A free whistleblowing system saves the licence. It does not save the internal reporting office (interne Meldestelle). Employers with, as a rule, at least 50 employees must set one up and run it (§ 12 HinSchG). The law does not ask what the software cost.
Transparency notice
This article is written by the developers of OpenWhistle. Other providers' prices are shown as the providers publish them, retrieved on 27 September 2026. Not legal advice.
What is left when the licence costs €0
| Item | With self-hosted open source | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| Software licence | €0 | GPL-3.0 or AGPL-3.0 |
| Server | a small VPS at your host's rate | 1 vCPU and 1 GB RAM are usually enough for OpenWhistle |
| Operations | Updates, backups, certificate | Security fixes ship as patch versions |
| People | Working time of the reporting office, training | Independence and expertise (§ 15) |
| Telephone | a number for the reporting office | Oral reports are mandatory (§ 16 Abs. 3) |
| Data protection | Contract with the host, record of processing | Art. 28 and Art. 30 GDPR |
The software is the smallest item. Even with a paid service, the people, the telephone and the follow-up stay with you.
What you run yourself
This is the stack that OpenWhistle starts with Docker Compose. The app, PostgreSQL and Redis behind nginx are required. ClamAV and S3 are optional.
The options and their published prices
| Option | Example | Price per provider | Run by |
|---|---|---|---|
| Open source, self-hosted | OpenWhistle | €0 licence | You |
| Open source, self-hosted | GlobaLeaks | €0 licence | You |
| Open source, managed | Hinweisgeberportal OpenSource | from €39/month paid yearly, €49 paid monthly, plus VAT | Provider |
| SaaS | WhistlePort | €69/month plus VAT | Provider |
| SaaS | Hintbox | from €99/month plus VAT | Provider |
| SaaS | EQS Integrity Line | not stated | Provider |
| External ombudsperson | WhistlePort package 3, with lawyers | €69 plus €79/month plus VAT | Provider |
We found a permanently free plan with none of these SaaS providers. They offer a free trial or a demo. The article Whistleblowing software compared 2026 compares more features.
Which option suits you
| If you | Then |
|---|---|
| have an IT department or an IT service provider | Self-host open source: OpenWhistle or GlobaLeaks |
| want the dashboard to count the deadlines under § 17 HinSchG | OpenWhistle |
| need over 70 languages or a system proven since 2011 | GlobaLeaks |
| want open code but not to run a server | managed GlobaLeaks |
| have nobody for operations and updates | SaaS |
| have nobody to handle the reports | external ombudsperson (§ 14 Abs. 1) |
How to start with OpenWhistle
- Try the live demo, as a whistleblower and as the reporting office.
- Provision a Linux server with Docker 24 or newer.
- Follow the installation guide: clone, fill in
.env,docker compose up -d. - In the wizard at
/setup, create the first account with mandatory TOTP. - Set up categories, locations and accounts, then send a test report.
The step-by-step guide shows every step with commands. The HinSchG compliance guide sums up which duties remain afterwards.
Free, open source, self-hosted
OpenWhistle is licensed under GPL-3.0. There is no paid edition and no subscription.
Open the live demo →More resources: Whistleblowing software compared 2026 · HinSchG compliance guide · HinSchG full text