The verdict in three sentences
For a Berlin B2B company targeting Germany, Austria, Switzerland and international English speaking buyers, subfolders (/de/, /de-at/, /de-ch/, /en/) remain the most cost effective structure: one domain's authority, one codebase, one hreflang system to govern. Country domains (.de, .at, .ch) pay off only with local teams, distinct price lists and a budget 15 to 40 % higher. Subdomains are rarely the right middle ground, since they split authority without the strong local signal of a country domain.
The real issue: hreflang governance
With German in three variants plus English, a site of 800 to 2,000 pages per version can carry thousands of hreflang annotations. Each page must list its equivalents and be listed back. Miss one and Google may show the German German page with EUR pricing to a buyer in Zurich who expects CHF, or the English page to a Munich procurement manager.
German speaking markets also bring legal pages that differ per country: the Impressum required in Germany and Austria, privacy notices under GDPR and Switzerland's revised FADP. Your structure decides how easily those variants are maintained. Switching structure later means another migration and 3 to 6 months of instability.
Comparing the three structures in 2026
| Criterion | Subfolders | Subdomains | Country domains |
|---|---|---|---|
| Example | example.com/de-ch/ | ch.example.com | example.ch |
| Authority | Shared, cumulative | Partly separate | Separate, built per country |
| Local signal | Medium, boosted by hreflang | Medium | Strong |
| Setup cost | Baseline | Plus 5 to 15 % | Plus 15 to 40 % |
| Hreflang upkeep | One CMS | One or several CMS | Several sites to sync |
| Link building | One link profile | Partly shared | One profile per domain |
| Stabilisation after switch | 3 to 4 months | 3 to 5 months | 4 to 6 months |
Three year cost and vendor dependency
Figures are 2026 estimates for a B2B site of 1,000 pages per language version in Germany, excluding translation and VAT.
| Three year item | Subfolders | Subdomains | Country domains |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rebuild and multilingual setup | EUR 30,000 | EUR 33,000 | EUR 39,000 |
| Hosting, certificates, domains | EUR 3,000 | EUR 3,600 | EUR 5,400 |
| Technical upkeep and hreflang | EUR 10,800 | EUR 13,000 | EUR 18,000 |
| SEO and link building per market | EUR 43,200 | EUR 48,000 | EUR 57,600 |
| Three year total | EUR 87,000 | EUR 97,600 | EUR 120,000 |
| Vendor dependency | Low with a standard CMS | Medium | High, several environments |
| Scalability | New language in a few weeks | Fair | New site per market |
The gap between subfolders and country domains reaches 38 %, EUR 33,000 over three years. It is justified when each country has its own catalogue, prices and sales team.
Recommendation by profile
Mittelstand firm of 20 to 200 staff with the same offer across DACH: subfolders, with a CMS that generates hreflang automatically. Group with autonomous Austrian and Swiss subsidiaries: country domains, provided link building is budgeted per country. Subdomains: only when a technical constraint forces separate hosting for one version.
To validate the choice, Kolonell offers a visibility audit at 100,000 FCFA (about EUR 152), credited against setup if you start within 30 days, then 12 month Traffic Engine plans: Presence 125,000 FCFA (about EUR 191), Momentum 225,000 FCFA (about EUR 343) or Flood 350,000 FCFA (about EUR 534) a month, with a 300,000 FCFA setup (about EUR 457) and a weekly report per market.
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Illustrative example, fictional company: Jonas, head of digital at a Berlin maker of industrial sensors, sells in Germany (60 % of revenue), Austria (15 %), Switzerland (10 %) and English speaking export markets (15 %). The current site has German and English only, with Swiss buyers seeing EUR prices.
He compares country domains at EUR 120,000 over three years with subfolders at EUR 87,000. With one catalogue and one export team, he picks subfolders with a de-CH variant showing CHF prices, saving EUR 33,000. Six months after launch, Swiss organic visits are up 2.1 times and Swiss quote requests rise from 3 to 9 a month.
FAQ
Do I need a .de domain to rank in Germany?
No, a well tagged /de/ subfolder can rank in Germany. A .de adds a stronger local signal but costs 15 to 40 % more to maintain.
Should German for Germany, Austria and Switzerland be separate?
Yes when prices, VAT, legal pages or vocabulary differ: use de-DE, de-AT and de-CH in hreflang. Otherwise one German version can target all three.
How long does stabilisation take after a structure change?
Allow 3 to 4 months for subfolders and up to 6 months for country domains. Weekly monitoring catches hreflang errors in the first weeks.
Can I machine translate 2,000 pages?
Unreviewed machine translation produces thin pages that rank poorly. At minimum, have native editors review the 50 to 100 pages that generate enquiries.
What does an extra language cost?
With subfolders, adding a version usually costs 10 to 20 % of the original structure budget, excluding translation. With country domains it is close to a new site.
Get found by the customers searching for you. Begin with a visibility audit at 100,000 FCFA (about EUR 152), credited against setup within 30 days, then a Traffic Engine plan matched to your markets with a weekly report to win more quote requests across DACH and beyond: Traffic Engine. WhatsApp +221 77 596 93 33.
Mohamed Bah
Fondateur, Kolonell
Passionate about digital and entrepreneurship in Africa, Mohamed has been helping Sénégalese businesses with their digital transformation since 2020. Founder of Kolonell, he believes every SME deserves a professional and accessible online présence.