Surplus Magazin

What Surplus Magazin does

Surplus Magazin is a privately held German-language economic magazine published in bimonthly print and continuously online at surplusmagazin.de. The editorial product centers on economic, political, climate, financial, and international-affairs analysis written by a publisher team of internationally recognized economists — Adam Tooze (Columbia University), Isabella Weber (UMass Amherst), Maurice Höfgen, and Martyna Linartas — with regular columns from Mariana Mazzucato and Thomas Piketty. The publication is positioned as a progressive counterweight to economically liberal mainstream coverage, explicitly targeting the interests of the broad majority rather than the wealthiest. The core technology is a digital publishing platform (Ghost-based per the storage URLs) supporting daily articles, a weekly podcast, a 'New Economy Talks' video series, short-form social reels, and a daily newsletter, supplemented by a printed bimonthly magazine distributed at newsstands.

The business model is a freemium subscription engine: free account registration opens access to articles, newsletters, and videos; a €1-for-4-weeks trial (including a print issue) converts free users into €12/month paid digital subscribers, with a Förder-Abo sponsor tier above standard pricing. A second revenue stream is institutional licensing — a tiered multi-seat 'Institutionen-Abo' priced from €230/year for 2 licenses to €3,000/year for 30 licenses, sold to enterprises, foundations, unions, political parties, NGOs, think tanks, government agencies, universities, and research institutes, and including five printed copies per issue. The go-to-market is product-led growth via content marketing, social media presence across eight platforms, and direct B2B sales for institutional accounts. The company operates in Germany and Austria with a stated headcount of 9 employees and is privately funded (no funding rounds disclosed).

Name

Surplus Magazin

Legal name

Surplus Magazin

Website

https://surplusmagazin.de

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Surplus Magazin is a German-language economic magazine (bimonthly print + daily digital) serving economically engaged readers and institutions in the DACH region with progressive economic analysis edited by Adam Tooze, Isabella Weber, and Maurice Höfgen, funded by individual subscriptions and institutional licensing.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Economic Journalism and Media Publication

NAICS

Periodical Publishers (513120)

SIC

Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721)

akta.pro primary industry

News, Politics & Current Affairs Magazines (MPAJAEAO)

akta.pro secondary industry

Business, Finance & Industry Trade Magazines (MPAJAEAM)

Keywords

• Economic journalism
• Digital publishing
• Print magazine
• Institutional licensing
• Progressive economics

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain, Others

Revenue model

1. Digital Subscriptions: Individual subscriptions for access to all articles on surplusmagazin.de, available with monthly billing at €12 per month, with promotional pricing at €1 for first 4 weeks including print edition
2. Institutional Licensing: Volume licensing for organizations (companies, foundations, unions, parties, NGOs, think tanks, government agencies, universities, research institutes) with tiered pricing based on number of users. Includes 5 printed magazine copies per issue plus digital access for all licensed users.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

Surplus Magazin is a German economic magazine published bimonthly in print and daily online, delivering progressive economic and political journalism, analysis, podcasts, and video content. The publication features contributions from internationally renowned economists including Thomas Piketty, Mariana Mazzucato, Adam Tooze, and Isabella Weber. Revenue is generated through individual digital subscriptions, trial offers, and institutional multi-license subscriptions for organizations.

Product overview

Surplus Magazin is a German economic magazine published in both print (bimonthly) and digital formats, with daily online articles covering economics, politics, climate, finance, and international affairs. The publication is edited by economists Adam Tooze, Isabella Weber, and Maurice Höfgen, with columns by Thomas Piketty and Mariana Mazzucato. The core offering includes the main magazine, a weekly podcast series, and New Economy Talks video discussions. Premium offerings include an Institutional Subscription (Institutionen-Abo) providing multi-seat team access with print magazines, plus newsletters and short-form reel content distributed via social media platforms.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Surplus Magazin (Print & Digital) A German economic and political magazine published bimonthly in print and daily online, featuring analysis from leading economists on topics including economics, politics, climate, finance, and international affairs.
• Surplus Podcast Weekly video and audio podcast series featuring economic analysis and interviews with economists and political experts.
• New Economy Talks (Video Series) Video discussion series featuring economists like Maja Göpel and Adam Tooze discussing economic crises and policy responses.
• Institutionen-Abo (Institutional Subscription) Multi-license subscription package for organizations providing team access to all content plus five printed magazines per issue, with volume discounts for additional users.

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Handelsblatt: Germany's leading business daily newspaper with comprehensive economics coverage. Comparable as a major German-language economics publisher, but with a mainstream, business-oriented editorial stance rather than Surplus's progressive framing.
• Bloomberg Businessweek Germany / Wirtschaftswoche: Established German-language business and economics magazine with broad economic coverage. Comparable as a German economics magazine, but with a much larger audience and mainstream business editorial positioning.
• Bloomberg: Global business and financial news outlet covering economics and markets. Comparable as a major economics content provider, but operating at vastly larger scale with a mainstream market-oriented perspective.
• The Economist: Global weekly newspaper focused on economics, politics, and current affairs. Comparable as a subscription-based international economics magazine, though with significantly broader editorial reach and an ideologically distinct center-right perspective.

Direct peers

• Republik: Swiss subscription-based digital magazine for in-depth journalism. Comparable to Surplus as a European subscription-driven magazine focused on serious analysis, though with a broader editorial scope than Surplus's economics-and-politics specialization.
• taz (die tageszeitung): Germany's flagship progressive daily newspaper with a strong economics section. Directly comparable to Surplus in language, audience, and ideological positioning, though operating as a broader daily rather than a specialist magazine.
• openDemocracy: English-language progressive news and analysis outlet covering economics, politics, and social justice. Comparable to Surplus in editorial stance and mission, but operates at significantly larger scale and in English.
• Jacobin: US-based progressive magazine covering economics and politics with a similar ideological positioning to Surplus. Directly comparable as a niche, opinion-driven economic-political publication relying on subscriptions and contributor authority.

Emerging players

• Project Syndicate: Syndication network distributing opinion columns from leading economists and intellectuals worldwide. Comparable to Surplus's contributor model (Piketty, Mazzucato columns) but operating as a syndication platform rather than an integrated magazine.
• MacroHub (Makroskop): Polish/European economics and politics magazine with progressive editorial framing. Comparable to Surplus as a small European economics magazine targeting an ideologically aligned audience, though operating in a smaller Polish-language market.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/surplusmagazin
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@surplusmagazin
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/surplusmagazin
• Instagraminstagram.com/surplusmagazin

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

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 Surplus Magazin