This page is the complete guide to Next Big Tool. Whether you are a founder preparing to submit your product or a user who wants to discover and engage with new tools, read this before you get started.
These rules keep the platform honest, fair, and worth coming back to.
For Founders
Who can submit a product?
Anyone can submit a product to Next Big Tool, provided they are the founder, owner, or an authorised representative of that product. You must have a legitimate connection to what you are submitting. Submitting a product you do not own or represent is a permanent ban offence.
What kinds of products can be listed?
Next Big Tool accepts software products, SaaS tools, apps, browser extensions, developer tools, AI tools, and digital products broadly. We do not accept physical products, services businesses, agencies, or anything that is not a discrete product a user can sign up for or purchase. If you are unsure whether your product qualifies, email contact@nextbigtool.com before submitting.
What does the submission process look like?
When you submit a product, it enters a Pending Review state. We review every submission manually before it goes live. You will be asked to provide your product URL, name, tagline, description, category, pricing model, logo, and up to five screenshots. You must tick a checkbox confirming you are the legitimate founder or representative of the product. Reviews typically happen within 24 hours. You will receive an email when your product is approved or if it has been rejected with a reason.
What gets a submission rejected?
Common rejection reasons include a product URL that is a coming soon page or dead link, a description that does not match what the product actually does, an obvious duplicate of an existing listing, missing required fields, and anything that appears spammy, misleading, or not a genuine product. If your submission is rejected, you will receive a specific reason and an invitation to resubmit once the issue is resolved.
Can I edit my listing after it goes live?
Yes. You can update your product name, description, tagline, logo, screenshots, and category from your dashboard at any time. Changes do not require re-review unless we determine the product has fundamentally changed in nature.
How does the upvote system work?
Upvotes are the primary signal of a product's popularity on Next Big Tool. Any registered user can upvote a product. Upvotes are public in count but the identities of upvoters are visible only to Core plan founders through the Founder CRM. You cannot upvote your own product. You cannot use multiple accounts to upvote your own product. Any attempt to manipulate the upvote count through bots, fake accounts, or vote-exchange schemes will result in account suspension and removal of the listing.
What is the Build in Public wall?
The Build in Public wall is your product's living timeline. You can post updates, ship announcements, milestone posts, MRR updates, changelog notes, and anything else that shows the journey of building your product. Free plan founders get 5 posts. Core plan founders get unlimited posts. These updates appear on your product page and surface in the global Activity Feed on the homepage, giving you ongoing visibility beyond your initial launch.
What is the Hall of Fame?
The Hall of Fame is a curated section of Next Big Tool that showcases the platform's standout products. Inclusion is not guaranteed and is based on a combination of community engagement, product quality, and editorial judgement. Core plan founders are eligible for consideration. Free plan founders are not. If you are eligible and your product has strong traction on the platform, we will reach out.
What is the re-launch option?
If your product has shipped a major update, pivoted, or significantly improved since your original listing, you can re-launch. A re-launch puts your product back in the new listings feed and treats it as a fresh submission for visibility purposes. Re-launching is available to Core plan founders.
How does the Founder CRM work?
When a user upvotes or follows your product, their profile information (name, email, company, and designation) is added to your Founder CRM dashboard, available to Core plan subscribers. You can send each user one follow-up message. This message must be relevant to your product. It must not be spam. It must not be an unsolicited promotion for an unrelated product or service. Misuse of the Founder CRM messaging feature will result in immediate account suspension.
How does the Press Release work?
Core plan founders receive one press release written specifically about their product. To get started, you will be asked to fill in a brief about your product, your story, and your key value proposition. Our team writes the press release based on your brief, sends it to you for approval, and publishes and distributes it once you sign off. The press release must be factually accurate. We will not publish press releases containing false or misleading claims.
For Users and Buyers
Who is Next Big Tool for?
Next Big Tool is for anyone who wants to discover new software tools, apps, and products before they go mainstream. This includes operators looking for tools to add to their stack, founders scouting for tools their team needs, investors looking for interesting early-stage products, and curious people who simply love finding new things.
Do I need an account to browse?
No. The product discovery feed, categories, and individual product pages are all publicly accessible without an account. You need an account to upvote, follow, or comment on products.
What does upvoting a product mean?
Upvoting a product signals that you find it interesting, useful, or worth sharing. It contributes to the product's visibility on the platform. When you upvote a product, you also consent to sharing your basic profile information (name, email, company, designation) with the founder of that product if they are on the Core plan. This is how the Founder CRM works. You can withdraw this consent at any time from your account settings, which will remove your information from any founder's CRM.
What does following a product mean?
Following a product means you will receive email notifications when the founder posts a new Build in Public update, ships a major milestone, or re-launches. You can manage your followed products and notification preferences from your account settings.
Can I comment on products?
Yes. Registered users can leave comments on any product page. Comments are public. Be respectful, constructive, and relevant. Comments that are abusive, spammy, or off-topic will be removed and the account may be suspended.
How are products ranked?
Products in the Trending feed are ranked by upvote count and engagement within a given time period. The New Today feed shows recently listed products in chronological order. The Top All Time feed ranks products by their all-time upvote total. The Hall of Fame is curated by the Next Big Tool team and is not algorithmically ranked.
Can I report a product?
If you believe a product listing is fraudulent, misleading, or violates our rules, use the Report button on the product page or email contact@nextbigtool.com with details. We review every report and take action where needed.
Community Standards
Next Big Tool is a community built on trust. The following behaviours will result in account suspension or permanent banning:
Creating multiple accounts to manipulate upvotes or rankings.
Submitting products you do not own or represent.
Misusing the Founder CRM messaging feature to send spam or unsolicited promotions.
Leaving fake, paid, or coordinated reviews or comments.
Harassing, threatening, or abusing other users in any way.
Scraping the platform without permission.
Attempting to reverse-engineer or exploit the platform's systems.
We reserve the right to remove any content, suspend any account, or reject any submission that we believe harms the quality or integrity of the platform, even if it does not explicitly violate a stated rule. We will always provide a reason when we take action against an account.