LaunchWakeChannels / Hacker News — Show HN vs Product Hunt
Head to head
Hacker News — Show HN vs Product Hunt
Which is the better place to launch your product — and what does it take to post safely in each?
The short answer
Both carry low ban risk, so choose by audience: Hacker News — Show HN reaches ~5M developers & founders · very high intent, while Product Hunt reaches makers, early adopters, PMs. If your product speaks to both, post to each — with a native angle per channel, never the same text twice.
The rules, side by side
Hacker News — Show HN
Ban risk
Low
Best time to post
Tue–Thu 8am ET
Audience
~5M developers & founders · very high intent
Show HN is for something you built that people can try. Lead with the problem and the build story, not marketing. No hype adjectives. Reply to every comment. Title format: 'Show HN: <what it is>'.
- Lead with what it is and the problem it solves, in plain language.
- Use the 'Show HN:' title format when it's something people can try.
- Reply to every comment quickly — engagement is the whole game.
Product Hunt
Ban risk
Low
Best time to post
Tue 00:01 PT
Audience
makers, early adopters, PMs
Launch goes live 00:01 PT and runs 24h. Prepare assets (gallery, first comment, maker story) ahead. Rally your network early; don't buy upvotes (grounds for removal). One clear tagline.
- Prepare the gallery, tagline, and maker's first comment in advance.
- Go live at 00:01 PT and rally your network early in the day.
- Built for sharing what you made — no promo-specific restrictions beyond the format.
- Outbound links belong in the first comment, not the post.
Or skip the guesswork entirely.
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