No. BetaList's FAQ says all submissions are now paid and there is no free option. If your startup is not selected, the payment is refunded in full automatically.

Does BetaList give a dofollow backlink?

Yes, according to its FAQ: the Visit Site button on a featured listing is a do-follow link that goes through a 301 redirect adding ref=betalist. That matched the listing checked on 20 October 2026.

What is a free alternative to BetaList?

Hype Star lists a reviewed project permanently at no cost, with no account or card; new free listings need a visible Hype Star badge on the project site. Product Hunt is also free, with a personal account.

Can I be on BetaList and Hype Star at the same time?

Yes. BetaList features a new startup for a day in front of early adopters, while Hype Star keeps a reviewed profile up with no expiry, so one does not replace the other.

What are the best BetaList alternatives?

Hype Star vs BetaList

BetaList now charges for every submission and, if your startup is selected, features it for a day in front of an early-adopter audience with a do-follow link; Hype Star lists a reviewed project for free with a public profile that has no expiry, but its link is ugc nofollow. The best BetaList alternative depends on what you wanted from it: Product Hunt for a free launch-day audience, Hype Star for a free listing that lasts, and AlternativeTo if people would look for your product as an alternative to a known app.

BetaList facts checked on BetaList's own pages on 20 October 2026.
	BetaList	Hype Star
Cost	Paid for every submission; full refund if not selected	Free ($0)
Who it is for	Pre-launch and recently launched technology startups	Startups, apps, sites, services, and skills
Main requirements	Your own domain (no free hosting subdomains or app-store-only links) and a distinct landing page where visitors can sign up or get access	A public English URL; new free listings need a visible Hype Star badge on your site
How long you are visible	Featured for a day, then the startup moves down the list	A public profile with no expiry
How often	Up to twice: once before launch, once at launch	One profile per canonical project URL
Link to your site	Do-follow, through a 301 redirect that adds ref=betalist	rel="noopener ugc nofollow"
Review	Editorial team; no individual feedback on rejections	Reviewed for accuracy, safety, and duplicates

Facts about other sites were checked on their own pages on 20 October 2026. They can change; check the source before you rely on a detail.

A pre-launch audience versus a permanent profile

BetaList describes itself as the place for early adopters to discover upcoming and recently launched internet startups. A feature puts your startup in front of that audience for a day; after that it moves down the list. Plans differ mainly in how quickly you are featured and whether newsletter inclusion is guaranteed, and prices are shown at the end of its submission form.

Hype Star is not a launch moment. A reviewed project gets one public profile that stays up without an expiry, in category pages people browse and in the catalog agents read through JSON, MCP, or the Hype Star skill. It costs nothing, but the link to your site is marked ugc nofollow, and new free listings need a Hype Star badge on your site.

BetaList alternatives

Each of these does part of what BetaList does. None of them is a straight replacement.

Hype Star: free and permanent, with review for accuracy, safety, and duplicates. No account or card. The link is rel="noopener ugc nofollow", and new free listings need a visible Hype Star badge on your site.
Product Hunt: free with a personal account. Launches compete on a daily homepage leaderboard that the team curates. The Visit website link on the product pages we checked was rel="noreferrer noopener ugc". It does not feature waitlisted products unless immediate access is provided.
AlternativeTo: free to submit, with an optional paid priority review. Its FAQ says the normal queue holds several thousand apps and most will not be looked at for a very long time. The official website link was plain on one app page we checked and rel="sponsored" on another.

Who each one fits

BetaList fits a new technology startup with its own domain, a sign-up form, and a budget for a paid feature.
Hype Star fits any public English project that wants a free, reviewed profile that stays findable after launch.
Product Hunt fits a product that is live, or gives immediate access, and makers who can be present on launch day.

When to pick BetaList instead

If you want a followed link and are willing to pay for it, BetaList says its featured listings carry one; Hype Star's does not.

If you are still pre-launch and want early adopters to join a waitlist, BetaList is built for that moment, while Product Hunt does not feature waitlisted products unless they give immediate access.

If you cannot place a Hype Star badge on your site, a new free Hype Star listing is not possible.

Questions

Is BetaList free?: No. BetaList's FAQ says all submissions are now paid and there is no free option. If your startup is not selected, the payment is refunded in full automatically.
Does BetaList give a dofollow backlink?: Yes, according to its FAQ: the Visit Site button on a featured listing is a do-follow link that goes through a 301 redirect adding ref=betalist. That matched the listing checked on 20 October 2026.
What is a free alternative to BetaList?: Hype Star lists a reviewed project permanently at no cost, with no account or card; new free listings need a visible Hype Star badge on the project site. Product Hunt is also free, with a personal account.
Can I be on BetaList and Hype Star at the same time?: Yes. BetaList features a new startup for a day in front of early adopters, while Hype Star keeps a reviewed profile up with no expiry, so one does not replace the other.