Favors.dev
The short answer
SaaSHub is a software-alternatives directory. A free listing takes about fifteen minutes, needs a live product, and is reviewed before it shows. The step that matters is not the form. It is choosing which products you are listed as an alternative to, because those pages are where the visitors are. Pick three deliberately, verify the listing with an address on your own domain, and keep it current.
Most founders submit to SaaSHub the way they submit to every directory: fill the fields, click send, forget it. The listing goes live next to whatever the form guessed, and it does nothing. This guide treats the submission as a positioning decision that happens to come with a form.
What does SaaSHub do, and why do alternatives pages matter?
SaaSHub has been an independent software directory since 2014. Each product gets its own page, and each page is tied to the products it replaces. A buyer who searches for an alternative to a tool they already use lands on a page that ranks the options side by side. That buyer has a problem and a shortlist, which is a stronger starting point than a visitor who stumbles on a launch-day leaderboard.
It is a permanent listing, not an event. There is no launch day, no upvote race and no schedule, which makes it a good first directory for a product that has no audience to bring. If your plan includes a day-one push, the platforms in the Uneed, MicroLaunch and Fazier comparison are built for that. SaaSHub works quietly in the background instead, and the launch directories guide shows where each kind of listing belongs in your submission order.
One note on sources. SaaSHub's own pages block automated readers, so the rules below come from independent write-ups that agree with each other and from the submission flow itself. Confirm each point on the live form before you rely on it, and do not trust any number a third party quotes for traffic or authority as something a listing will deliver.
How do you create the listing and choose categories?
The flow is short. The only slow part is deciding what to type in two fields. Here are the seven steps in order.
01Check that the product qualifies
It must be live and usable. Unreleased products, waitlist pages, development agencies, sites on a free subdomain and non-English products are turned down.
02Create an account and open Submit Product
Sign in, then choose Submit Product from the main menu and enter the name, URL, short description and logo.
03Pick the categories
Choose the categories a buyer would browse, not the broadest one. Each listing appears beside similar products.
04Name your competitors
The form asks which products yours competes with. This is the step that decides which alternatives pages you appear on.
05Wait for review
Every submission is reviewed before it shows. Plan on a few days and keep the product reachable in the meantime.
06Verify ownership
Use an email address on your product's own domain, or one of the other verification methods SaaSHub offers, to claim the listing.
07Finish the profile
Add screenshots, pricing and features, and check how the page reads next to the competitors you named.
Who should not submit yet
A rejected submission wastes a week and teaches you nothing. If any of these is true, fix it first.
- A product that is still a waitlist or private beta
- An agency or service business
- A product that lives only on a free subdomain
- A product with no English-language site
For categories, choose the ones a buyer would actually browse. A specific category with a handful of rivals puts you on a page a person can finish reading. A broad one buries you under products with ten times the reviews. If you are unsure how to describe what you do in a way that holds up next to rivals, the positioning guide for solo founders gives you the sentence to start from.
Which products should you be listed as an alternative to?
This is the choice that decides whether the listing is worth the fifteen minutes. SaaSHub asks you to name competitors, and it uses those names to place you on their alternatives pages. Name the wrong ones and you appear in front of people who were never going to switch. Name the right ones and a buyer who is already shopping sees you beside the tool they are leaving.
The three-slot alternatives worksheet
Fill one row per slot before you open the form. If a row stays empty, you do not yet know your position, and that is worth finding out before a buyer does.
| Slot | Who goes here | Why it works | Test before you commit |
|---|---|---|---|
| The incumbent | The best-known product your buyers already use | People searching for an alternative to this name are already unhappy or curious. It has the largest alternatives audience. | Your product is clearly cheaper, simpler or narrower, and you can say how in one sentence. |
| The near neighbor | A product at your size that does most of the same job | Buyers comparing the two are close to a decision, and your page is judged beside a fair match. | You can win on one specific thing: a feature, a price point or a type of customer. |
| The adjacent pick | A product from the next category over that people use for the same outcome | It reaches buyers who did not know your category existed, and few competitors list there. | Your description explains the outcome, not the category label. |
Two rules keep the worksheet honest. First, never name a product you cannot beat on at least one concrete thing, because the buyer will compare the two pages in the same minute. Second, do not stuff the field with every competitor you can think of. Three well-chosen names beat twelve vague ones, and you can add more later when your product earns them.
Write your description to match the slot you want to win. For the incumbent slot, lead with what you do differently. For the adjacent slot, lead with the outcome. The landing page copy teardowns show the same discipline on a page of your own.
What does the free listing include, and what can you skip?
The free listing gives you a public product page, placement in the categories you chose, placement on the alternatives pages for the competitors you named, and a place for users to vote, comment and review. Verification adds a badge and extra visibility, and verified vendors also get a free tool for submitting to further directories and communities.
SaaSHub also sells paid promotion that puts a product higher on alternatives, category and comparison pages. Skip it until the free listing has earned a visible stream of visits. A paid slot on a page that sends you nobody is rent on an empty shop. Check your analytics for referrals from the directory for a month, and pay only if those visitors reach your signup page.
On the link itself, assume nothing. Reports conflict on whether SaaSHub's link is followed, and the Favors.dev directories atlas entry for SaaSHub records it as nofollow. Per Google's guidance on qualifying outbound links, a nofollow link is a hint, not an endorsement, so judge the listing by the visitors it sends. For how a mix of followed and nofollow listings fits together, read which startup directory backlinks are worth it, and note Google's spam policies on link schemes before you pay anyone to place links in bulk.
How do you keep the listing accurate?
A verified listing carries a quarterly reminder to confirm your details. Treat it as a calendar event, not an annoyance. Prices, features and screenshots drift, and a stale alternatives page costs you more trust than a missing one.
- Re-read the description. Does it still match what the product does today?
- Check the screenshots. Do they show the current interface?
- Review the named competitors. Has a rival been acquired, renamed or shut down?
- Test the links. Does the product link land on a page that loads?
The listing also works better when other people have used the product. Reviews and votes on the page are social proof for the buyer comparing you to a rival, and getting your first reviews covers how to ask for them without a begging email. Once your listing is live, add it to your Favors.dev app page too, so the founders in the marketing co-op see the same position you chose.
Frequently asked questions
Is SaaSHub free to list on?
Yes. Submitting a product and verifying it cost nothing. SaaSHub also sells paid promotion that places a product more prominently on alternatives, category and comparison pages, and independent reviews in late 2026 report a monthly price for it. Read the current price in your own dashboard before you decide, and treat it as optional.
How long does SaaSHub take to approve a product?
Independent directory write-ups describe approvals landing within a few days when the form is complete. Incomplete forms, missing logos and sites that are not in English take longer or are turned down. There is no published guarantee, so submit early and do not tie it to a launch date.
Does SaaSHub give a dofollow backlink?
Reports disagree, and the safest assumption is that the link is nofollow. Google's documentation says a nofollow link is a hint and not an endorsement, so the value of a SaaSHub listing is the alternatives pages and the traffic from people comparing tools, not a ranking boost. Open your live listing and inspect the link attribute yourself.
What gets a SaaSHub submission rejected?
Unreleased products, simple waiting-list landing pages, software development agencies, products hosted only on a free subdomain and products that are not available in English. A product with no clear category or no named competitors also gets less out of the listing even if it is approved.
Do I need to verify my SaaSHub listing?
You should. Verification proves you own the product, gives you control of the page, and earns a verified badge. It uses an email address on your product's domain or another method SaaSHub offers, and SaaSHub then asks you every quarter to confirm the details are still correct.