Executive Summary
We analyzed 170 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
- Communities
- 170
- Platforms
- 15
- Avg members
- 1.1M
- Median members
- 8K
Where Software Development Communities Are Hosted
- Discord: 44 communities (26%)
- Independent Platforms: 38 communities (22%)
- Slack: 32 communities (19%)
- Reddit: 27 communities (16%)
- Github: 9 communities (5%)
- Skool: 7 communities (4%)
- WhatsApp: 5 communities (3%)
- LinkedIn: 4 communities (2%)
- Nas.io: 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%)
- 44(26%)
Discord - 38(22%)
![Independent Platforms]()
Independent Platforms - 32(19%)
Slack - 27(16%)
Reddit - 9(5%)
Github - 7(4%)
Skool - 5(3%)
WhatsApp - 4(2%)
LinkedIn
Format mix
- 77(45%)Chat communities
- 69(41%)Forum / feed-based
- 17(10%)Other platforms
- 7(4%)Private membership
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: 4 communities (2%)
- Small: 9 communities (5%)
- Medium: 21 communities (12%)
- Large: 38 communities (22%)
- Huge: 32 communities (19%)
- Massive: 19 communities (11%)
- Gigantic: 12 communities (7%)
- 4(2%)Tiny<20 members
- 9(5%)Small20-100 members
- 21(12%)Medium100-1,000 members
- 38(22%)Large1,000-10,000 members
- 32(19%)Huge10,000-100,000 members
- 19(11%)Massive100,000-1M members
- 12(7%)Gigantic1M+ members
35 communities have unknown member counts.
Free vs paid
- Free to join: 153 communities (90%)
- Paid or apply-to-join: 17 communities (10%)
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.
| Metric | Software Development | Hive Index average |
|---|---|---|
| Free to join | 90% | 84% |
| Median members | 8K | 25K |
| Average members | 1.1M | 670K |
| Paid or apply-to-join | 10% | 16% |
| Live chat | 61% | 41% |
| Discord share | 26% | 18% |
Feature Mix
Common features appear in at least 15% of listings.
Common Features
- Live Chat: 103 communities (61%)
- Forum: 93 communities (55%)
- Online/Offline Events: 45 communities (26%)
- Job Board: 29 communities (17%)
- Newsletter: 27 communities (16%)
- 61%Live Chat
- 55%Forum
- 26%Online/Offline Events
- 17%Job Board
- 16%Newsletter
Niche Features
- Courses: 17 communities (10%)
- Member Perks: 10 communities (6%)
- Paid Community: 10 communities (6%)
- Requires Application: 9 communities (5%)
- Pairing: 6 communities (4%)
- Tools: 5 communities (3%)
- Token: 1 communities (1%)
- 10%Courses
- 6%Member Perks
- 6%Paid Community
- 5%Requires Application
- 4%Pairing
- 3%Tools
- 1%Token
Live Chat appears on 61% of listings.
What Visitors Click
- Outbound clicks / mo
- 829
Platform supply vs. clicks
| Platform | Communities | Share of communities | Outbound clicks | Share of clicks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Discord | 44 | 26% | 278 | 34% |
| Independent Platforms | 38 | 22% | 38 | 5% |
| Slack | 32 | 19% | 237 | 29% |
| 27 | 16% | 35 | 4% | |
| Github | 9 | 5% | 6 | 1% |
| Skool | 7 | 4% | 31 | 4% |
| 5 | 3% | 81 | 10% | |
| 4 | 2% | 7 | 1% |
Share is calculated within this topic.
Discord hosts 26% of listings and 34% of clicks, so supply and interest line up.
Most-clicked formats
- 602(73%)Chat communities
- 123(15%)Other platforms
- 73(9%)Forum / feed-based
- 31(4%)Private membership
Most-clicked features
- 768(93%)Live Chat
- 421(51%)Online/Offline Events
- 232(28%)Job Board
- 219(26%)Newsletter
- 159(19%)Forum
- 117(14%)Tools
Most-clicked size ranges
- 233(28%)Huge
- 225(27%)Large
- 96(12%)Medium
- 76(9%)Tiny
- 46(6%)Massive
Top-clicked listings
- 105(13%)Nikist Hacker club
- 71(9%)Pakistan Community
- 63(8%)Programmers Palace
Most clicks go to chat communities and other platforms communities.
Trends
Founded year
- 1994: 1 communities (2%)
- 1998: 1 communities (2%)
- 1999: 1 communities (2%)
- 2006: 1 communities (2%)
- 2007: 1 communities (2%)
- 2008: 11 communities (19%)
- 2009: 4 communities (7%)
- 2010: 1 communities (2%)
- 2011: 2 communities (4%)
- 2012: 2 communities (4%)
- 2013: 2 communities (4%)
- 2014: 4 communities (7%)
- 2015: 1 communities (2%)
- 2016: 1 communities (2%)
- 2017: 3 communities (5%)
- 2020: 7 communities (12%)
- 2021: 7 communities (12%)
- 2022: 6 communities (11%)
- 2023: 1 communities (2%)
113 communities have no founding year on file.
Most listed groups were founded around 2008.
Community Quality & Ratings
Only 4 communities have ratings so far, so read this as a small sample.
5.0 average rating across 4 communities.
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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