Is it even worth trying to make money from a forum anymore?

[Al]

Let’s start with the obvious question. Forums aren’t exactly high-traffic cash cows in 2025. Ad revenue is low unless you’ve got serious numbers, and most users treat paywalls like a personal insult. So is it still worth the effort to monetise? Or is it better to just treat the forum as a hobby and skip the stress? If you are trying to earn something, what are you doing and is it working?

The dream would be to make a living from a forum - but is it just that, a dream? And do we need to wake up and face reality?

 

[Cpvr]

It all boils down to how you want to monetize your forum. You can do a/b testing to see what works and what doesn’t.

Such as, placing ads for guests and encouraging them to join, so they don’t see ads or you can treat it as a hobby.

It is technically not living a dream, but it’s a possibility that you can make money if you’re able to monetize it correctly.

You could also try selling ads instead as a monthly rate, a 6 month or a yearly rate, which would go towards server costs and more.

Or, try selling merchandise if you can find someone to design and create merchandise that you turn a profit from. Such as, mugs, t shirts, hats, plushies, hoodies, etc.

There has been many forums over the years that have generated thousands of dollars in revenue, especially those that were sold and purchased by VerticalScope.

Google adsense pays via a ECPM model now, so it’s easier to generate a profit compared to when it was a CPC model. Especially if a site isn’t able to generate a high level of clicks.

Honestly, I’d rather treat my forum as a hobby for now and focus on building it without a focus on monetizing it.

 

[Ravenfreak]

IMO it's not really worth making money from a forum. You're better off trying to earn money from a blog or even better a vlog. Running websites is just a fun hobby I like to do, so I never tried earning money from my sites and honestly I'm okay with them just being there for fun.

 

[Senkusha]

Heck, I can't even get people to join my forum for totally free and no ads. I'm not wasting my time trying to monetize it.

 

[Bawse]

Small forums make next to nothing. My forum has 350+ members, 20 average online per 24 hours, and it generates a little revenue. It depends what you define "worth it". I'd say it's worth it if you own a big board, and you monetize it properly.

 

[Wise Owl]

Tbh, I don't know. Depends what your forum is about. And how big your community is. I don't think you could get much from the forum itself nowadays but you could seek donations for a project you are doing or "lure" them into your bigger project so they invest in you. I am highly sus about forum income nowadays.

 

[viastra]

Making money from a forum is not an easy cup of tea today. You start with paid posters who eventually fade away. The problem is getting people to talk in forums on a non-theme associated forum/ Take for example, DP. It used to be a huge powerhouse, but since it has no dedicated base behind it, it is dying.
I can openly recommend a few steps I have used to help some forums in the past.

1. Establish a base or user source. Who will send you users? Most forums remain active by creating an internal user generator or utilizing an external base. Forming collaborations with bloggers, gaming platforms, etc, will send a consistent stream of posters to the forum. For example, a Free Game Pass for making 10 posts..
2. Start a link exchange program to increase SEO
3. Establish an Admailr account to reach more posters