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Hacker News alternative: LaunchRanked vs Hacker News

Show HN is Hacker News' place for "something you've made that other people can play with". Posting is free. The rules are strict: it has to be something people can try (not a landing page, sign-up page, newsletter or blog post), it should be non-trivial, you must be around to discuss it, and asking friends to upvote isn't allowed. Every Show HN appears on /shownew; it reaches the /show page once it clears a small points threshold.

On the Show HN pages we checked, some story links carried rel="nofollow" and others didn't, so don't count on SEO value. LaunchRanked is a weekly launch board where every listing that passes human review gets a followed link, and a permanent product page.

Where Hacker News is a great choice

Developer tools, open source and technical products.
Honest, detailed feedback from engineers.
Products people can try without signing up.

LaunchRanked vs Hacker News at a glance

Hacker News details are from their own site or our research, at the time of writing (September 2026). Prices and terms change, so check their site before you decide.

Feature and price comparison between Hacker News and LaunchRanked
Feature	Hacker News	LaunchRanked
Price	Free	Free; Boost $15, Featured $29 (one-time)
Format	Community posts; /shownew, then /show after a points threshold	Weekly leaderboard (ISO weeks)
What's allowed	Things people can try; no landing pages, sign-up pages or reading material	Products that pass human review
Voting rules	Don't ask friends to upvote or comment	Upvotes on the weekly board
Link	Mixed: some Show HN links carried rel="nofollow" when we checked	Followed link after human review. No badge, no votes, no payment needed
Lasting page	The discussion thread	Permanent, SEO-ready product page

Where we differ

Attention vs permanence

A Show HN that catches on can bring more technical users in a day than most launch boards bring in a month. One that doesn't disappears quickly. A LaunchRanked page stays and keeps its link.

HN has the stricter bar

HN asks for something people can try, with minimal barriers, from the person who built it. That's good discipline for any launch.

Do both

They don't compete. Post a Show HN when people can try your product without friction; list it with us for the permanent page and link.

When to pick Hacker News instead

Your product is technical and people can try it right now.
You want critical feedback from engineers.
You're ready to answer questions in the thread all day.

Frequently asked questions

Can I post my landing page as a Show HN?

No. The Show HN guidelines say not to post landing pages, fundraisers, sign-up pages, newsletters or blog posts. Make a regular submission instead, or wait until people can try it.

Are Hacker News links dofollow?

Not reliably. On the Show HN pages we checked, some story links had rel="nofollow" and others didn't. Treat any SEO value as a bonus.

Can I ask friends to upvote my Show HN?

No. The guidelines say asking friends to upvote or comment isn't OK on HN.

Sources we checked

Checked on their own sites on 23 September 2026. Prices and terms change, so check before you buy. Domain ratings are approximate third-party estimates.

Link attributes were checked on news.ycombinator.com/show and /shownew on 2026-09-23 and vary by post.