Leaderboard Rules

The boards

BestAIUtility.com runs a public pay-to-rank leaderboard. Rank is what you pay — nothing else. There are no ads, no upvotes, and no editorial reviews.

• All — the global board that aggregates every category. Rank is everything a listing has ever paid and does not expire.
• 16 category boards — each category keeps its own independent Top 50 that never expires. Categories include Agents, Marketing, SEO, Crypto, Security, Business, Hiring, Developer, Health, Social, Education, Domains, Agencies, Design, and Writing.

Homepage rankings

Each board has 50 ranks. New listings are whole US dollars. The top 10 ranks are hand-priced from $1,500 for #1 down to $100 for #10; ranks 11–50 decay from $100 toward a $5 minimum floor. Ranks already on the board keep their amount until they are raised or outranked.

• Taking an occupied rank costs at least $5 more than the current holder.
• Paying less than that still puts you on the board at whatever rank that amount can take.
• Equal amounts stay in the order they were placed — the older listing keeps the higher rank.
• Already on the board? Enter the same URL again and raise your rank; checkout only charges the difference. Someone else cannot take your rank by paying exactly that difference.

Tools Directory ranking — who can bid

The AI Tools Directory (/tools) ranks tools by paid bids. To keep the board high-quality, bidding there is restricted:

• A separate, independent board. The Tools Directory has its own Top 50 — bidding there never affects the homepage global board or any category board, and vice versa.
• Only permanently listed tools may bid. Your website must first have a paid Permanent Listing ($19.90 one-time, via the Submit page) before it can claim or hold a rank in the Tools Directory ranking.
• The Permanent Listing is separate from bid amounts — the $19.90 lists your tool in the directory; bid payments move it up the ranking.
• Ranking works the same as everywhere else: 50 ranks, top 10 hand-priced from $1,500 for #1 down to $100 for #10, taking an occupied rank costs at least $5 more, and ranks never expire.
• Not listed yet? Submit your tool at /submit, complete the $19.90 Permanent Listing, then come back to claim your rank.
• The same listing rules apply: you must own or be authorized to represent the website, and chat/adult/shortener links are not allowed.

Content page rankings

Blog posts, guides and comparison pages each show two sponsored ranking rails (left and right). Bidding there works exactly like the homepage: the same price ladder, the same $5 minimum increment, one-time payment, and ranks never expire while they stay on the board.

• Six independent boards: blog, guides and compare each keep their own left and right rail. Bidding on one rail never affects the other rails, the homepage, any category board, or the Tools Directory ranking.
• The same company may hold multiple positions across the rails — for example Blog Left #1, Blog Right #1, Guides Left #5 and Compare Right #3. Each position is priced and bid on independently.
• Each rail shows 20 ranks. If your listing is outbid past rank #20 it leaves the rail and is no longer displayed.
• Claiming opens the same checkout as the homepage: card, Apple Pay and Google Pay (via Dodo Payments) or crypto (via NOWPayments) — one-time payment.
• The same listing rules apply: you must own or be authorized to represent the website, and chat/adult/shortener links are not allowed.

What you can list

• An AI tool website you own or are authorized to represent.
• Chat and invite links are not allowed — Telegram, WhatsApp, Discord, Messenger, Signal, and similar. The board is for products and profiles, not group chats.
• Links to sexual, NSFW, or adult-platform content are not allowed.
• Query parameters are stripped from listing links, so affiliate, referral, and tracking URLs will not work.
• Link shortener URLs are not allowed. If you submit one, it is replaced by the URL it redirects to.

Categories

Every listing sits in one of 16 categories. You pick a category at checkout, and each category board keeps its own Top 50. Listings are paid promotional placements only — not an endorsement, partnership, or guarantee of any result, traffic, or ranking.

After you pay

• We accept credit & debit cards, Apple Pay and Google Pay (via Dodo Payments) as well as crypto — USDT-TRC20 and 300+ coins (via NOWPayments).
• Your listing is public. Clicks go to the URL you submitted, without query parameters.
• A completed payment is what claims the rank.
• Payments are not refundable.
• Paying means you agree to the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, including the requirement that listed projects show valid operator details.