Launch pricing: free or paid
Launching is free. A paid launch costs 1 launch from your balance ($19 on its own, $12.90 in a 10-pack) and buys a chosen date, a dofollow link without a badge, and more visibility. It never buys rank.
| Per launch | Free | Launch | Launch + Featured |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | $0 | 1 launch ($19, or $12.90 in a 10-pack) | 2 launches ($38, or $25.80 in a 10-pack) |
| Launch date | Next open free slot, assigned for you | You pick any open day, tomorrow to 60 days out | You pick any open day, tomorrow to 60 days out |
| Daily slots | 12 a day (3 kept for open source) | 8 paid slots a day | 8 paid slots a day |
| Link to your site | dofollow with our badge on your site, otherwise nofollow | dofollow, no badge needed | dofollow, no badge needed |
| Open-source projects | dofollow without a badge (public repo, OSI license) | dofollow | dofollow |
| Top 3 of the day | dofollow plus a #1/#2/#3 badge | dofollow plus a #1/#2/#3 badge | dofollow plus a #1/#2/#3 badge |
| Daily ranking | Ranked by upvotes only | Ranked by upvotes only, no boost | Ranked by upvotes only, no boost |
| Homepage | Today’s list | Today’s list, labelled Featured | Featured column for 7 days, labelled Sponsored |
| Daily digest email | One line: name and tagline | Card with logo and button | Headline spot |
| Review | Automatic review, then the queue | Automatic review, handled first | Automatic review, handled first |
A launch link is dofollow when the launch is paid, the project is verified open source, it finished in the top 3 of its day, or our badge is verified on the maker’s site. Every other link is rel="nofollow". Product pages always link with ?ref=productperch so makers can see the traffic.
Launch packs
Buy launches once and use them whenever you want. A Launch uses 1; Launch + Featured uses 2.
1 launch
$19
$19 per launch
- 1 paid launch
- One-time payment, not a subscription
- Never expires
3 launches
$49
$16.33 per launch · save 14%
- 3 paid launches, or 1 Launch + Featured
- One-time payment, not a subscription
- Never expires
- Best value
10 launches
$129
$12.90 per launch · save 32%
- 10 paid launches, or 5 Launch + Featured
- One-time payment, not a subscription
- Never expires
Payments by Stripe. Rejected or cancelled launches return to your balance automatically. Unused launches can be refunded within 14 days of purchase. Prices in USD; checked against our payment settings on 11 October 2026.
What you pay for, and what you don’t
Most launch platforms make the free tier slow so the paid tier looks necessary: free queues of 30 days to 5 months are common (Uneed’s pricing page, read 11 October 2026). On ProductPerch the free tier is the main product. 12 free launches go live every day, the date is shown before you confirm, and the free launch gets the same ranking rules and the same product page as a paid one.
A paid launch is for makers who need a specific date (a release, a conference, a Show HN on the same day), who do not want to place a badge, or who want more people to see the product: a Featured label in the day’s list, a card with their logo in the digest and, with Launch + Featured, 7 days in the homepage Featured column and the digest headline. What it cannot buy is upvotes or rank. Every paid placement is labelled, and the leaderboard order comes from upvotes alone.
About links: a dofollow link is given to paid launches, verified open-source projects, the top 3 of each day, and free launches whose maker shows our badge. Everything else is nofollow, and the product page source always matches this rule. Google asks that paid links be marked sponsored, so treat a paid launch as a visibility purchase rather than an SEO one.
Open-source projects: only a verified repository uses the open-source free slots and gets a dofollow link without a badge. Verified means the repo is public, not archived, has an OSI license and provably belongs to the product: the website is the repo itself, your github.io page, or the repo’s Website field (homepage) is set to your product’s domain. A repo you only link to shows an Open source label but follows the normal free-launch rules.
Pricing questions
Is ProductPerch really free to launch on?
Yes. 12 free launches go live every UTC day and a free launch costs nothing. Paying only buys a chosen date, a dofollow link without a badge, and more space on the homepage and in the digest.
Is this a subscription?
No. Launch packs are one-time purchases. There is no monthly fee and nothing renews.
Do launches expire?
No. Launches you bought stay in your balance until you use them.
What if my launch is rejected or I cancel it?
The launch is held when you book and only used when your product goes live. If the review rejects it, or you cancel before launch day, it goes back to your balance automatically.
Can I get a refund?
Unused launches bought in the last 14 days can be refunded in full: email contact@productperch.com from your account email. Launches that already went live are not refundable.
Are paid links marked as sponsored?
No. Paid launch links are dofollow, which is what launch platforms usually sell. Google’s spam policies say paid links should carry rel="sponsored" or nofollow, so links from paid listings on any directory may be discounted by Google. We state this so you can decide; buy a paid launch for the date and placement, not for link equity.
Does paying improve my rank?
Never. The leaderboard counts upvotes only, and every paid placement is labelled Featured or Sponsored.