The Believer
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2003
- HeadquartersRichmond, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingDigital Commerce or Content
The Believer firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- The Believer
- Legal name
- The Believer
- Website
- https://thebeliever.net
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2003
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
The Believer industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Literary Magazine
- NAICS
- Periodical Publishers (513120)
- SIC
- Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Biography, Memoir & Narrative Nonfiction Publishing (MPAJAAAI)
Keywords
Where The Believer is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Richmond
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
The Believer business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Digital Commerce or Content
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others
Revenue model
- Magazine Subscriptions: Recurring subscription revenue from print and digital subscriptions. Subscriptions provide four new issues per year plus full digital access to the twenty-year archive.
- Single Issue Sales: One-time purchase of individual magazine issues at $16-20 per copy.
- Advertising: The magazine sells advertising placements and sponsorships to brands. Contact for advertising is Claire Astrow at [email protected].
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Annual | Annual Subscription - $48/year |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels3 records
The Believer product offering
Product offeringCore offering
The Believer is a quarterly literature, arts, and culture magazine sold via print and digital subscriptions and individual issue purchases. It features journalism, essays, intimate interviews, poetry, an expansive comics section, and reviews, with thematic Departments (Beings, Objects, Places, etc.) and recurring columns. The magazine is published by McSweeney's and offers subscribers full digital access to a twenty-year archive.
Product overview
The Believer is a quarterly literature, arts, and culture magazine published since 2003. Its primary product is the magazine itself, available through print and digital subscriptions. The publication features essays, interviews, poetry, comics, and reviews, organized into content types including Departments (Beings, Objects, Places, Instructions, Words, Sounds, Tools, Animals, Events), Schema (cultural deep-dives), and Web Exclusives (digital-only series). Supporting offerings include The Logger blog, recurring columns (Ask Carrie, Resurrector, Stuff I've Been Reading), and The Believer Book Awards program.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- The Believer Magazine A quarterly print and digital literature, arts, and culture magazine specializing in criticism, literary nonfiction, and immersive reportage on contemporary issues. Published since 2003, it features journalism, essays, intimate interviews, an expansive comics section, poetry, and reviews.
- Annual Subscription Annual print and digital subscription service providing four new issues per year plus full digital access to the twenty-year archive. Priced at $48 per year, equivalent to less than $1.50 per month.
- Single Issue Sales One-time purchase of individual quarterly magazine issues at $16-20 per copy, available for readers who prefer not to subscribe.
Companies that use The Believer
Customer profileSegments2 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
The Believer technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
The Believer partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- SubstackminorThe Believer uses Substack for its newsletter distribution, allowing readers to subscribe and receive updates, special deals, announcements, and other content through the platform.
Scale indicators3 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights4 records
The Believer competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Virginia Quarterly Review: Literary journal publishing essays, reporting, fiction, and poetry. Comparable on long-form journalism, literary-editorial positioning, and a mix of print + digital subscription offerings targeted at general literary readers.
- n+1: Independent literary magazine publishing essays, fiction, poetry, and criticism on culture and politics. Closely comparable on editorial voice (long-form, intellectually rigorous, literary nonfiction), subscription model, and reliance on a small staff of editors—making it a primary competitive reference for The Believer's positioning.
- Frieze: Arts and culture magazine covering contemporary art, literature, and criticism. Comparable on curatorial cultural-commentary positioning, interviews with artists and writers, and a subscription-based print + digital model appealing to arts-enthusiast readers.
- McSweeney's Quarterly Concern: Flagship literary imprint and quarterly anthology of McSweeney's, the parent organization that also publishes The Believer. Directly comparable on literary editorial mission, distinctive design, subscription model via store.mcsweeneys.net, and shared operations, audience, and contributor network.
- Granta: Long-running British literary magazine featuring essays, fiction, poetry, and reportage on literature, culture, and ideas. Comparable on quarterly issues, long-form literary journalism, book-award programs (Granta's 'Best of Young' list), and a curated literary brand that competes for the same cultural-commentary reader.
- Aperture Magazine: Quarterly photography and visual-arts magazine publishing essays, portfolios, and criticism. Comparable on quarterly cadence, curatorial arts criticism, premium subscription pricing, and a content-archive-as-IP value proposition similar to The Believer's twenty-year archive.
- The Paris Review: Quarterly literary magazine also published under the McSweeney's umbrella. The Paris Review is the most directly comparable peer: similar quarterly cadence, similar literary-arts-editorial mission, overlapping contributor pool, and shared e-commerce and subscription infrastructure via store.mcsweeneys.net.
- The Yale Review: Quarterly literary journal publishing essays, poetry, fiction, and criticism. Similar audience (literary intellectuals, creative professionals), quarterly publication cadence, and subscription-based distribution model aimed at university and general literary readers.
Broad incumbents
- The Atlantic: Large-scale magazine and digital publication featuring essays, reporting, literary criticism, and cultural commentary. A broader incumbent that overlaps with The Believer on long-form cultural essays and interviews, but operates at vastly larger scale with a general-interest audience.
- Harper's Magazine: One of the oldest general-interest monthly literary magazines in the U.S., publishing essays, fiction, reporting, and reviews. Broader incumbent operating at larger scale across a wider topical range; competes for overlapping literary subscribers and ad budgets but is not niche-specialized.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
The Believer social profiles
Digital presenceThe Believer financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
The Believer leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles8 records
The Believer funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
The Believer 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 The Believer
What does The Believer do?
The Believer is a quarterly literature, arts, and culture magazine sold via print and digital subscriptions and individual issue purchases. It features journalism, essays, intimate interviews, poetry, an expansive comics section, and reviews, with thematic Departments (Beings, Objects, Places, etc.) and recurring columns. The magazine is published by McSweeney's and offers subscribers full digital access to a twenty-year archive.
Is The Believer a public or private company?
The Believer is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently operating.
When was The Believer founded?
The Believer was founded in 2003. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is The Believer based?
The Believer is headquartered in Richmond, United States, in the North America region.
How does The Believer make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Magazine Subscriptions are the primary driver. The others are single Issue Sales and advertising.
Who are The Believer's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Virginia Quarterly Review, n+1, Frieze, McSweeney's Quarterly Concern, Granta, Aperture Magazine, The Paris Review and The Yale Review. Broad incumbents are The Atlantic and Harper's Magazine.
Does The Believer have an API?
No public API is recorded for The Believer.
What industry is The Believer in?
The Believer's product category is Literary Magazine. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPAJAAAI, Biography, Memoir & Narrative Nonfiction Publishing. Its NAICS code is 513120 and its SIC code is 2721.