First intended as an online bulletin board for college students, particularly aimed at selling textbooks, Cheggpost was founded in 2000 by three Iowa State University students, Josh Carlson, Mike Seager, and Mark Fiddelke. Initially, the website also offered information on scholarships, internship matching and university application advice but it struggled to find success.
Within a few years, fellow students Aayush Phumbhra and Osman Rashid joined the company, shifted the focus to textbook rentals and shortened the name to Chegg. By 2008, revenue had reached $10 million, and by the end of January 2009 Chegg had surpassed that again.
Chegg began to move online, and launched an eReader in 2012 to improve the accessibility of textbooks. The business went public in 2013, and its IPO reportedly raised $187.5 million with an initial market capitalisation of $1.1 billion.
The company continued to expand, and experienced rapid growth during the coronavirus pandemic. In the third quarter of 2020, subscriptions grew by 69% and as of 2021, it was valued at more than $12 billion.
While Chegg does still provide textbooks for rent or purchase, the business is now predominately based on a subscription model for its study services. There is 24/7 access to online tutors, plagiarism scans, automatic citations and writing help. Chegg Maths was introduced in 2017 to help students solve equations. Through Thinkful, acquired in 2019, there is again careers advice, internship opportunities and skills bootcamps. In April 2022, Chegg partnered with a book reseller to transition out of the logistics of its print textbook library.
However, the study services have faced some criticism. Chegg Study, which was originally called Cramster and acquired in 2010, offers 37 million expert Q&As, 6 million textbook solutions, video walkthroughs, and practice sets. Some educators have expressed concern that Chegg Study is being used by students to cheat by searching up textbook answers. In response, Chegg created Honor Shield, a tool to block students for searching for certain exam answers for a set period of time.
Throughout its expansion, Chegg has acquired companies which offer a range of school services, in an attempt to make the company a one-stop shop for students, including CourseRank, Internships.com, StudyBlue and Campus Special.
Facing competition from free-to-use AI chatbots, in May 2023 CEO Dan Rosensweig announced the introduction of a GPT-4 powered AI platform called CheggMate. The company has warned its new customer growth rate has already been impacted by ChatGPT, leading to a sharp fall in its stock price.
We’ve collected data and statistics on Chegg. Read on to find out more. Want expert insights on this app sector? Check out the education app report.
Chegg key statistics
- Chegg’s revenue was $716.3 million in 2023, a 6.5% decrease from the previous year
- Chegg posted its second annual net profit in 2023 of $18.2 million
- Subscription services revenues constituted 88% of total net revenues in 2023
- There were 7.7 million subscribers for Chegg services in 2023
Education App Report 2024
Want to learn more about the Education app industry? In our Education App Report, we cover financials, forecasts, usage, downloads, demographics and benchmarking data.
Chegg overview
| Title | Title 2 |
|---|---|
| Launch date | January 2000 |
| HQ | Santa Clara, USA |
| People | Dan Rosensweig (President, CEO) |
| Business type | Public |
| Industry | Education |
Chegg revenue
Chegg generated $716.3 billion in 2023, a fall of 6.5% from the previous year. Subscription services were 88% of total net revenue.
Chegg revenue 2017 to 2024 ($mm)
Chegg revenue 2013 to 2023 ($mm)
| Year | Revenue ($mm) |
|---|---|
| 2013 | 255.6 |
| 2014 | 304.8 |
| 2015 | 301.4 |
| 2016 | 254.1 |
| 2017 | 255.1 |
| 2018 | 321.1 |
| 2019 | 410.9 |
| 2020 | 644.3 |
| 2021 | 776.3 |
| 2022 | 766.9 |
| 2023 | 716.3 |
Sources: Education App Report, Company data
Chegg net income
Chegg reported its second annual net income, but it was much smaller than the previous year.
Chegg net income 2012 to 2023 ($mm)
| Year | Net income ($mm) |
|---|---|
| 2013 | -158.4 |
| 2014 | -64.8 |
| 2015 | -59.2 |
| 2016 | -42.2 |
| 2017 | -20.3 |
| 2018 | -14.9 |
| 2019 | -9.6 |
| 2020 | -6.2 |
| 2021 | -1.5 |
| 2022 | 266.6 |
| 2023 | 18.2 |
Sources: Education App Report, Company data
Chegg Subscribers
There were 7.7 million Chegg Services subscribers in 2023, a 6% decrease year-on-year.
Chegg subscribers 2017 to 2024 (mm)
Chegg subscribers 2013 to 2023 (mm)
| Year | Subscribers (mm) |
|---|---|
| 2013 | 0.5 |
| 2014 | 0.7 |
| 2015 | 1 |
| 2016 | 1.5 |
| 2017 | 2.2 |
| 2018 | 3.1 |
| 2019 | 3.9 |
| 2020 | 6.6 |
| 2021 | 7.8 |
| 2022 | 8.2 |
| 2023 | 7.7 |
Source: Company data
Online Courses Revenue
Total revenue generated by the online courses subsector was $3.1 billion in 2023, with a decent chunk coming from Chegg.
Online courses market revenue 2018 to 2023 ($bn)
Want to learn more? Check out the Education App Report
Chegg FAQs
How many views do Chegg Study content and materials receive?
In 2020, Chegg Study content was viewed 1.3 billion times.
How much does Chegg cost?
Chegg subscriptions start at $14.95 per month.
How many textbooks does Chegg have access to?
Chegg has a library of almost 750,000 books.
Where is Chegg available?
Chegg operates in around 190 countries.
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