Best for
Best for Swiss SMEs and the self-employed that want quotes, invoices, bookkeeping, banking and payroll in one system built for Swiss rules.
- Freelancers
- Small and mid-sized
Accounting & Invoicing Comparison
bexio vs. Lexware Office
At a glance
At a glance
Best for
Best for German freelancers and small businesses that want quotes, e-invoices, bookkeeping and the VAT return in one place, with a direct DATEV handover to the tax adviser.
- Freelancers
- Small and mid-sized
Cataleo does not name a winner. Both statements come from the vendors themselves.
Full Comparison
| Criterion | bexio | Lexware Office |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | From CHF 35 / month The Basic package on annual billing, for one user. Monthly billing costs CHF 10 more per month on every package. The list rates on annual billing are CHF 35 for Basic, CHF 42 for Advanced, CHF 69 for Optima and CHF 119 for Ultimate. A 30 percent first-year discount on Advanced and above was running at the time of writing. | From €7.90 / month plus VAT Four versions, each per month plus VAT and cancellable monthly: S €7.90, M €12.90, L €21.90 and XL €32.90. Payroll (Lohn & Gehalt) is a separate add-on at €12.90 / month plus VAT that combines with any version. A 50% discount for the first three months is currently advertised. |
| Free trial | 30 days without obligation, on the Ultimate package excluding the document archive and bexio Pay | 30 days free, with the full XL feature set |
| Team size | 1 user on Basic, 2 on Advanced, 5 on Optima and 25 on Ultimate | Not stated |
| Users | More than 100,000 companies, per the vendor | Over 450,000 customers |
| API | Yes, a REST API authenticated over OpenID Connect, plus a marketplace of more than 120 apps | Yes, the Lexware Office Public API (REST), available from version XL at no extra cost |
| Hosting | Cloud (SaaS), stored in Swiss data centres | Cloud (SaaS) |
| Made in | Switzerland | Not stated |
| Invoicing and quotes | Yes, quotes and orders from stored products and services, QR invoices from multilingual templates, and project time carried into the invoice | Yes, quotes, invoices, delivery notes and credit notes, with XRechnung and ZUGFeRD e-invoicing included |
| Bookkeeping and bank feeds | Yes, single-entry or double-entry bookkeeping with pre-configured Swiss charts of accounts and VAT rates, and automatic reconciliation against more than 65 Swiss banks | Yes, multibanking with automatic matching proposals for bank transactions, and GoBD-compliant records |
| Expenses and receipts | Yes, supplier invoices and receipts posted against selected ledgers, with AI receipt scanning in the bexio Go app, metered per package | Yes, receipt capture from a phone photo or an email import, with automatic categorisation |
| Tax and compliance | Yes, VAT statements in several methods and the year-end close, plus a GeBüV-compliant document archive with tamper-proof timestamps in Swiss data centres (Switzerland) | Yes, VAT advance return (UStVA) filed from the software, EÜR and year-end preparation, plus a direct DATEV handover to the tax adviser (Germany) |
| Payroll | Yes, certified to Swissdec 5.3 with automatic reporting to the authorities; a paid add-on on Advanced and included from Optima upwards | Yes, as a paid add-on (Lohn & Gehalt) at €12.90 / month plus VAT, combinable with any version |
| Reports and exports | Yes, balance sheet and income statement with year-on-year comparison, plus a dashboard of financial key figures | Yes, a dashboard with account balances and open invoices, plus P&L (GuV) and BWA reports |
| Integrations and API | Yes, a REST API over OpenID Connect covering sales, contacts, accounting, purchasing, items, projects, banking, files and payroll, with a marketplace of more than 120 apps | Yes, the Lexware Office Public API (REST), from version XL at no extra cost |
| AI features | stated Yes | No |
| Deployment | Cloud (SaaS), Browser-based | Cloud (SaaS), Browser-based |
| Support | Phone, Email helpdesk | Not stated |
| Onboarding | Documentation and knowledge base | Not stated |
| Company size | Freelancers, Small and mid-sized | Freelancers, Small and mid-sized |
| Integrations | more entries Clockodo, TimeStatement, 2getHR, PEAX, Worldline, SumUp & PepperShop POS solution, PepperShop Online Shop, Shopify Connector by Helvy, echo for Microsoft Teams, Callwise, Social EDI (gate2b) | DATEV, PayPal, Shopify, Amazon |
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The short version
Key Differences
- Starting price bexio From CHF 35 / month Lexware Office From €7.90 / month plus VAT
- Free trial bexio 30 days without obligation, on the Ultimate package excluding the document archive and bexio Pay Lexware Office 30 days free, with the full XL feature set
- Hosting bexio Cloud (SaaS), stored in Swiss data centres Lexware Office Cloud (SaaS)
- AI features bexio Yes Lexware Office No
- Users bexio More than 100,000 companies, per the vendor Lexware Office Over 450,000 customers
Every line is one datapoint from the table above, picked automatically. Nothing here is written text.
The trade-offs
Strengths and Limitations
bexio
Strengths
- Swiss specifics built in: QR invoices, Swissdec 5.3 payroll, VAT statements and a GeBüV-compliant archive in Swiss data centres
- Free live access for the fiduciary, with around 1,000 certified Swiss partners already working in the system
- Automatic reconciliation with more than 65 Swiss banks
- REST API over OpenID Connect and a marketplace of more than 120 apps
Limitations
- Packages are cut by user count, so one extra login can mean the next tier
- Payroll is absent from the Basic package and a paid add-on on Advanced
- AI receipt scanning in the mobile app is metered on every package except Ultimate
- Built for Switzerland, so the tax, banking and payroll work does not transfer to other markets
Lexware Office
Strengths
- XRechnung and ZUGFeRD e-invoicing included in the product
- Direct DATEV handover, so the tax adviser works on the same data
- UStVA and EÜR prepared and filed from the software
- Public REST API at no extra cost once you are on version XL
Limitations
- Bookkeeping, EÜR and VAT only start in version L, and the API only in XL
- Payroll is a paid add-on rather than part of any version
- Built around German tax rules, ELSTER and DATEV, so it suits German businesses specifically
Plans
Pricing
bexio
- Basic CHF 35 / month On annual billing, CHF 45 per month billed monthly. One user. Contacts, invoices, accounting, products, expenses, e-banking, document archive, projects, time tracking and stock management. No payroll and no bexio Pay.
- Advanced CHF 42 / month On annual billing, CHF 52 per month billed monthly. Two users. Adds payroll as a paid add-on (CHF 7 to 25 per month), bexio Pay for CHF 14 per month, 50 AI receipt scans per month and more than 90 marketplace apps.
- Optima CHF 69 / month On annual billing, CHF 79 per month billed monthly. Five users. Payroll for five employees included, bexio Pay for CHF 14 per month, 100 AI receipt scans per month.
- Ultimate CHF 119 / month On annual billing, CHF 129 per month billed monthly. 25 users. Payroll for 25 employees included, bexio Pay included, unlimited AI receipt scans.
Lexware Office
- S €7.90 / month plus VAT Receipt capture and receipt archive.
- M €12.90 / month plus VAT Adds quotes, invoices and e-invoices, and dunning.
- L €21.90 / month plus VAT Adds bookkeeping, EÜR and VAT (UStVA).
- XL €32.90 / month plus VAT Adds EU invoices, part invoices and the Public API.
- Lohn & Gehalt (add-on) €12.90 / month plus VAT Payroll add-on, combinable with any version.
What users say
Review Scores · opens after launch
bexio
- Ease of use
- Not rated yet
- User interface
- Not rated yet
- Onboarding
- Not rated yet
- Support and service
- Not rated yet
- Value for money
- Not rated yet
- Features
- Not rated yet
No reviews yet. Nothing has been published here yet, and no score is shown. How a review is checked before it appears is described below.
Lexware Office
- Ease of use
- Not rated yet
- User interface
- Not rated yet
- Onboarding
- Not rated yet
- Support and service
- Not rated yet
- Value for money
- Not rated yet
- Features
- Not rated yet
No reviews yet. Nothing has been published here yet, and no score is shown. How a review is checked before it appears is described below.
How we check reviews
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Where this comes from
Where this comes from
bexio https://www.bexio.com · no check date recorded yet
Lexware Office https://www.lexware.de · checked against the official source on 2026-08-27
This table lists factual criteria taken from information the vendors publish themselves. For how we put it together, see the methodology.