# BuiltByMe vs Penguin Startup

> BuiltByMe is the better fit for a solo founder who wants a maker profile, a weekly leaderboard shot and a newsletter feature, and who accepts a $9 or $19 one-time fee for a faster listing. Penguin Startup is the better fit for any founder who wants a free listing with no paid placements, or for readers who want to scan fresh launches by sector.

BuiltByMe and Penguin Startup are both directories where founders list a product for exposure. They differ in who gets in and how listings move up.

BuiltByMe covers products from indie makers and solo founders, and it excludes VC-backed companies and agencies. It runs a weekly upvote leaderboard and offers 18 free SEO tools. Penguin Startup is a daily list of new startups across eight sectors. It ranks by weekly page visits and says nobody can pay to move up.

## At a glance

| | BuiltByMe | Penguin Startup |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Directory of products built by indie makers and solo founders | Daily directory of new startups, free for founders to list |
| Free plan | Yes, free plan | Yes, free |
| Pricing | Freemium. The free listing plan gives a NoFollow backlink and a place in a queue scheduled well into 2027. The Launch plan costs $9 one-time and the Sponsor plan costs $19 one-time. | Free. Listing is free and the site says there are no paid placements at the moment. No paid plans are described. |
| Also covers | directory, backlinks, maker community, upvoting | startup directory, launch directory, product discovery |
| Page | https://another.directory/tools/builtbyme | https://another.directory/tools/penguin-startup |
| Website | https://builtbyme.io | https://penguinstartup.com |

Both do: product launches, free listing

## Who BuiltByMe is for

Indie makers and solo founders who want a listing, a backlink and a chance at weekly exposure for a product they built. It also suits people who want to find tools made by small independent teams. The site states that VC-backed companies and agencies are not listed.

## Who Penguin Startup is for

Founders who want a free listing for a new product, and people who like scanning fresh launches in areas such as AI, SaaS and developer tools. The About page also names investors looking for deal flow outside their own networks. It is a discovery list, not a tool for deeper research on each company.

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From Another Directory (https://another.directory), a directory of new software tools. Compares what the two sites say; it is not a review.