SoftMaker
SoftMaker Software GmbH is a privately-held German software company (founded 1987, Nuremberg) that develops DSGVO-compliant office productivity software (SoftMaker Office), a PDF editor (FlexiPDF), and font collections as alternatives to Microsoft Office and Adobe Acrobat, serving individuals, SMBs, and professional font users globally.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1987
- HeadquartersNuremberg, Germany
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingSoftware
What SoftMaker does
SoftMaker Software GmbH is a privately-held German software company headquartered in Nuremberg, founded in 1987 and led by Managing Director Martin Kotulla. The company develops office productivity software, a PDF editor, and font collections, positioned as a DSGVO/GDPR-compliant alternative to Microsoft Office and Adobe Acrobat. Its products serve individual home users, small-to-medium businesses, and professional typography users across German-speaking markets and globally, with the website localized in 10+ languages including English, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, Swedish, Polish, and Russian.
The company's core product line is SoftMaker Office, offered in four tiers: SoftMaker Office NX Universal (subscription, $49.90/year, five platforms including iOS and Android), NX Home ($29.90/year), Professional 2024 (perpetual license, $139.95, three platforms), and the free FreeOffice 2024. The suite comprises TextMaker (word processor with DOCX compatibility and Markdown support), PlanMaker (spreadsheet with dynamic arrays, XVERWEIS, pivot tables), Presentations (slides), and BasicMaker (automation). FlexiPDF NX and FlexiPDF 2025 are the company's PDF editors featuring DeepL translation, AI summarization, and OCR, with a free FreePDF companion. A separate fonts division sells MegaFont NOW (7,500 fonts, $34.95), infiniType 4 (7,444 fonts, $299), and several thematic Elegante font packs. The technology stack is built in C/C++ by permanent in-house programmers based in Nuremberg.
SoftMaker's business model combines recurring subscription revenue (NX Universal, FlexiPDF NX, and multi-seat corporate volume licenses priced from $199.50/year for 5 seats to $3,590/year for 100 seats) with one-time perpetual licenses (Professional 2024 and font collections) and a freemium acquisition layer (FreeOffice and FreePDF). Distribution is primarily direct via the company's own e-commerce shop at eshop.softmaker.de, supplemented by a reseller/dealer program. The company is bootstrapped with no disclosed external funding, reports an employee base of 11-50, and maintains an active community forum with 6,038 registered members and over 109,511 posts.
SoftMaker firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- SoftMaker
- Legal name
- SoftMaker Software GmbH
- Website
- https://softmaker.de
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1987
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- SoftMaker Software GmbH is a privately-held German software company (founded 1987, Nuremberg) that develops DSGVO-compliant office productivity software (SoftMaker Office), a PDF editor (FlexiPDF), and font collections as alternatives to Microsoft Office and Adobe Acrobat, serving individuals, SMBs, and professional font users globally.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
SoftMaker industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Office Productivity Software
- NAICS
- Software Publishers (5132)
- SIC
- Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Document Creation & Office Suites (BPAMAMAD)
Keywords
Where SoftMaker is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Nuremberg
- HQ country
- Germany
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
SoftMaker business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Subscription (NX Universal): Annual or monthly subscription model for SoftMaker Office NX Universal. Includes automatic updates, DeepL translation (1 million characters/year) and ChatGPT AI (5 million characters/year for annual plan).
- Perpetual License (Professional): One-time purchase license for SoftMaker Office Professional 2024. Upgrade pricing available for existing customers.
- Subscription (FlexiPDF NX): Annual or monthly subscription for FlexiPDF NX PDF editor.
- Font Packages: One-time purchase of font collections including MegaFont NOW (7,500 fonts), infiniType 4 (professional), and various specialty font packs.
- Multi-seat Corporate Licenses: Volume licensing for businesses with pricing tiers for 5, 10, 25, 50, and 100 computers.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Annual | SoftMaker Office NX Universal - Annual subscription |
| Subscription | Monthly | SoftMaker Office NX Universal - Monthly subscription |
| Subscription | Annual | SoftMaker Office NX Home |
| One time/ perpetual license | Multi-year contract | SoftMaker Office Professional 2024 - Perpetual license |
| Subscription | Annual | FlexiPDF NX - Annual subscription |
| Subscription | Monthly | FlexiPDF NX - Monthly subscription |
| One time/ perpetual license | Multi-year contract | MegaFont NOW - One-time purchase |
| One time/ perpetual license | Multi-year contract | infiniType 4 - Professional fonts |
| Subscription | Annual | Multi-seat corporate licenses |
| One time/ perpetual license | Multi-year contract | Professional 2024 multi-seat upgrades |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels6 records
SoftMaker product offering
Product offeringCore offering
SoftMaker develops and sells cross-platform office productivity software (SoftMaker Office suite with TextMaker, PlanMaker, and Presentations), a professional PDF editor (FlexiPDF), and font collections, offering subscription, perpetual license, and free tiers. The portfolio is positioned as a GDPR-compliant alternative to Microsoft Office and Adobe Acrobat with integrated ChatGPT AI, DeepL translation, LanguageTool grammar checking, and Duden Korrektor German orthography. Products run natively on Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, and Android, with volume licensing available for corporate deployments.
Product overview
SoftMaker is a German office productivity software company offering a portfolio of products spanning office suites, PDF tools, and fonts. The core product line is SoftMaker Office, available in multiple tiers: SoftMaker Office NX Universal (subscription, 5 platforms), SoftMaker Office NX Home (subscription, home tier), SoftMaker Office Professional 2024 (perpetual, 3 platforms), and FreeOffice 2024 (free). Each suite includes TextMaker (word processor), PlanMaker (spreadsheet), and Presentations (slideshow), with higher tiers adding BasicMaker and bundled AI features. FlexiPDF NX/2025 serves as the company's PDF editor with DeepL translation, AI summarization, and OCR. A separate fonts division offers MegaFont NOW, infiniType 4, and several thematic Elegante font collections. All products are positioned as GDPR-compliant (DSGVO-konform) alternatives to Microsoft Office and Adobe Acrobat, developed entirely in-house with full-time programmers based in Nuremberg, Germany.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- SoftMaker Office NX Universal: Cross-platform office suite for Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, and Android, including TextMaker, PlanMaker, and Presentations.
- FlexiPDF NX
- FreeOffice
- MegaFont NOW
- infiniType 4
- SoftMaker Office Professional 2024
Products and services
- SoftMaker Office NX Universal Flagship subscription office suite for Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, and Android. Includes TextMaker (word processor), PlanMaker (spreadsheet), and Presentations (slides), bundled with DeepL automatic translation, ChatGPT AI text and image features, LanguageTool grammar checking in approximately 30 languages, and Duden Korrektor for German proofreading. Priced at US$49.90/year or US$4.99/month, licensed for 5 private computers or 1 business computer.
- SoftMaker Office NX Home Entry-level subscription office suite for home users, offering core TextMaker, PlanMaker, and Presentations functionality at a lower price point (US$29.90/year or US$2.99/month) compared to the Universal tier. Aimed at personal and family use.
- SoftMaker Office Professional 2024 Perpetual one-time-purchase office suite for Windows, macOS, and Linux (three platforms). Includes TextMaker, PlanMaker, Presentations, and BasicMaker. New purchase US$139.95; upgrade US$69.95 for owners of older versions; licensed for installation on 3 computers.
- FreeOffice 2024 Free version of the SoftMaker Office suite for Windows, Mac, and Linux, providing basic TextMaker, PlanMaker, and Presentations functionality at no cost. Acts as a top-of-funnel acquisition product for the SoftMaker Office line.
- FlexiPDF NX Premium subscription PDF editor for Windows with automatic DeepL translation, AI-based intelligent document summarization, document scanning and OCR, and comprehensive editing capabilities. Subscription at US$39.90/year or US$3.99/month.
- FlexiPDF 2025 Annual-version PDF editor for Windows offering the same feature set as FlexiPDF NX, including DeepL translation, AI summarization, OCR, and 64-bit support (made available in October 2024).
- FreePDF 2025 Free PDF reader and editor for Windows, positioned as a no-cost companion to FlexiPDF for basic PDF viewing and editing needs.
- MegaFont NOW Font collection containing 7,500 TrueType fonts for Windows, Mac, and Linux, with unlimited webfont pageviews included. One-time purchase at US$34.95 (upgrade from MegaFont NEXT at US$29.95).
- infiniType 4 Professional font package with 7,444 top-quality fonts and webfonts for Windows, Mac, and Linux. Single-user license US$299, company license (up to 25 computers) US$399, both including unlimited webfont pageviews.
- 170 Schreibschriften Collection of 170 classic and modern script/calligraphic fonts for Windows, Mac, and Linux. Single-user US$59.95, company license US$79.95, company license with webfonts US$99.95.
- 70 Handschriften Collection of 70 handwriting fonts for Windows, Mac, and Linux. Single-user US$79.95, company license US$99.95, company license with webfonts US$129.95.
- Elegante Handschriften Collection of 50 elegant handwriting fonts for Windows, Mac, and Linux at US$19.95 (single-user).
- Elegante Mittelalterschriften 41 medieval-style fonts for Windows, Mac, and Linux, optionally available with webfonts at US$29.95 (single-user).
- Elegante Frakturschriften 70 blackletter/Fraktur fonts in various styles and periods for Windows, Mac, and Linux.
- Elegante Sütterlin- und Kurrentschriften 20 variants of Sütterlin and Kurrentschrift scripts as taught in German and Austrian schools until the mid-20th century, for Windows, Mac, and Linux.
- Elegante Jugendstilschriften 70 Art Nouveau (Jugendstil) fonts for Windows, Mac, and Linux.
Quantifiable outcome
- Grammar checking in 30 languages
- +1 more outcomes
Companies that use SoftMaker
Customer profileSegments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
SoftMaker technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration5 records
AI capability7 records
Feature8 records
SoftMaker partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.
- DeepLcoreDeepL translation API integrated into SoftMaker Office NX and FlexiPDF NX for automatic document translation. Provides automatic translation functionality within the software applications.
- ChatGPT (OpenAI)coreChatGPT AI integrated into SoftMaker Office NX and 2026 for AI-powered image generation, document summarization, text critique, and intelligent document assistance. Includes character limits (5 million/year for annual subscribers).
Scale indicators5 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
SoftMaker competitors and assessment
Company assessmentEmerging players
- ABBYY FineReader: OCR and PDF/document conversion specialist with strong European roots. Comparable on the OCR/PDF document-processing capability that FlexiPDF NX integrates as a core feature.
- ONLYOFFICE: Open-source office suite with strong DOCX compatibility and optional cloud collaboration server. Comparable in targeting privacy-conscious and European customers seeking Microsoft alternatives.
- Calligra Suite: KDE-community office and graphics suite with Linux desktop focus. Adjacent competitor in the niche of cross-platform open-source office productivity, particularly on Linux.
Direct peers
- LibreOffice: Open-source office suite (Writer, Calc, Impress) offering a free Microsoft Office alternative. Closest direct competitor to SoftMaker Office on cross-platform desktop productivity, with overlapping DOCX/XLSX/PPTX compatibility focus.
- WPS Office (Kingsoft): Freemium cross-platform office suite from Kingsoft with strong consumer and SMB adoption. Direct competitor on subscription office productivity with AI features, positioning similarly against Microsoft 365.
- Apple iWork: Apple's free Pages/Numbers/Keynote suite for macOS and iOS. Competes in the same cross-platform consumer office productivity segment, especially among Apple ecosystem users.
- Foxit Software: Commercial PDF editor and document workflow vendor. Most direct comparator to SoftMaker's FlexiPDF product line in targeting privacy-focused, GDPR-aware Adobe Acrobat alternatives.
- Nitro Software: PDF and e-signature vendor competing with Adobe Acrobat. Comparable to FlexiPDF NX in subscription PDF editing for business users, with stronger enterprise footprint.
Broad incumbents
- Microsoft 365: Dominant incumbent productivity suite from Microsoft bundling Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Teams, and Copilot AI. The primary competitor SoftMaker positions against; broad enterprise ecosystem rather than niche focus.
- Google Workspace: Cloud-native office productivity suite (Docs, Sheets, Slides) from Google with native real-time collaboration. Competes for the same SMB/enterprise productivity budget, particularly on collaboration and cloud.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
SoftMaker social profiles
Digital presenceSoftMaker compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance1 record
SoftMaker financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
SoftMaker leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
SoftMaker funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
SoftMaker 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 SoftMaker
What does SoftMaker do?
SoftMaker develops and sells cross-platform office productivity software (SoftMaker Office suite with TextMaker, PlanMaker, and Presentations), a professional PDF editor (FlexiPDF), and font collections, offering subscription, perpetual license, and free tiers. The portfolio is positioned as a GDPR-compliant alternative to Microsoft Office and Adobe Acrobat with integrated ChatGPT AI, DeepL translation, LanguageTool grammar checking, and Duden Korrektor German orthography. Products run natively on Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, and Android, with volume licensing available for corporate deployments.
Is SoftMaker a public or private company?
SoftMaker is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was SoftMaker founded?
SoftMaker was founded in 1987. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is SoftMaker based?
SoftMaker is headquartered in Nuremberg, Germany, in the Europe region.
How does SoftMaker make money?
Five revenue lines are on record. Subscription (NX Universal) is the primary driver. The others are perpetual License (Professional), subscription (FlexiPDF NX), font Packages and multi-seat Corporate Licenses.
Who are SoftMaker's main competitors?
Emerging players on record are ABBYY FineReader, ONLYOFFICE and Calligra Suite. Direct peers are LibreOffice, WPS Office (Kingsoft), Apple iWork, Foxit Software and Nitro Software. Broad incumbents are Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace.
Does SoftMaker have an API?
No public API is recorded for SoftMaker.
What industry is SoftMaker in?
SoftMaker's product category is Office Productivity Software. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAMAMAD, Document Creation & Office Suites. Its NAICS code is 5132 and its SIC code is 7372.