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The largest IT recruitment agencies in Germany: who posts IT freelance projects?

In Q3 2026, German IT freelance project boards carried 31,239 listings of 28,289 different projects; 21,868 of them name the company posting them – almost always a recruitment agency or project broker, rarely the end client. Most projects naming a company are posted by SOLCOM (6.8%), followed by SThree (5.6%) and Hays (4.9%). This article shows which companies post how many projects, how often they offer employee leasing (Arbeitnehmerüberlassung, ANÜ) or employment instead of a freelance contract, how often remote work, and for which developer roles – and, in a ranking of its own, who posts the most development projects.

By . Data: 31,239 project listings from German IT freelance project boards, July 2026 – September 2026. Published , last updated .

The largest IT recruitment agencies by number of projects

20 companies posted at least 200 projects in Q3 2026; the chart shows them with their share of all projects naming a company. The ten companies with the most projects post 37% of them together, companies with fewer than 10 projects a month 17%.

  1. SOLCOM1,490 projects · 3,201 listings6.8%
  2. SThree1,228 projects · 1,306 listings5.6%
  3. Hays1,080 projects · 1,296 listings4.9%
  4. Randstad (vorm. GULP)932 projects · 953 listings4.3%
  5. FERCHAU747 projects · 751 listings3.4%
  6. Westhouse646 projects · 659 listings3%
  7. Michael Page611 projects · 636 listings2.8%
  8. Amoria Bond467 projects · 473 listings2.1%
  9. YER Deutschland464 projects · 485 listings2.1%
  10. Etengo391 projects · 397 listings1.8%
  11. Constaff344 projects · 344 listings1.6%
  12. nemensis274 projects · 278 listings1.3%
  13. Akkodis253 projects · 264 listings1.2%
  14. mund consulting251 projects · 262 listings1.1%
  15. SOMI Experts251 projects · 260 listings1.1%
  16. RED Global236 projects · 243 listings1.1%
  17. Grey Solutions229 projects · 233 listings1%
  18. Contractor Consulting228 projects · 269 listings1%
  19. Circle8223 projects · 223 listings1%
  20. eightbit experts201 projects · 219 listings0.9%

Projects are counted, not listings: when a company posts the same project again – days or weeks later, as part of a re-uploaded project catalogue or on a second board – the project counts once; 9.4% of the quarter's listings were such repeats. Both numbers are written below each name. When a client searches through several agencies, however, the project counts for each of them.

The largest agencies for development projects

33% of the projects naming a company are development projects – projects with development work as the developer-roles analysis defines it, for example for Java, SAP, DevOps, test or embedded roles; the others are, for example, consulting, project management, administration or IT operations. Most development projects naming a company are posted by Randstad (vorm. GULP; 6%), followed by SThree (5.2%) and SOLCOM (4.6%). The chart shows every company with at least 100 development projects in Q3 2026 with its share of all development projects naming a company, provided it is named in all three months; below each name, the part of its projects that development makes up.

  1. Randstad (vorm. GULP)429 development projects · 46% of the company's projects6%
  2. SThree376 development projects · 31% of the company's projects5.2%
  3. SOLCOM332 development projects · 22% of the company's projects4.6%
  4. Westhouse290 development projects · 45% of the company's projects4%
  5. FERCHAU190 development projects · 25% of the company's projects2.6%
  6. Hays187 development projects · 17% of the company's projects2.6%
  7. mund consulting159 development projects · 63% of the company's projects2.2%
  8. Amoria Bond147 development projects · 31% of the company's projects2%
  9. YER Deutschland136 development projects · 29% of the company's projects1.9%
  10. Etengo127 development projects · 32% of the company's projects1.8%
  11. Contractor Consulting123 development projects · 54% of the company's projects1.7%
  12. Constaff119 development projects · 35% of the company's projects1.7%
  13. nemensis113 development projects · 41% of the company's projects1.6%
  14. SPS Consulting & Services105 development projects · 56% of the company's projects1.5%

Freelance, employee leasing or employment: contract type per agency

Of all projects naming a company, 80% are freelance contracts and 16% employee leasing. On average, 19% of the projects naming a company offer employment (employee leasing, fixed-term or permanent). The share of employment is clearly higher at Constaff (71%), SOMI Experts (58%), Circle8 (49%), SThree (47%) and 4 more. It is clearly lower at Etengo (0%), Grey Solutions (0%), SOLCOM (0.2%), Contractor Consulting (0.4%) and 5 more.

The shares reflect the contract type the listings state. Many agencies place both freelance contractors and leased employees, some through separate companies. What sets the contract types apart, and how their shares develop, is shown in the analysis Freelance vs employee leasing in Germany. The value on the right is the share of employment; the shares of all contract types are written below each name.

  1. All projects naming a company21,868 projects · freelance 80%, leasing 16%, fixed-term 0.4%, permanent 2.7%, not stated 0.9%19%
  2. SOLCOM1,490 projects · freelance 86%, leasing 0.2%, fixed-term 0%, permanent 0%, not stated 13%0.2%
  3. SThree1,228 projects · freelance 53%, leasing 47%, fixed-term 0%, permanent 0.1%, not stated 0%47%
  4. Hays1,080 projects · freelance 97%, leasing 2.6%, fixed-term 0%, permanent 0.3%, not stated 0%2.9%
  5. Randstad (vorm. GULP)932 projects · freelance 64%, leasing 27%, fixed-term 6.2%, permanent 3%, not stated 0%36%
  6. FERCHAU747 projects · freelance 70%, leasing 30%, fixed-term 0%, permanent 0%, not stated 0%30%
  7. Westhouse646 projects · freelance 59%, leasing 40%, fixed-term 0%, permanent 1.2%, not stated 0%41%
  8. Michael Page611 projects · freelance 86%, leasing 13%, fixed-term 0%, permanent 0.5%, not stated 0%14%
  9. Amoria Bond467 projects · freelance 98%, leasing 1.7%, fixed-term 0%, permanent 0.2%, not stated 0%1.9%
  10. YER Deutschland464 projects · freelance 77%, leasing 22%, fixed-term 0%, permanent 1.3%, not stated 0%23%
  11. Etengo391 projects · freelance 100%, leasing 0%, fixed-term 0%, permanent 0%, not stated 0%0%
  12. Constaff344 projects · freelance 29%, leasing 71%, fixed-term 0%, permanent 0%, not stated 0%71%
  13. nemensis274 projects · freelance 92%, leasing 6.6%, fixed-term 0%, permanent 1.1%, not stated 0%7.7%
  14. Akkodis253 projects · freelance 80%, leasing 15%, fixed-term 0%, permanent 5.1%, not stated 0%20%
  15. mund consulting251 projects · freelance 84%, leasing 14%, fixed-term 0%, permanent 2%, not stated 0%16%
  16. SOMI Experts251 projects · freelance 42%, leasing 41%, fixed-term 0%, permanent 17%, not stated 0%58%
  17. RED Global236 projects · freelance 99%, leasing 0.8%, fixed-term 0%, permanent 0.4%, not stated 0%1.3%
  18. Grey Solutions229 projects · freelance 100%, leasing 0%, fixed-term 0%, permanent 0%, not stated 0%0%
  19. Contractor Consulting228 projects · freelance 100%, leasing 0.4%, fixed-term 0%, permanent 0%, not stated 0%0.4%
  20. Circle8223 projects · freelance 51%, leasing 48%, fixed-term 0%, permanent 1.3%, not stated 0%49%
  21. eightbit experts201 projects · freelance 69%, leasing 31%, fixed-term 0%, permanent 0%, not stated 0%31%

Remote work per agency

On average, 74% of the projects naming a company explicitly offer full or partial remote work. The projects of mund consulting (98%), RED Global (97%), Westhouse (96%), Randstad (vorm. GULP; 94%) and 6 more do so clearly more often. Those of Hays (4.4%), SOLCOM (35%), Michael Page (44%), FERCHAU (50%) and 4 more clearly less often. At Hays (95%), SOLCOM (59%) and Michael Page (53%), more than half of the projects state no remote share – a low value there mostly means that the listings say nothing about it. A remote offer is an explicitly stated remote share above 0% – fully remote or partly, for example two days on site and three remote. How much remote work IT freelance projects allow overall is shown in the analysis How remote are IT freelance projects in Germany?

All 20 companies at a glance

The table sums up per company: its projects, its listings including repeats and its share of the projects, the contract types, how many projects offer remote work and how many state no remote share, the share of development projects, and the most frequent developer role with its share of the company's development projects. The last row shows all projects naming a company.

Projects per company in Q3 2026: listings, share, contract type, remote offer and roles
CompanyProjectsListingsShareFreelanceLeasing (ANÜ)Fixed-term/permanentRemote offeredNo remote statementDevelopmentMost frequent role (share of development)
SOLCOM1,4903,2016.8%86%0.2%0%35%59%22%Embedded C/C++ Developer (19%)
SThree1,2281,3065.6%53%47%0.1%66%27%31%DevOps / Platform Engineer (13%)
Hays1,0801,2964.9%97%2.6%0.3%4.4%95%17%Embedded C/C++ Developer (13%)
Randstad (vorm. GULP)9329534.3%64%27%9.2%94%3.9%46%Test Engineer (12%)
FERCHAU7477513.4%70%30%0%50%46%25%DevOps / Platform Engineer (15%)
Westhouse6466593%59%40%1.2%96%2.8%45%DevOps / Platform Engineer (18%)
Michael Page6116362.8%86%13%0.5%44%53%11%–
Amoria Bond4674732.1%98%1.7%0.2%85%12%31%SAP Developer (14%)
YER Deutschland4644852.1%77%22%1.3%78%14%29%Data Engineer (13%)
Etengo3913971.8%100%0%0%84%15%32%Test Engineer (10%)
Constaff3443441.6%29%71%0%93%5.8%35%DevOps / Platform Engineer (14%)
nemensis2742781.3%92%6.6%1.1%93%4.7%41%DevOps / Platform Engineer (28%)
Akkodis2532641.2%80%15%5.1%79%17%39%DevOps / Platform Engineer (13%)
mund consulting2512621.1%84%14%2%98%1.2%63%Java Backend Developer (14%)
SOMI Experts2512601.1%42%41%17%68%29%23%DevOps / Platform Engineer (29%)
RED Global2362431.1%99%0.8%0.4%97%1.7%38%Test Engineer (17%)
Grey Solutions2292331%100%0%0%60%32%12%–
Contractor Consulting2282691%100%0.4%0%90%7%54%DevOps / Platform Engineer (21%)
Circle82232231%51%48%1.3%56%42%31%DevOps / Platform Engineer (26%)
eightbit experts2012190.9%69%31%0%85%13%42%DevOps / Platform Engineer (19%)
All projects naming a company21,86824,818100%80%16%3.1%74%22%33%–

Which agencies post which developer roles

For every developer role with at least 300 projects naming a company, the table names up to three companies with the most projects of that role and their share of it – provided they post at least 20.

The companies with the most projects per developer role in Q3 2026
RoleProjectsCompanies (share of the role)
DevOps / Platform Engineer1,038Westhouse (5%), SThree (4.8%), Randstad (vorm. GULP) (3.6%)
Test Engineer602Randstad (vorm. GULP) (8.5%), SThree (5%), SOLCOM (4.5%)
Data Engineer595Randstad (vorm. GULP) (6.9%), Westhouse (5.2%), Hays (4%)
Java Backend Developer586Randstad (vorm. GULP) (8.4%), SThree (7.8%), Westhouse (5.1%)
SAP Developer495SOLCOM (5.9%), Randstad (vorm. GULP) (5.5%), Westhouse (5.5%)
Security Engineer471SThree (5.3%), Randstad (vorm. GULP) (5.1%), Hays (4.2%)
ML / AI Engineer399Randstad (vorm. GULP) (5.8%)
Low-Code Platform Developer397Randstad (vorm. GULP) (7.3%), SOLCOM (5.8%)
Embedded C/C++ Developer353SOLCOM (18%), SThree (10%), Hays (7.1%)
Java Fullstack Developer329Randstad (vorm. GULP) (7.9%)

Agency shares quarter by quarter

The companies' shares are analysed per quarter. The series starts with Q3 2026; from the next quarter on, this paragraph names the shares that changed clearly.

Which IT recruitment agency is the best?

These figures do not answer that: they show who posts how many projects and what the listings state – not how an agency looks after its contractors, how fast it pays or which rates it offers. They still help when choosing: if you only want to work freelance, the table shows at which companies almost all projects are freelance contracts; if you want to work remotely, where remote work is offered often; if you look for a particular role, which companies post many projects for it. The rates IT freelance listings state are covered in the analysis of hourly rates.

The projects page lists the current listings of all analysed boards in one place; Projectmatch automatically matches new projects against your profile. Try it now.

See also: Freelance vs employee leasing in Germany, The most in-demand developer roles in IT freelance projects, How remote are IT freelance projects in Germany? and IT contract & freelance job boards in Germany (where the agencies post).

Method

The posting company is the name a project board gives for it in its own field. A board that publishes only its operator's projects – every listing carries the operator's project number and speaks as the agency ("we are looking for our client") – counts for the operator. On the other boards a listing does not show who places it; their projects – 23% of all projects in Q3 2026 – count without a company. All shares refer to the 21,868 projects naming a company.

Projects are counted: a listing is a repeat when the same company posted a project with the same title and a nearly identical description in the 90 days before – at least 90% of the words of the shorter description also appear in the other, numbers such as project numbers and dates not counted; descriptions of fewer than 20 words must match, and a listing without a description is never a repeat. The rule applies to every company alike, also across boards and months; a project counts in the month it was first listed, with the details of that first listing. Two different projects with the same title and nearly the same text count once. Listings naming no company cannot be assigned to a company; no repeats are detected there, and they count per listing.

Spellings of the same company are folded: case, spacing and a trailing legal form ("GmbH", "AG", "Ltd" …) do not count. A fixed table folds the brands and companies of a group into the group – a brand belongs to it only when its name says so ("ein Geschäftszweig der SThree GmbH", a business unit of SThree GmbH) or the group names it as its brand. The group is shown, not the brand, because some groups post freelance contracts and employee leasing through different companies; a single brand would show only part of it. Folded are:

All other names stay as the listings write them. Contract type and remote share count only when the listing states them explicitly – in the board's field or in the description, which an AI model reads (as in the contract-type analysis and the remote-work analysis); roles and development projects are those of the developer-roles analysis. Companies with at least 200 projects in the quarter are compared. "Clearly" higher or lower means: a company's share differs from that of all other projects naming a company by at least one percentage point, and the difference is too large for random variation (two standard errors); changes between quarters are tested the same way. The analysis does not rate companies.

Every project has been analysed this way since July 2026. A quarter is the sum of its three months, the latest complete quarter is shown, and the series starts with Q3 2026. The figures are updated monthly and published under CC BY 4.0: you may reuse them freely, also commercially, with the attribution "Projectmatch (projectmatch.io)" and, online, linking to this page.