Skoobe
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2010
- HeadquartersMunich, Germany
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingDigital Commerce or Content
Skoobe firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Skoobe
- Legal name
- Skoobe
- Website
- https://skoobe.de
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2010
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Skoobe industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Digital Reading Subscription
- NAICS
- Book Retailers and News Dealers (45921)
- SIC
- Retail-Nonstore Retailers (5960), Books: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2731)
- akta.pro primary industry
- E-book Subscription & Bundling Services (MPAJAMAB)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Audiobook Retail & Subscription Platforms (Direct-to-Consumer) (MPAJAIAD), eBook & Digital Reading Platforms (BPAMAJAK)
Keywords
Where Skoobe is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Munich
- HQ country
- Germany
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Skoobe business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Digital Commerce or Content
- Cost components
- Supply Chain, Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations
Revenue model
- Monthly Subscription (B2C): Skoobe generates revenue primarily through a direct-to-consumer monthly subscription at €12.99 per month. Users get unlimited borrowing access to over 500,000 eBook and audiobook titles. The subscription is auto-renewing, and users can cancel up to 2 days before the billing cycle ends.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Monthly | Standard Flatrate — €12.99/month |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels6 records
Skoobe product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Skoobe provides an unlimited digital reading flatrate subscription that gives individual German-speaking consumers access to a catalog of more than 500,000 eBooks and audiobooks from over 5,000 publishers via iOS, Android, web apps, and tolino eReaders for a fixed monthly fee of €12.99. The platform offers personalized recommendations, cross-device synchronization, offline reading capability, and a free trial period, serving personal-use readers rather than businesses or institutions.
Product overview
Skoobe operates as an ebook and audiobook flatrate subscription service offering unlimited borrowing of over 500,000 titles from more than 5,000 publishers for €12.99/month. The core product consists of the Skoobe App available for iPhone, iPad, Android smartphones and tablets, Kindle Fire, and open eReaders, plus native pre-integration on tolino eReaders from Thalia, Osiander, and Orell Füssli. The Hörbuch-Abo (audiobook subscription) is included as part of the flatrate, providing access to the audiobook catalog alongside ebooks. Users can borrow titles without wait times or return deadlines, and downloaded titles remain available offline for up to 30 days.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Skoobe eBook- und Hörbuch-Flatrate Unlimited eBook and audiobook subscription that gives individual German-speaking readers access to over 500,000 titles from 5,000+ publishers for €12.99 per month, available across iOS, Android, web, and tolino eReaders with offline capability, cross-device sync, and personalized recommendations.
- Skoobe App Multi-platform mobile reading application (iOS and Android) that lets individual subscribers browse, read, and listen to eBooks and audiobooks included in the Skoobe flatrate, with offline storage, cross-device synchronization, and personalized recommendations.
- Skoobe Hörbuch-Abo (Audiobook subscription) Dedicated audiobook subscription tier/segment included as part of the Skoobe flatrate, targeting German-speaking listeners and now bundled within the combined eBook and audiobook flatrate.
Quantifiable outcome
- Over 1.5 million app downloads across iOS, Android, and Kindle Fire platforms
Companies that use Skoobe
Customer profileNamed customers3 records
Segments1 record
Ideal customer profiles1 record
Skoobe technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration1 record
AI capability1 record
Feature4 records
Skoobe partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.
- tolino (Thalia, Osiander, Orell Füssli)coreSkoobe is automatically pre-integrated on tolino eReaders sold by Thalia, Osiander, and Orell Füssli. This OEM-style partnership means Skoobe reaches new customers at the moment of device purchase, requiring no additional app installation for eBooks. Audiobooks remain app-exclusive.
- 5000+ Publishers (Penguin Random House, S. Fischer, Rowohlt, Droemer Knaur, Bastei Lübbe, Piper, Klett-Cotta, HarperCollins, et al.)coreSkoobe aggregates content from over 5,000 publishers, including major German-language publishing houses. The publisher network provides the catalog breadth that underpins the flatrate value proposition. Publishers benefit from expanded digital reach and a new revenue stream through the flatrate licensing model.
Scale indicators3 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights4 records
Skoobe competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Nextory: Nextory is a Scandinavian-origin audiobook and eBook subscription service expanding into DACH. It offers a similar unlimited family-friendly subscription proposition and competes directly for German-speaking digital reading subscribers.
- Bookbeat: Bookbeat is Bonnier's audiobook and eBook flatrate subscription service, directly competing with Skoobe in DACH with an overlapping unlimited listening and reading model. It is one of Skoobe's closest German-market competitors on price point, catalog, and customer base.
- Storytel: Storytel is a Swedish audiobook and eBook subscription service with active operations in Germany and other European markets. It competes with Skoobe on the same unlimited flatrate proposition and increasingly in the German-language catalog.
Emerging players
- Legimi: Legimi is a Polish eBook and audiobook subscription service expanding across Europe including DACH. It offers a comparable flatrate model with a focus on European-language catalogs, making it a relevant emerging competitor to Skoobe.
- Readly: Readly is a digital magazine and newspaper subscription service operating in DACH. While its core offering is magazines rather than books, it competes for the same discretionary digital reading subscription budget as Skoobe.
Broad incumbents
- Kindle Unlimited (Amazon): Kindle Unlimited is Amazon's eBook subscription service that competes with Skoobe for unlimited digital reading demand in DACH. As part of the broader Amazon ecosystem, it enjoys cross-sell from Kindle device sales and Prime membership.
- Spotify (Audiobooks): Spotify has expanded into audiobooks in major European markets including Germany, leveraging its existing music subscriber base. As a generalist streaming incumbent with bundled offerings, it represents a long-term competitive threat to audiobook subscriptions like Skoobe.
- Audible (Amazon): Audible is Amazon's dominant audiobook subscription service operating in Germany with an expansive English- and German-language catalog. While its model is credit-based rather than truly unlimited, it competes for the same DACH audiobook subscriber wallet as Skoobe.
Others
- Thalia: Thalia is Germany's largest bookstore chain and a tolino eReader retail partner that also runs its own digital book platform. It is both a distribution channel (tolino pre-installation) and a tangential competitor in digital book retail adjacent to Skoobe's subscription.
- Tolino Media: Tolino is the open eReader ecosystem jointly operated by Thalia, Osiander, and Orell Füssli, on which Skoobe is pre-installed. It is the primary hardware distribution partner and ecosystem anchor for Skoobe's reading experience in DACH.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks7 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Skoobe social profiles
Digital presenceSkoobe financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Skoobe leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles3 records
Skoobe funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Skoobe 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 Skoobe
What does Skoobe do?
Skoobe provides an unlimited digital reading flatrate subscription that gives individual German-speaking consumers access to a catalog of more than 500,000 eBooks and audiobooks from over 5,000 publishers via iOS, Android, web apps, and tolino eReaders for a fixed monthly fee of €12.99. The platform offers personalized recommendations, cross-device synchronization, offline reading capability, and a free trial period, serving personal-use readers rather than businesses or institutions.
Is Skoobe a public or private company?
Skoobe is a private company. It is classified as unknown and is currently operating.
When was Skoobe founded?
Skoobe was founded in 2010. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Skoobe based?
Skoobe is headquartered in Munich, Germany, in the Europe region.
How does Skoobe make money?
One revenue line is on record: monthly Subscription (B2C).
Who are Skoobe's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Nextory, Bookbeat and Storytel. Emerging players are Legimi and Readly. Broad incumbents are Kindle Unlimited (Amazon), Spotify (Audiobooks) and Audible (Amazon). Others are Thalia and Tolino Media.
Does Skoobe have an API?
No public API is recorded for Skoobe.
What industry is Skoobe in?
Skoobe's product category is Digital Reading Subscription. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPAJAMAB, E-book Subscription & Bundling Services, with a secondary code of MPAJAIAD, Audiobook Retail & Subscription Platforms (Direct-to-Consumer). Its NAICS code is 45921 and its SIC code is 5960.