FOCUS Online
FOCUS Online is a major German-language digital news portal operated by BurdaForward GmbH (Hubert Burda Media), serving German consumers with politics, finance, sport, health, and lifestyle content, and monetizing via display advertising, a native-advertising B2B portal, affiliate lead-routing, and the FOCUS+ premium subscription.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1996
- HeadquartersMünchen, Germany
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingDigital Commerce or Content
What FOCUS Online does
FOCUS Online (legal entity: FOCUS Online Group GmbH) is the flagship digital news property of BurdaForward GmbH, part of the Hubert Burda Media Group, and operates the German-language portal focus.de, which was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in Munich. The site functions as a 24/7 general-interest news destination covering politics, finance, health, sport, lifestyle, travel, auto, real estate, climate, and knowledge, with named editorial figures such as chief correspondent Ulrich Reitz and columnists including Helmut Markwort, Jan Fleischhauer, Gabor Steingart, and Pit Gottschalk. Its editorial surface spans twelve plus verticals plus twenty plus sub-sections and is augmented with real-time sports live-tickers (Bundesliga, Premier League, Champions League, WM 2026, Handball), a games module (games.focus.de), a newsletter product (nl.focus.de), and a dedicated WhatsApp broadcast channel.
The underlying platform runs on BurdaForward's shared technology stack, including the quadro Burda-Forward image CDN with URL-based RegionOfInterestCrop transformations, a centralized ad-sales operation (burda-forward.de/advertising/werbemoeglichkeiten), and a native-advertising B2B portal at unternehmen.focus.de. The commercial product set extends beyond editorial into a suite of embedded financial calculators (Brutto-Netto-Rechner 2026, Gehaltsvergleich, Rentenrechner, Währungsrechner) and more than eight comparison portals (Girokonto, Tagesgeld, Festgeld, ETF-Sparplan, Depot, Kreditkarte, Krankenkassen, Leasing) that route users to financial and home-services providers. The premium FOCUS+ tier offers paid in-depth analysis ('Das Plus an Fakten'), while the FOCUS Earth vertical and the Constructive World Award under FOCUS Perspektiven extend the brand into sustainability and constructive-journalism franchises.
FOCUS Online monetizes through five distinct streams: (1) display advertising across the focus.de network, (2) branded-content and native advertising via unternehmen.focus.de across 12 verticals, (3) affiliate and lead-generation routing to partners such as Aroundhome, Heizungsfinder, Finanzen100, BestCheck, Cardscout, and Screen13, (4) FOCUS+ subscription revenue, and (5) cross-sell to the Focus print magazine subscription. Standard editorial content is free and ad-supported; FOCUS+ is subscription-priced (not publicly disclosed); and advertorial placements are sold via direct quote-based contracts. Distribution spans owned-and-operated web and mobile surfaces plus the Amazon Kindle news app and social channels on Facebook, X, Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok, with cross-promotion across the 25+ BurdaForward sister-brand network.
FOCUS Online firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- FOCUS Online
- Legal name
- FOCUS Online Group GmbH
- Website
- https://focus.de
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1996
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- FOCUS Online is a major German-language digital news portal operated by BurdaForward GmbH (Hubert Burda Media), serving German consumers with politics, finance, sport, health, and lifestyle content, and monetizing via display advertising, a native-advertising B2B portal, affiliate lead-routing, and the FOCUS+ premium subscription.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
FOCUS Online industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Online News and Digital Media
- NAICS
- Periodical Publishers (513120)
- SIC
- Newspapers: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2711)
- akta.pro primary industry
- News & Current Affairs Aggregators (MPACAKAA)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Shopping/Deal & Affiliate Content Aggregators (MPACAKAK)
Keywords
Where FOCUS Online is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- München
- HQ country
- Germany
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
FOCUS Online business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Digital Commerce or Content
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Display Advertising: Primary revenue driver. Pages are densely populated with display ad slots labeled 'ANZEIGE' running across Politik, Finanzen, Sport, Gesundheit, Reisen, Auto, etc., including image, video, and native ad units.
- Branded Content / Native Advertising (Unternehmensportal): FOCUS Online sells dedicated advertorial placements via unternehmen.focus.de, organized into 12 verticals (Auto & Technik, Business & Wirtschaft, Computer & Digital, Dienstleistung & Handwerk, Finanzen & Immobilien, etc.). Each advertorial is presented as a sponsored article, with explicit labelling that content is 'nicht um redaktionelle Artikel, sondern um Anzeigen.'
- Affiliate / Lead-Generation Routing: Affiliate-style monetization via comparison portals that route users to financial products (girokonto.focus.de, tagesgeld.focus.de, festgeld.focus.de, online-broker-vergleich.focus.de, etf-sparplan.focus.de, kreditkarte.focus.de, krankenkassen.focus.de, leasingangebote.focus.de) and to third-party providers like aroundhome.de, heizungsfinder.de, bestcheck.de, finanzen100.de, and screenspartner disco.screen13.com deals.
- Premium Subscription (FOCUS+): Subscription-based access to the FOCUS+ premium section offering in-depth analysis articles ('Das Plus an Fakten') distributed across the main site and focusplus.de subdomain.
- Print Magazine Subscription Cross-Sell: Footer and footer-ad placements drive users to focus-abo.de for Focus magazine print subscriptions, leveraging digital audience for parent brand print revenue.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Pay-as-you-go | Free editorial access with advertising |
| Subscription | Annual | FOCUS+ Premium content tier |
| Other | Multi-year contract | Branded advertorial placements (Unternehmensportal) |
Go-to-market motion4 records
Distribution channels7 records
Marketing channels10 records
FOCUS Online product offering
Product offeringCore offering
FOCUS Online operates the German-language digital news portal focus.de, publishing national and international news across politics, finance, health, sport, lifestyle, travel, auto, and real estate. The site is ad-supported and free to readers, monetized through on-page display advertising, a premium subscription tier (FOCUS+), native branded-content placements via unternehmen.focus.de, and affiliate/lead-routing through integrated financial and product comparison portals (girokonto, tagesgeld, festgeld, depot, ETF, kreditkarte, krankenkassen) and embedded calculators (Brutto-Netto, Gehaltsvergleich, Rentenrechner, Währungsrechner).
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- FOCUS+: Premium/subscription news offering marketed under the tagline "Das Plus an Fakten", operated at focusplus.de.
- FOCUS Earth
- FOCUS Business
Products and services
- FOCUS Online (focus.de) Core German-language digital news portal providing national and international news across politics, finance, health, sports, lifestyle, auto, travel, real estate, climate, knowledge, and panorama. Free to readers, ad-supported.
- FOCUS+
- FOCUS Unternehmensportal (unternehmen.focus.de)
- FOCUS Online Vergleichs-Rechner (calculators and comparison tools) Suite of embedded calculators and comparison portals including Brutto-Netto-Rechner 2026, Gehaltsvergleich, Rentenrechner, Währungsrechner (via Finanzen100), and product comparison portals for Girokonto, Tagesgeld, Festgeld, Depot, ETF-Sparplan, Kreditkarte, and Krankenkassen.
- FOCUS Online Sport Live-Ticker Real-time live-ticker (Liveticker) coverage for football (WM 2026, Bundesliga, Premier League, Champions League), handball, tennis, and Formula 1, with auto-updating match widgets.
- FOCUS Online Games (games.focus.de) Free online games portal offering Solitär, Sudoku (standard and "very hard"), Kreuzworträtsel, Mahjong, Bubble Shooter, and eXchange to drive engagement and repeat visits.
- FOCUS Online Newsletter Email newsletter subscription service operated via nl.focus.de, surfaced in the FOCUS Online main navigation and footer across topic verticals.
- FOCUS Earth Climate and environment editorial vertical covering climate change, energy transition, sustainability, and the 'Generation Planet' Rolex partnership initiative.
- FOCUS Briefing Politics briefing newsletter delivered under the Politik section of FOCUS Online.
- Focus print magazine subscription (Focus-Heft-Abo) Print subscription cross-sell linking FOCUS Online readers to the Focus magazine print edition via focus-abo.de.
Quantifiable outcome
- User routing into Brutto-Netto-Rechner, Gehaltsvergleich, Rentenrechner, Währungsrechner, and 8+ Vergleichsportale (banking, insurance, broker, ETF, credit card)
- +1 more outcomes
Companies that use FOCUS Online
Customer profileIdeal customer profiles3 records
FOCUS Online technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration9 records
Feature5 records
FOCUS Online partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
14 partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.
- BurdaForward GmbHflagshipBurdaForward GmbH is the parent operator of FOCUS Online and owns the technology, content infrastructure (quadro.burda-forward.de CDN), and the broader sister-brand network. Site footer explicitly attributes '© BurdaForward GmbH 2026' and AGB references the FOCUS Online Group GmbH.
- The Weather Channel (weather.com)coreWeather.com is the embedded weather data provider for FOCUS Online's Wetter section (weather.com/de-DE/?par=burda_focusmobileweb), supplying real-time weather information with the Burda attribution parameter.
- Finanzen100coreFinanzen100 powers FOCUS Online's Währungsrechner (currency converter) and the Börsenbriefe offering, delivering financial product content and tools into the FOCUS Finanzen section.
- Preisvergleich BestCheckcoreBestCheck is linked from the focus.de main navigation (utm_source=Focus+Online) and serves as FOCUS's price-comparison engine across product categories.
- CardscoutminorCardscout is a BurdaForward-network credit-card comparison tool referenced in the FOCUS Online footer offering credit-card decision support.
- ePower (Chip)minorePower (a Chip.de sub-brand) is referenced from the FOCUS Online footer linking to chip.de/tests/epower, indicating a content-distribution relationship.
- AroundhomecoreAroundhome powers FOCUS Online's home-services lead-routing widgets (Solaranlagen, Immobilienverkauf, Treppenlift, Küchenplanung, Alarmanlagen, Fenster, Haustür, Badezimmer) via aaa.aroundhome.de tracking links.
- HeizungsfindercoreHeizungsfinder supplies heating-system lead-routing widgets for Wärmepumpe, Gasheizung, Ölheizung, and Elektroheizung integrated into the FOCUS Online footer/Linkbox with ref=622965 tracking.
- Screen13 (disco.screen13.com)minorDisco.screen13.com is the deal-routing destination for FOCUS Online shopping placements including iPhone 17 Pro o2 bundle, Hypershell Prime Day, Acer Laptop, Bio-Olivenöl, Caravan Klimaanlage.
- Amazon Kindle StorecoreFOCUS Online distributes its Nachrichten app via Amazon's Kindle App Store (dp/B00AQJYAJC), expanding reach to Kindle users in Germany.
- RolexminorRolex is the presenting partner of the FOCUS Earth 'Generation Planet' program (v.focus.de/rolex-generation-planet), a co-branded sustainability initiative.
- BurdaForward Sister Brands (CINEMA, FIT FOR FUN, BUNTE, Chip, Playboy, ELLE, Haus+Garten, freundin, Mein schöner Garten, Super Illu, Guter Rat, HolidayCheck, Freizeitrevue, Lisa, brands you love, Burdastyle, InStyle, Computeruniverse, Cyberport, Das Kochrezept, Mietwagen Check, TV Today, zoover, mit Tier, mit Sternen)coreCross-distribution and audience-sharing network of 25+ BurdaForward media brands listed in the FOCUS Online footer 'Weitere Online-Angebote sowie Partner der BurdaForward GmbH'.
- BurdaForward GmbH Advertising SalesflagshipThe 'Inserieren' link routes to burda-forward.de/advertising/werbemoeglichkeiten, indicating that advertising sales for FOCUS Online and the Unternehmensportal are managed by BurdaForward's central advertising sales operation.
- Unternehmensportal Advertisers (SME and enterprise brands)flagshipThe unternehmen.focus.de portal hosts branded advertorials from dozens of paying advertisers across Auto & Technik (POET Audio, GVS-Dienstleistungen, BIBER SolarKonzept, NISSAN KRUCK, junited AUTOGLAS, Seyer GmbH, etc.), Business & Wirtschaft (Aries Fox, Fabian Erbach, Everdane Technologies), Computer & Digital (Lion AI), Dienstleistung & Handwerk (Bestattungshaus Kallwaß, Dachsanierung Schmitz, etc.), Finanzen & Immobilien (Die Goldwaage, Rendite Residenz, etc.), Gesundheit & Sport (Radiologie Bamberg, etc.), Haus & Garten (Tineco, GOALKER), Kultur & Wissen (Yad Vashem, MENG), Mode & Styling (Hofsommer, etc.), Recht & Steuern (MGB, Schörg, etc.), Spiel & Spaß (Flowfull, VARPOINT), and Tourismus & Freizeit.
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
FOCUS Online competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- t-online.de: Deutsche Telekom-owned German news/lifestyle portal and one of the highest-reach digital properties in Germany. Comparable as a general-interest digital news destination covering news, sport, lifestyle, finance, and travel, with embedded shopping and service content.
- Bild.de: Axel Springer's mass-market German news portal with the largest reach in Germany. Directly comparable to FOCUS Online as a high-output, multi-vertical ad-supported news destination with broad Politik/Sport/Stars/Unterhaltung coverage and a heavy display-advertising model.
- SPIEGEL Online: One of Germany's leading digital news portals, operated by Spiegel-Verlag (part of Spiegel Group). Directly comparable to FOCUS Online as a mass-market, multi-vertical German news destination with both free and paid (SPIEGEL+) subscription monetization and similar Politik/Wirtschaft/Sport/Kultur coverage breadth.
- stern.de: Gruner + Jahr (RTL Group) digital news portal covering Politik, Wirtschaft, Sport, Unterhaltung, and lifestyle. Directly comparable to FOCUS Online in editorial mix and target audience, also operating a premium subscription product (stern+) and leveraging a sister-brand network (Geo, Capital, etc.).
- FAZ.NET: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung's digital edition, a leading German broadsheet news portal with strong Politik, Wirtschaft, and Feuilleton verticals plus a paid FAZ+ subscription. Comparable as a multi-vertical German news destination competing for the same Politik/Wirtschaft audience FOCUS Online targets.
- WELT (Die Welt / Welt.de): Axel Springer-owned national German news portal with Politik, Wirtschaft, Sport, and lifestyle coverage plus a paid WELT+ subscription tier. Closely mirrors FOCUS Online's editorial breadth and subscription strategy, and competes directly for German news consumers and political opinion columnists.
- n-tv.de: RTL Germany's 24/7 news portal covering Politik, Wirtschaft, Sport, Börse, and lifestyle with embedded financial market data. Comparable to FOCUS Online as a digital-first German news property with strong financial coverage and display-ad-supported monetization.
- Handelsblatt: Leading German business and financial news outlet (Handelsblatt / WirtschaftsWoche) with deep coverage of Börse, Wirtschaft, Finanzen, and Politik. Comparable to FOCUS Online's FOCUS Business / Finanzen verticals, particularly in financial product comparison and B2B advertising inventory.
- Süddeutsche Zeitung (sueddeutsche.de): Major German national newspaper's digital portal covering Politik, Wirtschaft, Sport, Kultur, and Panorama. Directly comparable to FOCUS Online as a multi-vertical German news destination with a paid SZ+ subscription tier and similar broad audience targeting.
- ZEIT Online: Die Zeit's digital edition, a leading German weekly news outlet's online portal covering Politik, Wirtschaft, Wissen, and Zeit-Verbrecher. Comparable to FOCUS Online as a German news destination with a strong paid subscription model (ZEIT+) and broad editorial coverage.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
FOCUS Online social profiles
Digital presenceFOCUS Online compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance2 records
FOCUS Online financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
FOCUS Online leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
FOCUS Online subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries1 record
FOCUS Online funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
FOCUS Online 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 FOCUS Online
What does FOCUS Online do?
FOCUS Online operates the German-language digital news portal focus.de, publishing national and international news across politics, finance, health, sport, lifestyle, travel, auto, and real estate. The site is ad-supported and free to readers, monetized through on-page display advertising, a premium subscription tier (FOCUS+), native branded-content placements via unternehmen.focus.de, and affiliate/lead-routing through integrated financial and product comparison portals (girokonto, tagesgeld, festgeld, depot, ETF, kreditkarte, krankenkassen) and embedded calculators (Brutto-Netto, Gehaltsvergleich, Rentenrechner, Währungsrechner).
Is FOCUS Online a public or private company?
FOCUS Online is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently operating.
When was FOCUS Online founded?
FOCUS Online was founded in 1996. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is FOCUS Online based?
FOCUS Online is headquartered in München, Germany, in the Europe region.
How does FOCUS Online make money?
Five revenue lines are on record. Display Advertising is the primary driver. The others are branded Content / Native Advertising (Unternehmensportal), affiliate / Lead-Generation Routing, premium Subscription (FOCUS+) and print Magazine Subscription Cross-Sell.
Who are FOCUS Online's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are t-online.de, Bild.de, SPIEGEL Online, stern.de, FAZ.NET, WELT (Die Welt / Welt.de), n-tv.de, Handelsblatt, Süddeutsche Zeitung (sueddeutsche.de) and ZEIT Online.
Does FOCUS Online have an API?
No public API is recorded for FOCUS Online.
What industry is FOCUS Online in?
FOCUS Online's product category is Online News and Digital Media. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPACAKAA, News & Current Affairs Aggregators, with a secondary code of MPACAKAK, Shopping/Deal & Affiliate Content Aggregators. Its NAICS code is 513120 and its SIC code is 2711.