Launchdog vs Hacker News (Show HN)
Both are places to launch a product. Hacker News (Show HN) is best for technical projects people can try right away; Launchdog is a weekly launch board you launch from your AI coding agent. Here's how they compare.
Side by side
| Field | Launchdog | Hacker News (Show HN) |
|---|---|---|
| Launch rhythm | ||
| Launch rhythm | Weekly, Monday to Sunday UTC; 50 launches a week. | Continuous; posts move from /shownew to /show as they gain points. |
| Free option | ||
| Free option | Free with the Launchdog badge on your site, in a week at least 7 days out (one every 30 days). | Free with an HN account. It must be something people can try, not a sign-up page. |
| Paid from | ||
| Paid from | $19 to pick any week; Featured $49; Maker Pass $99 a year. | None. |
| Link to your site | ||
| Link to your site | Dofollow and permanent: a paid launch at once, a free one once its badge is seen. | Not stated by Hacker News. |
| How winners are picked | ||
| How winners are picked | Votes from people only, signed in with GitHub or Google; paying never buys rank. | Upvotes (asking friends to upvote isn't allowed). |
| Launching from an agent | ||
| Launching from an agent | Built for it: an MCP server your agent uses to draft, check and book the launch (OAuth sign-in; you approve each step). | No public way to submit from an agent. |
| Best for | ||
| Best for | Makers who build with AI coding agents. | Technical projects people can try right away. |
Which to pick
Pick Hacker News (Show HN) for
Technical projects people can try right away.
news.ycombinator.com/show ↗Pick Launchdog for
Makers who build with AI coding agents. Your agent drafts the listing, works through the checklist and books the week; people vote.
Connect your agent →Many makers launch on both: they're different weeks and different audiences.
Sources
Hacker News (Show HN)'s facts are from its own pages, checked on October 28, 2026:
Out of date? Tell us. All launch boards compared →