Best for
Best for German freelancers and small businesses that keep their own books and want e-invoicing, bank sync and ELSTER filing without paying for a plan they have not grown into yet.
- Freelancers
- Small and mid-sized
Accounting & Invoicing Comparison
sevdesk vs. Zoho Invoice
At a glance
At a glance
Best for
Best for freelancers and small consultancies that need to quote, track billable time and chase invoices without paying for a full accounting package.
- Freelancers
- Small and mid-sized
Cataleo does not name a winner. Both statements come from the vendors themselves.
Full Comparison
| Criterion | sevdesk | Zoho Invoice |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | Free for up to 3 invoices per month, otherwise from €11.90 / month plus VAT Billed monthly, per month plus VAT: Rechnung €11.90, Buchhaltung €25.90 and Buchhaltung Pro €34.90. Annual billing lowers these to €9.90, €22.90 and €30.90 per month, and a 24-month term lowers them further. sevdesk additionally advertises a promotional discount on top of these rates. | Free There is no paid tier. The free plan covers up to 2 users, 500 invoices per year and 2 organisations under one Zoho account, and adds a Zoho Invoice line to documents. |
| Free trial | 14 days free, no credit card required, alongside a permanently free plan limited to 3 invoices per month | Free plan; no paid tier |
| Users | More than 130,000 companies | Up to 2 users on the free plan |
| API | Yes, a REST API, available from the Buchhaltung Pro plan | Yes, a REST API on the free plan, limited to 1,000 requests per day, 100 requests per minute and 5 concurrent calls |
| Hosting | Cloud (SaaS) | Cloud (SaaS), with apps for iOS, Android, Windows and Mac and a Chrome extension |
| Made in | Germany | Not stated |
| Invoicing and quotes | Yes, quotes and invoices from customisable templates, with XRechnung and ZUGFeRD e-invoices and payment reminders | Yes, professional invoices and custom quotes that convert to invoices, recurring invoices, a client portal for viewing and paying, and payment collection by card, ACH and e-wallet through integrated gateways |
| Bookkeeping and bank feeds | Yes, online banking for more than 4,000 banks with automatic transaction matching, and single or double-entry bookkeeping | No, Zoho Invoice covers billing and payment collection rather than bookkeeping; bank reconciliation and the general ledger sit in Zoho Books |
| Expenses and receipts | Yes, AI-assisted receipt capture through the mobile app or by email | Yes, expenses are recorded and converted into billable line items on an invoice |
| Tax and compliance | Yes, VAT advance return (UStVA), EÜR and P&L filed to ELSTER directly, plus DATEV-compliant and ADDISON exports for the tax adviser (Germany) | Yes, taxes are calculated automatically from the tax authorities and rates defined for the organisation |
| Payroll | No, sevdesk does not produce payroll or salary statements | No |
| Reports and exports | Yes, BWA, trial balance lists and a real-time financial dashboard | Yes, a dashboard and business reports covering accounts receivable ageing, top customers, product performance and expenses |
| Integrations and API | Yes, a REST API, from the Buchhaltung Pro plan | Yes, a REST API covering invoices, estimates, recurring invoices, contacts, expenses, projects, payments, credit notes, items, taxes and time tracking, plus integration with Zoho CRM |
| AI features | Yes | Yes |
| Deployment | Cloud (SaaS), Browser-based | Cloud (SaaS), Browser-based |
| Support | Email helpdesk, Phone, Chat | Not stated |
| Onboarding | Not stated | Documentation and knowledge base |
| Company size | Freelancers, Small and mid-sized | Freelancers, Small and mid-sized |
| Integrations | DATEV, ADDISON | Zoho CRM, Zoho Books |
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Row where the values differ The small markers point at the lower number, the longer list or the stated feature. They describe the data, they are not a verdict.
The short version
Key Differences
- Starting price sevdesk Free for up to 3 invoices per month, otherwise from €11.90 / month plus VAT Zoho Invoice Free
- Free trial sevdesk 14 days free, no credit card required, alongside a permanently free plan limited to 3 invoices per month Zoho Invoice Free plan; no paid tier
- Hosting sevdesk Cloud (SaaS) Zoho Invoice Cloud (SaaS), with apps for iOS, Android, Windows and Mac and a Chrome extension
- Users sevdesk More than 130,000 companies Zoho Invoice Up to 2 users on the free plan
- API sevdesk Yes, a REST API, available from the Buchhaltung Pro plan Zoho Invoice Yes, a REST API on the free plan, limited to 1,000 requests per day, 100 requests per minute and 5 concurrent calls
Every line is one datapoint from the table above, picked automatically. Nothing here is written text.
The trade-offs
Strengths and Limitations
sevdesk
Strengths
- Permanently free plan for up to three invoices a month, no credit card
- AI-assisted receipt capture and automatic matching against bank transactions
- UStVA, EÜR and P&L filed to ELSTER directly, with DATEV and ADDISON exports
- Personal support by live chat, email and phone on the paid plans
Limitations
- No payroll: salary statements cannot be produced in sevdesk
- The REST API only comes with the top plan, Buchhaltung Pro
- Built around German tax rules, ELSTER and DATEV, so it suits German businesses specifically
- The lowest advertised rates need a 12-month or 24-month commitment
Zoho Invoice
Strengths
- Genuinely free rather than a trial, with no paid tier to upgrade to
- REST API included on the free plan, with a 1,000-request daily allowance
- Time tracking and expenses convert straight into invoiced line items
- Client portal lets customers view invoices, pay and respond to quotes
Limitations
- Billing only: no bank reconciliation, no general ledger and no payroll
- Capped at 2 users, 500 invoices per year and 2 organisations
- Documents carry a Zoho Invoice line
- Outgrowing the limits means moving to a different Zoho product
Plans
Pricing
sevdesk
- Kostenlos Free Permanently free, no credit card. Limited to 3 invoices or e-invoices per month, with unlimited contacts and products.
- Rechnung €11.90 / month plus VAT Billed monthly; €9.90 / month on annual billing and less on a 24-month term. Unlimited invoicing and e-invoices, templates, payment reminders, tax adviser access.
- Buchhaltung €25.90 / month plus VAT Billed monthly; €22.90 / month on annual billing and less on a 24-month term. Adds AI receipt capture, online banking, UStVA, EÜR and P&L, cash book.
- Buchhaltung Pro €34.90 / month plus VAT Billed monthly; €30.90 / month on annual billing and less on a 24-month term. Adds cost centres, the REST API and BWA reporting.
Zoho Invoice
- Free $0 The only plan. Up to 2 users, 500 invoices per year and 2 organisations under one Zoho account. Includes invoices and quotes, recurring invoices, payment gateways, expenses, time tracking, the client portal, tax calculation, reports and the REST API. Documents carry a Zoho Invoice line.
What users say
Review Scores · opens after launch
sevdesk
- 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.
Zoho Invoice
- 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
sevdesk https://www.sevdesk.com · checked against the official source on 2026-08-27
Zoho Invoice https://www.zoho.com/invoice/ · checked against the official source on 2026-09-05
This table lists factual criteria taken from information the vendors publish themselves. For how we put it together, see the methodology.