a referrer for every site:

from urllib.parse import quote, urlencode

APPLE_ID, PROVIDER, PACKAGE = "123456789", "123456", "com.example.app"
DIRECTORIES = ["producthunt", "uneed", "tinylaunch", "launchingnext", "appranker"]

for source in DIRECTORIES:
    apple = f"https://apps.apple.com/app/apple-store/id{APPLE_ID}?pt={PROVIDER}&ct={source}&mt=8"
    referrer = urlencode({"utm_source": source, "utm_medium": "directory"})
    play = f"https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id={PACKAGE}&referrer={quote(referrer)}"
    print(f"{source}\n  {apple}\n  {play}")

Two caveats from Apple and Google's own reporting: App Store campaigns appear in Analytics only once they reach five first-time downloads, and Play groups small sources as "Other". A directory that sent three installs will not show up by name, which is itself an answer. Our guide on how to promote your app for free explains both reports in detail.

If your landing page is the link you submit, add UTM parameters to it too, and put your tracked store links behind its badges.

A two-week plan#

1. Days 1 to 2: write the submission kit, build the landing page, generate tracked links, create personal accounts on each launch platform.
2. Day 3: submit to the review-queue directories (Launching Next, and BetaList if you are early enough) and join the free Uneed and TinyLaunch queues.
3. Day 4: add your app to a pay-to-rank leaderboard so it has a listing that stays up while you wait for launch dates.
4. Days 5 to 10: schedule your Product Hunt launch, line up people who already use the app to leave honest comments, and prepare replies to the obvious questions.
5. Launch day: be online for the whole 24 hours, reply to every comment and share the launch page in your own channels.
6. Day 14: check App Store Connect campaigns and Play's UTM channels. Keep what worked, and drop what did not.

Our launch-week visibility checklist covers the week itself, from the store page to what to do after launch.

Mistakes to avoid#

• Submitting a store link where a landing page is expected. Some directories reject it outright.
• Using a company account on launch platforms that require a personal maker account.
• Asking strangers to upvote. Ask your existing users to look and comment if they find it useful. Buying or trading votes misleads the people browsing the site and puts your listing at risk.
• Writing a new description for every site. Reuse the kit. Consistent wording helps people and search engines connect your listings.
• Judging a directory by launch day alone. Some send almost nothing on day one and a steady trickle for months. Check again after a month.

FAQ#

Where can I submit my app for free?#

Product Hunt, the free queues on Uneed and TinyLaunch, and Launching Next all accept free submissions at the time of writing. The App Store featuring nomination form and Google Play's store tools are free too, and they reach the largest audience.

Do app directories bring downloads?#

Usually a few, not many. Expect a short burst on launch day from launch platforms and a small but steady flow of referral visits from directory pages. Their more lasting value is links back to your site and a public record that your app exists.

Can I submit a mobile app to Product Hunt?#

Yes. You can add App Store and Google Play links when you post, and Product Hunt recommends that makers post their own products from a personal account.

Should I pay to skip a directory's queue?#

Only if the date matters, for example to line up with a Product Hunt launch or a big update. Otherwise the free queue gives you the same listing later.

How do I know which directory sent installs?#

Use a separate App Store campaign token and Google Play UTM referrer for each directory, then compare them in App Store Connect Analytics and Play Console's acquisition reports after two weeks.

Image credits#

• Cover, a signpost with colourful arrow signs: photo by Tibor Szabo on Pexels, Pexels License. Cropped to 1200x630.
• Filling out a form on a laptop: photo by RDNE Stock project on Pexels, Pexels License. Resized.
• Man pinning notes to a bulletin board: photo by Wictor Cardoso on Pexels, Pexels License. Resized.