Product Hunt vs Show HN (Hacker News)
Choosing between Product Hunt and Show HN (Hacker News)? Here's how they compare on price, link policy, review time and launch format, with Hauntboard, our own launch board, as a third option. We run Hauntboard, so every fact about Product Hunt and Show HN (Hacker News) is sourced from their own pages.
Facts checked 14 Oct 2026 · Product Hunt sources · Show HN (Hacker News) sources
The Short Answer
Both are free, but they're judged by different crowds. Product Hunt is a daily leaderboard for anyone's product. Show HN is a single Hacker News post judged by a technical audience, with strict rules: no landing pages, sign-up pages, newsletters or fundraisers. Links on a Show HN post are followed once it has a few points. Pick Show HN for something developers can try right now; pick Product Hunt for a broader launch.
Side by Side
Product Hunt, Show HN (Hacker News) and Hauntboard, from each one's own pages.
| Dimension | Product Hunt | Show HN (Hacker News) | Hauntboard |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free option | Yes: Product Hunt's launch guide says launching is 100% free. It also sells advertising, but doesn't list ad prices there. | Yes: Posting is free, and Show HN placement isn't sold. | Yes: the next open week, 20 free slots a week, with the Hauntboard badge on your site |
| Pricing | Free to launch. | Free. | Free (next open week, Hauntboard badge required, 20 slots a week) · Launch Now $19 (pick your week, no badge) · Spotlight $49 (pinned top row for the week, 4 a week). One-time payments. |
| Link type | Not dofollow: HackerNoon found the Visit website link marked ugc in September 2026, which isn't dofollow. Product Hunt blocked our own check on 14 Oct 2026. | Dofollow (conditional): Followed once a post has a few points. On 14 Oct 2026, links on the shownew page were marked nofollow, while posts with about 10 or more points on the Show page and front page had no nofollow. | Dofollow link for every approved launch; a free launch's link is nofollow while the Hauntboard badge isn't on its site |
| Review and timing | No review fee; you schedule the launch yourself. | No review queue; votes and moderators decide visibility. | Human review: about 72 hours on the free tier, within 24 hours on paid launches |
| Launch format | Daily leaderboard, on Pacific Time. | A Hacker News post, ranked by votes. | Weekly board: one week on the board, and the product page stays up afterwards |
| Audience (its own figure) | No figure published on the pages we checked. | No figure published on the pages we checked. | No site-wide audience figure to quote yet; every launch page shows its own page views and visits, and totals are on the stats page. |
Which One Fits?
Choose Product Hunt if:
- • Your product is for a general audience.
- • You want a scheduled launch day and a leaderboard.
- • You can show up with supporters on the day.
Choose Show HN (Hacker News) if:
- • You built something technical that people can try without signing up.
- • You want blunt, expert feedback.
- • You can stay online for hours to answer comments.
Using Both
A developer tool can do both: Show HN for a day of sharp feedback, Product Hunt for a broader launch a week or two later. Fix what Hacker News points out before you launch on Product Hunt.
Where Hauntboard Fits
Hauntboard is a weekly launch board where a person reviews every launch, every approved launch gets a dofollow link, and each launch page shows its own page views and visits in public. It's new, so its audience is still small, and it can sit next to either of these. See how it compares with Product Hunt or Show HN (Hacker News).
Common Questions
- Can I post a landing page on Show HN?
- No. Show HN is for things people can try; landing pages, sign-up pages, newsletters and fundraisers don't qualify.
- Are Show HN links dofollow?
- On 14 Oct 2026, links on the shownew page were marked nofollow, while posts with about 10 or more points on the Show page and front page had no nofollow. Product Hunt's outbound link isn't dofollow.
- Can I ask friends to upvote on either?
- On Hacker News, asking for upvotes or comments isn't allowed. Don't ask on Product Hunt either: leaderboards built on friends' votes tell you little about real interest.
Ready to launch?
Launch on Hauntboard: free launches get human review in about 72 hours, a dofollow link while the Hauntboard badge is on your site, and public page views and visits.