Cosoba

What Cosoba does

COSOBA GmbH is a privately held German software company headquartered in Darmstadt that develops AVA.relax, an integrated Windows-based platform for Ausschreibung, Vergabe und Abrechnung (AVA) — tendering, awarding, and billing — of construction services. The company primarily serves construction professionals across the DACH region, including architects, civil engineers, construction managers, municipal building authorities, engineering and planning offices, and construction experts/appraisers, with a particular focus on compliance with German and Austrian construction standards (VOB, DIN 276, HOAI, GAEB, DATANORM, ÖNORM, XRechnung). Founded with roots going back to 1981 per firmographic records, COSOBA has positioned itself as a specialist in the German AVA market and a pioneer in CAD-AVA bridging and BIM IFC process implementation since the 1990s.

The AVA.relax platform is built on .NET Framework 4.8 with an MS SQL Server 2019 (Express) backend, supporting both 32-bit and 64-bit Windows deployments in client-server and standalone modes. The core platform is sold in three editions — Business, Business-plus, and Professional — and is extended by 15+ modular add-ons covering the full HOAI service phases 1-9, including construction diaries (Bautagebuch) with mobile support, construction schedule management (Bauzeitenmanagement), EKT cost calculation, Zeitwertermittlung time-value determination, DIN 276 cost management, room books, element and component costing (CasCADos), BIM IFC viewer import, document management, and e-invoicing. Native integrations span GAEB 90/2000/XML, DATANORM, DA11, ÖNORM A2063, XRechnung, Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, Outlook 2019+), Microsoft 365/Office 2024, Open BIM ARCHICAD, STLB-Bau, DBD-BauPreise, DBD-KostenElemente, CasCADos FirstInVision, Heinze BauOffice, WEKA sirAdos, and BKI Kostenplaner.

COSOBA generates revenue through a mix of tiered perpetual software licenses (one-time), recurring maintenance and support subscriptions, training and consulting services, and one-time sales of VOB/DIN-compliant tendering text catalogs. The Business-Edition starts at €1,263 (excluding VAT, annual billing cadence), with the Professional edition and modular add-ons priced higher; a free, full-featured trial is available for direct download from the company website. Go-to-market combines consultative direct sales (phone, email, online meetings) for enterprise and professional customers with product-led self-service evaluation via the free trial, with distribution limited to the company's own website and targeted at the German-speaking construction software niche.

Name

Cosoba

Legal name

COSOBA GmbH

Website

https://cosoba.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1981

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

COSOBA GmbH is a Darmstadt-based German software company that develops AVA.relax, a Windows-based AVA platform for construction tendering, awarding, and billing. It serves architects, engineers, municipal authorities, and planning offices primarily across Germany and the DACH region.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Construction Cost Management Software

NAICS

Software Publishers (5132)

SIC

Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)

akta.pro primary industry

Contract Lifecycle Management (CLM) & Document Generation/Templating (HDAEAGAL)

akta.pro secondary industry

Building Information Modeling (BIM) & Digital Design Services (BPAHAKAK)

Keywords

• Construction tendering software
• AVA cost management
• BIM IFC integration
• Construction billing software
• DIN 276 cost planning

Headquarters

HQ city

Darmstadt

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Software Licenses: Perpetual software licenses for AVA.relax with tiered editions (Business, Business-plus, Professional). Additional revenue from individual program modules that can be purchased separately regardless of chosen edition.
2. Software Maintenance and Support: Ongoing software support, updates, and maintenance services implied by the licensing structure and remote support offerings (TeamViewer-based support).
3. Training and Consulting: Professional services including training courses, seminars, and individual consulting for AVA software implementation and construction industry workflows.
4. Tendering Text Catalogs: Sale of VOB and DIN compliant tendering texts including STLB-Bau, DBD-BauPreise, DBD-KostenElemente, Heinze BauOffice, and WEKA sirAdos catalogs.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

COSOBA develops and sells AVA.relax, a Windows-based AVA (Ausschreibung, Vergabe, Abrechnung – tendering, awarding, billing) software platform for the construction industry, used by architects, civil engineers, construction managers, and building authorities to create construction tenders, perform cost calculations, manage BIM/CAD data, and handle billing workflows. The company also distributes standardized German VOB/DIN-compliant tendering text catalogs (STLB-Bau, DBD-BauPreise, Heinze BauOffice, WEKA sirAdos) and offers CAD/BIM software integrations (BIM IFC Viewer, CasCADos FirstInVision, Open BIM ARCHICAD) as separate product lines.

Product overview

COSOBA is a German construction software company offering AVA.relax, a unified AVA (Ausschreibung, Vergabe, Abrechnung) platform for construction tendering, cost management, and billing. The product architecture consists of a core AVA.relax platform available in Business, Business-plus, and Professional editions, supplemented by 14+ expandable modules covering bidding programs, cost calculation (EKT), time value determination, construction diaries, document management, DIN 276 cost management, room books, element-based costing, component calculation (CasCADos), BIM IFC import, construction scheduling, and e-invoicing (XRechnung). Additional product categories include Ausschreibungstexte (tendering text products with STLB-Bau, DBD-BauPreise, DBD-KostenElemente, and third-party integrations like Heinze BauOffice and WEKA sirAdos) and CAD BIM Software (including BIM IFC Viewer, CasCADos FirstInVision, DBD-BIM, and Open BIM ARCHICAD integration). The modules cover all HOAI (Honorarordnung für Architekten und Ingenieure) service phases 1-9.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• AVA.relax: Main AVA software product for Ausschreibung, Vergabe und Abrechnung (tendering, award and billing) of construction services, including Bau- und Kostenmanagement (construction and cost management).

Products and services

• AVA.relax

Quantifiable outcome

• Time values can be determined for entire tender documents, individual trades, or down to individual positions

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration22 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• STLB-BaucoreTechnology or IntegrationIntegration partnership for STLB-Bau tender text standard, enabling direct import and use of standardized German construction tender texts within AVA.relax.
• DBD-BauPreise / DBD-KostenElementecoreTechnology or IntegrationPartnership with DBD (Datenbank Baupreise) providing cost elements and building price databases integrated into the AVA software for accurate cost planning.
• CasCADos FirstInVisioncoreTechnology or IntegrationIntegration partnership for CasCADos FirstInVision component calculation software, enabling building component-based cost estimation.
• Open BIM ARCHICADcoreTechnology or IntegrationPartnership with Graphisoft for Open BIM ARCHICAD integration, enabling bidirectional data exchange between CAD models and AVA tendering software.
• MicrosoftcoreTechnology or IntegrationDeep integration with Microsoft Office products including Word, Excel, and Outlook for document creation, data analysis, and address synchronization. Supports Microsoft 365, Office 2024, 2021, and 2019.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Nevaris GmbH (Nemetschek Group): Nevaris is the Nemetschek Group's construction ERP and AVA brand for the DACH market, offering commercial and operational construction software alongside the group's other AEC tools. It is a broader incumbent competitor with deep pockets and a multi-product portfolio overlapping COSOBA's AVA workflow.
• Trimble Inc. Trimble owns Viewpoint, Tekla, and other AEC and construction-ERP brands serving contractors and project owners globally. As an incumbent with cloud-first delivery and integrated estimating, it represents the type of platform competitor that could pressure small AVA specialists like COSOBA in mid-market and enterprise accounts.
• Autodesk, Inc. Autodesk provides a broad AEC software portfolio (Revit, AutoCAD, BIM 360/Construction Cloud, Assemble, ProEst) that competes for the same construction cost-estimation and BIM-modeling dollars as COSOBA, particularly with multinational planning and contractor customers. It is a much larger incumbent with no specialization in German VOB/DIN tendering.
• Sage Group plc: Sage provides accounting, ERP, and construction-specific software (Sage 100 Contractor, Sage 300 Construction) used by small and mid-sized construction firms. While broader than COSOBA's AVA specialization, Sage is a relevant incumbent for customers evaluating construction cost and project management tools end-to-end.
• Allplan GmbH (Nemetschek Group): Allplan is a Nemetschek-owned CAD/BIM authoring platform widely used by German planners and engineers, and an indirect competitor on the model-based tendering workflow COSOBA supports via its BIM IFC integration. It competes more broadly as part of Nemetschek's AEC suite rather than as a standalone AVA product.

Others

• Graphisoft SE (Nemetschek Group): Graphisoft makes ARCHICAD, the BIM/CAD platform explicitly named in COSOBA's integration partnerships (Open BIM ARCHICAD). While not a direct AVA competitor, ARCHICAD is the upstream design tool feeding model-based tenders into AVA.relax, making Graphisoft an ecosystem peer whose product roadmap directly affects COSOBA's BIM IFC value proposition.

Direct peers

• California Software GmbH: California Software produces California.pro, a German AVA/construction cost-management suite widely used by building authorities, planners, and contractors in Germany and Austria. It is a directly comparable vertical specialist in the same German AVA niche as COSOBA's AVA.relax.
• Sommer Informatik GmbH: Sommer Informatik is a longstanding German vendor of AVA software used by architects and engineering offices for VOB/DIN-compliant tendering, awarding, and billing. It targets the same German-speaking construction-software customer base as COSOBA with overlapping feature sets including GAEB/DATANORM support.
• RIB Software (RIB MTWO): RIB Software is the leading German AVA and construction platform vendor (now owned by Schneider Electric), selling RIB MTWO/iTWO to German contractors, planning offices, and municipal clients. It competes head-to-head with COSOBA in tendering, awarding, and billing software for the DACH construction market.
• Dr. Schiller & Partner GmbH (BRZ Software): Dr. Schiller & Partner / BRZ Software is a major German provider of AVA and ERP solutions (BRZ) for the construction industry, serving contractors, building authorities, and planners. It overlaps with COSOBA on tendering, awarding, billing, and construction cost management for DACH customers.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cosoba-gmbh

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 Cosoba