Free founder communities: 79 checked on their own pages
79 founder communities that are free to join or have a free tier, taken from our comparison of 471 founder communities. Each row is as the community's own page showed it, on the date in the row.
Free founder communities compared
| Community | Who it's for | Format | Price as published | Entry rule | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 351 Portuguese Startup Association | Founders, investors and startup ecosystem people in Portugal | Startup association with Slack and WhatsApp channels and free weekly Coworking Thursdays | Free; €47 a year individual; €97 a year startup membership | Join online; register for Coworking Thursdays on its website | |
| 4WARD | Climate founders, investors, operators and experts | Global online platform plus city hubs, WhatsApp groups and online events | Free | Create a free profile | |
| AI Salon Miami | AI founders, builders and investors in Miami | Monthly evening with keynote, demos and networking, Downtown Miami | Free Pioneer Pass; sponsor and supporter tickets offered | Request a pass on Luma; host approval | |
| Austin Startup Meetup | Austin entrepreneurs and people with a startup idea | Monthly evening meetup with ecosystem updates, lightning pitches and networking | Free | Open; RSVP on Meetup | |
| Barcelona SaaS Founders Circle | SaaS founders and cofounders, mainly B2B | Small evening meetup in Eixample roughly every other week, in English | Free (buy a drink at the venue) | RSVP on Meetup; 20 founder places per evening | |
| Bengaluru Pitch Circuit (The Startup Tales) | Startup founders validating or fundraising, plus investors and technical builders | Evening pitch night: investor panel, 5 founder pitches, networking | Free | Register on Luma; host approval required | |
| Bootstrapped Makers | Bootstrapping makers with a live product and no paying customers yet | Telegram group, monthly live workshop and playbooks | Free tier; Pro $19/mo or $190 for 12 months (currency not named) | Free signup with email; Pro optional | |
| Build Club | People learning to build with AI, including solopreneurs | Online campus, Slack, regional chapters | Free lessons; course prices not shown | Open: sign up to Campus or join the Slack | |
| Catalysr (NSW Migrapreneur Fellowship) | Migrant, refugee and international student founders in NSW | 8-week hybrid fellowship with in-person evenings at Haymarket HQ, then alumni events | Free | Apply for a fellowship intake | |
| CEDAT startup meetups (Bengaluru) | Founders just starting out as well as those already running a business | Frequent in-person meetups in Bengaluru and Mysuru, India, plus WhatsApp groups | Free entry for networking; ₹4999 pitch fee for shortlisted startups at Xplore events | RSVP on Meetup | |
| Chicago Founders Club | Founders, business owners and entrepreneurs building their own companies in Chicago | Weekly Saturday morning run from the Chess Pavilion in Lincoln Park | Free | Open; register on Sweatpals | |
| Climate Coffee London | Climate founders, investors, operators and the curious | Monthly morning coffee meetup in London | Free (General Admission listed at 0) | Register on Luma | |
| Climate Salad | Founders and teams of Australian climate tech companies, plus supporters | Australian community with Slack, monthly online meetups, mentors and a directory | Free profile; membership from $150 AUD + GST per year | Free sign-up; company membership needs approval | |
| Coffee with Founders (Bengaluru) | Founders and aspiring entrepreneurs | Casual networking open houses and mixers with idea exchange | Free | Register on Luma; host approval required | |
| CoFoundersLab | People with a business idea looking for a co-founder | Online co-founder matching and community with weekly live events | Free to join; Premium $29/month (currency not named) with a 30-day free trial | Open sign-up | |
| Colectivo | Latino and Latin American founders, investors and operators | New York tech community with dinners, mixers, pitch competitions and Latino Tech Week | Free community; paid membership price not published | Create a free profile or apply for membership | |
| Crecimiento (Aleph Hub) | Founders and builders in Argentina's tech ecosystem | Foundation with a community hub, coworking days, hackathons and programmes; Buenos Aires, Argentina | Free coworking day seats; other prices not published | Open events on Luma, some needing host approval | |
| DivInc | Diverse and under-resourced founders, including women founders | Equity-free accelerators plus monthly founder mixers in Austin | Free accelerators, 0% equity | Apply to accelerators; RSVP to mixers | |
| eCafe Startup Circle | Startup founders, entrepreneurs, investors and business leaders | Monthly Saturday afternoon networking meetup at rotating Bangalore venues | Free | Register on Luma | |
| eChai Climate Startups Meetup | Climate founders in India, plus investors and enablers | In-person city meetups in India (Ahmedabad, Bengaluru) | Free (Bengaluru edition listed at 0) | RSVP for each edition | |
| eChai Ventures | Founders and startup builders | Open meetups and demo days in Pune, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Delhi-NCR, Mumbai and 20+ other cities | Free to join; listed meetups free | Open; sign up with a photo, name and contact, then RSVP | |
| Enterprise Nation | People launching a new business in the UK | UK membership network with events, local meet-ups and online groups | Free to join | Open sign-up | |
| Explanet Social | People building startups, or still circling one, on the Indiranagar side | Small house meetup: open conversation, sometimes a debate, no stage or panels | Free | RSVP on Luma; host approval and waitlist when full | |
| Female Founders Rise | Women and non-binary founders | Free UK community with London breakfasts, socials and summits (Fitzrovia breakfast in November) | Free to join; breakfast ticket £48.00 | Join free online | |
| FounderCloud (formerly StartHawk) | Founders with an idea who need a co-founder with the other skills | Online co-founder matching, idea board and Q&A forum | Free; Premium $24/month (US dollars) | Open sign-up | |
| Founders Bay | AI founders, engineers and investors | Founder and VC breakfasts, dinners and pitch nights, San Francisco Bay Area | Free ($0); Member $49/month or $399/year (currency not named) | Free account; paid members get entry to every event | |
| Founders Running Club Tel Aviv | Founders, investors, tech and creative people and startup enthusiasts | Weekly Saturday morning easy run then coffee; Tel Aviv, Israel (seafront, Migdalor Cafe) | Free | Register on Eventbrite or Meetup and join the local WhatsApp group | |
| Freelancers Union | US freelancers | Advocacy, guides, SPARK chapters, free NYC hub | Free | Open | |
| Global Sisters | Women in Australia starting or growing a micro business | Online programmes, coaching and a member community | Free | Free sign-up; women living in Australia (or Australians operating overseas) | |
| Guava | Black and Brown founders | Private network with small supper club dinners and park meetups in New York | Free community tier; full membership $1,200 to $1,500 a year (currency not named) | Apply to join; dinners need host approval | |
| Hacker News (Show HN) | Anyone who's built something people can try | Public forum | Free | Follow the Show HN rules; no asking for upvotes | |
| Health2Tech | Digital health founders, clinicians and investors | In-person evening events in cities in the US, UK, Europe and beyond | Free general admission on the Luma listing checked (USD 0) | Register on Luma; host approval required | |
| Indie Hackers | Founders building profitable online businesses | Public forum and feed | Free to join; Indie Hackers Plus US$198 a year | Open | |
| Indie Hackers Lille | Self-funded web founders and solopreneurs in Lille | Monthly drinks meetup with short talks, plus a yearly retreat | Free | Open; register on Luma | |
| Indie Masterminds | Indie hackers working towards $5K MRR | Online forum, courses, co-working and mastermind calls | Free tier; $99 per 3 months, $179 per 6 months or $249 a year (currency not named) | Paid passes open; free tier invite only | |
| lablab.ai | Anyone building with AI, any level | Online and hybrid hackathons, Discord | Free to attend | Open; some on-site phases by invitation | |
| Ladies Who Launch | Women and non-binary small business founders | Free in-person events, newsletter and funding tools | Free (events need an RSVP) | Open; RSVP per event | |
| Latent Space | AI engineers | Discord with city channels, weekly paper club, meetups | Free; paid newsletter from US$6.90 a month | Open Discord invite | |
| Launch Camp | People looking for a cofounder or a startup to join | Curated small-group meetups plus in-platform chat | Free; the 18 Nov matching night has a $10 ticket for selected guests (currency not named) | Join the waitlist; the matching night needs an interest form and host approval | |
| Lounge | AI founders, developers and investors | Online feed and directory, weekly Zoom mastermind by revenue band | Free; founder Pro from US$47 a month | Quick signup; revenue self-reported | |
| Miami Fintech Club | Fintech founders, operators and investors in Miami | Monthly free coworking days at Mana Tech, Downtown Miami | Free | Request a place on Luma; host approval | |
| MLOps Community | People running ML and AI in production | Slack, meetups, virtual talks, podcast, job board | Free | Open | |
| Morning Startup | WA founders, would-be founders and investors | Fortnightly breakfast meetup plus a monthly Founder Sundowner | Free | RSVP on Meetup; pitch slots by email | |
| Nomad Startup Founder Meetup | Startup founders, entrepreneurs and digital nomads building a business | Weekly Thursday evening founder intros and mastermind discussion | Free | RSVP on Meetup | |
| Nucleate | Aspiring biotech founders, scientists and business trainees | Student-led chapters in 42 locations, including India, Japan and Singapore, plus a virtual programme | Free (free-to-all, open-to-all mission) | Apply to the Activator programme or volunteer with a local chapter | |
| Open Coffee Lisbon | Entrepreneurs, startup people and newcomers to Lisbon | Morning un-meeting where everyone gets two minutes to introduce themselves, plus Ericeira editions | Free | RSVP on Meetup | |
| Product Hunt | Makers launching products | Public launch site and comments | Free | No company accounts; no asking for upvotes | |
| ProductLed community | Founders and teams moving to product-led growth | Slack | Free | Open; no self-promotion | |
| Remote Builders (ours) | Founders who build companies remotely | Builder dinners and city chapters, member directory; members' chat in the Bali Startup & Tech Telegram; podcast in the works | Free | Instant join; directory profiles and dinner seats checked by hand | |
| RevGenius | Sales, marketing and revenue people | Slack, cohorts, monthly demo day, events | Free; leaders-only tier $1,499 a year (currency not named) | Join form; leaders tier by invite request | |
| SaaStock Local (now AI Growth Summit Local) | SaaS founders and operators | Quarterly in-person chapter events in 18 listed cities | Free for SaaS founders | RSVP per event; no Australian city listed | |
| SaaStr membership | B2B and AI software founders and executives | Newsletter, content, free weekly live workshops (Wednesdays 10am Pacific), event discounts | Free | Open sign-up | |
| Singapore Entrepreneurs Network | Entrepreneurs at any stage, from students to SME owners | Drop-in networking nights several times a month | Free to attend; buying a drink or meal at the venue is compulsory | RSVP on Meetup and drop in; no hard selling | |
| Startup CPG | Founders of emerging food, beverage, beauty, wellness and pet brands | Slack community, in-person sampling events and meet-ups, webinars, podcast | Free | Fill in a profile form to get the Slack link | |
| Startup Grind Amman | Founders, operators and investors in Jordan | Free in-person and virtual events; Amman, Jordan | Free (listed events) | Join the chapter online; for Founders Day, seats are limited and selected attendees are contacted | |
| Startup Grind Chicago | Chicago founders and the wider startup community | Monthly in-person events and an annual pitch night | Free chapter membership; event tickets priced in US$ | Open; join free, buy event tickets | |
| Startup Grind Hong Kong | Startup founders, builders and operators in Hong Kong | Free in-person meetups and hands-on workshops, plus virtual talks | Free (events listed as free) | RSVP on the chapter's event pages | |
| Startup Grind Tel Aviv | Early-stage tech founders, from MVP to Series A | Monthly events, curated founder and investor circles and pitch battles; Tel Aviv, Israel | Free (Founders & Investors Circle) | Register for each event; curated events review applications before tickets are issued | |
| Startup Grind Warsaw | Entrepreneurs, founders and early-stage startups | Monthly in-person events and pitch sessions, Warsaw, Poland | Free (events listed as In-Person Event (Free)) | Open; join the chapter online and RSVP | |
| Startup Hub Tokyo | People thinking about or preparing to start a business | Free startup support hub with events and lounge, Marunouchi, Tokyo, Japan | Free | Register online as a member | |
| Startup Oasis | Budding founders and anyone who wants to start, join or help a startup | Online pitch and breakout sessions, with city Meetup groups including Singapore | Free (optional VIP ticket to guarantee a pitch slot) | RSVP; pitching requires being a co-founder of a tech startup | |
| Startup Striders Sydney | Founders, operators, investors and builders who like to run | Free Saturday 5k parkrun at Centennial Park, then coffee | Free | Join the city WhatsApp group, then turn up on Saturday | |
| Startup Village Amsterdam | Early-stage deep tech founders, especially in AI and quantum | Science Park hub with free coworking, a weekly community lunch and The Nursery incubator | Free coworking; community lunch €6 to €8; The Nursery €99 a month ex VAT | Walk in to the free coworking on weekdays, or apply to The Nursery | |
| Superpath | In-house, freelance and agency content marketers | Slack, monthly peer and group calls, courses | Free newsletter tier; Pro $50 a month or $500 a year (currency not named) | Open; 30-day trial | |
| Sydney Hardware Meetup | People building physical products: founders, engineers, designers, investors | Evening meetup with talks, open mic hardware demos, food and drinks | Free (optional contribution) | Register on Luma; events can fill | |
| Tech Makers | Founders, builders and innovators in Dutch tech | Monthly tech drinks and pitching at TAG, plus hackathons and a CTO Clinic | Free registration | Register on Meetup or Luma; apply by form to pitch | |
| Tech Startups on the Rooftop Lisbon | Tech founders, budding entrepreneurs and startup people | Monthly after-work rooftop drinks with no talks or pitching | Free (optional pay-what-you-like drink for the organiser) | Register on Luma | |
| TechAviv Founders Club | Israeli tech founders with $1M+ in funding or revenue, plus Israel-focused investors | Private founders club meeting offline and online; Tel Aviv, Israel, and 16 cities worldwide | Free | Recommendation from an existing member; founders need at least $1M in funding or revenue | |
| The Bridge Circle (TBC) | Growth-stage Korean tech founders expanding overseas | Founder talks and networking evenings, Seoul, South Korea | Free (event on 29 October 2026) | Request to join; host approval required | |
| The Ecosystem Project | Founders and would-be co-founders in Israeli tech, especially deep tech | Find a DeepTech Co-Founder evenings plus events newsletter and WhatsApp group; Tel Aviv, Israel | Free | Register and wait for an approval email before attending | |
| The Founder Exhale | Startup founders who want a reset | Free monthly 45-minute walk on the Upper West Side | Free | Register on Luma | |
| Toronto Founders and Entrepreneurs Hub | Founders, business owners and people weighing a business idea | Free casual networking every other Saturday at a Yorkville-area cafe | Free (events currently free of charge) | RSVP on Meetup | |
| UTS Startups (Coffee Hour and Fridays) | Founders, builders and anyone in the startup ecosystem | Fortnightly Coffee Hour and Friday afternoon founder talks in Ultimo | Free | Register on Luma; incubator membership by application | |
| Venture Café Cambridge | Innovators, entrepreneurs and small businesses in Greater Boston | Free weekly Thursday Gathering, Cambridge, Massachusetts | Free programming; optional Venturer supporter programme (price not published) | Open to attend; sign up for the weekly update | |
| Venture Café Fukuoka | Innovators, entrepreneurs and small businesses in Fukuoka | Weekly Thursday Gathering, ONE FUKUOKA BLDG., Fukuoka, Japan | Free | Pre-register on the event website | |
| Venture Café Tokyo | Founders, investors, researchers and other innovators in Tokyo | Weekly Thursday Gathering at CIC Tokyo, Toranomon, Tokyo, Japan | Free | Open; register for each gathering | |
| Venture Park (SVC Seoul) | Founders, investors and ecosystem leaders in Seoul | Talks and networking nights at SVC Seoul, Mapo-gu, Seoul, South Korea | Free | Register on Luma | |
| Web3 Devs Underground | Web3 developers and builders in Israel | Technical meetups in Tel Aviv, Israel, also streamed online | Free | Register on Luma | |
| YC Startup School and Co-Founder Matching | Early-stage founders and people looking for a co-founder | Self-paced course and matching platform | Free | Matching profiles are shown only to approved members |
Questions
- Are there free communities for startup founders?
- Yes. On our list, 79 founder communities say on their own pages that they're free to join or have a free tier, including 4WARD, Austin Startup Meetup, Barcelona SaaS Founders Circle, Bengaluru Pitch Circuit (The Startup Tales) and Catalysr (NSW Migrapreneur Fellowship). Remote Builders, our own community, is free to join too.
- Do free founder communities have paid tiers?
- Some do. 351 Portuguese Startup Association (€47 a year individual), AI Salon Miami (sponsor and supporter tickets offered), Bootstrapped Makers (Pro $19/mo or $190 for 12 months, currency not named), Build Club (course prices not shown), CEDAT startup meetups (Bengaluru) (₹4999 pitch fee for shortlisted startups at Xplore events), Climate Salad (membership from $150 AUD + GST per year), CoFoundersLab (Premium $29/month, currency not named with a 30-day free trial), Colectivo (paid membership price not published), Crecimiento (Aleph Hub) (other prices not published), eChai Ventures (listed meetups free), Female Founders Rise (breakfast ticket £48.00), FounderCloud (formerly StartHawk) (Premium $24/month, US dollars), Founders Bay (Member $49/month or $399/year, currency not named), Guava (full membership $1,200 to $1,500 a year, currency not named), Indie Hackers (Indie Hackers Plus US$198 a year), Indie Masterminds ($99 per 3 months, $179 per 6 months or $249 a year, currency not named), Latent Space (paid newsletter from US$6.90 a month), Launch Camp (the 18 Nov matching night has a $10 ticket for selected guests, currency not named), Lounge (founder Pro from US$47 a month), RevGenius (leaders-only tier $1,499 a year, currency not named), Singapore Entrepreneurs Network (buying a drink or meal at the venue is compulsory), Startup Grind Chicago (event tickets priced in US$), Startup Village Amsterdam (community lunch €6 to €8), Superpath (Pro $50 a month or $500 a year, currency not named) and Venture Café Cambridge (optional Venturer supporter programme, price not published).
- Which free communities suit remote founders?
- Build Club, Indie Hackers, Lounge and YC Startup School and Co-Founder Matching are free to join or have a free tier, as their own pages showed when we checked.
- Which free communities suit agency owners and freelancers?
- Freelancers Union and Superpath are free to join or have a free tier, as their own pages showed when we checked.
- Which free communities suit AI builders?
- Build Club, lablab.ai, Latent Space, Lounge and MLOps Community are free to join or have a free tier, as their own pages showed when we checked.
- Which free communities suit SaaS founders?
- Hacker News (Show HN), Indie Hackers, Product Hunt, ProductLed community, RevGenius, SaaStock Local (now AI Growth Summit Local) and SaaStr membership are free to join or have a free tier, as their own pages showed when we checked.
- Which free communities suit women founders?
- Global Sisters and Ladies Who Launch are free to join or have a free tier, as their own pages showed when we checked.
- Which free communities suit founders in Australia?
- Launch Camp and Morning Startup are free to join or have a free tier, as their own pages showed when we checked.
- Which free communities suit first-time founders?
- CEDAT startup meetups (Bengaluru), CoFoundersLab, Enterprise Nation, FounderCloud (formerly StartHawk), Launch Camp, Startup Oasis and YC Startup School and Co-Founder Matching are free to join or have a free tier, as their own pages showed when we checked.
- Which free communities suit solo founders and bootstrappers?
- Bootstrapped Makers, Indie Hackers, Indie Hackers Lille and Indie Masterminds are free to join or have a free tier, as their own pages showed when we checked.
- Which free communities suit climate tech founders?
- 4WARD, Climate Coffee London, Climate Salad and eChai Climate Startups Meetup are free to join or have a free tier, as their own pages showed when we checked.
- Which free communities suit healthtech founders?
- Health2Tech and Nucleate are free to join or have a free tier, as their own pages showed when we checked.
- Which free communities suit founders in Europe?
- Indie Hackers Lille and Startup Grind Warsaw are free to join or have a free tier, as their own pages showed when we checked.
- Which free communities suit founders in the Middle East and Africa?
- Startup Grind Amman and TechAviv Founders Club are free to join or have a free tier, as their own pages showed when we checked.
- Which free communities suit founders in Japan, Korea, Taiwan and Hong Kong?
- Startup Hub Tokyo, The Bridge Circle (TBC), Venture Café Fukuoka, Venture Café Tokyo and Venture Park (SVC Seoul) are free to join or have a free tier, as their own pages showed when we checked.
- Which free communities suit founders in London?
- Climate Coffee London and Female Founders Rise are free to join or have a free tier, as their own pages showed when we checked.
- Which free communities suit founders in New York?
- Colectivo, Guava and The Founder Exhale are free to join or have a free tier, as their own pages showed when we checked.
- Which free communities suit founders in Lisbon?
- 351 Portuguese Startup Association, Open Coffee Lisbon and Tech Startups on the Rooftop Lisbon are free to join or have a free tier, as their own pages showed when we checked.
- Which free communities suit founders in Singapore?
- Nomad Startup Founder Meetup and Singapore Entrepreneurs Network are free to join or have a free tier, as their own pages showed when we checked.
- Which free communities suit founders in Bengaluru?
- Bengaluru Pitch Circuit (The Startup Tales), CEDAT startup meetups (Bengaluru), Coffee with Founders (Bengaluru), eCafe Startup Circle, eChai Climate Startups Meetup, eChai Ventures and Explanet Social are free to join or have a free tier, as their own pages showed when we checked.
- Which free communities suit founders in Sydney?
- Catalysr (NSW Migrapreneur Fellowship), Launch Camp, Startup Striders Sydney, Sydney Hardware Meetup and UTS Startups (Coffee Hour and Fridays) are free to join or have a free tier, as their own pages showed when we checked.
- Which free communities suit founders in Amsterdam?
- Startup Village Amsterdam and Tech Makers are free to join or have a free tier, as their own pages showed when we checked.
- Which free communities suit founders in Austin?
- Austin Startup Meetup and DivInc are free to join or have a free tier, as their own pages showed when we checked.
- Which free communities suit founders in Tel Aviv?
- Founders Running Club Tel Aviv, Startup Grind Tel Aviv, TechAviv Founders Club and The Ecosystem Project are free to join or have a free tier, as their own pages showed when we checked.
- Which free communities suit founders in Miami?
- AI Salon Miami and Miami Fintech Club are free to join or have a free tier, as their own pages showed when we checked.
- Which free communities suit founders in Chicago?
- Chicago Founders Club and Startup Grind Chicago are free to join or have a free tier, as their own pages showed when we checked.