LaunchRepoShort answer
- Hacker News (Show HN) fits a technical product that developers can try right away: a tool, a library, an API, a CLI. You get direct, expert feedback in the thread.
- Product Hunt fits a polished product for a broad tech audience: makers, product people, early adopters and investors. You get a launch page, a daily leaderboard and a place your launch keeps living.
- Many developer products do well on both. Plan them as two separate launches with their own post, a few days apart, instead of one shared push.
- Neither accepts a waitlist as the product. If people cannot use it yet, start with a pre-launch audience and come back when it is live.
Which one first? Three questions
Answer three questions. The result follows the official rules quoted below and runs only in your browser.
Product Hunt and Hacker News side by side
What each platform says about itself, row by row. Sources are linked at the end of the page.
| Topic | Product Hunt | Hacker News (Show HN) |
|---|---|---|
| Format | A launch page for your product that the community can upvote, comment on and share. | A single link whose title starts with “Show HN”, plus the discussion thread. |
| Audience | A global community of makers, product people, entrepreneurs, investors, creators and early adopters. | Hackers and developers who read for intellectual curiosity, not just startups. |
| Cost | Free. | Free. |
| What qualifies | Digital products that are available now. Not featured: waitlisted products without immediate access, courses, books, services, lists and more. | Something you made that people can try. Off topic: blog posts, sign-up pages, newsletters and other reading material. |
| Who posts | Makers are encouraged to post their own product; company accounts are prohibited. | You, about work you did yourself and are around to discuss. |
| How you get seen | The team decides what is featured on the homepage; featured launches compete on the daily leaderboard. | Every Show HN appears on the new list; after a small points threshold it moves to the Show page. Rank comes from points and age. |
| Timing | Product Hunt recommends 12:01 am Pacific Time to makers who plan ahead; the best day is the one you are most prepared for. | No launch day: ranking divides points by a power of the time since posting. |
| Promotion | Share your link anywhere, but ask people to visit and comment, never to upvote. | Do not ask anyone to upvote or comment, friends included. |
| Text you write | Tagline, description and first comment in your own words. | Write it yourself; generated text and automated posting are not welcome. |
| Posting again | At least six months between posts for the same product, plus a significant update. | Minor releases are not a Show HN; a major overhaul probably is. Reposts are fine only without significant attention in the last year. |
What a year of Show HN posts shows
For our Show HN guide we read all 44,624 Show HN posts created from September 1, 2025 to August 31, 2026 from the public Hacker News API (on September 30, 2026). The numbers below set realistic expectations: a Show HN is a conversation, and a good thread with a few interested readers is a real result.
- Show HN posts in 12 months
- 44,624
- Median points
- 2
- Posts with 10+ points
- 8.4%
- Posts with 100+ points
- 1.7%
- Median comments
- 0
- Most posts get a handful of points, so plan your Show HN for feedback and early users, not for a traffic spike.
- Product Hunt publishes no comparable open dataset, so we did not measure Product Hunt results. This page compares the rules, not numbers.
The rules in their own words
The middle column quotes each platform word for word; the right column says what it means for your launch.
| Rule | Official wording | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Show HN: try it | Show HN is for something you've made that other people can play with. | Post something people can use, not an announcement about it. |
| Show HN: off topic | Off topic: blog posts, sign-up pages, newsletters, lists, and other reading material. | Articles and sign-up pages are regular submissions, not Show HNs. |
| Show HN: few barriers | Please make it easy for users to try your thing out, ideally without barriers such as signups or emails. | A demo or guest mode gets you more feedback than a sign-up wall. |
| Show HN: the Show page | Once it clears a small points threshold, it will appear on the show page in the top bar. | The Show page is reached through genuine interest, not timing tricks. |
| Show HN: no vote requests | Please don't ask friends to upvote or comment. That's not ok on HN. | Share your work, but never ask anyone to upvote or comment. |
| HN: curiosity first | Please don't use HN primarily for promotion. It's ok to post your own stuff part of the time, but the primary use of the site should be for curiosity. | Take part in other discussions too, not only your own launches. |
| HN: your own words | Please don't put generated text in HN posts. | Write the title and text yourself. |
| HN: ranking | The basic algorithm divides points by a power of the time since a story was submitted. | There is no launch day; age counts against every post. |
| Product Hunt: live products | We only feature products that are currently available. | Launch when people can use the product. |
| Product Hunt: not featured | Waitlisted products (unless immediate access is provided) | A waitlist is fine only if people get access right away. |
| Product Hunt: leaderboard | Others in the community can upvote, comment, and share those products as they compete on the homepage leaderboard for top spots, including Product of the Day. | Featured launches compete for the day, including Product of the Day. |
| Product Hunt: promotion | you cannot ask people directly to upvote your product. Instead, ask them to visit and comment. | Invite people to look and comment; leave the vote to them. |
| Product Hunt: launch time | 12:01 am Pacific Time is the best time to launch for makers that are planning ahead and don't have limitations or other opportunities. | Launching at the start of the day gives you the full 24 hours. |
| Product Hunt: relaunch | we ask Makers to wait at least six months between posts for the same product or from the same company. | Plan your Product Hunt launch as a rare event with a real update. |
What success looks like on each
A good Product Hunt launch
- Your launch is featured on the homepage.
- Comments from makers and early adopters that show you what to build next.
- A launch page that keeps sending visitors after the day ends.
- Sign-ups or customers from a broad tech audience.
A good Show HN
- Your post clears the points threshold and appears on the Show page.
- A thread with specific technical questions you can answer.
- People who try the product and report what breaks.
- Developers who star, install or adopt your tool.
Using both without crossing the rules
- Give each platform its own day. A Show HN needs you in the thread, and a Product Hunt launch needs you on the launch page.
- Write two posts: the technical how and why for Show HN, the product story and visuals for Product Hunt.
- Share both links with your own audience, and ask people to take a look and leave feedback, never to upvote.
- Bring the feedback from the first launch into the second. Every fix makes the next launch stronger.
Where LaunchRepo fits
You post on Hacker News yourself, by hand and in your own words, as the guidelines ask. LaunchRepo’s Show HN guide helps you check the rules before you post.
For Product Hunt and the directories that fit your product, LaunchRepo gives your coding agent tested playbooks in your own Chrome, and you decide whether it sends final submissions on its own or asks you first.
Sources
Every rule and number on this page comes from the platforms’ own public pages, read on October 1, 2026 without signing in.
| Source | Page updated | Checked |
|---|---|---|
| Hacker News: Show HN guidelines | no date shown | |
| Hacker News Guidelines | no date shown | |
| Hacker News FAQ | no date shown | |
| Product Hunt Featuring Guidelines | ||
| Product Hunt Launch Guide: common questions | no date shown | |
| Product Hunt: Can I relaunch my product? |
FAQ
- Is Product Hunt or Hacker News better for developers?
- For a developer tool people can try right away, Show HN reaches the most relevant readers and gives detailed technical feedback. Product Hunt is better when your product also speaks to makers, teams and early adopters beyond developers. Many developer products use both, on separate days.
- Can I launch on Product Hunt and Hacker News on the same day?
- You can, but both launches need you present: answering the Show HN thread and replying on your Product Hunt page. Separate days let you give each audience your full attention and improve the second launch with what you learned in the first.
- Is it allowed to ask people to upvote?
- No, on neither platform. Hacker News says not to ask friends to upvote or comment and penalizes submissions that do. Product Hunt says you cannot ask people directly to upvote; ask them to visit and comment instead.
- Can I post a waitlist or landing page?
- Not as a Show HN: the guidelines ask you not to post landing pages. Product Hunt does not feature waitlisted products unless people get immediate access. Launch both once the product is usable.
- How many points does a typical Show HN get?
- In our sample of 44,624 Show HN posts from 12 months, the median was 2 points and 8.4% reached 10 points or more. A useful thread with real users matters more than the number.
- Do I need a hunter for Product Hunt?
- No. Product Hunt encourages makers to post their own product and sees no advantage in using a third-party hunter. Company accounts are prohibited.
Show HN and Product Hunt are two days. LaunchRepo covers the rest.
LaunchRepo gives your coding agent a repository to prepare and submit your product to the directories and launch platforms that fit it, from your own browser and accounts, with a tracker for every listing. One payment, no subscription.
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