What GoLocal does

GoLocal (legally pdm solutions GmbH, headquartered in Munich) operates golocal.de, a German-language local business review and recommendation platform serving both consumer and SMB audiences across 34 German cities. The platform lets registered users discover, rate, and review local businesses across roughly 18 vertical categories (restaurants, healthcare, trades, retail, automotive, leisure, etc.), supported by features such as star ratings, photos, videos, check-ins, favorites, a community forum, and gamification (points, weekly leaderboards, challenges, trophies, and €5/€10 Amazon.de voucher rewards for verified reviews). The technical stack is a user-generated content and directory platform with location-based search and city-specific subdomains, supplemented by native iOS and Android mobile applications and an NLP-based review summarization feature on location detail pages. Business owners can claim and manage free listings through a self-serve portal, with premium features available in a freemium model; the platform displays as 'Partner von Das Oertliche' and integrates Yelp-sourced reviews, suggesting monetization through directory listings, partner distribution, and additive paid business services rather than consumer-side fees. The company is privately held with no disclosed venture or institutional funding, and the operating footprint is entirely domestic to Germany.

Name

GoLocal

Legal name

pdm solutions GmbH

Website

https://golocal.de

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

GoLocal (pdm solutions GmbH, Munich) operates golocal.de, a German local business review and recommendation platform serving German consumers and SMBs across 34 cities with 2.7 million listings, 8.8 million reviews, and 550,000 registered users on a freemium, community-driven model.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Local Business Reviews

SIC

Retail-Nonstore Retailers (5960)

akta.pro primary industry

Local Services & Experiences Generalist Marketplaces (CRAFAAAD)

akta.pro secondary industry

Travel, Hospitality & Local Discovery Recommendations (HDAAAGAG)

Keywords

• Local business reviews
• Review platform
• Business directory
• Local recommendations
• Community reviews

Headquarters

HQ city

Munich

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Business Listings and Directory Services: GoLocal appears to monetize through business listings and directory services. The platform offers free business registration and entry options, with premium features available for businesses to manage their presence. The platform partners with Das Oertliche (German phone directory) suggesting a directory/marketing revenue model.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

GoLocal operates a Germany-wide online platform where consumers can discover, rate, and review local businesses across categories including restaurants, healthcare, retail, automotive, beauty, and services. The platform features user-generated reviews with star ratings, photo uploads, check-ins, favorites, and a community forum. Business owners can claim and manage their listings for free. The service covers 34 German cities with approximately 2.7 million listed locations, 8.8 million reviews, and 550,000 registered users, enhanced by AI-generated review summaries.

Product overview

GoLocal operates as a unified local review and recommendation platform consisting of the core golocal.de website, mobile applications for iOS and Android, and community features. The platform enables users to discover, rate, and review local businesses across Germany (including restaurants, shops, healthcare providers, automotive services, and more) with a network of approximately 550,000 users, 8.8 million reviews, and 2.7 million listed locations. Business owners can manage their listings through a free claiming system, while users earn rewards through the review program. The platform also includes community engagement features like forums, weekly leaderboards, challenges, and trophies.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• GoLocal Platform (golocal.de)

Quantifiable outcome

• 550,000 active users contributing reviews and recommendations
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability2 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Das OertlichecoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorGoLocal is partnered with Das Oertliche, a major German telephone directory and local search service. The partnership is displayed as 'Partner von das Oertliche' on the platform, indicating a distribution and content partnership that enhances GoLocal's reach in the German local search market.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Yelp: Yelp is a global user-generated review platform for local businesses, restaurants, and services. It is a direct category peer to GoLocal and is also referenced as a content partner for GoLocal.
• Foursquare: Foursquare operates a location-discovery and check-in platform with user reviews and tips, similar to GoLocal's mobile-first local discovery and check-in features.
• ProvenExpert: ProvenExpert is a German-language review and reputation-management platform for local businesses and service providers, directly competing with GoLocal in SMB reputation tooling and review aggregation in Germany.

Regional players

• kununu: kununu is a major German-language employer-review platform with the same community/user-generated review DNA as GoLocal, but focused on employers rather than local businesses.
• Gelbe Seiten: Gelbe Seiten is the principal German printed and online business directory, functionally similar to Das Örtliche and a structural competitor to GoLocal in German local listings and SMB advertising.
• 11880.com (11880 Solutions AG): 11880.com is a German online business directory and local search platform, closely comparable to Das Örtliche and competing with GoLocal in German local-business discovery.
• Das Örtliche: Das Örtliche is the leading German telephone and local directory, and GoLocal's core distribution partner. It offers comparable local business listing and discovery functionality for German users.

Broad incumbents

• Tripadvisor: Tripadvisor is a large global review-led travel and local-experience platform; while more travel-skewed, it shares GoLocal's review-aggregation and SMB-discovery DNA and overlaps in restaurants/local categories.
• Google Business Profile (Google Maps): Google's local business listings and review surfaces on Maps and Search are the dominant local-discovery channel in Germany, competing head-to-head for SMB visibility and consumer reviews.
• Trustpilot: Trustpilot is a global consumer-review platform with a freemium B2B reputation-management model, comparable in business model and category adjacency to GoLocal's listing and review platform.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 GoLocal