Live community map — updated as founders list products
Where indie hackers hang out online
If you sell to people bootstrapping products, these are their watering holes — aggregated from live founder listings.
19
Communities mapped
6
Platforms covered
2
Live listings analyzed
The short answer
Indie hackers split between three rooms: Indie Hackers (the forum itself), Reddit (r/EntrepreneurRideAlong, r/SideProject, r/indiehackers), and X/Twitter's #buildinpublic crowd. They respond to revenue transparency and building-in-public — share your numbers, ask specific questions, and give before you take.
Subreddits where indie hackers hang out
- Redditr/EntrepreneurRideAlongProcess posts over launches — show the how, not just the what
- Redditr/SideProjectThe most forgiving room for a first share — everyone else is building too
- Redditr/indiehackersThe subreddit arm of the forum — smaller, looser, easier to enter
- Redditr/netsecdiscussing vulnerabilities
- Redditr/webdevsecuring web apps
- Redditr/ecommerceprotecting online stores
- Redditr/shopifyShopify security
- Redditr/videoeditingeditors share techniques
- Redditr/WeVideocloud editors
- Redditr/youtubecreatorscontent creators
Forums indie hackers actually read
Communities for indie hackers
Where indie hackers gather on X
Facebook groups for indie hackers
LinkedIn communities for indie hackers
How to actually reach indie hackers
Numbers beat narratives here
Indie hackers are addicted to real metrics. '$212 MRR after 3 months' gets engagement that a polished launch post never will — post the number, good or bad.
Milestone posts are the native format
The highest-engagement format in these rooms is the milestone: launched, first dollar, first churned customer. Frame your product share as a milestone story.
They buy tools that buy back time
Solo founders have no team — anything that replaces an hour of work sells itself. Lead with the time saved, not the feature list.
Products that sell to indie hackers
Your buyers are in these rooms.
List your product on OnlyFoundrs and we map exactly where its customers hang out — subreddits, Discords, and communities checked for dead links. Free, live in minutes.
Common questions
Where do indie hackers hang out?
Indie Hackers the forum, r/EntrepreneurRideAlong and r/SideProject on Reddit, and the #buildinpublic community on X. They're also over-represented on discovery platforms like OnlyFoundrs where they list their own products.
How do I promote to indie hackers without getting ignored?
Share numbers and process, not pitches. Indie hackers are builders — they engage with 'here's what worked' posts and ignore anything that reads like marketing.
Do indie hackers actually buy SaaS?
Yes — disproportionately. They run lean operations and happily pay for tools that save time. But they research deeply and churn fast if the product underdelivers.
Is #buildinpublic still worth posting to?
For reach among founders, yes — it's a real discovery surface. Don't expect buyers there unless your product sells to founders themselves.