Indie pop (also typeset as indie-pop or indiepop) is a music genre and subculture that combines guitar pop with a DIY ethic in opposition to the style and tone of mainstream pop music. It originated from British post-punk in the late 1970s and subsequently generated a thriving fanzine, label, and club and gig circuit. Compared to its counterpart, indie rock, the genre is more melodic, less abrasive, and relatively angst-free. In later years, the definition of indie pop has bifurcated to also mean bands from unrelated DIY scenes/movements with pop leanings. Subgenres include chamber pop and twee pop.

Indie pop is defined by its DIY ethos, upbeat melodies, and an overarching sense of "authenticity." It primarily takes influences from post-punk, jangle pop, and its counterpart, indie rock. While sharing overarching similarities, indie pop is more melodic, simplistic, and accessible, eschewing the more abrasive and conventional aspects of indie rock. Music journalist Nitsuh Abebe noted in Pitchfork that:

Indie pop is not just "indie" that is "pop." Not too many people realize this, or really care either way. But you can be sure indie pop's fans know it. They have their own names for themselves ... the music they listen to ... their own canon of legendary bands ... and legendary labels ... their own pop stars ... their own zines ... websites ... mailing lists ... aesthetics ... festivals ... iconography ... fashion accessories ... and in-jokes ... in short, their own culture.

Music critic Simon Reynolds says that indie pop defines itself against "charting pop". Abebe explains:

One of those things was the idea that rock music was supposed to be cool – "cool" meaning sexy, tough, arty, fiery, or fantastical... The charts had "cool" covered – these kids, in their basements and bedrooms, were trying to hand-craft a mirror-image of it, a pop world where they were the stars... and a little bit of a raspberry blown at the larger musical world, which (sensibly) went right on preferring something more interesting than average white kids playing simple pop songs.

Indie pop was an unprecedented contrast from the gritty and serious tones of previous underground rock styles, as well as being a departure from the glamour of contemporary pop music. Distinguished from the angst and abrasiveness of its indie rock counterpart, the majority of indie pop borrows not only the stripped-down quality of punk, but also "the sweetness and catchiness of mainstream pop".

Indie pop and twee music scenes have often vocally rejected the sexist, homophobic, and racist attitudes of both mainstream and underground music scenes. However, while it has often been more inclusive than other forms of independent music in terms of gender and sexual orientation, its lack of racial diversity has been noted by critics.

According to Emily Dolan, indie pop is predicated on the music of the Velvet Underground, and "some of rock's more quirky and eccentric figures", such as Jonathan Richman. Abebe identifies the majority of indie as "all about that 60s-styled guitar jangle" as credited to bands like the Byrds. Other influences and precursors include the Beach Boys' Smiley Smile, Paul McCartney's Ram, as well as the power pop of the dB's and Alex Chilton's Big Star labeled the "power pop group to which all good indie melodicists pray".