r/homelab

Community Overview
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reddit.com/r/homelab/
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About r/homelab

Welcome to your friendly /r/homelab, where techies and sysadmin from everywhere are welcome to share their labs, projects, builds, etc.

The community at a glance

r/homelab is a Subreddit for DevOps Engineers, Programmers, and Self-Hosters with roughly 1.1M members. It has been around since 2012. It has both a forum and a live chat communication style. On the Hive Index it ranks #1 in the Self-Hosting communities list and #7 in the DevOps communities list.

Roughly 223K members have joined in the past year. Popular discussion topics include Homelab, Server, and Storage. Common discussion themes are Solution Requests and Advice Requests. Product recommendations often mention ups, homelab, and switch.

On Reddit
Established 2012
1.1M Members

Community Topics

Community Features

Forum

This community has a forum

Chat

Only 9% of Self-Hosting communities have live chat

This community has a realtime chat

Subreddit Analysis

via GummySearch
Yearly: +223K members
Growth: +26.7% / year

Member growth over time

All time (yearly)

  • 2013: 5K members
  • 2014: 10K members
  • 2015: 12K members
  • 2016: 25K members
  • 2017: 43K members
  • 2018: 54K members
  • 2019: 94K members
  • 2020: 126K members
  • 2021: 95K members
  • 2023: 161K members
  • 2024: 115K members
  • 2025: 177K members
  • 2026: 141K members

Past year (monthly)

  • Aug: 17K members
  • Sep: 13K members
  • Oct: 14K members
  • Nov: 19K members
  • Dec: 18K members
  • Jan: 19K members
  • Feb: 18K members
  • Mar: 35K members
  • Apr: 18K members
  • May: 18K members
  • Jun: 18K members
  • Jul: 16K members

Themes

  • Solution Requests
    13 posts in the past month
    1. Looking for device recommendations that I can keep plugged into my second WAN port on my UDM-SE that can connect to my phone 5G hotspot in the event that my main internet goes down
    2. First homelab – configuration recommendations needed
    3. Home server help needed
    #1
    Solution Requests
    Looking for device recommendations that I can keep plugged into my second WAN port on my UDM-SE that can connect to my phone 5G hotspot in the event that my main internet goes down · First homelab – configuration recommendations needed · Home server help needed
    13
  • Advice Requests
    5 posts in the past month
    1. Homelab Migration and Server Build Recommendations
    2. Looking for some advice
    3. Good refurbished server shops in Europe?
    #2
    Advice Requests
    Homelab Migration and Server Build Recommendations · Looking for some advice · Good refurbished server shops in Europe?
    5

Topics

  • Homelab
    26 posts in the past month
    #1
    Homelab
    26
  • Server
    16 posts in the past month
    #2
    Server
    16
  • Storage
    14 posts in the past month
    #3
    Storage
    14
  • Hardware
    11 posts in the past month
    #4
    Hardware
    11
  • Nas
    10 posts in the past month
    #5
    Nas
    10

Flair

  • Help
    48 posts in the past month
    1. 2 6tb hard drives for $30 each, listed as for parts worth it?
    2. Need help picking a server rack.
    3. PowerEdge R640 No Backplane, want to run Proxmox.
    #1
    Help
    2 6tb hard drives for $30 each, listed as for parts worth it? · Need help picking a server rack. · PowerEdge R640 No Backplane, want to run Proxmox.
    48
  • Discussion
    28 posts in the past month
    1. Will this be around 10 years from now?
    2. I'm noticing it being increasingly common for DAS's to be using USB, is it still 'too unstable' for homelabs?
    3. Rack Options - First Homelab Drafting
    #2
    Discussion
    Will this be around 10 years from now? · I'm noticing it being increasingly common for DAS's to be using USB, is it still 'too unstable' for homelabs? · Rack Options - First Homelab Drafting
    28
  • Project Showcase: Hardware
    7 posts in the past month
    1. How would you rate this?
    2. My first rack
    3. Hi, is anyone have HGST FlasMax ||| driver please save life.
    #3
    Project Showcase: Hardware
    How would you rate this? · My first rack · Hi, is anyone have HGST FlasMax ||| driver please save life.
    7
  • Project Showcase: Operations
    6 posts in the past month
    1. Alcatel-Lucent GPON router - all service options grayed out after factory reset, help!
    2. Coworker dropped an app
    3. Firewall options
    #4
    Project Showcase: Operations
    Alcatel-Lucent GPON router - all service options grayed out after factory reset, help! · Coworker dropped an app · Firewall options
    6
  • Satire
    2 posts in the past month
    1. Didn’t know what we had until I was gone…
    2. Didn’t know what we had till it was gone…
    #5
    Satire
    Didn’t know what we had until I was gone… · Didn’t know what we had till it was gone…
    2

Product recommendations

  • ups
    4 posts in the past month
    1. Best buys for a rack-mount UPS?
    2. Best All-Around mid-range UPS
    3. Best way to integrate a UPS?
    #1
    ups
    Best buys for a rack-mount UPS? · Best All-Around mid-range UPS · Best way to integrate a UPS?
    4
  • homelab
    4 posts in the past month
    1. Is this the best way to start my homelab journey?
    2. Best way to access a homelab from outside the network?
    3. Best way to access a homelab from outside the network?
    #2
    homelab
    Is this the best way to start my homelab journey? · Best way to access a homelab from outside the network? · Best way to access a homelab from outside the network?
    4
  • switch
    4 posts in the past month
    1. How I Chose the Best Managed Network Switch for My Home Lab
    2. Can anyone recommend a 8 port managed 2.5gb switch?
    3. Cheap 1G Cisco Managed Switch Recs
    #3
    switch
    How I Chose the Best Managed Network Switch for My Home Lab · Can anyone recommend a 8 port managed 2.5gb switch? · Cheap 1G Cisco Managed Switch Recs
    4
  • nas
    3 posts in the past month
    1. Looking for best nas/plex path with optiplex 9020 usff and 2 20tb seagate expansion
    2. Recommend a Cheap 2-bay NAS?
    3. Super basic / budget NAS setup recs?
    #4
    nas
    Looking for best nas/plex path with optiplex 9020 usff and 2 20tb seagate expansion · Recommend a Cheap 2-bay NAS? · Super basic / budget NAS setup recs?
    3
  • hypervisor
    3 posts in the past month
    1. Best OS for hypervisor, using the VMs interatively?
    2. Best OS for hypervisor, using the VMs interatively?
    3. What is best option for hypervisor platform on laptop / wifi?
    #5
    hypervisor
    Best OS for hypervisor, using the VMs interatively? · Best OS for hypervisor, using the VMs interatively? · What is best option for hypervisor platform on laptop / wifi?
    3
View full analysis on GummySearchSynced 7/28/2026

Frequently asked questions

Who is r/homelab for?
Best for DevOps Engineers and Programmers and Self-Hosters enthusiasts looking for a Reddit-based community with forum discussion, live chat.
Is r/homelab free to join?
This listing is not marked as paid-only. Access rules and any fees are decided by the community.
How many members does r/homelab have?
Roughly 1.1M members, based on figures reported by the community or its host. Member counts are approximate and change over time.
What platform is r/homelab on?
r/homelab runs on Reddit. Reddit communities (or "subreddits") are forum-based groups on the popular social news aggregation, web content rating, and discussion website Reddit. Reddit is commonly known as "the front page of the internet". Users submit content to the site such as links, text posts, and images, which are then voted up or down and discussed by other members. From investing Reddit communities, to professional ones, to ones just for laughs, you're likely to find a community for you on Reddit.
What topics does r/homelab cover?
On the Hive Index, r/homelab is organized under DevOps Engineers, Programmers, Self-Hosters.
How do I join r/homelab?
You can join r/homelab by clicking this link, or pressing the "Go to community" button above.
What are the DevOps communities like?
Communities for DevOps engineers and platform teams covering CI/CD, cloud infrastructure, Kubernetes, and site reliability. Discord and Slack host active practitioner communities, with discussion ranging from tool comparisons and troubleshooting to career paths and on-call culture.
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Monthly Stats

23
Views /mo
(-36%)
19
Visitors /mo
(-32%)
4
Referrals /mo
(-69%)

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