How Launches Work
Last updated: October 20, 2026
This page explains what happens after you submit a product: what each status means, how the Free, Boost, and Highlight plans differ, how we check quality, how launch weeks are chosen, and how free limits work. Everything below is automatic. Times are in UTC.
1. How submission works
Enter your product's website. We try to fill in the name, description, logo, and screenshot for you.
Complete the details: description, categories, tags, logo, and exactly one screenshot.
Choose Free, Boost, or Highlight.
Submit. Free products are checked and scored. Boost and Highlight go to payment first.
When you submit, we confirm that the URL is valid, the domain has not already been submitted, and your logo and screenshot can be loaded. If one of these fails, the submission is not accepted and we tell you why. Once submitted, the domain is reserved for your product.
Your product gets its page address (/p/your-product) as soon as you submit. Before launch, that address shows a preview that only people with the link can see. It is hidden from search engines and does not appear in lists. After launch, the same address becomes the public product page, so links and badges you share keep working.
2. Product statuses
| Status | What it means |
|---|---|
| Draft | You have not finished submitting. Only you can see it. |
| Checking | We are checking and scoring your product. This usually takes a few minutes. |
| Needs work | Your score is below 60, or we could not read your website. Your dashboard lists what to fix. This applies to Free products only. |
| Waiting | Your product passed and is in the Free queue. It has a latest launch date. |
| Scheduled | Your launch week is locked. |
| Launched | Your product is live and appears on the homepage, category pages, and search results. |
| Withdrawn | We removed the product from public pages. Its launch and payment records are kept. |
| Rejected | We refused the product by hand, for example because it is illegal or malicious. This never happens automatically. |
Only Launched products appear in lists and the sitemap. Products in Checking, Needs work, Waiting, and Scheduled can only be seen through their direct link.
3. Free, Boost, and Highlight
| Free | Boost | Highlight | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Choose your launch week | No. We choose it. | Yes. Your week is reserved after payment. | No. It launches right after payment. |
| Latest launch date | Yes. Within 8 weeks of entering the queue. | Your chosen week | Immediately |
| Must reach a score of 60 | Yes | No | No |
| Uses a free slot | Yes | No | No |
| Extra | None | None | 7 days in the homepage promotion section |
Boost and Highlight are also scored, but the score is for your information only. A low score or an unreadable website never cancels a paid plan and does not lead to a refund. We only remove a paid product by hand if it contains illegal, malicious, or fraudulent content.
You can upgrade a Free product while it is in Needs work or Waiting. It leaves the Free queue, no longer needs a score of 60, and your free slot is returned. A Scheduled Free product can upgrade to Highlight and launch at once; your free slot is returned.
If you need a specific date, use Boost. Free launch weeks cannot be changed.
4. How we check quality
We look at what you submitted, your homepage, and your screenshot. We do not log in to your product or try its features.
| Area | Points | What we check |
|---|---|---|
| Clarity | 30 | Does your homepage say what the product is, who it is for, and what problem it solves? |
| Accuracy | 20 | Do your description, categories, and tags match your homepage? |
| Trust | 20 | Can visitors find pricing, a privacy policy, terms of service, and a way to contact you? |
| Screenshot | 15 | Does the screenshot show your real product, not a blank page, an error, or a stock image? |
| Website basics | 5 | Does the site use HTTPS, and does the homepage have a title, a description, and a social sharing image? |
| External signals | 10 | Your website's current domain authority rating. If it cannot be checked, this area scores 0 and does not block you. |
We also check that your website loads and is not a parked domain or a redirect to an unrelated site.
Score levels:
80–100, Excellent: enters the Free queue.
60–79, Good: enters the Free queue.
0–59, Needs work: does not enter the queue, is not public, and does not use a free slot.
60 is the bar. Excellent and Good get the same 8-week promise. A higher score can help a product get selected earlier.
Your score is shown only in your dashboard, never on the public page. You see each check, what failed, and how to fix it. We may also show a page-speed result as a reference. It does not count toward the score.
How to improve your score:
Say clearly on your homepage what the product does and who it is for.
Make your description, categories, and tags match your homepage.
Link to pricing, privacy, terms, and contact pages from your homepage.
Use a screenshot of the real product interface.
Add a page title, meta description, and social sharing image.
If we could not read your site, check that it is public and does not block automated visitors.
After you edit your product, we score it again. There is no limit on how many times you can do this.
5. How launch weeks are chosen
Latest launch date. When a Free product enters the queue, it gets a latest launch week, 8 weeks later. This is a promise: it will launch in that week or earlier.
Estimated week. Your dashboard also shows an estimated launch week. It is updated daily and is only an estimate, not a promise.
Thursday selection. Every Thursday at 00:00 UTC we lock the Free products for next Monday's launch and email the selected makers. The list is final.
Selection order. Each week has a limited number of Free slots. We fill them in this order:
Products that must launch next week to keep their latest launch date.
Two thirds of the remaining slots go to the highest scores.
One third goes to the products that have waited longest.
Ties go to the product that entered the queue first.
After selection. A Scheduled product cannot be postponed or replaced by a newer product. If you do not want to launch, you can withdraw it.
Editing while you wait. If you edit a Waiting product, we score it again. If it still scores 60 or more, it keeps its latest launch date. If it falls below 60, it goes back to Needs work and leaves the queue. Edits to a Scheduled product are not rescored and do not change its week.
Optional badge. You can add the BetterLaunch badge to your website and click "Verify badge" in your dashboard. A verified badge adds 10 points when we rank by score. It does not change your quality score and cannot move you ahead of products that are due. We check the badge again every Thursday before selection; if it is gone, the bonus is removed. The badge is never required.
6. Free limits and full queue
3 free products per account, for life. Products that are Waiting, Scheduled, or Launched count. Draft, Needs work, and Rejected do not.
1 free product per account per launch week.
Withdrawing. Withdraw while Waiting and your free slot is returned. Withdraw while Scheduled and it is not returned. A Launched product cannot be withdrawn by you.
When the Free queue is full. We only accept Free products we can launch within 8 weeks. When the next 8 weeks are full, new Free submissions pause. You can save a draft and submit later, or choose Boost to pick a week. Boost and Highlight stay open. Free submissions reopen automatically when space is available.
If a product reaches 60 while the queue is full, your dashboard shows "Passed, waiting for a Free slot". It enters the queue when space opens, or you can upgrade to Boost.
Emails
We email you when your product enters the Free queue, needs work, is selected for next week, and launches. Other changes appear in your dashboard.
Questions
These rules may change. Changes do not affect latest launch dates we have already given you. If something looks wrong, contact us.