Serlo Education
Serlo Education is a German non-profit association that operates a free, ad-free, community-built learning platform modeled on Wikipedia, serving approximately one million students and teachers monthly across STEM and sustainability subjects.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2010
- HeadquartersMünchen, Germany
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingDigital Commerce or Content
Serlo Education firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Serlo Education
- Legal name
- Serlo Education
- Website
- https://serlo.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2010
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Serlo Education is a German non-profit association that operates a free, ad-free, community-built learning platform modeled on Wikipedia, serving approximately one million students and teachers monthly across STEM and sustainability subjects.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Serlo Education industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Open Educational Resources / Online Learning Platform
- NAICS
- Educational Support Services (611710), All Other Schools and Instruction (61169), Educational Services (611)
- SIC
- Services-Educational Services (8200)
- akta.pro primary industry
- OER Repositories, Discovery & Metadata Services (EDAGAJAL)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Open Lesson Plans & Teaching Units (K–12) (EDAGAJAI)
Keywords
Where Serlo Education is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- München
- HQ country
- Germany
- HQ region
- Europe
Markets served
Serlo Education business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Digital Commerce or Content
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Donations and Sponsorships: As a non-profit association (gemeinnütziger Verein), Serlo is funded through donations from users and sponsors. The platform is completely free and ad-free for all users.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Others | Free tier - complete platform access |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels4 records
Serlo Education product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Serlo Education provides a free, ad-free, and openly licensed web-based learning platform that delivers simple explanations, curated learning videos, and interactive practice exercises with sample solutions across subjects including mathematics, biology, chemistry, computer science, and sustainability. The platform is operated by a German non-profit association and is sustained by a volunteer community of authors, donors, and supporters, serving roughly one million students and teachers each month.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Serlo Learning Platform (Die freie Lernplattform)
- Serlo Editor Open-source content editor for creating and managing educational content on the Serlo platform, used by authors and contributors in the Serlo community.
Companies that use Serlo Education
Customer profileSegments2 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Serlo Education technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature3 records
Serlo Education partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- Partners and Funders (unnamed)minorThe platform acknowledges a section of 'Partner und Förderer' (Partners and Funders) with logos displayed on the website, indicating support from organizations that fund or partner with Serlo's non-profit mission. The specific names of these partners are not individually listed in the visible content.
Scale indicators1 record
Serlo Education competitors and assessment
Company assessmentRegional players
- Anton.app: Anton is a free DACH-region learning app covering K–12 subjects with gamified exercises. Competes with Serlo in the same German curriculum-aligned student market and is similarly free, though delivered via mobile app rather than web platform.
- Sofatutor: Sofatutor is a German-language online learning platform offering instructional videos, exercises, and exam preparation aligned with the German school curriculum. Directly competitive with Serlo in the DACH region across the same student/teacher segments, though operates on a paid subscription model.
- Bettermarks: Bettermarks is a German adaptive math learning platform used in schools across DACH. Comparable in subject (mathematics) and audience (German students, teachers) though operates on a school-licensing model rather than free volunteer-driven content.
Emerging players
- Wikibooks: Wikibooks is a Wikimedia-hosted library of open-content textbooks and instructional materials. Overlaps with Serlo's OER positioning and openly licensed learning content approach, though narrower in tooling and interactive exercise capability.
- PhET Interactive Simulations: PhET provides free, open-source interactive STEM simulations from University of Colorado Boulder, used widely in classrooms. Comparable free, open, K–12 STEM learning model and teacher-facing orientation, though narrower in scope (simulations only).
Direct peers
- OpenStax (Rice University): OpenStax provides peer-reviewed, openly licensed textbooks and learning materials for higher education and college-prep. Directly comparable to Serlo in open licensing, free access, and educational subject coverage, though focused on textbooks rather than an interactive platform.
- Khan Academy: Khan Academy is the global benchmark for a free, video-and-exercise-based learning platform serving students and teachers. Highly comparable to Serlo in mission (free, nonprofit, supplemental K–12 learning) and in subject coverage (math, science, computing), differing mainly in geographic focus and platform sophistication.
- CK-12 Foundation: CK-12 offers free, open-source, OER-aligned K–12 STEM content with interactive simulations and practice. Highly comparable business model (non-profit, free, openly licensed) and similar audience of students and teachers seeking free supplemental learning resources.
- OER Commons: OER Commons is a hub for discovering, curating, and integrating openly licensed teaching and learning materials. Directly comparable to Serlo's OER repository and discovery function, including metadata services, with similar open-licensing and nonprofit orientation.
Broad incumbents
- Wikipedia / Wikimedia Foundation: Serlo is explicitly 'modeled on Wikipedia' and runs a volunteer, openly licensed, donation-funded model with the same mission of free knowledge for educational equity. Wikimedia represents the broader incumbent in the open knowledge space that Serlo draws structural and community inspiration from.
Market position
Customer concentration
Serlo Education social profiles
Digital presenceSerlo Education financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Serlo Education leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles6 records
Serlo Education funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Serlo Education 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 Serlo Education
What does Serlo Education do?
Serlo Education provides a free, ad-free, and openly licensed web-based learning platform that delivers simple explanations, curated learning videos, and interactive practice exercises with sample solutions across subjects including mathematics, biology, chemistry, computer science, and sustainability. The platform is operated by a German non-profit association and is sustained by a volunteer community of authors, donors, and supporters, serving roughly one million students and teachers each month.
Is Serlo Education a public or private company?
Serlo Education is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Serlo Education founded?
Serlo Education was founded in 2010. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Serlo Education based?
Serlo Education is headquartered in München, Germany, in the Europe region.
How does Serlo Education make money?
One revenue line is on record: donations and Sponsorships.
Who are Serlo Education's main competitors?
Regional players on record are Anton.app, Sofatutor and Bettermarks. Emerging players are Wikibooks and PhET Interactive Simulations. Direct peers are OpenStax (Rice University), Khan Academy, CK-12 Foundation and OER Commons. Wikipedia / Wikimedia Foundation is listed as a broad incumbent.
Does Serlo Education have an API?
Yes. Serlo offers a Metadata API for accessing educational content metadata and an iFrame API for embedding Serlo content. The Metadata API is available at en.serlo.org/metadata and the iFrame API documentation is hosted on GitHub at github.com/serlo/documentation/wiki/iframe-API. Developer documentation is at en.serlo.org/metadata.
What industry is Serlo Education in?
Serlo Education's product category is Open Educational Resources / Online Learning Platform. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EDAGAJAL, OER Repositories, Discovery & Metadata Services, with a secondary code of EDAGAJAI, Open Lesson Plans & Teaching Units (K–12). Its NAICS code is 611710 and its SIC code is 8200.