Funding
Which Austrian grants are open in 2026 for digitalisation and AI?
6 programmes currently accept applications: Wirtschaftsagentur Wien, DIGITAL.PLUS (WKO OÖ), KWF Kärnten, digi Investition: data (NÖ), digi Assistent (NÖ) and Skills Scheck (FFG). The highest rate is 50% of eligible costs. Which one applies to you depends on the province your business is registered in and on what you are building — the conditions are listed with each programme.
Two things that are rarely spelled out: a website on its own is not eligible anywhere — Vienna and Upper Austria explicitly exclude building a website or web shop as a stand-alone measure, while it does count as part of a wider digitalisation project. And the application must come before the project starts; commission the work first and the claim is gone. The only exception is DIGITAL.PLUS in Upper Austria, which tolerates a start shortly before submission — the exact limit is listed with that programme.
Programme names stay in German, the wording of the funding body. The conditions are translated so you can read them — binding is only the German original.
Programmes currently accepting applications
- Rate
- 50 %
- Cap
- 50,000 €
- Minimum project
- 10,000 €
- Applies in
- Vienna
- Deadline
- 31 Dec 2026
What matters
- The application has to be filed BEFORE the project starts.
- At the time of application the company must have had a place of business in Vienna for at least one year.
- Next submission date 31 Dec 2026; minimum eligible cost €10,000.
- Building a website or a webshop on its own is not eligible as a stand-alone measure.
- Only small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) may apply.
Source: wirtschaftsagentur.at/aktuelle-foerderungen-der-wirtschaftsagentur-wien/foerderung-digitalisierung · Checked on 15 Oct 2026
- Rate
- 35 %
- Cap
- 7,000 €
- Minimum project
- 12,000 €
- Applies in
- Upper Austria
- Deadline
- 2 Nov 2026
What matters
- Submission until 2 Nov 2026 — funds are awarded in the order applications arrive, and on 19 Oct 2026 the budget was already 90% used up.
- Active WKO Upper Austria membership and a registered office in Upper Austria are required.
- At least 20% of the project has to be external IT or consulting work.
- Websites, SEO and online marketing are excluded.
- The project may not have started earlier than 10 weeks before the application.
- Companies funded in 2023, 2024 or 2025 (Digital Starter 23/24, DIGITAL.PLUS 2025) are excluded, as are companies that offer digitalisation services themselves.
Source: foerderungen.wko.at/ooe/digitalplus26 + Programmdokument DIGITAL.PLUS 26 · Checked on 21 Oct 2026
- Rate
- 30 %
- Cap
- 10,000 €
- Minimum project
- 10,000 €
- Applies in
- Carinthia
- Deadline
- 31 Dec 2026
What matters
- Submission window 1 Jul to 31 Dec 2026, as long as the budget lasts.
- The day of application counts as the project start — nothing may be commissioned before it.
- External consulting and development work and rented licences are eligible; staff costs at most 30%.
- A genuine AI use case at the core of the project is required.
- Membership of the Wirtschaftskammer Kärnten (Carinthian Chamber of Commerce) is required; a company can file only one application within twelve months.
Source: kwf.at/foerderungen/umsetzung-ki + KWF-Dashboard · Checked on 15 Oct 2026
- Rate
- 20 %
- Cap
- 25,000 €
- Minimum project
- 5,000 €
- Applies in
- Lower Austria
- Deadline
- 31 Dec 2026
What matters
- The application has to be filed BEFORE the project starts — nothing may be ordered or commissioned before it.
- The company must have been economically active in Lower Austria for at least two years, have its economic centre there and hold an active trade licence at the investment site.
- The scheme funds the value-adding use of existing digital data; projects without targeted use of data, standard solutions and a website or webshop on its own without process integration are excluded.
- Submission until 31 Dec 2026 or until the budget of €2 million is used up; an expert jury assesses applications on an ongoing basis by their quality.
- One project per company is funded; it cannot be combined with funding outside digi4Wirtschaft.
- Hardware and software, licences or subscriptions (such as large language models) are excluded as a stand-alone solution without integration into processes — a chatbot only counts if it is built into workflows, for example by passing enquiries to the CRM or connecting to bookings or the point-of-sale system.
- Projects that produce media content are excluded; the project generally has to be completed within 12 months.
Source: Programmdokument digi4Wirtschaft v1.06 + noe.gv.at/digi4wirtschaft · Checked on 15 Oct 2026
- Rate
- up to 55 € per consulting hour
- Cap
- 3,300 €
- Minimum project
- none
- Applies in
- Lower Austria
What matters
- Only the consulting by an external, certified consultant from the WKNÖ pool is funded — not the implementation itself.
- Up to 60 consulting hours with at most €55 per hour, in total at most €3,300.
- The full subsidy assumes an agreed hourly rate of €90; at a lower rate it is reduced proportionally.
- For businesses in Lower Austria; applicants under the WKNÖ consulting scheme are WKNÖ members.
- Apply through TIP NÖ or the WKNÖ consulting scheme, before the consulting starts.
Source: tip-noe.at/news/digi4wirtschaft + Programmdokument digi4Wirtschaft v1.06 (noe.gv.at) + wko.at/noe/beratungsservice · Checked on 15 Oct 2026
- Rate
- 50 %
- Cap
- 5,000 € per person
- Minimum project
- none
- Applies in
- all of Austria
- Deadline
- 15 Dec 2026
What matters
- Submission until 15 Dec 2026, 12:00.
- 50% of the external training cost, at most €5,000 per person for up to 5 people.
- Artificial intelligence and data innovation is an explicit focus topic.
- The application has to be filed before training starts; training begins at most 4 weeks later.
Source: ffg.at/ausschreibungen/SkillsSchecks2026 · Checked on 15 Oct 2026
For federal states without their own programme, the nationwide Skills Scheck remains — the second nationwide scheme is not accepting applications at present and is listed further down. Budgets open several times a year; in the AI check we look at what applies to you.
Currently closed to applications
The programme is listed because it is still being advertised. An exhausted budget may be refilled the following year — until then, a promise based on it is worth nothing.
- Rate
- 30 %
- Cap
- 6,000 €
- Minimum project
- none
- Applies in
- all of Austria
What matters
- A subsidised status and potential analysis has to be completed first.
- The application has to be filed before the project starts.
- Non-profit associations are excluded.
Source: kmudigital.at (Programmseite) · Checked on 15 Oct 2026
The order this has to happen in
1. Get a quote — the application needs costs and a scope description. 2. Apply before anything is commissioned. 3. Start as soon as the programme allows — most count the day of application, some only the approval; what applies is listed with each programme above. 4. Commission the work. Reverse the order and the claim is gone.
What does this mean for your project?
The calculator takes your province and your building blocks and shows the range with and without funding. No sign-up, nobody calls you back.
Get your price now
Rather ask Claude directly? The same funding data is available there as a connector. How to add Förder-Check
Common questions
Can I get funding for a website?
Not as a stand-alone measure — Vienna and Upper Austria explicitly exclude building a website or web shop on its own. As part of a wider digitalisation project, for example together with an automation or a chatbot, it does count.
Can I combine two funding programmes?
As a rule no: the same costs may only be funded once. So the calculation always uses the programme that yields the most for your province.
When does the application have to be in?
Before the project starts. For most programmes the date of application counts as the earliest possible start; a project already commissioned is no longer eligible.
Do you file the application for us?
No. We supply what a submission needs — quote, scope, schedule — and say which programme fits. Filing is done by the company itself or through the funding body.
All figures come from the primary source named with each programme and are re-checked regularly. Conditions change during the year — the funding body is binding, not this page. We are not funding consultants. · Checked on 21 Oct 2026
