Software Development Communities Report

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Executive Summary

We analyzed 166 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 2026-06-26

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Communities
166
Platforms
15
Avg members
1.2M
Median members
8K

Where Software Development Communities Are Hosted

  • Discord: 43 communities (26%)
  • Independent Platforms: 38 communities (23%)
  • Slack: 32 communities (19%)
  • Reddit: 27 communities (16%)
  • Github: 9 communities (5%)
  • Skool: 7 communities (4%)
  • LinkedIn: 4 communities (2%)
  • Nas.io: 3 communities (2%)
  • X / Twitter: 2 communities (1%)
  • Telegram: 2 communities (1%)
  • WhatsApp: 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
    32(19%)
  • Reddit
    27(16%)
  • Github
    9(5%)
  • Skool
    7(4%)
  • LinkedIn
    4(2%)
  • Nas.io
    3(2%)

Format mix

  • Chat communities
    73(44%)
  • Forum / feed-based
    69(42%)
  • Other platforms
    17(10%)
  • Private membership
    7(4%)

Chat communities is most common (44%), but forum / feed-based is also well represented (42%).

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

Audience Size & Access

Community size

  • Tiny: 2 communities (1%)
  • Small: 10 communities (6%)
  • Medium: 18 communities (11%)
  • Large: 40 communities (24%)
  • Huge: 32 communities (19%)
  • Massive: 19 communities (11%)
  • Gigantic: 12 communities (7%)
  • Tiny
    <20 members
    2(1%)
  • Small
    20-100 members
    10(6%)
  • Medium
    100-1,000 members
    18(11%)
  • Large
    1,000-10,000 members
    40(24%)
  • Huge
    10,000-100,000 members
    32(19%)
  • Massive
    100,000-1M members
    19(11%)
  • Gigantic
    1M+ members
    12(7%)

33 communities have unknown member counts.

Free vs paid

  • Free to join: 148 communities (89%)
  • Paid or apply-to-join: 18 communities (11%)

The average is much higher than the median (1.2M 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%85%
Median members8K24K
Average members1.2M649K
Paid or apply-to-join11%15%
Live chat60%40%
Discord share26%16%

Feature Mix

Common features appear in at least 15% of listings.

Common Features

  • Live Chat: 100 communities (60%)
  • Forum: 93 communities (56%)
  • Online/Offline Events: 44 communities (27%)
  • Job Board: 30 communities (18%)
  • Newsletter: 30 communities (18%)
  • Live Chat
    60%
  • Forum
    56%
  • Online/Offline Events
    27%
  • Job Board
    18%
  • Newsletter
    18%

Niche Features

  • Courses: 15 communities (9%)
  • 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
    9%
  • 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
829

Platform supply vs. clicks

PlatformCommunitiesShare of communitiesOutbound clicksShare of clicks
Discord4326%
36844%
Independent Platforms3823%
293%
Slack3219%
28034%
Reddit2716%
455%
Github95%
81%
Skool74%
71%
LinkedIn42%
101%
Nas.io32%
668%

Share is calculated within this topic.

Discord hosts 26% of listings and 44% of clicks, so supply and interest line up.

Most-clicked formats

  • Chat communities
    650(78%)
  • Other platforms
    89(11%)
  • Forum / feed-based
    83(10%)
  • Private membership
    7(1%)

Most-clicked features

  • Live Chat
    762(92%)
  • Job Board
    358(43%)
  • Online/Offline Events
    337(41%)
  • Newsletter
    215(26%)
  • Forum
    149(18%)
  • Pairing
    132(16%)

Most-clicked size ranges

  • Large
    276(33%)
  • Huge
    223(27%)
  • Medium
    102(12%)
  • Massive
    61(7%)
  • Small
    54(7%)

Top-clicked listings

  • Freeflow
    71(9%)
  • Nikist Hacker club
    63(8%)
  • Programmers Palace
    41(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 9% 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.

  • •Last updated 2026-06-26

FAQ

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