Woltlab
WoltLab GmbH develops WoltLab Suite, a GDPR-compliant German forum and community platform with integrated CMS, gallery, calendar, database, and filebase modules. It serves over 5,000 communities worldwide, from hobby clubs to enterprises like Siemens, Deutsche Bahn, and Gameforge.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2001
- HeadquartersPotsdam, Germany
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What Woltlab does
WoltLab GmbH is a privately held German software company founded in 2001 and headquartered in Düsseldorf (with operational roots referenced in Potsdam), operating under Managing Director Marcel Werk. It develops and sells WoltLab Suite, a PHP-based community and forum platform built on a LAMP/LEMP stack, offered as both a managed cloud SaaS (WoltLab Cloud, hosted in German data centers) and a self-hosted perpetual license. The product is modular, bundling Forum, Gallery, Calendar, Database, Filebase, and Blog apps from a single vendor, with GDPR-compliant design, WebAuthn, LDAP/SAML SSO, and built-in importers for more than ten competing platforms. A curated Plugin-Store adds a third-party extension ecosystem in which WoltLab retains a 25% commission.
The company's revenue model is hybrid: recurring cloud subscriptions (€35.95/month Cloud Starter, €71.95/month Cloud Professional, both with a 14-day free trial), one-time self-hosted licenses from €129.99, marketplace commissions from the Plugin-Store, and on-request migration consulting services. Go-to-market is primarily self-serve product-led growth with a 14-day free trial and online sign-up, supplemented by direct enterprise sales targeting large organizations and public authorities, and a reseller/developer channel through the Plugin-Store. WoltLab reports 5,000+ communities worldwide across use cases including customer support, internal/association communication, brand communities, and gaming/fan communities, and cites enterprise users such as Siemens, Deutsche Bahn, Gameforge, Hetzner, Brother, Tipico, and Travian Games. The company is bootstrapped (no funding rounds disclosed), employs 11-50 people, and is registered in Düsseldorf, Germany (HRB 112223).
Woltlab firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Woltlab
- Legal name
- WoltLab GmbH
- Website
- https://woltlab.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2001
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- WoltLab GmbH develops WoltLab Suite, a GDPR-compliant German forum and community platform with integrated CMS, gallery, calendar, database, and filebase modules. It serves over 5,000 communities worldwide, from hobby clubs to enterprises like Siemens, Deutsche Bahn, and Gameforge.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Woltlab industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Community Forum Software
- NAICS
- Software Publishers (5132), Custom Computer Programming Services (541511), Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (51821)
- SIC
- Services-Prepackaged Software (7372), Services-Computer Programming Services (7371)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Community/Group Chat Platforms (BPAMACAH)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Low-Code/No-Code Application Platforms (HDAEAKAA)
Keywords
Where Woltlab is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Potsdam
- HQ country
- Germany
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Woltlab business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Operations
Revenue model
- Cloud Hosting Subscription: WoltLab Cloud provides managed hosting with plans starting at €35.95/month (Cloud Starter) and €71.95/month (Cloud Professional). Includes hosting, maintenance, SSL, daily backups, and live updates. Monthly billing with 3-month minimum contract.
- Self-Hosted Software License: One-time perpetual license purchase starting from €129.99. Customer hosts on their own infrastructure. Includes first year of updates; subsequent updates require separate agreement.
- Plugin Store Marketplace Commission: Third-party developers sell plugins and styles through WoltLab's Plugin-Store. WoltLab retains 25% commission on net sales. Sellers receive 75% of net price. Minimum payout is €30 monthly.
- Rental/Managed Software Agreement: For rental of WoltLab Suite including all apps, with annual billing. Minimum 12-month contract with annual renewal.
- Professional Services: Migration consulting services for data transfer from competing platforms. On request, the WoltLab team handles entire migration including redirects for existing links.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Monthly | Cloud Starter - Entry-level hosted forum |
| Subscription | Monthly | Cloud Professional - Growing communities |
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | Self-Hosted License - Operate on own server |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels5 records
Marketing channels7 records
Woltlab product offering
Product offeringCore offering
WoltLab develops and sells WoltLab Suite, a modular PHP-based forum and community platform that bundles a core Forum with five integrated apps (Gallery, Calendar, Database, Filebase, Blog). The software is sold either as WoltLab Cloud (managed hosting in German data centers on a monthly subscription) or as a Self-Hosted perpetual license, and is complemented by a Plugin-Store marketplace where third-party developers sell extensions, plus professional migration services for customers switching from competing forum platforms.
Product overview
WoltLab offers a unified community software platform centered around WoltLab Suite, which functions as a modular ecosystem combining a core forum product with integrated applications. The platform architecture includes WoltLab Suite Forum as the foundation, supplemented by five additional apps—Gallery, Calendar, Database, Filebase, and Blog—all developed by the same team for consistent integration. The product is available through two deployment models: WoltLab Cloud (managed EU-hosted service with subscription pricing) or Self-Hosted License (one-time purchase for own infrastructure). A Plugin-Store provides third-party extensions and styles. The software is developed in Germany since 2001, emphasizing GDPR compliance, European data residency, and direct vendor support.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- WoltLab Suite Premium forum and community software platform for brands, businesses, and communities. Bundles a core forum with integrated Gallery, Calendar, Database, Filebase, and Blog apps, delivered either as WoltLab Cloud managed hosting or as a self-hosted license.
- WoltLab Cloud Managed cloud hosting service for WoltLab Suite, hosted in German data centers. Includes hosting, SSL, daily backups, maintenance, and live updates on monthly subscription plans (Cloud Starter from €35.95/month, Cloud Professional from €71.95/month) with 99% monthly server availability SLA.
- Self-Hosted License One-time perpetual software license for self-hosting WoltLab Suite on the customer's own infrastructure. Open-source and customizable, with no ongoing subscription fees; subsequent update agreements are sold separately.
- Plugin-Store Curated third-party marketplace for plugins and styles that extend WoltLab Suite. WoltLab reviews all submissions for quality and security before publication and earns a 25% commission on each sale, with a €30 minimum monthly payout to sellers.
- Migration Consulting Services Professional services in which the WoltLab team handles the end-to-end switch from competing forum platforms to WoltLab Suite, including data import, link redirects, and post-migration premium support.
Quantifiable outcome
- 99% server availability SLA (monthly average)
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Woltlab
Customer profileNamed customers7 records
Segments6 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Woltlab technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration16 records
Feature11 records
Woltlab partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- 23M GmbHcoreCloud hosting infrastructure provider for WoltLab Cloud. The software is hosted and operated on servers of 23M GmbH, which is contractually associated with WoltLab. This is a critical operational partnership enabling the managed cloud offering.
Scale indicators8 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Woltlab competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Discourse: Discourse is the leading modern open-source community/forum platform, serving the same SMB and enterprise use cases (customer support communities, brand communities, internal discussion) as WoltLab. It is the most direct head-to-head competitor, with a comparable migration story and similar self-hosted/Cloud offering.
- phpBB: phpBB is one of the largest open-source bulletin board packages, serving hobbyist and small-community users that overlap with WoltLab's SMB segment. As a free alternative it pressures the low end of WoltLab's pricing and is a supported source for WoltLab's migration tool.
- XenForo: XenForo is a commercial forum software platform sold via perpetual license with add-ons, directly overlapping WoltLab's self-hosted license model and gaming/community customer base. WoltLab's own import tooling explicitly supports XenForo migrations, underscoring the head-to-head positioning.
- Invision Community: Invision Community is a paid forum and community suite targeting brand and customer communities. It competes directly with WoltLab Suite's integrated Forum + Gallery + add-on model, and is explicitly listed as a supported source in WoltLab's built-in migration importer.
- Vanilla Forums: Vanilla Forums is a customer community platform with cloud and self-hosted offerings, competing with WoltLab for enterprise customer support and brand community deployments. Its SaaS-centric model is a closer match to WoltLab Cloud than to the self-hosted license product.
- vBulletin: vBulletin is a long-established commercial forum platform that historically dominated the same enterprise and gaming community segments WoltLab serves. WoltLab's built-in import tool supports vBulletin migrations, confirming direct competitive overlap.
- MyBB: MyBB is a free, open-source forum software package serving the same small-to-mid community operator segment as WoltLab's self-hosted license. It is also a supported source for WoltLab's migration importer.
Broad incumbents
- Mighty Networks: Mighty Networks is a broader community platform with built-in courses, content, and events, targeting brand and creator communities. It overlaps with WoltLab's brand community use case but is positioned as a higher-level solution and does not focus on traditional forum UX.
Emerging players
- NodeBB: NodeBB is a Node.js-based modern forum software with real-time features. It competes with WoltLab for technically savvy community operators who want a contemporary stack, particularly in the gaming and developer community segments.
- Flarum: Flarum is a modern, lightweight open-source forum platform built with PHP and a JavaScript front-end. It targets the same SMB and hobbyist community segment as WoltLab's self-hosted license and represents the next-generation PHP-based challenger to WoltLab's technology stack.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Woltlab social profiles
Digital presenceWoltlab compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance2 records
Woltlab financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Woltlab leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Woltlab funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Woltlab 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 Woltlab
What does Woltlab do?
WoltLab develops and sells WoltLab Suite, a modular PHP-based forum and community platform that bundles a core Forum with five integrated apps (Gallery, Calendar, Database, Filebase, Blog). The software is sold either as WoltLab Cloud (managed hosting in German data centers on a monthly subscription) or as a Self-Hosted perpetual license, and is complemented by a Plugin-Store marketplace where third-party developers sell extensions, plus professional migration services for customers switching from competing forum platforms.
Is Woltlab a public or private company?
Woltlab is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Woltlab founded?
Woltlab was founded in 2001. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Woltlab based?
Woltlab is headquartered in Potsdam, Germany, in the Europe region.
How does Woltlab make money?
Five revenue lines are on record. Cloud Hosting Subscription is the primary driver. The others are self-Hosted Software License, plugin Store Marketplace Commission, rental/Managed Software Agreement and professional Services.
Who are Woltlab's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Discourse, phpBB, XenForo, Invision Community, Vanilla Forums, vBulletin and MyBB. Mighty Networks is listed as a broad incumbent. Emerging players are NodeBB and Flarum.
Does Woltlab have an API?
Yes. WoltLab provides an API framework for plugin development. The plugin development guidelines reference the use of existing APIs such as Guzzle for HTTP requests, which are used by plugins to perform outbound connections. The company offers developer documentation and a Plugin-Store for third-party extensions.
What industry is Woltlab in?
Woltlab's product category is Community Forum Software. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAMACAH, Community/Group Chat Platforms, with a secondary code of HDAEAKAA, Low-Code/No-Code Application Platforms. Its NAICS code is 5132 and its SIC code is 7372.