Compare · Launch platforms

Hacker News (Show HN) vs Product Hunt

Show HN is for "something you've made that other people can play with": no landing pages, sign-up pages, newsletters or blog posts; you must be around to discuss it; asking friends to upvote isn't allowed. Product Hunt is a daily leaderboard where products are "hunted" and compete for Product of the Day; its guide suggests launching at 12:01 am Pacific.

Both are free. On links, some Show HN story links carried rel="nofollow" and some didn't when we checked; Product Hunt's website links carried rel="ugc".

Hacker News vs Product Hunt side by side

From each product’s own site or our research, at the time of writing (September 2026). Prices and terms change, so check before you decide.

Comparison of Hacker News and Product Hunt
Feature	Hacker News	Product Hunt
Price	Free	Free
Allowed	Things people can try; no landing or sign-up pages	Products you've made; company accounts prohibited
Voting	Don't ask friends to upvote	Community upvotes; rallying supporters is common
Format	/shownew, then /show above a points threshold	Daily leaderboard
Audience	Engineers and technical founders	Broad tech and product audience
Link	Mixed nofollow (checked)	rel="ugc" (checked)

Which should you pick?

Pick Hacker News if…

Your product is technical and people can try it without signing up.
You want blunt, detailed feedback.
You'll answer questions in the thread.

Hacker News’s site · LaunchRanked vs Hacker News

Pick Product Hunt if…

Your product is for a broad audience.
You've prepared a launch page, visuals and supporters.
You want a badge and a Product of the Day chance.

Product Hunt’s site · LaunchRanked vs Product Hunt

Where LaunchRanked fits

Disclosure: LaunchRanked is our product. Where we list it, we say so, and we place it under the use case it fits rather than at the top by default. Everything else here is from the vendors’ own sites or our research, and we say where they’re better.

LaunchRanked is a weekly launch board where every listing that passes human review gets a followed link: no badge, no vote threshold, no payment. Boost ($15) and Featured ($29) only buy visibility. Doing both is common: a Show HN when people can try it, a Product Hunt day when you're ready, and a lasting page with a followed link.

We're new, so our audience is smaller than established communities. The lasting value is the permanent, SEO-ready product page and the link.

Frequently asked questions

Can I post a landing page on Show HN?

No. The guidelines exclude landing pages, fundraisers and sign-up pages. Wait until people can try it.

Should I launch on HN and Product Hunt the same day?

You can, but each needs attention in its comments. Many founders space them out so they can respond properly.

Which is better for developer tools?

Show HN usually, because its audience is technical. Product Hunt can still work if the tool has broad appeal.

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.

HN link attributes were checked on /show and /shownew on 2026-09-23 and vary by post.