Glossary
What is an upvote on a launch platform?
An upvote is a vote a user gives a product on a launch platform or community site to push it up the ranking. On Product Hunt, Hacker News and most launch platforms, upvotes are weighted: votes from older, active accounts count more, and suspicious votes are discounted or removed.
How upvotes are counted
No major launch platform ranks on raw votes. Product Hunt weights votes by the voter's history and discounts votes from new accounts. Hacker News applies penalties when many votes come from the same link or a sudden burst. Smaller platforms are simpler, which makes them easier to place on and easier to game, so some add manual review of the leaderboard.
What counts as manipulation
- Paying for votes or swapping votes in groups.
- Sharing a direct link with "upvote us" to people who have never used the platform.
- Creating accounts to vote.
Platforms remove those votes, and some move or hide the product. The safe approach is to tell your audience you're live and ask them to check it out and leave feedback.
Upvotes vs comments
Comments carry weight because they are harder to fake and they keep a launch active. In our Product Hunt sample, #1 products had a median of 61 comments against 8 for launches outside the top five. Reply to every comment; replies count as activity too.
Example
Two products launch on the same day with 300 votes each. One got them from a group chat link in the first hour; the other from users who arrived over the day and left 60 comments. The second ranks higher, because its votes come from established accounts spread across the day and its comment thread is active.
FAQ
Do upvotes still matter on Product Hunt?
Yes, but only from real, established accounts. Comments and the timing of votes matter too.
Can I buy upvotes?
You can find sellers, but platforms detect and remove bought votes, and Product Hunt can penalise the launch.
How many upvotes does a typical launch get?
Far fewer than the top spots. Top-10 products in our sample had a median of 110; most unfeatured launches get a handful.