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DEV Community

dev.to

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Spec score 9.3 #1 of 54 in Online Community Platforms

What it is

DEV Community is a place for software developers to share work and learn with one another. Members can publish articles, tutorials, and announcements, then comment, follow authors, and engage with other readers. Posts are expected to be substantial and on-topic rather than primarily promotional or aimed at creating backlinks. Organizations can set up branded profiles with multiple contributors, analytics, and custom calls to action. DEV is built on Forem, open-source software that people can inspect and contribute to, and Forem provides API documentation for programmatic access. DEV lists web, Android, iOS, and API availability, with native mobile apps and direct messaging. The service has a Free Forever plan at free. Accounts can be created through Apple, GitHub, Twitter/X, or email. DEV was founded in 2014 and is headquartered in New York, NY. It directs account and general inquiries to [email protected], and vulnerability reports to [email protected]; its bug bounty reward program is suspended.

Spec sheet

What it does
DEV is a community where software developers share knowledge, learn, collaborate and manage their careers.Read 15 Oct 2026 · dev.to
Purpose
DEV is a community where software developers collaborate and learn from one another.Read 8 Oct 2026 · dev.to
API
Forem provides API documentation for programmatic access to its platform.Read 8 Oct 2026 · developers.forem.com
Privacy
DEV’s privacy policy says it does not directly collect or store payment card information entered through its services.Read 8 Oct 2026 · dev.to
Support
DEV directs users to [email protected] for help with accounts and other inquiries.Read 8 Oct 2026 · dev.to
Headquarters
New York, NY, United StatesRead 28 Sep 2026 · dev.to
Founded
2014Read 28 Sep 2026 · dev.to
Account sign-up
DEV says users can sign up using Apple, GitHub, Twitter/X, or email.Read 8 Oct 2026 · dev.to
API authentication
Version 1 uses an Accept header and usually an api-key header generated from a user settings page, while some endpoints are public.Read 15 Oct 2026 · developers.forem.com
API coverage
The API documentation covers articles, users, pages, subforems, surveys and agent-session resources, among others.Read 15 Oct 2026 · developers.forem.com
API versions
Forem provides API version 0 and version 1; version 0 is deprecated and version 1 is recommended.Read 15 Oct 2026 · developers.forem.com
App seller identity
The mobile app seller is listed as Dev Community Inc., with a Brooklyn, New York address in Apple’s store listing.Read 15 Oct 2026 · apps.apple.com
Authentication integrations
Accounts can be created with Apple, GitHub, Twitter/X or email, and DEV supports connected OAuth accounts.Read 15 Oct 2026 · dev.to
Billboards
Forem billboards provide flexible content units for account prompts, quality-content promotion, campaigns and feature discovery.Read 15 Oct 2026 · dev.to
Community features
Members can comment, follow authors, and engage with other readers.Read 8 Oct 2026 · dev.to
Community size
The homepage states that DEV has 4,154,371 developers.Read 15 Oct 2026 · dev.to
Company headquarters
Crunchbase lists Forem in New York, New York, United States.Read 15 Oct 2026 · crunchbase.com
Company size
LinkedIn lists Forem as a privately held software-development company with 11–50 employees.Read 15 Oct 2026 · linkedin.com
Company workplace
LinkedIn describes Forem as remote-first, distributed worldwide and without a physical office.Read 15 Oct 2026 · linkedin.com
Content limits
Terms prohibit plagiarism, require substantial on-topic posts and allow DEV to remove content or restrict participation at its discretion.Read 15 Oct 2026 · dev.to
Content rules
Posts must be substantial, on-topic, and not primarily promotional or intended to create backlinks.Read 8 Oct 2026 · dev.to
Deployment tooling
The Forem repository documents Kamal setup and deployment commands and requires PostgreSQL connection configuration.Read 15 Oct 2026 · github.com
DEV++ availability
DEV++ is currently available as a prize for participation in challenges, hackathons, and other DEV achievements.Read 8 Oct 2026 · dev.to
DEV++ partner offers
The DEV++ launch described eight initial deals, including a four-times Neon Postgres free tier and 50% off a Polywork profile site.Read 15 Oct 2026 · dev.to
Documentation status
Forem warns that its API and self-hosting documentation may be out of date because the product is changing rapidly.Read 15 Oct 2026 · developers.forem.com
Independent research
A 2021 study found about 50,000 DEV users had posted more than 140,000 software-development articles.Read 15 Oct 2026 · arxiv.org
Independent research: external links
The same study found 83% of sampled profiles linked to GitHub, 56% to Twitter and 14% pinned GitHub repositories.Read 15 Oct 2026 · arxiv.org
Licence
The main Forem codebase is free software under the GNU Affero General Public License version 3 or later.Read 15 Oct 2026 · github.com
Limit: Android support
A Google Play reviewer reported being unable to log in or reset a password after an account issue and receiving no support response.Read 15 Oct 2026 · play.google.com
Limit: Android usability
Google Play reviewers report unresponsive features, loading that can hang, lost comment text and navigation bugs.Read 15 Oct 2026 · play.google.com
Limit: iOS navigation
An Apple App Store reviewer says accidental swipes repeatedly return to the previous page while reading.Read 15 Oct 2026 · apps.apple.com
Limit: Trustpilot reliability
Trustpilot says DEV has not invited customers to review, so the small review set may not be representative.Read 15 Oct 2026 · trustpilot.com
Notable news
DEV++ launched on August 29, 2024 with an early-bird price of $8 per month.Read 15 Oct 2026 · dev.to
Open source
DEV is built on Forem, open-source software that people can inspect and contribute to.Read 8 Oct 2026 · dev.to
Organizations
Organization accounts can manage an organization homepage and member information.Read 15 Oct 2026 · dev.to
Paid-service terms
Paid subscriptions renew automatically, fees may change, and payments are final with no refunds under the stated terms.Read 15 Oct 2026 · dev.to
Partnership
DEV says it joined forces with Major League Hacking to combine its knowledge-sharing community with MLH learning experiences.Read 15 Oct 2026 · dev.to
Praise: community
Trustpilot reviewers repeatedly describe DEV as welcoming, kind, educational and well moderated.Read 15 Oct 2026 · trustpilot.com
Profiles and settings
Account settings support profile customization, appearance, dark mode, notifications, privacy and advertising preferences.Read 15 Oct 2026 · dev.to
Publishing
Users can publish long-form posts, tutorials, discussions and other developer content.Read 15 Oct 2026 · arxiv.org
Rating on Apple App Store
3.8 out of 5 from 32 ratings in the US store.Read 15 Oct 2026 · apps.apple.com
Rating on Google Play
4.1 out of 5 from 243 reviews.Read 15 Oct 2026 · play.google.com
Rating on Trustpilot
4.0 out of 5 from 4 reviews.Read 15 Oct 2026 · trustpilot.com
RSS integration
Users can import an RSS feed, mark its source as canonical, or replace links with DEV links; main, user and tag feeds are available.Read 15 Oct 2026 · dev.to
SDKs
Forem publishes a Ruby SDK plus Android and iOS core-interface SDK repositories.Read 15 Oct 2026 · github.com
Security disclosure
Forem invites security research on DEV under its vulnerability-disclosure policy.Read 15 Oct 2026 · github.com
Security reporting
DEV accepts vulnerability reports at [email protected] and says its bug bounty reward program is suspended.Read 8 Oct 2026 · dev.to
Self-hosting
Forem can be self-hosted on DigitalOcean, AWS, Google Cloud or bare metal using the official playbook.Read 15 Oct 2026 · developers.forem.com
Sponsored billboard controls
Users can hide sponsored billboards, while in-house and author-associated billboards remain visible.Read 15 Oct 2026 · dev.to
System requirements
Self-hosting documentation lists Git, Python 3, Ansible, Butane, pwgen and Fedora CoreOS for the documented deployment route.Read 15 Oct 2026 · github.com

Plans and prices

Free Free Account registration · publishing and community participation Read 15 Oct 2026 · dev.to
Free Forever Free Pricing page is titled “Free Forever”; no detailed limits stated Read 8 Oct 2026 · dev.to
DEV++ Early-bird $8 a month monthly Partner discounts · improved content recommendations · benefit-of-the-doubt spam signal · early access Read 15 Oct 2026 · dev.to

Every DEV Community plan and price →

Strong points and limits

Strong points

  • Articles, tutorials, and announcements can be published.
  • Readers can comment and follow authors.
  • Organization profiles include analytics and custom calls to action.
  • Open-source Forem provides documented API access.
  • Free Forever costs nothing.

Limits

  • Posts must be substantial and on-topic.
  • Primarily promotional or backlink-seeking posts are not allowed.
  • The bug bounty reward program is suspended.

Who it suits

DEV suits developers who want to publish technical writing and take part in discussions with other readers. Organizations may find its branded profiles and multi-contributor setup useful.

Verdict

DEV combines publishing and community discussion with organization profiles and API access through Forem. Its stated content rules and free plan make those terms clear for prospective members.

Where Specifiction places it

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