What Zerocopy does

Zerocopy is a Belgian two-sided marketplace operated by Zerocopy BV (Kantersteen 10, Brussels, VAT 0846.192.267) that subsidizes student printing through targeted advertising. The company serves Belgian university students with a free daily printing service — 50 pages per day for students who complete a profile — accessible either at partner copy shops across Belgium for black-and-white printing or via Bpost home delivery for full-color output. The underlying platform is a web-based document upload and print management system supporting PDF, DOC, and DOCX files up to 20MB, with profile-driven ad matching that connects student fields of study, demographics, and preferences to advertiser campaigns.

The advertiser side monetizes this student base through a suite of media channels: print advertising embedded directly in study materials (the company's flagship channel), online billboard placement on the platform, email marketing, market research surveys, on-campus field marketing, and direct mailing. These are packaged into three campaign types — Consumer Goods, Employer Branding, and Sensibilisation — and have attracted 40+ partners including VUB, Odoo, Vlaamse Overheid, Disney, Red Bull, Lidl, Proximus, ING, and NMBS. A paid Premium tier (€0.05 per full-color page plus €1.50 delivery, capped at 120 pages per delivery) and microtransaction extras (3-4 cents per page beyond the free daily allowance) provide secondary revenue streams.

The company operates with a lean team of 1-10 employees, serves a community of over 100,000 Belgian students, and reports triple-digit growth (+100% year-over-year). Its infrastructure relies on standard third-party tooling (DigitalOcean hosting, Dropbox for file storage, Mailchimp/Sendgrid/Mailgun for email, Freshdesk for support, Mixpanel for analytics) rather than proprietary AI/ML systems. The business is founder-controlled under CEO Maxime Carpentier with no disclosed venture capital or private equity backing, and operates exclusively within Belgium across the Brussels, Flanders, and Wallonia regions.

Name

Zerocopy

Legal name

Zerocopy BV

Website

https://zerocopy.be

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Zerocopy is a Belgian two-sided marketplace that funds free course printing for over 100,000 university students through targeted advertising embedded in printed study materials, while offering advertisers access to a captive 18-25 demographic via print, online, email, and on-campus channels.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Brussels

HQ country

Belgium

HQ region

Europe

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Advertising/Sponsorship: Companies and organizations sponsor student printing in exchange for targeted advertising placement in study materials and digital channels. Advertisers pay to reach the student community based on profiles (e.g., engineering student from Leuven). Revenue based on campaign duration, target group specificity, and campaign type.
2. Premium Delivery Service: Zerocopy Premium offers unlimited ad-free deliveries in full color at €0.05 per page plus €1.50 delivery. Limited to 120 pages per delivery. Delivered within 5 business days.
3. Extra Page Printing: Beyond the 50 free daily pages, students pay 3-4 cents per additional page for printing at copy shops.
4. Market Research Services: Tailored surveys conducted on the Zerocopy platform help advertisers gather feedback on campaigns, products, and student experience.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Zerocopy is a Belgian ed-tech platform that gives Belgian university students free or low-cost printing of course materials—50 free pages daily at partner copy shops (B&W) or full-color home delivery via Bpost—fully subsidized by targeted advertising embedded in printed study materials. The company also operates a paid Zerocopy Premium tier for ad-free full-color delivery, and offers advertisers a media suite (print ads in study materials, online billboards, email marketing, market research surveys, field marketing, and direct mailing) to reach the 100,000+ Belgian student community based on rich profile data including study field, demographics, and preferences.

Product overview

Zerocopy is a Belgian ed-tech platform operating a two-sided marketplace connecting students who need affordable course printing with advertisers seeking to reach the 18-25 demographic. The core student-facing product is a free daily printing service (50 pages/day) subsidized by targeted in-print advertising, supplemented by paid delivery and premium tiers. For advertisers, Zerocopy offers a suite of media channels including print advertising in study materials, online billboard placement, email marketing, market research surveys, field marketing, and direct mailing—all targeting Belgian students based on their rich profile data (field of study, demographics, preferences). The advertising services are organized into three campaign types: Consumer Goods, Employer Branding, and Sensibilisation.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Zerocopy Premium: A premium service offering ad-free full colour pages delivered to students' homes at €0.05 per page with €1.50 fixed delivery cost.

Products and services

• Zerocopy Free Printing Core free student printing service offering 50 free pages per day per student who has completed a profile, fulfilled through partner copy shops (black and white) or full-color home delivery via Bpost, fully subsidized by targeted advertising embedded in printed study materials. Additional pages are available at 3-4 cents per page.
• Zerocopy Premium Paid premium tier offering unlimited ad-free full-color home deliveries of printed documents via Bpost within 5 business days across Belgium, priced at €0.05 per full-color page plus a €1.50 fixed delivery fee per shipment.
• Zerocopy Delivery Service Home delivery of printed student documents via Bpost national postal service anywhere in Belgium, with full-color printing, average 5 business day delivery time, and variable delivery fees by package size.
• Zerocopy Copy Shop Printing In-store B&W printing at partnered Zerocopy copy shops across Belgium, where students log in on a Zerocopy computer or touchscreen printer, select uploaded documents, and print immediately, free up to 50 pages per day.
• Print Advertising Targeted advertisements seamlessly integrated into printed study course materials distributed to 100,000+ Belgian students, leveraging the high engagement students have with paper-based study materials compared to digital alternatives (151% more visual fixation than student magazines in VUB eye-tracking research).
• Online Advertising Targeted online billboard advertising placement within the Zerocopy platform where students create accounts and upload documents, featuring strategic ad placement with targeting capabilities for higher click-through rates.
• Email Marketing Direct email marketing campaigns sent to students based on study field, demographics, and other profile features for promoting products, career opportunities, and driving campaign conversions.
• Market Research Tailored surveys conducted on the Zerocopy platform enabling advertisers to gather student feedback on campaigns, products, and overall student experience, connecting brands directly to the student demographic for actionable insights.
• Field Marketing On-campus marketing activities bringing advertisers directly to students through experiential activations and physical presence at Belgian universities to engage the student demographic in person.
• Direct Mailing Physical mail delivery service enabling advertisers to reach Belgian students at their home addresses with promotional content and offers as part of integrated Zerocopy campaigns.

Quantifiable outcome

• Students save €1.5 million on educational budgets
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers9 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

Integration5 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

16 partnerships are on record, tiered core, minor and major.

• VUB (Vrije Universiteit Brussel)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic institution partner that has collaborated on research including eye-tracking studies comparing Zerocopy print advertising effectiveness against student magazines. Provided endorsement for student community building.
• OdoominorOthersSoftware partner supporting Zerocopy operations as listed supporter.
• Vlaamse OverheidcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerOngoing employer branding partnership since 2019 targeting Flemish IT, Law, and Business students. Reached 16,000 young graduates with €25,000+ saved by students.
• BpostcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorNational postal service partner for home delivery of printed documents. Handles all physical deliveries to student addresses across Belgium.
• ING BelgiummajorGTM or Marketing PartnerFinancial services partner advertising to students through the Zerocopy platform.
• NMBS/SNCBmajorGTM or Marketing PartnerNational railway company advertising partner reaching students who use trains for campus commutes.
• De LijnmajorGTM or Marketing PartnerFlemish public transport provider advertising partner reaching students in Flanders.
• ProximusmajorGTM or Marketing PartnerTelecommunications partner advertising to student community.
• LidlmajorGTM or Marketing PartnerRetail partner advertising to students through Zerocopy platform.
• Red BullmajorGTM or Marketing PartnerEnergy drink brand partner advertising to active student demographic.
• DisneymajorGTM or Marketing PartnerEntertainment brand partner advertising to student community.
• VDABmajorGTM or Marketing PartnerFlemish public employment service partner for student job advertising.
• ActirismajorGTM or Marketing PartnerBrussels public employment service partner for student job advertising.
• ForemmajorGTM or Marketing PartnerWalloon public employment service partner for student job advertising.
• Duval UnioncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerProud member of Duval Union network. Participates in joint activities including annual ski trips.
• Partner Copy Shops NetworkcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorNetwork of physical copy shops across Belgium where students can print documents. Students access Zerocopy computers/printers at these locations for B&W printing.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Chegg: Chegg is a large US-listed education services platform offering textbook rentals, study help, and tutoring to college students. It addresses the same pain point Zerocopy does — reducing the cost of educational materials — at much larger scale and with a digital/library model rather than print-subsidized.
• Course Hero: Course Hero is a large US-based study resources platform where students share and access course-specific documents, similar in spirit to Zerocopy's community document library. It competes for the same student study-document workflow but operates at national scale with subscription monetization rather than ad-funded free printing.
• Vistaprint: Vistaprint is a global commercial printing and marketing services platform. It overlaps with Zerocopy's printing infrastructure and its advertiser-facing design/marketing services but targets SMBs broadly rather than the student demographic specifically.

Regional players

• StudyDrive: StudyDrive is a German student network for sharing lecture notes, summaries, and exam materials. Conceptually similar to Zerocopy's document-sharing community, but Germany-focused rather than Belgium-focused, and digital-only rather than printing-enabled.

Direct peers

• UNiDAYS: UNiDAYS is a global student discount and brand-partnership network offering student verification and access to advertiser campaigns. Comparable to Zerocopy's two-sided model — students get value (free printing vs. discounts), brands get verified student reach (targeted ads vs. offers) — at significantly larger scale.
• Studocu: Studocu is a global platform where university students share and access study documents (summaries, lecture notes, past exams). It is the closest digital analogue to Zerocopy's document-sharing and printing workflow, serving the same student demographic with study materials — though purely digital versus Zerocopy's print-plus-advertising model.
• StudeerSnel: StudeerSnel is the leading Dutch/Belgian student platform for sharing summaries, study notes, and exam prep. It overlaps directly with Zerocopy's student document community library (launched 2021) and serves the same Benelux higher-ed demographic with monetizable study content.
• StudentBeans: StudentBeans is a UK-based student verification and marketing platform connecting brands with the 18-25 demographic via discounts, content, and brand campaigns. It mirrors Zerocopy's advertiser-facing model of monetizing student attention for brands (e.g., employer branding, consumer goods campaigns) but with a digital-first rather than print-first channel mix.

Emerging players

• Canva for Education: Canva for Education is a free design and document tool for students and educators, addressing some of the same study-material creation and sharing needs as Zerocopy. It competes for student attention and document workflows but is design-first, digital-only, and broader in scope.
• StudySmarter: StudySmarter is a German learning and study-organization platform serving European university students with summaries, study tools, and exam prep. It addresses the same student document workflow Zerocopy supports (note-taking, printing, sharing) but is software-first rather than print-first.

Market position

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/zerocopy
• Facebookfacebook.com/zerocopy.be

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 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 Zerocopy