LaunchRepoAn indie hacker launch has two halves. The first is a post: a subreddit, Indie Hackers, Show HN, a builder network, places with rules, moderators and an audience that reacts to how you write rather than what you fill in. The second is a listing on a launch board. The catalog holds 108 boards and communities together; this page picks the ten that fit a solo maker best.
That is why the communities rank first here, the opposite of the startup launch list. They are built for makers, and the free route is posting in your own words. The general launch boards follow, led by the field guides, because they are the best-documented way to put a date on the listing half of the launch.
How we pick and rank
This page is a shortlist, not the catalog. Every entry is chosen and ordered by the same four rules, and the labels on each pick show how it scored:
- Fit comes first. Platforms built for this product type rank above general platforms where it also gets found, and each pick says which of the two it is.
- Only platforms with a free or conditional-free route in the dated catalog snapshot, and only those with a public page on this site, so you can check every pick before you rely on it.
- Within the same fit, a dated field guide from a real submission ranks first, then the strongest evidence level (confirmed submission, signed-in form, public rules pages), then the fewest conditions on the free route.
- Nothing is ranked by domain rating, traffic or backlink promises, and no position is paid for. Link value is checked per product with the evidence method further down.
For this list, “built for this product type” means a community or board made for makers and side projects rather than for companies.
The picks
10 picks, ordered by the rules above. The catalog holds 108 platforms of this type; the rest ship in the repository with a playbook each.
Reddit r/SideProject
CommunitiesWhy it is here: A post, not a form: title format and feedback rules were checked in the signed-in composer, and you post from your own account.
Reddit’s r/SideProject is a community where posting a project means writing a showcase of what it does, under subreddit rules rather than a directory form.
- Built for this product type
- Free route with 4 conditions
- Checked in the signed-in form
- checked September 23, 2026
Indie Hackers
CommunitiesWhy it is here: Founder community where a product page tells the business story behind it; adding a product costs nothing.
Indie Hackers is a community of founders where a product page covering business model, funding and founder background counts as a community entry rather than a directory form.
- Built for this product type
- Free route, no conditions
- Checked on the public rules pages
- checked September 23, 2026
SideProjectors
Product launch platformsWhy it is here: Showcase for side projects with a free manual review that usually takes a few business days.
SideProjectors lets indie makers showcase a side project by importing its homepage, then adding a screenshot and at least one technology detail.
- Built for this product type
- Free route, no conditions
- Checked on the public rules pages
- checked September 23, 2026
Hacker News (Show HN)
CommunitiesWhy it is here: Show HN rewards a working product and a plain, personal post; new accounts should take part for a while before posting.
Hacker News is a community where a Show HN post about a product is judged by site guidelines and reader discussion, not a directory form.
- Built for this product type
- Free route with 4 conditions
- Checked on the public rules pages
- checked September 23, 2026
Smol Launch
Product launch platformsWhy it is here: Small weekly board where a product’s first launch is free after its badge is verified.
Smol Launch collects a name, tagline, website, description, pricing and logo with screenshots, then places the listing into an available launch week.
- Built for this product type
- Free route with 4 conditions
- Checked on the public rules pages
- checked September 24, 2026
Peerlist
CommunitiesWhy it is here: Weekly launches from a real personal profile, a natural home for makers who build in public.
Peerlist Launchpad is a community for tech professionals where a weekly project launch post, including tagline and tech stack, follows community scheduling rather than a directory listing.
- Built for this product type
- Free route with 5 conditions
- Checked on the public rules pages
- checked September 23, 2026
TinyLaunch
Product launch platformsWhy it is here: General board with a confirmed free Monday launch; the field guide documents every step.
TinyLaunch collects a short name, tagline, logo, gallery images, a URL, a rich description and category, then schedules the listing on an open date.
- General platform, good reach for this type
- Free route with 4 conditions
- Confirmed in a real submission
- checked September 24, 2026
Product Hunt
Product launch platformsWhy it is here: The general launch board most makers know; schedule it for your main launch day with the field guide at hand.
Product Hunt lets makers schedule a launch day with a product URL, a short tagline, a description, topics, a logo and a screenshot gallery.
- General platform, good reach for this type
- Free route, no conditions
- Checked on the public rules pages
- checked September 24, 2026
Uneed
Product launch platformsWhy it is here: Free waiting line with one scheduled launch per account, useful for spacing several small products.
Uneed is a tools directory that limits each account to one pending launch at a time while makers submit a tool’s product details.
- General platform, good reach for this type
- Free route with 4 conditions
- Checked on the public rules pages
- checked September 24, 2026
Fazier
Product launch platformsWhy it is here: Free listing in return for a badge and genuine comments, best when you already take part in maker communities.
Fazier checks eligibility requirements such as an on-site badge and genuine community participation before accepting a product listing.
- General platform, good reach for this type
- Free route with 6 conditions
- Checked on the public rules pages
- checked September 23, 2026
Catalog snapshot as of October 7, 2026; routes and conditions are rechecked in the session before anything is submitted.
How to use this list
Use the boards for the launch week and the communities for the day the product can be tried. Post yourself, in your own words; the playbook for a community tells the agent what the rules are, not what to write. Boards with one pending launch per account need spacing between products. If you ship several small products a year, the same shortlist is reused each time, which is the case the toolkit’s licence is written for.
What “free route” and “live” mean
For boards, the “free route” is the standard launch without paid boosts; the agent declines upsells and records deferred_paid if the free option has disappeared. For communities there is nothing to buy, only rules to follow, and the condition count on the label is mostly those rules. “Live” means a public launch page on its date, or a public post that moderators have not removed.
Evidence before you submit
Community posts and launch pages are frequently indexed and frequently carry rel hints on outbound links, with Hacker News and Reddit the obvious cases. Whether that matters for your product is exactly what the evidence method leaves open: observed indexing plus a link with rel hints earns partial credit, not zero and not full. Audience evidence counts separately, and for communities that is usually the point.
Other lists
- Best AI tool directories: 70 places to list an AI product
- Best SaaS directories: 102 software and B2B review sites
- Best startup launch platforms: 101 launch boards and showcases
- Best developer tool directories: 15 places for dev tools
- Free startup directories: which ones really cost nothing
- AI agent directory list: 10 free places to submit your agent
- Vibe coded apps directory list: 9 places to list your app
- Product Hunt alternatives: 10 places to launch for free
- BetaList alternatives: 10 free places to show your beta
- Best Claude Code marketing skills: 9 libraries, and the gap
Every pick above has a playbook
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