Indianapolis Monthly

What Indianapolis Monthly does

Indianapolis Monthly is a privately held city and regional magazine headquartered at 8909 Purdue Road, Suite 130 in Indianapolis, Indiana. Founded in 1977 and operating with 11-50 employees, the publication produces a monthly print and digital magazine distributed to a circulation of more than 30,000 readers across the Indianapolis metropolitan area. The editorial product covers dining, news and opinion, arts and culture, sports, and lifestyle topics, organized into four content verticals: The Dish, Circle City, The Ticket, and Good Life.

The company's product portfolio centers on the flagship monthly magazine, supplemented by a digital edition, an email newsletter (including the arts-focused The Ticket newsletter), single-issue retail sales via simplecirc.com, an annual Best of Indy awards program, the Top Doctors directory, and recurring live events such as Taste of Indianapolis food weeks and the Dream Home showcase. The underlying technology stack is a standard website content management system with digital edition delivery; no proprietary platforms, APIs, or AI-driven features are disclosed.

Revenue is generated through three primary streams: recurring print and digital magazine subscriptions sold via the simplecirc.com platform, single-issue retail sales, and advertising sold to local businesses seeking access to the magazine's upscale readership, including display advertising and sponsored content sections on the website. Distribution spans the print magazine, the indianapolismonthly.com website, digital editions, email newsletters, social media channels (Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest), and live events. The company is independently operated with no disclosed parent, investor, or institutional ownership.

Name

Indianapolis Monthly

Legal name

Indianapolis Monthly

Website

https://indianapolismonthly.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1977

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Indianapolis Monthly is a privately held, locally focused print and digital magazine serving the Indianapolis metropolitan area since 1977, delivering monthly editorial coverage of dining, news, arts, culture, and lifestyle to more than 30,000 subscribers and monetizing through subscriptions, advertising, and live events.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Regional Magazine Publishing

NAICS

Periodical Publishers (51312)

SIC

Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721)

akta.pro primary industry

Arts, Culture & Literary Magazines (MPAJAEAN)

Keywords

• City magazine publishing
• Regional lifestyle content
• Print magazine subscription
• Digital edition publishing
• Local journalism media

Headquarters

HQ city

Indianapolis

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Print and Digital Subscriptions: Monthly magazine subscriptions sold through simplecirc.com platform, providing recurring revenue from loyal readers. Includes both print and digital edition access.
2. Single Issue Sales: Individual magazine issues available for purchase through simplecirc.com shop.
3. Advertising Revenue: The magazine accepts advertising from businesses seeking to reach its upscale readership. The website includes sponsored content sections and display advertisements.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Indianapolis Monthly is a city and regional magazine that publishes monthly print and digital editions covering Indianapolis-area dining, news, politics, arts, culture, sports, and lifestyle content for an upscale regional readership of 30,000+. The publication also operates an email newsletter, annual editorial franchises such as Best of Indy and Top Doctors, and signature events including Taste of Indianapolis and the Dream Home feature. Revenue is generated through print and digital subscriptions, single-issue sales, display advertising, and sponsored content.

Product overview

Indianapolis Monthly is a single general interest print and digital magazine with a circulation of more than 30,000. The product portfolio consists of the core Indianapolis Monthly Magazine (print and digital), supplemented by a digital newsletter subscription, an annual Best of Indy awards program, and event programs including the Taste of Indianapolis food event and Dream Home feature. Content is organized into editorial sections covering food and drinks, news and opinion, arts and culture, and lifestyle topics.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Indianapolis Monthly Magazine The flagship monthly print and digital magazine delivering compelling narrative stories and smart service pieces covering Indianapolis dining, news, politics, arts, culture, sports, and lifestyle, with a circulation of more than 30,000 readers.
• Digital Edition Digital version of the Indianapolis Monthly magazine accessible online and on mobile devices, allowing subscribers to read each issue digitally with additional interactive features.
• Indianapolis Monthly Newsletter Email newsletter subscription delivering curated Indianapolis Monthly editorial content and updates to subscribers, including verticals such as The Ticket arts and culture newsletter.
• Best of Indy Annual awards program and editorial feature recognizing the best local businesses, services, dining, arts, entertainment, and leisure activities in Indianapolis.
• Taste of Indianapolis Annual food-event program and food weeks showcasing the Indianapolis dining scene, tied to the magazine's dining editorial franchise.
• Dream Home Annual Dream Home event and editorial feature showcasing a notable Indianapolis home, with the 2026 Dream Home as the upcoming edition.
• Top Doctors Annual directory and editorial feature recognizing top healthcare professionals in the Indianapolis area.

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Cincinnati Magazine: Direct peer — a monthly city and regional consumer magazine covering dining, arts, culture, and lifestyle for the greater Cincinnati metro area with a similar subscription-plus-advertising-plus-events model.
• Atlanta Magazine: Direct peer — established city and regional consumer magazine covering news, dining, arts, and lifestyle in a single major metro with the same subscription + advertising + events revenue architecture.
• Nashville Lifestyles: Direct peer — Nashville-area city and regional consumer magazine with a similar upscale readership focus, monthly print and digital editions, and lifestyle/dining/event-driven editorial mix.
• Cleveland Magazine: Direct peer — a long-running Ohio city and regional consumer magazine covering dining, arts, and lifestyle with a comparable mid-size metro subscription base and recurring Best Of-style franchise model.
• St. Louis Magazine: Direct peer — a Midwestern city and regional consumer magazine publishing dining, lifestyle, and civic content across print and digital editions with signature annual features analogous to Best of Indy.
• Mpls.St.Paul Magazine: Direct peer — Twin Cities city and regional magazine with the same general-interest editorial mix (dining, news, arts, lifestyle) and a monthly print + digital edition structure serving an affluent metro readership.

Emerging players

• Axios Indianapolis: Emerging digital-first competitor — Axios's local newsletters and web coverage in Indianapolis overlap IM's dining, politics, and lifestyle beats, representing the kind of free digital entrant pressuring paid city magazine subscriptions.

Broad incumbents

• Chicago Magazine: Larger-scale city and regional consumer magazine in a major Midwestern market. Same editorial model (dining, lifestyle, civic coverage) and revenue mix, but a meaningfully larger metro and audience footprint.
• Indianapolis Star: Broad incumbent — the dominant Gannett-owned daily newspaper and digital news site in Indianapolis. While newspaper rather than magazine, it directly competes with IM for local advertising budgets and reader attention across dining, civic, and lifestyle coverage.
• Saga City Media: Broad incumbent — owner of several city/regional magazines across multiple U.S. metros; a strategic consolidator in the same city-magazine category whose properties share audience, advertising, and operational patterns with IM.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/indymonthly

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Indianapolis Monthly