Submit to Hacker News (Show HN)

Approval & timeline

Posts go live immediately after submission if your account meets karma rules. Front-page visibility depends on upvotes within the first 1–3 hours. Community-moderated via flags and downvotes. Off-topic, marketing-heavy, or low-effort posts sink quickly; thoughtful founder replies help recovery.

Pros

• DR 92 domain with Very High traffic when a post hits the homepage
• Free to submit; no paid placement or directory queue
• Highly relevant audience for dev tools, infra, and technical SaaS
• Comment threads drive qualified feedback and early power users

Cons

• Links are nofollow — rated Weak for backlink equity in our tracker
• Front page is competitive; many Show HN posts get minimal traction
• Requires active founder participation in comments for best results
• Account karma threshold can block brand-new HN accounts

Submit

Visit Hacker News (Show HN) · Auto-submit my SaaS · From $99 one-time

FAQ

How much karma do you need to post Show HN? Hacker News does not publish a fixed number. New accounts often cannot submit until they have some comment karma; building karma via genuine comments first is the usual path.

Does Show HN give a dofollow backlink? No — Hacker News uses nofollow on outbound links. Treat Show HN as high-intent traffic and brand credibility, not DR transfer.

What is the best time to post Show HN? Many founders target weekday mornings US time (9–11 AM ET) when the homepage churn is high. Quality and comment engagement matter more than the exact hour.

Can I post Show HN again after a failed launch? Wait several weeks and lead with a materially different angle — new major feature, pricing change, or open-source release. Duplicate reposts are often flagged.