Nextdoor Holdings, Inc. (KIND): Business Model Canvas [Dec-2025 Updated]

You're trying to figure out how Nextdoor Holdings, Inc. actually makes money in this tricky digital ad world, right? After two decades analyzing companies, including my time leading analysts at BlackRock, I can tell you their engine is simple: turning hyperlocal trust into dollars. With over 100 million Verified Neighbors and Q3 2025 revenue hitting $69 million-nearly 60% from self-serve ads-the model is clear, though growth is projected modestly at 3% to 4% for the full year. Dive below to see the nine building blocks that make this neighborhood network tick.

Nextdoor Holdings, Inc. (KIND) - Canvas Business Model: Key Partnerships

You're looking at the ecosystem that makes Nextdoor Holdings, Inc. (KIND) more than just a social feed; it's about embedding the platform into the critical infrastructure of local life. These partnerships are key to driving engagement and, eventually, monetization. Honestly, the success here hinges on utility, not just user count. As of late 2025, the focus is clearly on making the platform indispensable daily.

The platform, which connects neighbors in over 345,000 neighborhoods across 11 countries (as of early 2025, with updates pending Q4 reporting), relies on these external relationships to deliver its core value proposition, especially around safety and information quality.

Public Agencies and First Responders for Real-Time Alerts

This partnership stream is about establishing Nextdoor Holdings, Inc. (KIND) as a vital lifeline during local emergencies. Public agencies, including City and County Government, Law Enforcement, First Responders, and School Districts, can activate dedicated pages, meaning neighbors within their jurisdiction are auto-subscribed to receive their posts without needing to build a follower base. This direct line of communication is crucial for situational awareness.

The Nextdoor Foundation actively supports first responders, demonstrating commitment beyond the core product. For instance, in the first half of 2025, the Foundation awarded $1,500 grants to 100 volunteer fire departments across the U.S. to help with operations and equipment. Furthermore, the Foundation donated $10,000 in July 2025 to aid those affected by the Texas floods through local organizations.

Local News Publishers for Authoritative Content Distribution

To combat the perception of being inessential, Nextdoor Holdings, Inc. (KIND) has leaned heavily into professional journalism. In July 2025, the company announced a partnership with more than 3,500 local news providers to regularly contribute material. This effort aims to improve content quality, which management noted was about ~5% of content needing improvement to drive repeat visits. At the launch of this initiative, over 50,000 news stories were already available, covering just over three-quarters of the app's neighborhoods.

Programmatic Ad Platforms to Unlock Large Advertiser Budgets

Monetization is increasingly tied to unlocking the larger, automated advertising spend that flows through programmatic channels. While the rollout of the new platform may have initially limited large advertiser revenue, the company completed programmatic supply integrations in the third quarter of 2025. This is a necessary step, as self-serve advertisers, who are drawn to the Nextdoor Ads Platform, already accounted for roughly 60% of Q3 2025 revenue, growing 33% year-over-year to reach $69 million in Q3 revenue. The goal is clearly to migrate that large advertiser spend onto the new, integrated system.

Real-Time Data Providers

The utility of the 'Alerts' feature, which delivers real-time updates on weather, traffic, and outages, is directly dependent on external data feeds. Key partnerships here include using data from The Weather Company (which powers The Weather Channel app and Weather.com website) and Samdesk for crisis monitoring. Additionally, a specific partnership with Waze was announced to integrate real-time traffic and road alerts directly for neighbors.

Community Non-Profits via the Nextdoor Foundation

The Foundation acts as a strategic partner for community building, focusing on measurable social return on investment (SROI). Beyond the first responder grants, the Foundation is executing on other initiatives. For the second half of 2025, they are partnering with Grapevine.org on the "Close the Gap" campaign, distributing a total of $125,000 in matching funds to Giving Circles. Looking ahead to January 2026, the Foundation plans to award $200,000 in grants of up to $5,000 to 100 local nonprofit Neighborhood Hero organizations.

Here's a quick look at the quantifiable aspects of these key relationships as of the latest reporting periods in 2025:

The platform's utility is also reflected in its advertising audience profile, which is a direct result of the community it fosters. For example, 77% of Nextdoor users are homeowners, making them a prime target for home services advertisers. Also, 67% of users share recommendations, underscoring the value of word-of-mouth referrals that the platform facilitates.

The overall financial context for these partnership investments shows the company is driving toward profitability. Q3 2025 revenue hit $69 million, and the company achieved a $4 million Adjusted EBITDA. Management guided for a full-year 2025 adjusted EBITDA loss of approximately $3 million, defintely showing progress toward the full-year adjusted EBITDA breakeven target set for fiscal year 2026.

The key integrations supporting the value proposition include:

• Public Agencies: Enhanced features on the Public Agency page with four dedicated tabs for better situational awareness.
• News Publishers: Integration of relevant stories from vetted sources, aiming to increase repeat visits.
• Programmatic Platforms: Completion of supply integrations to enable deeper collaboration with scaled partners.
• Data Providers: Real-time alerts powered by external sources like The Weather Company and Waze.
• Non-Profits: Direct funding via the Foundation, such as the $10,000 donation for Texas flood relief in July 2025.

Finance: draft Q4 2025 partnership spend analysis by next Wednesday.

Nextdoor Holdings, Inc. (KIND) - Canvas Business Model: Key Activities

You're looking at the core engine room of Nextdoor Holdings, Inc. as of late 2025, focusing on what the company actually does day-to-day to generate revenue and maintain its unique hyperlocal position. It's all about product refinement, advertiser performance, and managing that massive, sensitive neighborhood graph.

Developing and scaling the NEXT platform product experience

The primary activity here is the rollout and optimization of the NEXT platform, which management described as a 're-founding' of the vision. This involved significant product investment, even if it caused short-term user metric shifts. For instance, Platform Weekly Active Users (WAU) stood at 21.6 million in Q3 2025, a 3% year-over-year decrease, which leadership attributed to intentionally reducing notification volumes to boost engagement quality.

The investment focus is clear when you look at the expense structure improvements. Following a restructuring plan announced in Q2 2025 that reduced annualized operating expenses by approximately $30 million, the company is focusing resources. Sales and marketing expenses for Q3 2025 were $23.8 million, down from $26.2 million in the prior year period, showing a shift in spending priorities toward product development and efficiency.

• Full rollout of the NEXT platform targeted for late July 2025.
• Q1 2025 WAU reached 46.1 million before the Q3 dip to 21.6 million.
• Revenue per full-time employee increased 21% year-to-date to $551,000.

Moderating user-generated content to maintain platform trust

Maintaining trust is non-negotiable for a hyperlocal network connecting over 100 million verified neighbors. While specific moderation costs aren't broken out, the strategic decision to reduce notification volumes, leading to the Q3 2025 WAU decline, is a direct action taken to improve the quality of the experience, which inherently ties to content relevance and trust. This activity supports the value proposition of offering 'trusted local news' and 'real-time safety alerts.'

Optimizing the Nextdoor Ads Platform with AI-driven features

This is where the financial results shine. The optimization of the Nextdoor Ads Platform is directly fueling revenue growth. The platform delivered record quarterly revenue of $69 million in Q3 2025, a 5% year-over-year increase. A key part of this optimization involved completing programmatic supply integrations, making inventory available via the Yahoo DSP to complement direct-sold inventory.

Driving self-serve advertiser adoption, which is a growth engine

You can see the success of driving self-serve adoption in the revenue mix. This channel is explicitly called the 'growth engine.' In Q3 2025, self-serve revenue grew 33% year-over-year and accounted for nearly 60% of total revenue. This momentum is translating to better advertiser outcomes, with reports of higher click-through rates and lower cost per click for those using the platform.

The financial discipline is evident in the bottom line improvement. Adjusted EBITDA turned positive at $4 million in Q3 2025, an 8 percentage point margin improvement year-over-year, with a stated path to full-year Adjusted EBITDA breakeven in FY 2026.

Managing and securing the proprietary neighborhood data graph

The core asset is the graph connecting over 100 million verified neighbors. Managing this requires significant operational focus, which is reflected in the reduction of General and Administrative expenses to $16.3 million in Q3 2025 from $17.2 million the prior year. The company holds $403 million in cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities as of September 30, 2025, providing the financial runway to secure and enhance this proprietary data asset while pursuing profitability.

Here's a quick look at the key Q3 2025 financial and operational metrics that underpin these activities:

Finance: draft 13-week cash view by Friday.

Nextdoor Holdings, Inc. (KIND) - Canvas Business Model: Key Resources

You're looking at the core assets Nextdoor Holdings, Inc. relies on to run its hyperlocal network as of late 2025. These aren't just abstract concepts; they are tangible figures and proprietary systems driving the business.

The sheer scale of the community is a primary asset. Nextdoor Holdings, Inc. connects over 100 million global Verified Neighbors. This network effect is critical for everything from local recommendations to advertising reach. Also, the company maintains a global network of 340,000+ verified neighborhoods, a figure referenced in early 2025 filings.

Financially, the balance sheet provides operational flexibility. As of the end of Q3 2025, Nextdoor Holdings, Inc. reported strong liquidity with $403 million in cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities, while carrying zero debt on the balance sheet. This clean financial footing supports ongoing investment in the platform.

The technology itself is a major resource, specifically the proprietary hyperlocal data and neighborhood graph technology. This underpins the platform's utility and differentiation. Furthermore, the Nextdoor Ads Platform is a key revenue driver, evidenced by self-serve revenue growing 33% year-over-year in Q3 2025, making up roughly 60% of total revenue. The platform's AI-driven ad optimization tools help advertisers see better results, with Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) improving 8% year-over-year in Q3 2025, even with reduced ad load.

Here's a quick look at some of the key metrics underpinning these resources as of Q3 2025:

The operational efficiency tied to these resources is also notable. Revenue per employee has increased 21% year to date as of Q3 2025. The platform also supports engagement through content partnerships, launching with over 3,500 local publications across the U.S., UK, and Canada by mid-2025.

You can think of the essential, non-quantifiable resources like this:

• Proprietary hyperlocal data and neighborhood graph technology.
• The Nextdoor Ads Platform and its AI-driven ad optimization tools.
• The trust inherent in the address verification process.
• The newly launched, reenergized user experience, 'Nextdoor live'.

Finance: draft 13-week cash view by Friday.

Nextdoor Holdings, Inc. (KIND) - Canvas Business Model: Value Propositions

For Neighbors: Real-time, trusted local news and safety alerts.

The value here centers on immediacy and trust within a defined geographic boundary. You get information that matters right now, right where you live. The platform supports this with content from local sources.

• News is available in 77% of the U.S. cities represented on Nextdoor Holdings, Inc..
• Delivers over 50,000 locally relevant stories each week.
• The platform base connects over 100 million verified neighbors.

For Neighbors: AI-powered local recommendations (FAVES).

This proposition turns community sentiment into quantifiable business endorsement. The 2025 Neighborhood Faves Awards tallied significant engagement around local businesses.

• Total Faves counted for the 2025 awards: 6.9M.
• Total unique businesses that received a Fave designation in 2025: 1.7M.
• Neighbors value recommendations they receive on the platform at a 94% rate.

For SMBs: Hyperlocal ad targeting to reach immediate neighbors.

Small and midsize businesses (SMBs) get precision targeting that cuts through national noise. The platform's AI-driven tools are designed to improve campaign efficiency directly for these local advertisers.

The self-serve advertising channel is the primary growth engine, representing nearly 60% of the Q3 2025 total revenue of $69 million.

For Large Brands: Scalable ad reach across 1 in 3 U.S. households.

Large brands gain access to a verified, localized audience at scale. While the active user base was reported at 21.6 million Platform Weekly Active Users in Q3 2025, the overall network reach is significantly larger, positioning it to touch a substantial portion of U.S. households. The self-serve channel grew 33% year-over-year in Q3 2025, showing increasing advertiser adoption.

For Public Agencies: Instant, geo-targeted communication with residents.

Public Agencies use the platform for immediate, location-specific alerts to residents. This capability is supported by the platform's core structure, which connects verified neighbors across over 345,000 communities. The platform's focus on real-time alerts directly serves the need for instant, geo-targeted public safety and community information dissemination.

• The company ended Q3 2025 with $403 million in cash and cash equivalents.
• The platform's focus on quality engagement over quantity resulted in a Platform WAU of 21.6 million as of September 30, 2025.

Nextdoor Holdings, Inc. (KIND) - Canvas Business Model: Customer Relationships

You're looking at how Nextdoor Holdings, Inc. manages its relationships across its diverse user base, which is key to its hyperlocal advertising model. The approach clearly splits between automated, low-touch interactions for small businesses and more dedicated, high-touch service for larger partners, all underpinned by the community itself.

Automated self-serve platform for small and medium businesses

For small and medium businesses (SMBs), the relationship is heavily automated, which is how Nextdoor Holdings, Inc. scales its monetization efficiently. This self-serve channel is the primary growth engine for their advertising revenue. In Q3 2025, this segment represented nearly 60% of total revenue, up from the 27% year-over-year growth seen in Q2 2025. To be fair, SMBs are the backbone, accounting for 70% of the total ad revenue.

The platform offers various ad formats, including Sponsored Posts priced on a cost-per-click (CPC) model, where clicks can range from $0.50 to $2.00. The AI-driven FAVES assistant is helping these advertisers, achieving a 50% higher click-through rate (CTR) for programmatic ads through neighbor-simulated recommendations. Furthermore, businesses recognized as a Nextdoor Neighborhood Fave in 2025 saw tangible benefits, including 32% more clicks on their Nextdoor ads.

Dedicated sales and account management for large advertisers

For larger advertisers, the relationship is more direct, though this segment faced near-term headwinds following the mid-July 2025 launch of the new Nextdoor platform, the 'NEXT' version. While large advertiser sales improved quarter-over-quarter in Q2 2025, they were still down year-over-year. The platform serves 100% of U.S. large advertisers. Management noted significant progress toward unlocking programmatic budgets later in 2025, which is a key focus for the dedicated sales effort. This segment saw an approximately 50% improvement in click-through rates as of Q4 2024/Q1 2025 due to ad platform enhancements like click optimization.

Community-driven, neighbor-to-neighbor support and moderation

The foundation of Nextdoor Holdings, Inc.'s value proposition is its community, which is managed through a mix of neighbor interaction and platform tools. The company reports having over 100 million verified neighbors across more than 300,000 neighborhoods in 11 countries. Platform Weekly Active Users (Platform WAU), representing those engaging directly on the app or website, stood at 21.8 million in Q2 2025, a 1% increase year-over-year. This engagement is the raw material for the platform's value. The Net Promoter Score improved more over the six months leading up to Q2 2025 than in any prior period, suggesting stronger user sentiment.

• Total Weekly Active Users (WAU) reached 46.1 million in Q1 2025.
• The platform operates in over 300,000 neighborhoods.
• The company has over 100 million verified neighbors.

Proactive, real-time alerts for high-impact local events

A critical relationship component is providing timely, relevant safety and local information, which is being enhanced through new partnerships and features. The real-time alerts feature, introduced in July 2025 as part of the 'NEXT' redesign, leverages partnerships with local governments and emergency services. In a test during a California wildfire scare, beta users of the redesigned app received evacuation notices 20% faster than traditional channels, according to internal data. The Public Agencies program supports over 10,000 agencies, including police and fire departments, using the platform for resident communication. Furthermore, in November 2025, Nextdoor Holdings, Inc. announced a partnership with Waze to integrate real-time traffic and road alerts into Nextdoor Alerts. The platform also integrated local news, partnering with over 3,500 local news providers, which led to a 30% increase in engagement with local governance topics in a pilot program.

Finance: draft 13-week cash view by Friday.

Nextdoor Holdings, Inc. (KIND) - Canvas Business Model: Channels

You're looking at how Nextdoor Holdings, Inc. (now trading as NXDR) gets its value proposition-hyperlocal connection and advertising-out to its customers. The channels here are all about delivery, both for the core social network and the ad inventory.

The primary channel is the Nextdoor mobile application. This is where the bulk of the community interaction happens. As of Q3 2025, the company reported 21.6 million Platform Weekly Active Users (Platform WAU), which is the metric management is focusing on post-NEXT platform launch. This platform WAU metric followed the Q1 2025 figure of 22.5 million Platform WAU, which was up 5% year-over-year. The entire network reached 46.1 million Total Weekly Active Users in Q1 2025. The platform is available in 11 countries and spans over 305,000 neighbourhoods globally.

Web platform access via desktop and mobile browsers remains a supporting channel for both users and advertisers. While the mobile app is the focus, the platform is accessible through web browsers, allowing neighbors to connect and businesses to manage campaigns outside the dedicated apps. The platform's reach as of year-end 2024 included 1 in 3 households in the United States.

For local business customers, the self-serve ad portal is clearly the dominant monetization channel. Nextdoor Ads Manager (NAM) launched in June 2025, specifically designed for local businesses to manage campaigns with no minimum spend requirement. This channel is a major growth engine; in Q3 2025, self-serve revenue grew 33% year-over-year and accounted for roughly 60% of total revenue. To be fair, this self-serve focus is a strategic shift, as Q1 2025 saw self-serve adoption account for over 60% of revenue.

The direct sales team for large, national advertising accounts handles the bigger spenders. While large advertiser spend was reportedly down year-over-year in Q1 2025 due to shifts toward programmatic, the company confirmed that 100% of U.S. large advertisers were on the ad server as of early May 2025. These larger advertisers saw significant performance gains, with a reported 50% improvement in click-through rates (CTR) in Q1 2025. Still, the smaller customer base is more significant for stability; in Q2 2025, small businesses accounted for 70% of ad revenue.

Here's a quick look at how the key channels performed across the first three quarters of 2025, based on the latest reported data:

Finance: draft 13-week cash view by Friday.

Nextdoor Holdings, Inc. (KIND) - Canvas Business Model: Customer Segments

You're mapping out the core customer base for Nextdoor Holdings, Inc. (NXDR) as of late 2025. The platform serves distinct groups, each monetized differently, but all relying on the verified local connection.

Verified Neighbors (the core user base)

This segment is the foundation; without them, the advertising value proposition collapses. Nextdoor Holdings, Inc. is focused on the quality of engagement, even as raw user counts shift. As of the third quarter ended September 30, 2025, the Platform Weekly Active Users (Platform WAU) stood at 21.6 million. This followed a Q2 2025 Platform WAU of 21.8 million. The company reported exceeding over 100 million Verified Neighbors globally by the end of 2024. The verification process requires confirming a physical address to maintain the platform's local trust factor.

Key metrics for this core segment as of mid-to-late 2025:

• Platform Weekly Active Users (Q3 2025): 21.6 million
• Total Weekly Active Users (Q1 2025): 46.1 million
• Global Verified Neighbors (End of 2024): Over 100 million
• U.S. WAU Concentration (FY24): Approximately 82% of total WAU

Small and Medium Businesses (SMBs) using the self-serve channel

SMBs are the primary revenue driver now, utilizing the self-serve channel for direct local advertising. This segment is showing strong financial performance, indicating successful monetization of the neighbor base. The self-serve channel is explicitly called the growth engine for Nextdoor Holdings, Inc.

Here's how the SMB advertising segment performed financially through Q3 2025:

The company is focused on performance improvements unlocked by the Nextdoor Ads Platform for these advertisers.

Large National and Regional Advertisers

While SMBs dominate the self-serve volume, larger advertisers represent the remaining portion of the advertising revenue, which is approximately 40% of total ad revenue based on Q2 2025 data for SMBs. Nextdoor Holdings, Inc. is working to combine national reach with local relevance for these larger brands. A key strategic move planned for later in 2025 was enabling programmatic ad buying, which is expected to further boost revenue for businesses of all sizes.

Public Agencies, Police, and Fire Departments

This segment uses the platform for civic utility, safety alerts, and community trust-building, often without direct advertising spend. Nextdoor Holdings, Inc. supports these entities through direct engagement tools. For instance, in June 2025, the Nextdoor Foundation announced surprise grants to 100 Volunteer Fire Departments across the U.S. to support their critical role. Public agencies utilize Nextdoor for community communication and trust-building.

Public agency engagement highlights:

• Grants provided to 100 Volunteer Fire Departments (June 2025)
• Platform used for safety alerts and crime reporting integration
• Local publishers integration: Over 3,500 local publications across the U.S., UK, and Canada as of July 2025

Finance: Review Q4 2025 advertising spend breakdown by SMB vs. National by February 15, 2026.

Nextdoor Holdings, Inc. (KIND) - Canvas Business Model: Cost Structure

You're looking at the expenses Nextdoor Holdings, Inc. is managing to keep the platform running and growing as of late 2025. It's a balancing act between scaling the technology and maintaining financial discipline, especially as they push toward that 2026 Adjusted EBITDA breakeven goal. Here's a breakdown of the major cost buckets based on the Q3 2025 financial reporting.

The primary operational costs are concentrated in personnel and platform scaling. You can see the explicit figures for Sales & Marketing and G&A right from the Q3 report, but the specific GAAP breakdown for Research & Development (which houses the core Technology and Development costs) wasn't explicitly itemized in the same way in the public summaries.

Technology and Development costs for the NEXT platform are definitely a major spend area. Management noted an increased resource allocation toward product development, which is where these engineering and platform costs live, even though the specific GAAP figure wasn't broken out in the earnings highlights. This investment is tied directly to the rollout of the new Nextdoor experience.

Content moderation and trust & safety infrastructure is a non-negotiable cost for any neighborhood network. While Nextdoor Holdings, Inc. has reset its expense base, costs related to overseeing security risks and monitoring content remain essential to maintaining user trust and reputation. This spend is likely embedded within the reported GAAP operating expenses, often within Research & Development or General & Administrative.

Hosting and cloud computing expenses are critical for a platform serving its user base. Nextdoor Holdings, Inc. connects over >100 million verified neighbors globally. In Q3 2025, the Platform Weekly Active Users (WAU) stood at 21.6 million. Management has previously highlighted achieving operational efficiencies, including focus on efficiently scaling hosting and data-related expenses, suggesting cost control efforts are in place here, even if the exact dollar amount for the quarter wasn't itemized separately from other Cost of Revenue or R&D line items.

The known operating expenses for the quarter were:

• Sales and Marketing expenses: $23.8 million in Q3 2025.
• General and Administrative costs: $16.3 million in Q3 2025.

The company is focused on personnel efficiency, reporting that revenue per full-time employee increased 21% year-to-date as of Q3 2025. Finance: review the Q4 guidance impact on OpEx run-rate by end of next week.

Nextdoor Holdings, Inc. (KIND) - Canvas Business Model: Revenue Streams

You're looking at how Nextdoor Holdings, Inc. actually brings in the money as of late 2025. The core of the business model canvas here revolves around advertising, split between two main advertiser types.

The first major component is advertising revenue from self-serve small businesses. This channel is the primary growth engine right now. For the third quarter of 2025, this self-serve revenue hit $40 million. This segment saw strong momentum, growing 33% year-over-year in Q3 2025. Honestly, this performance is what drove the overall top line.

The second stream is advertising revenue from large national brand advertisers. This segment is the complement to the small business side. Based on the Q3 2025 figures, if total revenue was $69 million and self-serve was $40 million, the remaining portion, which includes large national brand spend, was approximately $29 million for that quarter.

Here's a quick look at how the Q3 2025 revenue broke down by these primary sources:

The self-serve revenue is nearly 60% of total Q3 2025 revenue. Q3 2025 total revenue was $69 million. This performance sets the stage for the full-year outlook. Full-year 2025 revenue growth is projected at 3% to 4%.

To give you a fuller picture of the financial context around these revenue streams, consider these related metrics from the same period:

• Q3 2025 Adjusted EBITDA was positive at $4 million.
• Adjusted EBITDA margin for Q3 2025 stood at 6%.
• Revenue per full-time employee increased 21% year-to-date.
• Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) improved 8% year-over-year.

The company expects quarterly adjusted EBITDA breakeven in Q4 2025, so the revenue execution is definitely tied to operational discipline.