GradedSites

Which startup directories
actually get you backlinks?

We submitted to 74 of them and recorded what happened. Real DR from Ahrefs, real traffic from SimilarWeb, real approval times. No affiliate kickbacks.

See the 74 directories →

Where are you in the journey?

Stage 1
Nobody knows this exists
DR 0-3 • Just launched
Stage 2
Some people find it
DR 4-10 • Early traction
Stage 3
People use it, don't pay
DR 10+ • Coming soon
Stage 4
Revenue, not growing
We're learning this too

Read the full stage guide ›

Top directories by domain rating

See all 74 ›
TechCrunch Dofollow Free

Not a directory but getting covered by TC is a DR 94 dofollow link. Extremely competitive. You need a real story, not...

Capterra Nofollow Free

Gartner-owned review platform. High DR but nofollow. Buyers in IT procurement actually use this. Strong for B2B SaaS ...

TrustPilot Nofollow Free

Consumer review platform. DR 93 but nofollow. Trust badges on your site are the main value. Consumers check this befo...

Webflow Showcase Nofollow Free

Only for sites built with Webflow. DR 93 but nofollow. Good visibility within the Webflow community.

npm Dofollow Free

JavaScript package registry. DR 93 dofollow. Publish a package and your homepage link goes on the package page.

Hacker News Dofollow Free

Not a directory, but Show HN posts that land on the front page drive serious developer traffic. Links are dofollow. G...

DR from Ahrefs. Traffic verified via SimilarWeb. Last verified March 2026.

Verified stats

DR from Ahrefs. Traffic cross-checked against SimilarWeb. If a directory claims 300K visitors and the real number is 2K, we say so.

No affiliate model

We don't earn commissions on signups. Rankings are by DR, not by who pays us more. Paid directories are flagged as paid.

Built by submitters

We're building 12 sites and submit to these directories ourselves. When quality drops or approvals stop, we update the data.

New to domain rating?

At month 2, zero DR is exactly where you should be. The guide explains what to expect at months 1, 3, and 6. Also: which directories to skip, and the one mistake that wastes most founders' time.

Read: Build Your DR