Technology · National

How to get featured in HackerNoon

Getting featured in HackerNoon: how its free, editor-reviewed publishing works, the backlink and brand rules, and which routes are paid, like business blogging.

Website: hackernoon.com
Lead time: Stories: HackerNoon's Business Blogging overview says editors review within three business days. Paid press releases: HackerNoon aims to publish within one working day of approval.
Last verified: October 16, 2026

At a glance

Audience. Software engineers, technologists, founders, and tech-curious readers who read first-person technical and industry writing.

AI and machine learning
Software engineering
Cybersecurity
Web3 and blockchain
Startups and business
Product management
General technology

Staff reporting: HackerNoon is mainly a contributor platform. A small editorial team reviews, edits, and promotes stories rather than running a large beat newsroom.
Contributed articles: Anyone can write and submit a story for free. HackerNoon says every story goes through review by a human editor before publication, and brands publishing as a company must use a brand account and paid Business Blogging credits.
Opinion and op-eds: Opinion and first-person essays run as regular submissions under the same editorial review.
Press releases: Press releases are a paid product. HackerNoon's help center says introductory prices start at $750 per release, submitted through a form with a company authorization letter.

Pitching HackerNoon, step by step

Create a HackerNoon account and draft the story in its editor, written by a named individual with real expertise.
Follow the submit-a-story checklist: featured image, meta description, TL;DR, and up to eight tags.
Stay within the backlink rules: brands get one link to their website per 500 words, with links to other reputable sources and HackerNoon stories.
Submit for review from Story Settings and respond to editor notes promptly.
If the company is the author, set up a brand account and use Business Blogging credits rather than a personal profile.
For announcements, use the paid press release product and its form, not a regular story submission.

How HackerNoon decides what to cover

HackerNoon works differently from a newsroom. It is an open publishing platform for technologists: anyone can write, and editors decide what gets published. Its publish page says every story goes through review by a human editor, and that writers keep ownership of their work.

What gets through is practical, first-person, and technical enough to be useful. A senior engineer explaining how her team cut inference costs, with code and numbers, fits. A vague overview of “the future of AI” written to carry a backlink does not. Editors look at substance, originality, and whether links serve the reader.

How to pitch HackerNoon

There is no pitch in the traditional sense. You write the story, submit it, and an editor reviews it. The help center’s submit-a-story checklist asks for a featured image, meta description, TL;DR, and up to eight tags before you send it for review from Story Settings.

The decision usually rests on three things: who the author is, whether the piece teaches something, and whether the links follow the rules. HackerNoon’s backlinks guideline limits brands to one link to their own website per 500 words, requires a mix of other reputable sources and HackerNoon stories, and prohibits promotional anchor text and selling backlinks.

If the company itself is the author, use a brand account. The guideline says submitting a brand story without one is prohibited.

Contributed articles and op-eds

Nearly everything on HackerNoon is contributed. The important line is between free and paid routes:

Free: individual writers publishing under their own name, subject to editorial review.
Paid: Business Blogging, where a company publishes under a brand profile using credits. HackerNoon’s business page says pricing starts at $650. Stories still go through editor review, and the overview says a rejected story is eligible for a refund.
Paid: press releases, which the help center says start at $750 per release and include newswire distribution.

Be clear internally about which route you are using. Paid brand stories and releases are not earned coverage, even when they appear on the same site.

Frequently asked questions

Is it free to publish on HackerNoon?

Yes, for individual writers. Stories are reviewed by an editor before publication. Brand-authored stories and press releases are paid products.

Can you pay to be featured on HackerNoon?

Yes, through clearly separate products: Business Blogging credits, press release distribution, and advertising. Free stories from individuals are selected through editorial review.

How many links can I include in a HackerNoon story?

The backlinks guideline allows one link to your brand’s website per 500 words and requires links to other reputable sources as well.

HackerNoon rewards genuine expertise written plainly. A PR-led approach to media relations treats it as a place for an engineer or founder to publish something useful, not as a link placement.

Mistakes that get pitches ignored

Publishing a brand story from a personal account. The backlink guideline says brand stories require a brand account.
Stuffing promotional links or keyword anchor text into the story.
Adding or changing promotional backlinks after publication, which the guidelines call grounds for a permanent ban.
Thin content written mainly to carry a link.
Submitting a press release as a regular story.

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Profiles describe public editorial processes and are reviewed periodically. Digitize is not affiliated with HackerNoon. Spot something out of date? Email [email protected].