Is Startup Fame worth it?
Worth it if you can add a badge to your homepage. The free Verified plan gives a permanent profile with a dofollow link. Expect little direct traffic, because there is no launch day or voting, so treat it as an SEO listing, not a launch event. Paid plans only make sense if you want homepage placement and can't add the badge. Write a specific tagline and description, pick the right category, and keep the badge on your site so the listing stays live.
Who should submit to Startup Fame?
Suits SaaS products, developer tools, AI tools, micro startups and serious side projects that want a dofollow backlink and a stable public profile. Not a good fit if you want launch day traffic, votes or community feedback, or if you can't put a third party badge on your homepage and don't want to pay a monthly fee. Spam, thin placeholder sites and mass submissions are turned down.
What you need before you submit
- An account via Google, X or email
- A working product site (no placeholders or thin pages)
- Free plan: the Startup Fame badge on your homepage, checked by a bot
- Paid plans: a monthly subscription, no badge needed
How to submit to Startup Fame
- Click Submit on startupfa.me and sign in with Google, X or email
- Add your startup: name, tagline, description, website, category, tags, location and images
- Pick a plan: Verified (free), Highlight ($19 a month) or Spotlight ($149 a month)
- For Verified, add the Startup Fame badge to your homepage so the bot can find it
- Wait for review (about 7 days for Verified), or publish at once on a paid plan
- Share the profile page once it's live
Startup Fame: pros and cons
Pros
- The free plan includes a dofollow link
- A permanent profile page with category, tag and location pages
- Paid plans publish within seconds and skip the badge
- The dashboard shows impressions, page views and clicks
- Paid plans can be cancelled anytime
Cons
- The free plan needs a badge on your homepage
- Free review takes about 7 days
- No launch day, voting or ranking, so little burst traffic
- Paid plans are monthly subscriptions, not one-time fees
- The link stays only while the startup is listed
Tips for Startup Fame
- Add the badge before you submit so the check passes the first time
- Keep the badge up after approval, since the free listing depends on it
- Fill in tags, location and the founder profile so the listing shows up on more pages
- Highlight is the cheaper way to skip the badge; Spotlight is only for homepage placement
- Outbound links carry UTM tags, so filter by utm_source in your analytics
Questions about Startup Fame
How much does it cost to list a tool on Startup Fame?
Does Startup Fame give a dofollow link?
Does Startup Fame ask for a backlink or a badge?
How long does Startup Fame take to list a tool?
Is the Startup Fame link dofollow?
How much does Startup Fame cost?
How long does approval take?
Is there a launch day or voting?
Facts checked . DR: Domain Rating by Ahrefs, checked . DR 4 is Ahrefs' new model, shown on ahrefs.com from 1 December 2026. Search traffic is an estimate of monthly visits from search. Both change; check a place before you pay for it.