Hacker News (Show HN)
news.ycombinator.com
How to submit your startup to Hacker News (Show HN)
Technical community launch channel - high visibility, nofollow links. Here is what a Hacker News (Show HN) listing is worth - DR 94, nofollow link, free - and exactly how to submit.
- Domain Rating
- 94
- Link type
- Nofollow
- Pricing
- Free
- Category
- Community
Is Hacker News (Show HN) worth it?
Must submit · 8/10Hacker News (Show HN) combines free submission, strong visibility, and high authority. Put it near the top of your launch checklist.
What is Hacker News (Show HN)?
Hacker News (Show HN) (news.ycombinator.com) is a community: technical community launch channel - high visibility, nofollow links.
Communities reward participation over promotion. Build a profile, contribute for a while, and share your product where it genuinely answers a question.
How to submit to Hacker News (Show HN)
- 1Create a real profile with your name, photo, and what you are building.
- 2Spend a week contributing helpful answers or feedback before posting your own product.
- 3Share your product in the designated show-and-tell or launch area, following the rules.
- 4Write it as a story - what problem, what you learned, what you want feedback on.
- 5Stay in the thread and answer questions; that is where signups come from.
Hacker News (Show HN) backlink and SEO value
Elite authority · DR 94
With an Ahrefs Domain Rating around 94, Hacker News (Show HN) sits among the most authoritative domains on the web. Even a single profile here is a strong brand and trust signal, and pages on high-DR domains tend to rank for your brand name within weeks.
Links from Hacker News (Show HN) are nofollow, so they do not directly pass PageRank. The value is elsewhere: brand search results, referral traffic, trust for buyers who research you, and citations that AI assistants pick up when they describe your product.
Want the live number? Run news.ycombinator.com through the free Domain Rating checker.
How much does Hacker News (Show HN) cost?
Submitting to Hacker News (Show HN) is free. There is no reason not to include it in your launch checklist - the only cost is the 10-20 minutes it takes to write a good listing.
Tips for a Hacker News (Show HN) listing that converts
- Use the same product name, tagline, and logo you use on Founder.best and other directories - consistency helps search engines connect your listings.
- Write a fresh description for Hacker News (Show HN) instead of copy-pasting. Duplicate text across dozens of sites adds little value.
- Add UTM parameters to your link so you can see in analytics whether Hacker News (Show HN) sends real visitors.
- Record the live listing URL and date in your tracker, then check back in 30 days for indexing and traffic.
Hacker News (Show HN) vs Founder.best
| Hacker News (Show HN) | Founder.best | |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Community | Launch Platform |
| Domain Rating | 94 | 41 |
| Link type | Nofollow | Dofollow |
| Pricing | Free | Freemium |
| Founder profile + verified revenue | - | Yes |
They work best together: an active weekly launch on Founder.best brings launch-day attention and a dofollow link, and Hacker News (Show HN) adds a long-lived listing afterwards.
Hacker News (Show HN) alternatives and similar directories
DEV Community
dev.to
Developer community - publish launch posts and product announcements.
Medium
medium.com
Publish launch stories and build founder brand content with indexable articles.
Indie Hackers
indiehackers.com
Founder community with indexable product pages and launch discussions.
GrowthHackers
growthhackers.com
Growth marketing community for launch posts and product threads.
Starter Story
starterstory.com
Founder interviews and startup stories - submit your journey.
Unsplash
unsplash.com
High-authority platform - useful for brand pages and visual product marketing.
FAQ
- Is Hacker News (Show HN) free to submit to?
- Submitting to Hacker News (Show HN) is free. There is no reason not to include it in your launch checklist - the only cost is the 10-20 minutes it takes to write a good listing.
- Does Hacker News (Show HN) give a dofollow backlink?
- No - links from Hacker News (Show HN) are nofollow. It is still useful for brand visibility, referral traffic, and AI citations.
- What is the Domain Rating (DR) of Hacker News (Show HN)?
- Hacker News (Show HN) (news.ycombinator.com) has an Ahrefs Domain Rating of roughly 94 (elite authority). DR changes over time - check the live score with the free Domain Rating checker on Founder.best.
- Is Hacker News (Show HN) worth it for a new startup?
- Our verdict: Must submit (8/10). Hacker News (Show HN) combines free submission, strong visibility, and high authority. Put it near the top of your launch checklist.
- What should I submit to before Hacker News (Show HN)?
- Start with an active launch on Founder.best for homepage visibility and a dofollow backlink, then work through community options like Hacker News (Show HN). One active launch plus 5-10 quality directories beats mass-submitting to hundreds of low-quality lists.
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DR, link type, and pricing are approximate and change over time - verify on news.ycombinator.com before relying on them. Founder.best is not affiliated with Hacker News (Show HN).