Curated.design

Conditional free route directory

Researched from public pages — no submission was run · sources read 2026-09-26. Rules change — recheck the platform's own pages before submitting.

What the free route requires

Free queue exists but waits 'a few weeks, sometimes more' — a real queue gate
$29 Priority review returns a written verdict within 7 days plus concrete fixes and a free resubmit if rejected
Same reviewer and same bar either way — money buys speed only

A website whose DESIGN is worth studying — 'a gallery designers browse for reference'; categories: Agency, AI, Design Tools, Dev Tools, E-commerce, Finance, Marketing, Portfolio, Productivity, Web Apps, etc.
Form fields: 'Product is mine' toggle (own work vs site you admire), site name, URL, email, tagline, 'What makes it worth studying?', category, styles (Minimal/Dark/Animated/Neobrutalism...)
Human review of every entry — 'the work decides the verdict'
Account/dashboard exists (/signup, /dashboard) to track submissions

Site name, URL, tagline
A thoughtful answer to 'What makes it worth studying?' — this is the pitch to the curator
Email for confirmation/verdict
Category + style tags ready
Decide free queue vs $29 priority

Open https://www.curated.design/submit (sign up/in optional but dashboard tracks submissions)
Toggle 'Product is mine' or submit a site you admire (scouting is allowed)
Fill fields and submit — free entries queue for weeks; $29 opens checkout via their billing API
Priority: written verdict within 7 days with exact fixes if rejected; resubmit free after polishing
If accepted, the site gets a dedicated page with link and full credit

Paying $29 does NOT buy inclusion — only faster review; rejections happen with written feedback
Your entry is saved before checkout — closing checkout just drops you into the free queue (clever dark-ish pattern, but transparent)
Design bar is real — a plain B2B SaaS marketing page may not make the cut
They also run Curated Studio (paid design service) — soft upsell at the bottom

The site appears in the Curated collection at curated.design with its own page, link, and maker credit