General Terms and Conditions (AGB)

§ 1 Scope

(1) These General Terms and Conditions (hereinafter “T&Cs”) apply to the use of the website kosten.org (hereinafter the “Website” or “Portal”), which is operated by SVIX Media, owner Konstantin Botschmanowski, Schulstraße 72, 41372 Niederkrüchten, Germany (hereinafter the “Provider” or “we”).

(2) By accessing and using the Website you accept these T&Cs. A user relationship comes into being through access to the Website.

(3) Deviating, conflicting or supplementary general terms and conditions shall not become part of the contract, even if we are aware of them, unless we expressly agree to their application in writing.

(4) These T&Cs apply both to consumers within the meaning of § 13 of the German Civil Code (BGB) and to businesses within the meaning of § 14 BGB.

(5) A consumer within the meaning of these T&Cs is any natural person who enters into a legal transaction for purposes that cannot be attributed predominantly to either their commercial or their self-employed professional activity.

(6) A business within the meaning of these T&Cs is a natural or legal person or a partnership with legal capacity that, when entering into a legal transaction, acts in the exercise of its commercial or self-employed professional activity.

§ 2 Provider and subject matter

(1) The Provider is: SVIX Media, owner: Konstantin Botschmanowski, Schulstraße 72, 41372 Niederkrüchten, Germany, email: hello@svix.de, VAT ID: DE362174855.

(2) The subject matter of the user relationship is the provision of a free, advertising-funded information and comparison portal on the internet. The Portal offers users editorially prepared information, market overviews, ratings, cost comparisons and interactive comparison calculators in various categories (including finance, insurance, software and everyday costs).

(3) There is no entitlement to the provision or continued availability of particular content or functions. The Provider reserves the right to change, extend, restrict or discontinue the Portal in whole or in part at any time, without giving rise to any claims by users.

§ 3 Services of the Portal

(1) Information offering: The Portal provides information on products and services of various providers. This information serves exclusively for general information and orientation. It does not constitute financial advice, investment advice, legal advice, tax advice or any other professional advice. Using the information does not replace individual advice from an appropriately qualified professional. In particular for complex financial decisions, insurance questions or legal matters, we expressly recommend seeking professional advice from a licensed adviser, lawyer or tax adviser.

(2) Comparison calculators: The comparison calculators offered on the Portal (for example for current accounts, loans, brokerage accounts and insurance) serve as a non-binding overview and orientation. The terms shown in the calculators (interest rates, fees, bonuses, rewards) are maintained to the best of our knowledge and belief, but may differ because of technical delays, transmission errors in interfaces or short-notice changes by the providers. Only the information that you find directly with the respective product provider on its website or in its contractual documents (in particular pre-contractual information and product information sheets) is binding.

(3) No brokerage: The Provider is not a financial services institution within the meaning of the German Banking Act (KWG), not an insurance intermediary under § 34d of the German Trade Regulation Act (GewO), not an insurance adviser under § 34e GewO, not a financial investment intermediary under § 34f GewO, not a fee-based financial investment adviser under § 34h GewO and not a real estate loan intermediary under § 34i GewO. No contractual, brokerage, advisory or agency relationship is established between the user and the Provider of this Portal. Any contracts are concluded exclusively between the user and the respective product provider on the terms set by that product provider.

§ 4 Independence and editorial principles

(1) The Provider evaluates products and services according to a transparent, comprehensible catalogue of criteria (see § 5 of these T&Cs).

(2) The Portal is financed primarily through affiliate marketing (see § 6 of these T&Cs). In this respect: affiliate partnerships have no influence on the editorial grade, the points awarded or the placement in our comparisons. The editorial assessment is carried out independently of economic considerations.

(3) We also list providers with whom we have no business relationship, where they are relevant for a complete and objective market comparison.

(4) Promotional content (for example native advertising, sponsored posts, advertorials) is always clearly identified as such and clearly separated from editorial content.

(5) Testimonials, experience reports or user reviews, where shown on the Portal, reflect the actual experiences of the users concerned. Reviews presented as independent are not manipulated or published for payment.

§ 5 Ranking methodology and rating system (transparency under the P2B Regulation)

(1) General: Placement in our comparisons and the awarding of grades follow an objective, comprehensible rating scheme. This disclosure is made in accordance with Art. 5 of Regulation (EU) 2019/1150 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 June 2019 on promoting fairness and transparency for business users of online intermediation services (Platform-to-Business Regulation, P2B Regulation).

(2) The 100-point system: Our rating system is based on a maximum of 100 points made up of two main components: (a) Common criteria (maximum 25 points): these cover quality features that apply across products, such as support quality and availability of customer service, app usability and digital user experience (UX), transparency in communication and pricing, regulatory aspects such as a BaFin licence (the German financial regulator) or comparable supervision, and overall value for money. (b) Specific criteria (maximum 75 points): these cover category-specific factors that vary by product type, for example for financial products: interest rates, fee structures, bonuses and rewards; for software: range of functions, integration options, security features; for insurance: scope of cover, excess, waiting periods.

(3) Grade conversion: The total score is converted into a school-style grade (German scale, where 1.0 is best) according to the following scheme: 90–100 points correspond to a grade of 1.0–1.4 (very good); 80–89 points to 1.5–1.9 (very good); 70–79 points to 2.0–2.4 (good); 60–69 points to 2.5–2.9 (good); 50–59 points to 3.0–3.4 (satisfactory); 40–49 points to 3.5–3.9 (satisfactory); 30–39 points to 4.0–4.4 (adequate); below 30 points to a grade of 4.5 or worse (poor).

(4) Main ranking parameters under Art. 5 P2B Regulation: The most important parameters that determine the order of search results and comparisons on this Portal are, in descending order of importance: (a) Primary ranking factor: the overall result under our 100-point rating system (see above). Products with a higher score tend to be displayed higher. (b) Secondary ranking factor: the settings made by the user through filter and sort options (for example “show free accounts only”, “sorted by interest rate”). (c) Tertiary ranking factor: how up to date the product data is. Products with recently updated data may be displayed preferentially if their rating is otherwise equal.

(5) No influence of remuneration on the ranking: The amount of any affiliate commission or the existence of an affiliate partnership are expressly not ranking factors. A provider is not ranked higher merely because we have a partnership with it or receive a higher commission. We also receive no direct payments from providers for particular placements.

(6) Special highlights: Where individual providers are visually highlighted (for example through labels such as “Recommendation”, “Top rated” or “Editors' pick”), this is done exclusively on the basis of the editorial assessment under the points system described above or because of particular strengths in individual categories. Paid placements are labelled “Ad” or “Advertisement”.

§ 6 Affiliate links and remuneration transparency

(1) Funding model: We finance this free information service through commissions that we receive from partners when users take out a contract or buy a product through our links (affiliate marketing).

(2) Labelling: Links that lead to a partner and carry tracking parameters are identifiably marked on our Website. The marking takes the form of an asterisk (*) next to the link, the note “Advertisement”, “Ad” or “Affiliate link” in the immediate vicinity of the link, or a general note at the end of the respective article or comparison.

(3) No extra costs for users: Using these links does not cause you, as a user, any additional costs compared with visiting the provider directly. The commission is paid out of the provider's marketing budget, not by you as the customer.

(4) Possible benefits: In some cases, our affiliate partnerships allow us to offer exclusive bonuses, special terms or promotions that are only available through our links and that you would not receive if you visited the provider directly.

(5) Affiliate networks used: We work with the following affiliate networks and partner programmes: financeAds International GmbH, Karlstraße 9, 80333 Munich, Germany; Awin AG, Eichhornstraße 3, 10785 Berlin, Germany; Firstlead GmbH (Adcell), Rosenfelder Str. 15-16, 10315 Berlin, Germany. In addition, we may work with further partners or in direct partnerships with product providers. Further information on data processing by these networks can be found in our privacy policy at https://kosten.org/en/datenschutz.

§ 7 Limitation of liability

(1) Care with content: The content of this Portal has been prepared with the greatest possible care. However, we cannot accept any guarantee for the accuracy, completeness and currency of the content.

(2) Unlimited liability: The Provider is liable without limitation for damage arising from injury to life, body or health that is based on an intentional or negligent breach of duty by the Provider or by a legal representative or vicarious agent of the Provider; for other damage that is based on an intentional or grossly negligent breach of duty by the Provider or by a legal representative or vicarious agent of the Provider; and in the event of the assumption of a guarantee or fraudulent concealment of defects.

(3) Liability for breach of essential contractual obligations: In the event of a breach of essential contractual obligations (cardinal obligations), i.e. obligations whose fulfilment is a precondition for the proper performance of the contract in the first place and on whose observance the contractual partner may regularly rely, the Provider is liable in cases of simple negligence only up to the amount of the damage that was foreseeable and typical for this type of contract at the time the contract was concluded.

(4) Exclusion of liability: In all other respects, the Provider's liability is excluded, regardless of the legal ground. This applies in particular to lost profit, indirect damage, consequential damage or damage arising from third-party claims. The exclusion of liability does not apply where the damage is based on intent or gross negligence or in the case of injury to life, body or health.

(5) No liability for advice: Because the content of this Portal serves exclusively for general information and does not constitute financial advice, investment advice, legal advice or tax advice, the Provider accepts no liability for decisions that a user makes on the basis of the information provided on this Portal. Financial decisions should always be based on individual advice from qualified professionals and on a review of the binding product documents of the respective provider.

(6) Availability: The Provider gives no guarantee of uninterrupted availability of the Website. Short-term interruptions due to maintenance work, technical problems, server failures or reasons beyond the Provider's control (for example force majeure, cyber attacks) do not give rise to any liability claims.

§ 8 Warranty and currency of data

(1) Data sources: We obtain product data, terms and prices from various sources: technical interfaces (APIs) of affiliate networks and product providers; publicly available price lists, product information sheets and tables of terms of the providers; and manual research by our editorial team.

(2) No guarantee of currency: Despite all efforts to keep data current and correct, we cannot guarantee that all data is always up to date, complete and error-free. In particular for financial products (interest rates, loans, investments), terms may change daily or several times a day. For insurance products, benefits, premiums and conditions may vary considerably depending on the individual risk profile.

(3) Binding nature: Only the information that you find directly on the website of the respective product provider, in its contractual documents, pre-contractual information, product information sheets or insurance terms is legally binding. We give no guarantee that the terms shown on our Portal are actually available to you or that you can conclude a contract on the terms shown.

(4) Technical availability: We give no guarantee of the permanent technical availability of the Website or of individual functions. For technical reasons, because of maintenance work or for other reasons, the Website may be temporarily unavailable or accessible only to a limited extent.

§ 9 Copyright and intellectual property

(1) Protection of content: All content published on this Website (in particular texts, graphics, logos, images, photographs, audio files, videos, comparison tables, databases, software and their presentation, as well as the layout of the Website) is protected by copyright. Unless stated otherwise, the copyright and other industrial property rights lie with the Provider or have been licensed by the Provider from third parties.

(2) Rights of use: Reproduction, editing, distribution, making publicly available and any kind of exploitation beyond the limits of copyright law require the Provider's prior written consent. This applies in particular to: copying texts, tables or graphics onto other websites or publications; use for commercial purposes (for example advertising, sales promotion); and automated collection or analysis of the content (for example by scraping, crawling or data mining), unless expressly permitted by robots.txt.

(3) Private use: Downloads and copies of the content of this Website are permitted only for private, non-commercial use. Copyright notices and other markings must not be removed or altered.

(4) Third-party trademarks and marks: Trademarks, logos, product names and other marks of third parties shown on this Website are subject to the trademark rights and other proprietary rights of their respective owners. Their presentation on this Website does not entitle you to assume that these marks are free of third-party rights or that a licence for their use has been granted.

§ 10 Terms of use

(1) Permitted use: Use of the Website is permitted exclusively for private information purposes. Using the information provided via the Website for commercial or professional purposes requires the Provider's prior written consent.

(2) Prohibited acts: It is prohibited to: read out, copy or store the Website or parts of it in an automated way (scraping, crawling, mirroring), unless expressly permitted by the robots.txt file; overload, disrupt or manipulate the Website with bots, automated scripts, malware or similar technologies; bypass, disable or test security mechanisms without express authorisation; decompile, reverse-engineer or manipulate content; use the Website for unlawful purposes, in particular for distributing illegal content, spam or malware or for committing fraud; or submit false or misleading information about your own identity.

(3) Consequences: In the event of violations of these terms of use, we reserve the right to: block access to the Website for the user concerned (for example by IP blocking); assert civil-law claims; and file a criminal complaint in the case of violations that are relevant under criminal law.

§ 11 External links and linking policy

(1) No responsibility for third-party content: Our Portal contains links to external third-party websites over whose content we have no influence. We therefore cannot accept any guarantee for this third-party content. The respective provider or operator of the pages is always responsible for the content of the linked pages.

(2) Review at the time of linking: The linked pages were checked for possible legal violations at the time of linking. No unlawful content was apparent at the time of linking. Permanent monitoring of the content of the linked pages is not reasonable without concrete indications of an infringement.

(3) Removal of unlawful links: If we become aware of infringements, we will remove such links immediately. If you notice unlawful content on a linked page, please let us know at hello@svix.de.

(4) Disclaimer: We expressly distance ourselves from all content on the linked pages that was changed or added after the time of linking and that may be unlawful or offensive.

§ 12 Dispute resolution

(1) Notice under § 36 of the German Consumer Dispute Resolution Act (VSBG): We are neither willing nor obliged to take part in dispute resolution proceedings before a consumer arbitration board.

(2) Note on the EU online dispute resolution platform: The European Commission had provided an online dispute resolution platform (ODR platform) at https://ec.europa.eu/consumers/odr/. This platform was discontinued on 20 July 2025. It is therefore no longer available for consumer disputes.

(3) Contact: If you have questions, complaints or problems, please contact us directly by email at hello@svix.de. We endeavour to clear up concerns promptly and with a view to an amicable settlement.

§ 13 Changes to these T&Cs

(1) Right to amend: We reserve the right to change these T&Cs at any time with effect for the future, insofar as this is legally permissible and taking the users' legitimate interests into account. Changes may become necessary in particular in the event of changes in the law or case law; technical developments of the Website; and adaptation to changed business models or market conditions.

(2) Information on changes: We will inform users of material changes to these T&Cs, for example by a clearly visible notice on the Website (such as a banner on the home page) or by updating the date of the last change at the beginning of these T&Cs.

(3) Current version: You can find the date of the last update at the beginning of these T&Cs. The current version of the T&Cs is available at https://kosten.org/agb.

§ 14 Final provisions

(1) Applicable law: The law of the Federal Republic of Germany applies, excluding the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG). For consumers, this choice of law applies only insofar as mandatory provisions of the law of the state in which the consumer has their habitual residence do not afford them greater protection (Art. 6 (2) Rome I Regulation).

(2) Place of jurisdiction for businesses: If the user is a merchant, a legal entity under public law or a special fund under public law, the exclusive place of jurisdiction for all disputes arising from or in connection with these T&Cs and the use of the Website is the Provider's registered seat (Viersen/Niederkrüchten), insofar as legally permissible.

(3) Place of jurisdiction for consumers: For consumers, the statutory places of jurisdiction apply in accordance with Art. 17 and 18 of Regulation (EU) No 1215/2012 (Brussels Ia Regulation).

(4) Severability clause: Should individual provisions of these T&Cs be or become invalid in whole or in part, or should a gap in the provisions emerge, the validity of the remaining provisions remains unaffected. In place of the invalid or missing provision, the valid and enforceable provision that comes closest to the economic purpose of the invalid or missing provision shall be deemed agreed. The parties undertake to agree such a provision. The same applies to any gaps in the contract.

(5) Written form requirement: Amendments or additions to these T&Cs require written form. This also applies to any waiver of this written form requirement. Electronic form (email) does not satisfy the written form requirement unless the law expressly provides otherwise.