Executive Summary
We analyzed 22 self-hosting communities listed on Hive Index to understand where people gather, what these groups offer, and which communities attract the most interest.
The big picture: much of the self-hosting landscape on Hive Index sits on Independent Platforms.
Source: Hive Index community database · Updated 2026-05-23
- Communities
- 22
- Platforms
- 3
- Avg members
- 358K
- Median members
- 259K
Where Self-Hosting Communities Are Hosted
- Independent Platforms: 12 communities (55%)
- Reddit: 9 communities (41%)
- Discord: 2 communities (9%)
- 12(55%)
![Independent Platforms]()
Independent Platforms - 9(41%)
Reddit - 2(9%)
Discord
Format mix
- 21(95%)Forum / feed-based
- 1(5%)Chat communities
Most listings are forum / feed-based (95%).
Independent Platforms leads with 55%, but Reddit also has a meaningful share (41%).
Audience Size & Access
Community size
- Tiny: 0 communities (0%)
- Small: 0 communities (0%)
- Medium: 1 communities (5%)
- Large: 0 communities (0%)
- Huge: 2 communities (9%)
- Massive: 6 communities (27%)
- Gigantic: 1 communities (5%)
- 0(0%)Tiny<20 members
- 0(0%)Small20-100 members
- 1(5%)Medium100-1,000 members
- 0(0%)Large1,000-10,000 members
- 2(9%)Huge10,000-100,000 members
- 6(27%)Massive100,000-1M members
- 1(5%)Gigantic1M+ members
12 communities have unknown member counts.
Free vs paid
- Free to join: 22 communities (100%)
- Paid or apply-to-join: 0 communities (0%)
Every listing is free to join.
How Self-Hosting Differs From Other Categories
Self-Hosting is more free-to-join, and larger, compared with typical Hive Index topics.
| Metric | Self-Hosting | Hive Index average |
|---|---|---|
| Free to join | 100% | 85% |
| Median members | 259K | 25K |
| Average members | 358K | 669K |
| Paid or apply-to-join | 0% | 15% |
| Discord share | 9% | 16% |
| Topic pageviews / mo | 198 | 714 |
Feature Mix
Common features appear in at least 15% of listings.
Common Features
- Forum: 22 communities (100%)
- Tools: 9 communities (41%)
- Courses: 8 communities (36%)
- 100%Forum
- 41%Tools
- 36%Courses
Niche Features
- Live Chat: 2 communities (9%)
- Pairing: 2 communities (9%)
- 9%Live Chat
- 9%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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Independent Platforms | 12 | 55% | 3 | 16% |
| 9 | 41% | 16 | 84% |
Share is calculated within this topic.
Reddit gets 84% of clicks but only 41% of listings, so visitors click it more than you'd expect from supply alone.
Most-clicked features
- 19(100%)Forum
- 12(63%)Live Chat
- 3(16%)Courses
- 2(11%)Tools
Most-clicked size ranges
- 12(63%)Gigantic
- 4(21%)Massive
- 1(5%)Medium
Top-clicked listings
- 12(63%)r/homelab
- 2(11%)r/selfhosted
- 2(11%)r/HomeAssistant
A few listings get most of the clicks; the rest split what is left.
Trends
Founded year
Not enough founding-year data to chart yet.
Methodology & FAQ
Methodology
This report uses communities in the Hive Index database tagged as Self-Hosting. 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 2026-05-23