SoftMaker

SoftMaker Software GmbH is a German software company founded in 1987 by Martin Kotulla and headquartered in Nuremberg. The company develops productivity software for individuals, households, small businesses, educational institutions, and other organizations. Its best-known offering is SoftMaker Office, a proprietary office suite built around TextMaker for word processing, PlanMaker for spreadsheets, and SoftMaker Presentations for slide creation. The suite also includes BasicMaker, a scripting environment intended to provide automation capabilities comparable in concept to Visual Basic for Applications, although it does not provide complete VBA compatibility. SoftMaker’s central commercial proposition is cross-platform office productivity with a strong emphasis on Microsoft Office file compatibility. Its applications are designed to open, edit, and save widely used Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint formats. This positioning allows the company to compete with both commercial office suites and free open-source alternatives such as LibreOffice, Apache OpenOffice, and Calligra Suite. SoftMaker presents its products as comparatively compact and responsive, with lower hardware and storage requirements than some larger office suites, while retaining compatibility with documents containing complex formatting, spreadsheets, charts, and presentations. SoftMaker Office has been offered for Microsoft Windows, Linux, macOS, and Android. Earlier editions also supported several discontinued or specialized platforms, including Windows CE, Handheld PC and Pocket PC environments, Windows Mobile devices, and FreeBSD. The company’s multi-platform approach is particularly relevant to users who need to exchange Microsoft Office documents across operating systems. SoftMaker has supported OpenDocument formats in selected applications, although its product strategy has historically centered on Microsoft Office compatibility rather than making OpenDocument the primary document ecosystem. In addition to its paid office suite, SoftMaker distributes FreeOffice, a free version intended for general users. The company also operates an academic sales program through which students, teachers, schools, and universities can obtain SoftMaker Office at reduced prices. These offerings broaden the brand’s reach beyond conventional enterprise software procurement and support adoption in education and home-computing markets. The company’s broader portfolio includes FlexiPDF, a PDF editing application designed to let users modify text, images, drawings, and form controls in existing PDF files. SoftMaker also publishes digital typefaces and font collections. MegaFont NOW is aimed primarily at home users, while infiniType is positioned toward professional users. Through its FreeFont service, the company has also made individual fonts available for free download. SoftMaker is best understood as a specialist productivity-software vendor rather than a mass-market technology platform. Its differentiation comes from combining proprietary desktop applications, support for several operating systems, document-format compatibility, relatively accessible pricing, and customer support after purchase. The company remains privately held, and publicly available reference material does not establish a detailed current ownership structure, revenue profile, or list of corporate executives beyond its documented founder.

SoftMaker was established in Germany in 1987 by Martin Kotulla. From its Nuremberg base, the company developed a portfolio centered on desktop productivity applications and digital typefaces. Its principal software line became SoftMaker Office, a proprietary office suite intended to provide the core functions commonly associated with Microsoft Office while remaining available on multiple operating systems. The suite’s architecture is divided into specialized applications. TextMaker provides word processing and is designed to work with Microsoft Word documents. PlanMaker handles spreadsheets and emphasizes compatibility with Microsoft Excel, including the display of charts and graphs. SoftMaker Presentations supports the creation of presentation documents comparable to Microsoft PowerPoint files. BasicMaker adds a scripting layer for automation and is conceptually related to VBA-based office workflows, but does not offer full compatibility with VBA scripts. A notable aspect of SoftMaker’s development history is its support for platforms beyond mainstream Windows desktop computing. Current product availability includes Windows, Linux, macOS, and Android, while historical releases supported Windows CE, Handheld PC and Pocket PC devices, Windows Mobile environments, and FreeBSD. This platform breadth has allowed SoftMaker to address users who need to work with familiar office documents while using non-Windows systems. SoftMaker’s business model has generally combined paid software with a free entry-level option. SoftMaker Office is sold to home users, small businesses, and educational customers, while FreeOffice provides a no-cost version for general users. The company also offers discounted academic purchasing for students, teachers, schools, and universities. The commercial strategy is based on cross-platform usability, Microsoft Office file-format support, comparatively reasonable pricing, and customer service included after purchase. The company competes in a market that includes Microsoft Office and free office suites such as LibreOffice, Apache OpenOffice, and Calligra Suite. SoftMaker’s principal argument against free alternatives is a high degree of compatibility with Microsoft Office documents, especially when files contain complex formatting, spreadsheet charts, or presentation layouts. It also promotes relatively modest memory and storage requirements. As with other non-Microsoft office products, documents that depend heavily on VBA automation can remain a compatibility limitation; BasicMaker provides automation capabilities but is not a seamless substitute for Microsoft’s VBA environment. SoftMaker expanded beyond office documents with FlexiPDF, a PDF editor intended to make changes to PDF files resemble ordinary word-processing tasks. Users can edit or add text, images, drawings, and form controls. The company has also maintained a digital-font business, offering MegaFont NOW for home users, infiniType for professional users, and individual free fonts through its FreeFont service. SoftMaker continues to operate as a privately held German software company offering its products internationally. Public reference material establishes its founding, product portfolio, market positioning, and historical platform support, but does not provide a complete account of its current ownership, financial performance, or present executive team.

1. 1987SoftMaker founded

   Martin Kotulla founded SoftMaker in Germany, establishing the company that would later become known for office productivity software and digital fonts.

   Source

A cross-platform productivity-software provider focused on Microsoft Office compatibility, compact desktop applications, reasonable pricing, and availability for home, small-business, and educational users.

• SoftMaker OfficeOffice productivity suite

  SoftMaker’s flagship commercial office suite for home users, small businesses, and educational customers. It combines TextMaker for word processing, PlanMaker for spreadsheets, SoftMaker Presentations for slide creation, and BasicMaker for scripting. The suite is designed to work with common Microsoft Office file formats and has been made available for Windows, Linux, macOS, and Android. Its value proposition centers on cross-platform use, document compatibility, comparatively modest resource requirements, and paid customer support.

• TextMakerWord processor

  The word-processing component of SoftMaker Office. TextMaker is designed for creating and editing documents and for exchanging files with Microsoft Word users. It forms one of the core applications in SoftMaker’s office-suite strategy and is intended to preserve formatting when documents move between different office-software environments.

• PlanMakerSpreadsheet

  SoftMaker’s spreadsheet application and the spreadsheet component of SoftMaker Office. PlanMaker is positioned around compatibility with Microsoft Excel files and supports charts and graphs. SoftMaker has used the application’s handling of spreadsheet visuals and its availability on non-Windows platforms as evidence of its broader document-compatibility strategy.

• SoftMaker PresentationsPresentation software

  The presentation-authoring application included in SoftMaker Office. It is intended to create and edit slide decks compatible with Microsoft PowerPoint formats, supporting users who need to exchange presentations across office-software platforms.

• BasicMakerOffice scripting

  A scripting environment associated with SoftMaker Office. BasicMaker is intended to support office-task automation and is conceptually comparable to Visual Basic for Applications. It can assist with scripted workflows, but SoftMaker’s reference material notes that it does not provide seamless compatibility with VBA scripts.

• FreeOfficeFree office suite

  A free version of SoftMaker’s office software made available to general users. FreeOffice gives the company a no-cost product for users who may not purchase SoftMaker Office, while extending the brand’s reach beyond its paid home, business, and academic offerings.

• FlexiPDFPDF editor

  A PDF editing application from SoftMaker. FlexiPDF is intended to let users modify existing PDF documents and add text, images, drawings, and form controls. The product is positioned as a way to make PDF editing resemble the workflow of editing a word-processing document.

• MegaFont NOWDigital fonts

  A SoftMaker font collection aimed at home users. It forms part of the company’s digital-font business, which complements its better-known office-productivity products.

• infiniTypeDigital fonts

  A professional-oriented font collection offered by SoftMaker. It represents the company’s publishing and distribution activity in digital typefaces alongside its office and PDF software.

1. SoftMaker
2. SoftMaker official website