Dofollow or Nofollow? What We Found Across 246 Startup Directories

"Is it dofollow?" is the first question most founders ask about a directory. It's a fair question, but it's usually asked for the wrong reason, and the answer is less predictable than you'd think. We track 246 startup, SaaS and AI directories on DirPilot, with their domain rating, price and link type. So we pulled the numbers to see what the link landscape actually looks like in 2026.

Short version: most directories we could verify do link dofollow, a directory's authority tells you almost nothing about its link type, and some of the biggest names in the list are nofollow and still worth your time. Below are the numbers, the directories behind them, and what we'd do with them.

How we collected the data

Every number below comes from the records behind our directory pages, as they stood on 7 October 2026. Each record was last verified between 17 August and 7 October 2026.

• Domain rating (DR) is Ahrefs' 0 to 100 score for the strength of a site's backlink profile. Ahrefs explains how DR is calculated. It's a useful rough signal, not a Google metric.
• Link type means the rel attribute on the link from a live listing page back to the listed product. For some directories we checked by hand and wrote notes. For others an automated check read one real listing page. The rest come from the records we started from, kept in our sister directory LaunchIt's database.
• Price is what it costs to get listed: free, freemium (a free path plus paid options such as faster review), or paid only.
• Traffic and approval times, where we quote them, are estimates we hold for only some directories. We say so each time.

Two caveats. A directory can change its link policy at any time, and one listing page doesn't guarantee every listing is treated the same way. Some directories, for example, give followed links only to paid or featured listings. We also haven't verified the link type of 84 directories yet, so the percentages below are out of the ones we have.

One more thing in the interest of honesty: DirPilot sells directory submissions, so we have a stake in this topic. That's why the method is spelled out above, and why every directory has its own page you can check.

Most verified directories link dofollow

Of the 162 directories whose link type we've verified, 143 (88%) link dofollow and 19 (12%) add nofollow, ugc or sponsored.

That's higher than many founders expect. It's also why "dofollow" alone is a weak filter: it rules out very little, and it says nothing about whether anyone will ever see your listing.

Authority doesn't predict the link type

We expected high-DR directories to be stingier with followed links. They aren't, at least not in a way the data shows:

Within a few points, every band links dofollow at the same rate. Domain rating and link type are separate questions, and you have to check both.

Across the whole list the median DR is 48. The spread is fairly even: 46 directories under DR 20, 53 between 20 and 39, 58 between 40 and 59, 63 between 60 and 79, and 26 at DR 80 or above.

DR doesn't predict audience either. Of the 64 directories with a traffic estimate, the median gets about 8,000 visits a month. The list has a DR 92 directory with an estimated 2,000 monthly visits, while directories at DR 73 and DR 80 get well over 100,000. Authority is a measure of links pointing at a site, not of people reading it.

The picture by category

Directory types behave differently. Here are the categories with at least five directories. A directory can sit in more than one category, so the counts overlap.

Three things stand out:

• AI directories have the lowest median DR (37). Many are new, launched in the last two years, and a lot of them are thin. They're also the most likely to be paid only (8 of 49). Pick AI directories one by one, not in bulk.
• Communities are the most often nofollow. That's expected: their links sit in posts written by users, which Google asks sites to mark ugc or nofollow. Communities are for conversations, not links.
• SaaS directories, design galleries and review sites are strong across the board. They have high median DR, and every one we verified links dofollow. They're also where buyers compare tools, so the traffic is warm.

The strongest free dofollow directories

76 directories are both free and dofollow, and 34 of those have a DR of 50 or more. These are the 15 highest by DR:

A high place in this table isn't a reason on its own to submit. Use it as a shortlist and check each one against your product. We keep the complete, filterable list of free dofollow directories up to date.

Some of the biggest names are nofollow

The highest-authority nofollow directories in our list are Medium (DR 94), SourceForge (DR 93), Product Hunt (DR 91) and Futurepedia (DR 72). Here's what each nofollow heavyweight is actually good for:

• Product Hunt: launch day. Thousands of early adopters, journalists and investors browse it daily, and a good day there gets you feedback, users and press.
• Medium: a launch story or a technical write-up. It's for readers, not listings.
• SourceForge: developer tools and open-source software, where downloads and reviews matter more than the link.
• Futurepedia: a large AI tools directory with daily additions, so AI buyers discover you there.
• PitchWall (DR 68): feedback on your pitch from other founders.

A nofollow listing that sends real visitors, reviews and press is worth more than a dofollow listing on a page no one opens. Google's own guidance treats nofollow as a hint rather than a hard rule (see how Google handles qualified outbound links). So a "no" in the link column isn't the end of the story.

Free listings are the norm, and paid ones are cheap

Of the 170 directories with known pricing:

• 86 (51%) are free,
• 61 (36%) are freemium,
• 23 (14%) are paid only.

Where a paid option exists and we know its price (55 directories), the median is $19, and most cost less than a lunch:

The expensive ones are usually selling something other than a listing. G2 has a free basic profile, and its paid plans (from $299 in our records) are about leads and review campaigns. Awwwards charges per submission because a jury reviews each site. There's An AI For That charges a one-time review fee of $49 for a permanent basic listing.

We also keep approval times for a handful of directories. They range from the same day at ActiveSearchResult, and two days at Earlyhunt and There's An AI For That, to around 90 days in some free queues. Our fast-approval list collects the quick ones.

A word on paying for followed links

Paying a directory is often perfectly reasonable: you're paying for faster review, a featured spot or a newsletter mention. But Google's link spam policy is clear that buying links that pass ranking credit is a violation. Paid placements should carry rel="sponsored" or rel="nofollow". The same policy also names "low-quality directory or bookmark site links" as link spam.

The practical takeaway is to pay for exposure, not for a link attribute. If the only thing a paid listing gives you is a followed link on a page no human will read, it isn't worth the money, and it isn't worth the risk.

What this means when you pick directories

1. Start with relevance and audience. An AI tool directory is worth more to an AI product than a generic business listing, whatever either one's DR.
2. Use DR as a filter, not a goal. It helps you skip link farms; it doesn't tell you who visits. Our high-DR list is a good shortlist, not a to-do list.
3. Treat link type as a bonus. With 88% of verified directories linking dofollow, it barely narrows the list. Check it, note it, move on.
4. Don't skip the big nofollow launches. Product Hunt and the communities around it can do more for a launch than ten quiet dofollow listings.
5. Check that listings actually get indexed. A link Google never sees passes nothing. Our guide to submitting your startup to directories without hurting your SEO shows how to check.

FAQ

Do nofollow directory links help SEO?

Not directly in the way a followed link might, but they aren't worthless. Google treats nofollow as a hint, and nofollow listings on busy sites bring visitors, mentions and sometimes coverage that earns followed links elsewhere.

Is domain rating a Google metric?

No. DR is Ahrefs' estimate of a site's link strength. Google doesn't use it. It's a convenient way to compare directories at a glance, and that's all.

How often do directories change their link type?

Often enough that you should check your own listing rather than trust a list, including ours. Directories switch to nofollow to fight spam, or keep followed links for paid tiers. That's why each of our records carries a verification date.

How many directories should I submit to?

Fewer than you'd think. Twenty to forty well-chosen directories that fit your product will do more than hundreds picked by DR alone. Start with your category, then the strongest general ones.

You can browse every directory mentioned here, with its DR, price, link type and our notes, on the directory pages. If you'd rather hand the whole job over, our submission plans pick the directories that fit your product, submit by hand and report which listings are live and indexed.