HelloSafe
HelloSafe is a Montreal-based comparison platform that lets Canadian consumers anonymously compare insurance, credit, investment, banking, telecom, and VPN products from 200+ partner providers, monetizing via referral fees and advertising across 22 country-specific websites.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2020
- HeadquartersMontréal, Canada
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingDigital Commerce or Content
What HelloSafe does
HelloSafe is a Canadian financial product comparison platform headquartered in Montreal that originated from the Paris-based Safe Group and was established in Canada in 2020. The company operates a free, anonymous, self-serve web platform (hellosafe.ca) where consumers can compare hundreds of financial products across insurance (auto, home, travel, health, life, pet, and specialty lines), credit (personal loans, auto loans, mortgages, debt consolidation, bad credit), investments (brokers, GICs, TFSAs, RRSPs, crypto), banking (online banks, credit cards, chequing accounts, money transfer), telecom, and VPN services. Supporting features include financial calculators (loan, salary, tax), an invoice generator, a credit-card insurance analyzer, and proprietary research reports such as the annual Pet Insurance Barometer, the HelloSafe Prosperity Index, and the Travel Safety Index. Underlying technology is a web-based comparison platform with quote request forms, cookie-based analytics, and an advertising technology stack that includes Google AdSense and multiple ATPs.
HelloSafe's business model is a dual-sided affiliate and advertising play. Consumers use the platform for free; revenue is generated through referral/lead fees paid by 200+ certified broker and financial institution partners (including Canada Life, Allianz, AXA, Nesto, Onlia, Wise, Remitly) when users submit quote requests or purchase products, supplemented by display advertising. The platform explicitly operates independently from partners with no capital participation in any partner company. Go-to-market is primarily product-led growth via SEO-optimized educational content (studies, barometers, guides), supported by email newsletters, organic social (LinkedIn, Twitter), and media partnerships (francoischarron.com).
The company has scaled rapidly since 2020, surpassing 1 million Canadian users by October 2021, attracting 2.5M–5M annual visitors, and expanding to 22 country-specific domains across North America, Europe, LATAM, APAC, the Middle East, and Africa. The company has raised $4.2 million in seed funding (September 2022) led by OneRagtime and Kima Ventures, employs 51–100 people, and continues to add vertical partnerships and proprietary research to deepen both the Canadian core and the international template.
HelloSafe firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- HelloSafe
- Legal name
- HelloSafe
- Website
- https://hellosafe.ca
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2020
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- HelloSafe is a Montreal-based comparison platform that lets Canadian consumers anonymously compare insurance, credit, investment, banking, telecom, and VPN products from 200+ partner providers, monetizing via referral fees and advertising across 22 country-specific websites.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
HelloSafe industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Insurance & Financial Product Comparison
- NAICS
- Mortgage and Nonmortgage Loan Brokers (522310), Web Search Portals, Libraries, Archives, and Other Information Services (519)
- SIC
- Loan Brokers (6163), Insurance Agents, Brokers & Service (6411)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Lead Generation, Comparison & Marketplace Platforms (Financial Products) (FSAEAMAM)
Keywords
Where HelloSafe is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Montréal
- HQ country
- Canada
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
HelloSafe business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Digital Commerce or Content
- Cost components
- Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations
Revenue model
- Affiliate/Referral Fees: HelloSafe generates revenue by transmitting quote requests from consumers to its network of insurance brokers and financial institution partners. Partners pay referral/lead fees when users complete quote requests or purchase products through the platform. The platform is legally and financially independent from partners, with no capital participation in any partner company.
- Advertising: The platform uses Google AdSense and numerous advertising technology providers (ATP) for targeted marketing and ad personalization, contributing to revenue.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Pay-as-you-go | Free consumer platform |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels5 records
HelloSafe product offering
Product offeringCore offering
HelloSafe operates a free, anonymous, self-serve web platform that lets Canadian consumers instantly compare hundreds of financial products including insurance (auto, home, travel, life, health, pet), credit (personal, auto, mortgage, debt consolidation), investments (brokers, TFSA, RRSP, GICs, crypto), banking (online banks, credit cards, money transfer), telecom, and VPN services. The platform collects user requirements via quote request forms and transmits them to a network of 200+ certified broker partners who return up to three personalized submissions.
Product overview
HelloSafe operates a financial product comparison platform offering free, anonymous, instant comparisons across three core product lines: (1) Insurance comparisons covering auto, home, travel, health, dental, life, disability, mortgage, critical illness, pet, boat, snowbird, and group/collective insurance; (2) Credit products including personal loans, auto loans, business loans, student loans, bad credit loans, debt consolidation, and mortgages; and (3) Investment and savings products covering brokers, stock market, GICs, TFSAs, RRSPs, RDSPs, cryptocurrency, NFTs, and unregistered accounts. The platform also provides comparison tools for banking services (online banking, credit cards, chequing accounts, money transfer), telecommunications (internet, cell phone, television), and VPN services. Supporting tools include financial calculators (loan calculators, salary converters, tax calculators), an invoice generator, and a credit card insurance analysis application. The platform aggregates data from over 200 partner companies including major insurers, brokers, and financial institutions across Canada. HelloSafe also produces proprietary research including the annual Pet Insurance Barometer, the HelloSafe Prosperity Index, and the HelloSafe Travel Safety Index.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- HelloSafe.ca: Canadian financial product comparison platform operated by HelloSafe
Products and services
- Insurance Comparison Platform
Quantifiable outcome
- Platform surpassed 1 million Canadian users within one year of launch (October 2021)
- +1 more outcomes
Companies that use HelloSafe
Customer profileNamed customers7 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
HelloSafe technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature3 records
HelloSafe partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- YouSetcorePartnership with YouSet, a provider of home and auto insurance solutions. The collaboration enables HelloSafe to offer YouSet insurance products through its comparison platform, expanding options for Canadian consumers.
- soNomadcorePartnership with soNomad, a specialist travel insurance provider. The partnership expands HelloSafe's travel insurance offerings for Canadian travelers.
- Synonyme Média (francoischarron.com)minorMarketing partnership with Synonyme Média, producer of the popular francoischarron.com website. The partnership expands HelloSafe's reach to Quebec consumers through media referrals.
- OxiominorPartnership with Oxio, an independent telecommunications provider. The collaboration adds telecom comparison services to HelloSafe's offerings.
- OnliacorePartnership with Onlia to strengthen HelloSafe's presence in the Ontario insurance market. Onlia provides auto and home insurance through the HelloSafe platform.
Scale indicators5 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
HelloSafe competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Ratehub.ca: Canadian financial comparison platform covering mortgages, insurance, credit cards and deposits. Direct competitor in the same geography and product categories, with a similar lead-generation / affiliate revenue model.
- Kanetix Ltd. Long-standing Canadian online comparison marketplace for insurance, financial products and travel. Directly comparable on product scope (insurance, credit, banking), geography, and the lead-generation / broker-partner model.
- Lowestrates.com: Canadian comparison platform for mortgages, insurance and credit products. Closely overlapping product set, geography, and monetization through partner referral fees.
- Insurance Hotline: Canadian insurance comparison service covering auto, home and life. Comparable on core vertical (insurance), Canadian market focus and partner-driven quote distribution.
- Finder.com: Global consumer comparison platform for financial products (banking, insurance, investing, crypto) operating in many of the same countries as HelloSafe. Highly comparable on product breadth, international footprint, and content-driven affiliate model.
Broad incumbents
- NerdWallet: Large US-based consumer finance comparison and content platform. Comparable business model (affiliate monetization, SEO-led content), broader US/global footprint, and significantly more capital and brand scale.
- LendingTree: Public US loan and financial product comparison marketplace. Closely analogous lead-generation network model in lending/insurance, but operates at much greater scale and across multiple financial verticals.
- MoneySupermarket Group: Public UK financial product comparison platform covering insurance, banking and energy. Same comparison/lead-gen model and similar vertical mix, with an established public-market scale reference point.
Regional players
- LesFurets.com: French insurance and financial product comparison platform owned by the same European comparison group as some HelloSafe-adjacent markets. Directly comparable on insurance comparison, French-language UX, and affiliate lead generation.
Emerging players
- Hardbacon: Canadian personal finance app with 35,000+ users that already has an integration partnership with HelloSafe. Comparable on Canadian consumer-finance audience, with overlapping content and tool offerings.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
HelloSafe social profiles
Digital presenceHelloSafe financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
HelloSafe leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
HelloSafe funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds1 record
Investors2 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
HelloSafe M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about HelloSafe
What does HelloSafe do?
HelloSafe operates a free, anonymous, self-serve web platform that lets Canadian consumers instantly compare hundreds of financial products including insurance (auto, home, travel, life, health, pet), credit (personal, auto, mortgage, debt consolidation), investments (brokers, TFSA, RRSP, GICs, crypto), banking (online banks, credit cards, money transfer), telecom, and VPN services. The platform collects user requirements via quote request forms and transmits them to a network of 200+ certified broker partners who return up to three personalized submissions.
Is HelloSafe a public or private company?
HelloSafe is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was HelloSafe founded?
HelloSafe was founded in 2020. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is HelloSafe based?
HelloSafe is headquartered in Montréal, Canada, in the North America region.
How does HelloSafe make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Affiliate/Referral Fees are the primary driver. The others are advertising.
Who are HelloSafe's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Ratehub.ca, Kanetix Ltd., Lowestrates.com, Insurance Hotline and Finder.com. Broad incumbents are NerdWallet, LendingTree and MoneySupermarket Group. LesFurets.com is listed as a regional player. Hardbacon is listed as an emerging player.
Does HelloSafe have an API?
No public API is recorded for HelloSafe.
What industry is HelloSafe in?
HelloSafe's product category is Insurance & Financial Product Comparison. Its primary akta.pro industry code is FSAEAMAM, Lead Generation, Comparison & Marketplace Platforms (Financial Products). Its NAICS code is 522310 and its SIC code is 6163.