Executive Summary
We analyzed 21 3d printing communities listed on Hive Index to understand where people gather, what these groups offer, and which communities attract the most interest.
The big picture: 3d printing communities are broad and fragmented, with many small groups and a few very large outliers.
Source: Hive Index community database · Updated 2024-04-04
- Communities
- 21
- Platforms
- 4
- Avg members
- 606K
- Median members
- 37K
Where 3D Printing Communities Are Hosted
- Reddit: 9 communities (43%)
- Independent Platforms: 5 communities (24%)
- Facebook: 4 communities (19%)
- LinkedIn: 3 communities (14%)
- 9(43%)
Reddit - 5(24%)
![Independent Platforms]()
Independent Platforms - 4(19%)
Facebook - 3(14%)
LinkedIn
Reddit leads, but Independent Platforms and Facebook also represent meaningful shares.
Audience Size & Access
Community size
- Tiny: 0 communities (0%)
- Small: 0 communities (0%)
- Medium: 0 communities (0%)
- Large: 2 communities (10%)
- Huge: 9 communities (43%)
- Massive: 5 communities (24%)
- Gigantic: 2 communities (10%)
- 0(0%)Tiny<20 members
- 0(0%)Small20-100 members
- 0(0%)Medium100-1,000 members
- 2(10%)Large1,000-10,000 members
- 9(43%)Huge10,000-100,000 members
- 5(24%)Massive100,000-1M members
- 2(10%)Gigantic1M+ members
3 communities have unknown member counts.
Free vs paid
- Free to join: 20 communities (95%)
- Paid or apply-to-join: 1 communities (5%)
The average is much higher than the median (606K vs 37K), which usually means a few large groups are pulling the average up.
How 3D Printing Differs From Other Categories
3D Printing is more free-to-join, and larger, compared with typical Hive Index topics.
| Metric | 3D Printing | Hive Index average |
|---|---|---|
| Free to join | 95% | 85% |
| Median members | 37K | 25K |
| Average members | 606K | 669K |
| Paid or apply-to-join | 5% | 15% |
| Topic pageviews / mo | 295 | 714 |
Feature Mix
Common features appear in at least 15% of listings.
Common Features
- Forum: 21 communities (100%)
- 100%Forum
Niche Features
- Live Chat: 2 communities (10%)
- Newsletter: 2 communities (10%)
- Job Board: 1 communities (5%)
- Online/Offline Events: 1 communities (5%)
- Paid Community: 1 communities (5%)
- Pairing: 1 communities (5%)
- 10%Live Chat
- 10%Newsletter
- 5%Job Board
- 5%Online/Offline Events
- 5%Paid Community
- 5%Pairing
Forum appears on 100% of listings.
What Visitors Click
- Outbound clicks / mo
- 19
Platform supply vs. clicks
| Platform | Communities | Share of communities | Outbound clicks | Share of clicks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | 43% | 16 | 89% | |
| 4 | 19% | 1 | 6% | |
| 3 | 14% | 1 | 6% |
Share is calculated within this topic.
Reddit hosts 43% of listings and 89% of clicks, so supply and interest line up.
Most-clicked formats
- 17(94%)Forum / feed-based
- 1(6%)Other platforms
Most-clicked features
- 18(100%)Forum
- 1(6%)Pairing
Most-clicked size ranges
- 8(44%)Massive
- 7(39%)Gigantic
- 1(6%)Huge
- 1(6%)Large
Top-clicked listings
- 7(39%)r/3Dprinting
- 4(22%)r/functionalprint
- 3(17%)r/FixMyPrint
Most clicks go to forum / feed-based and other platforms communities.
Trends
Founded year
- 2008: 1 communities (8%)
- 2010: 1 communities (8%)
- 2011: 1 communities (8%)
- 2012: 1 communities (8%)
- 2013: 3 communities (25%)
- 2014: 1 communities (8%)
- 2016: 1 communities (8%)
- 2019: 1 communities (8%)
- 2020: 1 communities (8%)
- 2021: 1 communities (8%)
9 communities have no founding year on file.
Most listed groups were founded around 2013.
Methodology & FAQ
Methodology
This report uses communities in the Hive Index database tagged as 3D Printing. We exclude removed or suppressed listings. Member counts, traffic, features, reviews, and ratings may vary by source and are updated periodically.
- •This is a smaller slice of Hive Index's database, so read trends as directional.
- •Last updated 2024-04-04
FAQ
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