Software Development Communities Report

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Executive Summary

We analyzed 168 software development communities listed on Hive Index to understand where people gather, what these groups offer, and which communities attract the most interest.

The big picture: software development communities are broad and fragmented, with many small groups and a few very large outliers.

Source: Hive Index community database · Updated periodically

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Communities
168
Platforms
15
Avg members
1.1M
Median members
8K

Where Software Development Communities Are Hosted

  • Discord: 43 communities (26%)
  • Independent Platforms: 38 communities (23%)
  • Slack: 33 communities (20%)
  • Reddit: 27 communities (16%)
  • Github: 9 communities (5%)
  • Skool: 7 communities (4%)
  • LinkedIn: 4 communities (2%)
  • Nas.io: 3 communities (2%)
  • WhatsApp: 3 communities (2%)
  • X / Twitter: 2 communities (1%)
  • Telegram: 2 communities (1%)
  • Discourse: 2 communities (1%)
  • Quora: 1 communities (1%)
  • Facebook: 1 communities (1%)
  • Meetup: 1 communities (1%)
  • Discord
    43(26%)
  • Independent Platforms
    Independent Platforms
    38(23%)
  • Slack
    33(20%)
  • Reddit
    27(16%)
  • Github
    9(5%)
  • Skool
    7(4%)
  • LinkedIn
    4(2%)
  • Nas.io
    3(2%)

Format mix

  • Chat communities
    75(45%)
  • Forum / feed-based
    69(41%)
  • Other platforms
    17(10%)
  • Private membership
    7(4%)

Chat communities is most common (45%), but forum / feed-based is also well represented (41%).

Discord leads, but Independent Platforms and Slack also represent meaningful shares.

Audience Size & Access

Community size

  • Tiny: 3 communities (2%)
  • Small: 10 communities (6%)
  • Medium: 21 communities (13%)
  • Large: 39 communities (23%)
  • Huge: 32 communities (19%)
  • Massive: 19 communities (11%)
  • Gigantic: 12 communities (7%)
  • Tiny
    <20 members
    3(2%)
  • Small
    20-100 members
    10(6%)
  • Medium
    100-1,000 members
    21(13%)
  • Large
    1,000-10,000 members
    39(23%)
  • Huge
    10,000-100,000 members
    32(19%)
  • Massive
    100,000-1M members
    19(11%)
  • Gigantic
    1M+ members
    12(7%)

32 communities have unknown member counts.

Free vs paid

  • Free to join: 150 communities (89%)
  • Paid or apply-to-join: 18 communities (11%)

The average is much higher than the median (1.1M vs 8K), which usually means a few large groups are pulling the average up.

How Software Development Differs From Other Categories

Software Development is smaller, more platform-diverse, and more chat-heavy, compared with typical Hive Index topics.

MetricSoftware DevelopmentHive Index average
Free to join89%83%
Median members8K25K
Average members1.1M668K
Paid or apply-to-join11%17%
Live chat60%41%
Discord share26%18%

Feature Mix

Common features appear in at least 15% of listings.

Common Features

  • Live Chat: 101 communities (60%)
  • Forum: 93 communities (55%)
  • Online/Offline Events: 45 communities (27%)
  • Job Board: 30 communities (18%)
  • Newsletter: 28 communities (17%)
  • Live Chat
    60%
  • Forum
    55%
  • Online/Offline Events
    27%
  • Job Board
    18%
  • Newsletter
    17%

Niche Features

  • Courses: 17 communities (10%)
  • Member Perks: 10 communities (6%)
  • Paid Community: 10 communities (6%)
  • Requires Application: 10 communities (6%)
  • Pairing: 7 communities (4%)
  • Tools: 5 communities (3%)
  • Token: 1 communities (1%)
  • Courses
    10%
  • Member Perks
    6%
  • Paid Community
    6%
  • Requires Application
    6%
  • Pairing
    4%
  • Tools
    3%
  • Token
    1%

Live Chat appears on 60% of listings.

What Visitors Click

Outbound clicks / mo
652

Platform supply vs. clicks

PlatformCommunitiesShare of communitiesOutbound clicksShare of clicks
Discord4326%
32050%
Independent Platforms3823%
213%
Slack3320%
20131%
Reddit2716%
112%
Github95%
51%
Skool74%
102%
LinkedIn42%
30%
Nas.io32%
437%

Share is calculated within this topic.

Discord hosts 26% of listings and 50% of clicks, so supply and interest line up.

Most-clicked formats

  • Chat communities
    539(84%)
  • Other platforms
    59(9%)
  • Forum / feed-based
    36(6%)
  • Private membership
    10(2%)

Most-clicked features

  • Live Chat
    605(94%)
  • Online/Offline Events
    292(45%)
  • Job Board
    284(44%)
  • Newsletter
    154(24%)
  • Pairing
    109(17%)
  • Forum
    92(14%)

Most-clicked size ranges

  • Large
    210(33%)
  • Huge
    198(31%)
  • Medium
    68(11%)
  • Massive
    52(8%)
  • Small
    41(6%)

Top-clicked listings

  • Freeflow
    57(9%)
  • Nikist Hacker club
    41(6%)
  • Work With Indies
    34(5%)

Most clicks go to chat communities and other platforms communities.

Community Quality & Ratings

Rating breakdown

  • 7(100%)
  • 0(0%)
  • 0(0%)
  • 0(0%)
  • 0(0%)

7 reviews across 5 communities · 5.0 average rating.

Among highly rated communities

  • Live Chatover-indexes100%vs 60% overall
  • Job Boardover-indexes40%vs 18% overall
  • Online/Offline Eventsover-indexes40%vs 27% overall
  • Requires Applicationover-indexes40%vs 6% overall
  • Coursesover-indexes20%vs 10% overall

Based on 5 communities rated 4+ stars.

Highly rated examples

Among reviewed communities, highly rated groups often include live chat, job board, and online/offline events.

Methodology & FAQ

Methodology

This report uses communities in the Hive Index database tagged as Software Development. We exclude removed or suppressed listings. Member counts, traffic, features, reviews, and ratings may vary by source and are updated periodically.

    Updated periodically

    FAQ

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