Executive Summary
We analyzed 38 esports communities listed on Hive Index to understand where people gather, what these groups offer, and which communities attract the most interest.
The big picture: esports communities are broad and fragmented, with many small groups and a few very large outliers.
Source: Hive Index community database · Updated periodically
- Communities
- 38
- Platforms
- 7
- Avg members
- 1.1M
- Median members
- 342K
Where Esports Communities Are Hosted
- Independent Platforms: 14 communities (37%)
- Reddit: 13 communities (34%)
- Discord: 5 communities (13%)
- Facebook: 2 communities (5%)
- LinkedIn: 2 communities (5%)
- Telegram: 1 communities (3%)
- WhatsApp: 1 communities (3%)
- 14(37%)
![Independent Platforms]()
Independent Platforms - 13(34%)
Reddit - 5(13%)
Discord - 2(5%)
Facebook - 2(5%)
LinkedIn - 1(3%)
Telegram - 1(3%)
WhatsApp
Format mix
- 29(76%)Forum / feed-based
- 7(18%)Chat communities
- 2(5%)Other platforms
Most listings are forum / feed-based (76%).
Independent Platforms leads, but Reddit and Discord also represent meaningful shares.
Audience Size & Access
Community size
- Tiny: 0 communities (0%)
- Small: 1 communities (3%)
- Medium: 1 communities (3%)
- Large: 0 communities (0%)
- Huge: 4 communities (11%)
- Massive: 9 communities (24%)
- Gigantic: 6 communities (16%)
- 0(0%)Tiny<20 members
- 1(3%)Small20-100 members
- 1(3%)Medium100-1,000 members
- 0(0%)Large1,000-10,000 members
- 4(11%)Huge10,000-100,000 members
- 9(24%)Massive100,000-1M members
- 6(16%)Gigantic1M+ members
17 communities have unknown member counts.
Free vs paid
- Free to join: 38 communities (100%)
- Paid or apply-to-join: 0 communities (0%)
The average is much higher than the median (1.1M vs 342K), which usually means a few large groups are pulling the average up.
How Esports Differs From Other Categories
Esports is more free-to-join, and larger, compared with typical Hive Index topics.
| Metric | Esports | Hive Index average |
|---|---|---|
| Free to join | 100% | 84% |
| Median members | 342K | 25K |
| Average members | 1.1M | 670K |
| Paid or apply-to-join | 0% | 16% |
| Live chat | 18% | 41% |
| Discord share | 13% | 18% |
Feature Mix
Common features appear in at least 15% of listings.
Common Features
- Forum: 31 communities (82%)
- Online/Offline Events: 13 communities (34%)
- Live Chat: 7 communities (18%)
- 82%Forum
- 34%Online/Offline Events
- 18%Live Chat
Forum appears on 82% of listings.
What Visitors Click
- Outbound clicks / mo
- 81
Platform supply vs. clicks
| Platform | Communities | Share of communities | Outbound clicks | Share of clicks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Independent Platforms | 14 | 37% | 12 | 15% |
| 13 | 34% | 12 | 15% | |
| Discord | 5 | 13% | 7 | 9% |
| 1 | 3% | 50 | 62% |
Share is calculated within this topic.
WhatsApp gets 62% of clicks but only 3% of listings, so visitors click it more than you'd expect from supply alone.
Most-clicked formats
- 57(70%)Chat communities
- 24(30%)Forum / feed-based
Most-clicked features
- 57(70%)Live Chat
- 24(30%)Forum
- 17(21%)Online/Offline Events
Most-clicked size ranges
- 9(11%)Gigantic
- 7(9%)Massive
- 2(2%)Small
- 1(1%)Medium
Top-clicked listings
- 50(62%)Gaming Community
- 11(14%)VLR.gg
- 7(9%)r/DotA2
Most clicks go to chat communities and forum / feed-based communities.
Trends
Founded year
- 2000: 1 communities (13%)
- 2001: 2 communities (25%)
- 2012: 1 communities (13%)
- 2013: 1 communities (13%)
- 2014: 1 communities (13%)
- 2016: 1 communities (13%)
- 2018: 1 communities (13%)
30 communities have no founding year on file.
Most listed groups were founded around 2001.
Methodology & FAQ
Methodology
This report uses communities in the Hive Index database tagged as Esports. We exclude removed or suppressed listings. Member counts, traffic, features, reviews, and ratings may vary by source and are updated periodically.
Updated periodically