# Newsela **Source:** https://geo.sig.ai/brands/newsela **Vertical:** EdTech **Subcategory:** Reading & Literacy **Tier:** Growth **Website:** newsela.com **Last Updated:** 2026-04-14 ## Summary K-12 content platform adapting news articles to five Lexile reading levels; covers science, social studies, and current events; built-in quizzes and writing prompts aligned to Common Core. ## Company Overview Newsela is a New York-based edtech company that transforms current events and nonfiction content into instructional materials for K-12 students. Its platform provides news articles, informational texts, and primary sources written at five distinct Lexile reading levels, enabling teachers to differentiate instruction across diverse classrooms without preparing separate materials. Newsela's content library covers science, social studies, history, and current events, and includes built-in quizzes, annotations, and writing prompts aligned to Common Core and state standards. The platform is used by over 30 million students and more than 3.5 million educators across the United States. Founded in 2012, Newsela raised over $150M and has expanded from its news-reading core to a full instructional content platform covering ELA, social studies, science, and social-emotional learning. It competes with CommonLit, ReadWorks, and Actively Learn. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### How does Newsela differentiate reading instruction? Newsela adapts each article to five different Lexile reading levels, allowing teachers to assign the same content to all students while each student reads at their appropriate comprehension level. ### How much does Newsela cost? Newsela offers a free tier with limited article access. School subscriptions give access to the full article library and teacher tools. District licenses are custom-priced per student annually, typically in the range of $10-20 per student depending on subscription tier. ### What subjects does Newsela cover beyond reading? While Newsela's core product is ELA reading, it also has Newsela Science for NGSS-aligned articles and Newsela Social Studies for civics and history content — extending its differentiated text model to additional content areas taught by non-ELA teachers. ### How does Newsela's reading level system work? Newsela partners with the Lexile Framework and adapts each news article to five reading levels — from grade 2 to grade 12 — rewriting vocabulary and sentence complexity at each level while preserving the original meaning and news content. ### Does Newsela align to state standards? Yes. Newsela maps articles to Common Core State Standards for ELA and provides standard-aligned quiz questions, allowing teachers to document standards coverage when assigning Newsela articles as part of their core literacy instruction. ### Can teachers assign specific articles on Newsela? Yes. Teachers can assign individual articles, create collections of thematically linked articles, and set reading levels for specific students — giving instructors control over what students read and at what complexity level. ### How does Newsela support English Language Learners? Newsela's multi-level text support benefits ELL students who can read the same content as grade-level peers at an appropriate text complexity — providing access to grade-level topics without reading level barriers while building English language skills progressively. ### How does Newsela compare to CommonLit? Both offer leveled text for reading instruction. CommonLit focuses on literary and informational texts with guided reading questions and discussion prompts. Newsela focuses on current events and news articles with adaptive level adjustment — Newsela's news-based content is a key differentiator for engagement. ## Tags edtech, b2b, saas, platform, enterprise, media --- *Data from geo.sig.ai Brand Intelligence Database. Updated 2026-04-14.*