Ekşi Sözlük
The collaborative dictionary that shaped Turkish internet culture.
Ekşi Sözlük at a glance
Ekşi Sözlük is a blogs & forums website and one of the most visited sites in Türkiye, currently ranked #4 in the country. It was founded in 1999 by Sedat Kapanoğlu and is headquartered in Istanbul, Türkiye. Today Ekşi Sözlük is owned by Ekşi Teknoloji ve Bilişim A.Ş.. Our estimates put its audience at ≈ 75 million visits per month. The business earns money mainly through display advertising, sponsored placements and native campaigns, ad-free paid membership options. Its closest rivals include wikipedia.org, reddit.com, donanimhaber.com, kizlarsoruyor.com.
Traffic statistics
Traffic history
| Period | Visits | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Q1 | ≈ 72 million / month | — |
| Q2 | ≈ 75 million / month | +4% |
| Q3 | ≈ 74 million / month | -1% |
| Q4 | ≈ 78 million / month | +5% |
Traffic sources
- Organic search58%
Huge long-tail archive
- Direct31%
- Social8%
- Referral3%
Audience & demographics
- Men60%
- Women40%
- Age 18-2430%
- Age 25-3433%
- Age 35-4418%
The community skews young, urban and highly online; entries frequently set the tone for wider Turkish social media discussion.
Geographic reach
- Türkiye89%
- Germany3%
- United States2%
- Other6%
SEO profile
- Organic keywords
- Millions of long-tail topic headings
- Estimated organic traffic
- ≈ 43 million visits / month
- Strength
- Ranks for opinion, explanation and 'nedir' queries
Top organic keywords
| Keyword | Position | Volume | Traffic share |
|---|---|---|---|
| ekşi sözlük | 1 | High | — |
| eksi sozluk | 1 | High | — |
| ... nedir | 1-10 | Very long tail | — |
Backlink profile
- Referring domains
- Tens of thousands
- Link sources
- News media citing entries, forums, social posts
Technology stack
Website technologies
Advertising & analytics technologies
Mobile app statistics
Company information
- Website
- eksisozluk.com
- Sector
- Blogs & Forums
- Owner
- Ekşi Teknoloji ve Bilişim A.Ş.
- Owner type
- Private company
- Founders
- Sedat Kapanoğlu
- Founded
- 1999
- Headquarters
- Istanbul, Türkiye
- Employees
- Small core team (under 50)
- Ownership
- Privately held, associated with founder Sedat Kapanoğlu and a small group of partners
- Revenue
- Advertising-funded; revenue not publicly disclosed
- Languages
- Turkish
- Top traffic sources
- Organic search, direct
Financials
- Funding model
- Advertising revenue, no disclosed outside investment
- Cost base
- Infrastructure and a small editorial/moderation team
Business model & revenue
Ekşi Sözlük is a user-generated content platform. Registered authors write short numbered entries under headings, and the archive of decades of entries generates enormous long-tail search traffic that is monetised through advertising.
- Display advertising
- Sponsored placements and native campaigns
- Ad-free paid membership options
Products & services
Numbered user-written entries grouped under topic headings.
Live feed of the most active topics of the day.
Daily digest of the previous day's most-liked entries.
Employee statistics
Customer statistics
Website rankings
- Country rank (Türkiye)
- Top 5 most visited site
- Sector rank
- #1 community and forum platform
Main competitors
Website comparisons
| Website | Monthly visits | Rank | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| eksisozluk.com | ≈ 75M / month | #1 community | Unique entry-based format |
| donanimhaber.com | ≈ 40M / month | #2 | Tech-focused forum |
| wikipedia.org (TR) | ≈ 60M / month | - | Encyclopaedic, not opinion-based |
What is Ekşi Sözlük?
Ekşi Sözlük is a Turkish collaborative dictionary and discussion community. Registered authors write short numbered entries under topic headings, and the result is a decades-deep archive of definitions, opinions, jokes and first-hand accounts that has shaped how Turkish internet culture speaks.
Who owns Ekşi Sözlük?
The site was created in 1999 by software developer Sedat Kapanoğlu and is operated by Ekşi Teknoloji ve Bilişim A.Ş. It remains privately held with a small core team, and the contributor community does the writing.
Traffic and audience
With roughly 75 million visits per month, Ekşi Sözlük is consistently among Türkiye's five most visited websites. Most of that traffic arrives from search, because the archive ranks for an enormous number of long-tail Turkish queries.
How Ekşi Sözlük makes money
Revenue comes from advertising: display inventory, sponsored placements and ad-free membership options. There is no marketplace or subscription content business behind it.
Competitors in Türkiye
In terms of attention it competes with DonanımHaber's forums, Turkish Wikipedia, Reddit's Turkish communities and social platforms where similar discussions now happen.
Company history & milestones
- 1999
Launched by Sedat Kapanoğlu as an experimental collaborative dictionary.
- 2000s
Becomes a defining institution of Turkish internet culture.
- 2010s
Mobile apps launch; site faces periodic access restrictions.
- 2020s
Remains a top-five Turkish website by traffic.
Latest news
- Access restrictions and legal disputesPress coverage · Historic and recurring
The site has faced blocking orders in the past.
- Ongoing debates about moderationCommunity and media · Recent
User reviews & ratings
| Source | Score | Reviews | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Google Play | ≈ 4.2 / 5 | — | Praised for content, criticised for ads |
| App Store (TR) | ≈ 4.4 / 5 | — | — |
Readers value the depth and humour of the archive; the main complaints concern advertising density and moderation decisions.
Pros & cons
Pros
- Unmatched archive of Turkish-language opinion and explanation
- Extremely strong long-tail search visibility
- Highly engaged, culturally influential community
- Fast, lightweight interface
Cons
- Content accuracy varies since entries are opinion-based
- Heavy advertising on free access
- History of access blocks and legal pressure
- Turkish-only, with no international version
Key statistics
Frequently asked questions
What is Ekşi Sözlük?
Ekşi Sözlük is a Turkish collaborative dictionary where registered authors write short numbered entries under topic headings. It functions as part encyclopaedia, part discussion forum and part cultural archive.
Who founded Ekşi Sözlük?
It was founded in 1999 by software developer Sedat Kapanoğlu and is operated today by Ekşi Teknoloji ve Bilişim A.Ş.
How does Ekşi Sözlük make money?
Almost entirely through advertising, supported by ad-free membership options. Its enormous archive of entries drives long-tail search traffic that is monetised with display and native ads.
Can anyone write on Ekşi Sözlük?
Anyone can read, but writing requires an author account, and new applicants pass through a review process before being approved.
Popular searches
Data sources & confidence
- Third-party traffic estimation providersSimilarweb-class estimates
- Public statements by the founder and site announcementsEkşi Sözlük
- App store listingsApple App Store, Google Play
- Data confidence
- Medium — the company publishes little financial or audience data.
- Last updated
- January 2026
Audience and revenue figures are estimates; the company does not disclose financials.
Social media profiles & statistics