Unpopular opinion: People think you need a huge budget to start a community, but I started one with $50

Rowan Hunt · 2026-04-04T20:30:04.862063+00:00

Honestly, I see folks online saying you need to spend hundreds on ads and fancy software to get a forum going. I started a local hiking group's online board with just a $50 yearly hosting plan and a free forum tool. After six months, we have over 200 active members who just want to share trail conditions. The money didn't make it work, putting in the time to post and reply every day did. Has anyone else built something up from basically nothing?

derek9396mo ago

Wait, you got a yearly hosting plan for only $50? Where? Mine costs almost triple that just for basic stuff. That's the real secret right there.

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linda_butler286mo ago

Read a blog post that said the same thing.

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stone.evan5mo ago

Same here, I built a small gaming forum on a free platform and it grew to hundreds without spending a dime.

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