Indie Hackers
A community of people building profitable online businesses on their own or in small teams, with discussion posts, a product directory where founders share revenue, and case studies. It is the best place to read how small products actually found their first customers, including the ones that failed.
Community
Career Growth
Indie Hackers
Ongoing
All
Free
What it is
Indie Hackers is a website and community for people building online businesses independently: solo founders, small teams and developers with side projects. Members post about what they are building, what worked and what did not, and many share revenue numbers in the product directory. There are also case studies of founders at different revenue levels and an ideas section.
Why it is worth your time
Most startup content is about venture-funded companies. Indie Hackers is about the other path: products that aim to be profitable and sustainable rather than huge. That makes it unusually relevant if you want to build a SaaS, a template business or a small app. Reading ten "how I got my first 100 customers" posts teaches you more about distribution than most courses.
How to use it well
- Read before you post. Search for your product category and see what others tried, what they charged and where their customers came from.
- Treat revenue claims with care. Numbers are self-reported. Look for posts that explain the how, not only the headline figure.
- Share progress, not ads. Posts that share a real lesson or ask a specific question get replies; posts that only link to your product are ignored or removed.
- Look for the failures. Posts about shutting a product down are some of the most useful on the site.
Free versus paid
Reading and posting are free. There is an optional paid subscription for extra content; you do not need it to get value from the community.
What you can do after a few weeks
You will know the common launch channels for your type of product, have a feel for realistic early numbers, and have asked at least one specific question to people a few steps ahead of you.
Common questions
Is it a place to find customers? Rarely, unless your customers are other founders. It is a place to learn how to find customers.
Is building in public required? No. Many successful founders here share little. It is a tool, not a rule.
Source: indiehackers.com, checked 2026-09.
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