App store, app directory, cloud marketplace: which of these actually matters for us?
They share a name and almost nothing else. An app directory (HubSpot, Slack, Freshworks) is a discovery surface for that platform's existing customers, so it drives trials and stickiness rather than large deals. An app store (Shopify) can be a genuine business with revenue share and its own economics, but you live under their review and policy rules. A cloud marketplace (AWS, Azure, Google) is procurement plumbing for enterprise deals, not a discovery channel, and treating it as marketing will disappoint you. Pick based on where your buyer already spends money, and give the listing an owner rather than treating it as a one time launch task.
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A concrete look at what an app directory listing demands (demo video, eight screenshots, scope groups, testing instructions), which is a useful reality check on 'we will just get listed'.
Shows the part founders underestimate about app stores: you are subject to someone else's review, pause and resubmission cycle, on their timeline, before a single customer sees you.
The clearest example of a platform treating partners as a real business: 1.3 billion dollars paid to partners in 2025 across apps, themes, store builds and referrals, with docs and tooling to match.
The third cloud's own partner documentation, covering SaaS, VM and now AI agent listings, plus the billing integration work that decides how long a listing really takes.
