Backlink list
High-authority sites for free backlinks
High-authority websites where you can earn a free listing or profile link: well-known platforms people already trust.
Short answer
These are well-known, widely used sites that let you list for free or on a free plan. A link or a profile on a site people already trust helps show that your business is real.
How to use this list
Big, established platforms are where people look a business up and where search engines check that it exists. Each of these is free to join or has a free plan.
What is on it
- Business listings21
- Developer communities16
- Social profiles16
- Publishing15
- App marketplaces11
- India directories10
- Software reviews8
- Reviews & trust7
- Podcasts & events6
- Q&A communities6
- Startup & launch5
- Design showcases2
- PR & media1
High authority, free best first
Best first: high reach, free and quick come before slower or paid ones. Open any name for the steps.
| Website | Category | Cost | Link | Effort | Region |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AlternativeTo | Software reviews | Free | Link type unverified | Quick | Worldwide |
| Amazon Music for Podcasters | Podcasts & events | Free | Link type unverified | Quick | Worldwide |
| AmbitionBox | Reviews & trust | Free | Link type unverified | Quick | India |
| Bing Places for Business | Business listings | Free | Link type unverified | Quick | Worldwide |
| Blogger | Publishing | Free | Followed link | Moderate | Worldwide |
| Foursquare | Business listings | Free | Link type unverified | Quick | Worldwide |
| GitLab | Developer communities | Free | Link type unverified | Quick | Worldwide |
| Goodreads Author Program | Social profiles | Free | Followed link | Moderate | Worldwide |
| Gravatar | Social profiles | Free | Link type unverified | Quick | Worldwide |
| iHeartRadio Podcasts | Podcasts & events | Free | Link type unverified | Quick | United States |
| NewZealand.com (Tourism New Zealand) | Business listings | Free | Followed link | Moderate | New Zealand |
| Tumblr | Publishing | Free | Link type unverified | Quick | Worldwide |
| Twitch | Social profiles | Free | Link type unverified | Quick | Worldwide |
| Facebook Page | Social profiles | Free | Nofollow link | Quick | Worldwide |
| GitHub | Developer communities | Free | Nofollow link | Quick | Worldwide |
| Social profiles | Free | Nofollow link | Quick | Worldwide | |
| LinkedIn Company Page | Social profiles | Free | Nofollow link | Quick | Worldwide |
| Threads | Social profiles | Free | Nofollow link | Quick | Worldwide |
| X (Twitter) | Social profiles | Free | Nofollow link | Quick | Worldwide |
| Apple Business (Apple Maps place card) | Business listings | Free | Link type unverified | Moderate | Worldwide |
| Apple Podcasts Connect | Podcasts & events | Free | Link type unverified | Moderate | Worldwide |
| Behance | Design showcases | Free | Link type unverified | Moderate | Worldwide |
| Better Business Bureau (BBB) | Reviews & trust | Free | Link type unverified | Moderate | United States |
| crates.io | Developer communities | Free | Link type unverified | Moderate | Worldwide |
| Crunchbase | Startup & launch | Free | Link type unverified | Moderate | Worldwide |
| DEV Community | Developer communities | Free | Link type unverified | Moderate | Worldwide |
| Gartner Peer Insights | Software reviews | Free | Followed link | Involved | Worldwide |
| Google Business Profile | Business listings | Free | Link type unverified | Moderate | Worldwide |
| Inc42 | India directories | Free | Link type unverified | Moderate | India |
| Kaggle | Developer communities | Free | Link type unverified | Moderate | Worldwide |
| LinkedIn articles and newsletters | Publishing | Free | Link type unverified | Moderate | Worldwide |
| npm | Developer communities | Free | Link type unverified | Moderate | Worldwide |
| NuGet Gallery | Developer communities | Free | Link type unverified | Moderate | Worldwide |
| OpenAI Developer Community | Q&A communities | Free | Link type unverified | Moderate | Worldwide |
| OpenStreetMap | Business listings | Free | Link type unverified | Moderate | Worldwide |
| PyPI | Developer communities | Free | Link type unverified | Moderate | Worldwide |
| SlideShare | Publishing | Free | Link type unverified | Moderate | Worldwide |
| Spiceworks Community | Q&A communities | Free | Link type unverified | Moderate | Worldwide |
| Spotify for Creators | Podcasts & events | Free | Link type unverified | Moderate | Worldwide |
| Substack | Publishing | Free | Link type unverified | Moderate | Worldwide |
| Tracxn | Startup & launch | Free | Link type unverified | Moderate | India |
| YourStory Companies | India directories | Free | Link type unverified | Moderate | India |
| Ask Ubuntu | Q&A communities | Free | Nofollow link | Moderate | Worldwide |
| Awesome lists on GitHub | Developer communities | Free | Nofollow link | Moderate | Worldwide |
| Gelbe Seiten | Business listings | Free plan | Followed link | Moderate | Germany |
| Glassdoor for Employers | Reviews & trust | Free plan | Link type unverified | Quick | Worldwide |
| Hacker News (Show HN) | Developer communities | Free | Mixed links | Involved | Worldwide |
| Indeed Company Page | Reviews & trust | Free plan | Link type unverified | Quick | Worldwide |
| Justdial | India directories | Free plan | Link type unverified | Quick | India |
| Linktree | Social profiles | Free plan | Link type unverified | Quick | Worldwide |
| Nextdoor Business Page | Business listings | Free plan | Link type unverified | Quick | United States |
| Notion (public pages) | Publishing | Free plan | Link type unverified | Quick | Worldwide |
| Pinterest Business | Social profiles | Free | Nofollow link | Moderate | Worldwide |
| ProductReview.com.au | Reviews & trust | Free plan | Link type unverified | Quick | Australia |
| Quora | Publishing | Free | Nofollow link | Moderate | Worldwide |
| Server Fault | Q&A communities | Free | Nofollow link | Moderate | Worldwide |
| SoundCloud | Social profiles | Free plan | Link type unverified | Quick | Worldwide |
| Stack Exchange | Q&A communities | Free | Nofollow link | Moderate | Worldwide |
| Sulekha | India directories | Free plan | Link type unverified | Quick | India |
| Super User | Q&A communities | Free | Nofollow link | Moderate | Worldwide |
| Trustpilot | Reviews & trust | Free plan | Link type unverified | Quick | Worldwide |
| Vimeo | Social profiles | Free plan | Link type unverified | Quick | Worldwide |
| WordPress.com | Publishing | Free plan | Followed link | Moderate | Worldwide |
| Yell | Business listings | Free plan | Link type unverified | Quick | United Kingdom |
| Yellow NZ | Business listings | Free plan | Link type unverified | Quick | New Zealand |
| Yellow Pages Australia | Business listings | Free plan | Link type unverified | Quick | Australia |
| Zola | Business listings | Free plan | Followed link | Moderate | United States |
| Firefox Add-ons | App marketplaces | Free | Link type unverified | Involved | Worldwide |
| Flickr | Social profiles | Free plan | Nofollow link | Quick | Worldwide |
| freeCodeCamp News | Publishing | Free | Link type unverified | Involved | Worldwide |
| Government e Marketplace (GeM) | India directories | Free | Link type unverified | Involved | India |
| Hackster.io | Developer communities | Free | Link type unverified | Involved | Worldwide |
| HARO (Help a Reporter Out) | PR & media | Free | Link type unverified | Involved | Worldwide |
| HubSpot App Marketplace | App marketplaces | Free | Link type unverified | Involved | Worldwide |
| Microsoft AppSource | App marketplaces | Free | Link type unverified | Involved | Worldwide |
| Microsoft Edge Add-ons | App marketplaces | Free | Link type unverified | Involved | Worldwide |
| Slack Marketplace | App marketplaces | Free | Link type unverified | Involved | Worldwide |
| Smashing Magazine (write for us) | Publishing | Free | Link type unverified | Involved | Worldwide |
| Starter Story | Startup & launch | Free | Link type unverified | Involved | Worldwide |
| Startup India portal (DPIIT) | India directories | Free | Link type unverified | Involved | India |
| Visual Studio Marketplace | Developer communities | Free | Link type unverified | Involved | Worldwide |
| WordPress Plugin Directory | App marketplaces | Free | Link type unverified | Involved | Worldwide |
| Yelp for Business | Business listings | Free plan | Nofollow link | Quick | United States |
| Zapier App Directory | App marketplaces | Free | Link type unverified | Involved | Worldwide |
| Capterra | Software reviews | Free plan | Link type unverified | Moderate | Worldwide |
| CodePen | Developer communities | Free plan | Link type unverified | Moderate | Worldwide |
| Docker Hub | Developer communities | Free plan | Link type unverified | Moderate | Worldwide |
| Eventbrite | Podcasts & events | Free plan | Link type unverified | Moderate | Worldwide |
| Figma Community | App marketplaces | Free plan | Link type unverified | Moderate | Worldwide |
| G2 | Software reviews | Free plan | Link type unverified | Moderate | Worldwide |
| GitBook | Publishing | Free plan | Link type unverified | Moderate | Worldwide |
| Houzz | Business listings | Free plan | Link type unverified | Moderate | Worldwide |
| Hugging Face | Developer communities | Free plan | Link type unverified | Moderate | Worldwide |
| IndiaMART | India directories | Free plan | Link type unverified | Moderate | India |
| Issuu | Publishing | Free plan | Link type unverified | Moderate | Worldwide |
| PagesJaunes | Business listings | Free plan | Link type unverified | Moderate | France |
| Patreon | Social profiles | Free plan | Link type unverified | Moderate | Worldwide |
| Podbean | Podcasts & events | Free plan | Link type unverified | Moderate | Worldwide |
| Practo | India directories | Free plan | Link type unverified | Moderate | India |
| Product Hunt | Startup & launch | Free | Nofollow link | Involved | Worldwide |
| Read the Docs | Publishing | Free plan | Link type unverified | Moderate | Worldwide |
| Publishing | Free | Nofollow link | Involved | Worldwide | |
| Software Advice | Software reviews | Free plan | Link type unverified | Moderate | United States |
| SourceForge | Software reviews | Free plan | Link type unverified | Moderate | Worldwide |
| Stack Overflow | Developer communities | Free | Nofollow link | Involved | Worldwide |
| Thumbtack | Business listings | Free plan | Link type unverified | Moderate | United States |
| TikTok | Social profiles | Free | Nofollow link | Involved | Worldwide |
| TradeIndia | India directories | Free plan | Link type unverified | Moderate | India |
| Tripadvisor for business owners | Business listings | Free plan | Link type unverified | Moderate | Worldwide |
| TrustRadius | Software reviews | Free plan | Link type unverified | Moderate | Worldwide |
| Wellfound (formerly AngelList Talent) | Startup & launch | Free plan | Link type unverified | Moderate | Worldwide |
| Yellow Pages (YP.com) | Business listings | Free plan | Link type unverified | Moderate | United States |
| YouTube | Social profiles | Free | Nofollow link | Involved | Worldwide |
| Zomato | India directories | Free plan | Link type unverified | Moderate | India |
| Das Örtliche | Business listings | Free plan | Nofollow link | Moderate | Germany |
| Dribbble | Design showcases | Free plan | Nofollow link | Moderate | Worldwide |
| Medium | Publishing | Free plan | Nofollow link | Moderate | Worldwide |
| Yellow Pages Canada (YP.ca) | Business listings | Free plan | Nofollow link | Moderate | Canada |
| Atlassian Marketplace | App marketplaces | Free plan | Link type unverified | Involved | Worldwide |
| Clutch | Reviews & trust | Free plan | Link type unverified | Involved | Worldwide |
| Dun & Bradstreet D-U-N-S | Business listings | Free plan | Link type unverified | Involved | Worldwide |
| JetBrains Marketplace | App marketplaces | Free plan | Link type unverified | Involved | Worldwide |
| PeerSpot | Software reviews | Free plan | Link type unverified | Involved | Worldwide |
| Shopify App Store | App marketplaces | Free plan | Link type unverified | Involved | Worldwide |
Questions about high-authority sites for free backlinks
How is “high authority” decided?
We mark a site high authority when it is a widely used, long-running platform with a large audience. It is a judgement from reach and reputation, not a third-party score.
Are high-authority links always dofollow?
Not always: many large platforms mark profile links nofollow. They are still worth having for trust, visibility and visitors.
Backlink sites by goal
The same directory cut another way, or every kind of site with how many places each one holds.
- Free dofollow sites
- Quick and free
- Local businesses
- Small businesses
- Startups
- SaaS
- AI products
- Online stores
- Creators
- Developers
- Designers
- Agencies
- India
Browse by category
- Business listings58 places · Free business listings on maps and local directories: the first citations every website owner should claim.
- India directories23 places · Indian business directories and B2B marketplaces where a company can list its website, address and services.
- Startup & launch28 places · Startup and product launch directories where a new website, app or product can get a listing and early users.
- Software reviews28 places · Software review and comparison sites where an app or SaaS product gets a profile, reviews and alternatives pages.
- AI tool directories20 places · AI tool directories that list new tools and apps, with a profile page and a link to the product website.
- Design showcases28 places · Web design galleries and showcases that feature well-designed websites, with a credit link to the site.
- Developer communities28 places · Developer communities and code platforms where a project, profile or article links back to your website.
- Publishing25 places · Publishing platforms where an article, newsletter or answer can link to your website and reach a new audience.
- Social profiles27 places · Social networks and profile pages where your website link belongs: quick, free and part of a complete brand.
- PR & media22 places · Journalist request and expert quote platforms where an answer can earn a mention and a link in an article.
- Reviews & trust22 places · Review and trust platforms where customers rate your business, with a profile that links to your website.
- Web directories12 places · Curated, human-edited web directories that still list quality websites by topic and region.
- Podcasts & events25 places · Podcast guest platforms and event listings where an appearance or event page links back to your website.
- Q&A communities10 places · Question-and-answer communities where a genuinely helpful answer or a complete profile can link to your website.
- App marketplaces13 places · App stores, plugin marketplaces and integration directories where a product listing links to the maker’s website.
Turn this list into links.
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