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. Sage Accounting
At a glance
At a glance
Best for
Best for small businesses that want sales invoicing, bank feeds, VAT handling and reports on every plan, scaling up to quotes, purchase invoices, stock and multi-currency.
- Freelancers
- Small and mid-sized
Cataleo does not name a winner. Both statements come from the vendors themselves.
Full Comparison
| Criterion | Lexware Office | Sage Accounting |
|---|---|---|
| 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. | Not stated |
| Free trial | 30 days free, with the full XL feature set | Not stated |
| Users | Over 450,000 customers | Single user on Start; multi-user on Standard and Plus |
| API | Yes, the Lexware Office Public API (REST), available from version XL at no extra cost | Yes, the Sage Accounting API through the Sage Developer portal, the Sage Marketplace and a Zapier app |
| Hosting | Cloud (SaaS) | Cloud (SaaS) |
| Invoicing and quotes | Yes, quotes, invoices, delivery notes and credit notes, with XRechnung and ZUGFeRD e-invoicing included | Yes, sales invoicing on every plan; quotes and estimates, credit notes, delivery notes and statements from the Standard plan |
| Bookkeeping and bank feeds | Yes, multibanking with automatic matching proposals for bank transactions, and GoBD-compliant records | Yes, connect your bank with automatic bank feeds and bank rules, plus reconciliation against your statement |
| Expenses and receipts | Yes, receipt capture from a phone photo or an email import, with automatic categorisation | Yes, snap receipts and invoices so their data is matched to bank transactions; purchase invoices from the Standard plan |
| 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, VAT handling on every plan |
| Payroll | Yes, as a paid add-on (Lohn & Gehalt) at €12.90 / month plus VAT, combinable with any version | Not part of the Accounting plans; Sage Payroll is a separate subscription, and running a pay run can post the salary, HMRC and pension journals into Accounting automatically when both are linked |
| Reports and exports | Yes, a dashboard with account balances and open invoices, plus P&L (GuV) and BWA reports | Yes, reports and insight on every plan; cash flow forecasts from the Standard plan |
| Integrations and API | Yes, the Lexware Office Public API (REST), from version XL at no extra cost | Yes, the Sage Accounting API through the Developer portal, the Sage Marketplace and a Zapier app |
| Deployment | Cloud (SaaS), Browser-based | Cloud (SaaS), Browser-based |
| Support | Not stated | Community forum |
| Onboarding | Not stated | Documentation and knowledge base, Video tutorials, Live online demos and webinars |
| Company size | Freelancers, Small and mid-sized | Freelancers, Small and mid-sized |
| Integrations | more entries DATEV, PayPal, Shopify, Amazon | Zapier |
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The short version
Key Differences
- Users Lexware Office Over 450,000 customers Sage Accounting Single user on Start; multi-user on Standard and Plus
- API Lexware Office Yes, the Lexware Office Public API (REST), available from version XL at no extra cost Sage Accounting Yes, the Sage Accounting API through the Sage Developer portal, the Sage Marketplace and a Zapier app
- Invoicing and quotes Lexware Office Yes, quotes, invoices, delivery notes and credit notes, with XRechnung and ZUGFeRD e-invoicing included Sage Accounting Yes, sales invoicing on every plan; quotes and estimates, credit notes, delivery notes and statements from the Standard plan
- Bookkeeping and bank feeds Lexware Office Yes, multibanking with automatic matching proposals for bank transactions, and GoBD-compliant records Sage Accounting Yes, connect your bank with automatic bank feeds and bank rules, plus reconciliation against your statement
- Expenses and receipts Lexware Office Yes, receipt capture from a phone photo or an email import, with automatic categorisation Sage Accounting Yes, snap receipts and invoices so their data is matched to bank transactions; purchase invoices from the Standard plan
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
Sage Accounting
Strengths
- Sales invoicing, bank feeds, VAT handling and reports on every plan
- Bank rules and receipt capture matched to bank transactions
- Documented API, Sage Marketplace and a Zapier app for integrations
- Plus adds stock items, multi-currency and financial budgets
Limitations
- Quotes, purchase invoices, cash flow forecasts and multi-user access start on the Standard plan
- Stock items and multi-currency are reserved for the Plus plan
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.
Sage Accounting
- Start Not stated Entry plan for businesses starting out: sales invoicing, VAT handling, connecting your bank, reports and insight and the mobile app; single user.
- Standard Not stated Adds quotes and estimates, purchase invoices, cash flow forecasts, credit notes, delivery notes, statements, remittance advice and multi-user access.
- Plus Not stated Adds stock items, multi-currency invoicing and banking and financial budgets.
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. Nothing has been published here yet, and no score is shown. How a review is checked before it appears is described below.
Sage Accounting
- 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
Reviews are not published yet. The form on a tool's page works and reaches us, but nothing from it appears on this site, so no score here is based on a review. The rules below are the ones that will apply once reviews go live.
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Where this comes from
Where this comes from
Lexware Office https://www.lexware.de · checked against the official source on 2026-08-27
Sage Accounting https://www.sage.com/en-gb/sage-business-cloud/sage-accounting/ · checked against the official source on 2026-08-20
This table lists factual criteria taken from information the vendors publish themselves. For how we put it together, see the methodology.