Ecosia
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2009
- HeadquartersBerlin, Germany
- Headcount101–250
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingSoftware
Ecosia firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Ecosia
- Legal name
- Ecosia GmbH
- Website
- https://ecosia.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2009
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 101–250 employees
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Ecosia industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Internet Search Engine
- NAICS
- Web Search Portals and All Other Information Services (51929)
- SIC
- Forestry (800)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Enterprise Search, Indexing & Content Discovery (HDAEAGAH)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Forestry & Reforestation (BPAGAGAD)
Keywords
Where Ecosia is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Berlin
- HQ country
- Germany
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Ecosia business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Operations
Revenue model
- Search Advertising: Ecosia displays advertisements alongside search results from Microsoft Bing and Google. Revenue is generated when users click on these ads, which is then reinvested into climate action (primarily tree planting). The company uses all profits for the planet, with the majority going to tree-planting projects.
- Browser App Distribution: The Ecosia Browser is distributed free to users, generating revenue through the embedded search advertising model.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Monthly | Free tier for all users |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels7 records
Ecosia product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Ecosia operates a privacy-focused web search engine and cross-platform browser (desktop and mobile) whose search advertising revenue funds reforestation and climate action projects. The company delivers search results via Microsoft Bing or Google (user-selectable) and offers an AI Chat feature powered by Mistral AI. All profits are reinvested into tree planting and biodiversity restoration in 35+ countries.
Product overview
Ecosia operates as a climate-focused tech company offering a portfolio of products centered on its search engine (Ecosia Search), desktop browser (Ecosia Browser), and AI Chat feature. Ecosia Search is a privacy-first search engine delivering results through Microsoft Bing or Google (user-selectable), complemented by AI-powered conversational search and image results from Wikimedia/Tripadvisor. The Ecosia Browser extends these capabilities with climate impact tracking, privacy controls, and energy-efficient performance optimization. All profits from Ecosia's commercial activities fund global reforestation projects. The company publishes full monthly financial transparency reports showing income allocation to tree planting.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Ecosia Browser: The greenest browser on Earth, a desktop and mobile browser focused on privacy and environmental sustainability.
- Ecosia Search
Products and services
- Ecosia Search Privacy-focused web search engine that funds reforestation with advertising revenue. Delivers results via Microsoft Bing or Google (user-selectable), includes AI-generated answers, image search via Wikimedia and Tripadvisor, and anonymizes IP addresses after 7 days.
- Ecosia Browser Cross-platform browser marketed as 'the greenest browser on Earth' for desktop and mobile. Includes green search via the address bar, climate impact tracking through Ecosia profiles, privacy panel for unsafe site warnings and cookie management, fast page loads (up to 3x faster), and energy-saving battery optimization.
- Ecosia Mobile Apps Mobile applications for iOS and Android providing Ecosia search, browser functionality, and climate impact tracking. Available on Google Play Store and Apple App Store.
Quantifiable outcome
- 252+ million trees planted through user searches
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Ecosia
Customer profileSegments2 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Ecosia technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration9 records
AI capability6 records
Feature4 records
Ecosia partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and flagship.
- Wikipedia (Wikimedia Foundation)coreWikipedia signed AI licensing agreements with multiple tech companies including Ecosia, allowing them to access Wikipedia's content through the Wikimedia Enterprise platform for AI training purposes. This is part of Wikipedia's monetization strategy to address declining human traffic and server strain from bot scraping.
- QwantcoreEcosia partnered with Qwant to build a European search index called Staan (also referred to as EUSP). This partnership aims to create a sovereign European search infrastructure independent of US-based search engines. Qwant acquired the metasearch engine Lilo in May 2025 as part of this initiative.
- Microsoft BingcoreMicrosoft Bing provides search results and ads for Ecosia users. Ecosia maintains this relationship through a commercial partnership with System1. Microsoft collects data for fraud protection and ad optimization, with IP anonymization after 6 months and cookie ID deletion after 18 months.
- GooglecoreGoogle provides search results and ads for a growing number of Ecosia users. For EU, UK, and certain US states (e.g., California), Google does not set additional cookies without consent. Google anonymizes data collected after defined periods.
- Mistral AIcoreMistral AI is Ecosia's primary AI model provider for the AI Chat feature. Based in Paris, France, they operate under a Zero Data Retention policy, meaning user input is not retained after generating responses.
- European Cloud Providers CoalitionflagshipEcosia joined 13 European cloud providers, NGOs, and European Parliament lawmakers in signing a letter backing the European Commission's push for EU cloud sovereignty. The coalition supports the 'Tech Sovereignty Package' to end reliance on US hyperscalers and prioritize European firms for public-sector contracts.
Scale indicators7 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Ecosia competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Google: Dominant global search engine now also serving a growing share of Ecosia users; the central competitor Ecosia is positioned against, and a partner whose terms materially shape Ecosia's economics.
- Microsoft Bing: Primary upstream search and ad provider for Ecosia; competes broadly in search and represents both a critical partner and a major incumbent that could at any time compete more directly for Ecosia's user base.
Regional players
- Lilo: French meta-search engine acquired by Qwant (Ecosia's partner) in May 2025 to bolster Staan; comparable as a smaller, mission-oriented European search alternative and now part of the same sovereign-search initiative.
Direct peers
- Startpage: Privacy-focused search engine delivering Google results without tracking; competes in the same privacy-conscious consumer segment with similar meta-search economics and European orientation.
- DuckDuckGo: Direct privacy-focused search engine competitor targeting the same consumer segment seeking alternatives to Google; operates a similar meta-search model with ad-supported revenue, directly competing for the privacy-conscious user.
- Qwant: European privacy search engine and Ecosia's strategic partner on the Staan sovereign search index; competes head-to-head in the EU privacy/climate-conscious segment and shares technology and infrastructure ambitions.
- Brave Search: Privacy-first search engine with its own index, integrated into the Brave Browser ecosystem; competes for the same privacy- and values-driven users with a similar ad-supported model and strong browser integration.
Emerging players
- Mojeek: Independent crawler-based search engine with its own index, focused on privacy and no tracking; competes for European privacy-conscious users and offers an alternative index strategy relevant to Ecosia's Staan ambitions.
- Perplexity AI: AI-native answer engine competing for the same 'search' use case; represents the most disruptive threat to traditional search models including Ecosia's, and signals where the search UX is heading.
- You.com: AI-first search engine offering conversational and app-based results; comparable as a newer-generation search alternative targeting users seeking AI-augmented answers outside of Google.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Ecosia social profiles
Digital presenceEcosia compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance1 record
Ecosia financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Ecosia leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles8 records
Ecosia funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds4 records
Investors1 record
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Ecosia M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A1 record
Investments5 records
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Ecosia
What does Ecosia do?
Ecosia operates a privacy-focused web search engine and cross-platform browser (desktop and mobile) whose search advertising revenue funds reforestation and climate action projects. The company delivers search results via Microsoft Bing or Google (user-selectable) and offers an AI Chat feature powered by Mistral AI. All profits are reinvested into tree planting and biodiversity restoration in 35+ countries.
Is Ecosia a public or private company?
Ecosia is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Ecosia founded?
Ecosia was founded in 2009. It employs 101 to 250 people.
Where is Ecosia based?
Ecosia is headquartered in Berlin, Germany, in the Europe region.
How does Ecosia make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Search Advertising is the primary driver. The others are browser App Distribution.
Who are Ecosia's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Google and Microsoft Bing. Lilo is listed as a regional player. Direct peers are Startpage, DuckDuckGo, Qwant and Brave Search. Emerging players are Mojeek, Perplexity AI and You.com.
Does Ecosia have an API?
No public API is recorded for Ecosia.
What industry is Ecosia in?
Ecosia's product category is Internet Search Engine. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HDAEAGAH, Enterprise Search, Indexing & Content Discovery, with a secondary code of BPAGAGAD, Forestry & Reforestation. Its NAICS code is 51929 and its SIC code is 800.