Sciencestarter
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2009
- HeadquartersBerlin, Germany
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingSoftware
What Sciencestarter does
SciStarter (The SciStarter Foundation) is a 501c3 nonprofit operating a citizen science aggregation platform headquartered in Philadelphia, PA, with an operational partnership at Arizona State University in Tempe, AZ. The platform connects members of the public with more than 3,000 searchable research projects, events, and tools spanning astronomy, biology, ecology, health, climate, and other disciplines, and supports project leaders with volunteer recruitment, retention, and analytics tooling. Core products include the Project Finder database, a personalized Dashboard for contribution tracking and badge accrual, embeddable Widgets, an open API with Affiliate Tools for cross-platform integration, themed Partner Gateways (NASA, Girl Scouts, National Geographic, libraries, and others), and programs such as the Ambassador network, Libraries as Hubs, and the annual Citizen Science Month campaign. The organization's reach is demonstrated by 450,918 volunteers from 140 countries contributing 4.73 million Acts of Science across 950+ projects during Citizen Science Month 2026.
Sciencestarter firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Sciencestarter
- Legal name
- The SciStarter Foundation
- Website
- https://scistarter.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2009
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Sciencestarter industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Citizen Science Platform
- NAICS
- Web Search Portals, Libraries, Archives, and Other Information Services (519), Web Search Portals, Libraries, Archives, and Other Information Services (5192)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Q&A and Knowledge Discovery Platforms (BPAMAAAF)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Research & Science Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAI), Science Camps & Field Programs (Nature, Space, Marine, Geology) (EDAMABAB)
Keywords
Where Sciencestarter is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Berlin
- HQ country
- Germany
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices2 records
Markets served
Sciencestarter business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Software
Revenue model
- Donations: SciStarter is a 501c3 nonprofit organization. The primary revenue model is donations from individuals and organizations. Donations are tax deductible.
- Foundation and Government Grants: SciStarter receives support from foundations and government agencies including the National Science Foundation (grant DRL-1516703), Burroughs Wellcome Fund, Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, The Simons Foundation, and others.
- Platform Usage Fees: There is no charge to join SciStarter or participate in projects (unless project owners choose to charge). SciStarter may charge third parties including advertisers, sponsors, and retailers for visibility.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Monthly | Free platform access for all users |
| Other | Multi-year contract | Third-party advertising and sponsorship |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels5 records
Marketing channels9 records
Sciencestarter product offering
Product offeringCore offering
SciStarter operates a free online platform that aggregates and connects the public with over 3,000 citizen science projects, events, and tools across all scientific disciplines. The platform provides a searchable Project Finder database, a personalized Dashboard for tracking volunteer contributions, and Affiliate Tools with open APIs that allow project leaders to embed SciStarter functionality on their own websites. The platform is operated by The SciStarter Foundation, a 501c3 nonprofit, and supports volunteer participation in real scientific research through partner programs with libraries, museums, NASA, Girl Scouts, and academic institutions.
Product overview
SciStarter is a citizen science aggregation platform connecting the public with over 3,000 research projects, events, and tools. The core product is the Project Finder database, which pairs with a personalized Dashboard for tracking contributions and earning badges. The platform offers Partner Gateways (themed collections with NASA, National Geographic, Girl Scouts, libraries, and others), an Ambassador Program for community facilitators, and programs like Citizen Science Month and Libraries as Hubs. Technical infrastructure includes an API with Affiliate Tools for external project integration, embeddable Widgets, and a Calendar system. The platform supports research through its Data Portal and Research Program, with content distributed via Podcast and SciStarter LIVE webinars.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- SciStarter Project Finder A searchable database of over 3,000 citizen science projects, events, and tools allowing users to find and join research projects matching their interests, topic, and location. Free for all users.
- SciStarter Dashboard Personalized user dashboard for tracking contributions across multiple projects, managing bookmarks, networking with other citizen scientists, and earning badges.
- SciStarter Affiliate Tools Digital tools and open API enabling project leaders to plug-and-play SciStarter functionality into their own websites or apps, allowing citizen scientists to discover, join, and track participation across multiple projects and platforms.
- SciStarter Ambassador Program Training and certification program for individuals who help promote and facilitate citizen science in their communities, libraries, and institutions.
- Libraries as Hubs for Citizen Science Partnership program with libraries to serve as community centers for citizen science activities, including project kits, programming resources, and training materials.
- Citizen Science Month Annual global initiative (April) celebrating citizen science with events, webinars, and participation challenges, coordinating volunteer engagement with libraries, museums, and partner organizations.
Quantifiable outcome
- 4.73 million Acts of Science contributed in one month (April 2026)
- +4 more outcomes
Companies that use Sciencestarter
Customer profileNamed customers7 records
Segments6 records
Sciencestarter technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration1 record
AI capability2 records
Feature4 records
Sciencestarter partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
15 partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and supporting.
- Microsoft ResearchcoreMicrosoft Research provided Azure cloud infrastructure for Stall Catchers Megathon event. MSR Outreach partnered with Human Computation Institute and SciStarter for technical coordination, load testing, and hosting. AI for Good initiative supporting Alzheimer\'s research through crowdsourcing.
- Human Computation InstitutecoreDeveloped Stall Catchers, a crowdsourced citizen science game for Alzheimer\'s research. SciStarter partnered to recruit and coordinate 450,000+ volunteers for the Megathon event that achieved 3.5 months of lab-equivalent research in one weekend.
- Museum of Science, BostonmajorMuseum received $500,000 NOAA Environmental Literacy grant for Citizen Science, Civics, and Resilient Communities project partnering with ASU, Northeastern University, and SciStarter. Project will engage 28 science centers in climate resilience education.
- North Carolina State University (NCSU)coreResearchers from NCSU use SciStarter to study patterns of engagement and science learning outcomes among citizen science participants. Hosted practitioner workshop for deploying Affiliate Tools.
- Cornell UniversitycoreCornell researchers examine SciStarter\'s project outcomes and citizen science engagement patterns. Partner on EyesOnAlz Stall Catchers project.
- Harvard UniversitycoreHarvard researchers improving AI-powered recommender algorithms on SciStarter platform, enhancing project discovery and volunteer matching.
- NASAcoreNASA has dedicated partner gateway on SciStarter with multiple citizen science projects including GLOBE Observer, NASA LIVE, and others. SciStarter promotes NASA citizen science opportunities through dedicated channels and events.
- Girl Scouts of the USAcoreSciStarter has dedicated Girl Scouts gateway and partnership. Scouts can earn badges through citizen science participation. SciStarter provides tools for troop leaders to track progress.
- National Geographic SocietycoreNational Geographic partner gateway on SciStarter. Joint events such as BioBlitz with National Park Service. SciStarter blog syndicated to Discover Magazine.
- BSCS Science LearningsupportingHosted Designing Citizen Science for Both Science and Education workshop in 2017. Published report on georeferenced field studies design strategies.
- National Network of Libraries of Medicine (NNLM)coreNNLM Pacific Southwest Region supported Stall Catchers Megathon planning, activating public libraries as hubs for citizen science and Alzheimer\'s research awareness.
- International Dark Sky AssociationsupportingPartner gateway on SciStarter promoting dark sky conservation citizen science projects such as Globe at Night.
- VerizonsupportingVerizon Volunteers partner gateway enabling Verizon employees to participate in corporate volunteer citizen science programs.
- NanosatisfisupportingPartnership to launch ArduSat open-source satellite project, allowing citizen scientists to design and run experiments on actual space satellites.
- Science CheerleadersupportingScience Cheerleader is a sister organization founded by SciStarter\'s Darlene Cavalier, promoting science literacy through current and former NFL/NBA cheerleaders who are scientists and engineers.
Scale indicators8 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Sciencestarter competitors and assessment
Company assessmentOthers
- Public Library of Science (PLoS): Open-access scientific publisher that syndicates SciStarter's blog content through its Citizen Science channel. PLoS is an adjacent content/distribution partner rather than a direct competitor, but both organizations share a mission of public science engagement.
- Citizen Science Association: Professional membership organization for the citizen science field, connecting researchers, practitioners, and project leaders. It is a thematically adjacent ecosystem participant rather than a direct competitor, but influences funding and policy that affect SciStarter's operating environment.
Direct peers
- Zooniverse: Zooniverse is the largest individual online citizen science platform, enabling volunteers to participate in research across dozens of projects. It directly overlaps with SciStarter's project discovery and volunteer coordination function, and is the most cited alternative for researchers choosing a hosting platform.
- Foldit: University of Washington's crowdsourced protein-folding game that engages volunteers in scientific research. Foldit is a direct peer in the crowdsourced/volunteer-driven research model and shares the same user-engagement paradigm as SciStarter's Stall Catchers project.
- eBird: Cornell Lab of Ornithology's bird observation citizen science platform with hundreds of millions of observations. eBird is a direct peer in the citizen science aggregator/engagement category and shares an institutional research relationship with SciStarter through Cornell.
- iNaturalist: Joint initiative of the California Academy of Sciences and National Geographic Society, iNaturalist is a leading biodiversity-focused citizen science platform with millions of users. It is a directly comparable peer for nature-related projects and shares a significant overlap in audience with SciStarter volunteers.
- CitizenScience.gov: U.S. federal government's official citizen science catalog maintained by the General Services Administration. It directly competes with SciStarter as a discovery layer for federally-supported citizen science projects, particularly those funded by NASA and NOAA.
Emerging players
- Stall Catchers (Human Computation Institute): An Alzheimer's research crowdsourcing platform developed by the Human Computation Institute. It is a direct SciStarter partner on the Megathon and represents a category of single-purpose citizen science projects that compete for volunteer attention on SciStarter's own platform.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Sciencestarter social profiles
Digital presenceSciencestarter compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance2 records
Sciencestarter financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Sciencestarter leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Sciencestarter funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Sciencestarter 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 Sciencestarter
What does Sciencestarter do?
SciStarter operates a free online platform that aggregates and connects the public with over 3,000 citizen science projects, events, and tools across all scientific disciplines. The platform provides a searchable Project Finder database, a personalized Dashboard for tracking volunteer contributions, and Affiliate Tools with open APIs that allow project leaders to embed SciStarter functionality on their own websites. The platform is operated by The SciStarter Foundation, a 501c3 nonprofit, and supports volunteer participation in real scientific research through partner programs with libraries, museums, NASA, Girl Scouts, and academic institutions.
Is Sciencestarter a public or private company?
Sciencestarter is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Sciencestarter founded?
Sciencestarter was founded in 2009. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Sciencestarter based?
Sciencestarter is headquartered in Berlin, Germany, in the Europe region.
How does Sciencestarter make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Donations are the primary driver. The others are foundation and Government Grants and platform Usage Fees.
Who are Sciencestarter's main competitors?
Others on record are Public Library of Science (PLoS) and Citizen Science Association. Direct peers are Zooniverse, Foldit, eBird, iNaturalist and CitizenScience.gov. Stall Catchers (Human Computation Institute) is listed as an emerging player.
Does Sciencestarter have an API?
Yes. SciStarter provides an API for project creators and partners to integrate citizen science functionality. The Affiliate Tools API enables projects registered on SciStarter to plug-and-play with external websites or apps, allowing citizen scientists to discover, join, and track participation in projects across platforms. Researchers from universities including North Carolina State University, Cornell, Harvard, and Arizona State University use this API to study engagement patterns, science learning outcomes, and develop AI-powered recommender algorithms. The API also enables tracking of participation across multiple projects and platforms. Developer documentation is at scistarter.org/api.
What industry is Sciencestarter in?
Sciencestarter's product category is Citizen Science Platform. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAMAAAF, Q&A and Knowledge Discovery Platforms, with a secondary code of BPAGAKAI, Research & Science Grantmaking Foundations. Its NAICS code is 519.