Spam and promotion
- Who it hits
- Readers and founders
- What usually happens next
- Threads drift toward promotion; an invite code was added in 2021
Founder community · Complaints guide
Indie Hackers Complaints
The complaint that lasts is spam and promotion, which recurs in Hacker News threads from 2017 to 2024. Newer complaints are narrower: one unanswered refund request from June 2026, a posting wait with no stated length, and weak search on older posts. [1] [5] [6]
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The main complaints, and how they tend to end
Refund not answered
- Who it hits
- Paid members
- What usually happens next
- One June 2026 account: no reply after two days or four emails
Posting wait
- Who it hits
- New free members
- What usually happens next
- You cannot post until an anti-spam period ends, and no length is stated
- What helps
- IH+ members post from day one, per one reviewer [6] [7]
Weak search and dated posts
- Who it hits
- Members
- What usually happens next
- One reviewer says search struggles with older posts
- What helps
- Check the date on any post before you act on its advice [8]
Posting in the wrong group
- Who it hits
- Founders
- What usually happens next
- A guide says it can hurt visibility
- What helps
- Pick the group that fits your post [9]
| Complaint | Who it hits | What usually happens next | What helps |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spam and promotion | Readers and founders | Threads drift toward promotion; an invite code was added in 2021 | Follow founders who share numbers, and judge a thread by its replies[2] [3] [4] |
| Refund not answered | Paid members | One June 2026 account: no reply after two days or four emails | Get the refund terms in writing before you pay[5] [6] |
| Posting wait | New free members | You cannot post until an anti-spam period ends, and no length is stated | IH+ members post from day one, per one reviewer[6] [7] |
| Weak search and dated posts | Members | One reviewer says search struggles with older posts | Check the date on any post before you act on its advice[8] |
| Posting in the wrong group | Founders | A guide says it can hurt visibility | Pick the group that fits your post[9] |
Spam has lasted since 2017; the newer complaints are narrower
Hacker News comments from 2017 to 2024 that match “indie hackers” and “spam” describe spam, link posts and decline. Thirteen comments match in a keyword search. In 2021, a six-person thread said content had turned to product promotion, paid newsletters and “building in public” posts. The company's answer that year was an invite code to post. Commenters split on whether it shut out newcomers, and no staff replied in the thread. [1] [2] [3]
What to do: judge a thread by its replies rather than its title, and follow founders who share numbers rather than launch announcements. A vendor guide recommends milestone posts over launch announcements, without data. [4]
A refund left unanswered is the complaint to check first
One June 2026 Trustpilot review says a buyer of the annual IH+ plan asked for a refund after two days and got no reply to four emails, or to messages on X and LinkedIn. It is one account, and the review shows no response from the company. IH+ is reported to have a 30-day, pro-rated refund window, so a request after two days would fall inside it. [5] [6]
What to do: get the refund terms in writing before you pay, and keep dated copies of every message. [6]
New members wait with no stated end date
A free account has to wait through an anti-spam period before it can post, and no length is stated. IH+ members post from day one and get a premium founder profile. Without a known wait, a new member cannot plan the first week of a launch. Pricing lists what each plan includes. [6] [7]
What to do: sign up before your launch date, and decide on IH+ only if you would post often enough to pay $198 a year to skip the wait. [6]
Search and older posts are the smaller complaints
One reviewer, writing about October 2026, says forum search and filtering “could be sharper,” especially for older posts, and that the mobile forum “could be smoother.” The same review suggests a “still relevant” tag for old interviews. [8]
What to do: check the date on any post before you act on its advice, and search for a specific phrase rather than a broad topic. [8]
Bibliography
Sources
- Hacker News comment search for “indie hackers” and “spam” (2017 to 2024, run 4 Nov 2026) (independent)
- Hacker News, “Ask HN: What Happened to Indie Hackers?” (April 2021) (independent)
- Hacker News, “Indie Hackers: Now Invite-Only” (August 2021) (independent)
- Distribution Base, “Indie Hackers for SaaS distribution” (3 May 2026) (independent)
- Trustpilot, indiehackers.com reviews (checked 2 Nov 2026) (platform-hosted)
- Profitable Founder, “Is Indie Hackers Worth It? An Honest 2026 Review” (25 Sept 2026) (independent)
- SaaSCity, “Best Indie Hacker Communities in 2026” (30 Oct 2026) (independent)
- Product Hunt, Indie Hackers reviews (checked 2 Nov 2026) (platform-hosted)
- Where To Submit, “How to Post on Indie Hackers and List Your Product (2026)” (4 Sept 2026) (independent)