Where to launch your app: launch boards and communities that work

Short answer: launch in two kinds of places. Launch boards (Product Hunt, Show HN on Hacker News, BetaList, TrueLaunch's launches board) give you one day or one listing of concentrated attention, mostly from early adopters and other makers. Communities about your app's topic (subreddits, Discord servers, forums) bring your actual users, but only if you follow their rules and add something useful. Pick the few places that match your audience, prepare properly and be present to reply.

Which launch boards should I consider?

Product Hunt

A daily launch board for new products, popular with tech-savvy early adopters, designers and makers.

• Best for: productivity tools, developer tools, AI and design apps, and anything aimed at tech-curious people.
• How to approach it: read Product Hunt's own launch guide first, because their rules and ranking details change. Prepare a clear tagline, a gallery of images, a short video and a first comment explaining why you built it. Tell your existing audience you're live, but don't ask for upvotes in exchange for anything.
• Watch out for: a busy day can bury a small launch. Consumer apps for a non-tech audience, and many games, may find their real users elsewhere.

Hacker News (Show HN)

"Show HN" posts are for things you've made that people can try.

• Best for: developer tools, technical projects, open source and clever ideas with substance.
• How to approach it: read the Show HN guidelines. Use a plain title starting with "Show HN:", make sure people can try it without a long signup, and post a short comment explaining what it is and how it works technically. Be ready for very direct feedback.
• Watch out for: marketing language and hype get a poor reception. Never ask friends to upvote; the site discourages it.

Indie Hackers

A community of founders sharing how they build and grow products.

• Best for: sharing your story, numbers and lessons, especially for apps with a business model.
• How to approach it: write a post about what you learned building it, not just an announcement. People respond to honesty about what didn't work.

BetaList

A site for early-stage startups looking for their first users and beta testers.

• Best for: products before or just after launch that want early sign-ups.
• How to approach it: check its current submission process and timing on the site itself, since listings may have a waiting period. Have a working sign-up or download link ready.

TrueLaunch launches board

A launch board built for apps and games, where launches are part of a site focused on honest reviews.

• Best for: mobile apps and games on Google Play or the App Store, from solo developers to studios.
• How it works: submit your app or game by pasting its Google Play or App Store link, then pick a launch day up to 60 days ahead (at most once every 30 days). On launch day, midnight to midnight UTC, your app is on the launches board, ranked by the upvotes it gets that day. The top three earn a Launch of the Day badge. People can also leave structured reviews: what worked, what could be better and which bugs they found.

Which communities should I post in?

Launch boards bring early adopters. Communities bring the people who actually need your app.

Reddit

There are subreddits for almost every interest and many for app and game developers.

• Find the right ones: subreddits about your app's topic (fitness, studying, budgeting, a game genre) plus subreddits that explicitly allow sharing your own projects.
• Read the rules first. Many subreddits limit or ban self-promotion, require a specific flair, or only allow it on a weekly thread. Breaking the rules gets posts removed and accounts banned.
• Be a member, not a billboard. Comment and help others before you share your own work. When you post, explain the problem you solved and ask a real question.

Discord servers and forums

• Game genre servers, developer communities and topic forums often have a "share your project" channel. Use it, and stay to answer questions.
• Smaller, focused communities often send more engaged users than big general ones.

Social media

• Short video (TikTok, YouTube Shorts, Instagram Reels) works well for visual apps and especially games. Show the app in action in the first seconds.
• X, Bluesky, Mastodon and LinkedIn work if you've been sharing your progress there. A launch post from an account that's been building in public gets much more attention than one from a silent account.

How do I choose where to launch?

Ask three questions for each place:

1. Are my users here? A meditation app belongs in wellness communities more than on Hacker News.
2. Do they welcome launches? Check the rules and look at how recent launches were received.
3. Can I be present? Launching in ten places at once means replying badly in all of them. Two or three places done well beat ten done poorly.

Should I launch everywhere on the same day?

Put your main launch (the board or community that matters most) on one day, so attention adds up and you can focus on replies. Spread secondary posts over the following days or weeks, each adapted to its audience. That also gives you more chances to learn which places work.

What should I avoid?

• Buying upvotes, reviews or installs, or joining upvote rings. Platforms detect and penalize it, and it brings no real users.
• Copy-pasting the same post everywhere. Each community has its own tone.
• Posting and disappearing. Replies are where people decide to try your app.
• Asking for store ratings in exchange for anything. It breaks Google Play and App Store policies.

Next steps

Choose one launch board and two communities that match your users, read their rules today, and plan your launch day with our app launch checklist. Then list your app on TrueLaunch and pick a launch day. Need help with the words? Read how to write a launch post.