Zhihu's Business Model Transformation: From Q&A Community to AI-Powered Knowledge Ecosystem
As China's leading Q&A community and original content platform, Zhihu has undergone a remarkable business model evolution—from early advertising revenue to a diversified "marketing services+premium memberships+vocational education" framework, and now an AI-empowered knowledge service ecosystem. The platform's core strength lies in integrating high-quality content, professional creators, and AI capabilities to build a "value-driven" content ecosystem. Through membership subscriptions, content monetization solutions, and skills education, Zhihu has successfully transitioned from an online forum to a comprehensive knowledge service platform. In Q1 2025, Zhihu achieved its first two consecutive quarters of Non-GAAP profitability, marking the maturity of its business model.
Revenue Structure: A Diversified Monetization System
Zhihu's revenue composition has undergone significant transformation. In 2022, its income sources included advertising (¥926 million, down 20.2% YoY), premium memberships (¥1.23 billion, up 84.1%), content marketing solutions (¥248 million), and vocational training (¥248 million, up 442% YoY). By 2023, Zhihu consolidated advertising and content marketing into a "Marketing Services" segment. In Q2 2023, premium memberships became the largest revenue source (¥449 million, 43% of total revenue), followed by marketing services (¥413 million, down 13.6%) and vocational education (¥145 million, up 213.3%).
The 2024 financial report marked Zhihu's first annual profitability: total revenue reached ¥3.599 billion (down 14.29% YoY), with net profit of ¥172 million (up 79.64%). Premium memberships contributed 48.9% of revenue, marketing services 33.3%, and vocational training 12.8%. By Q1 2025, premium memberships surged to 57.3% of revenue (¥418 million), while marketing services accounted for 27% (¥197 million) and vocational training 13% (¥94.5 million). The Q3 2025 report showed further optimization: premium memberships reached 58.5% (¥386 million), marketing services 28.7% (¥189 million), and vocational training 12.8% (¥83.9 million).
| Fiscal Period | Total Revenue (Billion CNY) | Premium Membership | Marketing Services | Vocational Education | Gross Margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 Annual | 36.05 | 34.1% | 25.7% | 6.9% | 48.6% |
| 2023 Annual | 41.99 | ~40% | ~40% | ~15% | 54.7% |
| 2024 Annual | 35.99 | 48.9% | 33.3% | 12.8% | 60.6% |
| Q1 2025 | 7.30 | 57.3% | 27.0% | 13.0% | 61.8% |
| Q3 2025 | 6.59 | 58.5% | 28.7% | 12.8% | 61.3% |
This structural shift reflects Zhihu's business maturation. Premium memberships have become the most stable revenue source, growing from 22.6% in 2021 to 57.3% in Q1 2025, driven by Salt Selection Membership expansion. By Q3 2025, Zhihu had 14.3 million monthly subscribers (up 8.1% QoQ). Vocational education emerged as the fastest-growing second pillar, increasing from 6.9% in 2022 to 12.8% in 2024, maintaining steady growth after operational independence.
Core Businesses: Paid Content, Education & Marketing
Zhihu's business model revolves around three synergistic pillars:
1. Paid Reading (Salt Selection Membership)
Zhihu's most successful monetization product offers monthly (¥19), quarterly (¥53), and annual (¥198) subscriptions. As of Q3 2025, 14.3 million monthly subscribers accessed stories, audiobooks, and lectures. The "Salt Stories" brand has authorized nearly 100 works for short drama adaptations, becoming a script pool for emerging industries. AI tools help creators shorten production cycles by 30%, boosting content engagement by 25% in upvotes and 18% in completion rates.
2. Vocational Education (Zhihu Edu)
Focusing on postgraduate exams, civil service tests, and professional certifications, this segment became Zhihu's growth engine. In Q4 2024, Zhihu achieved its first annual profitability (adjusted net profit of ¥97.1 million). Partnering with top hospitals, it developed AI-powered medical solutions rivaling iFlytek's 95.4% accurate healthcare model. AI-driven personalized learning paths and precise course recommendations strengthened its market position.
3. Marketing Services
Though traditional, this segment faces challenges. Q3 2025 revenue reached ¥189 million (28.7% of total), down from 40% in 2023. Zhihu's "DEEP TRUST" marketing system offers full-chain brand solutions—from market analysis to performance measurement. Strategic adjustments to reduce low-efficiency ads boosted gross margins to 60.6% in 2024, a five-year high.
Community Culture & Commercialization Balance
Zhihu's business model intertwines with its community culture. Early elitism (invitation-only, expert verification) established professional credibility but hindered monetization. After opening registration in 2013, user growth diluted content quality, causing ad revenue declines. Initiatives like the "Sea Salt Plan 5.0" (certifying 200,000 creators) restored quality-content incentives. By 2025, verified creators grew 46% YoY, with AI-related content surging 200%, creating a "quality content-supply - user payment - creator incentive" virtuous cycle.
User segmentation enhanced monetization efficiency. Targeting "new professionals" (career-focused users), Zhihu combined high education levels with payment willingness. Surveys showed master/PhD holders and high-income groups led knowledge spending. While Salt Selection's entertainment content (e.g., romance novels) faced criticism for low conversion rates (5.9% in 2021) and complaints about hidden charges, Zhihu implemented content zoning strategies—separating entertainment content from professional discussions while prioritizing scientific/medical answers via algorithmic weighting.
AI's Deep Empowerment
AI technology has become central to Zhihu's evolution. "Zhihu Direct Answer" (launched in 2024) became a key knowledge access point, with 15% penetration. Integrating DeepSeek-R1 in 2025 allowed direct source attribution to creators, enhancing credibility.
Key AI impacts:
- Content Production: AI tools reduce creation cycles by 30%. AI-assisted content sees 25% higher upvotes and 18% improved reading completion rates.
- User Retention: Daily active users spent 38 minutes/day in Q1 2025 (up 17.6% YoY), with core user retention improving.
- Commercial Efficiency: Scenario-based ad placements (e.g., electronics reviews with shopping links) increased click-through rates by 40%, enabling "demand-answer-purchase" closed-loop monetization.
- Enterprise Expansion: Private knowledge bases attracted education/finance clients. Medical AI inspection solutions created technical barriers comparable to iFlytek.
However, AI implementation faces challenges: high model inference costs (billions for GPU clusters) and concerns about undermining creator personas. Some creators fear "depersonalization" as AI aggregates answers without crediting individuals.
Business Characteristics & Future Directions
Zhihu's model features:
- Content-User-Value Cycle: Integrating quality content, creators, and AI creates self-reinforcing value loops.
- Differentiated Positioning: Combining "information + trust" through 500 million verified answers and expert networks.
- Multi-Channel Monetization: Stable membership revenue supports high-growth education services and efficient marketing solutions.
- Cost Optimization: Gross margins reached 61.8% in Q1 2025 through AI-powered ad targeting and content moderation.
Future directions:
- AI Deep Integration: Targeting 25%+ penetration for Direct Answer, developing enterprise APIs, and exploring knowledge copyright derivatives.
- Content Ecosystem Defense: Strengthening fact-checking mechanisms and algorithmically prioritizing expert answers.
- Education Expansion: Deepening partnerships with medical institutions and AI-powered personalized learning paths.
- User Growth Strategy: Focusing on core user retention despite MAU declines (83 million in 2024, down 21.2%).
Challenges & Responses
User Growth Bottleneck: MAU dropped 21.2% to 83 million in 2024. Response: Enhancing AI content matching to improve user stickiness.
Content Quality Debates: Entertainment content risks brand dilution. Response: Fact-checking models and content zoning strategies.
AI Commercialization: High inference costs outweigh current returns. Response: Model optimization (Huawei Ascend chips) and B2B knowledge management services.
Creator Ecosystem: Preventing "depersonalization". Response: Empowering top creators with AI tools and reinforcing personal brands through livestreams.
Competitive Pressures: Facing Kimi and DouBao. Response: Emphasizing "sourced answers" as a unique value proposition.
Sustainability & Outlook
Zhihu demonstrated financial health: adjusted net profit of ¥6.94 million in Q1 2025, with ¥4.58 billion in cash reserves. However, Q3 2025 revenue declined 22% YoY, with widening net losses. CEO Zhou Yuan emphasized two priorities: achieving annual profitability and enhancing user experience.
Looking ahead, Zhihu will deepen AI-community integration. Zhou stated, "AI elevates our product strategy ceiling—AI+community is the future." Initiatives include expanding Salt Stories' IP adaptations into short dramas and developing enterprise knowledge management services. CFO Wang Han highlighted plans to "strengthen commercial resilience and explore new revenue models."
In summary, Zhihu is transforming from a Q&A forum into an AI-driven knowledge ecosystem. For those aiming to monetize on Zhihu, understanding its evolving trends—from vocational education growth to AI content dynamics—will be crucial for strategic navigation.
A Few Suggestions for Self-Media on Zhihu
If you plan to deeply engage with the Zhihu platform and leverage it to generate income, it's essential to understand Zhihu's development trends and specific details, as different goals will lead to a different focus in browsing and allocation of efforts.
