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Last updated: October 2026. Figures as of 1 September 2026 unless stated otherwise.
How big is the bike subscription market in Germany?
Until 2025 there was no reliable answer.
Then the industry association Zukunft Fahrrad began surveying providers of bike subscriptions and bike sharing.
Its second survey, published in October 2026, gives the first year-on-year view of the market, plus first estimates for commercial e-bike subscriptions and tourist rentals.
This article sums up the key figures and what they mean if you're a bike manufacturer, retailer or operator thinking about launching or scaling a bike rental or subscription business.
We follow these numbers closely. After baby and kids' products, bikes are the industry where circuly has the most customers, from kids' bike subscriptions to premium e-bike brands and large retailers. So alongside the market figures, we've added what some of these businesses have shared about running their own subscriptions.
Key figures at a glance
Private bike subscriptions: around 98,000, and consolidating
Zukunft Fahrrad counted 98,000 private bike subscriptions across 14 providers on 1 September 2026, down 2% from 99,975 a year earlier.
A bike subscription here means a medium- to long-term monthly rental with no obligation to buy.
The survey counts active subscriptions, not bikes, and excludes company bike leasing and finance leasing.
That 2% dip doesn't mean the market is shrinking.
Two providers left the subscription business during the year, and the providers that stayed grew their subscriber numbers.
Weaker providers dropped out and the rest took their share.
The market is consolidating, and execution decides who wins.
The biggest example: Swapfiets acquired Dance in May 2026 and now has around 280,000 members across Europe (see the leading bike subscription companies).
A few more details from the survey:
- E-bikes are underrepresented. The e-bike share in private subscriptions is well below their 53% share of bike sales, partly because kids' bike subscriptions make up a large part of the market.
- Cargo bikes are becoming standard. Half of the providers offer cargo bike subscriptions, and two offer trailers, though in limited numbers.
- Public programmes exist too. The city of Stuttgart runs its own subscription with social tariffs, from €5 a month for a kids' bike.
Commercial e-bike subscriptions: 12,500 to 14,000
New in 2026, the survey also estimates 12,500 to 14,000 commercial bike subscriptions, mostly e-bikes for food delivery riders.
All of them are e-bikes, they start at around €120 a month, and single-track e-cargo bikes (longjohns) are increasingly part of the mix.
Four of six providers reported data, so the figure is a range.
For B2B fleets, see how Tenways offers e-bike subscriptions to businesses.
Bike sharing in Germany: 102,550 bikes
Public bike sharing (short-term, automated 24/7 rental) grew slightly to 102,550 active bikes across 17 providers, up 1.5% on the corrected 2025 figure of 101,100.
- Bike-only providers: 13 providers with 67,040 bikes (+4%), including 6,250 e-bikes (+49%) and 1,260 cargo bikes.
- E-scooter platforms: four providers that mainly run e-scooters added 35,513 e-bikes (−3.3%).
- Free cargo bike initiatives: 930 cargo bikes, counted separately because most aren't available 24/7.
The fastest growth is in e-bikes from bike-only providers.
Integration with public transport matters too: Cologne's KVB bikes averaged seven rides per bike per day in the first half of 2026, which Zukunft Fahrrad links to their integration with local transport and the Deutschlandticket. Read more on mobility as a service.
Tourist bike rentals: at least 35,000 bikes on the Baltic coast
For the first time, the survey also looked at tourist rentals.
It estimates at least 35,000 to 40,000 rental bikes on the Baltic coast of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania alone, based on 92 rental providers and booking data from the platform mietrad.
Zukunft Fahrrad notes that the market is hard to measure because it's made up of many small local providers.
How subscriptions compare with leasing, sales and sharing
Put next to the rest of the bike market, subscriptions are still a niche:
- Company bike leasing: around 2.4 million employees lease a bike through their employer, and about 720,000 new bikes were leased in 2025, according to a Deloitte and Zukunft Fahrrad study. That's roughly 24 times the number of private subscriptions. We compare the models in bike subscription vs. leasing vs. buying.
- Bike sales: 3.8 million bikes were sold in Germany in 2025, 53% of them e-bikes (ZIV). All private subscriptions together equal about 2.6% of one year's sales.
- Bikes in households: Germany has around 81 million bikes, but only 13% of people ride daily. Zukunft Fahrrad calls the average use of these bikes "greatly improvable".
- Carsharing: there are about 2.4 times as many bike sharing bikes as carsharing cars (43,190 in January 2026).
What a bike subscription costs in Germany
- Private subscriptions: from about €15 a month for a bike without a motor and from €60 a month for an e-bike. Kids' bikes start at about €10 a month.
- Commercial delivery e-bikes: from about €120 a month.
- Bike sharing: monthly plans of €7.50 to €15 often include the first 30 to 60 minutes on standard bikes; e-bikes usually cost from €0.20 a minute.
- Buying: the average e-bike cost €2,550 in 2025 and the average bike without a motor €500 (ZIV).
At entry-level prices, it takes around 42 months of e-bike subscription fees (€2,550 ÷ €60) to match the average e-bike purchase price, before service, insurance and refurbishment costs. That's why profitable providers plan for several usage cycles per bike.
Prices among bike businesses on circuly show how wide the range is: Bike Club charges around €6 to €18 a month for kids' bikes in Germany, Decathlon Belgium starts its e-bikes at €38 a month on 12, 24 or 36-month terms, and Riese & Müller's premium e-bikes run from €69 to €139 a month.
Longer terms and buying bikes at cost are what make the lower prices work. We run the full numbers in bike subscription pricing and unit economics.
What the numbers mean for bike brands and retailers
1. Consolidation means execution decides who wins
Fewer providers serving the same number of subscribers means the providers still in the market are taking share from those who left. What separates them is rarely the bike. It's professional operations: automated recurring billing, smooth return handling, asset tracking for every bike and dunning that recovers failed payments before they turn into losses, backed by fast service, easy swaps and efficient refurbishment. Providers that still run these on spreadsheets and manual work are the ones most likely to drop out. If you launch now, build those operations to compete with established players from day one.
Bike Club's operations team keeps it simple: "To avoid overloading our refurbishment team with a bunch of different models, we make sure that if we add a new bike, we can support it over several years." (Franz Niebler, Digital Operations Manager, Bike Club Germany)
2. Kids' bikes and cargo bikes are where subscriptions fit best
Kids outgrow bikes every year or two, and cargo bikes are expensive and often needed for a specific life phase. Both match the subscription logic better than a standard city bike. Bike Club has built its business on exactly that: it serves more than 60,000 subscribers in the UK and Germany, and according to its CEO, one in five kids' bikes in Germany comes from Bike Club. A nine-month minimum term covers delivery and refurbishment, and swaps keep families subscribed as their children grow. Read more in our guide to kids' bike subscriptions.
3. B2B is a growth segment
Commercial subscriptions for delivery riders already reach 12,500 to 14,000, at twice the monthly price of private e-bike subscriptions. Fleets for delivery services, employers and other businesses are a strong second channel next to consumers. Tenways already offers e-bike subscriptions to businesses, and Riese & Müller has launched a cargo bike rental concept for small companies.
4. Subscriptions complement company leasing
Company leasing is far bigger, but it only reaches people whose employer offers it and binds them for 36 months. Subscriptions reach everyone else: students, self-employed people, parents buying for their kids, and anyone who wants flexibility. Many dealers will run both. Riese & Müller is a good example: it sells through dealers, works with company bike leasing and runs its own Bike Abo, which credits 90% of past subscription fees if a customer decides to buy. See how Riese & Müller built its product-as-a-service model.
5. Subscriptions get bikes used
Zukunft Fahrrad points out that subscriptions encourage intensive use, and included service keeps bikes roadworthy. That's a strong argument for access over ownership in a country with 81 million bikes, many of them rarely ridden. It also keeps customers close: Decathlon found that its rental customers interacted with the brand around seven times a year and spent more on average than regular customers.
About the data
All figures come from Zukunft Fahrrad's market surveys of bike sharing, bike subscription and rental providers (as of 1 September 2025 and 1 September 2026), unless another source is named. Some figures for providers that didn't respond are estimates. Sources for comparison figures, as cited by Zukunft Fahrrad: Deloitte (company bike leasing), ZIV (bike sales and prices) and Bundesverband Carsharing.
A note on the 2025 figure: Zukunft Fahrrad's original October 2025 release reported 115,000 bike sharing bikes. After a provider reported an error, the figure was corrected in October 2026 to 101,100. If you've cited the older number, it's worth updating.
- Zukunft Fahrrad: Marktzahlen Bikesharing, Fahrradabo und Fahrradmiete
- Zukunft Fahrrad: Erstmals Marktzahlen für Bikesharing und Fahrradabos in Deutschland (2025)
- Zukunft Fahrrad: Marktzahlen Dienstradleasing
How circuly supports bike subscription businesses
circuly is the subscription management software for e-bikes and bikes behind bike businesses like Bike Club, Riese & Müller, Decathlon Belgium, Tenways, Joule and Loopz. It connects to your shop and payment provider and handles checkout, recurring billing, swaps, returns, buyouts and asset tracking for every bike. Explore our bike and micromobility solution or book a demo.
Frequently asked questions
How many bike subscriptions are there in Germany?
Around 98,000 private bike subscriptions across 14 providers as of 1 September 2026, according to Zukunft Fahrrad, plus an estimated 12,500 to 14,000 commercial subscriptions, mostly for delivery riders.
How big is bike sharing in Germany?
102,550 active bike sharing bikes across 17 providers as of 1 September 2026, up 1.5% on the previous year. About 41,800 of them are e-bikes.
Is the bike subscription market shrinking?
No, it's consolidating. Private subscriptions dipped 2% between 2025 and 2026 because two providers left the market, while the providers that stayed grew their subscriber numbers. Growth is strongest in commercial e-bike subscriptions and e-bikes in bike sharing.
How much does a bike subscription cost in Germany?
From about €15 a month for a bike without a motor, €60 a month for an e-bike and €10 a month for a kids' bike. Commercial delivery e-bikes start at around €120 a month.
Is company bike leasing included in these figures?
No. Company bike leasing (Dienstradleasing) is counted separately. Around 2.4 million employees in Germany lease a bike through their employer.
Related reading:
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