Is HubPages Doomed - a Sinking Ship?!

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   Kain 360posted 15 months ago

   I know the community on HubPages is a shadow of its former self. It's not nearly as active as it was years ago. It's one of the last remaining sites of its kind - sites like InfoBarrel and Squidoo have perished long ago - along with many other content farms.
   
   There have been many changes to HP over the years whether it was the TAG takeover, removal of Adsense, removal of comment sections, or introduction of vertical sites which now are going away or are already gone.
   
   Is HubPages truly doomed? Is it a sinking ship that's headed to the bottom of the sea?
   
   Seems like few writers are optimistic about the site's future. There is a lot of uncertainty and writers are concerned about HP in general and the transparency of what's been transpiring. And the landscape of the internet has changed dramatically over the years with the implementation of artificial intelligence and Google Algorithms etc. 
   
   Some of my articles accumulated hundreds of thousands of views back in the early 2010s on a separate account. I even had an article go viral and reach the top page of Google! I was on cloud 9 back then. I also wrote for Constant Content, but I always liked HP more and had more success and built up a residual income at one point.
   
   I don't know how most writers stay positive whether they're freelancer writers, columnists, or aspiring novelists. Seems like the cards are stacked against you and everything is trying to deter and demoralize you into submission.
   
   And these days, everything is going digital. A lot of magazine companies are going away (or already gone) and columnists are losing their life-long careers. Voice actors and script writers are rightfully concerned about AI. We're living in the digital age, where AI and streaming seems to reign supreme over conventional and traditional writing.
   
   Is there any hope for HubPages or a future for writers in general in this world?

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      Rock_njposted 15 months agoin reply to this

      Declining views and earnings crashing certainly seem to foretell disaster ahead for our beloved HubPages.

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         Cheryl E Prestonposted 15 months agoin reply to this

         Feedback from the HP staff would be appreciated.

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      Susan May Gudgeposted 14 months agoin reply to this

      It was always pretty slow for me as I do not have many articles. Even if it was just a few cents here and there, it felt really nice to be paid for my writings. An ego thing LOL.
      Noticed that the last 6 months or so it was booming. Now it seems to be in a decline this last month, back to what it was when I started many years ago. Hoping it is just kind of a wave thing and will start paying off again. High hopes.
      But...I write fiction novels and can say that the decline in sales is even worse. Either the market is just plain bad or I am a horrible writer. Probably horrible. Don't all writers worry about that? haha,,,  Peace.

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      Susan May Gudgeposted 14 months agoin reply to this

      When I started writing, it meant printing out 100 copies, double spaced, one sided of the books I wrote. Envelope, stamp, return envelope and stamp. Then a trip to Post Office to mail. All that cost money I didn't really have. But I kept trying...hundreds of times for each book I wrote.
      I knew I was almost done when they made queries and submissions available by email. Millions suddenly hopped online with their manuscripts, some good and most bad. It became too easy and no longer a game of the dedicated writer.
      Now AI has been "perfected."
      I am old now and happy to retire. It makes no sense anymore to be a writer. We are obsolete.

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   PaulGoodman67posted 15 months ago

   The ship is below water. It's unlikely to reemerge.

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3. 71

   Solarasposted 14 months ago

   Doom and Gloom
   
   My current views are at 1/5 of what they were 6 months ago.  I was on track for 15 Million views in 3 months, and now I doubt I will get there.
   
   It will take 6-7 months at this pace, and the pace is ever slowing.
   
   Since the move from PetHelpful to Discover, views on the top article are 1/5 of what they were.  CPM is substantially lower.  Had I left them alone, they would be nothing to me, so I count my pennies.
   
   It is sad to see the last of the freelance writer farms leave.  I had really high hopes once upon a time.  I lacked the time to do this full time, but it was a terrific supplement to my income. 
   
   I will note that as of this writing - AI stinks.  It gives terrible advice, and that might be enough to sink it, given how many objects of value, animals and peoples lives it effects negatively. 
   
   I really don't know how socially irresponsible Google intends to be, but they are really asking for trouble, in my humble opinion.

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      Cloverleafposted 14 months agoin reply to this

      It’s really tough to see this platform negatively impact our readership and income, especially after investing so much time and expertise. But I see this shift as a sign that it’s time to broaden our horizons. When one door closes, another opens—and for us, that door could lead to new opportunities where our voices and expertise can thrive.
      
      With pet care and so many other niches, people are still craving trusted, human information. The difference now is we have more options than ever to connect directly with audiences, whether through our own blogs, social media, or even video platforms. This is the push we need to turn our content into a brand that reflects our unique knowledge and voice!
      
      And you're right about the AI dilemma. Real, compassionate expertise stands out all the more against generic, sometimes inaccurate AI responses. There’s value in what we bring to the table, and we’re not alone in feeling this way.
      
      Let’s keep moving forward and build a following where quality expertise is truly valued. This shift might end up being the best thing that happened to us

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         Solarasposted 14 months agoin reply to this

         Indeed!  The income I was receiving here had me dithering about stepping out on a new venture. Was it better to put my efforts into the unknown, while HP was a known quantity. I knew I could write here and get some traction with new articles.
         
         The gross decline in views, cpm and revenue has made that conundrum moot.

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            wildernessposted 14 months agoin reply to this

            A couple of years ago I lost about 80% of my income each month.  I had been getting 4 figures each month but that joined the Dodo Bird in extinction.
            
            Then HP explained that Dengarden would no longer earn, and that is the majority of my articles.  So I asked to switch them all to Discover, as HP requested we do.
            
            And income fell probably 90% again.  For the first time in years I will not make payout this month.  I'll be lucky to see $20. 
            
            I've always known that one day HubPages would die.  Google gave it some mighty blows, but we struggled through.  I think the Arena Group has delivered the coup de grace though.  RIP HubPages - you were a good friend after I retired and helped out considerably during the Pandemic.

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               PaulGoodman67posted 14 months agoin reply to this

               Good to see you post, Dan! I do sometimes wonder what the old HP regulars are up to!
               
               I think we're all in the same boat. The site always went up and down but now it seems like we've finally sunk!
               
               I don't think the days of four figures are coming back! Like you, I'm no longer even making a payout every month!
               
               The site seems to be ending with more of a whimper than a bang...

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4. 76

   Kathleen Cochranposted 7 days ago

   AI Overview
   HubPages' value is complex: the platform itself was acquired by Maven in 2018 for an undisclosed amount, with investors receiving $5M plus performance-based incentives, but as of late 2025, the platform is being shut down, meaning its future value is negligible as content creation stops and access ends, with writers losing access by early 2026. For writers, earnings were historically slow, often taking years for modest income, making its past earning potential low for most, while its current value is effectively zero as it ceases operations.
   For the Company (Past & Present):
   Acquisition (2018): HubPages was sold to Maven (now part of MediaAlpha) for a deal structured around $5 million for investors plus future potential payouts for founders/employees based on performance, according to CNBC.
   Shutdown (2025-2026): After 20 years, the platform announced it was winding down in November 2025, stopping new content and edits, with full user loss by March 2026, making its current business value essentially zero, notes Medium.
   For Writers (Historical Earnings):
   Slow Returns: Writers often reported earning very little, sometimes less than $400 over many years, even with significant page views, as detailed in a Reddit thread, points out Medium.
   Algorithm-Dependent: Success depended heavily on HubPages' algorithm and SEO, not just content quality, with reports suggesting it could take up to two years to earn even modest amounts like $100/month, says Medium.
   In essence, HubPages as a platform had a valuation when sold, but its current value is nil as it closes, and its worth to writers was historically minimal for most, notes Medium and Medium.

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      Rock_njposted 6 days agoin reply to this

      I was earning a solid $200 a month on HubPages for years. Just six months before Chat-GPT was launched and destroyed the demand for articles by web searchers, I had a couple of $500 months! Things were looking better than ever, then AI destroyed people's desire/need to read articles and many went for the easy AI route for information. Kind of dangerous that AI has that much influence on what people think. Whoever controls various AI sources of info can have a major impact on billions of human minds and opinions.

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         DrMark1961posted 5 days agoin reply to this

         I agree. I was always making over $1000 a month here but with AI , specifically Google harvesting our articles, readers can get Quick answers and do not recognize when they are given misinformation.

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   abwilliamsposted 4 days ago

   Sad!
   I wasn't making that kind of money, but I had a developing thing going... for a while. People could comment to my articles about America, my Faith, politics, etc. Whether we agreed or disagreed, mattered not, we were having a conversation, and healthy debate and discussion.
   I definitely lost my footing at that time [when comments were no longer allowed] and it was downhill from there....
   
   Stay well Doc.
   Good luck everyone!
   I am beginning the process of deleting all of my articles.

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      Rock_njposted 3 days agoin reply to this

      Well said. There was a time when HubPages truly was a great writer's community with lots of interaction between writers and readers through the comments section. That era died a while ago, when HubPages' owner decided to stop allowing comments. It's been a long, slow death here.

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         abwilliamsposted 3 days agoin reply to this

         Thanks! Yes, I believed the rumors that they'd come back stronger, and things would only get better for us writers.
         Ha!
         Good luck to you in whatever your next adventure may be!

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6. 61

   poreklorecnikposted 2 days ago

   I think the biggest problem might be that AI taking over everything right now. People are not even aware what's yet to come...

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