What solute does

solute GmbH is a German e-commerce performance marketing company founded in 2004 and headquartered in Karlsruhe, with a second office in Berlin. The company operates three B2B business units: billiger.de solutions (price comparison and performance marketing for online retailers, anchored by the billiger.de consumer portal), marketplace solutions (managed Amazon advertising services for sellers and brands, using AI-powered bid and keyword automation), and sparwelt.de solutions (coupon and cashback marketing operated as the B2B brand behind Checkout Charlie). Across these units, solute claims 17 million monthly purchase-affine visitors, 10+ operated portals, 620 million EUR in annual cart revenue generated for partner retailers, 200+ Amazon seller clients, and 100+ portal/media partners spanning Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.

The business model combines transaction/performance fees on billiger.de, managed-service fees on Amazon advertising campaigns, and B2B campaign design and distribution fees on coupon/cashback marketing. Distribution is direct enterprise sales, channel partner relationships, and a heavy reliance on organic search and consumer brand recognition on billiger.de. Technology is built on a standard martech stack (Host Europe hosting, Maileon email, DYMATRIX analytics, Meta Pixel, LinkedIn Insight Tag, ConsentManager) with proprietary elements including the billiger.de Pixel, AI-driven Amazon bidding automation, and the company's owned network of consumer-facing portals.

Since 2025, solute has been a majority-owned subsidiary of ad pepper Group (>60% stake, reported as 75% in English sources) and completed the 100% acquisition of Checkout Charlie GmbH in October 2025, adding cashback and loyalty capabilities. The company is led by Managing Directors Dr. Thilo Gans and Bernd Vermaaten, with 200+ employees, and is privately held with no public financials disclosed.

Name

solute

Legal name

solute GmbH

Website

https://solute.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

2004

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

solute GmbH is a German e-commerce performance marketing company operating billiger.de price comparison, Amazon advertising management (marketplace solutions), and coupon/cashback marketing (Checkout Charlie), serving online retailers, Amazon sellers, and brands across the DACH region.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Karlsruhe

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Performance Marketing / Commission from Online Shops: billiger.de solutions generates revenue by connecting online shops with purchase-affine visitors. The platform charges shops for product listings, featured placements, and performance-based advertising within the price comparison ecosystem, delivering measurable cart revenue of 620 million euros per year.
2. Amazon Advertising Management Fees: marketplace solutions charges sellers and brands for managing, optimizing, and automating their Amazon advertising campaigns. Revenue is tied to campaign performance and management scope, serving over 200 Amazon sellers.
3. Coupon & Cashback Marketing Fees: sparwelt.de solutions (as B2B brand behind Checkout Charlie) connects retailers with leading coupon and consumer portals. Revenue is generated through campaign design, reach optimization, and technical implementation services, with over 100 partners.
4. Advertising Revenue (billiger.de): The billiger.de platform generates advertising revenue from sponsored product placements, featured listings, and performance marketing solutions for online retailers and brands seeking visibility among 17 million monthly visitors.

Go-to-market motion4 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

solute GmbH operates a multi-brand e-commerce marketing ecosystem comprising three B2B solution units: billiger.de solutions (performance marketing through the billiger.de price comparison portal for online retailers), marketplace solutions (AI-powered Amazon advertising campaign management for sellers and brands), and sparwelt.de solutions (B2B coupon and cashback marketing connecting retailers with consumer portals). The group also operates consumer-facing portals including billiger.de, sparwelt.de, and the acquired Checkout Charlie cashback platform, reaching 17 million monthly purchase-affine visitors.

Product overview

solute GmbH operates a multi-brand e-commerce ecosystem comprising three main business units: billiger.de solutions (performance marketing via price comparison), marketplace solutions (Amazon advertising with AI-powered campaign automation), and sparwelt.de solutions (coupon and cashback marketing as the B2B brand behind Checkout Charlie). The company, founded in 2004 and headquartered in Karlsruhe with a second office in Berlin, also acquired Checkout Charlie GmbH in 2025 to expand its digital offerings along the customer journey. The portfolio serves both B2C consumers through the billiger.de portal and B2B clients through its solution brands, with over 200 employees and 17 million monthly visitors.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• billiger.de: Price comparison portal and core brand of the company, providing shopping comparison services for consumers.
• Checkout Charlie
• sparwelt.de
• solute-ads

Products and services

• billiger.de Consumer-facing price comparison portal that aggregates products and prices from third-party online shops, enabling consumers to find the best prices and driving purchase-affine traffic to retailer partners.
• billiger.de solutions
• marketplace solutions B2B Amazon advertising service for sellers and brands providing AI-powered campaign management, automated bidding, keyword management, and 24/7 campaign optimization on the Amazon marketplace.
• sparwelt.de solutions
• Checkout Charlie Consumer-facing cashback and loyalty platform acquired by solute in 2025, providing cashback solutions that bind buyers and create long-term customer loyalty for online retailers.

Quantifiable outcome

• 620 million EUR in annual cart revenue (Warenkorb-Umsatz) generated through billiger.de solutions
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration9 records

AI capability2 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Checkout Charlie GmbHcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025solute GmbH completed the acquisition of 100% of shares in Checkout Charlie GmbH in 2025, making it a fully owned subsidiary of the solute Group. Checkout Charlie brings innovative cashback solutions that bind buyers and create long-term loyalty, complementing performance marketing with smart incentives.
• Karlsruher SC (KSC)minorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2025solute Group is an Official Partner of Karlsruher SC (KSC), one of the leading sports clubs in the Karlsruhe region. The partnership was expanded in 2025 to include DFB-Pokal coverage and KSC Women's team sponsorship as sleeve partner, providing strong regional visibility.
• Adler MannheimminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2025Official partner of Adler Mannheim, a leading ice hockey club in the Mannheim/Karlsruhe region. The partnership supports sports clubs that share solute's values of passion, team spirit, and authentic emotion.
• PSK LionsminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2025Official partner of PSK Lions, a sports club supported by solute Group. The partnership is part of solute's broader regional sports sponsorship strategy in the Karlsruhe area.
• ASC NeuenheimminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2025solute Group (billiger.de) extended its partnership with ASC Neuenheim in 2025, expanding support to include the U19, first, and second teams for the 2025/26 football season.
• Gutscheine.deminorGTM or Marketing PartnerGutscheine.de is a discount platform partner of sparwelt.de solutions, offering verified coupons and promotional codes tailored for frequent online shoppers across categories like travel, fashion, and electronics.
• shopmateminorGTM or Marketing Partnershopmate is a cashback platform partner of sparwelt.de solutions, offering exclusive deals from various online stores and allowing users to earn money back on purchases with easy tracking and reward redemption.
• Sparwelt.decoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributorsparwelt.de is the B2C portal operated within the sparwelt.de solutions business unit, serving as the go-to guide for smart shopping with persuasive editorial content and deals throughout the customer journey.
• 20 Minuten (Switzerland)minorGTM or Marketing Partner20 Minuten is a Swiss commuter media platform partner of sparwelt.de solutions, entertaining and informing readers daily with deals and offers, and is one of the most successful platforms of its kind in Switzerland.
• Neue Zürcher Zeitung (NZZ.ch)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerNZZ.ch is a partner portal of sparwelt.de solutions, providing in-depth reporting on current world events alongside deal content, maintaining the journalistic standards of the 1780-founded Neue Zürcher Zeitung.
• NTV (N television)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerNTV (N-television) is a Turkish international news channel partner of sparwelt.de solutions, delivering breaking news and in-depth analysis while featuring deals and offers content.
• Spiegel ReiseweltminorGTM or Marketing PartnerSpiegel Reisewelt is an editorial environment within SPIEGEL that combines journalistic content with thematically relevant brand integration, curating content that places brands in a relevant context.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Idealo: Germany's largest price comparison platform (owned by Axel Springer), directly competing with billiger.de on consumer price comparison and on B2B CPC/CPA deals with online retailers in DACH.
• Kelkoo Group: European price comparison and shopping aggregator operating across multiple countries; directly comparable to billiger.de solutions for online retailer performance marketing in EU markets.
• Honey Science Corporation (PayPal): Coupon/cashback browser extension and platform acquired by PayPal — directly comparable to sparwelt.de solutions and Checkout Charlie on consumer deal discovery and retailer monetization.
• RetailMeNot: Large US-headquartered coupon and cashback marketplace; comparable to sparwelt.de solutions in providing retailer-funded coupons and driving purchase-intent traffic.
• Slickdeals: Community-driven deals and coupons platform in the US; highly comparable business model to sparwelt.de/Checkout Charlie for monetizing deal-seeking consumer traffic with retailers.

Broad incumbents

• Google Shopping: Google's own product/price comparison and shopping ads surface directly compete with billiger.de's organic traffic and represent a structural risk to the comparison business model globally.
• Awin: Global affiliate marketing network with deep European footprint; competes with billiger.de solutions and marketplace solutions on performance marketing for e-commerce advertisers.
• Webgains: European affiliate and performance marketing network; overlaps with solute's billiger.de solutions and Amazon advertising services for online retailer customer acquisition.
• Check24: Germany's largest comparison portal across travel, insurance, energy and e-commerce; overlaps with billiger.de on product/shopping comparison and competes for the same advertiser wallet in DACH.

Others

• ad pepper media (parent): Publicly listed digital advertising group and solute's majority owner (>60–75% stake); provides performance advertising technology and audience data that enables solute's cross-channel capabilities.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/soluteGmbH
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@soluteGmbH
• Facebookfacebook.com/solutegmbh
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/solute-gmbh
• Instagraminstagram.com/solute_gmbh
• TikToktiktok.com/@solute_gmbh

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Subsidiaries1 record

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 solute