Zaptool Research · First-hand submission-route checks
What blocks software directory submissions in 2026
Quick answer
Directory lists usually tell you where a site exists. This study records what each submission route showed up to the point of submitting: whether the route is free, whether an account is required, whether a badge or CAPTCHA appears, and where routes fail. All statistics come from one frozen dataset checked on .
Key findings
- 42.6%323 of 759 (42.6%) candidate domains were directories whose submission requirements were recorded; only 172 of 759 (22.7%) had an open route with a free path.
- 51.7%Accounts were the most often recorded gate: 167 of 323 (51.7%) verified directories required signing in or creating an account; login was not determined for 60 of 323.
- 22.3%72 of 323 (22.3%) verified directories required payment, with no free standard path.
- 22.0%At least 71 of 323 (22.0%) verified directories required a badge or reciprocal link; the requirement was not determined for 83 of 323.
- 17.4%132 of 759 (17.4%) candidates had no working route reachable at check time, and 141 of 759 (18.6%) were not directories at all.
- 6.8%A CAPTCHA that a person must solve appeared on 22 of 323 (6.8%) verified directories.
Methodology and sample definition
How the data was collected
This study uses Zaptool's directory inventory check of , frozen as snapshot zt-dir-20260927-cad0c427. Each candidate domain was checked on that date. The check opened the site and its submission route and recorded, for every gate, whether it was observed as required, observed as not required, or not determined. When a site could not be used, the recorded reason was kept: not a directory, no submission route, no working route, payment-only, badge-only or owner-only.
This is a check of public submission pages, not a record of submissions. The dataset describes what each public route showed before the submit step. It contains no submission outcomes: it does not say whether a listing was approved, how long review took or how a listing links out.
Sample definition
- Snapshot
zt-dir-20260927-cad0c427, checked- Candidate domains
- 759 unique domains; every row in the snapshot
- Verified directories
- 323 of 759 (42.6%) candidates: open plus gated (the denominator for every friction figure)
- Open routes
- 172 of 759 (22.7%) candidates
- Not conclusive
- 113 of 759 (14.9%) candidates were checked but not classified
The submission-friction funnel
Of 759 candidate domains, 646 of 759 (85.1%) could be classified conclusively. 323 of 759 (42.6%) were directories whose submission requirements were recorded, and only 172 of 759 (22.7%) had an open route. Many candidates dropped out before any form was reached: 141 of 759 (18.6%) were not directories and 132 of 759 (17.4%) had no working route at check time.
| Stage | Candidates | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Candidate domains | 759 of 759 (100.0%) | Unique domains in the snapshot. |
| Checked | 759 of 759 (100.0%) | Rows with a recorded check date. 23 of 759 (3.0%) of them were blocked by a challenge before the route could be read. |
| Conclusively classified | 646 of 759 (85.1%) | Verified, or excluded with a recorded reason. |
| Verified directories | 323 of 759 (42.6%) | Directories whose submission requirements were recorded; 24 of 323 have no recorded submission URL. |
| Open route (verified usable) | 172 of 759 (22.7%) | Free path, no mandatory payment or badge, no route observed as broken. |
| Gated | 151 of 759 (19.9%) | The route needed payment, a badge or reciprocal link, or owner-only onboarding. |
| Excluded: not a directory | 141 of 759 (18.6%) | The site does not list products. |
| Excluded: no working route | 132 of 759 (17.4%) | Nothing usable was reachable at check time. This does not assert the business is defunct. |
| Excluded: no submission route | 25 of 759 (3.3%) | No way to submit a product was found. |
| Excluded: check blocked | 23 of 759 (3.0%) | A challenge blocked the check itself, so requirements are unknown. |
| Excluded: other | 2 of 759 (0.3%) | Another recorded reason. |
| Unresolved | 113 of 759 (14.9%) | Checked but not conclusive. |
Login and account requirements
167 of 323 (51.7%) verified directories required signing in or creating an account, 96 of 323 (29.7%) did not, and 60 of 323 (18.6%) were not determined. Accounts are not only a feature of gated directories: even among open routes, 96 of 172 (55.8%) required one.
A Google-only sign-in was recorded for at least 10 of 323 (3.1%); for 177 of 323 (54.8%) the sign-in options were not determined, so that figure is a floor, not an estimate.
| Requirement | Required | Not required | Not determined |
|---|---|---|---|
| Account or sign-in | 167 of 323 (51.7%) | 96 of 323 (29.7%) | 60 of 323 (18.6%) |
| Google-only sign-in | 10 of 323 (3.1%) | 136 of 323 (42.1%) | 177 of 323 (54.8%) |
Badge, payment and CAPTCHA requirements
Payment was required, with no free standard path, on 72 of 323 (22.3%) verified directories; a free path was observed on 240 of 323 (74.3%). Optional paid upgrades were not tracked, so a free path does not mean nothing is for sale.
A badge or reciprocal link was required on at least 71 of 323 (22.0%). The requirement was not determined for 83 of 323 (25.7%), mostly directories already gated by payment or owner-only onboarding, so the real share may be higher.
A CAPTCHA that a person must solve appeared on 22 of 323 (6.8%), while 42 of 323 (13.0%) used an invisible challenge that needs no human action. Separately, 23 of 759 (3.0%) candidates were blocked by a challenge before their submission route could be read.
| Requirement | Required | Not required | Not determined |
|---|---|---|---|
| Payment (no free standard path) | 72 of 323 (22.3%) | 240 of 323 (74.3%) | 11 of 323 (3.4%) |
| Badge or reciprocal link | 71 of 323 (22.0%) | 169 of 323 (52.3%) | 83 of 323 (25.7%) |
| CAPTCHA a person must solve | 22 of 323 (6.8%) | 277 of 323 (85.8%) | 24 of 323 (7.4%) |
| Challenge type | Verified directories |
|---|---|
| None | 235 of 323 (72.8%) |
| Invisible (no human action) | 42 of 323 (13.0%) |
| Interactive (a person must solve it) | 22 of 323 (6.8%) |
| Not determined | 24 of 323 (7.4%) |
Broken forms and hidden late-stage blockers
132 of 759 (17.4%) candidates had no working route at check time: an unreachable or parked domain, a server error, a removed page, closed submissions or an access block. Another 25 of 759 (3.3%) had no submission route at all.
Among verified directories, the recorded route was not a usable form for 22 of 323 (6.8%) and was not determined for 92 of 323 (28.5%).
Blockers that only appear late in a form, after the fields are filled, are not reported in this edition: the published dataset does not record at which step a gate appears.
Product-fit and identity-sensitive exclusions
Fit removes options before friction does. 141 of 759 (18.6%) candidates were not directories. Among verified directories, 118 of 323 (36.5%) list AI products specifically and 37 of 323 (11.5%) are scoped to another niche by category. Check each one's listing criteria before submitting a general software product.
Identity-sensitive gates are recorded when, in the snapshot's definition, “The flow needs something only the product owner can provide (e.g. owner login, company-domain email, owner profile, original long-form copy) or is an owner-only vendor portal.” 9 of 759 (1.2%) candidates were owner-only vendor portals. Across verified directories such a step was recorded as required for at least 24 of 323 (7.4%) and not determined for 255 of 323 (78.9%), so no share is estimated.
AI-only and general software directories are listed separately, with their own gate counts, on the AI tool directories and SaaS directories pages; this study keeps to the whole verified set.
What these findings mean for founders
- Check fit before friction. A directory that does not list your kind of product is a dead end however easy its form is; the fit filters on the verified directory database exist for that reason.
- Plan for accounts. Signing in was the most often recorded gate, including on open routes. Budget time for sign-ups and keep your login details organised.
- Read “free” as dated. A free path is an observation from one check. Confirm it on the directory's page before you count on it.
- Decide your badge policy in advance. Badge and reciprocal-link requirements were common enough to plan for, and they were undetermined on many gated directories.
- Expect no guarantees. None of these figures predicts approval, rankings or traffic; operators decide what they list. How to test AI mentions without assuming a cause is set out in directory submissions and AI search.
Limitations and refresh policy
- One round of checks on one date. A site that was briefly down that day is counted as having no working route.
- Not determined is reported as such and never counted as No. Shares of “required” include only observed requirements, so they are floors where many rows are undetermined.
- Email verification and post-submit actions are not reported: the snapshot did not determine email verification for 293 of 323 (90.7%) verified directories, which is too little coverage for a meaningful figure. The section on them is therefore left out of this edition.
- Badge figures are lower bounds for the same reason.
- No submission URL was recorded for 24 of 323 (7.4%) verified directories: the check recorded their gates, but you will have to find the form on the directory's own site.
- 1 of 323 (0.3%) verified directory was recorded as not active by the site check although its route was classified as verified; it is counted as recorded.
- Late-stage blockers, asset requirements, directory type and fee amounts are not in the published dataset.
- Categories are the ones each directory lists, as classified in the check; “AI-compatible” for general software directories is a category rule, not a per-site confirmation.
- A few directories that this snapshot records as open drew conflicting signals in a later spot check. The figures here count them as recorded; the directory tables hold them back until they are re-checked.
- Refresh policy: every figure comes from this one frozen snapshot and is never combined with other data. When the inventory is re-checked, a new snapshot with its own ID and date will replace this one in full.
- No downloadable dataset is published with this edition.
Data notes
- Snapshot ID
zt-dir-20260927-cad0c427- Check date
- Rows
- 759 candidate domains, none dropped
- Three states
- Boolean requirement fields have three states: true (observed required), false (observed not required) and "unknown" (not determined in this snapshot). "unknown" is never counted as false.
- Denominators
- Funnel and exclusion figures use all candidate domains; friction figures use verified directories. Each figure states its numerator and denominator.
- Rounding
- Percentages are rounded to one decimal place.
Last verified · Snapshot date · Snapshot ID zt-dir-20260927-cad0c427