Subreddits for founders: where you can post your product, in each subreddit's own words

Some subreddits exist so founders can post what they've built. Many more allow it only in a weekly or monthly thread pinned to the top, and a few ban it outright. Of the 50 subreddits on our list, 39 say something we could read about posting your own work: a rule, a pinned moderator post or, for some, only the subreddit's description. This guide sorts them by what they say and quotes each one.

Every rule below links to the subreddit's page on our list, where you'll find the source and the date we read it. We don't post on Reddit or measure what a post brings, and we take no money from the places we list.

01The short answer

• Promotion is the point in a handful: r/indiebiz, r/startups_promotion, r/BootstrappedSaaS, r/sideprojects, r/Startup_Ideas and r/crowdspark.
• Feedback and testers are the point in others. You post your product, but you ask for something: r/alphaandbetausers, r/SideProject, r/betatests, r/roastmystartup, r/websitefeedback.
• A pinned thread is the only place for promotion in r/startups, r/smallbusiness, r/Business_Ideas, r/software and r/Solopreneur, and in most of the subreddits built around one language, app or platform.
• Banned or narrow: r/Entrepreneur says no to self-promotion, r/microsaas officially doesn't allow it, r/indiehackers removes low-effort "we built X" posts, and r/SaaS has a June 2026 rule against one kind of product.

For the rest, we couldn't read a rule at all. They're listed at the end, so you know to check their sidebar yourself. Each subreddit below has its own heading, so the rule you're after is one click from the lists above.

02Where promotion is the point

These subreddits say, in their own description or a pinned post, that you can post your product in the main feed.

r/indiebiz

r/indiebiz describes itself as "A Reddit for small businesses, independents and startups to offer and share services, products, resources, and insight." That's from its description; we couldn't read its sidebar rules.

r/startups_promotion

r/startups_promotion asks for more than a link: "Write at least 1-2 sentences about it and explain why we need it and ask the community your top questions."

C061r/startups_promotion·In their words

“Share your Startup (product, marketplace, or service), your SaaS app, or your Small Business.”

r/BootstrappedSaaS

r/BootstrappedSaaS has one exception, in a pinned post by its creator: "Feel free to promote your products and discuss them. It is not a problem at all. But “please support me on Product Hunt” is a problem and I must forbid it."

r/sideprojects

r/sideprojects (plural, a different subreddit from r/SideProject): "we will not allow blatant spam, but will allow advertising projects. In order to share your project again, significant changes must have happened since the last post." Its rules post also requires a flair.

r/Startup_Ideas

r/Startup_Ideas, from its description: "Links and discussion about startups and descriptions of startups are welcome!"

r/crowdspark

r/crowdspark allows "Posting an idea for or announcing a business or organization at any stage of development for the purpose of looking to garner support, get feedback". We read that in its sidebar on 29 September 2026; the next day Reddit blocked us.

03Where you post for feedback or testers

In these, posting your own product is welcome, but as a request: for testers, for a roast, for feedback on a page. A post that reads like an ad misses the point, and some say they'll remove it. For testers outside Reddit too, see where to find beta users.

r/alphaandbetausers

r/alphaandbetausers says its innovators "need people to use their products to give them feedback! It is hard enough to develop a product. Let's make it easier for them to recruit the critical early users". That's its description; its sidebar rules weren't readable.

r/SideProject

r/SideProject is, in its description, "a subreddit for sharing and receiving constructive feedback on side projects." We couldn't read the full sidebar rules.

r/betatests

r/betatests asks makers to post directly:

C036r/betatests·In their words

“🚀 New beta opportunities daily! ✅ Makers: post your product and get real feedback. All types welcome.”

r/roastmystartup

r/roastmystartup takes your startup or idea to be roasted, with one warning from its moderators: "We are receiving a ton of spam from people posting one-line posts with links to product hunt. If you do this it will be removed and you will be banned."

r/websitefeedback

r/websitefeedback has updated its rules: "Posts must now include a working link to your website" and "Posts need enough context — tell us what your site does, who it's for, and what feedback you want". Posts need a flair, and promotional posts are removed.

r/GrowthHacking

r/GrowthHacking invites you, in its description, to "Share novel growth marketing experiments, new tools, news and startup growth marketing stories." We couldn't read its sidebar rules on promotion, so check them first.

04Where promotion lives in a pinned thread

These keep your product out of the main feed and send it to one thread. The thread is usually posted by the moderators or AutoModerator and pinned at the top of the subreddit. It's replaced every week, fortnight or month, so we don't link to it: open the subreddit, look at the pinned posts, and post in the current one. Every thread's name and schedule, with Reddit's own rules on spam, is in how to promote a startup on Reddit.

r/startups

r/startups, from its sidebar as we read it on 29 September 2026: "No direct sales, advertisements, or promotional posts of any kind. We have designated places that are an exception to this rule and they will always be stickied at the top of r/startups."

r/smallbusiness

r/smallbusiness: "Business promotion and free giveaways are welcome only in the Promote Your Business thread. Thinly-veiled website or video promoting posts will be removed as blogspam."

r/Business_Ideas

r/Business_Ideas runs a weekly Free For All thread, which its moderators call "the ONLY place you can solicit on this subreddit".

r/software

r/software has a weekly Discovery Thread. Its rule there: "Self-promotion? Totally fine if it's relevant and adds value. Just be transparent. No link spam or AI-generated content dumps."

r/Solopreneur

r/Solopreneur runs a weekly thread titled "What Are You Working On This Upcoming Week?". That's the only posting guidance we found; we couldn't read its sidebar rules.

Most of the subreddits built around one platform or topic work the same way, with their own thread names. They're further down, under subreddits for one kind of product.

05Where promotion is banned or narrow

r/Entrepreneur

r/Entrepreneur: "this is a space for genuine connection and exchange of ideas, not self-promotion. Please refrain from promoting personal blogs, consulting services, books, MLMs, opinions." Services go in its weekly Talent Tuesday thread.

r/microsaas

r/microsaas, in a pinned post: "Self-Promotion is NOT allowed as per the sub's rules. It can be TOLERATED depending on your post." In our reading of that post, a genuinely useful post, with lessons or data, or a product that's completely free, is what gets tolerated.

r/indiehackers

r/indiehackers, the subreddit, not the Indie Hackers site: its moderators list low-effort karma-bait threads, such as “What are you building today?” and “We built XYZ.”, that "will not be tolerated". The same post removes fake question-and-answer promotion and asks for proof of revenue claims.

r/SaaS

r/SaaS pinned a rule in June 2026: it is "not going to allow promotion, recommendation, launch announcements, feedback requests, recruiting, or user acquisition for SaaS products made for advertising, promotional outreach" or ad and content generation. That covers one kind of product. Its general rule on self-promotion wasn't in the feed, so read its sidebar before you post anything else there.

06Subreddits for one kind of product

These only make sense if your product fits. Most send promotion to a pinned thread, and several ask for a set format. In order below:

• Apps: r/iosapps, r/macapps, r/droidappshowcase, r/AppHookup. The places outside Reddit for a Mac or iPhone app are in where to promote a Mac or iOS app, and for an Android app in where to promote an Android app.
• Developer tools and code: r/Python, r/javascript, r/MachineLearning, r/selfhosted, r/IndieDev.
• AI tools: r/AI_Agents, r/ClaudeAI.
• Tools for one app: r/Notion, r/ObsidianMD.

r/iosapps

r/iosapps: promote in the monthly App Shelf megathread, unless you qualify for the main feed (at least 10 karma in the subreddit, and not an AI wrapper or vibe-coded app). "All promotion MUST follow the ABC format or it will be removed". The megathread explains the format.

r/macapps

r/macapps: the same model as r/iosapps, with a monthly App Pile megathread. "All promotion MUST follow PCP format or else we will remove it". PCP stands for problem, comparison and pricing.

r/droidappshowcase

r/droidappshowcase, for Android: "Use the correct flair, such as Promo, Giveaway, or Feedback. If you need testers, beta feedback, or bug reports, post in r/droidapptesters instead." Its rules post also asks for a clear title and a real description. The other places for an Android app, and Google Play's closed-test rule, are in where to promote an Android app.

r/AppHookup

r/AppHookup is for deals only, meaning real price drops, and "Every new deal/offer post in r/AppHookup is (soon) going to be pre-approved by the moderators before it appears in the subreddit."

r/Python

r/Python: projects go in the monthly Showcase Thread, which it describes as the place to "Post all of your code/projects/showcases/AI slop here."

r/javascript

r/javascript: "Please keep self promotion to a minimum/reasonable level." Projects go in the weekly Showoff Saturday thread.

r/MachineLearning

r/MachineLearning: self-promotion only in the monthly Self-Promotion Thread, where "Please mention the payment and pricing requirements for products and services. Please do not post link shorteners, link aggregator websites, or auto-subscribe links."

r/selfhosted

r/selfhosted: projects under three months old go in the weekly megathread. "Standalone new project posts will be removed and the author will be redirected to the current week's megathread."

r/IndieDev

r/IndieDev, for games: showing off your game is welcome, and accounts without enough karma to post directly use the weekly Monday megathread.

r/AI_Agents

r/AI_Agents: a weekly Project Display thread. "Top voted projects will be featured in our weekly newsletter."

r/ClaudeAI

r/ClaudeAI: project showcases go in its Built with Claude megathread, one of several it lists in a pinned post.

r/Notion

r/Notion: "In an attempt to fix the large amount of self-promotion in this subreddit, we are reintroducing these fortnightly threads." Templates, integrations and dashboards go in the Self-promo & Showcase thread.

r/ObsidianMD

r/ObsidianMD: you can share what you built for Obsidian, but "If your first and only post is to promote your project (vibe-coded or otherwise), you will be immediately banned."

07Where we could not read a rule

For these subreddits, the feed had no pinned rule about promotion, and Reddit blocked the sidebar. We list them so you know to read their rules yourself, not because they allow or ban anything. Where the feed carried a description, we quote it.

General:

• r/startup, r/EntrepreneurRideAlong and r/IMadeThis: no description we could read.
• r/buildinpublic: "A community for creators, developers, entrepreneurs, and makers to openly share their journey as they build projects in public."
• r/ProductHunters: "Discussions about products on Product Hunt".
• r/Design_Critiques: no description we could read.

By product:

• r/chrome_extensions: "Learn, share, build, and discuss Chrome extensions in this awesome place."
• r/coolgithubprojects: "Sharing Github projects just got easier!"
• r/opensource: "A subreddit for everything open source related".
• r/nocode: "No-Code Community dedicated to building cool things without needing to be a developer."
• r/vibecoding: "fully give in to the vibes. forget that the code even exists."
• r/TestFlight: "Where developers and testers meet for App Store betas."

Each one's page on the list shows its description, where it had one, and the date we tried.

08What the rules have in common

Read side by side, the rules repeat a few things:

• No Product Hunt upvote asks. r/BootstrappedSaaS forbids “please support me on Product Hunt” posts, and r/roastmystartup bans people for one-line Product Hunt links.
• A link alone isn't a post. r/startups_promotion wants a sentence or two on why the product is needed, r/websitefeedback wants context and the feedback you're after, and r/iosapps and r/macapps want their own formats.
• Your account's history counts. r/iosapps and r/IndieDev tie posting to karma, and r/ObsidianMD bans a first post that only promotes.
• Say what it costs. r/MachineLearning asks for pricing, r/macapps's format includes it, and r/software asks you to be transparent.
• Threads rotate. Weekly and monthly threads are replaced, so check the date on the pinned post before you use it.

We don't know how these rules are enforced day to day, and we don't measure what a post brings.

09Beyond Reddit

Hacker News, Lobsters, Dev.to, Indie Hackers, WIP and other founder communities have their own written rules, and they're stricter about accounts than most subreddits. They're quoted in self-promotion rules in founder communities. For a developer tool, start with where to launch a developer tool. All communities on the list are in room 02.

To keep track of where you've posted, add a subreddit to My launch with the + on its poster:

10How we checked

Reddit blocks our link checker, so every subreddit poster shows "couldn't check" with the date we tried. On 30 September 2026 we read each subreddit's public RSS feed, at an address like reddit.com/r/SaaS/hot/.rss. It carries the subreddit's description and its pinned posts, and we quote from those. Where a rule came from a pinned moderator post, the source on the subreddit's page is that post. The rules for r/startups and r/crowdspark come from their sidebars, which we read on 29 September 2026, before the block.

What the feed doesn't carry is the numbered list of rules in the sidebar. So a subreddit can have rules we haven't seen, and a description isn't a rulebook. Read the sidebar before you post. Nobody pays to be listed or to appear in a guide. Read how we check for the details.

11Questions

01

Which subreddits allow self-promotion?

On our list, r/indiebiz, r/startups_promotion, r/BootstrappedSaaS, r/sideprojects, r/Startup_Ideas and r/crowdspark say in their description or a pinned post that you can post your product. r/alphaandbetausers, r/SideProject, r/betatests, r/roastmystartup and r/websitefeedback welcome it as a request for feedback or testers. Read each subreddit's sidebar first: we could not read the full rules.

02

Can I post my startup on r/startups?

Not as a standalone post. Its sidebar, as we read it in September 2026, bans direct sales, ads and promotional posts, and allows promotion only in designated threads stickied at the top of the subreddit.

03

Can I promote my SaaS on r/SaaS?

We could not read r/SaaS's general self-promotion rule. A moderator rule pinned in June 2026 bans promotion, launch posts, feedback requests and recruiting for SaaS products made for advertising, promotional outreach or ad and content generation. Read its sidebar before you post. r/BootstrappedSaaS allows self-promotion but forbids Product Hunt upvote requests.

04

Does r/Entrepreneur allow self-promotion?

No. Its description says it is a space for genuine connection and exchange of ideas, not self-promotion, and asks people not to promote personal blogs, consulting services, books or MLMs. Services go in its weekly Talent Tuesday thread.

05

Why was my post removed from a subreddit?

We can't see moderators' reasons. The rules we read name some common ones: promotion outside the pinned thread, one-line links, a missing flair or required format, a first post that only promotes, and Product Hunt upvote requests. Check the subreddit's sidebar and pinned posts, then post in the current thread if it has one.