What Kiplinger does

Kiplinger is a personal finance media company founded in 1920 that publishes subscription-based financial guidance for individual investors, retirees, and financial professionals in the United States. Operating as a subsidiary of Future US Inc., the company produces a portfolio of print and digital publications including the flagship Kiplinger Personal Finance magazine (founded 1947 as the first U.S. magazine dedicated to personal money management), The Kiplinger Letter (a weekly business forecasting periodical launched in 1923), The Kiplinger Tax Letter (a biweekly tax advisory newsletter launched in 1925), the Kiplinger Retirement Report (monthly, launched 1993), and Kiplinger's Investing for Income (monthly, launched 2012). These are supported by more than ten distinct email newsletters, an iOS mobile application, reader-engagement tools (financial calculators, quizzes, economic forecasts), and an annual Readers' Choice Awards program launched in 2023.

The technology stack is a digital publishing platform built around a content management system that powers Kiplinger.com, the email newsletter distribution infrastructure, and the mobile application. There is no disclosed proprietary AI/ML system, no platform APIs, and no SDK or developer ecosystem; the underlying assets are editorial content, brand reputation accumulated over more than a century, and audience reach across multiple channels. Distribution spans the website, email newsletters, print magazine, mobile app, and corporate subscription packages.

Kiplinger's business model is anchored on recurring subscription revenue across its magazine and newsletter portfolio, supplemented by display advertising on its digital properties and affiliate referral fees from retailer links. Pricing includes annual print subscriptions starting at $107.88 and digital subscriptions reduced from $107.88 to $24.99. Customer segments span individual American investors and savers (primary), financial advisors and wealth managers (secondary), and business professionals seeking economic forecasts (secondary). The company employs 251–500 staff, is privately held, and reports no venture funding.

Name

Kiplinger

Legal name

Kiplinger

Website

https://kiplinger.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1920

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

Kiplinger is a 105-year-old U.S. personal finance media company and subsidiary of Future US Inc. that publishes subscription magazines, more than ten newsletters, and digital content on investing, taxes, and retirement for individual investors and financial professionals.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Financial Media and Publishing

NAICS

Periodical Publishers (51312), Newspaper, Periodical, Book, and Directory Publishers (5131)

SIC

Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721)

akta.pro primary industry

Business, Personal Finance & Careers Trade Publishing (MPAJAAAK)

akta.pro secondary industries

Newsletter Publishing Platforms (MPACAIAA), Politics, Current Affairs & Social Commentary Publishing (MPAJAAAM)

Keywords

• Personal finance publishing
• Financial newsletters
• Investment advice
• Tax planning content
• Retirement planning advice

Headquarters

HQ city

Washington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Kiplinger Personal Finance Magazine: Monthly print and digital magazine providing investing, saving, tax, and retirement advice. Subscription-based with digital and print options.
2. The Kiplinger Letter: Weekly business forecasting publication launched in 1923, considered the most widely read business forecasting periodical in the world.
3. The Kiplinger Tax Letter: Biweekly tax advisory newsletter, the most widely read tax advisory newsletter in the U.S., covering business and personal taxation since 1925.
4. Kiplinger Retirement Report: Monthly publication providing retirement planning strategies, published since 1993.
5. Kiplinger Investing for Income: Monthly issue focused on generating inflation-beating cash yields, launched in 2012.
6. Affiliate Fees: Revenue from affiliate links to products and services on retailer sites, where Kiplinger receives compensation when readers click links or make purchases.
7. Advertising: Display advertising on websites, clearly identified as ads and distinguishable from editorial articles.

Pricing tiers

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Kiplinger publishes subscription-based personal finance content across multiple formats, including its flagship Kiplinger Personal Finance monthly magazine, weekly The Kiplinger Letter (business forecasting), biweekly The Kiplinger Tax Letter, monthly Kiplinger Retirement Report, and monthly Kiplinger's Investing for Income. The company complements these paid publications with a portfolio of free and premium email newsletters, online financial tools and calculators, and economic forecasts delivered through its Kiplinger.com website and mobile app.

Product overview

Kiplinger operates as a multi-platform personal finance media company offering a portfolio of subscription publications, newsletters, digital tools, and awards programs. The core products include Kiplinger Personal Finance magazine (the flagship monthly publication), The Kiplinger Letter (weekly business forecasting), The Kiplinger Tax Letter (biweekly tax advisory), Kiplinger Retirement Report (monthly retirement guidance), and Kiplinger's Investing for Income (monthly income investing publication). These are supplemented by an extensive newsletter suite including Kiplinger Today (daily), Kiplinger Closing Bell (daily investing roundup), Kiplinger Adviser Intel (twice-weekly for financial professionals), Kiplinger Tax Tips (weekly), Kiplinger Retirement Tips (twice-weekly), and Kiplinger Investing Weekly (twice-weekly). Digital offerings include Kiplinger Tools and Calculators, Kiplinger Puzzles and Quizzes, Kiplinger Economic Forecasts, and the annual Kiplinger Readers' Choice Awards. Corporate subscription options are available for business clients.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• The Kiplinger Letter: Weekly publication forecasting business and economic trends, legislation, regulation, technology, world affairs, politics, financial markets and investing. Launched 1923.
• The Kiplinger Tax Letter
• Kiplinger Retirement Report
• Kiplinger's Investing for Income
• Kiplinger Today
• Kiplinger A Step Ahead
• Kiplinger Closing Bell
• Kiplinger Adviser Intel
• Kiplinger Tax Tips
• Kiplinger Retirement Tips
• Kiplinger Adviser Angle
• Kiplinger Investing Weekly
• Kiplinger Invest for Retirement

Products and services

• Kiplinger Personal Finance magazine Monthly magazine providing advice on investing, saving, cutting taxes, building wealth, and planning for retirement, for individual American consumers managing personal finances.
• The Kiplinger Letter Weekly business forecasting periodical that forecasts business, economy, legislation, regulation, technology, world affairs, politics, financial markets and investing, for professionals and engaged individual readers.
• The Kiplinger Tax Letter Biweekly tax advisory newsletter covering business and personal taxation, alerting readers to changes in tax law, IRS rulings, and strategies to minimize taxes, for individual taxpayers and tax professionals.
• Kiplinger Retirement Report Monthly publication providing strategies to build and preserve retirement wealth, safeguard savings against inflation, slash taxes, maximize Social Security and Medicare benefits, create estate plans, and secure healthcare, for pre-retirees and retirees.
• Kiplinger's Investing for Income Monthly publication showing readers how to generate inflation-beating cash yields from 4% to 8% and more with minimum risk, featuring four model portfolios with different investing strategies, for income-focused investors.
• Kiplinger Today newsletter Daily email newsletter delivering the best of Kiplinger's advice on investing, taxes, retirement, personal finance and much more, for general personal finance readers.
• Kiplinger Closing Bell newsletter Daily round-up of investing news and analysis, delivered every day the U.S. stock market is open, for active retail investors.
• Kiplinger Adviser Intel newsletter Twice-weekly newsletter featuring expert wealth insights from financial professionals about retirement, estate planning and tax strategies, for financial advisers and wealth managers.
• Kiplinger A Step Ahead newsletter Five-days-per-week practical help newsletter to make better financial decisions in everyday life, from spending to savings on top deals, for general consumers.
• Kiplinger Tax Tips newsletter Weekly newsletter providing practical tax-planning and tax-cutting strategies to trim federal and state tax bills, for individual taxpayers.
• Kiplinger Retirement Tips newsletter Twice-weekly guide to planning and enjoying a financially secure and richly rewarding retirement, for pre-retirees and retirees.
• Kiplinger Adviser Angle newsletter Bimonthly newsletter providing insights for advisers, wealth managers and other financial professionals, for financial advisory practitioners.
• Kiplinger Investing Weekly newsletter Twice-weekly roundup of promising stocks, funds, companies and industries to consider, as well as those to avoid, for retail investors.
• Kiplinger Invest for Retirement newsletter Six-week email course on how to invest for retirement, from devising a successful strategy to exactly which investments to choose, for individual retirement savers.
• Kiplinger Tools and Calculators Suite of online tools and calculators for retirement planning, savings, and other financial planning calculations, for individual consumers running personal finance scenarios.
• Kiplinger Economic Forecasts Economic forecasts covering GDP outlook, interest rates, retail sales, trade deficit, business costs, and inflation, for individual investors and business professionals.
• Corporate Subscriptions Corporate subscription plans offering businesses bulk access to Kiplinger publications for distribution to employees, for HR, benefits, and corporate communications teams.

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Bankrate: Bankrate is a leading digital personal finance media platform covering mortgages, banking, credit cards, investing, and taxes — directly overlapping with Kiplinger's editorial coverage areas and competing for the same consumer-search-driven traffic and affiliate economics.
• The Motley Fool: The Motley Fool is a subscription-based investment advice and personal finance media company serving retail investors with stock recommendations, premium newsletters, and educational content — closely comparable to Kiplinger's investing-focused subscription products such as Investing for Income and Kiplinger Letter.
• NerdWallet: NerdWallet is a digital-first personal finance platform offering comparison tools, advice, and educational content across credit cards, banking, investing, mortgages, and taxes — a direct competitor for both consumer attention and affiliate revenue in the same verticals Kiplinger covers.
• Investopedia: Investopedia is a digital financial education and personal finance media site covering investing, banking, taxes, and retirement — directly competitive with Kiplinger.com's editorial content and overlapping in audience and SEO-driven traffic acquisition.
• Money Magazine: Money is a long-running personal finance magazine and digital media brand covering investing, retirement, taxes, and household finances — historically the closest direct competitor to Kiplinger Personal Finance magazine with similar subscription-based business model and reader demographic.
• SmartAsset: SmartAsset is a personal finance advice and matching platform focused on retirement planning, taxes, investing, and financial advisor matching — directly comparable to Kiplinger's retirement and tax advisory content, with similar affiliate/lead-generation monetization.
• TheStreet: TheStreet is a digital financial news and investing advice site covering stocks, markets, retirement, and personal finance — overlapping with Kiplinger's investing-focused products and newsletters, and competing for similar investor audiences.

Broad incumbents

• Morningstar: Morningstar is a large, established investment research and personal finance media company offering stock analysis, mutual fund ratings, portfolio tools, and editorial content — a broader incumbent with overlapping coverage of investing, retirement, and portfolio advice but a wider institutional and advisor focus.
• Forbes Advisor: Forbes Advisor is the personal finance and product comparison vertical of Forbes, covering credit cards, banking, investing, taxes, and insurance — directly overlapping with Kiplinger's editorial categories and benefiting from the broader Forbes brand and traffic ecosystem.
• U.S. News & World Report (Money/Investing sections): U.S. News & World Report's Money section provides personal finance editorial content, rankings, and comparison tools across banking, credit cards, mortgages, and investing — directly comparable to Kiplinger's editorial and ranking-driven content, with strong consumer-search-driven traffic.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/kiplinger
• Facebookfacebook.com/KiplingerPersonalFinance
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/kiplinger

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles20 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Kiplinger