LaunchRepoShort answer
- Product Hunt is for launching: free, one day, comments and feedback from early adopters. It does not sell anything for you.
- AppSumo is for selling: a curated marketplace with its own buyers and marketing, paid through a negotiated revenue share. Most deals are lifetime deals, and you owe those buyers support for as long as the product runs.
- Before paying customers, launch on Product Hunt. Once the product is stable and you can carry support, an AppSumo deal is worth weighing.
Two different deals
The real question is not which platform is better, but what you give and what you get back.
Product Hunt: attention for a day
- You give: your time on launch day and a product people can use now.
- You get: visitors, comments and feedback, and a product page that stays.
- Cost: nothing. You keep your pricing as it is.
- After: you can launch again after at least six months with a significant update.
AppSumo: sales to a marketplace
- You give: a deal, usually one payment for long-term access, plus support for every buyer.
- You get: AppSumo’s audience, marketing and sales; you keep the customers and reviews.
- Cost: nothing upfront; AppSumo keeps a negotiated revenue share and deducts refunds.
- After: the buyers stay with you, with the rights your deal promised them.
Which one fits now?
Three questions. The answer stays in your browser and is not advice for your contract.
Side by side
What each platform asks for and gives, from their own pages on the check day.
| Topic | Product Hunt | AppSumo |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | A community launch board for new tech products | A marketplace that sells software deals to entrepreneurs and small businesses |
| What happens to your pricing | Nothing; visitors go to your site | You sell a deal, most often a lifetime deal, on AppSumo |
| Cost | Free | Nothing upfront; a negotiated revenue share, refunds deducted |
| Who gets in | Anyone can launch; Product Hunt decides what is featured | Application and review; AppSumo cites an acceptance rate of about 10% |
| Product stage | Available now; waitlists only with immediate access | Fully functional, not beta, with paying customers preferred |
| Length | One launch day; the page stays | Campaigns of about 60 days; listings can stay longer |
| Buyers and refunds | No purchase on Product Hunt | Lifetime deals typically have a 60-day refund window, run by AppSumo |
| Support you owe | None to the platform; answer comments on your day | Reply within 4 days, resolve within 14, for every AppSumo customer |
| Later changes | You change product and prices as you like | Deliver what was sold; price or feature changes need notice and approval |
| Doing it again | At least six months later, with a significant update | Returning partners are reviewed again, including refund rates |
Product Hunt: Submission guide →
Product Hunt alternatives: 10 places to launch for free →
What an AppSumo deal commits you to
Quoted from AppSumo’s Partner Terms (effective June 15, 2026) and its partner help articles. Your own promotion agreement takes precedence over these terms, so read that too.
| Rule | Official wording | What it means for you |
|---|---|---|
| Redemption | Partner will allow AppSumo Customers at least 60 days from purchase to redeem. | Buyers get at least 60 days to activate their code or license. |
| Support times | (1) Respond to all support requests within four (4) days; (2) Resolve support requests within fourteen (14) days. | Plan support capacity for the burst of new users a campaign brings. |
| As sold | Partner must provide AppSumo Customers with the Product exactly as described in the Product Listing. | Features in the listing stay available to these buyers. |
| After you stop selling | Partner will maintain required licensing API endpoints or redemption codes for at least 3 months after ceasing to offer the Product(s) on the marketplace. | Keep redemption working for at least three months after the deal ends. |
| Notice | Partner must give AppSumo at least thirty (30) days' prior written notice of any material change in its business that may affect AppSumo or AppSumo Customers. | Price, feature or ownership changes need 30 days’ written notice to AppSumo. |
| Similar products | within twenty-four (24) months after AppSumo's last sale of the Product | If you sunset the product and launch a similar one within 24 months, AppSumo buyers get access on equal terms. |
| If you sell the company | The acquiring party must honor and maintain all lifetime licenses, or otherwise reimburse all customers for their purchase. | A buyer of your company inherits the lifetime licenses. |
| Refunded users | It is your responsibility as a partner to limit access to users who have refunded your product. | You remove access for buyers who were refunded. |
| Better offers later | all previous AppSumo customers must be grandfathered into your new offer | Earlier AppSumo buyers move up with your improved offer. |
| Severe breaches | 2.0 × Partner Payout, reduced by 20% of Partner Payout for each complete year between the Effective Date and the breach | Breaking key duties can cost up to twice what AppSumo paid you, decreasing each year. |
This is a summary of public terms, not legal or tax advice. Terms, revenue share and tax treatment depend on your agreement and your country; ask a professional before you sign.
Your deal dates
Enter when a deal would start and when it would stop selling. The planner shows the dates that follow from the published terms. It runs in your browser and sends nothing anywhere.
Refund windows vary by deal and are stated on each deal page; 60 days is the typical one for lifetime deals. The rule on similar products counts from AppSumo’s last sale.
Money: what is published
Product Hunt costs nothing and pays nothing; any revenue comes later, on your own site.
AppSumo charges nothing to list and keeps a revenue share that it negotiates per product category and expected performance. Refunds are deducted from your sales.
AppSumo cites an acceptance rate of about 10% and campaigns of about 60 days. It publishes example earnings for partners; they depend on product, price and campaign, so we do not repeat them as a forecast.
A deal is a one-off payment for long-term use. Check what each new user costs you per month before you agree on a price.
Rules in their own words
Quoted from the official pages in English, with what each rule means for you.
| Rule | Official wording | What it means for you |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | It's 100% free to use. | Launching on Product Hunt is free. |
| Available now | We only feature products that are currently available. | Launch when people can use the product. |
| Not featured | Deal sites | Product Hunt does not feature deal sites; launch the product itself. |
| Long-term value | We avoid featuring minimal, undifferentiated products that seem primarily focused on immediate monetization rather than providing long-term value. | Show what the product does for users, not only the offer. |
| Featuring | While user engagement is important, it's not the sole factor in our featuring decisions. | Votes alone do not decide what is featured. |
| Six-month gap | we ask Makers to wait at least six months between posts for the same product or from the same company. | Plan your next Product Hunt launch at least six months later. |
| Cost | Nothing upfront. We run on revenue share, so we only make money when you do. | AppSumo earns from sales, not from listing fees. |
| Revenue share | Revenue share rates are negotiated based on your product category and expected performance. | Your rate is negotiated; there is no public fixed rate. |
| Campaign length | Most campaigns run about 60 days with full marketing support throughout | Expect around two months of active promotion. |
| Deal type | Nope (except for AppSumo Radar, where we're only supporting lifetime deals). | Lifetime deals are common but not required, except for Radar. |
| Product stage | we don't list products that aren't fully functional and ready for users. | No pre-launch or beta products. |
| Support plan | if you can't handle support volume, it hurts both of us. | AppSumo checks that you can handle the volume. |
| Quality bar | No AI wrappers or early-stage tools. | Early-stage tools are turned down. |
| Lifetime | Lifetime Deals (which give you access to the Product for the lifetime of the Product, so not necessarily until you die) typically have a 60-day refund period that begins the day you purchase the Product. | Lifetime means the life of the product, with a typical 60-day refund window. |
| Access | As long as the tool is still available, the partner has agreed you’ll have access to it. | Buyers keep access while the tool is available. |
| Refunds | we process all refunds ourselves. Refunds we issue are deducted from sales totals. | AppSumo handles refunds and takes them out of your sales. |
Product Hunt featuring and relaunch rules explained →
Product Hunt launch services: what to pay for and what to skip →
A sensible order
Most developer tools do not need to choose once and for all. A common path:
Launch
Open access and launch on Product Hunt. Collect feedback, fix what people trip over and win your first paying customers.
Prove
Show steady usage, an active changelog and a support routine that answers within days.
Sell
Apply to AppSumo with a deal whose limits you can carry for years, and plan the next Product Hunt launch for a major update.
Where LaunchRepo fits
LaunchRepo prepares launches: your own coding agent uses its launch kit in your own Chrome to fill in Product Hunt and other platform listings, and you decide once, during onboarding, whether it sends final submissions on its own or asks you first.
It does not negotiate or sell AppSumo deals. Use the planner above, read the terms, and decide with your own numbers.
Sources
Every rule and number on this page comes from the platforms’ own public pages, read on October 1, 2026 without signing in.
FAQ
- Is AppSumo better than Product Hunt?
- They do different jobs. Product Hunt is a free launch day for attention and feedback; AppSumo sells your product to its buyers for a revenue share. Many tools use Product Hunt first and AppSumo later.
- Does it cost anything to list on AppSumo?
- No upfront fee. AppSumo keeps a revenue share that it negotiates per product, and refunds are deducted from your sales.
- Do I have to offer a lifetime deal?
- AppSumo says no, except for AppSumo Radar, which only supports lifetime deals. Most partners do offer one, and AppSumo also works with annual pricing and other structures.
- How long is a lifetime deal on AppSumo?
- Access for the lifetime of the product, not of the buyer. Under the partner terms you keep serving those buyers, including after an acquisition.
- Can I launch on Product Hunt after an AppSumo deal?
- Yes, if the product is available to everyone. Product Hunt does not feature deal sites, so launch the product itself, ideally with a significant update.
- How much can I earn on AppSumo?
- That depends on your product, price and campaign. AppSumo publishes example earnings, but we do not repeat them as a forecast, and this page gives no revenue estimate.
Get the launch side done properly
LaunchRepo gives your coding agent a launch kit for Product Hunt and other platforms. You decide once what it may send on its own. One payment, no subscription.
See pricing