MerchantCircle

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

A free basic listing exists but the signup flow pushes paid plans ($360–$480/yr) and at least one flow demands credit-card verification before creating the listing — friction is real
Local/US business directory — a SaaS without a local-business presence is a poor fit

A US local-business identity — MerchantCircle is a local merchant directory (14M+ listings)
merchantcircle.com/signup — account, then claim an existing listing or 'Add your Business'
Plan selection step: Starter/Professional/Ultimate paid plans promoted; basic free plan is available (scroll to bottom per third-party docs)
Email verification to complete signup
merchantcircle.com/signup returned 403 to automated fetch — flow verified via help docs and third-party walkthroughs

Business name, address/phone (NAP), category, website
Decide upfront: free basic plan vs paid — the plan picker defaults to paid options

Sign up at merchantcircle.com/signup
Search for an existing auto-created listing and claim it ('Claim this listing!'), else add the business
Choose the free/basic plan if you don't want to pay
Verify the email, then complete the listing: description, hours, photos, website link

Plan screen pushes paid tiers and at least one flow requires credit-card verification — read carefully before entering payment info
Local-business directory — no fit for a location-independent SaaS
Legacy directory — traffic value is modest and mostly SEO/brand-search
Listing may already exist unclaimed — check first

The claimed business listing is live at merchantcircle.com with your details