List of places where indie developers can promote their products for free or at a low cost.
Important
Do not use this as a checklist. Not every product suits every platform listed here, choose what's most relevant for your product and target audience. Mindlessly spamming will only harm your current and future work's reputation.
Submit your product link with a Show HN prefix in the title. If it receives enough upvotes, it will appear in the Show section. For more information, check the guidelines for Show HN posts.
Be sure to read the Launch Guide for valuable tips on how and when to launch your product.
These publications focus on the Apple ecosystem and ocassionally feature in-depth app reviews:
David Pierce from The Verge runs a fantastic weekly newsletter called Installer. It features a Crowdsourced section with recommendations from the community. To get your product on the list, you can either reach out via email or suggest it by commenting on a weekly Threads post from David, where he collects picks from the community.
Indie Catalog is a curated list of apps created by indie developers, run by Filip NΔmeΔek. You can submit your app to be featured in the catalog.
You can apply to be featured on the App Store. Apple will review your application and reach out if your app is selected for a feature.
Apple offers $100 credit when you first setup an Apple Search Ads account. Learn more.
Each subbredit has its own rules and tolerance level regarding self-promotion. Make sure to read the guidelines for each one and avoid spamming.
Here are a few subreddits that allow self-promotion:
Posting your designs on platforms like Dribbble and Layers can help attract additional attention to your work.
Platforms like Medium, DEV.to, and daily.dev can be great sources for search traffic. The key is to offer genuine value in your posts and only mention your project subtly when it's relevant.
