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
Accounting & Invoicing Comparison
Lexware Office vs. Paddle
At a glance
At a glance
Best for
Best for software, app and game businesses selling worldwide that want the tax registrations and filings to sit with the platform rather than with them.
- Freelancers
- Small and mid-sized
- Enterprise
Cataleo does not name a winner. Both statements come from the vendors themselves.
Full Comparison
| Criterion | Lexware Office | Paddle |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | 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. | From 5 percent plus 50 US cents per checkout transaction Pay-as-you-go, with no monthly platform fee, migration fee or add-on charges. Custom pricing is quoted for rapidly scaling and large-scale businesses, and is required for products under 10 US dollars or invoicing-heavy models. |
| Free trial | 30 days free, with the full XL feature set | Not stated |
| Users | Over 450,000 customers | Not stated |
| API | Yes, the Lexware Office Public API (REST), available from version XL at no extra cost | Yes, one REST API for payments, subscriptions and billing, with webhooks, Paddle.js and SDKs for Node.js, PHP, Go and Python |
| Hosting | Cloud (SaaS) | Cloud (SaaS) |
| Invoicing and quotes | Yes, quotes, invoices, delivery notes and credit notes, with XRechnung and ZUGFeRD e-invoicing included | Yes, subscription and one-time billing with a localised, embeddable checkout, a customer portal, proration, credits and multiple seats; Paddle issues the invoice as merchant of record |
| Bookkeeping and bank feeds | Yes, multibanking with automatic matching proposals for bank transactions, and GoBD-compliant records | No general ledger or bank feeds of its own; Paddle covers billing, payments and tax rather than financial record-keeping |
| Expenses and receipts | Yes, receipt capture from a phone photo or an email import, with automatic categorisation | No expense claims or receipt capture; Paddle covers the revenue side, not spend |
| Tax and compliance | Yes, VAT advance return (UStVA) filed from the software, EÜR and year-end preparation, plus a direct DATEV handover to the tax adviser (Germany) | Yes, as merchant of record Paddle registers for, calculates, files and remits sales tax and VAT in more than 100 jurisdictions, across 300 or more markets |
| Payroll | Yes, as a paid add-on (Lohn & Gehalt) at €12.90 / month plus VAT, combinable with any version | No payroll |
| Reports and exports | Yes, a dashboard with account balances and open invoices, plus P&L (GuV) and BWA reports | Yes, real-time subscription and revenue analytics through ProfitWell Metrics, included rather than sold as an add-on |
| Integrations and API | Yes, the Lexware Office Public API (REST), from version XL at no extra cost | Yes, one REST API for payments, subscriptions and billing, with webhooks across the customer, subscription and invoice lifecycles, Paddle.js, server SDKs for Node.js, PHP, Go and Python, a sandbox with test cards and webhook simulation, and Postman collections |
| Deployment | Cloud (SaaS), Browser-based | Cloud (SaaS), Browser-based |
| Onboarding | Not stated | Documentation and knowledge base |
| Company size | Freelancers, Small and mid-sized | more entries Freelancers, Small and mid-sized, Enterprise |
| Integrations | DATEV, PayPal, Shopify, Amazon | HubSpot, Intercom, Databox, RevenueCat |
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The short version
Key Differences
- Starting price Lexware Office From €7.90 / month plus VAT Paddle From 5 percent plus 50 US cents per checkout transaction
- Company size Lexware Office Freelancers, Small and mid-sized Paddle Freelancers, Small and mid-sized, Enterprise
- API Lexware Office Yes, the Lexware Office Public API (REST), available from version XL at no extra cost Paddle Yes, one REST API for payments, subscriptions and billing, with webhooks, Paddle.js and SDKs for Node.js, PHP, Go and Python
- Invoicing and quotes Lexware Office Yes, quotes, invoices, delivery notes and credit notes, with XRechnung and ZUGFeRD e-invoicing included Paddle Yes, subscription and one-time billing with a localised, embeddable checkout, a customer portal, proration, credits and multiple seats; Paddle issues the invoice as merchant of record
- Bookkeeping and bank feeds Lexware Office Yes, multibanking with automatic matching proposals for bank transactions, and GoBD-compliant records Paddle No general ledger or bank feeds of its own; Paddle covers billing, payments and tax rather than financial record-keeping
Every line is one datapoint from the table above, picked automatically. Nothing here is written text.
The trade-offs
Strengths and Limitations
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
Paddle
Strengths
- As merchant of record, Paddle registers for, files and remits sales tax and VAT in more than 100 jurisdictions
- One pay-as-you-go rate with no monthly platform fee, migration fee or add-on charges
- Retain for dunning and cancel flows and ProfitWell Metrics for analytics are included
- One REST API with webhooks, server SDKs for four languages and a sandbox
Limitations
- Five percent plus 50 cents per transaction is well above a bare payment-processing rate
- No general ledger of its own, so a separate accounting system is still needed
- Products under 10 US dollars and invoicing-heavy businesses need a quoted price rather than the published rate
- More than 20 currencies is a narrower spread than platforms that settle in 100 or more
Plans
Pricing
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.
Paddle
- Pay-as-you-go Not stated 5 percent plus 50 US cents per checkout transaction, with no monthly fee, migration fee or hidden costs. Includes checkout, subscription management and recurring billing, multi-currency payment processing, full tax registration, filing and remittance, fraud and chargeback protection, revenue recovery, real-time reporting and analytics, migration services and 24/7 support.
- Custom Not stated Quoted for rapidly scaling and established large-scale businesses, tailored to the business model and products. Also the route for products priced under 10 US dollars and for invoicing-heavy businesses.
What users say
Review Scores · opens after launch
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. Be the first to review this tool. Every review is checked for fairness before it appears, and the vendor cannot have one removed.
Paddle
- 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. Be the first to review this tool. Every review is checked for fairness before it appears, and the vendor cannot have one removed.
Where this comes from
Where this comes from
Lexware Office https://www.lexware.de · checked against the official source on 2026-08-27
Paddle https://www.paddle.com · checked against the official source on 2026-09-10
This table lists factual criteria taken from information the vendors publish themselves. For how we put it together, see the methodology.