Advantages of launching during the week vs. Advantages of launching during the weekend (Explained)
I know this topic has been here a million times (and people will still ask me a few more times after that). 😀
I personally see advantages in both cases, but maybe one more advantage when it comes to launching during the week.
Very briefly:
Launching during the week – strongest days (Tue, Wed, Thurs)
More people see your product (but higher competition)
Higher traffic to your page if you are featured
Launching during the weekend – Sat, Sun
Higher chance of getting a placement, Product of the day – Less competition
And also fewer people on the platform, lower visibility
Everything has its advantages and disadvantages; it depends on the preferences and goals of the individual.
So why do I think that during the week is better?
Because during the week:
– You are not only trying for a badge (placement), but you are also exposing your product to a wider audience.
– You can get "just" a badge during the weekend, and the publicity won't be as much.
Yes, it's arguable that the badge works as a trustbuilder in the long run when you get it.
But imagine getting a badge + publicity. (during the work week) It is still > having "only" a badge (weekend)
I'm curious about how you see Product Hunt scheduling on individual days and what suits you more with your product launch.
Replies
Great topic, Nika! :)
My core belief is... launch when you're ready, not when the calendar says you should!
The PR industry often recommends launching between Wednesday and Thursday, avoiding Mondays (everyone’s catching up) and Fridays (people are mentally checking out for the weekend).
That advice isn’t wrong, but it’s also not a rule.
I’ve seen many products perform extremely well on Mondays and Fridays. In practice, your launch success depends far more on your product story and distribution + readiness than the day of the week.
In fact, Tuesday to Thursday can sometimes be too competitive. So many products launch on those days that traffic gets split across dozens of listings. You’re competing with more products for the same attention, which can actually reduce visibility.
Weekdays vs Weekends: What Works Best
B2B products perform better on weekdays (Monday–Thursday) when people are in “work mode.”
Lifestyle or consumer products can perform very well on weekends, when people are relaxed and browsing for things they’ll use in their daily lives.
Newsletter & Editorial Myths (Clearing the Confusion)
There’s a common myth that launching on Friday or Saturday means no visibility. That’s not entirely true. Here’s how it actually works:
Friday launches can still be editorially featured on Friday. The Friday newsletter mainly highlights Thursday’s top products, but the editorial team also picks three editorial choices, and Friday launches can be included there.
For Saturday launches there is no daily newsletter coverage. However, you can still be included in weekly editorial curation on Sunday.
Sunday launches
Strong underrated option.
Your product appears in the Monday newsletter, giving you fresh weekday visibility with less competition.
Some products have even won Product of the Week after launching on Friday, Saturday or Sunday. It’s rare, but it happens.
Another myth: “Indie hackers or small teams should only launch on weekends.”
Not true. Solo founders and small teams get featured on weekdays simply because their product had novelty and clarity. Team size doesn’t determine timing, value does.
My Final Recommendation
If you’re ready → launch (don't overthink the timing.
If you want less competition → Sunday is underrated
If you want work-focused traction → weekday
If your product is lifestyle-driven → weekend works
If you’re worried about newsletters → Sunday to Thursday is safest
At the end of the day, distribution, storytelling and showing up matters far more than the launch date.
That’s my two cents based on hunting ~350 launches.
P.S. If anyone is using this comment on their blog posts, social media, etc., please credit my profile @rohanrecommends.
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@rohanrecommends Brilliant. I think that you should turn this comment into the post as well :) You both, @byalexai and you spread wisdom all over there :)
@busmark_w_nika Thanks Nika. Your posts inspire me to share my two cents. :)
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@rohanrecommends Have you already published it? :)
@busmark_w_nika Haha, not yet, I will do soon :D
Perfect timing for this post — planning my PH launch soon!
@rohanrecommends your point about lifestyle products on weekends is interesting. SelfOS is a life planner (tasks + habits + goals), so technically lifestyle, but the pain point hits hardest on Monday morning when people realize their week is chaos.
Would you say Tuesday is the sweet spot for this kind of product?
Also curious about something else — what are realistic expectations for a solo founder launching without rallying friends/family to vote? I've seen advice everywhere saying "build a launch team, DM everyone" but honestly that feels spammy. Has anyone here launched purely organically and still got decent traction?
@virtualviki You must launch when you're ready. For a product like yours, I would like checking it out on a Sunday or Monday.
You can definitely rally support from your network, however, if the product has organic pull then it gets attention anyway. I see big tech launches and extremely novel product ideas get a lot of organic engagement on PH.
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@rohanrecommends @virtualviki When it comes to support from your family, it can be good, but avoid that thing that they will create an account on the launch day. It will be very suspicious for the Product Hunt team and their "bot triggers".
I completely agree with what you’re saying. However, there’s one thing that, in my opinion, makes launching on the weekend actually make sense.
Indie hackers. Solopreneurs. For them, the weekend is often the much better option. First, the Product Hunt team is generally quite open to featuring products like these.
Second, the huge teams with big budgets and heavy resources are usually not competing then, which gives indie hackers a real chance to win. And let’s be honest when you’re solo, without a team, marketing power, or resources, it’s hard to compete. Yes, it can happen, but not always. So there is a solid rationale for launching on the weekend.
For startups, I almost always advise launching during the week. Visibility is a very important factor, and it doesn’t make much sense to ignore it.
There’s also a very important point in favor of weekday launches: the weekly ranking. If you want to compete for Product of the Week, it’s practically impossible to win if you launch on Friday, Saturday, or Sunday. Time-wise, you simply don’t have enough runway. Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays have lower traffic to begin with. On top of that, having your product in the rankings for 3–4 extra days is a huge advantage. And Product of the Week brings additional traffic.
One downside of launching on Friday or Saturday is that you won’t be included in Product Hunt’s daily newsletter which means losing yet another visibility channel.
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@byalexai Spot on! I totally forgot about solo founders. Anyway, I do know that I have a team, but it seems that for this one launch, I am alone for that because I was told: You know the platform the best. :D so everything is done on my own :D
Anyway, you should turn this comment into the post :)
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@siarhei_ai I usually aim for week days only :)
I think it largely depends on your goal. If it's users and eyes on your product, then definitely during the week makes sense. However if it's to add social trust by having that badge on your website, it can also go a long way. For a lot of apps, the target market might not necessarily be the PH community, so getting the badge has it's own value.
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@nxnze We were testing how people (potential users of the app) would react to the badge, but there was no significant difference. I think that many people didn't know about the Product Hunt platform.
vibecoder.date
I'm eschewing conventional wisdom going forward.
It would apply if what I have planned is conventional...
I agree with the general sentiment, and the tradeoff. It makes sense that product hunt is seen as a trust building step.
But if one ahs a strong enough pre launch following, the momentum from it will lead to a successful launch either way.
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@build_with_aj Yes, but you can optimise days and choose what works the best :)
MultiDrive
I chose Monday because it’s still active in terms of traffic, but less competitive than Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday 🙂
I also checked holidays in different regions to avoid launching on a specific holiday.
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@tetianai That's a neat approach. :) Monday can be cool tho people have a lot of meetings, so maybe their focus is not primarily dedicated to this platform.
IXORD
I do not visit PH on weekends to chat read or support someone’s product. When I was planning my launch I was told that Wednesday and Thursday are peak activity days and a good time to launch a product. In reality I think the day plays only a small role except for weekends when most users simply do not log in :)
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@ixord Of course, there are people who are logging in (you know, they want to maintain their strike) :D