Sortlist
Sortlist is a Belgian two-sided marketplace connecting businesses with vetted marketing, advertising, creative, and IT agencies across 24 countries, combining AI-powered matching, buyer intent signal detection, and AI-driven outbound automation for 24,000+ listed agencies and 600,000 monthly buyers.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2014
- HeadquartersWavre, Belgium
- Headcount51–100
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingDigital Commerce or Content
What Sortlist does
Sortlist is a Belgian two-sided marketplace, founded in 2014 and headquartered in Brussels/Wavre, that connects businesses seeking service providers with vetted marketing, advertising, creative, development, and IT agencies across 24 countries. The platform lists 24,000+ agencies spanning 1,000+ service categories, attracts 600,000 monthly buyers, and has facilitated 500,000+ company-to-provider matches cumulatively since inception, processing approximately 5,400 meetings per month. Its core technology combines an AI-powered matching engine with proprietary Signal Detection capability, which uses company-level IP tracking and marketplace search monitoring to identify 98% of anonymous website visitors and assign hot/warm/cold buyer intent scores, with native CRM sync to HubSpot, Pipedrive, and Teamleader.
The platform operates a freemium model: clients post projects and receive matches free of charge, while providers pay application fees, promoted placements across 2,400+ high-intent SEO landing pages, and increasingly subscribe to Signal Detection and AI Outbound, the latter added via the December 2025 acquisition of Overloop AI (formerly Prospect.io, $2.6M revenue in 2024, 5,000+ customers in 100+ countries). AI Outbound introduces pay-per-booked-meeting economics for personalized email and LinkedIn automation, reporting a 12% response rate versus ~1% for traditional cold outreach. The company has raised approximately €15M across three rounds (2015, 2019, 2021), employs 11-50 staff, and remains founder-controlled under CEO Thibaut Vanderhofstadt and CTO Charles De Groote. Sortlist ranks #1 on competitive agency keywords, turning organic search into its primary acquisition channel for both supply and demand sides.
Sortlist firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Sortlist
- Legal name
- Sortlist
- Website
- https://sortlist.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2014
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 51–100 employees
- Short description
- Sortlist is a Belgian two-sided marketplace connecting businesses with vetted marketing, advertising, creative, and IT agencies across 24 countries, combining AI-powered matching, buyer intent signal detection, and AI-driven outbound automation for 24,000+ listed agencies and 600,000 monthly buyers.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Sortlist industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Agency Marketplace
- NAICS
- Directory and Mailing List Publishers (51314), Web Search Portals and All Other Information Services (519290), Web Search Portals, Libraries, Archives, and Other Information Services (5192), Marketing Research and Public Opinion Polling (541910)
- SIC
- Services-Advertising (7310), Services-Advertising Agencies (7311)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Marketplace & On-Demand Platform Recommendations (rideshare, delivery, services) (HDAAAGAK)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Marketing Database & Contact Data Providers (B2B/B2C Lists) (BPAFAKAF), Enterprise Search, Indexing & Content Discovery (HDAEAGAH), POI, Local Listings & Business Directory Platforms (BPAMANAD)
Keywords
Where Sortlist is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Wavre
- HQ country
- Belgium
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Sortlist business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Digital Commerce or Content
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Personnel, Operations, Others
Revenue model
- Provider Application Fees: Service providers (agencies) pay a fee to apply for projects. Providers are incentivized to only pursue projects they can win because they're a great match, creating a motivated expert selection for clients.
- Promoted Placements: Agencies can pay for promoted placements on the marketplace to gain maximum visibility when buyers search for specific services, generating additional revenue from high-intent positioning.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Others | Free matching for project-posting clients |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels5 records
Sortlist product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Sortlist operates a two-sided online marketplace that connects businesses seeking marketing, advertising, creative, development, and IT services with 24,000+ vetted agencies across 24 countries. Clients post projects for free and are matched with providers through a combination of AI-driven algorithms and human curation; service providers pay application fees to pursue projects and can purchase promoted placements for additional visibility on 2,400+ high-intent SEO landing pages. The platform extends beyond matching with two paid modules for providers: Signal Detection (company-level website visitor identification with hot/warm/cold buyer-intent scoring and CRM sync to HubSpot, Pipedrive, and Teamleader) and AI Outbound (AI-written personalized email and LinkedIn outreach sequences, added through the December 2025 acquisition of Overloop AI on a pay-per-booked-meeting basis).
Product overview
Sortlist is a managed marketplace platform connecting companies seeking service providers (agencies) with vetted agencies across 1,000+ services in 24 countries. The platform consists of two core products: the Marketplace (24,000+ listed agencies, 600,000 monthly buyers) and Signal Detection (website visitor identification and buyer-intent signal scoring). An add-on module, AI Outbound (added via the December 2025 acquisition of Overloop AI), provides AI-written personalized email and LinkedIn outreach campaign automation. Agencies receive CRM-synced hot leads, marketplace visibility on 2,400+ high-intent landing pages, and automated outreach. The matching process combines AI algorithms with human expert oversight.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Sortlist Marketplace Online two-sided marketplace where businesses post projects for free and are matched with vetted marketing, advertising, creative, development, and IT agencies; agencies pay fees to apply and can purchase promoted placements on 2,400+ SEO-driven landing pages. Used by clients from startups to global brands and by 24,000+ listed service providers.
- Signal Detection Buyer-intent signal identification product for agencies that uses company-level IP tracking and marketplace search data to identify anonymous website visitors, score them as hot, warm, or cold, and sync the leads into HubSpot, Pipedrive, or Teamleader. Marketed as identifying 98% of website visitors that would otherwise leave anonymously.
- AI Outbound (via Overloop AI acquisition) AI-powered personalized outreach campaign product combining generative-AI-written emails with LinkedIn automation sequences (connection requests and follow-ups), targeting companies actively hiring or scaling. Offered to agencies on a pay-per-booked-meeting basis; claimed 12% average response rate vs. 1% for traditional cold email.
Quantifiable outcome
- 3x more inbound leads within 90 days for agencies
- +4 more outcomes
Companies that use Sortlist
Customer profileNamed customers16 records
Segments2 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Sortlist technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration4 records
AI capability7 records
Feature4 records
Sortlist partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- Overloop AI (formerly Prospect.io)coreSortlist acquired Overloop AI in December 2025 in what Sortlist described as the largest acquisition in its history. Overloop AI, launched as Prospect.io in 2015 and rebranded in 2021, is a cloud-based AI-powered sales prospecting platform combining email personalization with LinkedIn automation. The acquisition adds prospecting capabilities to Sortlist's marketplace offering.
Scale indicators8 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Sortlist competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Clutch: Clutch is the largest B2B services marketplace, publishing verified reviews and rankings of agencies, IT, and consulting firms. It directly competes with Sortlist's core agency-discovery offering in the same buyer (enterprise procurement) and provider (agencies) segments.
- DesignRush: DesignRush is a B2B marketplace listing top design, marketing, and technology agencies with rankings and reviews. It is a direct competitor in agency-discovery for the same client segments Sortlist serves.
- Bark: Bark.com operates a global marketplace connecting customers with local professionals across many service categories, including marketing. It overlaps with Sortlist in agency/services matchmaking with a similar freemium, fee-based provider model.
- GoodFirms: GoodFirms is a B2B research and review platform that ranks software and service companies, including marketing and development agencies. It competes with Sortlist for the same provider-discovery demand and agency-listing supply.
- The Manifest: The Manifest is a Clutch-owned agency-ranking and how-to resource that publishes buyer guides and lists of top service providers. It directly competes with Sortlist's content-driven, SEO-led agency-discovery motion.
Broad incumbents
- Upwork: Upwork is the largest freelance services marketplace, covering marketing, design, and development talent at global scale. It competes with Sortlist at the edges for marketing-services sourcing, though it focuses more on freelancers than on vetted agencies.
- 99designs (by Vista): 99designs is a Vista-owned creative marketplace for graphic design and branding services, connecting clients with designers globally. It overlaps with Sortlist's creative/branding category and competes for similar SMB and mid-market buyers.
- Toptal: Toptal is an elite freelance talent marketplace for developers, designers, finance, and product managers, with selective vetting. It competes with Sortlist for high-end project sourcing, though it focuses on individuals rather than agencies.
Others
- HubSpot Solutions Directory: HubSpot's Solutions Directory lists partner agencies certified to deploy its CRM/marketing platform. It is an adjacent competitor to Sortlist for inbound marketing services sourcing and overlaps with Sortlist's HubSpot CRM integration partner base.
Regional players
- Twago: Twago is a European-based freelance and agency marketplace primarily serving DACH and broader EU markets. It overlaps with Sortlist in regional coverage and provider-matching mechanics, competing for the same European SMB client base.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Sortlist social profiles
Digital presenceSortlist compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance1 record
Sortlist financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Sortlist leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles6 records
Sortlist subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries1 record
Sortlist funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds3 records
Investors4 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Sortlist M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A1 record
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Sortlist
What does Sortlist do?
Sortlist operates a two-sided online marketplace that connects businesses seeking marketing, advertising, creative, development, and IT services with 24,000+ vetted agencies across 24 countries. Clients post projects for free and are matched with providers through a combination of AI-driven algorithms and human curation; service providers pay application fees to pursue projects and can purchase promoted placements for additional visibility on 2,400+ high-intent SEO landing pages. The platform extends beyond matching with two paid modules for providers: Signal Detection (company-level website visitor identification with hot/warm/cold buyer-intent scoring and CRM sync to HubSpot, Pipedrive, and Teamleader) and AI Outbound (AI-written personalized email and LinkedIn outreach sequences, added through the December 2025 acquisition of Overloop AI on a pay-per-booked-meeting basis).
Is Sortlist a public or private company?
Sortlist is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was Sortlist founded?
Sortlist was founded in 2014. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is Sortlist based?
Sortlist is headquartered in Wavre, Belgium, in the Europe region.
How does Sortlist make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Provider Application Fees are the primary driver. The others are promoted Placements.
Who are Sortlist's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Clutch, DesignRush, Bark, GoodFirms and The Manifest. Broad incumbents are Upwork, 99designs (by Vista) and Toptal. HubSpot Solutions Directory is listed as an others. Twago is listed as a regional player.
Does Sortlist have an API?
No public API is recorded for Sortlist.
What industry is Sortlist in?
Sortlist's product category is Agency Marketplace. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HDAAAGAK, Marketplace & On-Demand Platform Recommendations (rideshare, delivery, services), with a secondary code of BPAFAKAF, Marketing Database & Contact Data Providers (B2B/B2C Lists). Its NAICS code is 51314 and its SIC code is 7310.