# Referral leaderboard

A referral leaderboard is a ranking, usually shown on a waitlist page, of the signups who have brought in the most new people through their referral links. It turns referring into a visible race, so people can see where they stand and what it takes to move up.

Canonical page: https://getlaunchlist.com/glossary/referral-leaderboard. Updated 2026-10-15.

## What goes on a referral leaderboard

A typical board shows:

- **The top referrers**, usually the top five to twenty.
- **Their score**, either successful referrals or points.
- **A name that protects privacy**, such as a first name, initials or a masked email. Never full email addresses.
- **What is at stake**, such as the reward for first place.
- **The viewer's own row**, when the board is shown to a signup, so they can see how far they are from the people above them.

## Why it works

A leaderboard makes referring visible. Without one, sharing your link is a private act with an invisible result. With one, it has a scoreboard: people see that others are sharing, see their rank move when a friend joins, and see exactly how many referrals separate them from the next spot. It pairs naturally with an improvable [queue position](https://getlaunchlist.com/glossary/queue-position) and [milestone rewards](https://getlaunchlist.com/glossary/milestone-rewards), and together they are what push a waitlist's [K-factor](https://getlaunchlist.com/glossary/k-factor) up.

## Ranking choices

| Rank by | Good for | Watch out for |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Direct referrals | A simple race everyone understands | Ignores people whose referrals go on to refer |
| Points | Lists that reward more than referrals, such as follows or shares | Show the points, or the order looks wrong |
| Network reach (direct plus indirect referrals) | Finding who really drives your growth | Harder to explain on a public board |

Many founders show a simple public board ranked by direct referrals or points, and use network reach privately to decide whom to thank or invite first.

## When to hold off

A leaderboard is a public signal. On a small list, an empty or thin board tells visitors that nobody is sharing. If you have fewer active referrers than spots on the board, start with each person's own place in line and their next reward, and switch the board on when the race looks real.

Fairness matters as much as timing. If people suspect the top spots were won with fake accounts, they stop trying. Count only referrals that confirm, and be ready to remove credit that turns out to be fraud.

## Referral leaderboards in LaunchList

Add a Leaderboard block to your [Launch page](https://getlaunchlist.com/features/page-builder), or embed the leaderboard [widget](https://getlaunchlist.com/features/widgets) on your own site so visitors see the race before they join. Show your top five or any number up to 20, add a line for what first place wins, and choose how people appear: by the first name your form asked for over a masked email, or by rank and score alone. When bonus tasks make points differ from referrals, the board ranks by points and shows them.

On a signup's own status page, the leaderboard marks the person reading it. Every [referral](https://getlaunchlist.com/features/referrals) is checked before it counts, so self-referrals, repeats from one IP address and bursts never reach the board. In Analytics, the top referrers list ranks up to ten people by everyone they brought in, directly and through the people they referred.

Further reading: [the waitlist referral program guide](https://getlaunchlist.com/blog/waitlist-referral-program-guide).

## Frequently asked questions

### Should every waitlist show a referral leaderboard?

Not from day one. A board works when referrals are central to your growth and enough people are referring for the race to look real. On a young list, a few names with one referral each can read as nobody is sharing, so start with a personal place in line and rewards, and add the board once it has something to show.

### What goes on a referral leaderboard?

The top referrers by successful referrals or points, each shown by a first name, initials or a masked email rather than a full address. Many boards also show what first place wins and, for the person viewing, their own rank.

### How do you stop people cheating on a referral leaderboard?

Count a referral only once the friend confirms their email, refuse self-referrals and repeated referrals from one device or IP address, and take credit back if fraud turns up later. A board people suspect is rigged stops motivating anyone.

### Should a leaderboard rank by referrals or by points?

By whatever decides the order of your line. If people also earn points for things like following you on social media, rank by points and show them, so nobody wonders why a smaller referral count is ahead.

## Related terms

- [Queue position](https://getlaunchlist.com/glossary/queue-position.md)
- [Milestone rewards](https://getlaunchlist.com/glossary/milestone-rewards.md)
- [K-factor](https://getlaunchlist.com/glossary/k-factor.md)