This article is part of our comprehensive Reddit Marketing Guide.
Why Subreddit Selection Matters
Not all Reddit communities are equal for founders. Some are goldmines for:
- Customer discovery and feedback
- Building in public with supporters
- Finding users actively seeking solutions
- Networking with other founders
Here are 20 subreddits every indie hacker should know.
Founder & Startup Communities
1. r/startups (1.5M+ members)
Best for: General startup discussions, feedback, and advice
Promotion rules: Weekly "Share Your Startup" threads only
Pro tip: Great for detailed "how we built this" posts
2. r/SaaS (200K+ members)
Best for: SaaS-specific discussions, metrics, growth strategies
Promotion rules: No direct promotion, but can mention your product in context
Pro tip: High-intent users asking for tool recommendations
3. r/Entrepreneur (3M+ members)
Best for: Broad entrepreneurship content, large audience
Promotion rules: Strict anti-spam, focus on value-add content
Pro tip: Best for educational content that establishes authority
4. r/indiehackers (100K+ members)
Best for: Building in public, milestone sharing, bootstrapped businesses
Promotion rules: Friendly to product mentions in context
Pro tip: Most supportive community for founder journeys
5. r/EntrepreneurRideAlong (300K+ members)
Best for: Following along with real business journeys
Promotion rules: Detailed case studies welcome
Pro tip: Great for "month 1 to month 12" journey posts
Technical & Product Communities
6. r/webdev (2M+ members)
Best for: Developer tools, technical products
Promotion rules: No pure promotion, but Show HN style posts work
Pro tip: Focus on technical implementation details
7. r/programming (6M+ members)
Best for: Massive reach for dev tools
Promotion rules: Very strict - content must be genuinely interesting
Pro tip: Technical deep-dives perform best
8. r/SideProject (100K+ members)
Best for: Sharing projects you've built
Promotion rules: Explicitly allows project promotion
Pro tip: Be active in comments, give feedback to others
9. r/nocode (50K+ members)
Best for: No-code tools and builders
Promotion rules: Tools and tutorials welcome
Pro tip: "How I built X without code" posts do well
Marketing & Growth Communities
10. r/marketing (600K+ members)
Best for: Marketing tools, strategies, insights
Promotion rules: No self-promotion, valuable advice only
Pro tip: Answer questions, mention tools naturally
11. r/growthacking (100K+ members)
Best for: Growth strategies, marketing experiments
Promotion rules: Case studies with data welcome
Pro tip: Share specific numbers and results
12. r/socialmedia (300K+ members)
Best for: Social media tools and strategies
Promotion rules: Helpful advice, no spam
Pro tip: Platform-specific tips perform well
13. r/SEO (400K+ members)
Best for: SEO tools, content marketing
Promotion rules: Technical discussions welcome, no spam
Pro tip: Case studies with data get traction
Industry-Specific Communities
14. r/Productivity (2M+ members)
Best for: Productivity tools, workflows
Promotion rules: Tools mentioned in context OK
Pro tip: "My workflow" posts mentioning your tool work
15. r/smallbusiness (1.5M+ members)
Best for: SMB tools and services
Promotion rules: Advice-focused, no pure ads
Pro tip: Answer questions from business owners
16. r/freelance (200K+ members)
Best for: Freelancer tools, invoicing, project management
Promotion rules: Helpful resources welcome
Pro tip: Share genuine experiences and tools
17. r/digitalnomad (2M+ members)
Best for: Remote work tools, productivity
Promotion rules: Context-appropriate mentions
Pro tip: Location-independent tool features resonate
Feedback & Testing Communities
18. r/alphaandbetausers (30K+ members)
Best for: Finding beta testers
Promotion rules: Explicitly for sharing products
Pro tip: Offer something in return for feedback
19. r/RoastMyStartup (10K+ members)
Best for: Harsh but honest feedback
Promotion rules: Literally asking for criticism
Pro tip: Be open to negative feedback
20. r/design_critiques (100K+ members)
Best for: UI/UX feedback
Promotion rules: Critique requests welcome
Pro tip: Genuinely want to improve, not just promote
How to Use This List
For Building in Public
Focus on r/indiehackers, r/SideProject, r/EntrepreneurRideAlong. Share your journey authentically.
For Customer Discovery
Monitor r/SaaS, r/smallbusiness, r/Productivity. Look for "what tool do you use" questions.
For Product Launches
Use r/alphaandbetausers and r/SideProject for early users. Graduate to larger subreddits once you have traction.
For Authority Building
Contribute valuable answers in r/startups, r/marketing, r/SEO. Never mention your product - let people find it from your profile.
Monitoring Multiple Subreddits
Manually tracking 20 subreddits is exhausting. AI tools can:
- Monitor all relevant subreddits simultaneously
- Surface high-intent posts automatically
- Alert you to mention opportunities
- Save hours of daily browsing
Ready to scale your subreddit presence? Set up AI monitoring for all your target communities.