15 Free Business Listing Sites That Still Work in 2026 (We Checked Each One)
Most "free business listing sites" articles are the same list copied from year to year. Half the links are dead, some sites now charge, and a few redirect somewhere else entirely. So before writing this, we opened every site ourselves in October 2026.
For each one we checked three things: does the site still load, is there a working way to add or claim a business, and is the basic listing actually free. We also noted what each site asks for, so you know what to have ready.
The result is 15 sites, including ours. Some well-known names didn't make the cut, and we explain why near the end.
Before you start: have these details ready
You'll fill in the same information again and again, so put it in a note or spreadsheet first and copy from there. That keeps every listing identical, which matters more than most people think.
- Business name exactly as it appears on your signage and website. No extra keywords.
- Address written the same way every time (decide now whether it's "Suite 120" or "Ste 120").
- Phone number with the area code, ideally a local number rather than a call-tracking one.
- Website URL and a business email on your own domain if you have one.
- Opening hours, your main category and two or three secondary ones.
- A short and a long description. Write a 2–3 sentence version and a longer 250+ word version. Some sites, ours included, ask for the longer one.
- Your logo and 5–10 real photos of your work, team or premises.
The 15 free business listing sites at a glance
| Site | Best for | What to expect |
|---|---|---|
| Google Business Profile | Every business | Free. Verification required |
| Bing Places | Every business | Free. Can import from Google |
| Apple Business | iPhone and Apple Maps users | Free. Phone or document check |
| Facebook Page | Local and consumer businesses | Free. Needs a personal account |
| LinkedIn Company Page | B2B and professional services | Free. Needs a personal profile |
| Yelp | Restaurants, home services, local shops | Free page. Ads are paid |
| Biz Listing Online | Local businesses worldwide | Free. Reviewed by a person |
| Foursquare | Location data used by other apps | Free claim |
| BBB | US and Canadian businesses | Free profile. Accreditation is paid |
| Nextdoor | Neighborhood services | Free page. Ads are paid |
| ChamberofCommerce.com | US small businesses | Free basic listing |
| Manta | US small businesses | Free listing. May block non-US visitors |
| MerchantCircle | US local merchants | Free listing |
| Hotfrog | Businesses in many countries | Free. Account needed first |
| Brownbook | Global, quick to publish | Free listing, claim and Profile+ |
1. Google Business Profile
If you only do one listing, do this one. Your Google Business Profile is what shows up on Google Maps and in the box on the right (or top, on mobile) when someone searches your business name. It's where most of your reviews will end up too.
What to expect: Creating the profile is free. Google will ask you to verify that the business is real. Depending on your business type, that can be a short video of your premises, a code by phone, text or email, or sometimes a postcard. Service-area businesses (plumbers, cleaners and so on) can hide their address and show a service area instead.
Tip: Pick your primary category carefully. It has a bigger effect on which searches you appear for than almost anything else on the profile.
2. Bing Places for Business
Bing's share of search is small, but its business data also shows up across Microsoft products, including Copilot, and setting it up takes ten minutes. When we visited, the old bingplaces.com address opened Bing's "for business" page, which advertises listing your business on Bing for free.
What to expect: Free. If you already have a Google Business Profile, you can import your details from it instead of typing everything again. That's the fastest listing on this page.
3. Apple Business (formerly Apple Business Connect)
This one changed in 2026. Apple replaced Apple Business Connect with a single platform called Apple Business, which launched on April 14, 2026. The old businessconnect.apple.com address now redirects to business.apple.com, and existing place cards were moved over automatically.
What to expect: Managing your Apple Maps place card is free. If your business already appears on Apple Maps, Apple usually verifies it by calling the phone number it has on file and asking for a four-digit code. For a new business, it asks for proof such as a D-U-N-S number or EIN, a DNS record on your domain, or a document like a business licence or utility bill. Reviews can take up to five business days.
It's worth the effort. Every iPhone user who searches in Apple Maps or asks Siri for a nearby business sees this data.
4. Facebook Business Page
Plenty of customers still check a business's Facebook page to see if it's active, look at photos or send a quick message. A page also shows up in Google results for your business name.
What to expect: Free. You create the page from a personal Facebook account, then add your address, hours, phone and category. Post every now and then. A page with nothing since 2021 does more harm than no page.
5. LinkedIn Company Page
For consultants, agencies, law firms, accountants and any business that sells to other businesses, LinkedIn is often the second thing people check after your website. The company page also ranks well for your brand name.
What to expect: Free. You need a personal LinkedIn profile to create it. Fill in the website, industry, company size and location fields completely.
Create a LinkedIn Company Page
6. Yelp
Yelp matters most for restaurants, home services, salons, auto repair and other local trades, mainly in the US. Even if you never set up a page, there's a good chance Yelp already has one for you, built from public data. Claiming it lets you fix the details and reply to reviews.
What to expect: Free. Search for your business name. If it's already there, you claim it; if not, Yelp lets you add it. You'll see offers for paid ads and free trials of upgrades. You don't need any of them to have a working page.
Tip: Don't ask customers to review you on Yelp in bulk. Yelp's filter is strict and tends to hide reviews from new or one-time accounts.
7. Biz Listing Online
Yes, this is us, so take this section with that in mind. Biz Listing Online is a free directory where customers search for local businesses by category and city, read reviews and contact the business directly. We run it, review the submissions and wrote this post, so here is exactly how it works.
What to expect:
- It's free. No setup fee and no credit card.
- Two ways to add a listing. Quick add takes about two minutes (name, category, city, phone, email). The full form covers location, contact details, amenities, opening hours, offers and SEO fields.
- A real person reviews every listing before it goes live. We check the category, contact details and description, and turn down duplicates, keyword-stuffed descriptions and listings with spam links.
- Descriptions need at least 250 words. That's deliberate. A proper description helps customers decide and gives search engines something to work with. Write about what you do, who you serve and the areas you cover, not a list of keywords.
- You can pick more than one category. The first one you choose becomes your main category.
- Already listed? Claim the existing listing instead of adding a new one, so you don't end up with duplicates.
If you want the full walkthrough, we have a step-by-step guide to listing your business for free.
List your business free on Biz Listing Online
8. Foursquare
Most people stopped using the Foursquare app years ago, but the company's places database is licensed to other apps and services. A correct record there can spread further than the Foursquare site itself.
What to expect: Go to the business listings page, search by location and business name, and claim your listing or add it if it's missing. You'll need to log in or create a Foursquare account.
Go to Foursquare Business Listings
9. Better Business Bureau (BBB)
A BBB profile carries weight with older customers and in trades where trust is a big deal: roofing, contracting, moving, auto repair. A lot of people mix up the profile with accreditation, so to be clear: they are not the same thing.
What to expect: The BBB Business Profile is free. Their "Get listed" page asks you to search first, so you claim an existing profile rather than create a duplicate. BBB Accreditation is a separate paid program with its own standards. You don't need it to have a profile.
10. Nextdoor
Nextdoor is where neighbors ask "does anyone know a good electrician?" If you serve a local area, a business page lets people recommend you by name. Nextdoor says more than one million businesses have claimed a page.
What to expect: The business page is free. Nextdoor will push its paid local ads quite hard, but the free page and neighbor recommendations work without them.
11. ChamberofCommerce.com
This is a national online directory, not your local Chamber of Commerce, which is easy to confuse. The add-business form was working when we checked, with a "Join Chamber Free Today" heading.
What to expect: The form asks for your business name, address, phone and category, and there's an option to hide your phone number. The site promotes a paid Premium listing for top placement in your city. The free one is enough for a citation.
Add your business on ChamberofCommerce.com
12. Manta
Manta is one of the older US small-business directories and still appears on most citation lists. It offers a free company listing and a "Claim My Listing" option, with paid premium plans on top.
One thing to know: when we opened Manta from India, the site blocked us with a "Sorry, you have been blocked" page. If you or your agency work from outside the US, you may not be able to reach it without a US connection. US-based owners shouldn't have this problem.
13. MerchantCircle
MerchantCircle is a US network for local merchants, with listings, deals and how-to articles for homeowners. Its home page offers to "set up your free listing in under 5 minutes."
What to expect: A short free sign-up. Be aware the site isn't always reliable: it loaded fine on our first visit, but on the second it returned an error page. If that happens, try again later.
14. Hotfrog
Hotfrog runs directories in a number of countries and is a common entry on citation lists. Many older articles still link to hotfrog.com/add-business, which returned a 404 page when we tried it.
What to expect: Use the "Add a business" button on the home page instead. It takes you to a login page, so you need to create a free Hotfrog account before you can add your listing.
15. Brownbook
Brownbook calls itself a global business listing database and shows 44.6 million businesses on its home page. Its pitch is simple: free listing, free claim, and a free "Profile+" with extra details and images.
What to expect: Fast and free, with an "Add a New Business" button in the top corner. Moderation looks light, though. When we visited, the "Recently added" section included a betting website alongside real businesses. Your listing will go live quickly, but don't expect the same quality filter as on Google or Yelp.
Sites we left out (and why)
A few names appear on almost every "free listing sites" article but didn't make our list this time:
- EZlocal and Cylex: both stayed stuck on a "Just a moment..." security check that never cleared for us.
- Lead platforms like Angi and Thumbtack: you can create a profile for free, but you pay for leads, so they aren't free listings in the usual sense.
How to get the most from these listings
Listing your business on 15 sites won't do much if the details are messy. A few habits make a real difference:
- Start with the big four: Google, Apple, Bing and Facebook. Then add Yelp, Biz Listing Online and the rest.
- Keep your name, address and phone identical everywhere. Copy and paste them from your note instead of retyping.
- Don't paste the same description on every site. Rewrite it a little for each one. Duplicate text looks lazy to customers and often gets rejected by moderated directories like ours.
- Search before you add. Many of these sites already have a listing for you built from public data. Claim it rather than creating a second one.
- Keep a simple spreadsheet of every site, the login email, the date you submitted and the listing URL. When you move or change your phone number, you'll know exactly where to update.
- Add photos and hours. A listing with real photos and opening hours tells customers you're open and active. A bare one makes them wonder.
For more on writing a listing that actually brings in customers, read our guide on how to optimize your business listing.
Frequently asked questions
Are free business listing sites still worth it in 2026?
Yes, but for different reasons than ten years ago. A handful of directories still send customers directly (Google, Apple Maps, Yelp, Nextdoor). The rest help by confirming your name, address and phone across the web, which search engines and AI assistants use when deciding which local businesses to show and recommend.
How many sites should I list my business on?
Quality beats quantity. The 15 on this page are plenty for most small businesses. After that, focus on directories specific to your industry and your city rather than chasing hundreds of generic sites.
Do I need a website to list my business?
No. Most sites on this list let you create a listing without one. A website does help with verification on some platforms (Apple, for example, accepts a DNS record as proof), and it gives customers somewhere to go after they find you.
How long does it take for a listing to appear?
It varies. Some sites publish instantly. Google and Apple can take a few days because of verification. On Biz Listing Online, a person reviews each listing before it goes live, so expect a short wait rather than instant publishing.
Will duplicate listings hurt my business?
They can confuse customers and split your reviews across two pages. If you find a duplicate, claim both and ask the site to merge or remove one, rather than leaving them both up.
Get your first free listing done today
Pick one site from this list and finish it today, ideally Google Business Profile if you haven't already. Then work through the rest over a week or two. If you'd like to add Biz Listing Online to that list, it takes about two minutes with quick add.