Free Online Web Directory List: 30 Free Submission Sites (2026)

What is a free online web directory, and why do a few still matter?

A web directory is a website that organises links to other websites by topic, the way a library catalogue organises books. Before Google, directories like Yahoo! Directory and DMOZ were how people found sites. Yahoo closed its directory in 2014 and DMOZ in 2017. What survives is a small set of human-edited general directories, a much larger set of business listing sites, and the modern startup directories built around product discovery.

A free online web directory is any of these that lets you add a site without paying. Free usually comes with one of three conditions, and you should know which before you spend the ten minutes:

• A long queue. Free submissions to Link Centre, Viesearch or ABILogic can sit for weeks. Paying a few dollars usually jumps it.
• A reciprocal link. Aviva, Elly's, Pegasus and ProLink give the free listing only if you link back to them. Decide whether that is acceptable for your site before you submit.
• A basic listing with upsells. Every business listing site is free and every one of them will email you about the premium tier. Ignore it.

Why a few still matter: the surviving general directories are edited, indexed, and give a link without nofollow by their own terms. For a brand-new domain with no backlinks, ten of those are a real starting footprint. For an established site they are noise.

The 30 free web directories, in priority order

Grouped by how much each one is worth, which is also the order to work through them.

1. The general web directories worth submitting to first

Human-edited, free or nearly free, dofollow by their own terms, and with enough sites linking to them to matter. Sorted by referring domains.

Link Centre

Best for: The strongest free general directorydofollow by stated terms

The oldest free general directory still accepting listings, run from the UK since the late 1990s, with more sites linking to it than any other general directory on this page. Submission is free with no reciprocal link and the review is slow, often weeks. Its category pages still rank for long-tail queries, which is more than most directories can say.

17,438 referring domains • Free

Visit

Aviva Directory

Best for: A properly edited listingdofollow by stated terms

A well-categorised directory with active editors and a real editorial standard. The free tier asks for a link back to Aviva; the one-off paid review drops that requirement. Either way the listing is written by a person and stays up, which is why Aviva is on every serious list of surviving web directories.

8,971 referring domains • Free with a reciprocal link, or paid review

Visit

ABILogic

Best for: Business sitesdofollow by stated terms

A business-focused general directory. The free queue takes weeks; express review costs a few dollars and is worth it if you are submitting to a batch of directories in one sitting. Clean categories, no reciprocal link required.

7,949 referring domains • Free, or a few dollars for express review

Visit

Best of the Web

Best for: A paid, permanent editorial listingdofollow by stated terms

One of the two surviving big editorial directories from the era when directories mattered. Paid review only, but the listing is permanent, trusted, and on a domain with thousands of referring domains. Not free, included because anyone building a directory profile will be asked about it.

6,950 referring domains • Paid

Visit

Jasmine Directory

Best for: Sites with real contentdofollow by stated terms

Strict editorial review that rejects thin sites, which is exactly why a Jasmine listing carries some weight. The paid fee buys a written listing that stays up. Like Best of the Web, not free, and here for completeness.

5,998 referring domains • Paid

Visit

ExactSeek

Best for: Free URL submissionlink type unverified

A search engine and directory hybrid. Free URL submission gets you indexed in its own engine; paid options add featured placement. We could not confirm the link type from a live listing, so treat it as a citation.

5,307 referring domains • Free, paid featured placement

Visit

Viesearch

Best for: Free, human-editeddofollow by stated terms

Human-edited and free, with a long wait unless you pay to expedite. Dofollow by its stated terms. A respectable general directory that has outlived most of its peers.

4,822 referring domains • Free, paid to expedite

Visit

Secret Search Engine Labs

Best for: Fast turnarounddofollow by stated terms

A free general directory with the fastest review of the group, often days rather than weeks. Fewer referring domains than the ones above, but zero cost and no reciprocal requirement.

3,114 referring domains • Free

Visit

DirJournal

Best for: Category pages that still rankdofollow by stated terms

A long-running paid directory whose category pages still appear in search results. Editorial review. Paid, so last on the priority list unless you are already paying for Best of the Web and Jasmine.

2,624 referring domains • Paid

Visit

Jayde

Best for: B2B siteslink type unverified

A B2B web directory with a free basic listing. Review can take a month or more. Link type unconfirmed from the HTML.

2,578 referring domains • Free

Visit

So Much

Best for: Descriptive, non-spammy submissionsdofollow by stated terms

Free, human-edited, dofollow by its terms. The editors approve descriptive submissions and reject keyword-stuffed ones, so write the description in plain English.

2,485 referring domains • Free

Visit

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2. Smaller free directories, if you are doing a full batch

Under 2,000 referring domains each. Free, mostly dofollow by their terms, and worth five minutes apiece only as part of a larger citation build.

Cipinet

Best for: A clean small directorydofollow by stated terms

Small but clean, with a free regular listing and a paid featured spot. No reciprocal link required.

1,756 referring domains • Free, or paid featured

Visit

Elly's Directory

Best for: Low-effort citationdofollow by stated terms

Free listing in exchange for a reciprocal link, or a paid listing without one. Fine as a citation, not worth the reciprocal link.

1,725 referring domains • Free with reciprocal link, or paid

Visit

Directory World

Best for: Regional categoriesdofollow by stated terms

A general directory with regional categories and a slow free queue.

1,602 referring domains • Free, or paid

Visit

ProLink Directory

Best for: Free regular listingdofollow by stated terms

Free regular listing; a few dollars removes the reciprocal-link requirement.

1,543 referring domains • Free, paid to skip reciprocal

Visit

Free PR Web Directory

Best for: No stringsdofollow by stated terms

Free, no reciprocal link required. Low authority, zero cost.

1,499 referring domains • Free

Visit

Pegasus Directory

Best for: Broad category treedofollow by stated terms

Free listing with a reciprocal link. Broad category tree, slow queue.

1,473 referring domains • Free with reciprocal link, or paid

Visit

Site Promotion Directory

Best for: A simple formdofollow by stated terms

Free general directory with a straightforward submission form and no reciprocal requirement.

1,400 referring domains • Free

Visit

1Abc Directory

Best for: Free with paid skip-the-queuedofollow by stated terms

Free regular listing; paid options skip the queue.

1,362 referring domains • Free, or paid

Visit

Gimpsy

Best for: Interactive tools and appsdofollow by stated terms

A directory organised by what you can do on a site, and it only lists interactive sites. Tools, calculators and apps fit; brochure sites are rejected. The one small directory here with a distinct editorial angle.

1,154 referring domains • Free

Visit

Gainweb

Best for: No reciprocal linkdofollow by stated terms

Free listing, no reciprocal link. Small.

1,150 referring domains • Free

Visit

Blahoo

Best for: Quick reviewdofollow by stated terms

Free web directory with a quick review. The smallest site on this list.

806 referring domains • Free

Visit

3. The eight business listings to claim alongside them

Not web directories in the classic sense, but the listings that feed Google Maps, Apple Maps and AI assistants. Nearly all nofollow; claim them for consistency, not links.

Google Business Profile

Best for: Google Maps and the local packnofollow

The listing that controls your Google Maps presence. Free, mandatory for any business with an address, and the one every other business directory copies from.

92,266 referring domains • Free

Visit

Yelp

Best for: Reviews and Apple Maps datanofollow

The largest consumer review site in the US. Its data feeds Apple Maps and voice assistants, so claim it even if you never ask for a review.

736,477 referring domains • Free

Visit

Better Business Bureau

Best for: Trust with cautious buyerslink type unverified

A free profile that ranks for your company name. Accreditation is paid and optional.

291,686 referring domains • Free profile, paid accreditation

Visit

Bing Places

Best for: Bing Maps and Windows searchnofollow

Import your Google Business Profile in a few clicks and keep both in sync.

6,489 referring domains • Free

Visit

Apple Business Connect

Best for: Apple Maps, Siri and Spotlightnofollow

Direct control of your Apple Maps card. Low link value, high visibility on every iPhone.

1,347 referring domains • Free

Visit

Foursquare

Best for: Location data other apps licensenofollow

Its Places database is licensed to Uber, Snap and thousands of apps. A wrong address here spreads everywhere.

102,241 referring domains • Free

Visit

Crunchbase

Best for: Startups and brand searcheslink type unverified

The startup database investors and journalists use. Your company page ranks for your brand name within weeks. Widely reported as nofollow; the site blocks automated checks.

147,320 referring domains • Free

Visit

Yellow Pages

Best for: A core local citationnofollow

The original directory, still one of the citations every local SEO tool checks for. The free listing is enough.

43,536 referring domains • Free

Visit

All 30 free web directories compared at a glance

How to submit your website to a free web directory

Free website submission to a directory takes five to ten minutes once you have the details ready. The same checklist works for every site on this page.

• Find the submit page. Look for "Submit", "Add URL", "Add your site" or "Suggest a site" in the header or footer. Business listings call it "Add your business" or "Claim".
• Pick one specific category. Deep beats broad. "Software > Project Management" is better than "Business", and editors reject listings filed in the wrong place.
• Use your real site name as the title. Not a keyword phrase. Directories that still have editors reject "Best Cheap CRM Software" as a title, and the ones that accept it are not worth being in.
• Write a unique two-sentence description. Say what the site is and who it is for. Do not paste the same text into every directory; write it fresh each time. It takes ninety seconds.
• Check the reciprocal-link requirement first. Aviva, Elly's, Pegasus and ProLink want a link back on the free tier. Decide whether that is acceptable before you submit, or pay the few dollars to skip it.
• Keep a spreadsheet. Directory, date, category, status, listing URL. Free queues take two to eight weeks and you will forget which ones you did.

Submitting to directories does not get you indexed. Google and Bing do not read directory listings for that, so also follow the search engine submission guide to get your pages into the index directly.

Are free web directories still worth it for SEO?

For general web directories, the honest answer is a little, and only the edited ones. Google devalued mass directory links in the 2012 Penguin update and has not changed its mind. A dofollow link from Link Centre or Aviva is a real link from a real site, and a new domain with zero backlinks will notice it. A site with a thousand referring domains will not.

For business listing sites, it is not about links at all. It is about existing consistently across the web so that Google, Apple and the AI assistants agree on who you are. That has compounding value for brand searches and local results, and it costs nothing but an afternoon.

The rule we use: claim the eight business listings once, add ten to fifteen of the free dofollow general directories, and then stop. Spend the rest of your time on directories with an audience that actually clicks through, which for a software product means the startup directories below. We looked at whether directory backlinks are still good for SEO in more depth if you want the data.

The better option for products: startup directories

If what you are submitting is a SaaS, an app, an AI tool or any product with users, startup directories beat everything on this page. They have Domain Ratings in the 50s to 90s, most give a dofollow link, and their visitors are founders and early adopters browsing for something new to try. A listing on Product Hunt, AlternativeTo or SaaSHub sends real signups; a listing on a general web directory sends a link and nothing else.

We track 128 of them with live DR, traffic and dofollow data. Start with the full startup directories catalogue, filter to free and dofollow, and work from the top. If you would rather not spend the forty hours it takes to do a hundred of them properly, our done-for-you submission service handles it with a unique description for each directory.

How we chose these web directories

• Live and accepting submissions. Every directory was checked in September 2026. Alive Web Directory and other names that still appear on older lists were dropped because they no longer resolve or have no referring domains.
• Ranked by referring domains. The number of other websites linking to the directory, from the DataForSEO backlink index, is the most honest public measure of whether a directory is still part of the web.
• Link types labelled by source. "Dofollow by stated terms" means the directory says so; "nofollow" means we read it on a live page; "unverified" means the site blocks automated checks. We do not upgrade a claim we could not check.
• No pay-for-placement. No directory paid to be here and there are no affiliate links.

Free Web Directories FAQ