Revenue at Craigslist bounced back in 2021 due to the hot job market, but it’s still down more than one-third from its pre-pandemic total of $1 billion annually, a new AIM Group report shows.
Craigslist generated an estimated $660 million in revenue last year, up 17% from 2020. Most of the growth came from a 30% jump in job listings and 75% in gig listings. But traffic fell to 277 million monthly visits in November, one-third of its peak traffic in 2017.
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The 27-year-old for-profit company, based in San Francisco, employs about 50. It charges for ads including jobs, gigs, autos, services and for-sale items. Most fees are low, from $3 to $75.
“Many people think Craigslist has gone away, or that all of its ads are free,” said Peter M. Zollman of the AIM Group. “But it’s still a powerhouse, and it’s in a tight race with Avito in Russia as the world’s No. 1 classified site by traffic.
“Even though its revenue has bounced back a little, Craigslist isn’t what it once was.”
The AIM Group has estimated Craigslist’s revenue since 2003, when it was just $7 million. Its profit margins are projected at 70% to 80%.
The 2022 AIM Group Craigslist Report, available for $595 at AIMGroup.com, also reviews Craigslist’s primary competitors in the U.S.: Facebook Marketplace, Mercari, Nextdoor and OfferUp.
Craigslist revenue estimates are developed with an extensive hand-count of tens of thousands of ads. Buyers can receive complete market-by-market spreadsheets showing category revenue and city / state totals for 2021 and 2020.
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Note to editors: Free copies of the report are available for coverage; call 1-407-788-2780 or email info@aimgroup.com AIM Group founding principal Peter M. Zollman is available for interviews.
The AIM Group provides global business intelligence services — news and analysis, conferences and consulting — for automotive, real estate, recruitment and horizontal marketplaces and classified sites. We work at senior levels with marketplace companies, investors and vendors, advising on strategic and operational opportunities and challenges. We’re a global team of more than 40 who follow changes in the marketplace and classified advertising industry in greater depth than anyone else. We publish AIM Group Marketplaces Report and run leading global conferences for recruitment, automotive, and online marketplaces. Founded in 1998, the AIM Group is based in Altamonte Springs, Fla.