German e-invoicing software compared (2026): prices, free plans, receiving

In short: almost every well-known program now creates XRechnung and ZUGFeRD. The differences are which plan you need for it, whether incoming e-invoices can be received, and the limits of free plans. The table shows what vendors stated on 6 October 2026, alphabetically and without ranking.

Deadline: from 1 January 2027, businesses with prior-year turnover above €800,000 must issue e-invoices, everyone else from 2028 ^[1]. Whether that applies to you is explained on e-invoicing mandate 2027.

Comparison table

Prices per month, net, with monthly billing unless noted. "Create from" = the cheapest plan that, according to the vendor, creates e-invoices (XRechnung/ZUGFeRD).

"–" = not stated by the vendor. Many vendors also advertise time-limited discounts; those are not included.

Business accounts with e-invoicing

Sage Active reads incoming XRechnung and ZUGFeRD from €25; sending is announced as "coming soon" ^[24].

Finding the right program

• Small businesses (Kleinunternehmer): you don't have to issue e-invoices, but you must receive them ^[1]. A free plan with receiving (e.g. easybill, Papierkram, SumUp) or a free viewer is often enough. More: Kleinunternehmer.
• Freelancers with few invoices: watch the monthly caps of free plans and whether receiving is included; at sevdesk, for example, only from the "Buchhaltung" plan ^[16].
• Tax adviser uses DATEV: ask them about DATEV solutions or your program's DATEV export; several vendors mention a DATEV interface ^[16][21][22].
• Trades: check progress invoices and attachments. More: e-invoicing for tradespeople.
• Mac, no subscription: MonKey Office is sold as a perpetual licence for macOS ^[25]; more in one-off purchase software.
• Customers abroad with a Peppol mandate: only a few vendors mention Peppol explicitly. More: Peppol ID.

What matters when comparing

1. Format: XRechnung or ZUGFeRD 2.0.1+, not MINIMUM/BASIC-WL ^[1]. Collmex produces EN 16931-compliant CII without the XRechnung label ^[7]; ask your customers whether that works for them.
2. Receiving: mandatory since 2025 ^[1]. Not every plan imports incoming e-invoices.
3. Archive: the XML must be kept unchanged for eight years ^[1].
4. Price: check net vs gross and monthly vs annual billing; the table uses net monthly prices.

All 39 offers we track, with every plan, are in the list below. Free options: free e-invoicing tools.

Vendors marked "(affiliate)": we are applying to their partner programmes. Future links to them will be labelled as ads and may earn us a commission. Selection and order (alphabetical) do not depend on it. We publish no ratings of our own. All prices as stated by the vendor, checked on 6 October 2026.