Swissguide

What Swissguide does

Swissguide is a Swiss business directory platform operated by swissguide ag, a private Aktiengesellschaft headquartered in Winterthur. The platform catalogs over one million companies and self-employed persons across Switzerland and Liechtenstein, enabling visitor searches by company name, industry, products, and brands, and exporting enriched listing data to general search engines such as Google, Yahoo, and Bing. Technology is delivered through a two-property web architecture — swissguide.ch for consumer-facing discovery and angebot.swissguide.ch for self-serve ordering — with database and application infrastructure operated by a long-standing technical partner, swissclick ag. A "KI-Indexing" (AI-indexing) layer is referenced as part of the Mini-Site technology stack to improve search relevance, though no proprietary AI models or research are disclosed.

The company operates a freemium-to-paid model: STARTER basic entries are free with complimentary mutation updates, while ENTRY premium listings are sold at CHF 90 for a one-year, non-auto-renewing term and offer extended company information, additional search-term coverage, and enhanced visibility. A separate transactional stream is paid news publishing on the platform at CHF 350 per news item. The go-to-market is self-serve, sales-led-light, and SMB-focused via the angebot.swissguide.ch ordering portal, supplemented by organic content marketing through an editorial blog and a Facebook presence. Customers are horizontal — small and medium-sized Swiss businesses, sole proprietors, and self-employed individuals seeking improved online discoverability — with no named enterprise anchors or external investors disclosed. Headcount is reported at 1–10 employees, and the company has been operating since 2002 without disclosed funding rounds, acquisitions, or material ownership changes.

Name

Swissguide

Legal name

swissguide ag

Website

https://swissguide.ch

Company type

Private

Founded year

2002

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Winterthur

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Premium Business Listings (ENTRY): Paid business listings (ENTRY) priced at CHF 90 per year, with publication occurring after payment is received. Includes SWISSGUIDE and LOCALGUIDE entry. Subscription runs for 1 year with no automatic renewal.
2. Premium Data Fields / Enhanced Visibility: Additional paid enhancements for listings including extended company information, additional search terms (products, brands, persons), and advertising features. Prices determined by Swissguide tariff schedule at time of entry.
3. News Publication: Fee-based news publication on swissguide.ch platform. News publication fee is CHF 350 per news item.
4. Basic / Free Listings: Free basic Swissguide entries (STARTER) and free mutation updates. Basic search and lookup is free for visitors. This serves as a lead-generation funnel for paid upgrades.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Swissguide operates a web-based business directory platform covering Switzerland and Liechtenstein with over 1 million company entries. Businesses obtain free basic listings (STARTER) or paid premium entries (ENTRY at CHF 90/year) with enhanced visibility, additional search terms, and export of business data to major search engines. The platform also offers paid news publication services at CHF 350 per item and uses AI-powered indexing (KI-Indexing) for improved search relevance and discoverability.

Product overview

Swissguide is a leading Swiss business directory platform operated by swissguide ag, offering searchable access to over 1 million companies across Switzerland and Liechtenstein. The platform operates through multiple components: the core SWISSGUIDE search platform (swissguide.ch), an offerings platform (angebot.swissguide.ch), and the KI-Indexing AI technology for intelligent data indexing. The product portfolio includes free STARTER (Basiseintrag) basic listings for businesses, premium ENTRY (Eintrag) paid listings at CHF 90 per year with extended features, mutation/update services for existing entries, and paid news publishing at CHF 350 per publication. The platform enables companies to be found by firm name, industry, products, and other criteria, with search results also exported to general search engines.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• SWISSGUIDE Business Directory Platform Web-based business directory platform providing searchable access to over 1 million companies in Switzerland and Liechtenstein, enabling businesses to be found by company name, industry, products, and brands, with results exported to major search engines such as Google, Yahoo, and Bing.
• Mutation Service Standalone service allowing businesses to update and modify their existing Swissguide directory entries, with mutations reflected immediately for existing customers. Free for STARTER tier entries and available as a paid option for ENTRY tier.
• News Publishing Paid news publication service allowing businesses to publish news articles on the Swissguide platform at CHF 350 per news item, distributed through the platform's editorial channels and driving organic traffic.

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability1 record

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• swissclick agcoreTechnology or Integrationswissclick ag is the operator of the swissguide application, including database structure and web interfaces. It provides the technical infrastructure and platform operations for Swissguide. This is a core operational partnership.
• Data Suppliers (Datenlieferanten)coreOthersData suppliers provide foundational business information or supplementary data to Swissguide's database beyond individual company entries. They cover Switzerland and Liechtenstein. The complete current list is available in the Swissguide Impressum.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Yelp: Global business directory and reviews platform. Comparable as a horizontal directory business with paid enhanced listings, but operates globally and is broader than Swissguide's B2B/company-information focus.
• Trustpilot: Global business review and directory platform with paid enhanced profiles. Overlaps Swissguide's premium-listing monetization model and SMB customer segment, though it leads with reviews rather than company data.
• Dun & Bradstreet: Global B2B data and business directory provider with structured company records. Comparable as a business-data directory and information service, but serves enterprise customers and is far broader in scope.

Direct peers

• Local.ch: Swiss online business directory and local search platform (operated by Swisscom) covering companies, addresses, and phone numbers. Directly comparable to Swissguide in product, geography, and SMB customer base in Switzerland.
• Kompass: International B2B directory platform with structured company and product data. Comparable to Swissguide as a paid B2B directory offering enhanced company visibility, search keywords, and data exports for SMB visibility.
• search.ch: Swiss directory and search platform including business listings, phone book, and maps. Closely overlaps Swissguide's Swiss business directory offering and target audience (Swiss SMBs and consumers searching for local businesses).

Emerging players

• Hotfrog: International small business directory offering free and enhanced paid listings comparable to Swissguide's ENTRY tier. Smaller scale but overlapping SMB customer base and directory monetization model.
• Google Business Profile: Free business listing product from Google that integrates with Search and Maps. Functions as the default substitute for directories like Swissguide, offering free company visibility and SEO distribution in Switzerland.

Others

• Bing Places for Business: Microsoft's free business listing platform integrated with Bing search and maps. Comparable as a free business directory alternative to Swissguide's paid ENTRY offering and as a distribution channel for business data online.

Regional players

• Crunchbase: Business and company information directory (focused on companies, investors, and startups). Comparable directory/database business model with paid enhanced company profiles, but covers a different segment (tech/startups) globally rather than Swiss SMBs.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/swissguide.ch

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 Swissguide