Clickshare Service
Clickshare Service Corp. is a privately held B2B SaaS provider, founded in 1997 in Amherst, Massachusetts, that delivers hosted subscription management, authentication, metered paywall, and real-time payment processing for newspaper and trade magazine publishers, built on a patented four-party federated identity architecture and extensible across 20+ add-on modules.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1997
- HeadquartersAmherst, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What Clickshare Service does
Clickshare Service Corp., founded in 1997 and headquartered in Amherst, Massachusetts, is a privately held B2B SaaS provider that helps publishers and producers of digital content (primarily newspapers and trade magazines) monetize, authenticate, and manage access to their intellectual property across web, mobile, and tablet channels. Its core offering is a hosted subscription management and access control platform built around a patented Four-Party federated identity model (U.S. Patent Nos. 7,324,972 and 8,606,719), which lets a consumer authenticate once across multiple independent publisher sites without creating separate accounts or sharing personal information across sites, while preserving privacy by keeping user identity opaque to Clickshare itself. The platform provides registration, authentication, metering (pre- and post-registration with A/B testing), real-time payment processing (2.4% per-transaction fee with a $0.05 minimum), and integrates with major circulation systems (DTI/Newscycle, iServices, Newzware, Anzio, Vision Data), content management systems (Drupal, WordPress, Newscycle), e-edition providers (Olive Software, Tecnavia, NXTbook, Virtual Paper, ZMags), and payment processors (Authorize.net, Braintree, Vital/TSYS, among others).
The product architecture is modular, with a tiered bundle structure (Basic, Premium, Deluxe) supplemented by approximately 20 add-on modules including Shopping Cart, Event Tickets, Gift Subscriptions, Library/IP-access provisioning, Advanced Content Metering, Subscription Wallets/Micropayments, NIE access, Awards/Nominations, Reprint Permissions, Open Houses, and iOS/Android app integrations. Pricing is primarily quote-based recurring subscriptions with per-transaction payment-processing fees layered on top, deployed via direct sales with a typical implementation timeline of approximately six weeks. The company's GTM motion is sales-led B2B targeting newspaper and trade magazine publishers (primary), with secondary segments in libraries/universities/educational institutions and enterprises needing bulk content access; the partner ecosystem (CMS, circulation, e-edition, payment, and email marketing integrations) generates additional referral flow. Clickshare has served the publishing industry for over 20 years and has registered over six million user accounts on behalf of its publishing clients. The company self-describes as operating as an agent for clients rather than holding direct consumer relationships.
Clickshare was conceived in 1994 by Bill Densmore, David Oliver, and Michael Callahan and prototyped in 1995-96 in anticipation of high-speed internet disrupting newspaper revenue models. It raised $2.9 million in initial equity capital through 2001 and operated revenue-funded thereafter, with a subsequent funding round in 2008 bringing total disclosed equity funding to approximately $6.6 million. No subsequent equity raise, acquisition, divestiture, leadership transition, or geographic expansion has been disclosed in the input materials. Clickshare has no disclosed subsidiaries or parent company, maintains a footprint in North America only, and does not disclose financials, headcount detail, or named enterprise customer logos in the available data.
Clickshare Service firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Clickshare Service
- Legal name
- Clickshare Service Corp.
- Website
- https://clickshare.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1997
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Clickshare Service Corp. is a privately held B2B SaaS provider, founded in 1997 in Amherst, Massachusetts, that delivers hosted subscription management, authentication, metered paywall, and real-time payment processing for newspaper and trade magazine publishers, built on a patented four-party federated identity architecture and extensible across 20+ add-on modules.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Clickshare Service industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Publisher Subscription Management Software
- NAICS
- Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (518)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Digital Magazine & Newspaper Subscription Platforms (Paywalls, Membership) (MPAJAMAD)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Content Syndication, Distribution & Rights Management Platforms (BPAMAJAN), Digital Content & Media Subscriptions (CRAFAIAA)
Keywords
Where Clickshare Service is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Amherst
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Clickshare Service business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Operations
Revenue model
- Subscription Management Services: Clickshare provides subscription management services for online publishers, handling user registration, authentication, and ongoing subscription management for various term types (daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, annually). Revenue is generated through service agreements with publishers.
- Transaction Processing Fees: Real-time payment processing services where Clickshare charges 2.4% of each transaction amount with a minimum fee of $0.05 per transaction. Some charge processors may charge additional fees on top. Transactions route through the client's merchant bank account.
- Bundle and Module Licensing: Tiered bundle solutions (Basic, Premium, Deluxe) plus additional module licensing for specialized functionality such as circulation integrations, event ticketing, shopping cart, and API access. Clients choose services based on their needs.
- SSL Certificate Services: SSL certificate installation and management services for HTTPS secure pages, with purchase or installation fees incurred for certificate procurement through Thawte or Symantec.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Monthly | Basic Solution ($) - Entry-level bundle with core features |
| Subscription | Monthly | Premium Solution ($$) - Mid-tier bundle with expanded integrations |
| Subscription | Monthly | Deluxe Solution ($$$) - Full-featured bundle |
| Hybrid | Multi-year contract | Design-Your-Own Solution - Custom configuration |
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | Real-Time Payment Processing |
| Subscription | Monthly | Add-on Modules |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels4 records
Clickshare Service product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Clickshare provides a hosted subscription management and access control platform for publishers of newspapers, trade magazines, and other digital content. The platform handles user registration, authentication, content metering, metered paywalls, e-commerce, and real-time payment processing, with integrations to print circulation systems, content management systems, and e-edition providers. It is sold as bundle solutions (Basic, Premium, Deluxe) plus separately licensed add-on modules.
Product overview
Clickshare is a hosted subscription management and access control platform for publishers, built as a core platform with modular add-on services. The core platform (Clickshare Core) provides essential registration, authentication, and subscription management. Add-on modules extend functionality across metering (Basic and Advanced Content Metering), e-commerce (Shopping Cart, Event Tickets, Digital Goods Sales), payment processing (Real-Time Payment Service), mobile apps (iOS and Android Integration), and specialized services (Library Module, Awards/Nominations, Gift Subscriptions). The External Integration API enables third-party system connectivity. The platform integrates with multiple content management systems (Newscycle, Drupal, WordPress), e-edition providers (Olive Software, Virtual Paper, Tecnavia), circulation systems (DTI/Newscycle, iServices, Newzware), and email marketing services (MailChimp, CheetahMail, MyEmma).
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Quantifiable outcome
- Over 6 million registered accounts managed for publishing clients
- +1 more outcomes
Companies that use Clickshare Service
Customer profileNamed customers3 records
Segments3 records
Clickshare Service technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration36 records
Feature6 records
Clickshare Service partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
13 partnerships are on record, tiered core.
- Newscycle SolutionscoreIntegration allowing Newscycle to use Clickshare to authenticate access to website content like articles. Supports content categorization, metering, and A/B testing of metered paywall strategies. Also previously integrated with Saxotech Online prior to their reorganization into Newscycle Solutions.
- DrupalcoreIntegration module linking Clickshare's registration/authentication service to Drupal content management systems for authentication, subscription management, and data exchange.
- WordPresscoreOpen-source Clickshare Authentication plugin synchronizing WordPress content servers with Clickshare authentication server. Handles user login/logout and protection of subscription-required content with configurable metered paywall scheme and IP-based whitelisted access.
- Olive SoftwarecoreIntegration allowing Olive Software to use Clickshare to authenticate access to Olive Software eEditions. Clickshare performs authentication and access control services for Olive's Olive Dynamic Newsstand (ODN) and ActivePaper Archive (APA) products.
- TecnaviacoreIntegration allowing Tecnavia to use Clickshare to authenticate access to Tecnavia Editions, with redirect-based authentication flow and subscription management.
- NXTbook MediacoreIntegration providing authentication and subscription management services for NXTbook Media eEdition products.
- Virtual PapercoreIntegration allowing Virtual Paper to use Clickshare to authenticate access to Virtual Paper vEditions, with automatic redirect and subscription presentation logic.
- Apache/IIS/LotuscoreWeb server plug-in integration for Apache, Microsoft IIS, and IBM Lotus web servers providing access control through URL pattern-matching for authentication and content protection.
- iServicescoreCirculation management integration providing both file-based and API-based connections for syncing print subscribers to online accounts, managing delivery services, and real-time account synchronization.
- NewzwarecoreCirculation management integration providing both file-based and API-based connections for syncing print subscribers to online accounts with real-time synchronization capabilities.
- AnziocoreCirculation management integration providing file-based connections for syncing print subscribers to online accounts.
- Vision DatacoreCirculation management integration providing file-based connections for syncing print subscribers to online accounts.
- Credit Card Processors (Authorize.net, Braintree, Edgil, Merchant eSolutions, Vital/TSYS)coreIntegrated payment processors for real-time credit card authorization and settlement. Transactions route through the client's merchant bank account with daily settlement.
Scale indicators5 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Clickshare Service competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Piano: Piano (formerly Piano Media and Tinypass) is a subscription, paywall, and content monetization platform purpose-built for digital publishers. It directly competes with Clickshare in providing metered access, registration, and subscription management for newspaper and magazine clients.
Broad incumbents
- ARC XP: ARC XP (the Washington Post's publishing platform) offers subscription, paywall, and content commerce tools to enterprise news publishers globally. It competes in the same subscription-management niche as Clickshare but serves large national and international titles with a broader platform.
- Naviga: Naviga is a broad publisher-technology vendor offering content management, circulation, advertising, and audience solutions for news media. It overlaps with Clickshare at the digital subscription/access management layer and bundles these capabilities into a wider media platform.
- Stripe Billing: Stripe Billing provides subscription billing, invoicing, and payment infrastructure that publishers increasingly use instead of specialized tools like Clickshare's Real-Time Payment Service. It is a broad incumbent alternative for the transaction processing component of the stack.
- Zuora: Zuora is a leading subscription billing and management platform used by media and publishing companies for recurring revenue operations. While broader than Clickshare, it competes for the same publisher subscription-billing wallet, particularly at larger digital-first publishers.
Emerging players
- Recurly: Recurly is a subscription management and billing platform used by media and digital content companies. It is comparable to Clickshare's subscription management and recurring billing functionality but serves a broader set of verticals beyond publishing.
- Auth0 (Okta): Auth0, now part of Okta, provides modern authentication, SSO, and identity management as a developer-focused platform. It is an emerging substitute for Clickshare's federated identity and authentication capabilities, especially as publishers adopt modern, OAuth-based stacks.
- OneAll: OneAll provides social login, SSO, and user identity integration as a service for websites and publishers. It overlaps with Clickshare's Gigya-style social authentication and federated identity use cases, though at a more generic web-platform layer.
Regional players
- Mather Economics: Mather Economics provides subscription analytics, pricing, and churn management specifically for newspaper and magazine publishers. While not a direct technology competitor, it operates in the same publishing subscription monetization workflow and could partner or compete for the same client budget.
Others
- Press+ (acquired): Press+ was a paywall and content monetization platform for newspapers co-founded by Steve Brill and sold toaspers. It was a direct competitor to Clickshare's metered paywall business for US newspaper publishers before its acquisition, and its customer base represents both a competing installed base and an integration opportunity.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Clickshare Service social profiles
Digital presenceClickshare Service financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Clickshare Service leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles3 records
Clickshare Service funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds2 records
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Clickshare Service 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 Clickshare Service
What does Clickshare Service do?
Clickshare provides a hosted subscription management and access control platform for publishers of newspapers, trade magazines, and other digital content. The platform handles user registration, authentication, content metering, metered paywalls, e-commerce, and real-time payment processing, with integrations to print circulation systems, content management systems, and e-edition providers. It is sold as bundle solutions (Basic, Premium, Deluxe) plus separately licensed add-on modules.
Is Clickshare Service a public or private company?
Clickshare Service is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Clickshare Service founded?
Clickshare Service was founded in 1997. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Clickshare Service based?
Clickshare Service is headquartered in Amherst, United States, in the North America region.
How does Clickshare Service make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Subscription Management Services are the primary driver. The others are transaction Processing Fees, bundle and Module Licensing and SSL Certificate Services.
Who are Clickshare Service's main competitors?
Piano is listed as a direct peer. Broad incumbents are ARC XP, Naviga, Stripe Billing and Zuora. Emerging players are Recurly, Auth0 (Okta) and OneAll. Mather Economics is listed as a regional player. Press+ (acquired) is listed as an others.
Does Clickshare Service have an API?
Yes. The External Integration API (extAPI) allows clients or third-party systems to integrate with Clickshare using a server-to-server integration API. The API includes interfaces to query accounts, perform authentication, add subscriptions, and make other changes to accounts. This module includes setup and licensing of Clickshare software. Available as part of Clickshare Core for Premium and Deluxe bundles, and as a paid add-on for Basic bundle.
What industry is Clickshare Service in?
Clickshare Service's product category is Publisher Subscription Management Software. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPAJAMAD, Digital Magazine & Newspaper Subscription Platforms (Paywalls, Membership), with a secondary code of BPAMAJAN, Content Syndication, Distribution & Rights Management Platforms. Its NAICS code is 518.