Free Dofollow Backlink Sites List (2026 Edition)
A practical, honestly-labeled list of places that still give startups free dofollow backlinks — niche directories, launch platforms, and profiles — plus how to verify each link yourself.
Most "free backlink site" lists on the web are stale: half the entries flipped to nofollow years ago, and the other half are link farms that will hurt more than help. This list takes a different approach — it groups places that genuinely work for startups, labels the link attribute honestly, and shows you how to verify anything yourself before spending time.
New to the terminology? Start with what a dofollow backlink is, then come back here.
First: how to verify any site on this list
Link attributes change without notice, so treat every entry as "verify before you invest an hour":
- Find any existing outbound link on the site (an older listing, a profile, a post).
- Right-click → Inspect the link.
- No
rel="nofollow"/rel="ugc"/rel="sponsored"? It is dofollow today.
Ten seconds per site. If a platform has switched to nofollow, it may still be worth using for the audience — just stop counting it as an SEO link.
Niche directories with dofollow listings
These are the highest-value entries because curated directories link out deliberately, and relevance is what makes a link count.
| Site | What you get | Link attribute | | --- | --- | --- | | HiCyou | Free listing in a curated SaaS/startup directory; add the badge to fast-track review and keep the link dofollow | Dofollow (with verified badge) | | Open-source and indie software directories in your exact niche | A listing page with your URL | Varies — verify a recent listing |
Why niche directories first: a link from a site about your topic carries more weight than a generic one, and editorial review keeps the neighborhood clean. If you run an AI product, for example, a listing in an AI-tools directory also puts you in front of people searching those catalogs — see what a good AI tools directory offers.
Launch platforms and startup communities
These may or may not pass ranking signals, but they are where early adopters actually look:
- Hacker News (Show HN) — community-vetted; links are followed for well-received posts, and the referral spike can dwarf SEO value.
- Indie Hackers — founder community with product pages and interviews.
- BetaList — pre-launch startups; good for early waitlist signups.
- Product Hunt — links are typically nofollow, but launch-day discovery, feedback, and press pickup make it a launch staple rather than an SEO play.
- Reddit (r/SideProject, niche subreddits) —
ugcattributes sitewide; still excellent for validation and first users.
Software catalogs for established products
Once you have traction, these compound:
- AlternativeTo — users add and upvote alternatives; strong discovery for "X alternative" searches.
- G2 / Capterra — review platforms; links vary, but reviews rank in branded searches.
- SourceForge / Open Source observatory listings — for open-source projects; HiCyou itself is open source, which is also how projects earn .edu/.org citations over time.
Content platforms
- dev.to, Medium, Hashnode — repost or write original pieces; most mark author links nofollow, but canonical reposting still builds audience. The dofollow value comes when other sites cite your piece.
A 30-minute starter routine
- Today — submit your product to HiCyou (free; dofollow with verified badge).
- This week — add your product to the launch platforms above that fit your stage.
- This week — check each earned link with Inspect; note which are dofollow.
- This month — publish one comparison or tutorial post on your own blog worth citing (ours started with Supabase and Cloudflare setup guides).
That is the whole playbook: relevant directories first, communities for audience, your own content as the link magnet. Skip anything that promises hundreds of links overnight — those are the listings that get sites penalized.