LaunchWakeChannels / r/SideProject vs Indie Hackers — Show IH
Head to head
r/SideProject vs Indie Hackers — Show IH
Which is the better place to launch your product — and what does it take to post safely in each?
The short answer
Both carry low ban risk, so choose by audience: r/SideProject reaches ~250k indie makers & founders, while Indie Hackers — Show IH reaches warm founder & bootstrapper community. If your product speaks to both, post to each — with a native angle per channel, never the same text twice.
The rules, side by side
r/SideProject
Ban risk
Low
Best time to post
Weekday mornings ET
Audience
~250k indie makers & founders
This sub explicitly welcomes sharing your own side projects and launches; just post a genuine build/story, not pure ad copy, and engage with commenters. Avoid low-effort spam and duplicate reposts.
- Frame the post as a lesson, guide, or question — value first.
- Read the subreddit rules and respect any self-promo ratio or thread.
- Engage in the comments; mention your tool only as context.
Indie Hackers — Show IH
Ban risk
Low
Best time to post
Weekday mornings
Audience
warm founder & bootstrapper community
Posting is gated: a fresh account can't create posts until IH grants privileges — earn them with authentic, effortful comments over a week or two first (or unlock via IH Plus). Once in: value-first, share what you built and the numbers (revenue, users, lessons). Transparency is rewarded; pure promotion is ignored. Engage in the comments.
- Share real numbers — revenue, users, what worked and what didn't.
- Be transparent about being the maker; the community rewards it.
- Built for sharing what you made — no promo-specific restrictions beyond the format.
- Rewards transparency; disclose that it's your project.
Or skip the guesswork entirely.
Paste your GitHub repo into the free Launch Checker and get a ranked plan across 100+ channels — fit, ban risk, and how to post in each. No account needed.