A curated, no-fluff list of places to launch and promote a macOS app: submission platforms, Reddit communities, GitHub "awesome" lists, and newsletters. Every entry includes its submission link, cost model, best fit, and the practical rules that can get a launch rejected.
Built by MacNative.io, a hand-picked directory of the best macOS apps. If you're shipping a Mac app, this is the list we wish existed when we started.
Beyond this list, there are three free ways to get your app discovered through MacNative:
| Channel | What happens | Link |
|---|---|---|
| MacNative.io directory | Submit your app for a hand-picked listing with screenshots | macnative.io/submit |
| Native Mac Apps newsletter | Get featured in our monthly roundup of native macOS apps | Subscribe → |
| Awesome Native macOS Apps | If your app is genuinely native (Swift/SwiftUI/AppKit), add it via PR | github.com/open-saas-directory/awesome-native-macosx-apps |
All three are free. We built this launch-platforms list to point back at them because we couldn't find one that did — now you don't have to build your own spreadsheet either.
- 🚀 First Launch? Start Here
- Choose the Right Channel
- 🗓️ A Coordinated Launch Sequence
- Before You Submit
- Launch & Discovery Platforms
- Reddit Communities
- GitHub Awesome Lists
- Newsletters
- Contributing
- Star History
- License
If you only do five things, do these — all free, all take under 20 minutes each to submit:
| # | Platform | Why first |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Show HN | Free, instant, no approval queue. Must be a working app people can try, not a landing page. |
| 2 | Product Hunt | Free forever. Biggest single-day traffic spike available to an indie app. |
| 3 | r/SideProject | Self-promotion is the whole point of the sub — just disclose you built it and give context. |
| 4 | MacUpdate | Free, Mac-specific, human-reviewed, still gets real long-tail search traffic years later. |
| 5 | jaywcjlove/awesome-mac | 114k+ stars. A merged PR here is a permanent, high-authority backlink plus ongoing discovery. |
Use this as a quick route finder before working through the full list.
| If your goal is… | Start with | Then use |
|---|---|---|
| A concentrated launch-day conversation | Product Hunt + Show HN | r/SideProject with the story behind the app |
| Durable Google discovery and backlinks | MacUpdate + AlternativeTo | Relevant GitHub awesome lists and SaaSHub |
| Feedback from Mac users before a broader launch | r/macapps | A targeted pitch to a Mac-focused newsletter |
| Discovery for an open-source app | r/coolgithubprojects | Open-source-only awesome lists and r/opensource |
| A pre-launch waitlist | BetaList | Build an audience before scheduling Product Hunt |
| A native Swift, SwiftUI, or AppKit app | Awesome Native macOS Apps | MacNative and Mac-specific communities |
Spreading channels out (instead of dumping everything on day one) avoids getting flagged as spam and gives you multiple traffic spikes instead of one.
Day 1 — Launch day Post Show HN and launch on Product Hunt the same morning (Tue–Thu, 12:01am PT is the conventional Product Hunt sweet spot). Share to r/SideProject with a real story, not just a link.
Week 1 Submit to MacUpdate, AlternativeTo, SaaSHub, and Microlaunch — all free, all evergreen (they keep sending traffic long after launch day). Open PRs against jaywcjlove/awesome-mac, serhii-londar/open-source-mac-os-apps (if open source), and iCHAIT/awesome-macOS.
Week 2–3 Post to r/macapps (max one self-promo post per developer per 30 days — make it count) and, if it's a Sunday, r/apple (self-promo restricted to Sundays). Pitch MacStories Weekly and Daryl Baxter's App Picks directly — both are relationship/pitch-based with no public submit form, so a short, specific email works better than a form fill.
Ongoing Submit to MacNative.io and keep an eye on new "Show and Tell"-style threads in Indie Hackers — post real milestones (first 100 users, first $1k), not the launch itself; that's what gets organic pickup in their newsletter.
A listing can drive attention, but it cannot compensate for an unclear product page. Prepare these once, then reuse them across every channel:
- One-line promise: say who the app is for, the job it does, and why it is distinct — without feature dumping.
- A working destination: link to a product page, App Store listing, TestFlight/beta, or download. Do not send launch traffic to an unfinished waitlist unless the channel is specifically for pre-launch apps.
- Visual proof: prepare a square icon, 2–3 current screenshots, and a short demo GIF or video. Show the outcome in the first image.
- Honest pricing and privacy details: surface the trial, paid plan, in-app purchases, data handling, and macOS requirement before people have to ask.
- A channel-specific angle: adapt the post to the audience. A Show HN post should explain the technical or unusual part; a Reddit post should invite concrete feedback; a newsletter pitch should make the editor's selection easy.
- A reply plan: be available on launch day, answer criticism directly, and record recurring questions. Those questions become the best copy for your website and next launch.
| Platform | Cost | Best for | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Product Hunt | Free |
Any app, one big launch-day spike | No fee to launch or get featured; makes money on Ship/ads instead. Tue–Thu 12:01am PT launches perform best. |
| Show HN (Hacker News) | Free |
Technical/dev-facing apps | Must be something people can try immediately — no landing pages, no hype copy, no vote brigading. |
| Indie Hackers | Free |
Long-term visibility + community | Not a one-day launch — a free product page that keeps indexing in Google as you post milestones. |
| MacUpdate | Free |
Any Mac app | Mac-specific directory since the early 2000s; human-reviewed, rejects unfinished apps or duplicates of built-in macOS features. |
| SaaSHub | Freemium |
Apps that compete with known tools | Free listing, optional paid boost. Requires a publicly usable product — no waitlists. Great "alternative to X" SEO surface. |
| Microlaunch | Free |
Quick, no-review submission | Needs logo, 2–3 screenshots, tagline, and pricing model. Dofollow links. |
| AlternativeTo | Freemium |
Apps replacing a well-known tool | Free "Suggest new application" (7-day account age required, review can take months) or paid priority review (1–2 business days, doesn't affect ranking). |
| Peerlist Launchpad | Free |
Builders with a Peerlist profile | Weekly board (opens Mondays), unlimited launches, requires a verified individual profile. Top 3/week get a newsletter + social feature. |
| StartupBase | Free |
New, not-yet-well-known products | Product Hunt-style; requires your own domain (no subdomains) and a product under ~1 year old. |
| Turbo0 | Freemium |
Backlink-focused SEO launches | Free tier gives 3 dofollow links + permanent listing but requires a verification badge on your site; paid tiers remove that requirement. |
| Fazier | Freemium |
Fast, badge-friendly launches | Free Basic tier requires a Fazier badge on your site (~30-day review); paid Lite/Premium/Super tiers skip the badge and add a DR-83 backlink. |
| Uneed | Paid (free tier currently closed) |
Startup/SaaS-style tools | Free waitlist launch has a 6-month backlog as of 2026; paid fast-track (~2 weeks) or skip-the-line options exist. Verify current queue status before relying on it. |
| BetaList | Paid |
Pre-launch / beta-stage apps | No free tier as of 2026; editorial curation with refunds if rejected. Good for building a waitlist before your real launch. |
| There's An AI For That | Freemium |
Apps with real AI features | Free basic listing, paid featured placement. Strong AI-discovery search traffic — don't submit a non-AI app here. |
| SharewareOnSale | Free (promo-based) |
Free or limited-time-discount Mac apps | Runs time-limited free/discount promos with newsletter reach — a short traffic + install burst rather than an evergreen listing. |
| AppSumo | Revenue-share |
Apps open to a lifetime-deal promo | Free to apply, AppSumo takes a cut of LTD sales. Huge reach, but only makes sense if you're comfortable with steep discounting. |
| Gumroad Discover | Free listing + % fee |
Apps sold directly (outside the App Store) | Surfaces your product to Gumroad's existing buyer traffic on top of your own sales page. |
| Setapp | Revenue-share |
Polished, actively maintained apps | Apply via their developer program (not open submission). Must be notarized, Developer ID signed, universal binary. High bar, but real recurring subscription revenue. |
| Subreddit | Size | Self-promo rules |
|---|---|---|
| r/macapps | ~233k | Allowed — max one self-promo post per developer per 30 days (counted from your last post, even if it was removed). Must disclose you built it; no affiliate/redirect links. 10 karma minimum to post. |
| r/SideProject | ~180k | Self-promotion is the point of the sub. Disclose you built it, explain what/why/tech/what feedback you want, and engage with other posts — not just drop a link. |
| r/apple | ~6.4M | Self-promo restricted to Sundays only, developers only, and must be a self-post (not a bare link). Posted any other day, it's treated as spam. |
| r/macOS | ~630k | General macOS discussion; no blanket self-promo allowance in the current rules — post rarely, and lead with substance over pitch. |
| r/coolgithubprojects | ~75–118k | Self-promotion allowed; open-source, GitHub-hosted tools do best. Low-effort or vague posts get downvoted fast. |
| r/opensource | Mid-size | Good fit only if your app is genuinely open source — confirm current sidebar rules before posting. |
| r/InternetIsBeautiful | Large | Strict 90/10 rule, no sign-up-gated products, no "directory" sites. Mostly relevant if you have a free, instantly-usable companion web tool rather than the paid Mac app itself. |
| Indie Hackers community | N/A (forum, not a subreddit) | Founder-story-first culture — "I built X, here's what happened" outperforms a bare launch post. |
Star counts as of this writing — these move fast, so treat them as a rough sense of reach, not gospel.
| List | Stars | How to submit |
|---|---|---|
| jaywcjlove/awesome-mac | 114k+ | Open PR: one-line description, correct category, alphabetical order. Actively maintained, the highest-reach Mac-specific list on GitHub. |
| serhii-londar/open-source-mac-os-apps | 50k+ | Open-source Mac apps only, PR-based. Has a companion Telegram channel. |
| iCHAIT/awesome-macOS | 19k+ | Curated Mac apps/tools list, accepts PRs, similar format to the above. |
| jaywcjlove/awesome-swift-macos-apps | 1.6k+ | Niche (Swift/open-source Mac apps specifically) — smaller list, lower bar to get a PR merged. |
| open-saas-directory/awesome-native-macosx-apps | 1.5k+ | Our own sister list — native (Swift/SwiftUI/AppKit) apps only, no Electron. See Contributing Guidelines. |
| alvinunreal/awesome-submitlist | N/A | Not for listing an app directly — a meta-list of 300+ submission directories with pricing, synced weekly. Useful as a secondary research source. |
| sindresorhus/awesome | 500k+ | The root "awesome" meta-list. PRs are currently paused — don't count on landing here right now; check before investing time. |
Most newsletter placements are pitch/relationship-based, not self-serve forms — a short, specific email (what the app does, who it's for, a link to try it) beats a generic press release.
| Newsletter | Audience | How to get featured |
|---|---|---|
| MacStories Weekly | Mac/iOS power users, highly respected in the Apple community | No public submit form — pitch via their contact page. Some inclusion tied to Club MacStories membership. |
| Native Mac Apps (us) | Mac users who specifically want native, non-Electron apps | Free — submit your app or reach out on X / Telegram. |
| Daryl Baxter's App Picks | Indie iOS/Mac/tvOS app followers | Monthly hand-picked list of 5–6 apps, explicitly no AI-generated picks. No public form — pitch directly. |
| Indie Hackers newsletter | Founders/makers | Organic pickup from strong posts on the platform — post a real milestone first, don't pitch the newsletter directly. |
| SharewareOnSale newsletter | Users looking for free/discounted Mac & Windows software | Apply via their site's submission/promo page — works best paired with a limited-time free or discount offer. |
| TLDR Founders | 7M+ subs, ~62% founder/C-level in the Founders edition | Editorial mentions are pitch-based with no public form; guaranteed placement is paid sponsorship via advertise.tldr.tech. |
| iDownloadBlog | Apple enthusiasts | Editorial coverage, pitch-based, no self-serve submission found. |
Pricing and submission flows on these platforms change constantly — this list is only as good as its accuracy. PRs fixing a stale price, a dead link, or a changed self-promo rule are very welcome, as are new platforms that genuinely help someone launch a Mac app.
See CONTRIBUTING.md for the format and rules, or use the submission issue template if you'd rather suggest an addition without opening a PR yourself.
To the extent possible under law, the contributors have waived all copyright and related rights to this work.
⭐ Found this useful? Star the repo so other Mac developers can find it.
🔗 Related from MacNative: MacNative.io · Native Mac Apps newsletter · Awesome Native macOS Apps · Submit your app