Favors.dev
The short answer
To list on AlternativeTo, create an account, wait for it to be about a week old, then suggest your application with accurate platforms and pricing. Listing is free. The submission is the easy part. What decides the result is which products you are suggested as an alternative to, and how many real users like you there. Earn those likes by asking people who have used the product, and never reward them.
AlternativeTo works differently from a launch directory. Nobody browses it for new products. They arrive holding the name of a tool they want to leave, and the page shows them what else is out there. This guide covers the submission, and then the part that most write-ups skip: how to earn the likes that move you up that list without crossing a line the platform will punish.
How does AlternativeTo actually work?
AlternativeTo is a crowdsourced software recommendation site. Every product has its own page, and each page carries a list of alternatives that users have suggested and voted on. Someone who searches for a replacement for a tool lands on that tool's page and reads down the list. Being on that list is the whole prize.
That makes it a different mechanic from a directory listing. In a directory, you are one entry among thousands and the listing itself is the asset. On AlternativeTo, the standalone page matters far less than the lists it appears on. A product with a beautiful page and no alternatives suggestions is invisible. A product with a plain page that sits at the top of the list for the incumbent gets a steady trickle of buyers who are already unhappy.
The traffic arrives slowly and does not spike. If you want a launch-day crowd, the platforms in the Uneed, MicroLaunch and Fazier comparison fit that job. AlternativeTo is the quiet, permanent layer under it, and the launch directories guide explains where it belongs in the order you submit.
One note on sources. AlternativeTo's own help pages block automated readers, so the rules below come from independent 2026 write-ups that agree with each other and from the structure of the site itself. Confirm each point on the live form before you rely on it, especially anything about review times or link attributes.
How do you submit your app and pick the products you replace?
The form takes about twenty minutes. The account delay is the only real wait, so start it today even if the product is not ready. Here are the seven steps in order.
01Create an account and wait out the delay
AlternativeTo asks new accounts to be about a week old before they can add an application. Sign up before you need the listing, and use a verified email address.
02Search first, so you do not add a duplicate
Your product may already have a page, added by a user. If it does, claim and improve that page instead of creating a second one.
03Suggest the new application
Use the option to suggest a new application and enter the name, website, a one-line description and a longer description.
04Set platforms, license and pricing accurately
Visitors filter by platform and by free, freemium or paid. A web app that is not marked as web does not appear in web-only searches.
05Add screenshots and an icon
These show on the alternatives lists, where a buyer is scanning several products at once.
06Suggest the products you replace
On each competitor's page, use the contribute option to suggest your product as an alternative. This is the step that puts you in front of buyers.
07Wait for review and check the live page
Submissions are checked before they show. When the page is live, read it as a stranger would and fix anything that is wrong.
Pick the products you replace with the same care you would give a positioning statement. Name the tool your best customers used before you, then the closest product at your size. Three accurate suggestions beat ten stretched ones, because a buyer who clicks through and finds you are nothing like the product they were leaving will leave and never like you. If you cannot say in one sentence how you differ from a tool, you are not ready to be listed beside it, and the positioning guide for solo founders is the place to fix that first.
Write the short description for the person scanning a list. It appears next to rivals, so lead with the specific thing you do differently: who it is for, or what it does that the incumbent does not. A line that could describe any product in the category describes none of them. The same rule is behind the SaaSHub submission guide, where the competitor choices work the same way.
How do you earn likes without gaming them?
Likes are one of the signals that order the alternatives list, but the platform says rankings use several parameters and keeps part of the method private so that nobody can engineer it. That has a practical meaning for you. A burst of likes from new accounts is not just useless, it is a risk. A slow stream from real users who have actually used the product is what a healthy page looks like.
The four-step vote-earning plan
The plan has one rule underneath it: ask people who have used the product, and ask them to say what is true. Never tell them what to write.
| When | What you do | Why it stays honest |
|---|---|---|
| Before the ask | Update the page so it is accurate and complete | A customer who clicks through to a half-empty page will not leave a like. |
| Week one | Email customers who have used the product for at least a month | People with real experience are the only ones whose like means anything to a stranger. |
| Week two | Mention the page in a changelog post or a community thread where it is relevant | It is allowed to tell your audience the page exists. It is not allowed to tell them what to say. |
| Ongoing | Add the link to the thank-you screen after a customer's first win | That is the moment they are most willing to say something good about you. |
The email itself should be short and should name one person who helps the reader. Something like: you switched from the old tool last spring, and if the product has earned it, a like on its AlternativeTo page helps the next person in your position find it. Do not attach an incentive. Do not supply wording. If a customer would rather not, that is the answer.
What not to do
Founders are allowed to tell their audience that the page exists. What gets a product demoted or removed is manipulation, and the list is short.
- Offering a discount, gift or credit in exchange for a like or a review
- Creating extra accounts to like your own product
- Writing reviews yourself, or having a friend write them for you
- Suggesting your product as an alternative to tools it does not replace
- Trading likes in a group where everyone votes for everyone
- Buying likes or reviews from a service
Reviews follow the same logic. They are moderated before they appear, and a page full of five-star reviews written in the same voice is easy to spot. If you want the broader playbook for asking customers for proof without a begging email, read how to get your first reviews and how to get testimonials for a new product.
What is the link worth, and what is it not?
The listing links to your site, and founders often start there. Reports disagree about the attribute. Some independent trackers call it followed, and AlternativeTo does not state a policy in its public submission guidance. Open your live page and inspect the link yourself, then plan as if it were not followed. Google's guidance on qualifying outbound links treats the link attribute as a hint to the crawler, and its spam policies say links meant to manipulate ranking can count against you. A listing with honest likes is the opposite of that.
The real value is the visitor. Someone reading an alternatives list has already decided to leave something, which is a stronger starting point than a cold search for your category. Measure the listing by referral visits and by how many of them reach your signup page, and check it monthly. If you want to know how a single listing fits into a whole link profile, the breakdown in which startup directory backlinks are worth it puts each kind in context, and the Favors.dev directories atlas entry for AlternativeTo lists the submission route.
Keep the page current as the product changes. Pricing, platforms and screenshots drift, and a stale listing in front of someone who is comparing tools costs you trust at exactly the wrong moment.
- Re-check pricing. Does the model on the page match your live pricing page?
- Re-check platforms. Did you ship a mobile app or an extension since you listed?
- Re-read the alternatives. Is each product still one you replace, and still alive?
- Read the comments. A buyer question left unanswered looks like a product nobody runs.
It also helps to have somewhere else that shows real people using the product. A page on the Favors.dev apps directory collects honest reviews from other founders, and you can link to it when you ask a customer to say what they think.
Frequently asked questions
Is it free to list on AlternativeTo?
Yes. Adding an application costs nothing, and independent reviews from 2026 describe the standard listing as free. AlternativeTo also offers paid promotion for products that want extra placement, so check the current options in your own account before you decide, and treat them as optional until the free page has earned visits.
How long does it take for AlternativeTo to approve an application?
There is no published timeline. Write-ups describe a review step before a new application is shown, and one directory guide says the queue can run for months. Submit early, keep the form complete, and do not tie the listing to a launch date.
Can I add my own product to AlternativeTo?
Yes, founders add their own products, and you can also tell your audience about the page. What the platform does not welcome is manipulation: fake accounts, bought likes, fake reviews, or rewards for votes. Those can push a product down the rankings or get it removed.
How does AlternativeTo rank alternatives?
Likes count, but they are not the only signal. The platform says its ranking uses several factors and keeps part of the method private to discourage gaming. That is why a plan built around real users beats one built around a vote count.
Is an AlternativeTo link dofollow?
Independent trackers have labeled it dofollow, but AlternativeTo does not promise a link attribute in its public submission guidance. Open your live page, inspect the link, and judge the listing by the visitors it sends. Google's documentation describes link attributes as hints, so a followed link is a bonus and not the goal.