Austria

Economy & income

1 USD = 0.88 EUR live rate

Currency: Euro (EUR, €); ~€0.88 per USD (1 EUR ≈ $1.14, 14 Jul 2026)
GDP per capita: ~$63,160 nominal (IMF WEO, 2025)
~$71,600 PPP (World Bank current international $, 2024)
Average salary: ~$3,030 net/mo (Numbeo €2,655.90, Jul 2026)
gross ~$4,330/mo (~€3,800)
Median salary: ~$3,050 net/mo (median full-time €55,000/yr gross ≈ €2,676 net/mo; Statistik Austria, 2025)
Minimum wage: note: no statutory minimum — collective-agreement floor ~€1,500/mo gross (~$1,710), introduced 2017 and fully phased in by 2020 via social-partner CBAs
most sector CBAs now €1,800–2,000/mo (2025)
Cost of living: High — single person ~€1,059/mo and family of four ~€3,669/mo excl. rent
~4% above Germany (Numbeo, Jul 2026)

Digital landscape

Population: 9.12 million (Jan 2025)
Internet users: 95.3% (~8.69M users)
Social media users: 80.1% (~7.30M identities; 86.6% of adults 18+)
Mobile connections: 13.4M connections = 147% of pop
Devices: mobile ~42.2% / desktop ~56.4% / tablet ~1.4% of web traffic (StatCounter, Jun 2026)
Ad spend: Total ad spend ~€5.3B / ~$6.0B (2025)
digital ~€3.24B / ~$3.7B (61% of total, +9.2% YoY; MOMENTUM Spendingstudie / IAB Austria, May 2026)
2026 digital forecast ~€3.5B
Note: ~86% of digital ad euros go to foreign platforms (Google/Meta)
Top social platforms: YouTube ~7.30M, 80.1%

Facebook ~3.25M, 35.6%

Instagram ~3.25M, 35.6%

LinkedIn ~2.70M, 29.6%

Snapchat ~2.54M, 27.9%

Pinterest ~2.50M, 27.4%

TikTok ~2.33M ad reach, 18+
Messengers: WhatsApp (dominant — most-used messenger)
Facebook Messenger (~1.70M)
Telegram (growing)
Signal (privacy-conscious niche)
iMessage/SMS (iOS ~45% of devices)

Ad regulations

Gambling & betting Restricted

RESTRICTED — federal monopoly under the Glücksspielgesetz (GSpG); lawful online gaming only via the state concessionaire Österreichische Lotterien (brand win2day). Monopoly valid to 30 Sep 2027; government plans liberalisation/multi-licensing from Oct 2027 with strict player protection (deposit limits, ~€2 max stake/spin) plus payment & IP blocking of unlicensed operators. Promoting non-licensed operators is legally risky.

Crypto Restricted

RESTRICTED — legal but EU MiCA fully applicable since 30 Dec 2024; crypto-asset service providers must be authorised by the FMA (national grandfathering ended 31 Dec 2025). FMA is sole supervisor; promotions must be fair, clear and non-misleading.

Adult Restricted

RESTRICTED — pornography legal (18+) but explicit advertising barred from mainstream media; sex work is legal and regulated at Länder (state) level. Keep creatives non-explicit.

Dating Allowed

ALLOWED — legal and unrestricted; standard consumer-protection and GDPR/DSGVO rules apply; avoid deceptive/fake-profile funnels.

Finance & loans Restricted

RESTRICTED — lenders and payment/credit providers require FMA authorisation; consumer-credit law (VKrG) mandates APR/cost transparency and bans misleading claims. Loans/insurance are strong but compliance-heavy verticals.

Nutra & pharma Restricted

RESTRICTED — advertising prescription-only medicines to the public is BANNED (Arzneimittelgesetz/AMG); OTC drug ads allowed but regulated/pre-cleared; health & nutra claims must meet EU rules. Enforced by BASG/AGES, fines up to €25,000 (€50,000 repeat). No disease-cure claims.

RegulatorsFMA (finance & crypto), BMF/Finanzministerium (gambling), BASG & AGES (medicines/health), Österreichischer Werberat/ÖWR (ad self-regulation), KommAustria/RTR (broadcast & media)

Notes

German-language, EU-regulated market with strict consumer-protection, GDPR/DSGVO and unfair-competition (UWG) rules
The Österreichischer Werberat runs the self-regulatory Ethik-Codex, including influencer rules requiring clear #Werbung/#Anzeige labelling of paid content.

Payments & behaviour

Payment methods: Cards (~38% of online payments; Mastercard-heavy, also Visa)
EPS bank transfer / bank redirect (~30%; accepted by 80%+ of AT merchants)
E-wallets incl. PayPal (~28%)
Klarna / BNPL & invoice 'Kauf auf Rechnung' (~7% of tx; 38% have used Klarna, Q4 2025)
E-wallets: PayPal (dominant e-wallet)
Apple Pay (growing; iOS ~45%)
Google Pay (growing)
Cash on delivery: Low — bank transfer, cards and pay-by-invoice dominate
cash-on-delivery rare online
E-commerce: High — ~$12.2B e-commerce revenue (2025), ~$13.8B forecast 2026
Amazon.de alone ~40% of online spend
Notes: EPS is the domestic online bank-transfer standard
pay-by-invoice/BNPL is culturally popular
strong price-comparison behavior (Geizhals, willhaben) before purchase.

Audience & culture

Languages: German (official, ~88% — Austrian German)
Turkish
Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian (BCS)
English (widely spoken as foreign language)
Hungarian, Slovene & Croatian (recognized regional minority languages)
Religion: Roman Catholic ~49.6% (2024, first time below 50%)
total Christian ~68.2% incl
Orthodox & Protestant (2021)
Muslim ~8.3%
no religion ~22.4% (Statistics Austria, 2021 census)
Median age: 43.6 years (DataReportal/UN, 2025)
Key seasons: Christmas gifting & markets (mid-Nov–24 Dec) + Black Friday/Cyber Monday — Q4 peak
Ski/winter-sports season (Dec–Feb; Jan–Feb busiest)
Easter (spring)
Summer holidays & travel (Jul–Aug)
Back-to-school (Sep)
Cultural notes: Affluent, quality- and privacy-conscious buyers
heavy price-comparison (Geizhals) before purchase
high trust in established/local brands and pay-by-invoice
prefer German-language, Austrian-nuanced creatives (avoid pure German-Germany slang)
strong DSGVO/data-privacy awareness
formal address (Sie) common in ads.
Where to find creators: Instagram
YouTube
TikTok
Twitch (gaming)

Media landscape

Top media outlets

1 Kronen Zeitung German — tabloid daily; #1 circulation (~532k, 2024), highest reach
2 ORF (orf.at) German — public broadcaster; most-trusted news, ~70% weekly reach
3 Der Standard German — liberal quality daily/online; trust ~62%
4 Die Presse German — conservative quality daily; trust ~62%
5 Kurier German — mid-market daily, Vienna-focused
6 Kleine Zeitung German — largest regional daily (Styria/Carinthia), 2nd-largest paid (~249k)

Top YouTube channels

1 ServusTV On ~0.39M
2 OE24.TV (oe24) ~0.37M
3 Kronen Zeitung (krone.tv) ~0.22M
4 DER STANDARD ~0.16M
5 ORF ON ~0.10M
6 ORF Zeit im Bild ~0.08M

Creators & public figures

Top creators

F

Fabio Wibmer ~7.9M YouTube

YouTubeTrials/downhill MTB stunt rider; Red Bull/GoPro athlete — top action-sports brand-deal creator

J

Julian Steidl (Novritsch) ~3.8M YouTube

YouTubeAirsoft sniper content; runs own DTC airsoft-gear brand — strong e-commerce tie-in

H

Hyoga ~3.2M TikTok

TikTokEntertainment/comedy; #1 Austrian TikTok creator, big youth reach

L

Leila Gharani ~3.0M YouTube

YouTubeExcel/Microsoft 365 & productivity tutorials (Austria-based); B2B/SaaS & tech relevance

J

Joshua Monis ~13M TikTok

TikTokMale skincare/GRWM; beauty brand collabs (SHEIN, AXIS-Y) — listed among top Austria TikTokers

K

Kelly MissesVlog ~2.0M YouTube

YouTubeLifestyle/beauty/coming-of-age vlogs for young women; beauty & DTC relevance

T

Techmagnet ~1.1M TikTok

TikTokGerman-language tech/gadget reviews; consumer-electronics affiliate relevance

E

Elias Schwärzler ~0.42M YouTube

YouTubeMountain-bike/extreme sports; outdoor & cycling brand deals

Celebrities

David Alaba ~15.3M Instagram

Footballer — Real Madrid & Austria captain

Marko Arnautović ~0.55M Instagram

Footballer — Austria's all-time top scorer

Conchita Wurst ~0.45M Instagram

Singer/drag artist — 2014 Eurovision winner

Marcel Hirscher ~0.75M Instagram

Alpine ski racer — 8× World Cup overall champion

RAF Camora ~2.0M Instagram

Rapper/producer — one of the biggest German-language rappers

Dominic Thiem ~1.0M Instagram

Tennis player — 2020 US Open champion (retired 2024)

Affiliate & traffic

Hot verticals: iGaming/betting (high demand; grey-market pre-2027 reform)
Finance, insurance & consumer loans
Energy/utility switching
Retail & fashion (Zalando, Amazon)
Travel & ski tourism
Telco/mobile
Health/OTC & nutra (ad-compliance-heavy)
Streaming/subscriptions
Active networks: Awin (DACH market leader; retail, telco, travel, finance)
Tradedoubler (pan-European, strong DACH)
CJ Affiliate (global brands, finance/travel)
Adtraction & belboon (regional/DACH)
financeAds (finance/insurance specialist)
1st Partners & regulated networks (iGaming/betting, Tier-1 DACH)
Payouts: Tier-1 payouts: finance CPA ~€50–150+, iGaming CPA ~€150–350 or 25–40% revshare, loans CPL ~€3–15, retail/e-commerce 5–12% revshare.
Competition: High/mature — a premium DACH market where German-language content also competes with Germany
higher CPMs and compliance bar than emerging geos.
Seasonality: Q4 (Black Friday/Christmas) and ski season (Dec–Feb) peak
summer (Jul–Aug) slower except travel.
Traffic sources: SEO/German content
Google Ads
Meta (Facebook/Instagram)
YouTube
TikTok
Price-comparison portals (Geizhals)
Email
Influencer/creator

Good to know

Capital: Vienna (Wien)
Major cities: Vienna
Graz
Linz
Salzburg
Innsbruck
Klagenfurt
Villach
Wels
Time zones: Single zone — CET (UTC+1), CEST (UTC+2) summer
Android vs iOS: 55% 45%

Android 55% iOS 45%
Phone brands: Apple (~45.3%)
Samsung (~28.6%)
Xiaomi (~6.3%)
Google (~6.0%)
Huawei (~1.3%)
Top e-commerce: Amazon.de (~40% of online spend, ~€3.4B GMV)
Zalando (~€607M)
eBay (~€513M)
willhaben.at (#1 local marketplace/classifieds)
Shop-Apotheke.at (~€199M, pharmacy)
Temu & Shein (fast-rising)
refurbed (Austrian, circular electronics)
Peak activity: Best engagement weekday evenings ~18:00–22:00 CET and lunch ~12:00–13:00; weekend mornings for lifestyle (local time CET/CEST)
Creative taboos: Nazi symbols, glorification and Holocaust denial are criminal (Verbotsgesetz 1947) — strictly enforced, as in Germany
avoid all WWII/Nazi imagery
Gambling and alcohol advertising restricted
tobacco ads banned
Sensitivity to being conflated with Germany — use Austrian identity and wording
Political extremism and religious mockery are touchy.
Also worth knowing: German-language, Austrian-nuanced creatives are essential — localized wording (not German-Germany slang) lifts trust and conversion.
EPS bank transfer plus pay-by-invoice/Klarna are must-have local checkout options alongside cards/PayPal.
~86% of digital ad spend leaves the country (Google/Meta) and Amazon.de owns ~40% of online retail — creator/affiliate and price-comparison (Geizhals) channels are efficient entry points.
Affluent Tier-1 market with strong Q4/ski seasonality and high average order value.