OpenAlternative listing

Top directory for open-source alternatives to proprietary SaaS.

Open source alternatives · openalternative.co

Submit your listing Visit openalternative.co

Cost to list: Free + paid; Free listing, paid upgrades
Approval: Editorial review
Link type: Nofollow link; Checked on a live listing
Shows up in searches for: 1 business type; Best #6, Open-source projects
Popularity: Tranco #365,328; #1,043 of 1,712 directory sites
Countries: Worldwide

Checked Oct 20, 2026 · 5 sources

Is OpenAlternative worth it?

Our reading of the measured data, not a score.

For its audience

Worth it if your buyers read reviews here.

OpenAlternative made Google's top 10 in 1 of the 14 buyer searches we ran for the 3 business types it accepts. It didn't show up for developer tools and SaaS products. That's typical: directories of any kind held only 15% of the top-10 spots in those searches, so what OpenAlternative offers is the people who browse it directly. A basic listing is free; paid options are sold on top. Profile links are reported nofollow, so list for customers, not for SEO links.

What works

Showed up in Google for Open-source projects, as high as #6
The basic listing is free

Watch out for

Not in Google's top 10 for developer tools and SaaS products (0 of 10 searches)
Paid upgrades are sold on top of the free listing
Nofollow links: list for customers, not for SEO

Measured fit, by business type

How often OpenAlternative made Google's top 10 in our US buyer searches for the types it accepts.

Open-source projects 1/4

Some · best #6
Developer tools 0/5

Not seen
SaaS products 0/5

Not seen

See every search result →

Where OpenAlternative shows up when people search

We ran 399 real buyer searches (Google US, desktop) for 100 business types on Oct 20, 2026 and recorded which directories made the organic top 10. Local packs and ads are not counted.

OpenAlternative accepts 3 business types we measure. Here is every one, with what Google showed instead, so you can see where a listing would and wouldn't be found.

Open-source projects

1/4

OpenAlternative ranked as high as #6 in 1 of these searches. Directories of any kind held 32% of the top-10 spots.

Directories

r/selfhosted 2/4, Medium 2/4, awesome-selfhosted (GitHub) 1/4

Other sites

reddit.com, xda-developers.com, datamation.com

Searches: “open source alternative to notion”, “self hosted alternatives”, “best open source crm”, “open source alternatives” result
Developer tools

0/5

Not in the top 10 of any of these searches. Directories of any kind held 10% of the top-10 spots.

Directories

Medium 1/5, Notion Marketplace 1/5, PeerSpot 1/5

Other sites

reddit.com, speedscale.com, youtube.com

Searches: “best api testing tools”, “postman alternatives”, “best code review tools”, “best ci cd tools”, “heroku alternatives”
SaaS products

0/5

Not in the top 10 of any of these searches. Directories of any kind held 7% of the top-10 spots.

Directories

TechnologyAdvice 2/5, G2 1/5

Other sites

youtube.com, emailtooltester.com, reddit.com

Searches: “best crm software”, “best project management software”, “hubspot alternatives”, “best accounting software for small business”, “best email marketing software”

Bars show the searches where it made the organic top 10. "Directories" lists the tracked directories that did rank for the same searches, with their hit count. How we measure

What OpenAlternative costs and who can list

As stated on OpenAlternative's own pages or reported by a named source. Checked Oct 20, 2026.

Who can list: Developer tools
Open-source projects
SaaS products

Census audience: open-source software, developers, open source saas, developer tools · Worldwide
Pricing: Free + paid options

Free listing available: 'Free listings go live one per weekday, so the wait can be a few months.' After submitting, paid packages let you 'skip the queue and go live within 24 hours' (package prices shown only after sign-in). Advertising: Silver $147/mo, Gold $297/mo, Platinum $597/mo.
Approval: Editorial review. Account sign-in required to submit; submissions reviewed ('We'll review {name}'s submission'); free queue publishes one tool per weekday (can take months); paid packages within 24 hours. Free listing inspected has nofollow website link; whether paid tiers change rel was not verified.
Link attribute: Nofollow link. We checked a live listing on Oct 20, 2026: openalternative.co/plausible.
Requirements: Full open source application (not CLIs/libraries/SDKs/plugins/browser extensions/MCP servers/thin AI wrappers); product website on a custom domain (no GitHub-only projects); a named proprietary alternative; original project with full source in the repository; usable today (no waitlists); OSI-approved license (source-available only for established projects).
Sources: openalternative.co/submit
openalternative.co/advertise
openalternative.co/plausible
openalternative.co
openalternative.co/submit/puter

Prices and rules change; the linked pages are the authority.

How to get listed on OpenAlternative

1
Prepare your details

OpenAlternative asks for: Full open source application (not CLIs/libraries/SDKs/plugins/browser extensions/MCP servers/thin AI wrappers); product website on a custom domain (no GitHub-only projects); a named proprietary alternative; original project with full source in the repository; usable today (no waitlists); OSI-approved license (source-available only for established projects).
- Company and product profile with categories
- Link to your public pricing page
- Screenshots and a short product description
- A list of customers you can ask for honest reviews
- Someone who will answer reviews, good and bad
Our standard checklist for this kind of site (software review site), not a list published by OpenAlternative.
2

Open the submit page
openalternative.co/submit
3

Approval: editorial review

Account sign-in required to submit; submissions reviewed ('We'll review {name}'s submission'); free queue publishes one tool per weekday (can take months); paid packages within 24 hours. Free listing inspected has nofollow website link; whether paid tiers change rel was not verified.
4

Check the watch-outs

3 things to know before you post.

OpenAlternative alternatives

Ranked by the same evidence: Google top-10 appearances for the business types OpenAlternative serves, then audience fit, then Tranco popularity.

Questions about OpenAlternative

Is OpenAlternative worth it for getting listed?

Worth it if your buyers read reviews here. OpenAlternative made Google's top 10 in 1 of the 14 buyer searches we ran for the 3 business types it accepts. It didn't show up for developer tools and SaaS products. That's typical: directories of any kind held only 15% of the top-10 spots in those searches, so what OpenAlternative offers is the people who browse it directly. A basic listing is free; paid options are sold on top. Profile links are reported nofollow, so list for customers, not for SEO links. This is our reading of the measured data.

How much does a OpenAlternative listing cost?

Free + paid options. What we found: Free listing available: 'Free listings go live one per weekday, so the wait can be a few months.' After submitting, paid packages let you 'skip the queue and go live within 24 hours' (package prices shown only after sign-in). Advertising: Silver $147/mo, Gold $297/mo, Platinum $597/mo.. Checked Oct 20, 2026.

Is a link from OpenAlternative dofollow?

Nofollow link, as reported in our census.

How do I get listed on OpenAlternative?

Start at openalternative.co/submit. Approval: editorial review (Account sign-in required to submit; submissions reviewed ('We'll review {name}'s submission'); free queue publishes one tool per weekday (can take months); paid packages within 24 hours. Free listing inspected has nofollow website link; whether paid tiers change rel was not verified.). Have your details ready first (see "How to list" above).

What are the best OpenAlternative alternatives?

Ranked by the same evidence: TechnologyAdvice, selfh.st Apps, and awesome-selfhosted. The full list of 8 is above, with the searches each one appeared in.

Run OpenAlternative?

Link to this profile with a TopDirs badge. Get the code →