A software directory and a software marketplace both put your product in front of buyers, and they do different jobs. A directory is a place to be discovered and compared — a buyer reads your profile and reviews, then goes to your site to buy. A marketplace covers discovery and the purchase in one place: a buyer finds your product and can subscribe to it without leaving AWS, Google Cloud, Microsoft, Salesforce, HubSpot, or Atlassian.
That extra step changes the economics. Marketplaces often let buyers pay from budget already committed to a cloud provider, which shortens procurement and can move a deal from "evaluate later" to a few clicks. Several of them also show reviews — AWS Marketplace and Google Cloud Marketplace surface ratings syndicated from PeerSpot — so the reputation you build on a directory can end up displayed right where the buyer checks out.
