AlternativeTo

What AlternativeTo does

AlternativeTo, operated by Sweden-based 27 Kilobyte AB, is a crowdsourced software recommendation and discovery platform founded in 2009. The site indexes 146,325 apps and software alternatives and ranks them using 2,011,290 community-submitted opinions (reviews, votes, and ratings), supplemented by 2,075+ user-curated thematic lists and an editorial Tech News section. Users — primarily general consumers, power users, and software developers/IT professionals — access the platform free of charge to compare alternatives across price, platform, license type, and features, with particular emphasis on finding open-source, privacy-respecting, and lesser-known options. The platform is built and maintained by a small core team (founders Markus Olausson, CEO, and Ola Johansson, CTO, supported by 1–10 total employees and a global volunteer contributor base spanning Europe, the Americas, and Asia). Technology is a standard web directory running on Docker as of 2026; no proprietary AI/ML models or algorithms are disclosed as core technology.

The business model is advertising- and sponsorship-led. Revenue is generated primarily through paid placements — most visibly the Official Partner program, with Proton VPN (announced April 2026) as the inaugural flagship partner occupying site-wide premium inventory and Uruky as a secondary partner — supplemented by affiliate-style 'Visit site' links and likely programmatic display advertising. User-facing pricing is free; optional user support is accepted via Liberapay and PayPal. The company is bootstrapped, with no disclosed venture funding or institutional investors, and is privately held. Distribution is exclusively web-based via alternativeto.net, with no mobile app or offline channel; growth relies on organic SEO, community contributions, and a multi-platform social media presence (X, Mastodon, Bluesky, Threads, Instagram, LinkedIn, Discord, RSS) rather than paid acquisition.

Name

AlternativeTo

Legal name

27 Kilobyte AB

Website

https://alternativeto.net

Company type

Private

Founded year

2008

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

AlternativeTo is a Sweden-based, bootstrapped crowdsourced software discovery platform that lets consumers and developers find, compare, and review alternatives across 146,000+ apps, monetizing via advertising and paid Official Partner sponsorships such as Proton VPN.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Software Discovery Directory

NAICS

Web Search Portals, Libraries, Archives, and Other Information Services (5192)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYBPAMAAAG

Recommendation & Discovery Engines (content/product)

Business & Public Services/Web, Mobile & Digital Platforms/Search, Discovery & Web Portals

Keywords

• Software discovery platform
• Crowdsourced recommendations
• App alternatives directory
• Software comparison website
• Community software reviews

Headquarters

HQ city

Göteborg

HQ country

Sweden

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Advertising & Sponsored Placements: AlternativeTo generates revenue by selling advertising placements to software companies. Prominent 'Official Partner' placements (Proton VPN, Uruky) appear prominently on site pages with 'Visit site' affiliate-style links. These partnerships are displayed as tiered sponsorship slots on the homepage and inner pages, indicating a paid sponsorship/advertising model rather than a transactional take-rate.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

AlternativeTo is a free, crowdsourced web platform that helps users discover better software alternatives to the apps and services they currently use. It indexes 146,325+ apps and software alternatives ranked by 2,011,290+ user-submitted opinions (reviews, ratings, votes), and lets users browse by category, platform, and license type. The site also publishes a Tech News section on software releases and hosts 2,075+ curated community lists on topics such as open-source and privacy-respecting tools.

Product overview

AlternativeTo is a single unified crowdsourced platform that provides software recommendations and alternatives. The platform aggregates 146,325+ apps and software alternatives ranked by 2,011,290+ user opinions. Core features include browsing all apps, discovering new app releases, accessing tech news, and exploring curated user lists. The site is built and maintained by Ola and Markus in Sweden with contributions from a global community.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• AlternativeTo Platform A free, crowdsourced web platform that helps individual users, power users, and developers find better alternatives to apps and services they currently use, aggregating 146,325+ apps and 2,011,290+ user opinions and exposing them through browsable categories, curated user lists, and a Tech News section.

Quantifiable outcome

• 146,325+ apps and software alternatives listed on the platform
• +2 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered major and minor.

• Proton VPNmajorGTM or Marketing Partner · 15 April 2026Proton VPN is AlternativeTo's first 'Official Partner.' Proton VPN is featured prominently in the site header and throughout inner pages with a dedicated placement and 'Visit site' affiliate links. This is a paid sponsorship/advertising partnership where Proton VPN pays for prominent visibility across the platform, reaching AlternativeTo's large audience of software decision-makers.
• UrukyminorGTM or Marketing PartnerUruky (a privacy-focused search engine) is listed as an 'Official Partner' on AlternativeTo's lists page. It appears in a premium placement slot with a 'Visit site' link, similar to the Proton VPN arrangement. This is a paid advertising partnership.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• G2: G2 is a leading B2B software review and comparison marketplace. It competes with AlternativeTo in software discovery but focuses on verified enterprise buyer reviews, vendor-sponsored profiles, and intent data, whereas AlternativeTo is a broader, consumer-oriented crowdsourced directory.
• Capterra: Capterra (owned by Gartner) is a major software comparison and review platform serving SMB and enterprise buyers. It overlaps with AlternativeTo's software discovery mission but is anchored in vendor-paid profiles and lead generation rather than crowdsourced community contributions.

Emerging players

• AppSumo: AppSumo is a software deals and discovery marketplace, primarily known for lifetime software deals. It overlaps with AlternativeTo in software discovery and vendor monetization, but adds transactional commerce rather than being purely a comparison directory.
• Trustpilot: Trustpilot is a crowdsourced consumer review platform serving many software and SaaS vendors. While broader in category coverage than AlternativeTo, it competes for the same user-review-driven software discovery mindshare among buyers researching tools.
• StackShare: StackShare is a developer-focused platform for discovering and comparing software tools, stacks, and services. It overlaps with AlternativeTo's developer and IT professional segment but is narrower in scope, focused on engineering tooling.

Direct peers

• Product Hunt: Product Hunt is a community-driven product discovery platform where users upvote and review new software products. It shares AlternativeTo's crowdsourced, community-led approach to software discovery but emphasizes newly launched products over comparison of established alternatives.
• Slant: Slant is a crowdsourced recommendation platform where communities rank tools and products across categories. It is a direct competitor to AlternativeTo in user-generated software comparisons but with smaller scale and a narrower category footprint.
• Softonic: Softonic is a global software download and review platform serving consumers. It competes with AlternativeTo in software discovery and reviews, with comparable breadth across consumer software categories.
• SourceForge: SourceForge is a long-running software directory and review platform focused on open-source and downloadable software. It overlaps with AlternativeTo in user reviews, software listings, and discovery but skews more toward downloads and enterprise software.
• GetApp: GetApp is a software comparison and discovery site serving SMB buyers, part of the Gartner Digital Markets network. It functions similarly to AlternativeTo for software buyers but emphasizes vendor leads and category filters over crowdsourced opinions.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/AlternativeTo
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/alternativeto
• Instagraminstagram.com/alternativetonet
• Facebookfacebook.com/AlternativeTo

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about AlternativeTo