AI · alternatives · 2026

24 alternatives to Startups of the Year 2021

The annual startup awards by HackerNoon. Voted by the community, we reward the brightest minds in software, AI and the future of the internet.

Below are 24 products that do a similar job, ranked by how close each is in meaning and then by launch-day votes. Startups of the Year 2021 launched in 2021; newer entries below may have overtaken it.

1. 1
   The Noonies▲106

   Tech Industry Awards by Hacker Noon

   2019 · noonies.hackernoon.com · its alternatives →

2. 2
   StartKit.AI▲520

   The first SaaS boilerplate for creating AI products

   2024 · startkit.ai · its alternatives →

3. 3
   Proof of Usefulness▲20

   Validation System for Real World Usefulness

   Jul 2026 · proofofusefulness.com · its alternatives →

4. 4
   Get Worm 2.0▲361

   Discover new startups, join early and get exclusive rewards

   2017 · getworm.com · its alternatives →

5. 5
   StartupMate 2.0▲268

   Curated list of 750+ resources for startups & growth hackers

   2020 · its alternatives →

6. 6
   DEV Challenges▲145

   Mini-hackathons to build your portfolio and win cash prizes

   2024 · dev.to · its alternatives →

7. 7
   Startups List▲253

   Collections of the best startups in different places

   2014 · startups-list.com · its alternatives →

8. 8
   StartupSoft's Teams Digest▲197

   40 ready-to-hire developers delivered to your inbox monthly

   2023 · startupsoft.com · its alternatives →

9. 9
   StartupXplorer▲158

   Brilliant startup ideas: your vision, our 'X for Y' magic

   2023 · squidandfish.gumroad.com · its alternatives →

10. 10
    InnovateHunt▲80

    Boost your revenue by featuring your startup on InnovateHunt

    2023 · its alternatives →

11. 11
    Startup Yearbook▲89

    A fun way to show appreciation to online friends

    2021 · startupyearbook.xyz · its alternatives →

12. 12
    X4Y▲144

    A self-hostable AI bot to generate ∞ "X for Y" startup ideas

    2023 · squidandfish.gumroad.com · its alternatives →

13. 13
    Startup Network▲118

    Predicting successful startups using AngelList data

    2014 · prediction.startup-network.org · its alternatives →

14. 14
    Hackernoon 2.0▲22

    How hackers start their afternoon. HackerNoon is a free platform with 25k+ contributing writers. 100M+ humans have visited HackerNoon to learn about technology

    2019 · hackernoon.com · its alternatives →

15. 15
    Tech Company Rankings▲71

    Unique data about which tech companies are rising & falling

    2022 · hackernoon.com · its alternatives →

16. 16
    HackerNoon Mobile App▲111

    Join the journey of tech discovery: read & listen on the go!

    2023 · hackernoon.com · its alternatives →

17. 17
    StartupLynx▲71

    StartupLynx identifies similar startups around the world

    2020 · its alternatives →

18. 18
    i3D Rapid▲98

    Swarm intelligence & AI to identify the hottest start-ups

    2023 · play.google.com · its alternatives →

19. 19HN
    Hacker News Year in Review: 2023▲89

    2024 · public.tableau.com · its alternatives →

20. 20
    StartupCrowns▲112

    The startup community growth game.

    2020 · its alternatives →

21. 21
    Curated list of startup tools in a single page▲43

    Best tool for your startup task, A toolchain for your entire startup.

    2021 · startuptoolchain.com · its alternatives →

22. 22HN
    Hacker News 2018, Year in Review▲87

    2019 · chart.ly · its alternatives →

23. 23
    hackerDen▲77

    Collaborative hackathon workspace with visible contributions

    May 2026 · hackerden.netlify.app · its alternatives →

24. 24
    Startuphack V2▲82

    A community for startups to share and vote on the best links

    2017 · its alternatives →

Ranked by how close each launch is in meaning, then by votes. Prices were read from each product’s own site when checked and can change. Refine with your own description →