To launch on Hacker News, you post a Show HN: something you made that people can try now, a plain title starting with "Show HN", a short text you wrote yourself, and you in the comments for the rest of the day. Reddit has no launch button: you share a useful post in the subreddits where your users already are, within each subreddit's self-promotion rules. Both reward founders who show up as people and punish anything that looks like marketing or vote gaming.
- Read the rules first: HN's and each subreddit's, the week you post. They change.
- Make it easy to try: no signup wall if you can avoid it.
- Write it yourself: HN asks for text written by hand, and r/SaaS bans AI-generated posts.
- Stay in the thread: answer every question, critics included.
- Never ask for upvotes: both sites can ban you for it.
Disclosure: DirPilot sells directory submissions, so we have an interest in you getting listed. We don't post to Hacker News or Reddit for anyone: both expect the maker to post and reply in person. Rules are quoted from HN's and Reddit's own pages (Reddit's help pages via archived copies, as Reddit blocked our requests); directory data is from DirPilot's pages as of our October 2026 checks.
Hacker News vs Reddit at a glance
| Hacker News (Show HN) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Best for | A working product a technical audience can try now | Lessons and stories for one subreddit's members |
| Format | "Show HN" title, a URL, optional text, one thread | Text or link post, under that subreddit's rules |
| Self-promotion | Your own work, but not "primarily for promotion" | Sitewide spam rules plus subreddit limits; r/SaaS: "Max 1 mention or 3 links" per 60 days (August 2026) |
| AI-written text | Not allowed | Varies; r/SaaS bans it |
| DR and link (DirPilot, Oct 2026) | DR 91, unchecked; nofollow seen on low-scoring posts | r/SaaS: DR 95, unchecked |
| What you get | Technical feedback; the Show page if it earns points | Feedback from people in that niche |
How to launch on Hacker News with Show HN
Check that it counts as a Show HN
HN's Show HN rules open with: "Show HN is for something you've made that other people can play with." Software people can run counts, as does hardware shown in a video or detailed article. "Off topic: blog posts, sign-up pages, newsletters, lists, and other reading material." Landing pages and fundraisers are out too.
Two more limits catch founders out. "The project should be non-trivial. Don't post quickly-generated one-offs; anybody can do that now." And new features and upgrades "generally aren't substantive enough to be Show HNs. A major overhaul is probably ok." Polish isn't required: "The community is comfortable with work that's at an early stage." Access matters more: "Please make it easy for users to try your thing out, ideally without barriers such as signups or emails. You'll get more feedback that way." Our Hacker News (Show HN) page sums up these rules with the moderators' tips.
Write the title and the text by hand
The title is "Show HN:" plus the name and a plain description. HN's guidelines ask you not to "make titles stand out, like using uppercase or exclamation points". Two made-up examples:
- Works: "Show HN: Tallyline, a CSV diff tool that runs in your browser"
- Doesn't: "Show HN: Tallyline, the FASTEST way to compare spreadsheets!"
For the text, follow HN moderator dang's tips, which the Show HN rules link to (HN thread):
- Backstory: "Include text giving the backstory of how you came to work on this, and explaining what's different about it."
- What it is: say it plainly, or the discussion will consist of "I can't tell what this is".
- No marketing: "Drop any language that sounds like marketing or sales. On HN, that is an instant turnoff."
- No AI: a March 2026 edit adds "Write your text by hand. Don't use an LLM to generate any of it (not even a tiny bit, including to edit or spruce it up)."
HN's Launch HN instructions are for YC companies, but say other startups "should still follow the advice below". Highlights: "Be sure that your text doesn't read like an ad. This is the most common mistake." "Don't use superlatives (fastest, biggest, first, best)." "Make your pricing transparent." Its suggested order suits a Show HN: who you are, what it does in one sentence, the problem, your backstory, what's different, then a request for feedback.
One detail: HN's FAQ answers "How do I make a link in a text submission?" with "You can't." Put the product in the URL field and links to docs or a repo in a comment.
Use a personal account with some history
From dang's tips: "Don't have your username be that of your company or project", just something that shows "you're here as a human, not a brand". HN shows new accounts in green, and its guidelines ask people not to "create accounts routinely". Set up your account weeks ahead, comment and try other people's Show HNs.
Launch day: be in the thread
HN publishes no best time to post. Its FAQ says ranking "divides points by a power of the time since a story was submitted", with flags, anti-abuse software and moderators also playing a part. So post when you can stay with the thread for several hours.
Then reply. The Launch HN page: "Reply when comments start appearing. Take breaks, but don't leave the thread for long without answering." And "When criticized, act like the critics are doing you a favor." You needn't convert them; "your goal is to win over the large silent audience."
Don't ask anyone to upvote or comment. The Show HN rules say "Please don't ask friends to upvote or comment," and the FAQ says HN will "penalize or ban submissions, accounts, and sites that break this rule". Booster comments are just as bad: "HN users are adept at picking up on those, they consider it spamming, and they will flame you for it."
What happens after you post
Every Show HN appears on the newest Show HN list and moves to the main Show page once it clears "a small points threshold". Threads close to new comments after two weeks.
On links: when DirPilot last checked (October 2026), the Show HN link type was unchecked in our data. On the Show HN page we looked at, title links on low-scoring posts carried nofollow, while most higher-scoring posts' links did not. HN doesn't document this.
If your post sinks, leave it up: the guidelines say "Please don't delete and repost." The FAQ allows "a small number of reposts" for a story that "has not had significant attention in the last year or so", and moderators sometimes send a "repost invite" if your email is in your profile. A new release can be a fresh Show HN "only if the new version is significantly different", with a comment linking the old thread.
Show HN mistakes that get posts flagged or buried
- A landing page, waitlist or blog post posted as a Show HN.
- Marketing copy, superlatives or AI-edited text.
- A company-name username or a brand-new account.
- Vote or comment requests, and booster comments from friends.
- A signup wall, or deleting and reposting when the first try stalls.
How to launch a startup on Reddit
Reddit's sitewide rules on spam and vote manipulation
Reddit's rules apply everywhere. Rule 2: "Abide by community rules. Participate authentically in communities where you have a personal interest, and do not spam or engage in disruptive behaviors (including content manipulation) that interfere with Reddit communities." Rule 5, "Be authentic", rules out posing as a happy customer of your own product. Enforcement runs up to "Temporary or permanent suspension of accounts".
Reddit's help article on spam (archived copy, October 2025) speaks to founders directly: "If your contributions to Reddit consist primarily of links to a business that you run, own, or otherwise benefit from, tread carefully". Its spam examples include "Repeatedly posting the same or similar comments in a thread, subreddit or across subreddits."
Reddiquette (archived October 2026) is "an informal expression of the values of many Reddit users", but it's blunt. On self-promotion: "A widely used rule of thumb is the 9:1 ratio, i.e. only 1 out of every 10 of your submissions should be your own content." On messaging people to vote for your submission: "This will result in a ban from the admins."
Each subreddit sets its own rules: r/SaaS as an example
Moderators write each subreddit's rules, and they differ widely, so "Read the rules of a community before making a submission," as Reddiquette says. r/SaaS shows how specific they get. These come from an August 2026 copy DirPilot read (Reddit blocked our direct check), so read the current version:
- Rule 3: "Promotion is allowed occasionally, but accounts focused solely on it will be removed." The limit: "Max 1 mention or 3 links can be shared every 60 days", and alt accounts count.
- Affiliation must be disclosed "at the beginning or end of the post or comment"; "naked" links or product descriptions count as spam.
- Rule 4 bans AI-generated text. Rule 7 requires direct, full URLs: no shorteners, tracking or affiliate links.
- Rule 11 bars promotion, launch announcements and feedback requests for SaaS built for advertising, promotional outreach, lead detection or ad and content generation.
When DirPilot last checked (October 2026), r/SaaS had DR 95 and an unchecked link type, because Reddit returned a block page to our automated checks.
Pick subreddits where your users already talk
Founder subreddits reach founders: great for feedback, useful for sales only if founders are your buyers. Often the better launch is a subreddit about the problem you solve. For each candidate, read the rules and recent top posts, and see whether promotion is limited to a weekly thread. If unsure, the spam article suggests you "contact the moderators of the community to which you'd like to submit." Pick one or two, not ten copies of the same post.
Write a lesson-first post with a disclosure
A Reddit launch post that survives reads as a contribution. Lead with something useful on its own: what you learned, a mistake, real numbers you're happy to share. Mention the product once, near the end, and say you made it. A made-up example:
- Title: "What broke when we let users import their own CSV files"
- Body: three or four things that went wrong and how you fixed them, useful without a click.
- Last line: "Disclosure: I'm the founder of Tallyline, the tool these lessons came from. Happy to answer questions."
Keep the title "factual and opinion free", as Reddiquette puts it, use the plain URL without UTM tags, and stay to reply.
Account history matters
Reddit judges your record, not just the post. DirPilot's communities page puts it plainly: "a launch post from an account with no history is likely to be ignored or removed." Use your own account, spend a few weeks commenting usefully where you'll post, and don't create a fresh account for the launch.
Reddit mistakes that get posts removed
- A "naked" link or product description with no context.
- The same text in several subreddits on the same day.
- No disclosure, or shortened and tracked links.
- AI-written posts where they're banned.
- Asking anyone, anywhere, for upvotes.
Where HN and Reddit fit in a launch plan
Community posts need you in person, launch platforms need you for a day, and directory listings mostly need forms and review time. A simple plan:
| When | Communities | Launch platforms and directories |
|---|---|---|
| 4 to 8 weeks before | Comment on HN and Reddit; read the rules | Submit to slow-review directories; pick launch dates |
| 1 to 2 weeks before | Write the Show HN and Reddit posts by hand; set up a no-signup demo | Prepare images; set up Product Hunt (new accounts wait a week unless you subscribe to its newsletter) |
| Launch week | Show HN one day, Reddit on others, a full day in each thread | Product Hunt or another launch, on its own day |
| After | Answer late comments; write up what you learned | Check which listings went live and how they link |
As our launch platforms page says, "you can't be fully present in two comment threads at once." Product Hunt posts go live at 12:01 AM PST, so keep your Show HN off that day.
For the right-hand column, our Product Hunt alternatives compares launch platforms, best startup directories ranks 30 startup directories by DR, and how to submit your startup to directories covers the prep. The free launch asset kit makes the image sizes.
What to realistically expect
A community launch can bring honest feedback, conversations with people who have the problem and, if the post lands, some early users. None of it is guaranteed; a post can sink without a single comment.
Links are a side effect: Show HN's depend on votes at best, Reddit's link type is unconfirmed, and Product Hunt's links are ugc, a nofollow type. As our communities page says, "A link is the smallest part of it, and on many of these sites it's nofollow or depends on votes." Our first backlinks playbook says the link payoff comes in a "second wave": readers who write newsletters, blogs and roundups, and link to you later.
For links you can plan on, use reviewed directories; dofollow vs nofollow explains why link type is one factor, not the main one. To check a page that links to you, use the free dofollow link checker. If a site turns it away (Reddit blocked our automated requests), right-click your link in the browser, choose Inspect and read its rel attribute.
FAQ
Can I post a Show HN if my product isn't finished?
Yes, if people can try it. Early work is welcome; a waitlist or landing page isn't.
What's the best time to post a Show HN?
HN doesn't publish one. Post when you can stay in the thread for several hours, on a day with no other launch.
Can I ask friends to upvote my post?
No. HN penalizes or bans for it, and Reddiquette says vote requests "will result in a ban from the admins." Tell people you've launched, but don't ask for votes or comments.
Can I do a second Show HN?
Only for a significantly different version, linking the earlier thread in a comment. dang adds that this "should probably only happen once or twice a year".
Is Launch HN the same as Show HN?
No. Launch HN is "a way for YC startups to launch on Hacker News," curated by the HN team. Everyone else uses Show HN.
Rather hand it over?
HN and Reddit need you in person. Directory submissions don't, and that's the part DirPilot does: we send you the list first (swap any directory out), submit by hand with a description for each, check each listing is live and dofollow, and report which pages Google has indexed at day 30.
- Economy, $99: 30+ directories, medium-DR free directories only.
- Business, $149: 60+ high-DR free and paid directories, listing fees included.
- First, $199: 100+ high-DR free and paid directories, plus help on launch day.
Each plan is a one-time payment, and work starts within one business day. If a directory rejects your product, we replace it with one of similar authority. Compare the plans, and spend launch week in the comment threads.