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Directory submission calculator
Work out how many hours a manual directory campaign takes, how many weeks that is at your real availability, and what the time costs at your hourly value. Then see the same figures beside our plans.
Form, description and reply
Building and checking the list
Logo, copy, screenshots
The defaults are assumptions, not measurements. Change any field to match how you actually work: thirty minutes per directory is one form plus one reply, and your hourly value is whatever you would charge or pay for that hour.
Doing it yourself against a done-for-you plan
Each plan row counts one research pass and one profile preparation for the plan's number of targets, at the minutes per submission above. The plan price is the listed price.
| Plan | Targets | Your hours | Your cost | Plan price | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Focused start | 30 | 21 | $1,050 | $69 | $981 less |
| Organic foundation | 60 | 36 | $1,800 | $119 | $1,681 less |
| Wider discovery | 100 | 56 | $2,800 | $189 | $2,611 less |
A plan buys researched targets and a record of every submission. Your own hours are only cheaper if the time is genuinely available and worth less to you than the plan price.
What the estimate includes
The calculator adds three blocks of work: building and checking the target list, preparing the profile, and filling in forms one at a time. The third block is usually the largest because it repeats for every directory. Move minutes per submission from 30 to 15 and the total roughly halves. Move it to 60 and the total roughly doubles. That sensitivity is the honest part of an estimate like this.
Calendar weeks is total hours divided by the hours you can give each week. It is a planning figure, not a schedule. If your week really has four usable hours rather than five, the campaign takes about a fifth longer.
The comparison table applies the same minutes per submission to each plan's target count, adds one research pass and one profile preparation, and multiplies by your hourly value. The plan price sits beside that figure. Read the difference as the value of the hours you would get back, not as proof that one route is always better. Some founders have more time than money and some have the reverse, which is why every field is editable.
No acceptance rate is applied anywhere. Submissions are counted as work performed, because approval depends on each directory's rules, its queue and how well your product fits its audience.
Frequently asked questions
How accurate is the estimate?
It is arithmetic on the numbers you enter, nothing more. The defaults are guesses about a typical submission, and the total changes in proportion when you change them. Replace all six fields with your own figures before you use the output for a decision.
Why 30 minutes per submission as a default?
It covers opening the form, pasting a prepared description, answering the extra questions and dealing with the confirmation. Some directories take five minutes and some take an hour, which is exactly why the field is editable.
Does the calculator assume directories will accept the submission?
No. Every target is counted as work performed whether or not it is approved. We do not apply an acceptance rate, because approval depends on each directory's own rules and on your product.
Should research and profile preparation be counted once?
For one campaign, yes. A second campaign later usually needs less research, but it still needs a review of the list and an update to the profile, so do not set those fields to zero by habit.
What if I only have two hours a week?
Set the weekly hours field to two and the calendar weeks figure recalculates. The total hours do not change, so the only thing a smaller weekly budget buys you is a longer calendar.
Would you rather spend the hours on the product?
We run one-time campaigns of 30, 60 or 100 manual submissions for one product, with researched targets and a record of every submission. The directory list is public either way.