LaunchNest is a free product-launch directory and community-voted tournament platform where founders list their products, the community upvotes them, and the 16 top-voted products compete in a two-week knockout bracket.
What is LaunchNest?
LaunchNest is a web-based platform that combines a product directory with a recurring tournament. Founders list their product for free, the community upvotes it, and every other Monday the 16 most-upvoted products are drawn into a knockout bracket. The whole cycle spans 14 days, from the Round of 16 to the Championship, with each matchup having a 48-hour voting window. The winner receives a champion badge, a place in the Hall of Fame, a permanent listing, and a dofollow backlink to their site.
Key Features
- Free permanent listing — Add your product in about two minutes with a name, tagline, link, and short pitch. No fee and no approval queue; you land on the board straight away and get a permanent listing page.
- Bi-weekly tournament — A fresh bracket is seeded every other Monday at 09:00 UTC from the current top 16 by upvotes. The tournament runs over 14 days with 48-hour voting windows per round.
- Fair voting mechanics — You must be signed in, you can vote once per matchup (enforced by the database, not the browser), and you must open both products before your vote counts. A hashed IP is also logged to catch and remove coordinated voting.
- Dofollow backlink opportunity — Your listing link starts as nofollow. Add the free LaunchNest badge to your site, verify that it links back to your listing, and your link becomes a permanent dofollow backlink.
- Featured and Spotlight placements — Featured pins your product to the top of the directory; Spotlight places it in the homepage grid in front of every visitor. Both are one-time payments, not subscriptions.
- Editable listings — From your dashboard you can update your name, tagline, description, categories, logo, and screenshot at any time. Changes go live immediately with no approval wait.
- Verified reviews — A review is marked "verified" only if the reviewer's email is confirmed and they clicked through to the product from LaunchNest at least once.
Who is it for?
- Indie hackers and startup founders — Launch a new product for free and get initial traction through community votes, upvotes, and a permanent directory listing.
- Developers and open-source maintainers — Gain visibility for tools and earn a dofollow backlink to the project repository or site.
- SaaS and web app makers — Use the tournament format for launch buzz, collect upvotes and reviews, and potentially win the championship for extra recognition.
What can you do with LaunchNest?
- Launch a product — List your product in about two minutes and get a permanent listing page with a place in the tournament.
- Compete for the crown — If your product is among the top 16 by upvotes when a bracket seeds, you enter the knockout tournament and can win the championship.
- Earn a backlink — Install the free LaunchNest badge on your site and verify it to turn your listing link into a permanent dofollow backlink.
- Promote your product — Pay for a Featured or Spotlight placement to put your product in front of every directory visitor.
How does LaunchNest work?
Listing is free and immediate. You add your product in about two minutes, and if it accumulates enough upvotes to be in the top 16 every other Monday, it's drawn into a 16-product knockout bracket. Over the next 14 days, the community votes head-to-head in each matchup, and the winner advances round by round. The champion gets a badge, a Hall of Fame spot, and a dofollow backlink.
