Hostsharing

What Hostsharing does

Hostsharing eG is a Hamburg-headquartered cooperative (Genossenschaft) web hosting provider founded in 2000, operating the Cooperative Community Cloud from Tier 3/4 data centers in Berlin (NTT Berlin 1) and Nürnberg. Its product portfolio spans Infrastructure-as-a-Service (Cloud Server, Private Cloud), Platform-as-a-Service (Managed Webspace, Managed Server, Container Server with managed Docker or Podman), and an integrated solutions layer including Domains, E-Mail, Daten-Cloud (Nextcloud/Owncloud), Video Conferencing (Jitsi, BigBlueButton), Team Communication (Matrix/Synapse), Fediverse hosting, SSL/TLS, and a packaged Schul-Cloud for educational institutions. The platform is built on a fully open-source software stack (Apache, PostgreSQL, MariaDB, PHP, Python, Node.js, Ruby on Rails) and managed via the proprietary HSAdmin web/CLI/API tool, with hot-standby replication, hourly snapshots, 14-day georedundant backups, and 100% renewable energy (TÜV SÜD certified). The company holds ISO 9001/27001/50001 certifications and complies with EU-DSGVO/GDPR and BDSG.

The business model is subscription-based recurring revenue (Managed Webspace, Managed Server, Cloud Server, Container Server, Extended Support 24x7 with 24h/8h/4h/2h tiers and 99.00%-99.90% SLAs), supplemented by professional services (Webmaster on Demand, Webmaster as a Service, Installation, Migration, Maintenance, Monitoring). Customers become members of the cooperative, granting them co-ownership and democratic voting rights, which functions as both a community-led GTM motion and a structural switching-cost mechanism. Go-to-market is direct-to-consumer via the website, phone, email, and presence at open-source community events (FrOSCon, Chemnitzer Linux-Tage, Open Rhein-Ruhr), with no third-party reseller channel.

Target customer segments include other cooperatives (Genossenschaften), schools and educational institutions, mid-market companies seeking digital sovereignty and GDPR compliance, associations and NGOs (Vereine), agencies and designers, and privacy-conscious private customers and freelancers. The competitive positioning emphasizes German data residency, sustainability, open-source stack, no investor pressure, and personal service, in contrast to US hyperscaler cloud offerings. There are no external investors, no funding rounds, no subsidiaries, and no parent company; the executive board consists of three members (Jan Ulrich Hasecke, Michael Hierweck, Sven Hilbert).

Name

Hostsharing

Legal name

Hostsharing eG

Website

https://hostsharing.net

Company type

Private

Founded year

2000

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Hostsharing eG is a Hamburg-based cooperative offering managed web hosting, cloud, and container services on open-source infrastructure, serving German cooperatives, schools, associations, agencies, and privacy-conscious companies that require GDPR-compliant, German-hosted alternatives to US hyperscalers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Hamburg

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Managed Hosting Services: Monthly/annual subscription-based hosting services including Managed Webspace, Managed Server, Cloud Server, and Container Server. Customers pay recurring fees based on service tier and resource allocation.
2. Professional Services: Additional services including Webmaster on Demand, Webmaster as a Service, Installation Service, Migration Service, Maintenance Service, and Monitoring Service. These are optional add-on services for customers needing hands-on technical support.
3. Extended Support Contracts: Optional Extended Support packages with tiered response times (24h, 8h, 4h, 2h) and corresponding availability guarantees (99.00% to 99.90%). These premium SLAs provide additional revenue from enterprise customers.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels11 records

Core offering

Hostsharing eG operates a Cooperative Community Cloud providing managed web hosting, virtual servers, cloud servers, private cloud, and container deployment to member-owners of the cooperative. Its core offerings span Infrastructure-as-a-Service (Cloud Server, Private Cloud), Platform-as-a-Service (Managed Webspace, Managed Server), and Container Server products underpinned by a Managed Operations Platform built on open-source software, with integrated solutions for domains, email, data cloud, video conferencing, team communication, and an educational cloud bundle for schools, plus professional services for consulting, webmaster support, monitoring, and tiered Extended Support SLAs.

Product overview

Hostsharing eG operates a multi-layered Cooperative Community Cloud platform organized around Infrastructure-as-a-Service (Cloud Server, Private Cloud), Platform-as-a-Service (Managed Webspace, Managed Server, Container Server), and a suite of integrated solutions (Domains, E-Mail, Website, Daten-Cloud via Nextcloud/Owncloud, Videokonferenzen via Jitsi and BigBlueButton, Team-Kommunikation via Matrix/Synapse, Projektmanagement, CRM/ERP, Fediverse, SSL/TLS). The Managed Operations Platform provides the shared management layer underpinning Managed Webspace and Managed Server offerings, while infrastructure services provide the underlying high-availability compute. Additional managed services include IT consulting, Webmaster on Demand, Webmaster as a Service, Monitoring, and tiered Extended Support SLAs. A specialized vertical product is the Schul-Cloud (educational cloud) bundling Moodle, Nextcloud, Matrix, video conferencing, and e-mail with centralized LDAP management for schools.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Cloud Server Highly available virtual server (IaaS) with the operating system of the customer's choice and root access, hosted on redundant German infrastructure with hot-standby failover for organizations and developers needing full OS control.
• Private Cloud Dedicated private cloud infrastructure providing organizations with exclusive hardware and network resources, isolated from other customers, for workloads requiring dedicated capacity and compliance isolation.
• Managed Webspace Managed shared hosting environment on Hostsharing's Managed Operations Platform offering cost-effective access to web server, databases, email, and DNS with included Basic Support for smaller websites and projects.
• Managed Server Managed dedicated or virtual server with exclusively assigned resources on the Managed Operations Platform for larger projects requiring guaranteed performance and more control than shared webspace.
• Container Server Container deployment platform supporting managed Docker or managed Podman for containerized application workloads, with orchestration capabilities for developers building modern containerized applications.
• Domains Domain registration and management service allowing customers to register and administer domains securely and cost-effectively through Hostsharing's central domain management system.
• E-Mail Services Professional email infrastructure including mail servers, webmail, spam filtering, and email delivery management for businesses and organizations needing GDPR-compliant email in Germany.
• Website Hosting Website hosting solutions enabling customers to run their websites on the Cooperative Community Cloud with full freedom and control over their content, hosted on cooperative infrastructure in Germany.
• Daten-Cloud (Nextcloud/Owncloud) Data cloud solution based on Nextcloud or Owncloud for secure file exchange, synchronization, and collaborative document management hosted on cooperative infrastructure.
• Jitsi Meet Open-source video conferencing and VoIP telephony platform accessible via browser or mobile app with optional recording and live streaming to YouTube, with TURN server support for firewall-restricted users.
• BigBlueButton Open-source web conferencing system designed for online learning with features for screen sharing, breakout rooms, and interactive whiteboards, particularly suited to educational use.
• Matrix / Synapse Decentralized, end-to-end encrypted team communication platform based on the open Matrix protocol; supports direct messaging, group rooms, VoIP via WebRTC, and federation across servers.
• Projektmanagement Open-source project management solutions provided as part of the cooperative's digitalization services for organizations seeking collaborative planning and execution tools hosted on cooperative infrastructure.
• CRM und ERP CRM and ERP solutions provided as part of the cooperative's digitalization consulting and managed hosting services for businesses seeking open-source customer and enterprise resource management.
• Fediverse-Anwendungen Fediverse applications hosted on cooperative infrastructure for decentralized social networking and communication independent of major commercial platforms.
• SSL/TLS-Zertifikate SSL/TLS certificate management and provisioning service including support for Let's Encrypt automated certificates, enabling secure HTTPS connections for hosted websites.
• Schul-Cloud (Bildungs-Cloud) Integrated educational cloud for schools combining Moodle (LMS), Nextcloud (file sharing), Matrix (team messenger), BigBlueButton or Jitsi (video conferencing), and email with centralized LDAP user management, all hosted in German data centers.
• IT-Beratung Competent consulting service for the selection and application of free software, helping organizations choose appropriate open-source solutions for their digitalization needs.
• Webmaster on Demand On-demand webmaster service providing technical assistance for installations, configuration, and troubleshooting; available by appointment during business hours.
• Webmaster as a Service Ongoing managed webmaster service including software installation, maintenance, security patches, and regular updates at a flat rate for continuous operation support.
• Monitoringservice Continuous monitoring service tracking server performance, network connectivity, and service availability with proactive intervention to prevent outages.
• Extended Support 24x7 Optional premium 24/7 support tiers with response times of 24h, 8h, 4h, or 2h, and guaranteed availability SLAs from 99.00% up to 99.90% for managed server customers requiring mission-critical support.

Quantifiable outcome

• 99.90% availability with Extended Support 24x7 2h
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration23 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• NTT (NTT Data Center Berlin 1)coreOthers · 1 January 2020NTT provides the primary data center facility for Hostsharing's operations. The Berlin 1 Data Center is one of Germany's most modern facilities, offering Tier 3/4 infrastructure with redundant power, cooling, and network connectivity. Hostsharing relocated its primary operations to this facility in 2020.
• Mainova AGcoreOthers · 1 January 2020Mainova AG supplies 100% Ökostrom (eco electricity) from renewable energy sources certified by TÜV SÜD. This electricity powers Hostsharing's primary data center operations.
• envia TEL / enviaMminorOthers · 1 January 2020Secondary data center uses electricity from 100% renewable energy sources via the enviaM BusinessÖkoStrom tariff, certified according to TÜV SÜD CMS Standard EE01 criteria.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Strato: Major German web hosting and cloud provider owned by Deutsche Telekom. Targets the same SMB and private-customer segment as Hostsharing but with mass-market positioning rather than cooperative/digital-sovereignty differentiation.
• OVHcloud: European hyperscale cloud and bare-metal provider with strong presence in Germany. Competes for cloud-server and private-cloud workloads but lacks Hostsharing's cooperative/community-led positioning.
• IONOS (1&1): Largest European hosting incumbent with broad product portfolio including shared hosting, cloud, servers, and domains. Competes with Hostsharing for German SMBs and associations but lacks the cooperative ownership angle and 100% open-source emphasis.

Direct peers

• Hetzner Online: German hosting and cloud provider offering dedicated servers, cloud servers, and web hosting. Closest direct competitor in the German SME/cooperative segment with similar value-engineered pricing and data-center footprint, but operates as a traditional for-profit rather than cooperative.
• netcup: German hosting and virtual server provider (vServer, root servers, web hosting) with strong developer focus. Comparable in product breadth across IaaS and PaaS tiers and in German-market customer base.
• Mittwald: German managed hosting specialist focused on agencies, designers, and CMS-driven websites. Comparable in scale and target segment to Hostsharing's agency/designer vertical, though with proprietary CMS stack rather than open source.
• manitu: German managed hosting provider with strong focus on data sovereignty, sustainability, and personal support — a direct philosophical peer to Hostsharing's cooperative positioning, serving German SMBs and non-profits.
• Goneo: German SMB-focused hosting provider offering shared hosting, managed servers, and domains. Competes in the same lower-mid-market segment as Hostsharing's Managed Webspace product for clubs, freelancers, and small businesses.
• Artfiles: Hamburg-based hosting and colocation provider offering managed servers, hosting, and domain services. Same city as Hostsharing and overlapping SMB/mid-market segment with similar European compliance focus.

Others

• OpenStack / Sovereign Cloud Stack: Open-source cloud infrastructure foundations and sovereign-cloud consortia (e.g., GAIA-X, SCS) that Hostsharing leverages or competes against in the European digital-sovereignty narrative.

Market position

Strengths1 record

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/hostsharing
• GitHubgithub.com/hostsharing
• Facebookfacebook.com/hostsharing
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/hostsharing-eg

Compliance11 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 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 Hostsharing