Side by side

4chan vs DEV Community

Both stand on online community platforms. Which one you can start free with, which one lets you read the code, and what each costs once you pay.

4chan

Free plan APIWeb

4chan combines anonymous posting with focused boards, temporary threads, and lightweight feed and API access. Its free plan covers participation, while 4chan Pass adds posting conveniences for users who need them.

Visit 4chan

DEV Community

Free plan Open source AndroidAPIiPhone+5

DEV Community combines publishing and discussion for developers, with organization profiles and an open-source foundation. Its content rules matter for anyone planning to publish, and the Free Forever plan has no detailed limits stated.

Visit DEV Community

The facts

	4chan	DEV Community
Free plan	Yes	Yes
Open source	Not published	Yes
Runs on	API, Web	Android, API, iPhone, Linux, Mac, Self-hosted, Web, Windows
Lowest paid plan	See the plans	DEV++ Early-bird: $8 a month
Plans published	2	3
Maker	Not published	Not published
Website	4chan.org	dev.to
On online community platforms	#4 of 54	#1 of 54

4chan: what it does well

No account required to participate
Anonymous posting option
Many topic-specific boards
RSS feeds and read-only JSON API
Threads can be quoted and marked spoilers

What to know first

New threads require an image
Content may be pruned within days
No private groups or direct messaging
Paid Pass has one-IP limitation

DEV Community: what it does well

Members can publish articles, tutorials and announcements.
Readers can comment and follow authors.
Organization accounts support multiple contributors and analytics.
Forem is open source and offers API documentation.
Native mobile apps and direct messaging are listed.

What to know first

Posts must be substantial and on-topic.
Primarily promotional or backlink-seeking posts are not allowed.
No detailed limits are stated for the Free Forever plan.
The bug bounty reward program is suspended.

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