Test.de
Test.de is the advertising-free online portal of Germany's Stiftung Warentest, publishing independent comparative product and service tests and pioneering paid content in the German-language web.
Last updated September 27, 2026
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Overview
Test.de is the internet portal of Stiftung Warentest, the German consumer-testing foundation established in 1964 by the German federal parliament to provide impartial and objective information about goods and services. The portal makes available all tests and articles published since 2000 in the foundation's magazines Stiftung Warentest (formerly test) and Stiftung Warentest Finanzen (formerly Finanztest), presented interactively so that users can show, hide and sort data. It also carries daily news, extensive test databases, topic hubs, quick tests of discount-store goods and video files. Like all Stiftung Warentest publications, test.de is advertising-free. The portal is regarded in the German-speaking web as a pioneer of paid-content offerings: paid content generated revenue of roughly 7.029 million euros in 2021, and the portal recorded a total of 99 million visitors that year. Many tests are available only in the paid area and in an interactively prepared form, where users can determine an "individual test winner". Payment options include single-article billing, product databases and monthly or annual flat rates. The foundation's editorial work has been carried out since mid-2011 by six topic teams of scientists and journalists, who supply content for the magazines test and Finanztest as well as for the website test.de. The portal's own brand identity dates from 2007/2008, when it was renamed test.de and given its own orange logo, making it an equal product brand alongside test and Finanztest. Test.de operates in Germany and the wider German-speaking market, serving consumers who want independent, objective and incorruptible assessments of everyday products and services, from financial products and insurance to household appliances, security equipment and health topics.
History
Stiftung Warentest was established in 1964 by the German federal parliament with the aim of helping consumers by providing impartial and objective information based on comparative investigations of goods and services. The foundation buys products anonymously from retailers, makes covert use of services, carries out tests in independent labs using scientific methods and its own specifications, gives verdicts ranging from "very good" to "unsatisfactory" based solely on objective results, and publishes its findings free of adverts in its magazines and online. The foundation has had an internet presence since 1 November 1997. The site was initially reachable at www.warentest.de and called Stiftung Warentest Online; at first it served mainly as an online shop for the foundation's printed magazines and books. In July 2000 Stiftung Warentest Online introduced the two micropayment systems net-900 and infin, followed by Firstgate in November 2000, making the portal a pioneer of paid content on the internet. Initially users could download info documents as PDFs that the foundation had previously offered only via fax retrieval under 0190 numbers. In June 2001 all content from the magazines test and Finanztest went online one-to-one, retroactively to January 2000. Since this complete relaunch, users have been able to operate the foundation's test tables interactively online — for example choosing how strongly individual test criteria count toward the quality verdict, producing individual rankings. The domain also changed in 2001, from www.warentest.de to www.stiftung-warentest.de. In September 2002 the first so-called quick tests appeared on Stiftung Warentest Online: discount-store goods from Aldi, Lidl, Plus and others were bought in the morning, tested at the institute and the results often published on test.de the same evening. For the first time, tests appeared on the website before they could be read in the print publications test or Finanztest. In November 2004 the content management system, databases and web server architecture were changed, and Spartickets — a kind of discounted prepaid credit — as well as annual tickets, the predecessors of later flat rates, were introduced. On 12 September 2007 a completely redesigned site launched, and the name became test.de. The website appeared tidier, with more balanced typography and generally more readable. The layout was changed again on 24 April 2008 in line with the foundation's newly introduced corporate design: since that day test.de has had its own orange logo and became an equal product brand alongside test and Finanztest. With the new layout, new offerings were introduced, including the so-called Produktfinder — databases of products not based on articles in the magazines test and Finanztest, where users can find test results for hundreds of equity funds, digital cameras or televisions and sort and filter tested devices to find a suitable product. In April 2012 test.de underwent another relaunch. The homepage was now dominated by a catalogue with direct links to the most important topics. Over 300 topic pages bundled all content on a subject area, navigation was simplified and search optimised. The platform test.de is intended to play an ever greater role in the future. Hubertus Primus, board member of Stiftung Warentest, said in an interview with Deutschlandfunk: "We are in the digital age, we must bring our results to people much more strongly via the internet, we must adapt to consumer habits, both in how we disseminate our information and of course in what we test." Since 2009 the foundation has had its own YouTube channel and a Twitter page, since 2010 a Facebook page and since 2017 an Instagram channel. Since 2021, alongside @stiftungwarentest there has been a second channel @finanztest on Instagram. Since October 2010 users can mark articles on test.de as "helpful" and comment on every article. Many tests are available only in the paid area and in an interactively prepared form, where users can determine an "individual test winner". Retrieving detailed results on a single-article basis costs 3.50 euros; extensive product databases cost 5 euros. The alternative to paying for individual articles is the flat rate introduced in June 2009. There is an annual and a monthly flat rate for full access to all content. The annual flat rate costs 59.90 euros, with subscribers to test or Finanztest paying 29.95 euros. The monthly flat rate costs 8.90 euros per month, with subscribers to test or Finanztest paying 4.45 euros. This also gives the user access to all tests, info documents and test databases. Anyone subscribing to both magazines receives both the annual and monthly flat rates free of charge. Since it was founded, Stiftung Warentest has carried out about 6,800 tests and about 2,800 service investigations. The results are published each year in more than 5.5 million copies of its magazines. The magazine Stiftung Warentest, the foundation's oldest and best-known publication, has provided impartial and objective advice about everyday products and services since 1966, with a paid circulation of 285,000 copies. The magazine Stiftung Warentest Finanzen has been on the market since 1991 and specialises in topics such as insurance and investment.
- 2021
Second Instagram channel @finanztest launched; paid content generates about 7.029 million euros and the portal records 99 million visitors.
- 2017
Instagram channel launched.
- 2012
In April test.de relaunches with a topic catalogue, over 300 topic pages, simplified navigation and optimised search.
- 2011
Since mid-2011 editorial work is organised into six topic teams of scientists and journalists.
- 2010
Facebook page launched; since October users can mark articles as "helpful" and comment.
- 2009
Flat rate introduced in June; foundation launches its own YouTube channel and Twitter page.
- 2008
On 24 April test.de receives its own orange logo and becomes an equal product brand alongside test and Finanztest; Produktfinder databases introduced.
- 2007
On 12 September a completely redesigned site launches under the name test.de.
- 2004
In November the CMS, databases and web server architecture are changed; Spartickets and annual tickets introduced.
- 2002
First quick tests of discount-store goods appear in September, published online before print.
Products and positioning
Independent, objective and incorruptible consumer-testing portal; advertising-free and funded partly by paid content.
Stiftung Warentest magazine
Oldest and best-known publication, providing impartial and objective advice about everyday products and services since 1966; paid circulation 285,000 copies.
Stiftung Warentest Finanzen magazine
On the market since 1991, specialising in topics such as insurance and investment.
Test databases and Produktfinder
Interactive databases of tested products such as equity funds, digital cameras and televisions, sortable and filterable by users.
Paid-content flat rates
Annual and monthly flat rates giving full access to all tests, info documents and test databases.
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