Tech Communities Report

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Executive Summary

We analyzed 90 tech communities listed on Hive Index to understand where people gather, what these groups offer, and which communities attract the most interest.

The big picture: tech 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
90
Platforms
12
Avg members
634K
Median members
3K

Where Tech Communities Are Hosted

  • Independent Platforms: 23 communities (26%)
  • Discord: 20 communities (22%)
  • Slack: 19 communities (21%)
  • Reddit: 8 communities (9%)
  • Facebook: 6 communities (7%)
  • WhatsApp: 6 communities (7%)
  • LinkedIn: 2 communities (2%)
  • X / Twitter: 2 communities (2%)
  • Circle: 1 communities (1%)
  • Telegram: 1 communities (1%)
  • Mighty Networks: 1 communities (1%)
  • Discourse: 1 communities (1%)
  • Independent Platforms
    Independent Platforms
    23(26%)
  • Discord
    20(22%)
  • Slack
    19(21%)
  • Reddit
    8(9%)
  • Facebook
    6(7%)
  • WhatsApp
    6(7%)
  • LinkedIn
    2(2%)
  • X / Twitter
    2(2%)

Format mix

  • Chat communities
    46(51%)
  • Forum / feed-based
    38(42%)
  • Other platforms
    4(4%)
  • Private membership
    2(2%)

Chat communities is most common (51%), but forum / feed-based is also well represented (42%).

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

Audience Size & Access

Community size

  • Tiny: 5 communities (6%)
  • Small: 2 communities (2%)
  • Medium: 15 communities (17%)
  • Large: 25 communities (28%)
  • Huge: 12 communities (13%)
  • Massive: 2 communities (2%)
  • Gigantic: 6 communities (7%)
  • Tiny
    <20 members
    5(6%)
  • Small
    20-100 members
    2(2%)
  • Medium
    100-1,000 members
    15(17%)
  • Large
    1,000-10,000 members
    25(28%)
  • Huge
    10,000-100,000 members
    12(13%)
  • Massive
    100,000-1M members
    2(2%)
  • Gigantic
    1M+ members
    6(7%)

23 communities have unknown member counts.

Free vs paid

  • Free to join: 79 communities (88%)
  • Paid or apply-to-join: 11 communities (12%)

The average is much higher than the median (634K vs 3K), which usually means a few large groups are pulling the average up.

How Tech Differs From Other Categories

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

MetricTechHive Index average
Free to join88%85%
Median members3K25K
Average members634K657K
Paid or apply-to-join12%15%
Live chat56%41%
Discord share22%18%

Feature Mix

Common features appear in at least 15% of listings.

Common Features

  • Forum: 51 communities (57%)
  • Live Chat: 50 communities (56%)
  • Online/Offline Events: 31 communities (34%)
  • Newsletter: 24 communities (27%)
  • Job Board: 19 communities (21%)
  • Pairing: 17 communities (19%)
  • Forum
    57%
  • Live Chat
    56%
  • Online/Offline Events
    34%
  • Newsletter
    27%
  • Job Board
    21%
  • Pairing
    19%

Niche Features

  • Courses: 13 communities (14%)
  • Member Perks: 12 communities (13%)
  • Paid Community: 7 communities (8%)
  • Requires Application: 5 communities (6%)
  • Tools: 3 communities (3%)
  • Token: 1 communities (1%)
  • Courses
    14%
  • Member Perks
    13%
  • Paid Community
    8%
  • Requires Application
    6%
  • Tools
    3%
  • Token
    1%

Live Chat appears on 56% of listings.

What Visitors Click

Outbound clicks / mo
423

Platform supply vs. clicks

PlatformCommunitiesShare of communitiesOutbound clicksShare of clicks
Independent Platforms2326%
102%
Discord2022%
14033%
Slack1921%
13131%
Reddit89%
82%
Facebook67%
61%
WhatsApp67%
10224%
X / Twitter22%
102%
Telegram11%
10%

Share is calculated within this topic.

Most-clicked formats

  • Chat communities
    374(88%)
  • Forum / feed-based
    24(6%)
  • Private membership
    15(4%)
  • Other platforms
    10(2%)

Most-clicked features

  • Live Chat
    378(89%)
  • Online/Offline Events
    189(45%)
  • Newsletter
    128(30%)
  • Forum
    117(28%)
  • Pairing
    109(26%)
  • Job Board
    101(24%)

Most-clicked size ranges

  • Large
    149(35%)
  • Huge
    120(28%)
  • Medium
    21(5%)
  • Gigantic
    8(2%)
  • Tiny
    4(1%)

Top-clicked listings

  • NYCTech
    49(12%)
  • Python Programmers
    48(11%)
  • Hack2skill
    27(6%)

Most clicks go to chat communities and forum / feed-based communities.

Community Quality & Ratings

Only 3 communities have ratings so far, so read this as a small sample.

4.9 average rating across 3 communities.

Rated examples

Methodology & FAQ

Methodology

This report uses communities in the Hive Index database tagged as Tech. 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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