I re-checked 22 "free" AI tool directories by hand. Here is what changed.

Lists of "free directories to submit your AI tool" get copied from blog post to blog post. Directories change faster than those lists do. In October 2026 I went through 22 directories that were on my own list as free, opened every submit page, and wrote down what I actually saw. Nothing below is from a vendor page or a guess. If a form did not show something, I left it out.

The short version

• 4 of 22 are no longer free. TopAI.tools, There's An AI For That and Best AI Brands now show paid options only on their submit pages. Microlaunch's launch button offers only a paid "Pro Launch".
• 3 of the remaining ones are free only if you link back. ToolPilot, Vantaige and Dofollow.Tools ask you to put their badge and a link on your own site before a free listing is reviewed.
• "Free" often means "slow". Launching Next showed an estimated queue of about 4 months for free submissions. ToolPilot says its free option can take up to 60 days. Vantaige says 2 to 4 weeks.
• Some free links are nofollow. Vantaige's free path says its "Visit website" links stay nofollow. Trustpilot's profile links are rel="nofollow noopener".

Details worth knowing before you submit

Dofollow.Tools. Two steps: tool info, then plan. The free option has a site-wide quota of 5 submissions per day. When it is full, the button changes to "Today's Free Slots Full". The free link stays dofollow only while their badge is on your site. You need to sign in before the submission is saved.

SaaSHub. You need an account. Listing competitors gets you reviewed sooner, and verifying with an email on your product's domain gives priority. The form has two submit buttons: the first one is the paid "Priority+", the second one is "Free". Pressing Enter in the form triggers the first one, so click "Free" instead.

AlternativeTo. You must confirm your email before the "Suggest new application" form opens, and the confirmation link expires quickly. Read their rules on links in the description and UTM tags on the website URL first; I kept both out. After submitting, suggest at least one existing app as an alternative. They say apps without alternatives rarely show up in search.

BetaList. You paste your URL and it drafts the name, pitch, description and topics from your homepage in about 30 seconds. Read the draft before you accept it. Mine was accurate, but it added a little marketing language I removed.

ToolPilot. The form is long: name, company, email, logo (500x500 JPG with a background color), tagline, description, overview, five features, platform, pricing and billing options. The terms say tools that are not AI tools may not be accepted.

Peerlist. Launchpad requires a verified personal profile (ID, workplace, school or bootcamp), a real name and photo, and a project that is 100% filled in. Launches happen on Mondays.

What I would do differently

1. Check the submit page the week you submit, not the list you saved last month.
2. Keep one honest description per directory and stay within each form's limits. Some count characters, Launching Next asks for a 5 to 8 word headline.
3. Write down the date, the result and the link type for each directory. After a few weeks you will know which ones were worth it.

About the list

I keep the list I used for this at Dirproof. It is free: each directory shows the link type, whether it is free, whether the form works, the domain rating and the date I last checked it. When something changes, it goes on the updates page. If you find a directory on it that has changed, tell me and I will re-check it.