What Skinflint does

Skinflint, legally Preisvergleich Internet Services AG, is the corporate entity behind Geizhals, an independent price and product comparison portal founded in 1997 in Austria. The platform aggregates pricing and product information from approximately 395,767 active merchants across roughly 3,723,800 listed products, tracking over 260 million price data points. It serves price-conscious consumers in the DACH region across more than a dozen categories including PC hardware, consumer electronics, household appliances, sports, gardening, toys, and office supplies, with dedicated country portals for Austria (geizhals.at), Germany (geizhals.de), and the broader EU (geizhals.eu).

The platform's core technology consists of real-time price tracking with 30-day price history, merchant and offer listing management, normalized product rating systems that combine editorial test reviews with user feedback, and detailed product filtering. Distribution is digital-first and self-service: users search organically, browse independently, and click through to merchant sites. Mobile applications extend the platform to iOS, Android, and Huawei AppGallery, while an active community forum (over 8.15 million posts) and a blog support retention and content marketing.

Revenue is generated through merchant-facing advertising ("Werbung schalten") and featured product placements within comparison results. Pricing for merchants is not publicly disclosed; the platform is free for end consumers. Traffic acquisition combines organic SEO, content marketing via the blog and forum, and referral partnerships with German-language tech media outlets including heise online, ComputerBase, PCGH, WinFuture, and Golem.de. The company is privately held under an Aktiengesellschaft structure and has operated continuously for nearly three decades with no disclosed ownership changes, funding rounds, or M&A activity.

Name

Skinflint

Legal name

Preisvergleich Internet Services AG

Website

https://skinflint.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1997

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Geizhals (operated by Skinflint) is an Austria-founded price and product comparison portal serving DACH consumers across 14+ categories, aggregating data from nearly 400,000 merchants and over 3.7 million products via web and mobile apps.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Price Comparison Platform

akta.pro primary industry

Price Comparison/Aggregator Generalist Marketplaces (CRAFAAAI)

Keywords

• Price comparison platform
• Product comparison portal
• Online shopping comparison
• Price tracking service
• Merchant listing platform

Headquarters

HQ city

Penryn

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Advertising Revenue: Merchant advertising placements on the platform. The website explicitly mentions 'Werbung schalten' (advertising) as a service for merchants and businesses.
2. Featured Product Listings: Featured product placements and enhanced visibility for merchants within the comparison results

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Skinflint (branded as Geizhals) operates an independent price and product comparison portal that aggregates listings from approximately 395,767 active merchants across 3.7 million products with 260 million tracked price points. The platform offers consumers free product search, multi-merchant price comparison, price history tracking, wishlists, user reviews, and community discussion. Revenue is generated by selling advertising placements and featured product listings to merchants seeking visibility among price-conscious shoppers in the DACH region.

Product overview

Geizhals is an independent price and product comparison portal operating across the EU (with dedicated sites for Austria at geizhals.at, Germany at geizhals.de, and the broader EU at geizhals.eu). The platform aggregates pricing and product information from approximately 395,767 active merchants and 3,723,808 listed products, providing detailed filters and comparison features to assist users in purchasing decisions. The service covers diverse categories including Hardware (graphics cards, monitors, processors, notebooks, storage, memory), Phones, Video/Photo/TV, Audio/HiFi, Household appliances, Personal care (Drogerie), Sports & Leisure, Hardware store & Garden, Auto & Motorcycle, Toys & Modeling, Games, Software, Films, and Office & School supplies. Additional features include wishlists, merchant reviews, a forum with 8,152,800 posts, and mobile applications for Apple AppStore, Google Play, and Huawei AppGallery.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Geizhals Price Comparison Platform
• Geizhals Mobile Applications

Quantifiable outcome

• 395,767 active merchants trust the platform for product visibility
• +1 more outcomes

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• heise onlineminorGTM or Marketing PartnerTraffic partnership with heise online - a leading German technology news portal. Geizhals links are integrated/redirection from heise online, driving qualified traffic of tech-interested consumers.
• ComputerBaseminorGTM or Marketing PartnerTraffic partnership with ComputerBase - a German tech news and hardware review site. Provides referral traffic from tech-savvy audience interested in price comparisons.
• PCGHminorGTM or Marketing PartnerTraffic partnership with PCGH (PC Games Hardware) - a German hardware-focused publication. Drives hardware enthusiast traffic to the price comparison platform.
• WinFutureminorGTM or Marketing PartnerTraffic partnership with WinFuture - a German technology news site. Provides additional traffic acquisition channel for price-conscious tech users.
• Golem.deminorGTM or Marketing PartnerTraffic partnership with Golem.de - a prominent German technology news portal. Another tech media partner driving relevant audience to the comparison platform.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Google Shopping: Google Shopping is a massive, integrated price comparison and shopping platform embedded in Google Search. It competes with Geizhals for the same organic, comparison-intent user traffic, but operates at vastly broader scale as part of Google's ad ecosystem.
• Check24: Check24 is a leading German comparison platform with broader verticals (insurance, banking, energy, telecom, travel) beyond goods. While it overlaps with Geizhals on consumer products, its primary moat is financial services and lead generation, not goods comparison.
• Verivox: Verivox is a major German price comparison site primarily for energy, insurance, and telecom. It is comparable as a DACH-based comparison platform with merchant/provider advertising, but its vertical focus is services rather than goods.

Direct peers

• Idealo: Idealo is Germany's largest price comparison platform, operating in DACH and several other European markets. It directly competes with Geizhals in the same product category, serving similar price-conscious consumers with the same merchant-advertising revenue model.
• Billiger.de: Billiger.de is a German price comparison portal focused on consumer electronics, household, and general merchandise. It directly competes with Geizhals on the same horizontal categories and the same merchant-paid advertising model.

Regional players

• PriceRunner: PriceRunner is a UK- and Nordic-focused price comparison platform covering consumer goods. It is comparable to Geizhals in product category and merchant advertising model, but operates in a different geographic footprint (UK, Sweden, Denmark, Norway).
• Comparis: Comparis is the leading Swiss price comparison platform for insurance, banking, and telecom. It is comparable to Geizhals as a DACH-adjacent comparison platform with merchant advertising, but its primary verticals are services rather than goods.
• Kelkoo: Kelkoo is a European price comparison and shopping platform active in France, UK, Spain, and other markets. It is comparable to Geizhals through its horizontal goods comparison and merchant-paid advertising model, but it primarily serves non-DACH geographies.
• Twenga: Twenga is a French-based price comparison and shopping platform. It is comparable to Geizhals in product category and merchant-funded model, but focuses on French-speaking markets rather than DACH.

Others

• Idealo (Travel) / Kayak: Kayak is a global travel and meta-search comparison platform. While not a direct competitor in physical goods, it is comparable to Geizhals as a price aggregation/metasearch business with a similar advertising-oriented revenue model and SEO-driven growth strategy.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/skinflint

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 Skinflint