Communities

Indie Hackers

Home of bootstrapped founders. Milestone and revenue write-ups travel further than announcements.

Visit indiehackers.com
Cost
Free

Free to use. No paid tier is needed to list or post.

Verdict
works

Works: milestone and revenue posts are read by founders who try new tools.

Difficulty
Medium

Needs preparation, a review, or a steady habit before results.

Effort
Medium

About 5 to 10 hours a month.

First result
1 to 4 weeks

A rough range for one person working on it part-time.

Payoff
Compounds

keeps growing while you keep at it.

Best for

Bootstrapped SaaS and indie products that can share real numbers.

Not for

Products that only want a launch-day spike.

Pros

  • Founders who share numbers and try tools
  • Milestone posts travel well

Cons

  • Audience is mostly other founders
  • Low reach for non-founder products

The full guide

Last verified 2026-10-30

Links checked 2026-10-30 · The site blocks automated checks, so its links are unconfirmed

01What it is and who is there

Indie Hackers is a community of founders building bootstrapped businesses. Members post milestones, revenue numbers, lessons and launches, and others comment. The audience is founders, so it is best for products other founders use, and for building relationships and a reputation. Posts with real numbers and specific lessons travel further than announcements.

02Cost and what you actually pay for

Posting is free. Your cost is the time to write useful posts and take part in discussions.

03Is it right for you?

It fits bootstrapped SaaS, tools for founders, and anyone willing to share real numbers and lessons. It fits poorly for products aimed at non-founders, and for anyone who only wants to post a link. If your buyer is a consumer or an enterprise team, the audience here will not buy.

04Before you start

  • Create a profile with your real name, your product and a short bio.
  • Read the community guidelines on self-promotion.
  • Spend a week reading and commenting before you post about your product.
  • Gather a real milestone or lesson: first revenue, a failed experiment, a channel that worked.

05Step-by-step: how to distribute here

  1. Comment helpfully on other founders' posts for a week or two.
  2. Write a milestone post: what you built, the number, what worked, what did not.
  3. Put the lesson in the title, not the product name.
  4. Mention the product once, with a link, where it fits naturally.
  5. Answer every comment.
  6. Post again only when you have a new number or lesson.

06What to post or submit

Title formula:

[Milestone] in [time]: [the one thing that worked]

Post outline:

What I built: [one sentence].
The number: [revenue / users / sign-ups], from [start] to [now].
What worked: [channel or change], with details.
What didn't: [honest failure].
What I'm trying next: [plan].
[Product link]

07Common mistakes and do-nots

  • Do not post pure announcements with no lesson.
  • Do not invent or round up numbers.
  • Do not post the same story repeatedly.
  • Do not ask for upvotes.

08How to measure it

  • Track referrals from indiehackers.com.
  • Track sign-ups and replies from founders.
  • A realistic test: two or three milestone posts over a few months.

09Time budget

  • Before: 1 to 2 hours a week of reading and commenting for two weeks.
  • Per post: 1 to 2 hours to write, 1 hour to reply.

10Pair it with

11Sources

From X

Data from X.

Sources