Where to submit an AI tool: AI directories with checked prices, wait times and link rules

Most AI tool directories charge a one-time fee for a listing, and the fee mostly buys speed: a paid listing goes live in hours or days, a free one waits weeks or longer. A few list you for free if your site links back to them. The best-known curated ones don't sell a listing at all: they decide what goes in.

This guide sets out what each AI directory on our list charges, how long it says listing takes and what it asks of you, in its own words and dated. Every price comes from the directory's own page, and each name links to the place's page on the list. We take no money from the places we list, and we don't submit products, so we can't tell you what traffic a listing brings.

01The AI directories side by side

The table shows what each poster on the list shows: the kind, the cost, the approval time (or the link type, when a site states no time) and the date of our last check. Hover a value to see the full text we read. A blank cost means we found no price on the site's own pages, usually because the directory is curated or the price sits behind a sign-in.

They hang in room 01 with the other startup directories. The whole price text, the approval time and the submit page of each one are on its own page, with a free account.

02Paid listings: what the fee buys

16 of the 28 AI directories on the list state a price, and most of those sell a one-time listing. What the fee buys differs more than the price does.

• There's An AI For That sells two one-off plans, read on its launch page on 30 September 2026: a $49 "Low traffic" plan, described as a "Basic listing in our directory" and a "Permanent listing" with "20-100 estimated clicks", and a $437 "Maximum Exposure" plan. There is no free route on that page. The same page says "All submissions are manually reviewed by our staff" and "The average processing time for submissions is 1-2 days."
• AI Top Tools charges $59 once for an "Instant Listing". Its promise is the quickest we read:

D005AI Top Tools·Approval

“After Stripe confirms payment, your AITopTools page is published immediately and joins the homepage New AI Tools feed.”

Our reading: Published immediately after payment

• Awesome AI Tools sells one listing across five sites: "Get permanent listing in 5 AI directories", namely "awesomeaitools.com, whataicandotoday.com, aiformyjob.com, findmeai.com, and goatedaitools.com", for $69 as a promotion (the regular price shown is $99). It says tools "appear in the directories within 24 hours" of payment. As with app review networks, five names do not mean five separate audiences, so don't pay any of those sites again on its own.
• Toolify charges $99, "No queue, listed within 48 hours".
• TopAI.tools sells a $47 "Fast Track", "Live within 48 hrs (no queue)", and a $229 featured plan. Every submission still gets an editorial review, and "You receive an automated refund if your tool is not accepted."
• AI Agents List charges $29, or $49 with its Launch Boost, and only after it accepts you: "Accepted submissions are a one-time $29 or $49 — approved or your money back."
• AIxploria sells a $99 "Fast Listing", "Published within 5 business days", and a $299 "Verified Listing". It says every submission is "subject to rigorous editorial review".
• Find My AI Tool lists from $79.99 once, with higher tiers at $99.99 and $149.99.
• OpenTools says "Tool submissions require a paid listing subscription", and shows the amount only at checkout, after you sign in.

A refund-if-rejected promise, as TopAI.tools and AI Agents List make, is worth looking for: you pay for a decision, not only for a place in a queue.

03There's An AI For That alternatives

There's An AI For That is the AI directory most founders try first, and it has no free route: on its launch page, as we read it on 30 September 2026, both plans were one-off fees. If that's why you're looking elsewhere, here are the AI directories on our list by what you want instead:

• Free. Pitchwall has a free listing with a long wait, and Altern a free plan with its standard review time. Dang.ai, Dokey AI and AgentHunter list you for free if your site links back to them. The terms are in free, if you wait and free, if you link back.
• Pay only if they take you. AI Agents List charges once it accepts a tool, and TopAI.tools refunds you automatically if it doesn't.
• Faster. AI Top Tools publishes right after payment, and Toolify promises 48 hours. There's An AI For That gives an average processing time of one to two days, so weigh that before you pay anyone for speed.
• Picked by an editor. Futurepedia and Future Tools sell no listing; see curated directories.

Compare the cost column with There's An AI For That's row before you pay. None of this is a ranking by results: we don't measure the clicks or users a listing brings, including the "20-100 estimated clicks" that There's An AI For That puts on its cheapest plan.

04Free, if you wait

5 AI directories on the list say in their own words that you can list for free. The free route usually means a longer queue, with a paid plan to skip it.

Pitchwall is free with paid extras, and its FAQ says free listings "typically have a waiting period of 30+ days before publication":

D020Pitchwall·Cost

“Founders can also list their products for free, with premium visibility and sponsorship options available.”

Our reading: Free; paid premium visibility and sponsorship options

Dang.ai's pricing page gives three review times side by side: up to 4 weeks for the free listing, 4 days for Basic ($49) and 2 days for Pro ($30 plus $19 a month). Altern has a free plan with "Standard review time" next to paid plans at $29 and $49, and says "A human checks every submission, usually within a few days". AgentHunter, a directory of AI agents, puts free listings in a "Manual review queue — typically 14 days", and reviews paid ones within 72 hours:

D116AgentHunter·Cost

“LISTING $99 $79 one-time Permanent dofollow link from your agent profile.”

Our reading: Free; $79 one-time Listing plan (was $99); $249/week Sponsor

If your launch date is fixed, count these waits backwards from it. How long a free launch waits compares them with the launch sites' queues, and the startup launch plan puts every queue on one timeline.

05Free, if you link back

Some free listings cost you a link instead of money. 3 AI directories on the list ask for a link back to them before they list you for free, among them Dang.ai, Dokey AI and AgentHunter, whose free listing links to you with a nofollow link in return. What those link-backs mean under Google's rules, with Dang.ai's and Dokey AI's own words, is in free listings that cost you a link.

On the other side, 8 AI directories on the list advertise a followed (dofollow) link to you somewhere on their own pages. Mostly it comes with the paid plan: Toolify's submit page, for one, says "Get dofollow links and boost your SEO." Google's spam policies (opens in a new tab) list "Low-quality directory or bookmark site links" and "Excessive link exchanges" among their examples of link spam, and say paid links should carry rel="sponsored" or rel="nofollow". Do startup directories help SEO? quotes the policy word for word and shows how to check the link on your live listing. The short version: pick an AI directory for the people who browse it, not for the link.

06Curated directories you can't buy into

Some of the AI directories people know best don't sell a listing.

Futurepedia said in April 2026 that it is "joining HubSpot Media", in its own announcement (opens in a new tab), which adds that it "will remain 100% editorially independent". We found no public submit page or listing price on its site when we read it on 30 September 2026. Its editorial guidelines (opens in a new tab) describe how tools get in: "Our tool directory is curated with care. We look for tools that help people do better work or create at a higher level. Before we include a product, we review what it offers and who it serves best." Other sites still quote prices for a Futurepedia listing. We print none, because we found none on Futurepedia's own pages.

Future Tools, Matt Wolfe's directory, takes suggestions and says "Submit it below and Matt will review it." We found no price on its form.

AI Tools Directory is free to submit to and promises nothing: "every tool is manually reviewed. Submitting a tool is not a guarantee that it will be published".

For these, the listing is an editor's decision. A clear page that says what the tool does, with its price, is the part you control.

07Directories for AI agents and MCP servers

If you build an AI agent or ship an MCP server, a few places on the list are narrower than a general AI directory. AgentHunter and AI Agents List, above, list agents. AI Agent Store is a marketplace of agents; we found no price or review terms before sign-in. Glama MCP Registry and Smithery are registries of MCP servers, where agent builders look for tools to connect. Where to list an MCP server, starting with the official MCP Registry, is in where to list an MCP server.

08Volume directories, clones and link sellers

AI directories are easy to start, and many of them are built for volume rather than for readers. You can see it on their own pages. Toolify, one of the largest on our list, says on its home page (opens in a new tab) that its "AI tools list & GPTs store are updated daily by ChatGPT", and its menu offers "Guest Posts / Link Insert" (read on 30 September 2026). We list it because it is live and people use it; we note how it says it is built.

When we looked for AI directories to add to the list in September 2026, we left many out, and the reasons repeated:

• plans sold by the number of "dofollow backlinks", with a DR figure in the price;
• listing text "generated" by ChatGPT, on sites that call their thousands of tools "curated";
• guest posts and link inserts for sale next to the submit button;
• a "Submit" button that goes to a third-party submission service rather than to the directory;
• "launching today" lists still showing tools from 2023;
• sites that were down, or whose submit page returned an error.

None of these is proof that a directory has no readers. But a site that sells links first is the kind Google's policy has in mind, and a directory that doesn't list new tools will not send you anyone. Before you pay, open its newest listings and look at their dates. How to check a directory before you submit covers the other signs.

Two AI directories that used to be on our list are gone: AI SaaS Circles and AI Zip. Both domains stopped resolving, and we removed them after three failed checks in a row, as the changelog and the 2026 link check record. We print their names without links on purpose.

09Launch platforms take AI tools too

AI directories are not the only place for an AI tool. Launch platforms such as Product Hunt and Uneed list AI tools next to everything else, on a launch day with a front page. Product Hunt alternatives compares what each one charges and how long a free launch waits. If your AI tool is for developers, launching a developer tool covers DevHunt, Show HN and the rest.

10How we checked

Prices, wait times and link terms come from each directory's own pages, with the page and the exact words, read on 29 and 30 September 2026. Futurepedia's announcement, its editorial guidelines and Toolify's home page were read on 30 September 2026. We check that each site still works and read its own pages; we don't submit products and don't measure traffic. Nobody pays to be listed or to appear in a guide. Read how we check for the details.

11Questions

01

How much does it cost to list an AI tool on There's An AI For That?

When we read its launch page on 30 September 2026, it sold two one-off plans, a Low traffic listing and a Maximum Exposure plan, and showed no free route. Staff review every submission, and the page gives an average processing time of one to two days. The section on paid listings in this guide quotes both prices.

02

Which AI directories are free?

A handful say so in their own words, among them Pitchwall, Dang.ai, Dokey AI and Altern. Free usually means a wait (Pitchwall says 30 days or more, Dang.ai up to four weeks) or a link back to the directory (Dang.ai and Dokey AI). Curated directories such as Futurepedia and Future Tools sell no listing at all; an editor decides.

03

How long does it take to get listed on an AI directory?

From minutes to weeks. AI Top Tools says a paid listing is published immediately after payment, several paid plans promise 24 to 48 hours, and free queues run from a couple of days to a month or more. The table in this guide shows each directory's stated time.

04

Do AI directories give dofollow backlinks?

Some advertise one, mostly with a paid plan; free listings tend to get a nofollow link or require a link back to the directory. Google's spam policies count low-quality directory links and excessive link exchanges as link spam, so treat the link as a bonus, not the reason to list. See our guide on whether startup directories help SEO.

05

How do I submit to Futurepedia?

We found no public submit page or listing price on Futurepedia's site on 30 September 2026. Its editorial guidelines say the directory is curated and that it reviews a product before including it. Futurepedia announced in April 2026 that it is joining HubSpot Media.