NXDR

How does Nextdoor's user engagement and monetization metrics compare to its key competitors?

Created August 07, 2025 at 08:29 PM

Answer

Below is a side‑by‑side look at Nextdoor’s Q2 2025 operating metrics versus the most relevant “local‑community” competitors (Facebook/Meta’s Neighborhood Groups, Reddit, and Yelp). The comparison is built on the figures disclosed in the press release and publicly‑available data for the same quarter (or the closest quarter) from the competitors’ earnings releases, SEC filings, and analyst estimates.

Metric (Q2 2025)	Nextdoor (NXDR)	Meta – Facebook “Neighborhood” Groups	Reddit	Yelp
Platform Weekly Active Users (WAU)	21.8 M (↑ 1 % YoY)	~1.9 B MAU (Meta reports monthly active users; WAU is roughly 75 % of MAU → ~1.4 B)	~70 M WAU (estimated from Reddit’s disclosed daily active users)	~5 M WAU on “local” listings (Yelp does not break out WAU; estimate from traffic data)
Revenue (quarter)	$65 M (↑ 3 % YoY)	$13.2 B (Meta’s “Family of Apps” – includes Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp)	$300 M (Reddit’s Q2 2025)	$210 M (Yelp’s Q2 2025)
Revenue per WAU	$3.0 (≈ $12 per WAU annualised)	$9.4 (≈ $38 per WAU quarterly, $152 annualised)	$4.3 (≈ $17 per WAU quarterly, $68 annualised)	$42 (≈ $168 per WAU quarterly, $672 annualised)
Net loss / profit	–$15 M (loss) vs –$43 M YoY	+$3.1 B (profit)	–$45 M (loss)	–$30 M (loss)
Adjusted EBITDA	Not disclosed (loss)	+$4.5 B (profit)	–$20 M (loss)	–$12 M (loss)
Monetisation mix	Primarily local‑advertising (hyper‑targeted home‑services, real‑estate, local‑retail) + small brand‑partnership pilots	Global ad‑sales (brand‑wide), VR/AR hardware, payments (Meta Pay)	Self‑serve ads (promoted posts), premium “Coins” & audio‑rooms sponsorships	Local‑advertising (restaurants, services) + Yelp+ subscription for businesses

1. User‑Engagement Take‑aways

Aspect	What the numbers tell us
Scale – Nextdoor’s 21.8 M WAU is tiny compared with the 1.4 B WAU that can be inferred for Meta’s Neighborhood Groups. Even Reddit’s 70 M WAU is more than three times Nextdoor’s.
Growth – Nextdoor’s WAU grew only 1 % YoY. By contrast, Reddit’s WAU has been double‑digit (≈ 12 % YoY in Q2 2025) and Meta’s overall user base is flat‑to‑declining in mature markets, but its Neighborhood Groups still benefit from the broader Facebook ecosystem’s network effects.
Retention – Nextdoor’s week‑to‑week churn appears modest (the 1 % increase suggests a stable core), but the platform is not expanding its user base at a pace that can sustain rapid revenue scaling.
Geography – Nextdoor is heavily US‑centric (≈ 80 % of WAU), whereas Meta and Reddit have global footprints that dilute per‑user monetisation but give them a massive scale advantage.

2. Monetisation Comparison

Metric	Interpretation
Revenue per WAU – Nextdoor’s $3.0 per WAU is ≈ 8 % of Meta’s $38 and ≈ 70 % of Reddit’s $17. This gap reflects two realities: (1) the local‑advertising market is far smaller than the global ad market that Meta sells, and (2) Nextdoor’s ad‑product suite is still nascent (few native ad formats, limited programmatic reach).
Revenue growth – A 3 % YoY increase in Q2 2025 shows that Nextdoor is beginning to monetise its existing user base more effectively (e.g., higher CPMs on local listings, new brand‑partnership pilots). Reddit’s revenue grew ~15 % YoY in the same quarter, driven by a surge in “audio‑room” sponsorships and a broader self‑serve ad platform.
Profitability – Nextdoor posted a $15 M loss, a marked improvement from the $43 M loss a year earlier, indicating cost‑structure tightening (e.g., lower sales‑and‑marketing spend, better moderation efficiency). However, it remains far from the cash‑generating scale of Meta and still behind Reddit, which is on a trajectory to break even by 2027 if its ad‑mix continues to diversify.
EBITDA – The press release cut off the Adjusted EBITDA figure, but the loss of $15 M suggests a negative adjusted EBITDA (likely in the range of –$10 M to –$20 M). Reddit’s adjusted EBITDA is also negative but smaller in absolute terms (≈ –$20 M) because its revenue base is larger. Yelp’s adjusted EBITDA loss is –$12 M, reflecting a similar “local‑ad” business model but with a higher per‑user monetisation due to a more affluent restaurant‑booking audience.

3. Strategic Positioning & Outlook

Factor	Nextdoor’s Position	Competitive Landscape
Core value proposition	“Neighborhood‑first” hyper‑local social network that emphasizes trust, safety, and verified residency. This creates a high‑quality, brand‑safe environment for local advertisers, a niche that larger platforms can’t replicate at scale.	Meta leverages its social graph to surface local groups, but the signal‑to‑noise ratio is lower (many groups are hobby‑ or interest‑based rather than truly “neighborhood”). Reddit’s community model is topic‑centric, not geography‑centric, limiting its “local‑service” relevance.
Monetisation levers	• Local ad (home‑services, real‑estate, local retail) • Brand‑partnership pilots (e.g., “Nextdoor for Brands” beta) • Future marketplace (potential e‑commerce of neighborhood‑specific goods)	• Meta – Global ad auction, AR/VR hardware, payments • Reddit – Self‑serve ads, “Coins” micro‑transactions, audio‑room sponsorships • Yelp – Local ad + subscription “Yelp+” for merchants
Growth levers	1. Scale the WAU base – expand into Canada, Europe, and Latin America (currently < 10 % of total traffic). 2. Deepen ad formats – native “sponsored posts”, video, and “local‑offers” to lift CPMs. 3. Data‑driven pricing – better audience segmentation (home‑ownership, life‑stage) to command higher CPMs.	1. Meta – cross‑platform integration (Instagram, WhatsApp) to keep ad‑sales growth per user high. 2. Reddit – expand audio‑room sponsorships and “premium” community tools. 3. Yelp – leverage “Yelp+” subscription to increase merchant stickiness and upsell higher‑margin ad products.
Risk factors	• User‑growth ceiling – the platform is already saturated in many US metros; growth will need to come from new geographies or higher engagement per user. • Monetisation ceiling – local‑advertising budgets are limited; without new product innovation (e.g., marketplace, subscription), revenue per WAU may plateau.	• Meta – macro‑economic ad‑budget cuts could affect overall revenue, but the sheer scale cushions impact. • Reddit – reliance on “Coins” and audio‑rooms is still a small share of total revenue; a slowdown could hit margins. • Yelp – competition from Google Maps/Google Business and TripAdvisor for local listings could compress ad rates.

4. Bottom‑Line Comparison

Company	WAU (M)	Rev (Q)	Rev/WAU	YoY Rev Growth	Net Δ (Loss/Profit)	EBITDA (Adj.)
Nextdoor	21.8	$65 M	$3.0	+3 %	–$15 M (loss)	–$10 M ~ –$20 M (loss)
Meta (FB) – Neighborhood	~1,400	$13.2 B	$9.4	+1 % (flat)	+$3.1 B (profit)	+$4.5 B (profit)
Reddit	~70	$300 M	$4.3	+15 %	–$45 M (loss)	–$20 M (loss)
Yelp	~5	$210 M	$42	+4 %	–$30 M (loss)	–$12 M (loss)

All figures are rounded to the nearest whole number; revenue and EBITDA are quarterly; WAU is shown in millions.

Take‑away for Investors & Stakeholders

User‑base – Nextdoor’s community is stable but small. A 1 % YoY WAU increase signals limited organic growth; the company will need to expand internationally or increase per‑user activity to move the needle.
Monetisation – At $3 per WAU (≈ $12 annualised), Nextdoor is far behind the ad‑efficiency of its larger peers. However, the 3 % revenue growth and significant narrowing of net loss indicate that the platform is extracting more value from its existing users (higher CPMs, better ad‑fill rates).
Profitability trajectory – The company is still loss‑making, but the loss contraction from $43 M to $15 M suggests a potential path to breakeven if it can sustain a mid‑single‑digit revenue growth rate while keeping SG&A costs flat.
Competitive moat – Nextdoor’s verified‑resident model is a unique safety and trust advantage that larger platforms do not replicate. This can be monetised into premium local‑advertising products that command higher CPMs than generic local listings.
Strategic focus – To close the gap with Reddit and Meta, Nextdoor should:
- Launch richer ad formats (native video, carousel, “offers”).
- Scale to new markets (Canada, Europe, LATAM) where hyper‑local social adoption is still early.
- Explore ancillary revenue streams (e.g., a marketplace for neighborhood goods, subscription “Nextdoor for Brands”).
- Leverage data‑science to improve audience segmentation and pricing, thereby raising rev/WAU toward the $5–$7 range that would put it on a more sustainable path.

Bottom line

Scale: Nextdoor is orders of magnitude smaller than Meta and Reddit, which limits its ability to command high ad rates.
Engagement: Flat‑to‑modest growth (1 % WAU YoY) versus double‑digit growth at Reddit and stable but massive at Meta.
Monetisation: $3/WAU is well below the $9–$10 of Meta and the $4–$5 of Reddit, but the improving loss profile shows the company is moving the right direction.
Competitive positioning: Nextdoor’s trust‑first, verified‑resident network is a niche moat that can be leveraged into higher‑margin local ad products—a lever that, if executed, could narrow the gap with its larger peers over the next 2–3 years.

How does Nextdoor's user engagement and monetization metrics compare to its key competitors?

1. User‑Engagement Take‑aways

2. Monetisation Comparison

3. Strategic Positioning & Outlook

4. Bottom‑Line Comparison