Daily Kos
Daily Kos is an independent, reader-funded progressive news and community platform founded in 2002 in Berkeley, California, serving left-leaning American voters and activists with paywall-free political journalism, user-generated community content, and donation-based monetization.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2002
- HeadquartersBerkeley, United States
- Headcount51–100
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingDigital Commerce or Content
What Daily Kos does
Daily Kos, operated by Kos Media, LLC, is an independent, reader-funded progressive news and community platform founded in 2002 and headquartered in Berkeley, California. The company publishes political news, opinion pieces, community stories, and editorial cartoons across verticals including News, White House, Congress, Justice, Elections, Media, and Community content. The platform operates on a paywall-free, community-driven model where user-generated content from a large base of progressive writers and readers drives engagement, supported by features such as community groups, comments, recommendations, tags, and newsletters.
The underlying technology is a web-based content management platform with user accounts, story publishing, commenting, and community group functionality, distributed via dailykos.com and syndicated through social media (Facebook, X, Threads, Instagram, Bluesky) and RSS feeds. There is no native mobile app, no public API, and no documented AI/ML capabilities. The company holds registered trademarks for 'Kos' and 'Daily Kos.'
The business model is donation- and subscription-driven with a freemium structure: all content is accessible without payment, while readers are solicited for one-time or monthly contributions at suggested tiers of $5, $15, or $25. A secondary merchandise revenue stream exists via a branded store. The company does not disclose revenue but has publicly acknowledged ongoing financial difficulties. The company serves a primary audience of left-leaning American voters and political activists seeking independent, non-corporate progressive journalism, and currently employs 51-100 people under private ownership with no parent company and minimal institutional capital (a single disclosed round of approximately $725,040 in 2015).
Daily Kos firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Daily Kos
- Legal name
- Kos Media, LLC
- Website
- https://dailykos.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2002
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 51–100 employees
- Short description
- Daily Kos is an independent, reader-funded progressive news and community platform founded in 2002 in Berkeley, California, serving left-leaning American voters and activists with paywall-free political journalism, user-generated community content, and donation-based monetization.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Daily Kos industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Online News Media
- NAICS
- Periodical Publishers (51312)
- SIC
- Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721)
- akta.pro primary industry
- News, Politics & Current Affairs Magazines (MPAJAEAO)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Newsletters & Email-Based News Publishers (B2B/B2C) (MPAJADAJ)
Keywords
Where Daily Kos is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Berkeley
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Markets served
Daily Kos business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Digital Commerce or Content
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Others
Revenue model
- Reader Donations and Subscriptions: Daily Kos is primarily funded through reader donations and subscriptions. The platform emphasizes being 'reader-funded' rather than backed by billionaires or corporations, with a paywall-free model supported by voluntary reader contributions. One-time and monthly donation options are available starting at $5.
- Merchandise Sales: The company operates a merchandise store selling Daily Kos branded products.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Monthly | Free access with optional donations |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels8 records
Daily Kos product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Daily Kos is an independent, reader-funded progressive news and community platform that publishes political news, opinion pieces, community stories, and political cartoons. It operates a paywall-free website where readers can also contribute their own stories, comment, and participate in topic-based community groups, supported by voluntary reader donations and recurring subscriptions.
Product overview
Daily Kos is an independent, reader-funded progressive news and community platform. The site publishes political news, opinion pieces, community stories, and cartoons. It operates as a reader-supported media outlet with a community contribution model, offering free access to content and optional paid subscriptions. The platform includes features for community storytelling, newsletters, and political commentary organized by topic areas including News, White House, Congress, Justice, Elections, and Community content.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Daily Kos News and Community Website The main Daily Kos web platform publishes progressive political news, opinion, and cartoons across topic areas such as News, White House, Congress, Justice, Elections, Media, and Community, and enables registered users to write stories, comment, recommend articles, and join community groups. It is offered free of charge to readers and supported by voluntary reader donations and subscriptions.
- Daily Kos Email Newsletters Subscription-based email newsletters including daily top stories and community highlights that keep readers engaged and drive recurring traffic to the site.
- Daily Kos Merchandise Store An online store operated by Daily Kos that sells Daily Kos–branded merchandise to readers and supporters as an ancillary revenue stream.
Companies that use Daily Kos
Customer profileSegments1 record
Ideal customer profiles1 record
Daily Kos technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Daily Kos partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators3 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights4 records
Daily Kos competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Crooked Media: Crooked Media is a progressive media company built on podcasts, newsletters, and community organizing — comparable audience and reader/member-supported funding model, with overlapping use cases around political engagement.
- Salon: Salon is a long-running progressive online magazine with opinion, news, and reader-supported tiers — comparable in left-leaning digital news positioning and revenue structure.
- Mother Jones: Mother Jones is a nonprofit, donor-funded progressive investigative magazine with a digital-first distribution model — comparable audience, mission, and reader-supported revenue model.
- The Nation: The Nation is America's oldest progressive magazine, with a long-running print + digital + newsletter business targeting the same liberal audience as Daily Kos.
- Slate: Slate is a left-of-center online magazine covering politics, news, and culture, with strong newsletter and podcast lines — directly comparable in tone, audience, and digital publishing model.
- HuffPost: HuffPost is a large left-leaning online news and opinion outlet with community contributions, comment sections, and newsletter products — directly comparable to Daily Kos in audience (progressive readers), format (digital news + UGC), and revenue mix (some reader-supported).
- The Intercept: The Intercept is a progressive investigative news outlet with a reader-supported funding model and focus on politics and civil liberties — comparable mission, funding mix, and progressive audience.
- Talking Points Memo: TPM is a progressive political news site founded in the same era, focused on Democratic Party coverage and reader-supported journalism — a tightly comparable niche competitor in left-leaning digital political news.
Broad incumbents
- Vox: Vox is a larger left-leaning digital media outlet with explanatory journalism and a newsletter suite — overlapping in political positioning and progressive readership, though backed by a major media group rather than reader donations.
- MSNBC: MSNBC is a major broadcast and digital cable news outlet with a liberal editorial stance — overlapping substantially in audience and political coverage, but operating at much greater scale as part of a national TV network.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat3 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights5 records
Customer concentration
Daily Kos social profiles
Digital presenceDaily Kos financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Daily Kos leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Daily Kos funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds1 record
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Daily Kos 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 Daily Kos
What does Daily Kos do?
Daily Kos is an independent, reader-funded progressive news and community platform that publishes political news, opinion pieces, community stories, and political cartoons. It operates a paywall-free website where readers can also contribute their own stories, comment, and participate in topic-based community groups, supported by voluntary reader donations and recurring subscriptions.
Is Daily Kos a public or private company?
Daily Kos is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Daily Kos founded?
Daily Kos was founded in 2002. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is Daily Kos based?
Daily Kos is headquartered in Berkeley, United States, in the North America region.
How does Daily Kos make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Reader Donations and Subscriptions are the primary driver. The others are merchandise Sales.
Who are Daily Kos's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Crooked Media, Salon, Mother Jones, The Nation, Slate, HuffPost, The Intercept and Talking Points Memo. Broad incumbents are Vox and MSNBC.
Does Daily Kos have an API?
No public API is recorded for Daily Kos.
What industry is Daily Kos in?
Daily Kos's product category is Online News Media. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPAJAEAO, News, Politics & Current Affairs Magazines, with a secondary code of MPAJADAJ, Newsletters & Email-Based News Publishers (B2B/B2C). Its NAICS code is 51312 and its SIC code is 2721.