AlternativeTo
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.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2009
- HeadquartersStockholm, Sweden
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingDigital Commerce or Content
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.
AlternativeTo firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- AlternativeTo
- Legal name
- 27 Kilobyte AB
- Website
- https://alternativeto.net
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2009
- 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
AlternativeTo industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Software Discovery Directory
- NAICS
- Web Search Portals, Libraries, Archives, and Other Information Services (5192)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Recommendation & Discovery Engines (content/product) (BPAMAAAG)
Keywords
Where AlternativeTo is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Stockholm
- HQ country
- Sweden
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
AlternativeTo business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Digital Commerce or Content
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- 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
AlternativeTo product offering
Product offeringCore 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
Companies that use AlternativeTo
Customer profileSegments3 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
AlternativeTo technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AlternativeTo partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Two partnerships are on record, tiered major and minor.
- Proton VPNmajorProton 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.
- UrukyminorUruky (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
AlternativeTo competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad 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
AlternativeTo social profiles
Digital presenceAlternativeTo financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
AlternativeTo leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
AlternativeTo funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
AlternativeTo 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 AlternativeTo
What does AlternativeTo do?
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.
Is AlternativeTo a public or private company?
AlternativeTo is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was AlternativeTo founded?
AlternativeTo was founded in 2009. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is AlternativeTo based?
AlternativeTo is headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden, in the Europe region.
How does AlternativeTo make money?
One revenue line is on record: advertising & Sponsored Placements.
Who are AlternativeTo's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are G2 and Capterra. Emerging players are AppSumo, Trustpilot and StackShare. Direct peers are Product Hunt, Slant, Softonic, SourceForge and GetApp.
Does AlternativeTo have an API?
No public API is recorded for AlternativeTo.
What industry is AlternativeTo in?
AlternativeTo's product category is Software Discovery Directory. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAMAAAG, Recommendation & Discovery Engines (content/product). Its NAICS code is 5192.