Slate
Slate is a U.S. digital media publication, founded 1996 and owned by Graham Holdings, producing online journalism, podcasts, advice columns, newsletters, and interactive games for general-interest readers across politics, business, technology, culture, and lifestyle topics.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1996
- HeadquartersNew York, United States
- Headcount51–100
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingDigital Commerce or Content
What Slate does
Slate is a U.S.-based digital media publication founded in 1996 and operated by The Slate Group LLC, a subsidiary of Graham Holdings Company. Headquartered in New York with 51-100 employees, Slate operates a horizontally-segmented editorial platform covering News & Politics, Culture, Technology, Business, Life, and Advice, supported by an advice-column franchise (Dear Prudence, Care and Feeding, Pay Dirt, Good Job, How to Do It) and a portfolio of branded podcasts including Slate Money, What Next, ICYMI, and Death Sex & Money.
The product surface extends beyond articles to include daily interactive games (Crossword, Mini Crossword, SoundBites, Pears, Quizzes), email newsletters (Your Morning Slate and topic-specific dispatches), and the Slate Plus paid membership. Distribution spans slate.com, iOS and Android mobile apps, Apple News, and major podcast platforms (Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Pocket Casts), with social reach across X, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Bluesky. A Slate Shop e-commerce store sells merchandise and gift subscriptions.
Monetization combines advertising, paid subscriptions, and e-commerce. Advertising is anchored by a multi-layered partnership with Taboola, including the Taboola Realize AI-powered performance advertising platform (relationship established 2025-10-16 and deepened 2026-04-24 to open Slate's display inventory through Taboola's broader performance network). Slate Plus is priced at a $15 introductory rate for the first three months, then $119 annually, offering ad-free listening, bonus episodes, and exclusive content. The publication serves a general consumer audience of readers interested in politics, business, technology, culture, and personal-life commentary.
Slate firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Slate
- Legal name
- The Slate Group LLC
- Website
- https://slate.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1996
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 51–100 employees
- Short description
- Slate is a U.S. digital media publication, founded 1996 and owned by Graham Holdings, producing online journalism, podcasts, advice columns, newsletters, and interactive games for general-interest readers across politics, business, technology, culture, and lifestyle topics.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Slate industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Online Journalism and Editorial Content
- NAICS
- Periodical Publishers (513120), Periodical Publishers (51312)
- SIC
- Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721)
- akta.pro primary industry
- News, Politics & Current Affairs Magazines (MPAJAEAO)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Podcast Networks & Multi-Show Publishers (MPACADAB)
Keywords
Where Slate is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- New York
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Markets served
Slate business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Digital Commerce or Content
- Cost components
- Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Operations
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Annual | Slate Plus membership with $15 intro offer for first 3 months, then $119 annually |
Distribution channels5 records
Marketing channels5 records
Slate product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Slate is a digital media publication that produces original journalism, analysis, and commentary across politics, business, technology, culture, and lifestyle. Its slate.com website organizes content into editorial sections, supplemented by branded podcasts, interactive word games, email newsletters, and advice columns. The Slate Plus subscription membership provides unlimited reading, ad-free podcast listening, bonus episodes, and exclusive subscriber content.
Product overview
Slate is a digital media publication organized as a unified content platform covering news, politics, culture, technology, business, and lifestyle topics. The core offering consists of the Slate.com website with multiple editorial sections, supplemented by Slate Plus (a subscription membership), Slate Podcasts (a portfolio of branded shows distributed across major podcast platforms), Slate Games (interactive puzzles and word games), Slate Newsletters (daily and weekly email publications), and Slate Advice Columns (expert Q&A columns). The publication is owned by The Slate Group, a division of Graham Holdings Company.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Slate Plus: Slate's membership program offering unlimited access, ad-free listening, and exclusive content
- Slate Games
Products and services
- Slate Plus
Companies that use Slate
Customer profileSegments1 record
Ideal customer profiles1 record
Slate technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Slate partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.
- TaboolacoreSlate has a deepened partnership with Taboola as part of the advertising platform's expansion beyond native advertising into performance advertising. The partnership allows advertisers access to Slate's display inventory through Taboola's network.
- TaboolacoreSlate is listed among major global publishers including TIME, USA TODAY Network, Nexstar in Taboola's publisher network expansion for its Realize performance advertising platform. Taboola leverages AI-driven performance engine technology across this publisher network.
- TaboolacoreSlate is a publisher partner in Taboola's advertising network. Taboola's Realize platform leverages data from Slate's code-on-page integrations to optimize and place ads across Taboola's network. Taboola expects to pay over $1.5 billion to publishers and OEMs in 2025, including Slate, through its AI-powered performance advertising platform.
Recent moves4 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Slate competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Axios: Digital news outlet emphasizing politics, business, and technology coverage with newsletter-first distribution and paid Axios Pro products — comparable on news/politics focus, subscription overlap, and B2B newsletter monetization.
- Vox Media: Multi-vertical digital media network (Vox, The Verge, SB Nation, New York Magazine, Vulture) combining editorial, podcasts, and advertising — directly comparable to Slate's news/politics/tech/culture coverage mix and subscription-plus-ads business model.
- Politico: News and politics-focused digital publication with newsletters, podcasts, and a premium subscription tier (Politico Pro), overlapping significantly with Slate's News & Politics vertical and newsletter-driven monetization.
- The New Republic: Centrist-to-progressive magazine of politics, culture, and ideas with digital-first operations and subscription pricing — closely comparable to Slate's politics/culture orientation and subscriber-supported model.
- Salon: Online magazine covering news, politics, and culture with a subscription product — long-running direct competitor in the digital opinion/analysis category alongside Slate.
- The Daily Beast: Online news and opinion publication covering politics, pop culture, and entertainment, with editorial overlap in Slate's News & Politics and Culture sections and similar digital-first advertising model.
- The Atlantic: General-interest digital magazine covering politics, culture, technology, and ideas with a paid subscription product and podcast portfolio — the closest direct competitor to Slate in audience, format mix, and subscription pricing.
- The Nation: Long-running progressive digital and print magazine on politics, culture, and opinion with a paid subscription — overlapping Slate's News & Politics and Culture verticals and similar membership economics.
Broad incumbents
- HuffPost: Large-scale digital news, politics, and entertainment publisher owned by BuzzFeed Inc. — broader in scope than Slate but covering the same digital-first news/opinion territory with overlapping audience.
Others
- Taboola: Native and performance advertising platform with a publisher network that includes Slate. Listed not as a content competitor but as the ad-tech partner driving Slate's monetization, making it ecosystem-comparable for revenue-mix analysis.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Slate social profiles
Digital presenceSlate financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Slate leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles6 records
Slate funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Slate 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 Slate
What does Slate do?
Slate is a digital media publication that produces original journalism, analysis, and commentary across politics, business, technology, culture, and lifestyle. Its slate.com website organizes content into editorial sections, supplemented by branded podcasts, interactive word games, email newsletters, and advice columns. The Slate Plus subscription membership provides unlimited reading, ad-free podcast listening, bonus episodes, and exclusive subscriber content.
Is Slate a public or private company?
Slate is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently operating.
When was Slate founded?
Slate was founded in 1996. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is Slate based?
Slate is headquartered in New York, United States, in the North America region.
Who are Slate's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Axios, Vox Media, Politico, The New Republic, Salon, The Daily Beast, The Atlantic and The Nation. HuffPost is listed as a broad incumbent. Taboola is listed as an others.
Does Slate have an API?
No public API is recorded for Slate.
What industry is Slate in?
Slate's product category is Online Journalism and Editorial Content. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPAJAEAO, News, Politics & Current Affairs Magazines, with a secondary code of MPACADAB, Podcast Networks & Multi-Show Publishers. Its NAICS code is 513120 and its SIC code is 2721.