Submit to Hacker News

Approval & timeline

Posts appear immediately if your account meets karma thresholds. Front-page visibility depends on upvotes in the first 1–3 hours. Community-moderated via flags and downvotes. Off-topic, marketing-heavy, or duplicate submissions sink quickly.

Pros

• DR 91 domain with Very High traffic when posts hit the homepage
• Free submission — no queue fees or paid boost tiers
• Highly relevant audience for dev tools, infra, and technical SaaS
• Comment threads drive qualified feedback and early power users

Cons

• Backlink quality rated Weak — all HN links are nofollow
• Front-page placement is competitive and timing-dependent
• Account karma requirements block brand-new accounts from some submissions
• A flat post with no founder replies rarely sustains momentum

Submit

Visit Hacker News · Auto-submit my SaaS · From $99 one-time

FAQ

Should I post Show HN or a regular link? For new products you built, use Show HN with the “Show HN:” title prefix. Regular link posts suit blog posts or third-party news about your company.

Does Hacker News give dofollow backlinks? No — HN uses nofollow on outbound links. Value is traffic, feedback, and credibility with technical audiences.

What karma do I need to submit? Thresholds vary and are not published precisely — new accounts often need some comment karma before submissions stick. Participate genuinely first.

How is this different from the Show HN spoke? This entry covers Hacker News broadly. Our Show HN spoke focuses on the specific “Show HN:” product demo format — the best path for most founder launches.