Product Hunt, Show HN, BetaList, Uneed, There's An AI For That, Futurepedia, outbid.lol and AI/TLDR side by side: what each costs, how you get seen, and how long it lasts. Every figure was read from the platform's own page on 2026-09-22.
Free launch sites (Product Hunt, Show HN) cost nothing but rank by upvotes, so you need a crowd on launch day. Directories (There's An AI For That, Futurepedia, BetaList) charge $49 to $497 for a listing that stays. Bidding boards (outbid.lol) start at $5 but hold your rank only until someone pays more. AI/TLDR is a fixed $20 one-time for a permanent card at the top of a feed read by AI builders — no upvotes, no bids, no queue. An average card gets ~700 impressions and 15–20 clicks on its first day; the same result on Google Search ads costs about $31–$87, so you save up to 77% on day one.
In the first day · average card
Google estimate: the same clicks and impressions at average Google Search ad prices (WebFX, June 2026).
| Platform | Price | How you get seen | How long it lasts | Audience (as claimed) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AI/TLDRthis site | $20 one-time | Paid slot. No upvotes, no bidding, no review queue — the card is live within a minute of payment. | Permanent. Enters at the top of the feed and drifts down as new releases arrive. | About 2,000 readers a day, from Google and AI assistants. An average card gets ~700 impressions and 15–20 clicks on its first day (editor's figures). |
| Product Hunt | Free | Upvotes and comments decide the daily rank. Asking people directly for upvotes is against the rules. | One launch day on the leaderboard; the listing page stays up. | Not published on the launch page. |
| Hacker News (Show HN) | Free | Community points. Landing pages, signup pages and newsletters are not allowed — only things people can try. | Hours to a day on the Show page, depending on points. | Not published. |
| BetaList | Paid only (price at checkout); Boost $99/week or $199/month | Editorial review, then a listing. Boost adds homepage placement and a newsletter slot. | The listing stays; Boost placement lasts for the week or month you buy. | 60k+ newsletter subscribers and 500k+ monthly pageviews (BetaList's figures). |
| Uneed | Free queue; Fast-track $14.99; Skip the Line $29.99 | Upvotes on launch day. The free line assigns a date up to 5 months out and needs 10 upvotes to stay published. | A launch day, then a listing that stays in the directory. | 90k monthly visitors and a 26k-subscriber newsletter (Uneed's figures). |
| There's An AI For That | $49 listing; $437 with newsletter mention; Highlight $99/month | Paid listing after staff review. Free listing only for tools that are completely free or open source. | Listings do not expire. | 5M+ monthly active users and 2.5M+ newsletter subscribers (TAAFT's figures). |
| Futurepedia | $497 one-time (Verified listing); Basic $247 listed as sold out | Paid listing, published within 2 business days. | The listing stays. | Over 400k professionals a month (Futurepedia's figure). |
| outbid.lol | Bids from $5 | Highest bid ranks first. Anyone who bids more moves above you. | Until someone outbids you. Position is never fixed. | Over one million visitors and $120,000 in bids in its first 48 hours (August 2026, founder's figures); the top bid reached $13,005. |
Prices and rules as printed on each platform's pricing or FAQ page on 2026-09-22; audience figures are the platforms' own claims, not measured by us. Competitor links are references, not endorsements (rel="nofollow").
The best-known launch platform: a daily leaderboard of new products ranked by community upvotes.
Cost: Free. Best for: Consumer and SaaS products with an existing community to bring along on launch day.
Source: producthunt.com/launch/faq
Hacker News posts tagged Show HN, for things you have built that other people can try.
Cost: Free. Best for: Working software and open-source projects that survive blunt technical feedback.
Source: news.ycombinator.com/showhn.html
A curated directory of pre-launch and recently launched startups with a newsletter.
Cost: Paid only (price at checkout); Boost $99/week or $199/month. Best for: Pre-launch startups collecting early users; needs its own domain, no app-store-only links.
Source: betalist.com/advertise
A community launch board with daily, weekly and monthly rankings, in the Product Hunt style.
Cost: Free queue; Fast-track $14.99; Skip the Line $29.99. Best for: Indie makers who can wait or pay a small fee to choose a date.
Source: uneed.best/pricing
The largest AI tool directory, with a newsletter and a pay-per-click featured section.
Cost: $49 listing; $437 with newsletter mention; Highlight $99/month. Best for: AI tools with a marketing budget that want a permanent directory entry.
A large AI tool directory with reviews, tutorials and enterprise sponsorship packages.
Cost: $497 one-time (Verified listing); Basic $247 listed as sold out. Best for: Funded AI products that want a verified badge on a big directory.
Source: futurepedia.io/submit-tool
A public pay-to-rank leaderboard: submit a link, bid, and take whatever position the amount buys.
Cost: Bids from $5. Best for: Attention plays and viral moments, if you are ready to keep bidding.
Source: finance.yahoo.com/small-business/articles/120-000-one-million-visitors-154500442.html
A sponsored card in a feed of new AI releases, read by developers and AI builders. AI tools, models, repos and dev tools that want a lasting link to a technical audience.
Free launch platforms such as Product Hunt and Show HN cost nothing but rank by upvotes, so you need a community on launch day. Among paid placements, AI/TLDR is $20 one-time for a permanent card, outbid.lol starts at $5 but only holds your rank until someone bids more, and Uneed charges $14.99 to $29.99 to skip its queue.
An average $20 sponsored card on AI/TLDR gets ~700 impressions and 15–20 clicks on its first day, by the editor's figures. The card never expires, so it keeps collecting clicks as it moves down the feed.
Yes, on day one. The ~700 impressions and 15–20 clicks an average AI/TLDR card gets on its first day would cost about $31–$87 on Google Search ads at average prices (WebFX, June 2026). AI/TLDR charges $20 once, a saving of up to 77%.
Yes. Product Hunt says launching is 100% free. Products compete on a daily leaderboard ranked by upvotes and comments, and you may invite people to visit and comment but may not ask them directly for upvotes.
outbid.lol is a public pay-to-rank leaderboard. You submit a link and a bid, starting at $5, and the highest bid holds the top spot. Anyone who bids more moves above you, so a position lasts only until you are outbid. In its first 48 hours in August 2026 it drew over one million visitors and $120,000 in bids, with the top bid at $13,005.
AI/TLDR sells a fixed, one-time placement: $20 puts a sponsored card at the top of a feed of new AI releases, with no upvotes to win and no bids to defend. The card is permanent and links straight to your page. Product Hunt is free but decided by upvotes on one day; outbid.lol ranks by bid and can be outbid at any time.
It depends on the platform. AI/TLDR, There's An AI For That and Futurepedia listings do not expire. A Product Hunt or Show HN launch is visible for about a day. A BetaList Boost lasts the week or month you buy. An outbid.lol rank lasts until a higher bid arrives.
AI/TLDR is read by developers, researchers and AI builders who follow new models, tools, repos and papers. The editor's figure is about 2,000 readers a day, arriving from Google and from AI assistants that cite the site.
Every price and rule was read from the platform's own pricing or FAQ page on 2026-09-22, and audience figures are quoted as each platform states them. Platforms change prices, so check the linked source before you buy.