How to Launch on Peerlist Launchpad: A Prep Checklist
How to launch on Peerlist Launchpad: the profile requirements that gate a launch, the project fields to fill, how the launch week works and what to expect.
By Mark Fulton ·
To launch on Peerlist Launchpad, you need a verified individual profile (not a company page), a project on that profile filled in to 100% completion, and a launch started on a Monday or scheduled ahead for a later week. Peerlist's help centre says the launch window opens on Monday and the launch runs for a week, with the first two days shown in random order so every project gets equal exposure. The prep that matters is on the maker side: a profile with some history, a project page with every field filled, and a plan to talk to people instead of asking for votes. Do the profile work first, because a project that is not complete will fail to launch.
Peerlist is a professional network for builders first and a launch board second. That changes how you prepare. On a pure launch site you polish one page. On Peerlist the page is judged next to the person who made it, so the checklist has two parts: the profile gates, then the project fields.
How does Peerlist Launchpad work week to week?
Launchpad runs on a weekly cycle. Per Peerlist's Launchpad FAQ, the launch window opens on Monday and the launch continues for a week. On launch day you open the Launchpad page, press the Launch button, pick one of your eligible projects from the list and confirm. The project goes live right away.
Three details are worth knowing before you plan around it:
- You can schedule. If you will miss Monday, you can open the project, press Launch and schedule it for a later week instead. Schedule it before the week starts and check the project is complete, because an incomplete project fails at launch time.
- Monday and Tuesday are shuffled. Peerlist says projects appear in random order for the first two days, so a Monday launch gets no head start over one launched on Tuesday.
- Ranking is a blend, not a vote count. The score takes in upvotes, comments, views, link visits and overall traction. Peerlist says only qualitative comments count, and that upvotes and feedback from verified profiles carry more weight.
One more thing the help centre states plainly: not every project receives a backlink from Peerlist. Only the top five projects of the week do.
What does your profile need before you can launch?
This is the part most launch guides skip, and it is the part that stops people. Treat it as a gate checklist and work through it a week or two before you want to launch.
| Gate | What Peerlist says | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Verified profile | Launchpad is open to anyone with a verified Peerlist profile | Complete verification in your account settings before launch week |
| Individual profile | Only individual profiles can launch. The profile needs a valid name and profile picture and must not represent a company | Launch from your own account, with your own name and a real photo |
| Project on your profile | The project must be added to your profile, with the mandatory fields filled in | Add it from the Work tab, not on launch day |
| 100% complete | Only fully complete projects are eligible | Check the completion indicator before the week starts |
| No agency launches | SEO agencies are prohibited from launching on behalf of clients | Launch it yourself |
Verification has two forms. Per Peerlist's verification page, workplace verification is free and identity verification carries a small fee, and the name on your ID must match your profile name. The page also notes verification is optional for having a profile. It is not optional for Launchpad, so do it early in case a check takes a few days.
The other profile signal is activity. Peerlist tracks a daily streak. Its streaks page says that a streak of 14 days or more earns a Super Upvote, which counts double. Streaks are built by posting, giving feedback on launches, upvoting launched projects and engaging with other people's posts. Days are counted in UTC, so a "day" may not match your local calendar.
That is why the practical advice from people who have won a week is to arrive early. One maker who took the top spot for a week wrote that they spent over 100 days on the network before launching, and warned against launching in your first week of joining. Whether or not you need 100 days, the logic holds: the people who vote on your project are the people you have been talking to.
What goes into each project field?
Peerlist's project guide lists what the Add Project form asks for. Here it is as a second checklist, with a "done" test for each field.
| Field | What the form asks | Done test |
|---|---|---|
| Project name | The product's name | Matches the name on your landing page exactly |
| Tagline | A short line under the name | Says what it does in plain words. Read it aloud to someone who has never heard of the app |
| Project URL | A demo link or landing page | Loads fast, works logged out, shows the product above the fold |
| Cover images | Up to four | All slots used, each one showing a real screen |
| Video URL | Optional | A short screen recording of the main flow beats a talking intro |
| Tools and tech stack | What you built it with | Complete, since builders browse by stack |
| Category | The project's category | Pick the one a stranger would browse, not the one you like |
| Open source | A yes/no checkbox | Tick it honestly, and link the repo in the description if yes |
| Description | Highly recommended | Fully written, with the story and not only a feature list |
Peerlist's own tip on that page is to add as much detail as possible, because it helps the project show up in Google search. That is a reason to write the description properly even though the form does not force you to.
On limits: the help centre does not publish character counts, and a third-party launch guide reports figures such as a 60-character tagline and a 500 by 500 pixel logo. Those may be right today and wrong next month. Treat any number you read as a guess until the live form confirms it, and write your tagline well under whatever limit you see. A short line also reads better in a feed. If you want the craft side, how to write an app tagline covers the constraint version, and the app directory submission checklist covers the shared asset pack so you only write your copy once.
How do you use the launch week well?
The launch is a week long, and the page is only half the work. The other half is behaving like a member of the community.
Before the week. Post build updates on your profile. Give real feedback on other people's launches and upvote ones you like. This builds the streak and puts your name in front of the people who will see your launch.
During the week. Reply to every comment, and make the replies specific. Peerlist says only qualitative comments feed the ranking, so a "congrats!" does little, and a question about how you handled a tricky bit does more. Share the project link in short text posts about something you learned building it. Link previews on Peerlist expand into a card with an upvote button, so a text-only post with the link gives people a one-tap way to support you.
After the week. Post what happened, with whatever numbers you are comfortable sharing, and thank the people who commented. The next launch will be easier if people remember you as someone who stayed.
What to avoid. The rules are blunt. The guidelines page warns of zero tolerance for spam, including messaging people you do not know to share your launch link and ask for upvotes, over-sharing your link on the feed, and replying to other people's posts asking for upvotes. It also says not to ask for upvotes at all and to ask for comments and shares on other platforms instead. If you are used to Product Hunt, our guide on whether you can ask for upvotes there shows the same instinct is right on both sites: ask people to try the thing and say what they think.
What kind of project does well on Peerlist?
Peerlist's FAQ says anything that is a project or product can launch, and gives three families of examples: code projects such as dev tools, browser extensions and libraries; design projects such as Figma files, plugins and portfolios; and digital products such as ebooks, Notion templates and UI kits.
Reading the board, the pattern is projects a builder can understand in a few seconds and try without a long signup. A small tool with a clear job and a working demo is the natural fit. A broad platform with a sales call at the end is not.
Some things are not allowed: products that are unsafe for users' privacy or security, copies or ripoffs of other products, products you do not own, and anything pornographic or related to betting or gambling. Repeated violations lead to profile suspension.
If you are deciding where to spend launch energy, the same audience logic applies across platforms. Our comparison of Product Hunt alternatives for indie apps lays out which communities suit which kind of project.
What should you not expect from a Peerlist launch?
Be realistic, and use that to set the right goal.
- Not a guaranteed backlink. Only the top five projects of the week get one, per the help centre. Whether that link is followed is not stated there, so do not build a plan around link equity.
- Not a flood of customers. Peerlist is a community of builders. Expect feedback, comments and some early users, and treat sales as a bonus. Builders are the most useful testers you can find, even when they are not your customers.
- Not a one-shot. Because you can launch a project each week, you have room to try different projects and improve between launches instead of staking everything on one.
- Not something you can hire out. The rules ban agencies from launching for clients.
If your goal is reviews, replies and a few people actually trying the app, it is a good place to spend a week. If your goal is traffic at scale, you will be disappointed. Our post on whether any single launch platform is worth it makes the same case about the biggest one.
A short prep timeline
- Two weeks out: verify your profile, add the project, start posting and giving feedback on other launches.
- One week out: fill every project field, upload all cover images, record a short demo, write the description.
- Friday before: check the project shows as 100% complete. Schedule the launch if you will be away on Monday.
- Launch week: reply to everything, post short text updates, share on your other channels once.
- The week after: post a recap and thank people.
Peerlist prep done. If you also want a listing that needs no streak, no verification and no launch week, paste your URL and submit your app to TryMy for free. It is reviewed by a person before it goes live, and it sits alongside your Peerlist launch instead of competing with it.
FAQ
Is Peerlist Launchpad free?
Launching is not described as a paid feature in the help centre. The costs that do appear are on the profile side: Peerlist says workplace verification is free and identity verification has a small fee. Check the current price in your account before relying on it.
Can a company profile launch a project on Peerlist?
No. Peerlist says only individual profiles can launch, with a valid name and profile picture, and that a profile representing a company can have its project suspended or removed. Launch from your own account.
How long does a Peerlist launch last?
A week. The launch window opens on Monday and the launch runs through the week. Monday and Tuesday show projects in random order, and ranking then reflects upvotes, qualitative comments, views, link visits and traction.
Are Peerlist project links dofollow?
Peerlist's help centre does not say. It does say that only the top five projects of the week receive a backlink, so most launches will not get one at all. Launch for the feedback and the early users, and treat any link value as unconfirmed.