Wice
WICE GmbH is a privately held Hamburg-based software company founded in 1998 that sells a web-based, DSGVO-compliant CRM platform—covering marketing, sales, service, and invoicing—to German Mittelstand SMBs via cloud SaaS, on-premise licenses, and a freemium tier.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1998
- HeadquartersHamburg, Germany
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What Wice does
WICE GmbH is a privately held German software company headquartered in Hamburg that has operated since 1998 as one of the pioneers of cloud-based CRM in Germany. The company targets the German Mittelstand (small and mid-sized B2B businesses) with a unified web-based CRM platform that spans marketing, sales, service and support, and invoicing. Its core value proposition emphasizes DSGVO-compliant data handling, exclusive German server hosting, and a "Made in Germany" positioning that distinguishes it from US-centric CRM vendors.
The platform, branded Wice CRM, is delivered either as a cloud SaaS ("On Demand") or as an on-premise installation ("Inhouse"), both running on a shared codebase built on Linux, MySQL, and Apache. The core product is extended by a broad set of native add-on modules including the Outlook Connector and Outlook Synchronizer (€79/workstation), the Thunderbird Connector, a Wice Mail Importer, CTI integrations for Placetel and Sipgate, a universal SIP plugin, Google Maps visualization, a web-form/landing-page builder (Wice Contact), and an integrated Faktura module that covers quotes, invoices, subscription billing, open-item management, and DATEV export. A documented API at handbuch.wice.de supports custom integrations. No AI/ML capabilities are disclosed across any product module.
Wice operates a hybrid monetization model combining a freemium tier (one free user with 1 GB storage) and paid cloud subscriptions at €30/user/month (annual) or €40/user/month (monthly), alongside a €650 perpetual per-user on-premise license plus annual maintenance, plus add-on and professional-services revenue (training, CRM Check-Up consultations, academy workshops). Go-to-market is primarily product-led self-service through the freemium funnel, complemented by content marketing (CRM blog, SEO, whitepapers), inside sales for mid-market conversion, and partnerships with IONOS for infrastructure and with fax.de for integrated letter/fax mailing. The company claims over 1,000 customers across logistics, software, biotech, education, and chamber-of-commerce segments, is bootstrapped with no external funding, and is led by managing directors Hansjörg Schmidt and Jürgen Schüssler.
Wice firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Wice
- Legal name
- WICE GmbH
- Website
- https://wice.de
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1998
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- WICE GmbH is a privately held Hamburg-based software company founded in 1998 that sells a web-based, DSGVO-compliant CRM platform—covering marketing, sales, service, and invoicing—to German Mittelstand SMBs via cloud SaaS, on-premise licenses, and a freemium tier.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Where Wice is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Hamburg
- HQ country
- Germany
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Wice business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- SaaS Subscription (On Demand): Monthly or annual subscription fees for cloud-hosted CRM access. First user free (Freemium), additional users billed per seat. Annual billing offers discount vs monthly.
- On-Premise License: One-time perpetual license fee (€650 per user) plus annual software maintenance fee for updates and support. Targeted at companies preferring private cloud or in-house deployment.
- Add-on Plugins: Additional fees for plugins like Outlook Synchronizer (€79 per workstation), VoIP integrations, and advanced features beyond base subscription.
- Professional Services: Training, onboarding support, and consulting services including Wice CRM Academy, online training, and on-site workshops for CRM implementation.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Monthly | On Demand Free - Freemium tier for single users |
| Per seat | Annual | On Demand Plus - Paid cloud subscription |
| One time/ perpetual license | Multi-year contract | Inhouse/On Premise - Private cloud deployment |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels9 records
Wice product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Wice develops and sells WICE CRM, a web-based customer relationship management (CRM) solution for small and mid-sized businesses. The product is offered both as a cloud-hosted SaaS subscription and as an on-premise perpetual license, supplemented by optional plugins, customization, training, and support services. The target market is the German Mittelstand.
Product overview
Wice CRM is a unified web-based CRM software platform from Germany covering marketing, sales, service & support, and invoicing modules. The core product is Wice CRM, available as cloud SaaS (On Demand) or on-premise installation (Inhouse), with the same functionality across both deployment models. The platform is extended through native plugin integrations including the Wice Outlook Connector, Wice Outlook Synchronizer, Wice Thunderbird Connector, Wice Mail Importer (email integration), Wice Placetel/Sipgate/VoIP integrations (telephony/CTI), Google Maps Integration (geolocation), and Wice Contact (web forms/landing pages). The Wice Faktura module handles integrated quote-to-invoice workflows, open item management, subscription billing, and DATEV export. The Freemium tier provides a free single-user version, while the Academy offers training and consulting services. Wice positions itself as a German alternative to Salesforce, emphasizing data privacy compliance, German hosting, and DSGVO conformity.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- WICE CRM (Cloud) Cloud-hosted, web-based CRM software offered as a SaaS subscription for German SMBs, including a freemium entry tier and paid per-user plans. Targets the German Mittelstand needing DSGVO/GDPR-compliant, German-hosted customer relationship management.
- WICE CRM (On-Premise) On-premise, self-hosted version of WICE CRM sold via perpetual license for German SMBs that require data to remain on their own infrastructure. Suitable for customers with stricter data-residency or internal-IT requirements.
- WICE CRM Plugins and Extensions Supplementary plugin modules that extend the functionality of the core WICE CRM platform, sold as add-ons to customize or scale the system to specific business needs.
- WICE CRM Training and Support Services Paid training, onboarding, and technical support services for customers implementing and operating WICE CRM, delivered by the Wice team.
Quantifiable outcome
- Planbare Umsatzsteigerung (Predictable revenue increase)
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Wice
Customer profileNamed customers12 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles1 record
Wice technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration9 records
Feature9 records
Wice partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- IONOS CloudcoreCloud infrastructure hosting partnership. Wice CRM cloud servers are hosted exclusively on IONOS cloud infrastructure in German data centers. This partnership is critical for delivering DSGVO-compliant SaaS service with German data residency.
- PlacetelcoreVoIP telephony integration partnership. Wice CRM offers native integration with Placetel cloud PBX system. Enables click-to-call, incoming call pop-ups with customer context, and call logging directly in CRM. No on-premise hardware required.
- SipgatecoreVoIP telephony integration partnership. Wice CRM offers native integration with Sipgate cloud telephone system. Enables the same CTI features as Placetel integration - call initiation from CRM, incoming call pop-ups, and call tracking.
- SaaS-EcoSystem e.V.minorIndependent certification organization that validates SaaS provider claims on security, data protection, and service quality through Trust-in-Cloud certification program. Serves as neutral third-party validation for Wice's compliance claims.
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Wice competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- CAS Software AG (SmartWe CRM): German CRM/SmartWe CRM vendor targeting the same Mittelstand and SMB customers with comparable product breadth across sales, marketing, and service, and equally strong reliance on German data protection as a differentiator.
- weclapp GmbH: German cloud business software vendor offering an integrated CRM and ERP suite to German SMBs at a very similar price point; competes head-to-head with Wice for the same Mittelstand buyer and same DSGVO positioning.
- Pipedrive: SMB-focused sales CRM widely adopted by European SMEs for pipeline management; overlaps directly with Wice's Vertrieb/Sales module and per-seat SaaS pricing model, though without the invoicing breadth.
- SugarCRM: Mid-market CRM vendor offering sales, service, and marketing automation with both cloud and on-premise deployment; closely aligned feature-by-feature with Wice and competing for similar European SMB/mid-market budgets.
Broad incumbents
- HubSpot: Global SMB and mid-market CRM platform with a freemium entry point and integrated marketing, sales, and service hubs; competes for the same German Mittelstand buyer with vastly broader marketing budget and AI capability.
- Salesforce: The global CRM leader with growing EU data residency and German cloud offerings; the dominant alternative Wice explicitly positions against ("German alternative to Salesforce") and the principal competitive threat across customer segments.
- Zoho CRM: Mid-market CRM suite with integrated invoicing, marketing automation, and a free edition; competes for price-sensitive German SMBs seeking a broad suite without paying enterprise CRM prices.
- Sage CRM: Established SMB accounting and CRM vendor with a long European footprint, integrated invoicing and subscription billing, and on-premise plus cloud deployment options similar to Wice's dual-model approach.
- Microsoft Dynamics 365: Enterprise and mid-market CRM/ERP suite with deep Microsoft 365, Outlook, and Teams integration; the most credible upper-tier competitor for the German mid-market accounts Wice targets with its enterprise customers.
Emerging players
- Bitrix24: SMB CRM and collaboration platform with a generous free tier and email/telephony/workflow features; targets a similar self-serve SMB buyer as Wice, especially among cost-conscious Mittelstand prospects.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Wice social profiles
Digital presenceWice compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance3 records
Wice financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Wice leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
Wice funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Wice 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 Wice
What does Wice do?
Wice develops and sells WICE CRM, a web-based customer relationship management (CRM) solution for small and mid-sized businesses. The product is offered both as a cloud-hosted SaaS subscription and as an on-premise perpetual license, supplemented by optional plugins, customization, training, and support services. The target market is the German Mittelstand.
Is Wice a public or private company?
Wice is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Wice founded?
Wice was founded in 1998. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Wice based?
Wice is headquartered in Hamburg, Germany, in the Europe region.
How does Wice make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. SaaS Subscription (On Demand) is the primary driver. The others are on-Premise License, add-on Plugins and professional Services.
Who are Wice's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are CAS Software AG (SmartWe CRM), weclapp GmbH, Pipedrive and SugarCRM. Broad incumbents are HubSpot, Salesforce, Zoho CRM, Sage CRM and Microsoft Dynamics 365. Bitrix24 is listed as an emerging player.
Does Wice have an API?
Yes. Wice CRM provides a documented API that allows developers to build custom integrations and automations. The API documentation is available at the Wice handbook site at handbuch.wice.de/docs/Api/Api.html. Developer documentation is at handbuch.wice.de/docs/Api/Api.html.