MetaFilter
👤 Matt Haughey (A pro web designer wired into the early-2000s blog elite; he hand-coded MetaFilter solo in 1999, drawing a sharp, loyal crowd.)🌐 sitehaughey.com𝕏
One of the web's great communities ran 15 years on Google ad money, until a single algorithm update nearly ended it.
Will it work? · our read
Trust outlived ads. One channel controlled its traffic, and when Google turned, the business halved overnight. Members saved it, but only 15 years of goodwill made that pivot possible.
01How the money moves
Google search sends readers to Ask MeFi
→
Ad views paid the bills until the 2012 Google hit
→
Members' direct support now carries the site, with ad revenue still in the mix (Jan 2020: about $30.5K/mo expenses vs about $31.5K/mo income from all sources)
02The numbers
about $31.5K/moStatedincome vs $30.5K/mo expenses
2020-01
the sentence on the page
and misc. service expenses—came out to about $30,500 and our net income from all sources was about $31,500. It's not exactly easy breathing but it's a small net and that's a welcome change from where…
It once paid 8 staff (5 full-time with benefits); today it runs lean and member-funded. MetaTalk finances
About $380K/yr, funded mostly by its own members.
🔒
You have the verdict. Members get the work behind it.
- The CENTS scorecard — where it's strong, where it's soft
- The founder's key move, and the counter-move
- How it could die — the evidence, and how sure we are
- The case against our own call
- A 🚀 launchpad prompt — the case, as a plan for your business
We rate our own confidence — and argue against ourselves. Nobody else in this category does.
Sources always public on all 560 cases · cancel anytime · 14-day refund
See a full teardown, free → ImportYetiSourcesSources last checked 5 August 2026
Wikipedia: MetaFilter — founding 1999, $5 fee, ownership timelineSlate (2014) — the Google Panda traffic drop and layoffsMatt Haughey — On the Future of MetaFilter: "MetaFilter definitely saw a peak in revenue in late 2011/early 2012 and has seen a swift decline since."MetaTalk finances update (Jan 2020) — about $30.5K/mo expenses, community-fundedSearch Engine Land — MetaFilter penalized by Google, explainer
Revenue is first-party: MetaFilter publicly posts its monthly finances. The $380K/yr figure is the stabilized 2020 community-funded budget (about $30.5K/mo expenses, $31.5K/mo income); 2026 updates show recent months running at a small loss. I could not find an exact first-party dollar figure for peak-era (2011-12) ad revenue, so peak scale is shown qualitatively (it supported 8 staff, 5 full-time with benefits). The 40% Ask MeFi traffic drop, Nov 2012 Panda timing, and May 2014 layoffs (3 cut) are documented by Slate and Haughey. No numbers invented. We never score you.