Trusted Shops
Trusted Shops SE operates a European e-commerce trust and certification platform serving 32,000-plus online shops across 12-plus language markets. The Cologne-based company delivers Trustbadge technology, buyer protection, review management, AI-powered review tools, and legal compliance services via tiered subscription memberships.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1999
- HeadquartersKöln, Germany
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What Trusted Shops does
Trusted Shops SE is a Cologne-based e-commerce trust platform founded in 1999 that certifies online shops and provides integrated trust solutions across more than 12 European language markets. The company operates the Community of Trust, a network encompassing 45 million-plus online shoppers and 32,000-plus certified shops that generates approximately one million online purchases daily. Its core technology is the Trustbadge, a widget embedded in shop frontends that displays a quality seal (Gütesiegel), buyer protection coverage up to €20,000 per purchase, and aggregated customer reviews throughout the customer journey.
The product portfolio spans the Trustbadge/Quality Seal, Shop Reviews with a mix of automated and manual verification, an AI-powered Smart Review Assistant for personalized review responses, Sentiment Analysis for review insight extraction, an AI-Trust Audit that scores a domain's visibility to AI systems, a Reputation Manager for cross-platform review aggregation (Trusted Shops, Trustpilot, Google Business Profile), Google Integration for Shopping/Ads, Product Reviews, and Legal Essential for legal compliance with liability assumption. The company distributes a mobile app for iOS and Android and maintains 20-plus native integrations with e-commerce platforms including Shopify, WooCommerce, Magento, Shopware, PrestaShop, BigCommerce, Lightspeed, Jimdo, Plentymarkets, and JTL, supported by an agency partner network and a Google Partner relationship.
Revenue is generated primarily through tiered subscription memberships billed annually in advance with a 12-month minimum contract. The START tier starts at €119/month for shops with annual revenue up to €100,000, PRO starts at €199/month adding legal and Google integration features, and PREMIUM offers custom enterprise pricing with additional modules such as Product Reviews and Reputation Manager. A €99 one-time setup fee applies and additional domains or modules can be booked separately. The customer base is a horizontal mix of SMB and enterprise merchants across verticals including fashion, electronics, home goods, travel, and specialty retail, with named enterprise customers including Hunkemöller, About You, Shop Apotheke, Vorwerk, Pixum, Expert, and Amorelie.
Trusted Shops firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Trusted Shops
- Legal name
- Trusted Shops SE
- Website
- https://business.trustedshops.de
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1999
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Trusted Shops SE operates a European e-commerce trust and certification platform serving 32,000-plus online shops across 12-plus language markets. The Cologne-based company delivers Trustbadge technology, buyer protection, review management, AI-powered review tools, and legal compliance services via tiered subscription memberships.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Trusted Shops industry classification
Industry- Product category
- E-commerce Trust & Review Software
- akta.pro primary industry
- Marketplace & E-commerce Trust & Safety (Listings, Sellers, Reviews) (BPAAALAB)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Price Comparison, Deals, Cashback & Loyalty Shopping Platforms (BPAMAGAH)
Keywords
Where Trusted Shops is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Köln
- HQ country
- Germany
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Trusted Shops business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure, Others
Revenue model
- Membership Subscriptions: Trusted Shops generates revenue primarily through tiered membership subscriptions (START, PRO, PREMIUM) for online shops. Pricing is based on the shop's annual revenue and selected product features. START membership starts at €119/month for shops with annual revenue up to €100,000. PRO membership starts at €199/month. PREMIUM offers custom pricing with enhanced features. All memberships require a 12-month minimum contract with annual payment in advance. A one-time setup fee of €99 applies. Monthly installment payment is available.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Annual | START membership - Basic trust solutions for online shops |
| Subscription | Annual | PRO membership - Extended membership with legal protection and Google integration |
| Subscription | Multi-year contract | PREMIUM membership - Custom enterprise solution |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels5 records
Marketing channels8 records
Trusted Shops product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Trusted Shops certifies online shops through a European trustmark and provides an integrated trust platform combining the Trustbadge technology (quality seal with buyer protection up to €20,000), customer review collection and management, and AI-powered review response tools. The company operates a membership-based subscription model with tiered pricing (START, PRO, PREMIUM) targeting e-commerce retailers, and serves over 32,000 certified shops and 45 million+ online shoppers through its Community of Trust. It supports 12 European languages and integrates with 20+ e-commerce platforms including Shopify, WooCommerce, Magento, and Shopware.
Product overview
Trusted Shops is a trust solutions platform for online shops, operating on a membership-based model with three pricing tiers (START, PRO, PREMIUM). The core platform centers on the Trustbadge technology, which serves as the central trust hub integrating the Quality Seal (Gütesiegel) with buyer protection and customer review collection. The product portfolio includes core offerings like Shop Reviews (Shopbewertungen) with automated and manual verification, augmented by AI-powered add-ons: the Smart Review Assistant for AI-generated personalized review responses and text summarization, Sentiment Analysis for AI-powered review data analysis, and the AI-Trust Audit for analyzing AI visibility. Additional modules include Google Integration for displaying reviews in Google Shopping and Ads, Reputation Manager for multi-platform review management (Trusted Shops, Trustpilot, Google Business Profile), Product Reviews for product-specific feedback, Legal Essential for legal protection and compliance, and Additional Domains for international expansion. The platform integrates with over 20 e-commerce platforms including Shopify, WooCommerce, Magento, Shopware, and PrestaShop, as well as customer support tools like Zendesk and marketing platforms like Klaviyo.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Trustbadge: Trust technology solution that serves as the central trust hub in online shops, integrating trustmarks, buyer protection, and reviews.
- Smart Review Assistant
- Reputation Manager
- Legal Services / Legal Essential
- AI-Trust Audit
- Google Integration
- Product Reviews
Products and services
- Trustbadge The Trustbadge is the central trust widget integrated into an online shop that displays the Trusted Shops quality seal, buyer protection, and customer reviews throughout the customer journey. It is designed for fast and easy integration into e-commerce platforms.
- Shop Reviews (Shopbewertungen) Customer review collection and display system for online shops with a balanced mix of manual and automated verification, including expert review of anomalies. Includes unlimited shop reviews in START membership.
- Smart Review Assistant AI-powered tool that creates personalized responses to customer reviews with one click using self-learning AI, summarizes long reviews into bullet points, and allows text customization to save time on review management.
- Google Integration Integration that displays shop and product reviews in Google Shopping and Google Ads, enabling star ratings in advertisements to improve Quality Score and reduce cost-per-click.
- Reputation Manager Centralized platform for collecting reviews across multiple platforms (Trusted Shops, Trustpilot, Google Business Profile) with automated distribution of review invitations and simple configuration.
- Product Reviews (Produktbewertungen) Product-level customer reviews displayed in the online shop and on Google Shopping to provide user-generated content and help customers find the right products.
- Sentiment Analysis (Sentiment Analyse) AI-powered analysis of customer reviews to extract insights, patterns, and sentiment from review data across platforms.
- Legal Essential Legal protection product combining legal text generator with full liability assumption, warning letter (Abmahn) protection, consent management, and shop legal review for online retailers.
- AI-Trust Audit Free instant analysis tool that evaluates a domain's AI visibility and provides concrete recommendations for action to help online shops become visible and trusted by AI systems.
- Additional Domains (Zusatzdomains) Extension allowing the Trusted Shops quality seal and customer reviews to be used across multiple online shops or language variants with centralized management, supporting international expansion.
- Mobile App (eTrusted) Mobile application for businesses to manage customer reviews on the go, including checking reviews, responding to them, and sending individual review invitations. Available for iOS and Android.
Quantifiable outcome
- Click rate increase of up to 17% through authentic customer review display
- +8 more outcomes
Companies that use Trusted Shops
Customer profileNamed customers17 records
Segments1 record
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Trusted Shops technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration25 records
AI capability4 records
Feature10 records
Trusted Shops partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
17 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- FÖHLISCH RechtsanwältecoreFöhlisch Rechtsanwälte serves as the joint responsible party with Trusted Shops for Legal Products (Legal Essential, Abmahnschutz, Datenschutz). The partnership provides legal text generation with full liability assumption, warning/abmahn protection, and legal compliance services for online shops. Trusted Shops and Föhlisch share responsibility under GDPR Article 26 for processing personal data in the legal products context.
- ShopifycoreShopify is a certified technology partner integrating Trusted Shops products directly into the Shopify e-commerce platform, enabling merchants to easily add trust signals, reviews, and buyer protection.
- WooCommercecoreWooCommerce (Automattic) is a certified technology partner with a dedicated Trusted Shops Easy Integration plugin available on the WooCommerce marketplace for free, enabling easy installation and configuration.
- ShopwarecoreShopware is a certified technology partner that collaborated with Trusted Shops during product development for seamless integration of trust solutions.
- Magento (Adobe Commerce)coreMagento/Adobe Commerce is a certified technology partner integrating Trusted Shops products for enterprise e-commerce deployments.
- MARVYAminorMARVYA is a Qualified agency partner that helps online shops with Trusted Shops implementation and integration services.
- Splendid InternetminorSplendid Internet is a full-service e-commerce Qualified agency partner helping shops implement and optimize Trusted Shops solutions.
- WebfoxminorWebfox is a Qualified agency partner assisting Swiss online shops with Trusted Shops integration.
- CreebminorCreeb is a Qualified agency partner helping online shops implement Trusted Shops products.
- TC-I InnovationsminorTC-I Innovations is a Qualified agency partner specializing in Trusted Shops implementation.
- SixaminorSixa is a Qualified agency partner helping online shops with Trusted Shops solutions.
- TZN DigitalminorTZN Digital is a Qualified agency partner for Trusted Shops implementation services.
- Hitaj DigitalminorHitaj Digital is a Qualified agency partner helping shops implement Trusted Shops solutions.
- Solution360minorSolution360 is a Qualified agency partner for Trusted Shops implementation.
- Adrock MarketingminorAdrock Marketing is a Qualified agency partner assisting with Trusted Shops integration.
- Brandjung AgenturminorBrandjung Agentur is a Qualified agency partner for Trusted Shops implementation.
- GooglecoreTrusted Shops is a Google Partner providing integration that displays shop and product reviews in Google Shopping and Google Ads. The integration enables star ratings in Google advertisements, potentially improving Quality Score and reducing cost-per-click for merchants.
Scale indicators16 records
Recent moves8 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Trusted Shops competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Trustpilot: The closest direct competitor to Trusted Shops in online review collection and trust signals for e-commerce. Trustpilot operates globally with a freemium model and is the primary alternative Trusted Shops competes against for European merchant trust-marketing budgets.
- eKomi: Berlin-based e-commerce review and trust seal provider with deep DACH market overlap. eKomi offers the 'eKomi Trusted Shop' seal and review collection, competing head-to-head with Trusted Shops for German online merchants.
- Bazaarvoice: Enterprise-focused user-generated content and ratings platform serving global retailers and brands. Comparable because it powers product/shop reviews, ratings, and syndicated reviews across retailer sites — the core review layer Trusted Shops also offers.
- Yotpo: E-commerce marketing platform with strong product reviews, visual UGC, SMS marketing, and loyalty modules. Yotpo competes directly for merchant wallet share on review collection and brand-building features analogous to Trusted Shops' Reputation Manager and Product Reviews.
- PowerReviews: Enterprise UGC platform for product ratings, reviews, and Q&A used by major retailers. Comparable to Trusted Shops' Product Reviews and Shop Reviews modules, particularly for enterprise merchants needing deep customization.
- Birdeye: Multi-location reputation management platform aggregating reviews from Google, Facebook, and 200+ sites. Comparable to Trusted Shops' Reputation Manager feature, with stronger multi-location business orientation but lighter e-commerce specialization.
- Reviews.io: E-commerce review platform offering product reviews, merchant reviews, and Google Shopping integration. Directly comparable on review collection, syndication, and Google merchant feed optimization — overlapping Trusted Shops' core value proposition.
- ResellerRatings: Merchant review platform specifically focused on online retailers, providing ratings and reviews from verified buyers. Comparable to Trusted Shops' Shop Reviews and is one of the dedicated merchant-review alternatives in the same category.
Emerging players
- Judge.me: Shopify-focused review app offering product reviews, photo reviews, and SEO snippets at very low price points. Competes with Trusted Shops for Shopify merchants seeking budget review functionality, though lacks buyer protection and European trust seal recognition.
Broad incumbents
- Google Customer Reviews: Google's free seller rating program feeds star ratings into Google Ads and Shopping, directly overlapping Trusted Shops' Google Integration feature. As a free platform-native alternative, it pressures Trusted Shops' paid review-display and Google Ads integration value proposition.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Trusted Shops social profiles
Digital presenceTrusted Shops compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance2 records
Trusted Shops financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Trusted Shops leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles10 records
Trusted Shops funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds1 record
Investors1 record
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Trusted Shops 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 Trusted Shops
What does Trusted Shops do?
Trusted Shops certifies online shops through a European trustmark and provides an integrated trust platform combining the Trustbadge technology (quality seal with buyer protection up to €20,000), customer review collection and management, and AI-powered review response tools. The company operates a membership-based subscription model with tiered pricing (START, PRO, PREMIUM) targeting e-commerce retailers, and serves over 32,000 certified shops and 45 million+ online shoppers through its Community of Trust. It supports 12 European languages and integrates with 20+ e-commerce platforms including Shopify, WooCommerce, Magento, and Shopware.
Is Trusted Shops a public or private company?
Trusted Shops is a private company. It is classified as unknown and is currently operating.
When was Trusted Shops founded?
Trusted Shops was founded in 1999. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Trusted Shops based?
Trusted Shops is headquartered in Köln, Germany, in the Europe region.
How does Trusted Shops make money?
One revenue line is on record: membership Subscriptions.
Who are Trusted Shops's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Trustpilot, eKomi, Bazaarvoice, Yotpo, PowerReviews, Birdeye, Reviews.io and ResellerRatings. Judge.me is listed as an emerging player. Google Customer Reviews is listed as a broad incumbent.
Does Trusted Shops have an API?
No public API is recorded for Trusted Shops.
What industry is Trusted Shops in?
Trusted Shops's product category is E-commerce Trust & Review Software. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAAALAB, Marketplace & E-commerce Trust & Safety (Listings, Sellers, Reviews), with a secondary code of BPAMAGAH, Price Comparison, Deals, Cashback & Loyalty Shopping Platforms.