AI Tools Directory Template

Dirstarter is an AI tools directory template built on Next.js. It handles submissions, AI-written listings, paid featured spots, ads and SEO, so you can launch a curated directory of AI tools in days and own the code after a one-time payment.

AI tool directories are one of the most common things people build with it. BetterAI and FlowTools are two live examples, and the listing model fits AI products without changes.

What an AI tools directory needsCopy Anchor Link

New AI tools launch every week, so this kind of directory lives or dies on how fast you can add and organize listings.

• Fast listing creation. Writing descriptions and taking screenshots by hand stops scaling after a few hundred tools.
• A clear taxonomy. Visitors browse by use case: coding assistants, image models, video tools, agents. BetterAI groups tools into categories like Code Assistant and Image Model API. FlowTools uses categories like AI Agents and AI Video Tools.
• A paid submission flow. Makers will pay to get listed sooner and to stand out, as long as they can check out themselves.
• Ad inventory. Banner and sponsored slots for AI companies with marketing budgets.
• Search and AI visibility. People now ask assistants which AI tool to use, so your catalog should be reachable from those assistants too.

How Dirstarter covers itCopy Anchor Link

AI-written listings. Add a URL, and the automation pipeline scrapes the site with Jina AI and writes structured content through the Vercel AI Gateway. It also assigns categories and saves a screenshot and favicon. Paid submissions get the same treatment right after checkout, so a paid listing goes live complete.

Taxonomy and collections. Tools belong to categories and tags, each with its own page and sitemap entry. Collections are saved filters you define in one config entry. Latest, Featured and Coming Soon ship by default, and adding "Free AI tools" or "Open source models" is a few lines.

Paid tiers. Free, Standard (one-time, do-follow link) and Premium (monthly, featured spot). Each plan card shows how soon the listing goes live, and the free option shows the current queue wait.

Ads and affiliates. Ads run through Revinel in three spots: a banner, cards in the listings and a sidebar card. Affiliate links work anywhere a URL goes. The monetization docs cover both.

MCP server. A public MCP server lets Claude, ChatGPT and Cursor search your catalog and link to your listings. A private admin server lets you add tools and draft posts from an AI agent. I wrote up how I built it in custom MCP server.

i18n. The interface is translatable with next-intl. BetterAI is available in about ten languages.

What you'd build yourself: comparison pages, "alternatives to X" pages and per-tool pricing filters. FlowTools added comparisons and use-case guides on top of the base. Neither ships with Dirstarter.

How to make money with an AI tools directoryCopy Anchor Link

AI tool makers have one problem in common: distribution. That makes them good customers.

1. Featured listings. On OpenAlternative, featured listings at $197/month are about 35% of revenue. Price lower while your traffic is small.
2. Paid submissions. A one-time fee to skip the free queue. FlowTools sells promotion with the line "Pay once. Stay listed."
3. Ads and sponsorships. About 65% of OpenAlternative's roughly $6,500/month comes from ads and sponsorships. AI companies buy banner slots and newsletter mentions.
4. Affiliate links. Many AI tools run affiliate programs. Dirstarter can also pass your affiliate links to AI assistants through the MCP server, behind your own tracked redirect.

For benchmarks at different traffic levels, read how much directory websites make, and for the full menu, directory revenue models.

Launch checklistCopy Anchor Link

1. Buy Dirstarter and follow the introduction to set up the database, auth and environment variables.
2. Add an AI Gateway key and a screenshot API key so the automation can write listings.
3. Define 8-15 categories for your audience. Keep them narrow enough that each page has a purpose.
4. Seed 100-200 tools by pasting URLs into the admin, then review each generated listing.
5. Create your Stripe products and set prices for the Standard and Premium tiers.
6. Connect Revinel for ads and swap outbound links for affiliate links where programs exist.
7. Deploy, submit your sitemap, and post your launch where AI builders hang out.

An AI tools directory template gets you a working, monetized catalog fast. What sets yours apart is the audience you pick and how well you curate. See the pricing or compare the other templates.