BetaList review58 of 100, fair
Paid only since it ended free submissions: $39 for a random day within about two weeks, $99 before Tuesday, $299 the same day. Every plan carries a do-follow link and a refund if not selected.
Reviewed 2026-10-10 by Phillip Paul Inker. Facts re-read 2026-10-10. 4 sources. betalist.com. Brand searches: 14,800 a month worldwide (Google, read 2026-10-10).
The clearest followed link in this database, stated in its own FAQ, but no free route at all: the cheapest plan is $39, featured on a random day. A startup that isn't selected gets its money back automatically.
Best for: Early-stage startups with their own domain and $39 to spend once, who want a stated do-follow link and an early-adopter audience.
No free route: the FAQ states "All submissions are paid. There is no free submission option." BetaList used to offer free submissions.
Every plan includes a do-follow link once featured; the FAQ says the Visit Site button does not use rel="nofollow" and reaches the site through a 301 redirect.
14,800 Google searches a month worldwide for "betalist" (Keyword Planner, read 2026-10-10).
Lite, the cheapest plan, is featured "on a random day within roughly 2 weeks"; Standard before Tuesday, Premium the same day. A Lite submission paid in early October was still in review three days later.
The public FAQ is detailed on refunds, links and the newsletter, but the submission prices are shown only at the end of the submission form, after signing up.
An account, a listing form with logo and pictures, then checkout; the product needs its own domain, since free hosting subdomains and app store links are refused.
Every submission site in the database on one axis, rank 5 of 6. The zones are the grades.
Google Ads Keyword Planner, worldwide searches for “betalist”, read 2026-10-10. Demand, not quality: the rubric ignores it.
- A do-follow link on every plan, stated in the FAQ
- A full refund when a startup is not selected
- Plans named by speed: same day, before Tuesday, about two weeks
- No free route at all
- Prices only at the end of the submission form
- Lite is featured on a random day, not a chosen one
- Free route
- None; all submissions are paid [1]
- Link
- Do-follow on every plan, through a 301 redirect with ref=betalist [1]
- Refund
- Automatic and in full if not selected; none once featured [1]
- Requirement
- The product's own domain; no free hosting subdomains or app store links [1]
- Newsletter
- 70,000+ subscribers, per the plan cards [2]
- Domain Rating
- DR 76, as the plan cards state it [2]
- Featured
- Generally once; a startup first featured before launch can be featured again at launch [1]
- Track record
- 28,013 startups launched on BetaList since 2010, per the plan step [2]
| Plan | Price | Unit | Review time | Note | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free listing | Not offered | paid submissions only | BetaList used to offer free submissions; all now require payment | [1] | |
| Paid listing | $39 | once, Lite | Random day within about 2 weeks | Regular listing, do-follow link, full refund if not selected | [2] |
| Standard | $99 | once | Before Tuesday | Newsletter to 70,000+ subscribers, do-follow link | [2] |
| Premium | $299 | once | Same day | Newsletter to 70,000+ subscribers, do-follow link | [2] |
| Boost, after being featured | $99 a week or $199 a month | subscription | Homepage Boosted section and a newsletter slot, rotated among active boosts | [3] |
No free route any more
BetaList's FAQ is direct about it: "All submissions are paid. There is no free submission option." It used to offer free submissions; now the plans are shown at the end of the submission form, and the editorial team reviews each startup after payment. A startup that isn't selected is refunded in full, automatically; the FAQ allows 5 to 10 business days for the money to appear.
What it looks for is spelled out too: pre-launch and recently launched startups with a clear value proposition, a good design and an innovative idea, on their own domain.
Plans and timing
The plan step of the submission form, read on 2026-10-06, offered three plans, all paid once. Premium, $299, is featured the same day; Standard, $99, before Tuesday; both include the newsletter. Lite, $39, is a "Regular listing featured on a random day within roughly 2 weeks. Do-follow backlink included."
A Lite submission paid in early October was still pending review three days later; the dashboard read "This typically takes up to 2 weeks."
The link
BetaList answers the question most directories leave open. Its FAQ says the Visit Site button on a featured listing is a do-follow link that does not use rel="nofollow", and that it "routes through a 301 redirect to your website" so BetaList can count clicks and add ref=betalist. UTM tags are added to the link as well. The plan cards describe BetaList as DR 76.
After the feature
A featured startup appears for a day and then moves down the list. Boosting keeps it in a Boosted section of the homepage and in the daily newsletter, rotated among active boosts, for $99 a week or $199 a month, cancellable at any time. Only startups already featured can boost.
Questions people ask
Is there a free way onto BetaList?
No. The FAQ states that all submissions are paid; BetaList used to offer free submissions.
Is the BetaList link do-follow?
Yes, per its FAQ: the Visit Site button does not use rel="nofollow" and reaches the site through a 301 redirect.
What if BetaList does not select my startup?
The payment is refunded in full, automatically; the FAQ allows 5 to 10 business days for it to show on a statement.
- The plan prices were read in the submission form on 2026-10-06; the public FAQ points to the form instead of printing them.
- The link's rel was taken from the FAQ; the button on a live featured listing was not inspected.
- One Lite submission was followed; its feature date was not known on the read date.
- [1]BetaList support and FAQ BetaList, read 2026-10-10.
“All submissions are paid. There is no free submission option. ... All plans include a do-follow backlink if featured, and a full refund if not selected. ... The "Visit Site" button on your featured listing is a do-follow link ... It routes through a 301 redirect to your website”
- [2]BetaList submission form, plan step BetaList, read 2026-10-06.
“Premium $299 one-time. Featured today ... Standard $99 one-time. Featured before Tuesday ... Do-follow backlink DR 76 ... Get just the basics for a one-time $39. Regular listing featured on a random day within roughly 2 weeks. Do-follow backlink included. Full refund if your startup isn't selected.”
- [3]Boost your startup BetaList, read 2026-10-10.
“Weekly $99 /week ... Monthly $199 /month ... Yes, boosts are available for startups that have been featured on BetaList.”
- [4]BetaList dashboard, a Lite submission pending review BetaList, read 2026-10-10.
“Your submission is in the review queue. This typically takes up to 2 weeks.”
Badge for BetaList’s own site
Certificate SU-5FFEC8, valid until 2027-10-10. Every badge links to it, so a reader can check the score is genuine. Eight looks on the badges page.
Shows BetaList’s current score, 58 of 100, fair. Dark card, for most pages. It links to certificate SU-5FFEC8, valid until 2027-10-10, and changes by itself when the review does.
<a href="https://submission-reviews.com/certificate/SU-5FFEC8"
title="BetaList certificate SU-5FFEC8 on Submission Reviews">
<img src="https://submission-reviews.com/badge/submissions/betalist.png"
width="320" height="84"
alt="BetaList: 58 of 100 on Submission Reviews"
loading="lazy">
</a>Compared head to head
Other submission sites
The most searched name in this database, and free: no badge, no link back, no fee, a launch day of the maker's choosing. What it gives is attention on one day, not a followed link: the website button is marked ugc.
A simple trade, stated plainly: a free do-follow listing for its badge on your homepage, or a monthly plan that skips the badge and goes live in seconds. The link lasts while the listing does, and few people search for the name.
A large audience that searches by the app it wants to replace, and the most candid rules in this database: the free queue has no date, and $5 buys a review in one or two business days, not an approval. The link to the product is nofollow.
Run a submission site?Get it on the record.
Send us the pages that state your plans, your review times and your link rules. We read them, score them on the public rubric, and publish the review with the date.