Instructables
Instructables is a web-based DIY community platform, owned by Autodesk since 2011, where makers and educators publish and discover step-by-step tutorials across categories like electronics, crafts, cooking, and 3D printing. It serves hobbyists and teachers through free user-generated content supported by advertising and sponsored contests.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2005
- HeadquartersSan Francisco, United States
- Headcount101–250
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingDigital Commerce or Content
What Instructables does
Instructables is a web-based DIY community platform that enables users to create, publish, and discover step-by-step project tutorials across categories including Circuits, Workshop, Design, Craft, Cooking, Living, Outside, and a dedicated Teachers section. Founded in 2005 by members of Squid Labs (Saul Griffith, Corwin Hardham, Eric Wilhelm, Colin Bulthaup, and Dan Goldwater) originally as a documentation system for experimental kitesurfing projects, the platform has grown into one of the largest maker communities on the public internet, hosting hundreds of thousands of user-generated projects. The underlying technology is a content creation and sharing system that supports text, photographs, video, and downloadable file attachments, organized by both category and user-curated collections. Since 2011, Instructables has operated as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Autodesk (NASDAQ: ADSK), headquartered in San Francisco with 101-250 employees.
The platform serves two primary customer segments: DIY makers and hobbyists seeking inspiration and instructions for personal projects, and educators and teachers (Pre-K through University) using the platform for project-based STEAM, coding, robotics, and hands-on learning. Instructables monetizes primarily through advertising and business-sponsored contests that offer prizes such as laser cutters, 3D printers, and other maker tools, while maintaining free access for users to publish and consume content. Supporting product features include Classes (structured educational content), Collections (curated project groupings), and recurring Contests. The platform's go-to-market motion is community-led, relying on organic growth, contest-driven engagement, and earned media coverage of top contributors rather than direct sales or enterprise contracts.
Instructables firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Instructables
- Legal name
- Instructables
- Website
- https://instructables.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2005
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 101–250 employees
- Short description
- Instructables is a web-based DIY community platform, owned by Autodesk since 2011, where makers and educators publish and discover step-by-step tutorials across categories like electronics, crafts, cooking, and 3D printing. It serves hobbyists and teachers through free user-generated content supported by advertising and sponsored contests.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Instructables industry classification
Industry- Product category
- DIY Community Platform
- NAICS
- All Other Schools and Instruction (61169)
- SIC
- Miscellaneous Publishing (2741)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Maker / DIY Electronics & Physical Computing Platforms (EDAFANAC)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Interactive Practice & Skill-Building (Drills, Games, Mastery Practice) (EDAFACAC)
Keywords
Where Instructables is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- San Francisco
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Instructables business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Digital Commerce or Content
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Personnel, Others
Revenue model
- Advertising and Platform Services: The platform generates revenue through advertising and potentially premium features. The site is free for users to join and publish instructables, with contests sponsored by businesses providing prizes.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Monthly | Free access for all users |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels5 records
Instructables product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Instructables is a free web-based DIY community platform where individual makers create and publish step-by-step project tutorials using text, photos, video, and downloadable files. The platform hosts hundreds of thousands of projects across seven main categories (Circuits, Workshop, Design, Craft, Cooking, Living, Outside) plus a dedicated Teachers section, and monetizes through advertising and sponsored monthly contests with prizes.
Product overview
Instructables operates as a single unified DIY project-sharing platform, not a modular SaaS product with separate modules. The core offering is the Instructables web platform where users create and share step-by-step tutorials. Supporting features include Classes (structured learning content), Collections (curated project groupings), and Contests (community competitions with prizes). The platform is organized into seven main content categories: Circuits, Workshop, Design, Craft, Cooking, Living, Outside, and a dedicated Teachers section for educational use.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Instructables Platform
Companies that use Instructables
Customer profileSegments2 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Instructables technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature1 record
Instructables partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators3 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights4 records
Instructables competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Pinterest: Pinterest is a mass-market visual discovery platform where DIY, crafts, and maker content drive significant engagement. Functions as both a competing consumption venue and a top-of-funnel traffic source for Instructables-class content.
- wikiHow: wikiHow is the largest general-purpose, community-edited how-to publisher on the web. Comparable at the step-by-step instructional-content layer though broader (lifestyle, admin, relationships), and a much larger incumbent in the same publishing format.
Direct peers
- Thingiverse: Thingiverse is a MakerBot/Stratasys-owned repository of user-uploaded 3D-printable designs with a strong community-publishing and tutorial layer. Overlaps directly with Instructables' 3D Printing and Design categories and shares the parent-company-under-3D-printing-strategic-buyer pattern.
- Adafruit Learn: Adafruit's Learn system hosts thousands of free step-by-step tutorials for electronics and maker projects. Directly comparable as a free, ad/community-supported educational content library for the DIY/electronics audience Instructables serves.
- SparkFun Electronics: SparkFun combines a hardware storefront with extensive tutorials and a maker community, providing project documentation directly comparable to Instructables' Workshop/Circuits content while also monetizing via component sales.
- Hackaday: Hackaday is a long-running blog and community for hardware hackers and makers covering electronics, robotics, and DIY builds. Comparable as a maker/DIY publishing platform with global reach and active readership in the same Circuits/Workshop overlap.
- Tinkercad: Tinkercad is an Autodesk-owned 3D design and electronics learning platform that functions as both a tool and a publishing/community layer for student projects. A direct sibling under the same parent, sharing the Autodesk maker ecosystem with Instructables.
- DIY.org: DIY.org is a skills-based learning platform for kids with project-based challenges, videos, and a community sharing model. Comparable as a tutorial/community platform targeting younger creators and educators—overlapping with Instructables' Teachers and Kids categories.
- Make: Community: Make Magazine's online community is the closest direct peer—user-published DIY project tutorials, contests, and maker education content spanning electronics, crafts, and workshop projects. Operates as the print brand's digital community hub.
- Hackster.io: Hackster is an Avnet-owned community for hardware developers publishing step-by-step electronics and IoT projects. Highly comparable to Instructables' Circuits/Arduino/Raspberry Pi categories with a similar community-publishing and contest model.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Instructables social profiles
Digital presenceInstructables financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Instructables leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Instructables funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds1 record
Investors2 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Instructables 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 Instructables
What does Instructables do?
Instructables is a free web-based DIY community platform where individual makers create and publish step-by-step project tutorials using text, photos, video, and downloadable files. The platform hosts hundreds of thousands of projects across seven main categories (Circuits, Workshop, Design, Craft, Cooking, Living, Outside) plus a dedicated Teachers section, and monetizes through advertising and sponsored monthly contests with prizes.
Is Instructables a public or private company?
Instructables is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently operating.
When was Instructables founded?
Instructables was founded in 2005. It employs 101 to 250 people.
Where is Instructables based?
Instructables is headquartered in San Francisco, United States, in the North America region.
How does Instructables make money?
One revenue line is on record: advertising and Platform Services.
Who are Instructables's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Pinterest and wikiHow. Direct peers are Thingiverse, Adafruit Learn, SparkFun Electronics, Hackaday, Tinkercad, DIY.org, Make: Community and Hackster.io.
Does Instructables have an API?
No public API is recorded for Instructables.
What industry is Instructables in?
Instructables's product category is DIY Community Platform. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EDAFANAC, Maker / DIY Electronics & Physical Computing Platforms, with a secondary code of EDAFACAC, Interactive Practice & Skill-Building (Drills, Games, Mastery Practice). Its NAICS code is 61169 and its SIC code is 2741.