Tagline examples for startups: 41,861 launches and 149 directory forms

Every place you launch a product asks for one line about it: Hacker News in the title, Product Hunt under the name, each directory in a field called "Tagline". That line is often all a visitor reads before deciding to click. So what do good ones say, and how long can they be?

We read the taglines of all 41,861 Show HN posts from January to October 2026, and compared them with how many points each post got. We also went through the 149 directory submission forms we recorded in October 2026, to see what each one asks for and how long it lets a tagline be. This is what we found:

• A tagline of 60 characters fits every directory form. 58 forms state a limit: the strictest allow 60 characters, the most generous 300.
• Most launches already fit. The median Show HN tagline is 48 characters, 8 words. 85% are 60 characters or shorter.
• Saying what you replace stands out. Taglines with "alternative to" or "like X but" reached 100 points 4.2% of the time, against 1.6% for all posts.
• Numbers, "open source" and the first person help too: 2.5%, 2.3% and 2.2%.
• "AI" in the tagline doesn't. A third of the taglines mention AI, agents or LLMs, and 1.0% of them reached 100 points. Taglines built as "X for Y" did about as poorly: 1.1%.
• The tagline is one field of many. Directory forms ask for a screenshot more often (63%) than for a tagline (47%), and half of them want a long description too.

How we checked#

• The launches. Hacker News lists 41,861 Show HN posts from January 1 to October 31, 2026. Most titles read "Show HN: Name – what it is". We took the part after the name as the tagline, or the whole title when there was no name: 62% of the posts had a name and a tagline.
• The patterns. We sorted the taglines by how they are written: whether they start with a verb, name what they replace, contain a number, say where the product runs, mention AI. A tagline can match several patterns.
• The result. For each pattern, the share of posts that reached 10 points and 100 points. 100 points is our own mark for a launch that got noticed.
• The directory forms. The 149 submission forms we recorded while preparing our catalog: every field, its label and the limit it showed or enforced.

These are correlations. A tagline that names what it replaces often belongs to a product people already wanted. Read the patterns as what successful launches have in common, not as a formula.

Tagline examples from launches that got noticed#

These are real taglines from 2026 posts that reached 100 points or more, grouped by the way they are written.

Say what it replaces#

The reader already knows Obsidian, SQLite or Jira, so they understand your product in two seconds. 408 taglines did this, 1% of all posts, and 4.2% of them reached 100 points.

Put a number in it#

A number is a claim the reader can check: a size, a speed, a count. 14.5% of the taglines had one, and 2.5% of them reached 100 points.

Say what it is, plainly#

"A [kind of thing] for [job]": the most common shape, 21% of taglines, at 1.9%. It works when the kind of thing is specific: "menu bar app", "multitrack audio editor", not "platform" or "solution".

Say where it runs#

The terminal, macOS, the browser, Android: the reader knows at once whether it is for them. 12% of taglines, 2.0%.

Start with what the user does#

Taglines that start with a verb did a little worse on average (1.3%), but the best of them describe one concrete action and an image, not "Build", "Manage" or "Streamline" followed by a category.

Tell the story in one line#

First-person taglines reached 100 points 2.2% of the time. They work on Hacker News, where people show what they made. On a directory, where the tagline sits next to hundreds of others, the plain "what it is" usually reads better.

What didn't stand out#

• AI first. 32% of the 2026 taglines mention AI, agents or LLMs. When every tagline says it, it no longer tells the reader anything. Say what the product does with it.
• "X for Y". "Notion for lawyers", "Stripe for creators": 27% of the taglines used "for", and they reached 100 points 1.1% of the time. It works when both halves are clear; many leave the reader to guess what the product does.
• Superlatives. "Fastest", "simplest", "best": 3.4% of the taglines, 1.5%. A number makes the same claim and can be checked.
• Length. Taglines under 40 characters did a little better (2.0%) than those from 41 to 80 (1.5%). The difference is small: a clear 60-character line beats a vague 30-character one.

What directory forms ask for#

A directory listing is more than a tagline. Besides the address and the name, the forms we recorded asked for:

Some labels differ: "Headline", "One-line tagline", "Product punchline". The limits differ too, and not every form says it: 58 tagline fields stated a number of characters, from 60 to 300. One form allowed a long description of 260 characters, another 20,000.

Write it once, in three lengths#

Most launches rewrite their description on every form. Write three versions once, and paste them:

1. A tagline of 60 characters or less. It fits every form we recorded, and Hacker News' title. Name what it is, for whom or what it replaces.
2. A short description of about 160 characters. One or two sentences: what it does, who it is for, one fact (a price, a number, a platform).
3. A long description of 500 to 1,000 characters. What it does, how it works, who made it, what it costs. Most forms accept 1,000 characters or more; the few with a lower limit will cut a 500-character version less.

Keep your logo, a few screenshots, your pricing model and your X account in the same place.

How to write a tagline#

1. Start from what the product is. A "menu bar app", a "Postgres extension", an "invoice tool": a kind of thing the reader recognizes.
2. Add for whom, or what it replaces. "for freelancers", "for macOS", "alternative to Jira".
3. Add one fact if you have it. A size, a speed, a price, a count: "in 500 lines", "14MB", "$5 a month".
4. Cut the words that could describe any product. "Powerful", "seamless", "all-in-one", "AI-powered", "platform".
5. Count the characters. 60 or fewer, and it fits everywhere.
6. Read it next to others. On a directory page, your line sits in a list of fifty. If it could be swapped with your neighbour's, it says too little.

Some templates, with the patterns that did best:

• "[Kind of tool] for [audience]": a menu bar app for inspecting USB-C cables.
• "Open-source alternative to [known product]".
• "[Known product] for [new use], [fact]": like SQLite but for graph databases.
• "[Action] from [where it runs]": track your house from the terminal.

Where Submitium fits#

Each directory form asks for the same things in a different order and a different length. We fill them in for you: you give us your tagline, your descriptions and your images once, and we submit your product to directories with an Ahrefs DR4 of 10 or more within 48 business hours of your payment, with a screenshot of every form. We confirm the directories' emails, keep their badges in one badge wall on your site, and check the link on each live listing six times over 90 days.

A directory costs $0.99, less from the 51st, and a first order starts at 30 directories. See the pricing and the full list of directories. For where else to launch, see our list of launch platforms and what we learned from 40,874 Show HN posts.

Questions#

What is a tagline for a startup?#

One line that says what the product is and for whom, shown next to its name. Directories, Product Hunt and Hacker News all ask for one. The best ones in our data name the kind of product, what it replaces or where it runs, and fit in 60 characters.

How long should a tagline be?#

60 characters or fewer. In the 149 directory forms we recorded, the strictest limit was 60 characters and the most generous 300. The median Show HN tagline of 2026 was 48 characters.

What is the difference between a tagline and a slogan?#

A slogan sells a brand ("Just do it"). A tagline for a product launch describes the product ("Open-source alternative to Obsidian"). On a directory, nobody knows your brand yet: describe.

Should I put AI in my tagline?#

Only if it says what the product does with it. In 2026, a third of Show HN taglines mentioned AI, agents or LLMs, and they reached 100 points less often than the others: 1.0% against 1.6%.

What do directories ask for when you submit a product?#

Besides the address and the name: a screenshot (63% of the forms we recorded), a long description and categories (54%), a logo (52%), a tagline and a short description (47%), the pricing model (42%) and an X account (40%).

Can I use the same description on every directory?#

Yes, if you write it in three lengths: a 60-character tagline, a 160-character short description and a 500 to 1,000-character long description. That covers almost every form we recorded.