The short answer
The four largest software and IT companies headquartered in Belgium, ranked by reported number of employees, are Cegeka, Odoo, Materialise and Larian Studios. Cegeka is the largest, with about 9,000+ employees. We could verify four companies meeting our criteria, so this list is shorter than ten rather than padded with unverified names.
The four companies at a glance
| # | Company | Headquarters | Founded | Employees |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cegeka | Hasselt | 1992 | 9,000+ |
| 2 | Odoo | Ramillies (Walloon Brabant) | Not stated | 2,200+ (2023) |
| 3 | Materialise | Leuven | 1990 | 2,000+ |
| 4 | Larian Studios | Ghent | 1996 | 530 (2025) |
Ranked by the most recent employee count stated on each company’s Wikipedia article or official website, checked 24 October 2026. Years in brackets show when that figure applies; companies without a stated figure are listed last.
The companies in detail
1Cegeka
HasseltAn IT services and consulting company working across Europe, with its own data centres in Belgium and the Netherlands.
- Headquarters
- Hasselt
- Founded
- 1992
- Employees
- 9,000+
- Ownership
- Private (family-controlled)
2Odoo
Ramillies (Walloon Brabant)Develops Odoo, an open-core suite of business apps covering CRM, e-commerce, accounting, inventory, manufacturing and projects.
- Headquarters
- Ramillies (Walloon Brabant)
- Founded
- Not stated
- Employees
- 2,200+ (2023)
- Ownership
- Private (Odoo S.A.)
3Materialise
LeuvenDevelops 3D printing software and medical imaging and planning software, and runs additive manufacturing services.
- Headquarters
- Leuven
- Founded
- 1990
- Employees
- 2,000+
- Ownership
- Public company (Nasdaq: MTLS)
4Larian Studios
GhentThe game studio behind Baldur’s Gate 3 and the Divinity series.
- Headquarters
- Ghent
- Founded
- 1996
- Employees
- 530 (2025)
- Ownership
- Private (Tencent holds a minority stake)
What this list tells us about Belgium’s software industry
- The industry is spread out. The four companies are headquartered in 4 different places, including Hasselt, Ramillies (Walloon Brabant), Leuven.
- A long track record. The oldest company here, Materialise, was founded in 1990; the youngest, Larian Studios, in 1996.
- Founding wave. More companies on this list were founded in the 1990s (3) than in any other decade.
- Ownership mix. 1 of the four are publicly listed and 0 are subsidiaries of, or majority-owned by, other groups; the rest are independent private companies, cooperatives or state-linked organisations.
Belgium at a glance
- Capital
- Brussels
- Official languages
- Dutch, French and German
- Currency
- Euro (EUR)
- Population
- 11,867,634 (2026 census)
- GDP per capita (nominal)
- $65,112 (2026 est.)
Economy. Services dominate; Flanders is considerably more dynamic than Wallonia.
Country figures from Wikipedia’s article on Belgium, checked 24 October 2026. Estimates are rounded and dated as stated there.
Working with software companies in Belgium
- Time zone. Belgium uses UTC+01:00 in winter and UTC+02:00 in summer (daylight saving time). Agree overlap hours in writing before a project starts.
- Data protection. The country is part of the European Union or the European Economic Area, so the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) applies and personal data is handled under the same rules as across the EU and EEA.
- Due diligence. Large companies on this list mostly sell their own products or enterprise services. If you need a development partner for a specific project, ask for case studies, interview the engineers and start with a short paid trial. Our guide on how to choose an IT staff augmentation company includes a free vendor scorecard.
- Budget. Typical 2026 hourly rates by region are in our IT staff augmentation cost and rates guide.
How we built this list
- Candidates. We started from Wikipedia’s list of companies of Belgium, the country’s best-known technology firms and companies regularly named in the local and international business press.
- Scope. We kept companies whose main business is software, IT services or a software-based platform, and that are headquartered in Belgium. Telecom operators, banks and hardware makers were left out, as were local offices of foreign groups. Companies founded in Belgium but now headquartered abroad are listed separately when relevant.
- Verification. For every company we checked headquarters, founding year, ownership, size and whether it is still active against its Wikipedia article or, where none exists, its own official website, on 24 October 2026. Each entry links to the page we checked.
- Ranking. Companies are ranked by their most recently stated number of employees, the most comparable size measure available for public and private firms alike.
- No payments. No company paid or was asked to appear. iCreativez Technologies is itself a software and IT services company, so we do not include or rank ourselves on country lists.
Employee figures come from different years, are sometimes self-reported on company websites and sometimes count a whole group rather than one company, so treat the ranking as a guide to scale rather than an exact league table.
Need developers who work your hours?
iCreativez Technologies is an IT staff augmentation company providing dedicated developers and offshore teams to clients worldwide. Tell us what you are building.
Software companies in nearby countries
Frequently asked questions
What is the largest software company in Belgium?
By reported number of employees, Cegeka is the largest software and IT company headquartered in Belgium, with about 9,000+ employees. It an IT services and consulting company working across Europe, with its own data centres in Belgium and the Netherlands.
What is the oldest software company in Belgium on this list?
Materialise, founded in 1990 and headquartered in Leuven.
How did you choose the software companies in Belgium?
We considered the best-known companies headquartered in Belgium whose main business is software or IT services. We verified each one against its Wikipedia article or official website and ranked them by reported number of employees. No company paid to be included.
Why are there fewer than 10 companies for Belgium?
We only list companies we could verify. Rather than pad the list with names we cannot confirm, we show four verified companies and suggest nearby markets.
What is the economy of Belgium based on?
Services dominate; Flanders is considerably more dynamic than Wallonia.
What languages and currency are used for business in Belgium?
The official languages are Dutch, French and German, and the currency is the Euro (EUR).
Can I hire software developers to work with a team in Belgium?
Yes. Many businesses combine local partners with remote developers. iCreativez Technologies provides dedicated developers and offshore teams that can work your hours; see our dedicated developers page or contact us.
Sources
All company details were checked on 24 October 2026 against these pages:
- Wikipedia: List of companies of Belgium
- Cegeka: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cegeka
- Odoo: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Odoo
- Materialise: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Materialise_NV
- Larian Studios: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Larian_Studios
- Wikipedia: Belgium (country profile)
If you represent a company on this page and a detail has changed, contact us and we will review it. Related guides: top IT staff augmentation companies 2026 · staff augmentation vs outsourcing vs managed services.