Best Directory Submission Services for Startups (2026)

A directory submission service lists your product on startup, SaaS and AI directories for you: it picks the sites, writes the copy, fills in the forms and reports back. On the pages we checked, most one-time plans run from $29 (Submitator, 30 directories, automated) to $399 (Submit by Hand, 200 directories, by hand), with Submit Juice's top plan at $983 or $1,083. What you're promised matters more than the price:

• Method: DirPilot, StartupSubmit, Submit by Hand, LaunchDirectories and Submit Juice say they submit by hand; Submitator is automated and self-serve; SubmitSaaS and ListingBott mix automation with people.
• Submissions or live listings: most guarantee submissions, because each directory decides what it publishes. ListingBott promises 100 live listings.
• Speed: from 48 hours or less (Submitator for most directories, SubmitSaaS) to about a month (ListingBott).
• Refunds: SubmitSaaS's terms offer a full refund within 30 days; DirPilot's bookings are non-refundable.
• Do it yourself instead if you only need a short list of directories that fit your product.

Disclosure: DirPilot sells directory submissions and is one of the services compared, so we have a stake in your choice. Competitor facts come from each service's own page, as listed on their sites on November 2, 2026; prices change, so check before you buy. Where a page is silent we say so, and we never use one vendor's claims about another.

What a directory submission service does, and what it can't

Directory submission means listing your product on sites that catalogue products by category. A done-for-you service (some founders search for "directory as a service") picks the directories, writes the listing copy, creates the accounts, fills in the forms, answers the confirmation emails and reports what happened.

What no service can do:

• Approve you. "Every directory has its own editors. We submit, and each site decides if and when to publish", as StartupSubmit puts it.
• Pay listing fees, unless the plan says so. Many plans exclude paid directories.
• Guarantee indexing or rankings. Google decides both.

Whether listings are worth having at all is covered in do directory submissions still work.

How directory submission services price their work

1. One-time packages by directory count, such as 30+, 60+ or 100+. The most common model.
2. Per-directory pricing. Submit by Hand prints the unit cost: $2.98 a directory at 50, $2.49 at 100, $2.00 at 200.
3. Monthly. Beside its one-time package, ListingBott sells a $99 option covering "20 relevant online directories and websites monthly"; the page doesn't say how often it bills.
4. Self-serve software. Submitator runs automated submissions from a dashboard where you pick directories and can add more later.

Directory submission services compared

As listed on their sites on November 2, 2026; prices change, check before you buy. Prices are one-time unless noted, and "not stated" means not stated on its page.

The services, one by one

DirPilot

Three plans, paid once and done by hand: Economy covers "Medium DR free directories only", Business "Only high-DR free and paid directories", and First adds help on launch day. You see the list before work starts and can swap any directory out; each gets its own description, Business and First include the paid directories' listing fees, and the day-30 report covers live, dofollow and indexed status. Bookings are non-refundable (refund policy); rejected directories are replaced with ones of similar authority. Best for: paid listings and an indexation check included.

ListingBott

ListingBott picks 100 listings from a database of "10k+ directories and websites", and shows its $299 price as a discount from $499. It says "AI helps with the research, Humans submit the listings"; its FAQ describes a bot publishing daily for a month. It replaces removed listings "to maintain our promise of 100 live listings", guarantees a DR increase from 0 to 15 within two months of its report, and offers a "Full refund if you're not satisfied". You approve your directories after paying. Best for: a live-listing count, if you can wait a month.

SubmitSaaS

SubmitSaaS uses "smart automation combined with human review" and guarantees the submission count, the turnaround and a report; its terms offer "a full refund with no questions asked" within 30 days. Its directory list is public, paid directories aren't included, and its DR figures per plan (up to 10, 15 or 20) are "potential targets based on previous results". Best for: the lowest done-for-you price and a guaranteed 48-hour turnaround.

StartupSubmit

StartupSubmit lists Growth (150+) and Authority (220+) at the same $199; 220+ is the largest count here. Work is done by its in-house SEO team "with no bots or auto-fill", and reports show each status, screenshot proof and live links where available. Growth and Authority carry DR guarantees (DR 0 to 20+ and DR 30+). Best for: the widest hand-submitted coverage for the price.

Submitator

Submitator is the cheapest option and the only self-serve one: you pick directories in a dashboard and watch statuses, and $149 buys its whole catalogue. At peak times it allows itself up to 21 days. Refunds are conditional: proportional for directories not delivered on time, while rejections are credited as an extra directory. Plans cover the paid tiers of nine directories. Its homepage says "Average clients see +15 DR increase within 30 days"; its FAQ says it doesn't guarantee DR growth. Best for: control at the lowest cost.

Smol Launch (Launch Everywhere)

Launch Everywhere counts "completed directory submissions for one app", with lower prices ($79, $129, $179) for Maker Pass holders. It checks statuses daily and shows live listings in a dashboard. The directory list is public, third-party fees aren't included, and upgrades cost only the difference. Best for: every submission visible in one dashboard.

Submit by Hand

Submit by Hand drafts your listing from your URL before you pay, uses only directories with a free submission option, and spreads the work over 2 to 3 weeks. Each report row has a screenshot, the live link once published and the login, and its list of 322 directories is public. It guarantees the full count of submissions, not approvals. Best for: seeing the copy and the list before paying.

LaunchDirectories

LaunchDirectories submits manually, with an "Average Delivery" of 4 to 6 days. Plans include paid launches on "select partner directories", and reports include live links, screenshots and logins. Its checkout says you lose your 14-day right of withdrawal once the service begins. Best for: a manual service with a short delivery time.

Submit Juice

Submit Juice shows two prices per plan: Classic ($297 and $197, 20 directories and websites), Premium ($397 and $297, 50) and Premium Plus ($1,083 and $983), plus a $100-off code. Submissions are manual ("We DO NOT use bots"). Premium carries a DA 20+ guarantee and Premium Plus DA 40+, subject to its terms; the service "is considered delivered once proof of submission is provided". Best for: software founders who want a refund tied to a target.

GetMoreBacklinks

GetMoreBacklinks says "New orders are currently unavailable". Its plans list 100 or 200 "Backlink Submissions" with a 14-working-day delivery guarantee, but the price is unclear: cards show $379, $579 and $779 per website beside other figures and a "67% OFF" label, and another section says "At just $127 one-time".

Submissions vs live listings: what the number means

A "100 directories" plan can mean 100 forms sent or 100 pages live. Most services count submissions, since approval isn't theirs to give; Submit Juice puts it plainly: "we cannot guarantee listings, we can only guarantee our submissions". Smol Launch says "Each directory decides whether and when to publish; we track publication separately", ListingBott counts live listings, and DirPilot replaces rejected directories and reports which went live. A submission count is what a service controls; a live count is what you want. Ask how the report shows the gap.

What to check before you pay

• Can you see the list? SubmitSaaS, Smol Launch and Submit by Hand publish theirs; DirPilot sends yours before work starts; ListingBott shows yours after payment, for approval. Check names against our directory data or high-DR directories.
• What is automated, and where do the links come from? Google's spam policies define link spam as "creating links to or from a site primarily for the purpose of manipulating search rankings", with examples including "Using automated programs or services to create links to your site" and "Low-quality directory or bookmark site links". Hand submission doesn't make a bad directory good.
• One description, or one per site? The same paragraph everywhere reads as a bulk job.
• Are paid listing fees included? SubmitSaaS, ListingBott and Smol Launch exclude them; Submitator, LaunchDirectories and DirPilot's Business and First include some. Google also lists "Buying or selling links for ranking purposes", so judge a paid listing on speed, placement or audience, not the link.
• Does the report show live URLs? A screenshot of a form proves a submission, not a listing.
• What does a DR or DA guarantee cover? DR is Ahrefs' score and DA is Moz's; Google uses neither, and DR is relative, so it can drop when other sites gain links. Link schemes can inflate DR without bringing a single visitor (see what a good domain rating is). Average DR gains quoted by vendors are their own figures.
• What do the refund conditions say? Proportional refunds, delivery defined as proof of submission or a waived withdrawal right all limit what you get back, and some bookings, DirPilot's included, are non-refundable.
• Can you order today, at this price? GetMoreBacklinks has paused orders; Submit Juice says its prices rise this week.

Hire a service or do it yourself?

Doing it yourself costs time instead of money. By the vendors' own estimates, 100 directories take about 30 to 40 hours (Submit by Hand), and DirPilot's Economy plan says "Save 20+ hours" for 30+.

Do it yourself if you want a short, hand-picked list and prefer to write every listing. To submit your startup to directories yourself, start with our best startup directories ranking, the free directory shortlist builder and the free dofollow directories list, then follow how to submit your startup to directories.

Hire a service if launch week is already full, you want 30 or more directories, or you'd rather someone else handled accounts, confirmation emails and paid listings. Directories are only a first layer; our first backlinks playbook covers what comes next.

After any service delivers: check the work

1. Open every live URL and confirm it links to the right page.
2. Check the rel attribute with our free dofollow link checker, which also flags noindex, robots.txt, canonicals and redirects, or by hand (how to check dofollow backlinks).
3. Check it's indexed by searching the listing's address, then check again a month later, since directories approve, edit or quietly drop listings.

You can confirm a link is live, followed and indexed; nobody outside Google can confirm it counts.

FAQ

What is the best directory submission service?

The best startup directory submission service depends on what you need: Submitator for the lowest price, SubmitSaaS for a guaranteed 48-hour turnaround, StartupSubmit for the widest manual coverage, ListingBott for a live-listing count, Submit by Hand to see your copy first, DirPilot for paid listings and an indexation report. Whichever you pick, check the list, the report and the refund terms.

How much does a directory submission service cost?

Most one-time plans on these pages cost $29 to $399, or $2.00 to $2.98 a directory at Submit by Hand; Submit Juice's top plan is listed at $983 or $1,083. Many exclude paid listing fees.

Are directory submission services safe for SEO?

It depends on where they submit. Google's spam policies name low-quality directory links and automated link creation as link spam, and say "Sites that violate our policies may rank lower in results or not appear in results at all." Reviewed directories in your category, with a description per site, are a different case.

Do directory submission services guarantee backlinks or DR?

Most guarantee submissions, not approvals or links. ListingBott promises 100 live listings, and ListingBott, StartupSubmit and Submit Juice offer DR or DA guarantees: promises about third-party scores, not about Google.

How long does directory submission take?

Stated times run from 24 to 48 hours for most of Submitator's directories and 48 hours at SubmitSaaS to about a month at ListingBott. Then each directory reviews on its own schedule; DirPilot says most listings go live within two to four weeks.

Should I use an automated tool or a manual service?

Automated tools such as Submitator are cheaper, faster and let you pick each directory. Manual services such as StartupSubmit, Submit by Hand and DirPilot say they adapt your copy to each site and handle the accounts and confirmation emails. Either way, the directory list matters more than the method.

Rather hand it over?

If you'd rather not fill in the forms, DirPilot does it for you. We pick the directories that fit your product, send you the list before we start, write a different description for each, submit by hand and report which listings are live, which links are dofollow and which pages Google has indexed at day 30.

• Economy, $99: 30+ free, medium-DR directories.
• Business, $149: 60+ high-DR free and paid directories, listing fees included.
• First, $199: 100+ directories, plus help on launch day.

Each plan is a one-time payment, and work starts within one business day. Bookings are non-refundable; if a directory rejects you, we replace it with one of similar authority at no extra cost. Compare the plans, or use the table above to pick another service.