The Best Founder Directories of 2026
We compared 9 places where founders get listed, on what they're really for, whether they verify revenue, what they cost, and who should use each one.
Updated September 20, 2026 · 9 min read
The short answer
- For verified revenue: TrustMRR. Nothing else on this list pulls numbers straight from your payment provider across as many providers.
- For a homepage about you as a founder: founders.page, which covers you and every product you've built.
- For community: Indie Hackers. For a launch spike: Product Hunt. For hiring: Wellfound.
Most founders should be on two or three of these, not one. They reach different people.
What makes a good founder directory
“Founder directory” covers very different sites. Before picking, decide what you need from it:
- Trust. Can visitors believe what's on your profile? Revenue pulled from Stripe beats revenue typed into a form.
- Audience. Who actually visits: other founders, investors, buyers, candidates or early adopters?
- Lasting profile vs. one-time moment. A profile keeps working for years. A launch or a paid listing is a spike.
- Cost. Free to list, pay for visibility, or pay just to get in?
Founder directories compared
| Directory | Best for | Verifies revenue | Price to list |
|---|---|---|---|
| founders.page | A personal homepage for you as a founder | No | Free |
| TrustMRR | Proving your revenue is real | Yes | Free (paid ads and for-sale listings) |
| Indie Hackers | Community and building in public | Partial | Free |
| Peerlist | A professional profile for builders | No | Free (optional paid upgrades) |
| Product Hunt | A launch-day traffic spike | No | Free |
| Wellfound | Hiring your first team | No | Free for founders (paid recruiter seats) |
| Crunchbase | Being findable by investors and press | No | Free profile (paid plans to search) |
| BetaList | Early adopters before launch | No | Paid (about $39; refunded if rejected) |
| outbid.lol | Buying attention, fast | No | From $10 (rank = what you pay) |
“Partial”: Indie Hackers verifies revenue through Stripe only. Prices checked September 20, 2026.
1. founders.pageOur product
Best for: A personal homepage for you as a founder
founders.page gives each founder a homepage at founders.page/yourname: who you are, every product you've built (live, beta, acquired or sunset), your links, and your revenue. It's organised around the person, not a single startup.
Strengths
- +Built around the founder: one page for your whole track record, including products you sold or shut down
- +Free to create; sign up with Google or email and publish in a few minutes
- +Works before you have revenue: MRR is optional
Limitations
- −New in 2026, so its audience is small compared with the established names here
- −Revenue is self-reported and labelled that way; there's no payment-provider verification yet
- Profile type
- Founder homepage (you + all your products)
- Price
- Free
- Pick it if
- You want one link that tells your whole founder story, and you're fine with self-reported numbers for now.
Sources: founders.page
2. TrustMRR
Best for: Proving your revenue is real
TrustMRR, launched by Marc Lou in October 2025, pulls revenue directly from the payment provider you use, so the numbers on your page are verified rather than typed in. It doubles as a marketplace for buying and selling small startups.
Strengths
- +Revenue comes straight from providers such as Stripe, LemonSqueezy, Polar, Paddle, Dodo Payments and RevenueCat
- +Large, active audience of founders and buyers; reports over $1B in verified startup revenue
- +Free listing, plus a built-in path to sell your startup
Limitations
- −You need revenue, and a supported payment provider, to get the main benefit
- −Centred on startups and their numbers rather than the founder's wider story
- −Visibility beyond the free listing is paid: sidebar sponsor spots have sold from $399/week
- Profile type
- Startup + founder pages with verified revenue
- Price
- Free (paid ads and for-sale listings)
- Pick it if
- You have revenue through a supported provider and want numbers nobody can argue with.
Sources: TrustMRR review 2026 (ToolCenter) · TrustMRR case study (Directory Gems) · TrustMRR review 2026 (MakerStack)
3. Indie Hackers
Best for: Community and building in public
Indie Hackers is the long-running community for bootstrapped founders. Its product pages can show Stripe-verified revenue, and the forum is where many founders share milestones and lessons.
Strengths
- +Large, established community that engages with build-in-public posts
- +Product pages can display Stripe-verified revenue
- +Free to post and list
Limitations
- −Verification is Stripe-only, and many listed products are inactive; a 2026 analysis of 5,079 Stripe-verified projects found a median of $169/month
- −It's a community first, so visibility depends on how much you post and engage
- Profile type
- Product pages + community posts
- Price
- Free
- Pick it if
- You'll actually post updates and want feedback from other bootstrapped founders.
Sources: I analyzed 5,079 Stripe-verified startups (Indie Hackers) · How to post on Indie Hackers (Where To Submit)
4. Peerlist
Best for: A professional profile for builders
Peerlist is a professional network for people in tech, built around work profiles that show your projects. Its weekly Launchpad lets you launch a project for free.
Strengths
- +Profile-first design that feels like a portfolio, not a résumé
- +Free weekly Launchpad for new projects
- +Useful for hiring and being hired, not just launching
Limitations
- −No revenue verification or revenue-focused rankings
- −Aimed at all tech professionals, so founders are one audience among many
- Profile type
- Professional profile + weekly Launchpad
- Price
- Free (optional paid upgrades)
- Pick it if
- You want a portfolio-style profile and a free, low-pressure place to launch side projects.
Sources: Launchpad rules and guidelines (Peerlist) · Peerlist launch platform profile (Blastra)
5. Product Hunt
Best for: A launch-day traffic spike
Product Hunt is still the best-known launch platform. It's a product directory more than a founder directory, but your maker profile follows every launch.
Strengths
- +Big audience on launch day, and launches rank well in search
- +In 2026 makers post their own products; you no longer need a big-name hunter
- +Free to launch
Limitations
- −Attention is concentrated on launch day
- −Rankings now weigh engagement (comments, maker replies) over raw upvotes, and new accounts count for less, so you need to build your profile months ahead
- Profile type
- Product launches + maker profiles
- Price
- Free
- Pick it if
- You have a polished product and can prepare a launch properly.
Sources: How would I approach Product Hunt in 2026? (Product Hunt) · Product Hunt launch playbook 2026 (Causo)
6. Wellfound
Best for: Hiring your first team
Wellfound (formerly AngelList Talent) is where startups hire. Your startup profile sits next to your jobs, in front of a large pool of candidates who want to work at startups.
Strengths
- +27,000+ startups hire there and 10M+ candidates use it
- +Founders can post unlimited jobs for free
- +Candidates see funding stage, equity ranges and mission up front
Limitations
- −It's a hiring platform, not a showcase for you or your traction
- −Active sourcing is paid, from $250/month per recruiter seat
- Profile type
- Startup profiles + job listings
- Price
- Free for founders (paid recruiter seats)
- Pick it if
- You're hiring and want your startup in front of startup-minded candidates.
Sources: Wellfound pricing 2026 (South) · Wellfound
7. Crunchbase
Best for: Being findable by investors and press
Crunchbase is the reference database of companies, funding rounds and the people behind them. Investors, journalists and sales teams look companies up there.
Strengths
- +The default place people check a company's funding and team
- +Your company profile is free to have
Limitations
- −Built for funded companies; bootstrapped founders get less out of it
- −Searching and exporting is paid: Pro is about $49/month billed annually, and free accounts have limited profile views
- Profile type
- Company + people database
- Price
- Free profile (paid plans to search)
- Pick it if
- You've raised, or plan to, and want investors to find accurate information about you.
Sources: Crunchbase pricing review 2026 (EasyVC) · Crunchbase pricing (Capterra)
8. BetaList
Best for: Early adopters before launch
BetaList features startups that haven't fully launched yet, to an audience of early adopters looking to try new products.
Strengths
- +Audience actively looking for new products to try
- +Editorial review keeps quality up
Limitations
- −Every submission is now paid; the free route is gone
- −The exact price only appears in the submission flow, and a listing is a one-time moment rather than a lasting profile
- Profile type
- Pre-launch startup listings
- Price
- Paid (about $39; refunded if rejected)
- Pick it if
- You're pre-launch and want your first beta users.
Sources: BetaList review 2026 (Noonlaunch) · BetaList submission guide 2026 (Launch Directories)
9. outbid.lol
Best for: Buying attention, fast
outbid.lol went viral in August 2026 with one rule: pay more, rank higher. Listings start at $10, and taking #1 costs $5 more than the current #1.
Strengths
- +Transparent and instant: you know exactly what a spot costs
- +Drew over a million visitors in its launch week
Limitations
- −Rank reflects money spent, not traction or quality
- −Hundreds of clones appeared within weeks, and attention has spread thin since the launch spike
- Profile type
- Pay-to-rank leaderboard
- Price
- From $10 (rank = what you pay)
- Pick it if
- You want a short burst of visibility and treat it as a paid ad, not a credential.
Sources: outbid.lol FAQ · Why the pay-to-rank board went viral (explainx.ai) · The .lol bidding directory frenzy (SaaSCity)
Which one should you use?
| If you want to… | Use |
|---|---|
| Prove your revenue is real | TrustMRR |
| One link for you and everything you've built | founders.page |
| Get feedback and build in public | Indie Hackers |
| A portfolio-style profile and a free weekly launch | Peerlist |
| A big launch day | Product Hunt |
| Hire your first employees | Wellfound |
| Be findable by investors | Crunchbase |
| Find beta users before launch | BetaList |
| Buy a burst of attention | outbid.lol |
A setup that works for most bootstrapped founders: a founder homepage or verified-revenue profile you can link everywhere, an Indie Hackers account for community, and Product Hunt or Peerlist when you ship something new.
Frequently asked questions
What is a founder directory?+
A founder directory is a site that lists founders and the startups they build, usually with a profile page per founder or product. Some focus on verified revenue (TrustMRR), some on community (Indie Hackers), some on launches (Product Hunt) and some on hiring (Wellfound).
What is the best founder directory in 2026?+
It depends on your goal. For verified revenue, TrustMRR is the strongest option. For community, Indie Hackers. For a launch spike, Product Hunt. For hiring, Wellfound. For a personal homepage that covers you and all your products, founders.page.
Which founder directories verify revenue?+
TrustMRR verifies revenue by connecting directly to payment providers such as Stripe, LemonSqueezy, Polar, Paddle, Dodo Payments and RevenueCat. Indie Hackers can show Stripe-verified revenue on product pages. The other directories in this list rely on self-reported numbers or don't show revenue at all.
Are founder directories free?+
Most are free to list: founders.page, TrustMRR, Indie Hackers, Peerlist, Product Hunt, Wellfound and Crunchbase all offer free profiles or listings, with paid options for extra visibility. BetaList now charges for every submission (about $39, refunded if rejected), and outbid.lol is pay-to-rank from $10.
Should I list myself on more than one founder directory?+
Yes. They serve different audiences, so most founders benefit from a few: one for credibility (verified revenue or a founder homepage), one for community, and a launch platform when you ship something new. Keep your name, bio and links consistent across all of them.
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