StepStone
StepStone is a privately held job board and recruitment platform founded in 1996, connecting employers with job seekers across Austria and internationally through matching technology, a 75+ partner network, and 150-country reach via The Network.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1996
- HeadquartersVienna, Austria
- Headcount51–100
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingDigital Commerce or Content
What StepStone does
StepStone operates a job board and recruitment platform with its primary Austrian operations headquartered in Vienna and the legal entity, The Stepstone Group GmbH, domiciled in Germany. Founded in 1996, the company connects employers with job seekers through an online platform serving over 950,000 registered users, 8,862+ active job listings, and a DirectSearch database of 150,000+ candidate profiles. Revenue is generated primarily through employer-paid job posting subscriptions, while job seekers access the platform free of charge. Distribution extends well beyond Austria via 75+ regional and specialized partner job websites and through StepStone's founding membership in The Network, which enables international recruitment across 150 countries.
The platform's core technology is an intelligent matching engine that pairs candidates with suitable positions and powers weekly personalized job alert emails to over 530,000+ users. The product suite extends beyond basic posting to include employer-facing tools (Company Hub for employer branding, DirectSearch database access, StepStone Connect) and job-seeker utilities such as a Gehaltsplaner (Salary Planner) built on 45,000+ Austrian salary data points and a free Lebenslauf-Generator (CV Generator), with iOS and Android mobile applications completing the surface. The go-to-market is hybrid: self-serve for SMBs and direct field sales for enterprise accounts such as Takeda Manufacturing Austria AG, Bildungs:Raum GmbH, Jugend am Werk, and Evangelisches Krankenhaus Wien.
Beyond the core job board, StepStone is active as an investment firm, leading three disclosed venture rounds in late 2025 and early 2026 (Scribe $75M Series C at a $1.3B valuation in November 2025, Night Media $70M in February 2026, and Sift $42M Series B in March 2026). The broader group operates multiple wholly-owned job board brands across Europe (Totaljobs in the UK, plus France, Belgium, Netherlands), Africa (pnet.co.za, careerjunction.co.za, MyJob.mu), the Caribbean and other markets. StepStone is privately held; former German Finance Minister Christian Lindner was appointed to the group's board as an independent member in October 2025.
StepStone firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- StepStone
- Legal name
- The Stepstone Group GmbH
- Website
- https://stepstone.at
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1996
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 51–100 employees
- Short description
- StepStone is a privately held job board and recruitment platform founded in 1996, connecting employers with job seekers across Austria and internationally through matching technology, a 75+ partner network, and 150-country reach via The Network.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
StepStone industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Online Job Board
- NAICS
- Employment Placement Agencies (561311)
- SIC
- Services-Employment Agencies (7361)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Vertical/Specialty Search (e.g., jobs, real estate, travel, products) (BPAMAAAD)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Career Services & Job Placement Platforms (Jobs, Recruiting, Employer Networks) (EDAFAMAM)
Keywords
Where StepStone is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Vienna
- HQ country
- Austria
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
StepStone business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Digital Commerce or Content
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Job Advertising Services: Revenue generated from employers paying to post job listings on the platform. StepStone offers various job posting packages with different visibility levels and features.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Monthly | Job posting packages for employers |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels5 records
StepStone product offering
Product offeringCore offering
StepStone operates an online job board platform that connects employers with job seekers across Austria and internationally. The platform enables employers to post job listings, access a candidate database, leverage intelligent matching technology, and conduct international recruitment through The Network partnership covering 150 countries. Job seekers access job search, salary comparison, CV building, and weekly job alert services.
Product overview
StepStone operates as a job board platform with a modular architecture consisting of its core job posting and search platform, complemented by employer-facing tools (Company Hub, DirectSearch Database, Connect) and job seeker services (Salary Planner, CV Generator, Job App). The platform leverages intelligent matching algorithms to connect candidates with positions, serving over 950,000 registered users and collaborating with 75+ regional and specialized job websites. International reach is enabled through The Network partnership covering 150 countries.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Stepstone Global Hiring: International recruitment service enabling employers to post jobs and hire talent across 150+ countries.
Products and services
- StepStone Job Board Platform The primary job search and posting platform enabling employers to publish vacancies and job seekers to find employment opportunities across Austria and internationally.
- StepStone Global Hiring International job posting service offered as a founding member of The Network, enabling employers to post jobs and reach candidates in 150 countries worldwide.
- StepStone Connect Recruitment connectivity platform for employer engagement and candidate management, enabling streamlined hiring workflows.
- StepStone Job App
- DirectSearch Database
Companies that use StepStone
Customer profileNamed customers4 records
Segments2 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
StepStone technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AI capability1 record
Feature1 record
StepStone partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.
- The NetworkcoreStepStone is a founding member of The Network, a global partnership enabling international job postings across 150 countries. This enables StepStone Global Hiring services for employers seeking international talent.
- Christian LindnercoreChristian Lindner, former German Finance Minister, joined StepStone Group's board as an independent member in October 2025, bringing political and economic expertise.
Scale indicators6 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
StepStone competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Indeed: Global job search engine and recruitment platform that aggregates listings from across the web. Directly competes with StepStone in Austria and DACH for employer job-posting spend, with broader scale and stronger search-arbitrage economics.
- LinkedIn (Talent Solutions): Microsoft-owned professional network with a dominant Talent Solutions recruitment business. Competes with StepStone for enterprise hiring budgets, especially for professional and white-collar roles, leveraging unmatched professional-graph data.
- Glassdoor: Recruitment platform combining job listings with company reviews and salary data — directly competing with StepStone's Salary Planner and Company Hub modules. Owned by Indeed/Recruit.
Direct peers
- Monster: Global online recruitment platform offering job postings, resume database access, and recruitment advertising. Closely comparable business model to StepStone with employer subscription postings and candidate matching.
- Totaljobs: UK job board now under StepStone ownership. Direct same-platform peer demonstrating StepStone's own multi-market operating playbook; comparable business model in terms of subscription job postings and matching technology.
- CareerBuilder: Global job board and talent acquisition platform. Shares the same subscription-based employer revenue model and candidate-database monetization approach as StepStone.
Regional players
- Jobs.at (JOBS AT): Austrian job board operated by the Styria Media Group. Competes directly with StepStone.at for Austrian employer job postings and candidate traffic, particularly in regional markets.
- Kununu: DACH-focused employer review and salary transparency platform owned by Xing/New Work. Overlaps with StepStone's Salary Planner and Company Hub employer branding tools in the Austrian market.
- Xing: Leading DACH-focused professional network and job platform, owned by New Work SE. StepStone's most direct regional competitor in German-speaking markets, with overlapping employer customers and candidate pools.
- Karriere.at: Austrian-focused job board platform serving the same Austrian employer and job-seeker market as StepStone. Direct head-to-head competitor for local SMB and enterprise hiring budgets.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
StepStone social profiles
Digital presenceStepStone financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
StepStone leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
StepStone subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries14 records
StepStone funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
StepStone 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 StepStone
What does StepStone do?
StepStone operates an online job board platform that connects employers with job seekers across Austria and internationally. The platform enables employers to post job listings, access a candidate database, leverage intelligent matching technology, and conduct international recruitment through The Network partnership covering 150 countries. Job seekers access job search, salary comparison, CV building, and weekly job alert services.
Is StepStone a public or private company?
StepStone is a private company. It is classified as unknown and is currently operating.
When was StepStone founded?
StepStone was founded in 1996. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is StepStone based?
StepStone is headquartered in Vienna, Austria, in the Europe region.
How does StepStone make money?
One revenue line is on record: job Advertising Services.
Who are StepStone's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Indeed, LinkedIn (Talent Solutions) and Glassdoor. Direct peers are Monster, Totaljobs and CareerBuilder. Regional players are Jobs.at (JOBS AT), Kununu, Xing and Karriere.at.
Does StepStone have an API?
No public API is recorded for StepStone.
What industry is StepStone in?
StepStone's product category is Online Job Board. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAMAAAD, Vertical/Specialty Search (e.g., jobs, real estate, travel, products), with a secondary code of EDAFAMAM, Career Services & Job Placement Platforms (Jobs, Recruiting, Employer Networks). Its NAICS code is 561311 and its SIC code is 7361.