Glossary
What is an alternatives directory?
An alternatives directory organises software around the products it replaces, so each well-known tool has a page listing its alternatives. People arrive searching for "alternatives to" a named product. A listing pays off when your product replaces something people already know.
How it works
Instead of browsing by category, visitors land on a page like "Notion alternatives" and see a list ranked by votes or relevance. When you submit, you name the products yours replaces, and the directory adds you to those pages. AlternativeTo is the largest. SaaSHub, Alternative.me and European Alternatives are others, and some focus on open source or privacy.
What the numbers look like
We checked 12 alternatives directories. Median Domain Rating is 51 and 58% give a dofollow link. Their traffic is high-intent: someone searching for alternatives is already shopping.
Common mistake
Naming only obscure competitors. Your listing appears on the pages of the products you name, so name the well-known tools you actually replace. Our guide to adding software to AlternativeTo walks through it, and the full list shows each one's rules.
Example
An open-source note-taking app lists itself on AlternativeTo as an alternative to Notion, Evernote and Obsidian. Its listing now appears on three of the most-visited pages in its category. Users who prefer open source vote it up, and it climbs the Notion alternatives page over a few months, bringing a steady stream of visitors who were already looking to switch.
How to get more from a listing
- Fill in every field: platforms, license, pricing, features and tags. Filters on these sites use them.
- Ask your users to mark your product as an alternative they use; user votes move rankings on most of these sites.
- Add the product to each relevant alternatives page, not only the biggest one.
- Keep the description current; outdated pricing or features cost you trust on a page full of comparisons.
FAQ
Is AlternativeTo free?
Yes. Listing software on AlternativeTo is free and the product link is dofollow in our checks.
Can I add my own product as an alternative?
Yes, on most of them. Some moderate submissions from makers more strictly than user suggestions.
Which alternatives directories accept open-source only?
Several, such as open-source alternative directories. Check each site's rules; we note them on each profile.