Are
Are.na is a subscription-based knowledge management platform that lets individuals save, organize, and connect digital content into shareable channels, serving students, hobbyists, and creative professionals through a bootstrapped, community-owned company.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2010
- HeadquartersNew York, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingSoftware
What Are does
Are.na is a knowledge management platform operated by When It Changed Inc. (Hudson, New York) that enables users to save, organize, and connect digital content — images, text, links, files, and videos — into customizable channels and cross-channel connection graphs. The product is built on a Next.js/React web stack with a fully featured REST API v3, an official TypeScript SDK (@aredotna/sdk), React Query hooks, a CLI, and a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server for AI tool integration. Distribution is multi-surface: web, native iOS and Android applications, and browser extensions for Chrome, Safari, and Firefox. The company serves a horizontal audience of individual students, hobbyists, and self-described 'connected knowledge collectors' — primarily creative, academic, and design professionals who use the platform for research organization, creative project development, and collaborative knowledge building.
The business model is subscription-driven freemium, anchored on a $70/year (or $7/month) Premium tier and a $120/year Supporter tier, with a free Guest tier capped at 200 blocks. Secondary revenue comes from a merchandise store and the annual Are.na printed book. Go-to-market is product-led and community-led: zero paid acquisition, growth via Discord, local meetups, editorial content, and word-of-mouth within design and academic circles. The company is bootstrapped and privately held, having raised approximately $125,000 via a 2018 Republic equity crowdfunding round from 850 community members (roughly 75% of whom were existing platform users). It currently sustains itself on $125,085 in monthly recurring revenue from 20,516 paying Premium subscribers, supported by a team of just 5 people. Strategic posture is mission-first: the company has publicly stated intent to convert to a public benefit corporation or cooperative membership structure to compensate member-investors and preserve community ownership over scale.
Are firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Are
- Legal name
- When It Changed Inc.
- Website
- https://are.na
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2010
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Are.na is a subscription-based knowledge management platform that lets individuals save, organize, and connect digital content into shareable channels, serving students, hobbyists, and creative professionals through a bootstrapped, community-owned company.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Are industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Knowledge Management Software
- NAICS
- Web Search Portals, Libraries, Archives, and Other Information Services (519), Web Search Portals, Libraries, Archives, and Other Information Services (5192)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Community/Group Chat Platforms (BPAMACAH)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Virtual Worlds & Social Sandbox Experiences (persistent social spaces) (MPAFAIAG)
Keywords
Where Are is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- New York
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Are business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Operations, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Premium Subscriptions: Monthly and annual subscription tiers providing unlimited blocks and advanced features. $7/month or $70/year for Premium. $120/year for Supporter tier.
- Are.na Annual Books: Printed annual publications featuring collections of writings and essays from the community. Sold through the Are.na store.
- Merchandise Store: Gift shop selling Are.na branded merchandise including the Areal typeface products.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Monthly | Free tier with limited blocks for testing |
| Subscription | Annual | Paid tier with unlimited blocks and advanced features |
| Subscription | Annual | Highest tier supporting the company directly |
| Subscription | Annual | Discounted education pricing |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels7 records
Marketing channels8 records
Are product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Are.na is an online platform for saving, organizing, and connecting content (images, text, links, files, videos, embeds) into customizable Channels composed of individual Blocks. Users can build personal and collaborative knowledge networks, connect ideas across channels, and share privately or publicly. The platform is accessed via web, iOS, Android, and browser extensions, with a public REST API v3 enabling third-party integrations.
Product overview
Are.na is a unified platform for saving, organizing, and connecting content that serves as a digital knowledge management and collaboration tool. The core product is the Are.na Platform, accessible via web browser. The company offers native mobile applications for iOS and Android with full feature parity and share extensions. Browser extensions for Chrome, Safari, and Firefox enable saving content while browsing. Developer tools include the Are.na API v3 REST API, @aredotna/sdk (TypeScript), @aredotna/react-query, Are.na CLI, and Are.na MCP Server. Additional offerings include print.are.na for converting channels to books and Are.na Editorial for community essays and annual publications.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Are.na Platform Core online platform for saving, organizing, and connecting content (images, text, links, files, videos, embeds) into customizable Channels composed of Blocks. Users can build personal and collaborative knowledge networks privately or with others, connect ideas across channels, and share collections.
- Are.na iOS App Native iOS application for iPhone and iPad enabling users to save, organize, and access Are.na channels and blocks on the go. Includes dark mode, iPad landscape support, universal links, and share extension.
- Are.na Android App Native Android application enabling users to save, organize, and access Are.na channels and blocks on the go. Includes share extension and mobile premium management.
- Are.na Chrome Extension Chrome browser extension for saving web pages, images, and links directly to Are.na channels while browsing. Includes screenshot capture and duplicate URL detection.
- Are.na Safari Extension Safari browser extension for saving web content directly to Are.na channels while browsing on macOS and iOS.
- Are.na Firefox Extension Firefox browser extension for saving web content directly to Are.na channels while browsing.
- Are.na API v3 REST API providing programmatic access to Are.na's platform for reading and writing channels, blocks, connections, users, groups, comments, search, uploads, and feed. Supports OAuth2 with PKCE and Personal Access Token authentication with tiered rate limits (30/120/300/600 req/min).
- @aredotna/sdk Official TypeScript SDK for Are.na API providing convenient methods for interacting with channels, blocks, and users.
- @aredotna/react-query React Query integration for Are.na API providing hooks and utilities for React applications.
- Are.na CLI Command-line interface for Are.na API enabling developers to interact with Are.na from the terminal.
- Are.na MCP Server Model Context Protocol server for integrating Are.na with AI tools and applications.
- print.are.na Tool by Mindy Seu and Ekene Ijeoma that transforms Are.na channels into printed books.
- Are.na Editorial Platform for essays, interviews, and other forms of writing from and about the Are.na community. Features articles and publishes an annual printed book.
Quantifiable outcome
- 20,516 paying Premium members support the platform
- +1 more outcomes
Companies that use Are
Customer profileNamed customers3 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Are technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration4 records
Feature8 records
Are partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.
- StripecorePayment processing provider for subscription billing. Handles credit card and payment processing for Premium and Supporter subscriptions.
- PayPalcoreAlternative payment processing option for subscription billing.
Scale indicators8 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Are competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Evernote: Long-standing note-taking and web clipping service. Both platforms help users save web content and organize notes, though Evernote emphasizes searchable notes and documents whereas Are.na emphasizes visual, interconnected channels and community sharing.
- Notion: Workspace and knowledge management platform used by individuals and teams. Overlaps with Are.na in personal knowledge organization but is a broader productivity suite with database/AI features; has aggressively expanded into templates and team workflows rather than community-curated content.
- Pinterest: Largest visual bookmarking platform globally. Pinterest operates at a vastly larger scale in visual content curation but has shifted toward algorithmic discovery and shopping, whereas Are.na emphasizes manual, non-algorithmic organization of interconnected references.
Direct peers
- Refind: Bookmarking and discovery tool that highlights saved links and helps users rediscover content. Comparable to Are.na's 'remember and revisit' use case for individual knowledge collectors, with a similar premium subscription model but a more algorithm-driven recommendation feed.
- Raindrop.io: Bookmark manager with visual collections, tagging, and full-text search. Closely comparable to Are.na in its visual organization of saved content and freemium subscription model, though Raindrop emphasizes tag-based taxonomy while Are.na emphasizes free-form 'connections'.
- Pocket (Mozilla): Save-for-later/read-later service acquired by Mozilla. Both platforms enable users to save and organize web content (links, articles, media) for later reference and offer browser extensions; Are.na differentiates by supporting richer connections between saved items and collaborative channels.
- Pearltrees: Visual curation platform that organizes saved web pages into interconnected 'pearls' and topic maps. Highly comparable to Are.na's block-and-connection model for building personal knowledge networks, though Pearltrees has a more diagrammatic UI.
- Diigo: Social bookmarking and annotation tool used heavily in education and research. Both platforms support saving, tagging, and highlighting web content with a community/collaborative angle; Diigo has stronger annotation features while Are.na has stronger visual curation.
- Pinboard: Paid bookmarking service for individuals that emphasizes simplicity and privacy over social features. Comparable to Are.na's text-first 'knowledge collector' use case and indie/freelancer audience, though Pinboard is text-only and lacks Are.na's visual channel UI.
- Wakelet: Content curation platform for saving articles, videos, and social posts into shareable collections. Comparable in its 'collection' metaphor and educational use cases, with stronger adoption in schools but a less developer-friendly platform than Are.na.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Are social profiles
Digital presenceAre financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Are leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles4 records
Are funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds1 record
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Are 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 Are
What does Are do?
Are.na is an online platform for saving, organizing, and connecting content (images, text, links, files, videos, embeds) into customizable Channels composed of individual Blocks. Users can build personal and collaborative knowledge networks, connect ideas across channels, and share privately or publicly. The platform is accessed via web, iOS, Android, and browser extensions, with a public REST API v3 enabling third-party integrations.
Is Are a public or private company?
Are is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Are founded?
Are was founded in 2010. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Are based?
Are is headquartered in New York, United States, in the North America region.
How does Are make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Premium Subscriptions are the primary driver. The others are are.na Annual Books and merchandise Store.
Who are Are's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Evernote, Notion and Pinterest. Direct peers are Refind, Raindrop.io, Pocket (Mozilla), Pearltrees, Diigo, Pinboard and Wakelet.
Does Are have an API?
Yes. The Are.na REST API v3 provides programmatic access to channels, blocks, connections, users, groups, comments, search, uploads, feed, and system endpoints. Supports OAuth2 (with PKCE), Personal Access Tokens, and read/write scopes. Rate limits: 30 req/min (guest), 120 (free), 300 (premium), 600 (supporter). Developer documentation is at www.are.na/developers/explore.
What industry is Are in?
Are's product category is Knowledge Management Software. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAMACAH, Community/Group Chat Platforms, with a secondary code of MPAFAIAG, Virtual Worlds & Social Sandbox Experiences (persistent social spaces). Its NAICS code is 519.