About MakerRadar

What MakerRadar Is

MakerRadar is a free, editorially curated directory of websites, tools, and projects from independent makers. Every listing is opened, checked against the product's own website, and edited by a person before it is published — no scraped screenshots, no invented ratings, and no paid placement.

The site is run by one person. That is not a limitation worth hiding: it is why every description gets a real read before it goes out, and why the list stays small. You'll see "we" on the policy pages — that's the directory speaking as an operator. Everywhere else, it's just me.

Why It Exists

The most interesting products often show up in a reply on someone's timeline or a maker's own announcement, where they are easy to miss. MakerRadar is an attempt to give those products a durable, searchable home with clear, factual descriptions — instead of a screenshot that disappears in a day.

Where the Products Come From

The products here come from my X account: the replies under my posts, and the conversations with friends and other makers who share what they have built or what they use. That is where most of the good finds surface — several replies deep, sometimes after a joke — and where they are easy to lose.

Almost every listing started as one of those conversations. There is no public submission form; the contact page explains the two ways that actually reach me.

How Products Get Listed

1. Found — in a thread under one of my posts, or in a conversation with friends on X.
2. Checked — I open the product's own website and confirm what it does, who it is for, how it is priced, and whether it still works the way the homepage claims.
3. Deduplicated — one page per product, even when it has been relaunched or posted from several accounts.
4. Written — a plain description, honest strengths and limitations, and the details a reader needs before clicking.
5. Published — to the catalog. Nothing appears here because someone paid for it.

Descriptions are drafted with AI assistance — extraction and a first summary from the product's own website — then checked and edited by a person. Some passages are written from scratch; none are published without that review.

The full inclusion rules, including what cannot be listed, live on the editorial guidelines page.

The Weekly Five

Each Sunday I publish a weekly issue with five products, each with a short reason for the pick.

Five is the honest number: it is what I can read, test, and write up properly in a week. That number may grow when the volume of good finds and the time available allow it — the standard will not change. A weekly pick is an editorial judgment, not a ranking, a score, or a verdict on quality. Being listed is not the same as being featured, and most listed products are never picked.

Why It Is Free

There is no paywall, no subscription, no sponsored slot, and no charge for a listing or a pick. The site is small and cheap to run, and keeping it free is the point: a maker with a good product and no marketing budget should still have a chance to be seen.

If you want to help with the hosting bill, there is an optional way to do that on the support page. It changes nothing about what gets listed.

Our Principles

• Publish only what can be verified on the product's own website or another primary source. Where something is unknown, leave it out rather than guess.
• Never fabricate ratings, user counts, or popularity.
• Label opinions as opinions. Weekly Picks are editorial by design.
• Correct mistakes in place instead of quietly deleting the page.

Corrections and Contact

If a listing is out of date, misdescribed, or gone, the fastest route is the Report a problem link on the product page. For a product suggestion, a correction, or a question, see how to reach me.