Directories are ranked according to the value they provide relative to their cost. Consequently, the top directories are not necessarily the best but rather the best bang for the buck. The "Best Paid Directory" list tends to include the heavy weights, very well-established directories. We also provide a couple of lists that rank more cost-effective directories, sites that offer regular listings for under $10 or $20.

8

$299 / yr

 

 

Yes

 

 

Without looking at the price, this has to be the most useful directory to be listed in. Its expensive but is worthwhile if you have a potentially profitable site. Yahoo has over 100,000 .edu and .gov backlinks. Add to it the fact that it has been around since 1995 makes it a great candidate as a authority site. You will also get some traffic from your listing. The internal listing pages also have extremely high PR. A disadvantage is that you don't have many options for your link text (i.e. usually your site name).
Non-commercial Sites are added for free. There is always a small chance that a very useful site will be added for free, especially in a local Yahoo directory like ca.yahoo.com or au.yahoo.com.

7

$100/yr or $300 one time fee

 

 

Yes

Yes

The directory is over 5 years old but the site has been around since 1996. The site does has very good search results in Google. They receive quite a bit of traffic (Alexa rank under 5000). You have the choice of paying $100 per year for review or paying a one-time submission fee of $240. This site would be ranked higher if it weren't for the high price. They do not guarantee acceptance and the fee is non-refundable. The site is respected by Google (see Matt Cutt's blog). During my research I consistently find BOTW listings in Google's search results.
Non-commercial sites can submit for free.

7

$40

 

Yes

No

A popular website. Has a good design. One of the few directories that has enough traffic to send you some customers. They have a fair amount of authority links and have been around over 5 years. Submission reviews cost $40, which seems like a fair price. On the bad site the $40 fee is non-refundable.

Go Guides
goguides.org

6

$70

 

 

Yes

No

They have a money back guarantee if they don't list your site. The directory is not crowded, meaning that your site will get good visibility for your submission.

InCrawler
incrawler.com

5

$25

$50

Yes

No

This 3 year+ old site is not crowded. Great category breakdown had my basic listing added in about an hour. Good value for your money.