Report Highlights
- Craigslist is No.1 in revenue and traffic for U.S. horizontal classified sites. Mercari is a close No. 2, and OfferUp, the Seattle-area-based classified site that’s borderline profitable, is No. 3.
- It’s wildly profitable because of its unique business model - tiny staff, no spending on marketing or advertising, no sales team - but traffic and revenue have been declining steadily for the past six years and will probably keep going downhill.
- At one point, Craigslist was a household name. Now, between the growth of Facebook Marketplace and other classified apps, it’s really a has-been.
- It is projected 2024 revenue of $302 million for the 30-year-old website. That’s less than half of the $660 million estimate in 2021 and less than one-third of 2018’s $1.035 billion . The company makes more than one-third of its revenue (35.6%) from job ads, with services accounting for 31% and auto ads 20.3%.
- Which companies are winning Craigslist’s audience and revenue? Facebook Marketplace, OfferUp and Mercari, among others. But Mercari is floundering in the U.S., and the Japan-based company’s app faces a make-or-break year in the States in 2025.
- The Craigslist-and-competitors research is a 15-page special report, including ten charts and graphics.
Methodology
The publisher has analysts on every continent except Antarctica and clients on every continent except Antarctica. The publisher relies on them, government filings, competitive analysis, interviews with industry insiders and experts, conversations with the companies being covered and external data such as SimilarWeb to provide extensive data and reporting on key topics.
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