Compare Group
Compare Group is a privately held European operator of product price-comparison and comparison-shopping services.
Last updated August 26, 2026
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Overview
Compare Group is a privately held company that manages a portfolio of product price-comparison services operating across several European markets. Its best-known service is Vergelijk.nl, a Dutch comparison website founded in 1999 by Ben Kerkhof, Jean Paul Soethout, and Tjibbe de Jong. The service is generally described as the first price-comparison website in the Netherlands. Compare Group emerged after the group acquired the Dutch competitor ElCheapo.nl in 2006, creating a central management structure for multiple comparison labels and national websites. The group’s portfolio has expanded through both organic launches and acquisitions. Its activities include Vergelijk.nl in the Netherlands, Vergelijk.be and Comparer.be in Belgium, Vertaa.fi in Finland, Bestekauf.de in Germany, Varusök.se in Sweden, Comparer.fr in France, and Sammenlign.dk and Sammenlign.no in Denmark and Norway. Several of these services use localized names and language-specific websites rather than a single pan-European consumer brand. The group’s expansion has therefore combined a common comparison-shopping operating model with country-specific brands and domains. The company’s core function is to help consumers compare products, merchants, and offers. Its historical business model has included cost-per-click lead generation for online retailers, subscription fees from traditional physical merchants, and commissions linked to completed orders. The group has also experimented with marketplace-style functionality. Vergelijk.nl’s shopping-cart marketplace was discontinued in 2014 after limited adoption by merchants and visitors, and the company subsequently emphasized comparison and referral functions rather than directly processing retail orders. Compare Group has also developed an omni-channel approach. In early 2015, Vergelijk.nl expanded its localized comparison service to include offers from traditional brick-and-mortar merchants alongside online retailers. This positioned the service as a bridge between digital shopping research and local retail discovery. The company has not publicly disclosed detailed profit or loss figures, and it does not publish exact visitor totals, although historical materials cite cumulative visitor milestones for Vergelijk.nl. The group has participated in developments affecting European comparison-shopping platforms. In September 2017, Vergelijk.nl and Vergelijk.be became the first comparison-shopping services in Europe permitted to participate in Google Shopping product-listing advertisements following Google’s European antitrust case. In March 2018, the two services became the first in the Netherlands and Belgium to display Amazon results on their websites, according to the cited reference material. Expansion continued with the launch of the German comparison-shopping service ElCheapo.de in September 2021. That service was renamed Bestekauf.de in August 2022. Compare Group entered Sweden with Varusök.se in 2023, and later relaunched Comparer.fr in France in May 2025 before introducing or relaunching localized comparison-shopping services in Denmark and Norway in September 2025. The portfolio has also included discontinued projects such as Comparestreet.co.uk, Adultcompare.nl, Superdagdeal.nl, and Check Magazine. Overall, Compare Group is positioned as a multi-market comparison-services operator whose value proposition is localized product discovery, merchant referral, and comparison data rather than direct ownership of retail inventory.
History
Vergelijk.nl was established in the Netherlands in 1999 by Ben Kerkhof, Jean Paul Soethout, and Tjibbe de Jong. It became the first price-comparison website in the Netherlands and formed the foundation of the business later organized under Compare Group. In 2000, co-founder Ben Kerkhof launched Vertaa.fi in Finland, extending the comparison model beyond the Dutch market. The company expanded into Belgium in 2002 with Vergelijk.be and acquired the Belgian comparison competitor Arbalet in 2003, incorporating its activities into Vergelijk.be. In 2004, Consumerdesk.nl and related assets were acquired from the bankrupt company Cedron. Vergelijk.nl also reached notable cumulative visitor milestones: reference material states that the site recorded its 20 millionth visitor since launch in 2004 and exceeded 40 million visitors in 2006. In 2006, Vergelijk.nl acquired the competing Dutch website ElCheapo.nl from De Telegraaf. Compare Group was formed around this period to centralize management of the different comparison labels and services. The group broadened its geographical and brand portfolio in the following years. Comparer.fr and Comparer.be were established in 2009 to serve France and French-speaking Belgium. The company also operated a number of experimental or adjacent projects. Comparestreet.co.uk served the United Kingdom from 2002 until its discontinuation in 2006. Adultcompare.nl, launched in 2002 for adult-product comparisons, was integrated into Vergelijk.nl in 2004. Superdagdeal.nl, a daily-deal website launched in 2010, was sold to GoldenExperience in 2011. Check Magazine, a print publication produced with BesteProduct.nl, Independer.nl, and Zoover, appeared in 2008 but ended after three issues because subscriber and advertising income was insufficient. Compare Group’s operating model has historically combined several revenue streams. Online retailers could receive traffic through cost-per-click referrals, in some cases supported by a return-on-ad-spend guarantee. Traditional retailers could pay monthly subscription fees to be included in localized comparison services. The group also operated a cost-per-sale marketplace model in which orders were placed through its websites while fulfillment remained the responsibility of participating webshops. Vergelijk.nl discontinued its shopping-cart marketplace in July 2014 because of limited interest and usage from both merchants and visitors. In early 2015, Vergelijk.nl introduced an omni-channel localized comparison service that included offers from physical stores as well as online merchants. The company also decided in January 2015 to strengthen the Vergelijk.nl name in the Dutch market, leading to the discontinuation of the ElCheapo.nl website. In September 2017, Vergelijk.nl and Vergelijk.be became the first comparison-shopping services in Europe permitted to participate in Google Shopping product-listing advertisements after Google’s European antitrust penalty. In March 2018, they became the first services in the Netherlands and Belgium to show Amazon results on their websites, according to the cited account. The group resumed more visible international expansion in the 2020s. ElCheapo.de launched in Germany in September 2021 and was renamed Bestekauf.de in August 2022. Approximately eleven months after the rebranding, the group entered Sweden with Varusök.se. Comparer.fr, which had been discontinued in 2017, was relaunched in France in May 2025. Localized comparison-shopping services for Denmark and Norway followed in September 2025 under the Sammenlign.dk and Sammenlign.no names. The current portfolio therefore combines long-running Dutch, Belgian, and Finnish services with newer localized operations in Germany, Sweden, France, Denmark, and Norway. Compare Group remains privately held, and detailed financial results and exact visitor totals are not publicly reported in the supplied reference material.
- 2025
French relaunch and Nordic expansion
[1]Comparer.fr was relaunched in France in May, followed by comparison-shopping services in Denmark and Norway in September.
- 2023
Swedish launch
[1]Varusök.se launched in Sweden.
- 2022
Bestekauf.de rebrand
[1]ElCheapo.de was renamed Bestekauf.de.
- 2021
German launch
[1]ElCheapo.de launched as the group’s German comparison-shopping service.
- 2018
Amazon results added
[1]Vergelijk.nl and Vergelijk.be began showing Amazon results, described in the reference as a first for comparison services in the Netherlands and Belgium.
- 2017
Participation in Google Shopping advertisements
[1]Vergelijk.nl and Vergelijk.be became the first European comparison-shopping services allowed to participate in Google Shopping product-listing advertisements.
- 2015
Omni-channel comparison introduced
[1]Vergelijk.nl began comparing offers from physical stores alongside online retailers and retired the Dutch ElCheapo.nl brand.
- 2014
Shopping-cart marketplace discontinued
[1]Vergelijk.nl ended its marketplace and shopping-cart initiative because of limited usage and merchant participation.
- 2009
French and French-speaking Belgian expansion
[1]Comparer.fr and Comparer.be were established for France and French-speaking Belgium.
- 2006
ElCheapo.nl acquired and group structure formed
[1]Vergelijk.nl acquired ElCheapo.nl from De Telegraaf, and Compare Group was established around this period to centralize management of the group’s labels.
Products and positioning
A privately held, multi-country comparison-shopping group focused on localized product, merchant, and offer discovery for European consumers.
Dutch price-comparison service · 1999
Vergelijk.nl
Vergelijk.nl is the group’s foundational Dutch comparison-shopping service. It compares products, prices, retailers, and offers, and historically evolved from an online-only referral model toward an omni-channel service that also includes traditional physical merchants. It has served as a testing ground for marketplace, retailer-referral, Google Shopping, and Amazon-result initiatives.
Belgian price-comparison service · 2002
Vergelijk.be
Vergelijk.be is a Belgian comparison service launched as part of the group’s early international expansion. It provides localized product and merchant comparison and has participated in the group’s Google Shopping and Amazon-results initiatives.
French-language Belgian price-comparison service · 2009
Comparer.be
Comparer.be serves French-speaking consumers in Belgium with localized comparison-shopping functionality. It complements the Dutch-language Vergelijk.be operation within the group’s Belgian portfolio.
Finnish price-comparison service · 2000
Vertaa.fi
Vertaa.fi was launched in Finland in 2000 and represents one of Compare Group’s earliest expansions beyond the Netherlands. It applies the group’s comparison and retailer-referral model to the Finnish market.
German price-comparison service · 2021
Bestekauf.de
Bestekauf.de is the group’s German comparison-shopping service. It began as ElCheapo.de in 2021 and adopted the Bestekauf.de name in 2022.
Swedish price-comparison service · 2023
Varusök.se
Varusök.se is Compare Group’s localized Swedish comparison-shopping service, launched during the group’s renewed European expansion in the 2020s.
French price-comparison service · 2009
Comparer.fr
Comparer.fr is the group’s French comparison-shopping service. An earlier version was discontinued in 2017, and the service was relaunched in May 2025.
Danish and Norwegian price-comparison services · 2025
Sammenlign.dk and Sammenlign.no
Sammenlign.dk and Sammenlign.no are localized services for Denmark and Norway introduced as part of Compare Group’s 2025 Nordic expansion.
Brand decisions
2022
German brand rebrandingStrategyBackground
The German service had operated under the ElCheapo.de name since its 2021 launch.
Action taken
The service was renamed Bestekauf.de in August 2022.
Aftermath
Bestekauf.de became the continuing German brand in the group’s portfolio.
2021
Launch of ElCheapo.deProduct launchBackground
Compare Group sought to extend its comparison-shopping model into Germany.
Action taken
The group launched ElCheapo.de in September 2021.
Aftermath
The service was subsequently rebranded as Bestekauf.de in 2022.
2015
Omni-channel comparison strategyStrategyBackground
Consumer shopping increasingly combined online research with purchases from local physical retailers.
Action taken
Vergelijk.nl expanded its comparison service to include offers from brick-and-mortar merchants as well as webshops.
Aftermath
The change broadened the service from online price discovery toward localized, cross-channel retail comparison.
2015
Retirement of the ElCheapo.nl brandStrategyBackground
The company sought to reinforce Vergelijk.nl as its stronger Dutch consumer brand.
Action taken
ElCheapo.nl was discontinued in the Netherlands.
Aftermath
The Dutch operation was consolidated around the Vergelijk.nl name.
2014
End of the Vergelijk.nl marketplaceStrategyBackground
Vergelijk.nl had introduced a shopping-cart and marketplace-style model in which orders could be placed through the service.
Action taken
The company discontinued the shopping-cart marketplace because merchants and visitors showed insufficient interest and usage.
Aftermath
The business returned its emphasis to comparison, referral, and lead-generation services rather than operating a marketplace.
2006
Acquisition of ElCheapo.nlM&ABackground
ElCheapo.nl was a competing Dutch price-comparison website owned by De Telegraaf.
Action taken
Vergelijk.nl acquired ElCheapo.nl, and Compare Group was formed around this period to coordinate multiple comparison labels.
Aftermath
The acquisition contributed to the creation of a centralized multi-brand group, although the acquisition price was not disclosed.
Recent events
- 2025
Comparer.fr relaunched in France[1]
Product launch
Compare Group relaunched its French comparison service Comparer.fr after the earlier version had been discontinued.
- 2023
Compare Group expanded into Sweden with Varusök.se[1]
Product launch
The group continued its European expansion by launching the Swedish comparison-shopping service Varusök.se.
- 2022
ElCheapo.de was rebranded as Bestekauf.de[1]
Other
Compare Group changed the name of its German comparison-shopping service from ElCheapo.de to Bestekauf.de.
- 2021
Compare Group launched ElCheapo.de in Germany[1]
Product launch
The group entered the German comparison-shopping market with the ElCheapo.de service.
Sources1 sources
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