Bellingcat
Bellingcat is a non-profit investigative journalism organization that uses open-source intelligence — satellite imagery, flight/ship tracking, social media, and digital forensics — to publish verified investigations into conflicts, human rights abuses, and illicit activity, serving the public, newsrooms, and documentary broadcasters.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2014
- HeadquartersLeicester, United Kingdom
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingDigital Commerce or Content
What Bellingcat does
Bellingcat is an independent, non-profit investigative journalism organization founded in 2014 that specializes in open-source intelligence (OSINT) — the verification of events using publicly available data such as satellite imagery, social media posts, flight tracking (ADS-B), ship tracking (AIS), and digital forensics. Headquartered operationally between Leicester (UK founding), Amsterdam (Stichting Bellingcat, the Dutch charitable foundation), and the United States (Bellingcat US, a 501(c)(3) with EIN 92-0346579), Bellingcat employs 11-50 full-time staff and is supported by a large global volunteer researcher community. Its core deliverables are published investigations (over 1,100 to date) covering conflicts, human rights abuses, illicit activity tracking (shadow fleets, drug pipelines, arms proliferation), and misinformation, distributed directly via bellingcat.com, a 600K+ subscriber YouTube channel, multilingual editions (Russian, French, Spanish, German, Ukrainian), and an active Discord community.
The organization's underlying technology stack consists of open-source OSINT tools that Bellingcat develops and publishes, including Turnstone (historical ADS-B flight data visualization), Auto Archiver (which has preserved 150,000+ pieces of online evidence), a ship detection tool for areas with GNSS interference, and Sentinel satellite imagery-based damage assessment tools for conflict zones. It also publishes the Bellingcat Toolkit (a consolidated GitBook of investigation resources) and extensive guides on geolocation, satellite imagery, social media investigation, flight tracking, AI detection, and weapons identification. The team includes specialist researchers in geolocation, satellite imagery, financial investigations, and digital forensics, with prior credentials from BBC Verify, the International Criminal Court, Centre for Information Resilience, and Scripps News.
Bellingcat's business model is a diversified non-profit revenue stack. The largest streams are individual donations and grants from foundations supporting investigative journalism (accepted via the Dutch and US entities). Recurring revenue comes from a Bellingcat Premium Patreon subscription offering training access and an exclusive podcast. Enterprise revenue is generated through documentary co-production partnerships with major Western broadcasters and production houses including FRONTLINE (PBS), CNN Films, Channel 4, The Washington Post, Passion Pictures, Evident Media, Impact Partners, and M4 Studios. A 2026 News Emmy win and six additional Emmy nominations validate the editorial and commercial value of these co-productions. The organization also generates mission-related revenue from training workshops delivered to journalists, researchers, and educational institutions.
Bellingcat firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Bellingcat
- Legal name
- Stichting Bellingcat
- Website
- https://bellingcat.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2014
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Bellingcat is a non-profit investigative journalism organization that uses open-source intelligence — satellite imagery, flight/ship tracking, social media, and digital forensics — to publish verified investigations into conflicts, human rights abuses, and illicit activity, serving the public, newsrooms, and documentary broadcasters.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Bellingcat industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Open Source Intelligence & Investigative Journalism
- NAICS
- Investigation and Security Services (5616), Web Search Portals, Libraries, Archives, and Other Information Services (5192)
- SIC
- Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Digital/Online Investigations & OSINT (Non-cyber) (BPAKAEAF)
Keywords
Where Bellingcat is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Leicester
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices2 records
Markets served
Bellingcat business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Digital Commerce or Content
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others
Revenue model
- Individual Donations: Direct contributions from individual donors supporting Bellingcat's research and investigations. Two nonprofit entities accept donations: Stichting Bellingcat (tax deductible in Netherlands) and Bellingcat US (501c3, tax deductible in the US). EIN is 92-0346579.
- Patreon/Subscription: Bellingcat Premium subscription offering advanced access to training announcements and the Bellingchat Premium podcast. Monthly challenges and exclusive content available to subscribers.
- Documentary Co-Production: Partnerships with broadcasters including FRONTLINE (PBS), CNN Films, Channel 4, and The Washington Post for documentary production. Support acknowledged from Fund for Investigative Journalism.
- Grants and Institutional Funding: Funding from foundations and organizations that support investigative journalism. Financial reports are publicly available on the website.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Monthly | Bellingcat Premium (Patreon) |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels8 records
Bellingcat product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Bellingcat is an independent, non-profit investigative journalism organization that produces open-source intelligence (OSINT) investigations covering conflicts, human rights abuses, illicit trafficking, and misinformation. It develops proprietary open-source tools (e.g., Turnstone flight tracker, Auto Archiver, Ship Detection Tool, Damage Assessment Tools), publishes investigation guides and resources, and delivers training workshops for the OSINT community. The organization also co-produces award-winning documentaries with major broadcasters.
Product overview
Bellingcat is an investigative journalism organization that produces open source investigations and provides educational resources to the investigative community. Its offerings include Turnstone, an open-source flight tracking tool for visualizing historical ADS-B data, a comprehensive Toolkit of open source investigation resources, and a library of guides and how-to resources covering geolocation, satellite imagery analysis, social media investigation, and conflict monitoring.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Turnstone Open-source flight tracking tool that aggregates and visualizes historical ADS-B data, enabling investigators and journalists to identify unusual flight patterns and movements. Built for the open source investigations community.
- Bellingcat Toolkit
- Bellingcat Workshops
- Bellingcat Premium (Patreon Subscription)
- Investigative Documentary Co-Productions Co-produced investigative documentaries and series for major broadcasters and publishers, providing OSINT research, visual evidence, and on-air talent in exchange for distribution reach.
Quantifiable outcome
- News Emmy Award for Outstanding Investigative Journalism: Long Form (2026) for 'Strike on Iran: The Nuclear Question'
- +1 more outcomes
Companies that use Bellingcat
Customer profileNamed customers6 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Bellingcat technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature4 records
Bellingcat partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
13 partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.
- FRONTLINE (PBS)coreCo-production partner for investigative documentaries. Jointly produced 'Strike on Iran: The Nuclear Question' which won a News Emmy for Outstanding Investigative Journalism: Long Form in 2026.
- The Washington PostcoreCo-production partner for the Emmy-winning documentary 'Strike on Iran: The Nuclear Question'. Collaboration on investigative journalism projects.
- Evident MediacorePartner in video investigation covering US border agents movements and documentary production including 'Operation Return To Sender'.
- CNN FilmsmajorCo-producer of 'The Salisbury Poisonings: A Spy Next Door' documentary about the 2018 Skripal poisoning incident, featuring Bellingcat investigator Christo Grozev.
- Channel 4majorCo-producer of 'Antidote' documentary following individuals trying to uncover more about Russia's poison programme.
- Passion PicturesmajorProduction partner for documentaries including 'The Salisbury Poisonings: A Spy Next Door' about the Skripal poisoning case.
- Impact PartnersminorDocumentary co-producer for 'Antidote' about Russia's poison programme.
- M4 StudiosminorProduction partner for 'Antidote' documentary.
- Global Investigative Journalism Network (GIJN)coreBellingcat is an active member of the Global Investigative Journalism Network, connecting with other investigative organizations globally.
- Planet Labs PBCmajorProvides satellite imagery data used extensively in Bellingcat investigations for damage assessment, ship tracking, and conflict monitoring.
- Signal OhiominorCo-publishing partner for the nitazenes/synthetic opioids investigation in Ohio.
- STATminorCo-publishing partner for the nitazenes/synthetic opioids investigation.
- Jeune AfriqueminorCollaborative partner for investigation into banned Russian submunitions in Mali.
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Bellingcat competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- BBC Verify: BBC's open-source investigations unit, established 2022, using geolocation, satellite imagery, and social media verification on news stories. Directly comparable in OSINT methodology and audience, but housed within a legacy public broadcaster rather than an independent non-profit.
- Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP): Global investigative journalism network focused on organized crime and corruption; cross-border collaborative model and donor-funded non-profit structure closely mirror Bellingcat's operating approach, with overlapping technology-and-investigation focus.
- International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ): Global network coordinating cross-border investigative projects (Panama Papers, Pandora Papers). Comparable as a donor-funded non-profit investigative network, though focused more on document leaks than satellite/OSINT techniques.
- Centre for Information Resilience: Non-profit producing open-source investigations into conflict, human rights, and disinformation. Several former staff overlap with Bellingcat, and missions are highly aligned.
- Forensic Architecture: Research agency at Goldsmiths, University of London, using spatial and digital investigation methods (satellite imagery, 3D modeling) for human rights and conflict cases. Highly comparable technology stack and ethical framing.
- The Bureau of Investigative Journalism: UK-based non-profit investigative outlet producing long-form investigations often in partnership with major outlets. Similar donor-funded model and global scope; less OSINT-tool focus.
Broad incumbents
- ProPublica: Large, established US investigative non-profit newsroom. Comparable donor-supported investigative model and documentary ambitions, but a much larger organization operating across all investigative beats rather than specializing in OSINT.
- The New York Times Visual Investigations team: NYT team using satellite imagery, geolocation, and digital forensics for high-profile investigations (e.g., Ukraine conflict coverage). Direct OSINT overlap, but embedded in a commercial legacy publisher with broader resources.
Emerging players
- Stanford Internet Observatory: Academic research program studying disinformation and online harms with overlap to Bellingcat's misinformation investigations. Differs in academic (vs. journalistic) output format.
- Mnemonic: Non-profit focused on preserving and verifying open-source evidence from human rights conflicts, including Syrian Archive. Comparable evidence-preservation (Auto Archiver) and digital archive focus.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Bellingcat social profiles
Digital presenceBellingcat financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Bellingcat leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles11 records
Bellingcat funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds1 record
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Bellingcat M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Bellingcat
What does Bellingcat do?
Bellingcat is an independent, non-profit investigative journalism organization that produces open-source intelligence (OSINT) investigations covering conflicts, human rights abuses, illicit trafficking, and misinformation. It develops proprietary open-source tools (e.g., Turnstone flight tracker, Auto Archiver, Ship Detection Tool, Damage Assessment Tools), publishes investigation guides and resources, and delivers training workshops for the OSINT community. The organization also co-produces award-winning documentaries with major broadcasters.
Is Bellingcat a public or private company?
Bellingcat is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Bellingcat founded?
Bellingcat was founded in 2014. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Bellingcat based?
Bellingcat is headquartered in Leicester, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does Bellingcat make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Individual Donations are the primary driver. The others are patreon/Subscription, documentary Co-Production and grants and Institutional Funding.
Who are Bellingcat's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are BBC Verify, Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), Centre for Information Resilience, Forensic Architecture and The Bureau of Investigative Journalism. Broad incumbents are ProPublica and The New York Times Visual Investigations team. Emerging players are Stanford Internet Observatory and Mnemonic.
Does Bellingcat have an API?
No public API is recorded for Bellingcat.
What industry is Bellingcat in?
Bellingcat's product category is Open Source Intelligence & Investigative Journalism. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAKAEAF, Digital/Online Investigations & OSINT (Non-cyber). Its NAICS code is 5616 and its SIC code is 7370.