An indie startup directory that ranks by dwell time rather than votes, and refuses any product whose site will not load in an iframe.
buildhop.io
Eligibility
Who BuildHop accepts
You need
A site that renders in an iframe, with no X-Frame-Options or restrictive frame-ancestors header
An account, by Google or email and password
A logo image and a tagline of 120 characters or less
You'll be rejected if
Sites that send frame-blocking headers, which the form refuses before you can submit
A URL already submitted by someone else
Indie productsDeveloper toolsAI toolsSaaS toolsMarketing toolsDesign workProductivity apps
What you actually get
A listing on a directory of roughly 800 founders, ranked on the leaderboard by watch time and completion rather than upvotes alone. Approved listings carry a dofollow link, and the same submission is passed on to VerifiedDR and FreeScan.
How to submit to BuildHop
1
Create an account
Google or email and password at /auth/sign-up. The submit form lives at /app/create and is not reachable signed out; /app/submit is a 404.
2
Paste the URL and wait for the iframe check
BuildHop fetches your site as you type and reports whether it can be shown in the live preview. A pass reads as iframe preview is allowed; a fail stops the submission there.
3
Upload the logo before anything else
PNG, JPG, WebP or GIF, resized by them to a 256x256 WebP. The upload re-mounts the form, so do it first and fill the text fields after.
4
Fill the five remaining fields
Product name up to 80 characters, tagline up to 120, one category from twelve, maker name up to 40, and an optional X profile link that turns the maker name into a link.
5
Submit for review
You land on the record's own page marked Pending review, editable until approval. The same record appears under Recent Submissions, which is the count worth checking.
BuildHop requirements
A live URL that allows iframe embedding
Logo image (PNG, JPG, WebP or GIF)
Product name, 80 characters maximum
Tagline, 120 characters maximum
One category from their list of twelve
Maker name, 40 characters maximum
X profile link, which makes the maker name clickableoptional
Gotchas
Your site has to load inside their iframe. The form checks for frame-blocking headers the moment you paste the URL, and a site sending X-Frame-Options cannot be submitted at all.
Uploading the logo re-mounts the whole form and empties every field you already filled, so the logo has to go first.
The two extra dofollow backlinks advertised on the form are listings on VerifiedDR and FreeScan: submitting here hands your URL to both of them, not just to BuildHop.
Let your agent submit to BuildHop
Connect SubmitMap to your AI over MCP and this page stops being something you read and copy. Your agent asks for the BuildHop playbook and gets the brief for this exact form, with the values already taken from your submission pack instead of placeholders you fill in by hand.
What it does for this platform
Checks your product against the 5 BuildHop rules above, so you find out you would be rejected before you open a tab.
Hands your agent all 7 fields this form asks for, 1 of them optional, already filled from your pack.
Types it into BuildHop in your own browser, and stops for you when the form wants a sign-in.
Records what it sent, so the dashboard can answer "did I ever submit to BuildHop?".
Connect your agentTools and endpointsWorks with Claude Code, Claude, Codex, Cursor, VS Code and Hermes.
BuildHop FAQ
How long does BuildHop approval take?
BuildHop's typical time from submission to going live is not stated.
How much does it cost to submit to BuildHop?
Submitting to BuildHop is free.
Does BuildHop give a dofollow backlink?
Yes, a listing on BuildHop carries a dofollow link. The site has a domain rating of 43.
Does BuildHop require a backlink to your site?
No, BuildHop does not require a link back from your site.
What gets you rejected from BuildHop?
Sites that send frame-blocking headers, which the form refuses before you can submit; A URL already submitted by someone else.