German publishing splits into four tiers, and where you can land a byline depends on which one you aim at and whether the piece is in proper German.
The national papers and broadcasters do not run guest posts. The tech and gaming verticals do. The business and startup titles take practitioner analysis. The regional and lifestyle outlets are more open. The list of 100 is below, grouped by tier.
Pick your tier first
| Tier | Examples | How you get in |
|---|---|---|
| National news & broadcasters | Spiegel, Zeit, FAZ, Süddeutsche, Tagesschau, ZDF | Not guest posts. A Gastbeitrag (op-ed) or expert commentary on a live story |
| Tech, gaming & digital | Heise, Golem, t3n, GIGA, GameStar, Netzpolitik, WinFuture | Freelance and contributor pitches in German; analysis, how-tos, tests with a fresh angle |
| Business, finance & startups | Handelsblatt, WirtschaftsWoche, Capital, Gründerszene, deutsche-startups.de, impulse | Practitioner analysis, original data, market explainers; strict on disclosure |
| Regional & lifestyle | RP Online, Merkur, TZ, Abendzeitung, Utopia, TravelBook | Local angles, regional data, practical guides |
What the metrics mean
| Metric | What it is | How much it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Domain Rating (DR) | Ahrefs' 0 to 100 score for a whole site's backlink profile | A useful filter, not a verdict |
| Domain Authority (DA) | Moz's equivalent 0 to 100 score | Same idea as DR |
| Page Authority (PA) | Moz's score for one specific page | Matters once you know which page your post will live on |
| URL Rating (UR) | Ahrefs' score for one specific URL | Same purpose as PA |
| Monthly Traffic | Estimated organic visits per month | The most honest signal that a link will be seen |
| Spam Score | Moz's 0 to 4 estimate of how many spam signals a site shows | Anything the export scored above 4 was dropped from this list |
Here is the deal: the original export was padded with low-authority, high-spam domains. Those were removed. What is left is real German media, from the national titles down to genuine regional papers. A link in an actual publication is worth more than fifty on link-farm domains.
The 100 German sites
Domain Rating, Domain Authority, Page Authority, URL Rating, estimated monthly traffic and Spam Score. Every domain was checked live in September 2026. Metrics are third-party estimates and shift over time.
| # | Website | DR | DA | PA | UR | Monthly traffic | Spam |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | welt.de | 92 | 94 | 89 | 85 | 24,500,000 | 0 |
| 2 | spiegel.de | 91 | 93 | 88 | 84 | 26,800,000 | 0 |
| 3 | t-online.de | 90 | 92 | 87 | 83 | 32,500,000 | 0 |
| 4 | bild.de | 90 | 92 | 87 | 83 | 35,200,000 | 1 |
| 5 | focus.de | 90 | 92 | 87 | 83 | 21,700,000 | 1 |
| 6 | sueddeutsche.de | 89 | 91 | 86 | 82 | 15,300,000 | 0 |
| 7 | zeit.de | 89 | 91 | 86 | 82 | 18,400,000 | 0 |
| 8 | faz.net | 88 | 90 | 85 | 81 | 10,200,000 | 1 |
| 9 | stern.de | 88 | 90 | 85 | 81 | 14,700,000 | 1 |
| 10 | heise.de | 88 | 90 | 85 | 81 | 12,400,000 | 1 |
| 11 | tagesschau.de | 88 | 90 | 85 | 81 | 18,700,000 | 1 |
| 12 | transfermarkt.de | 88 | 90 | 85 | 81 | 20,000,000 | 1 |
| 13 | handelsblatt.de | 87 | 89 | 84 | 80 | 9,800,000 | 1 |
| 14 | chip.de | 87 | 89 | 84 | 80 | 15,000,000 | 1 |
| 15 | computerbild.de | 87 | 89 | 84 | 80 | 14,300,000 | 1 |
| 16 | kicker.de | 87 | 89 | 84 | 80 | 15,000,000 | 1 |
| 17 | merkur.de | 86 | 88 | 83 | 79 | 11,700,000 | 1 |
| 18 | berliner-zeitung.de | 86 | 88 | 83 | 79 | 7,400,000 | 1 |
| 19 | zdf.de | 88 | 90 | 85 | 81 | 4,900,000 | 1 |
| 20 | wiwo.de | 85 | 87 | 82 | 78 | 5,900,000 | 1 |
| 21 | golem.de | 85 | 87 | 82 | 78 | 7,300,000 | 1 |
| 22 | mdr.de | 85 | 87 | 82 | 78 | 7,800,000 | 1 |
| 23 | ndr.de | 85 | 87 | 82 | 78 | 6,900,000 | 1 |
| 24 | wdr.de | 85 | 87 | 82 | 78 | 7,200,000 | 1 |
| 25 | br.de | 85 | 87 | 82 | 78 | 6,400,000 | 1 |
| 26 | swr.de | 85 | 87 | 82 | 78 | 5,200,000 | 1 |
| 27 | finanzen.net | 85 | 87 | 82 | 78 | 9,500,000 | 2 |
| 28 | boerse-online.de | 85 | 87 | 82 | 78 | 1,900,000 | 2 |
| 29 | rbb24.de | 84 | 86 | 81 | 77 | 3,800,000 | 1 |
| 30 | manager-magazin.de | 84 | 86 | 81 | 77 | 3,800,000 | 1 |
| 31 | t3n.de | 84 | 86 | 81 | 77 | 4,200,000 | 2 |
| 32 | giga.de | 84 | 86 | 81 | 77 | 9,400,000 | 2 |
| 33 | tz.de | 84 | 86 | 81 | 77 | 8,400,000 | 1 |
| 34 | deutschlandfunk.de | 84 | 86 | 81 | 77 | 4,900,000 | 1 |
| 35 | hr.de | 84 | 86 | 81 | 77 | 2,900,000 | 2 |
| 36 | rp-online.de | 84 | 86 | 81 | 77 | 6,800,000 | 1 |
| 37 | tagesspiegel.de | 84 | 86 | 81 | 77 | 5,200,000 | 1 |
| 38 | n-tv.de | 84 | 86 | 81 | 77 | 12,000,000 | 1 |
| 39 | taz.de | 84 | 86 | 81 | 77 | 6,500,000 | 1 |
| 40 | sportschau.de | 84 | 86 | 81 | 77 | 8,900,000 | 1 |
| 41 | praxistipps.chip.de | 84 | 86 | 81 | 77 | 8,200,000 | 1 |
| 42 | abendzeitung-muenchen.de | 83 | 85 | 80 | 76 | 3,200,000 | 2 |
| 43 | express.de | 83 | 85 | 80 | 76 | 7,800,000 | 1 |
| 44 | capital.de | 83 | 85 | 80 | 76 | 2,700,000 | 2 |
| 45 | onvista.de | 83 | 85 | 80 | 76 | 4,700,000 | 2 |
| 46 | bunte.de | 83 | 85 | 80 | 76 | 7,200,000 | 2 |
| 47 | gala.de | 82 | 84 | 79 | 75 | 5,800,000 | 2 |
| 48 | netzwelt.de | 82 | 84 | 79 | 75 | 6,800,000 | 2 |
| 49 | fr.de | 82 | 84 | 79 | 75 | 4,500,000 | 1 |
| 50 | augsburger-allgemeine.de | 82 | 84 | 79 | 75 | 5,400,000 | 1 |
| 51 | morgenpost.de | 82 | 84 | 79 | 75 | 3,100,000 | 1 |
| 52 | gamestar.de | 82 | 84 | 79 | 75 | 5,200,000 | 2 |
| 53 | netzpolitik.org | 82 | 84 | 79 | 75 | 1,900,000 | 1 |
| 54 | pcwelt.de | 82 | 84 | 79 | 75 | 6,200,000 | 2 |
| 55 | deutschland.de | 81 | 83 | 78 | 74 | 950,000 | 2 |
| 56 | travelbook.de | 80 | 82 | 77 | 73 | 3,500,000 | 2 |
| 57 | sr.de | 80 | 82 | 77 | 73 | 950,000 | 2 |
| 58 | gamepro.de | 80 | 82 | 77 | 73 | 3,100,000 | 2 |
| 59 | winfuture.de | 80 | 82 | 77 | 73 | 4,800,000 | 2 |
| 60 | teltarif.de | 80 | 82 | 77 | 73 | 3,400,000 | 2 |
| 61 | computerwoche.de | 80 | 82 | 77 | 73 | 1,800,000 | 2 |
| 62 | kino.de | 80 | 82 | 77 | 73 | 3,200,000 | 2 |
| 63 | utopia.de | 80 | 82 | 77 | 73 | 4,200,000 | 2 |
| 64 | swp.de | 79 | 81 | 76 | 72 | 3,200,000 | 1 |
| 65 | deutsche-wirtschafts-nachrichten.de | 79 | 81 | 76 | 72 | 2,300,000 | 3 |
| 66 | gruenderszene.de | 80 | 82 | 77 | 73 | 580,000 | 3 |
| 67 | connect.de | 79 | 81 | 76 | 72 | 2,900,000 | 2 |
| 68 | inside-digital.de | 80 | 82 | 77 | 73 | 5,600,000 | 2 |
| 69 | wn.de | 79 | 81 | 76 | 72 | 1,000,000 | 1 |
| 70 | wz.de | 78 | 80 | 75 | 71 | 1,000,000 | 1 |
| 71 | desired.de | 77 | 79 | 74 | 70 | 2,400,000 | 2 |
| 72 | curved.de | 78 | 80 | 75 | 71 | 1,900,000 | 2 |
| 73 | 4players.de | 78 | 80 | 75 | 71 | 1,400,000 | 3 |
| 74 | moviepilot.de | 78 | 80 | 75 | 71 | 2,400,000 | 3 |
| 75 | promiflash.de | 78 | 80 | 75 | 71 | 3,400,000 | 3 |
| 76 | spieletipps.de | 78 | 80 | 75 | 71 | 2,900,000 | 3 |
| 77 | stadt-bremerhaven.de | 78 | 80 | 75 | 71 | 2,100,000 | 3 |
| 78 | basicthinking.de | 76 | 78 | 73 | 69 | 420,000 | 3 |
| 79 | ingenieur.de | 75 | 77 | 72 | 68 | 680,000 | 2 |
| 80 | musikexpress.de | 76 | 78 | 73 | 69 | 950,000 | 3 |
| 81 | impulse.de | 76 | 78 | 73 | 69 | 680,000 | 3 |
| 82 | mobiflip.de | 74 | 76 | 71 | 67 | 950,000 | 3 |
| 83 | netzpiloten.de | 74 | 76 | 71 | 67 | 180,000 | 3 |
| 84 | the-decoder.de | 72 | 74 | 69 | 65 | 950,000 | 3 |
| 85 | deutsche-startups.de | 73 | 75 | 70 | 66 | 260,000 | 3 |
| 86 | pz-news.de | 72 | 74 | 69 | 65 | 1,000,000 | 3 |
| 87 | gruenderkueche.de | 70 | 72 | 67 | 63 | 140,000 | 4 |
| 88 | gruenderfreunde.de | 71 | 73 | 68 | 64 | 95,000 | 4 |
| 89 | radiohamburg.de | 66 | 68 | 63 | 59 | 141,000 | 4 |
| 90 | kita.de | 61 | 63 | 58 | 54 | 619,000 | 4 |
| 91 | pfalz-express.de | 57 | 59 | 54 | 50 | 248,000 | 4 |
| 92 | mrn-news.de | 55 | 57 | 52 | 48 | 230,000 | 4 |
| 93 | elternkompass.de | 54 | 56 | 51 | 47 | 76,000 | 4 |
| 94 | lausitznews.de | 46 | 48 | 43 | 39 | 99,000 | 4 |
| 95 | ig-dieselskandal.de | 46 | 48 | 43 | 39 | 99,000 | 4 |
| 96 | meincharivari.de | 49 | 51 | 46 | 42 | 43,000 | 4 |
| 97 | onlinemarktplatz.de | 50 | 52 | 47 | 43 | 9,000 | 4 |
| 98 | mobilebanking.de | 50 | 52 | 47 | 43 | 17,000 | 4 |
| 99 | bestetipps.de | 67 | 69 | 64 | 60 | 158,000 | 4 |
| 100 | autoextrem.de | 51 | 53 | 48 | 44 | 156,000 | 4 |
The pitch that works for German editors
- Write to the editor in German, in the Sie form. A pitch in English marks you as someone who will file English copy.
- Lead with the German angle. German data, a German case, or how a trend plays out in the DACH market, in the first two lines.
- Pitch the Ressort, not the masthead. "Für Ihr Ressort Digital" shows you read the publication.
- Bring something a staff writer cannot get. Proprietary data, a survey of German users, first-hand operator experience.
- Match the format to the tier. Op-ed desks want a tight argument. Verticals want a structured how-to. Regional papers want a local peg.
- Disclose any client or brand tie up front. German editorial rules on hidden advertising are strict.
The test: would this editor run the piece if you had nothing to sell? If yes, pitch it. If it only exists to place a link, it goes in the bin.
What not to do
- Send an auto-translated article. German editors reject it on the first sentence.
- Pitch Spiegel or Zeit a "guest post." That format does not exist there.
- Buy links on the low-authority domains that were removed from this list. That is the footprint Google penalises.
- Put exact-match anchors ("bestes CRM") on links back to your product.
- Ignore the Schleichwerbung rules. A hidden commercial link gets the piece pulled.
Bottom line: a handful of placements in real German publications, written by a native speaker, will move rankings and revenue more than a long list of link-farm domains. Use this list to find your handful.