Accounting · head to head
Circula vs Lexware
Circula
Accounting
Expense, travel and employee benefit management for German speaking finance teams
- From
- €15/month
- Rated
- -
Lexware
Accounting
Accounting and invoicing software for German small businesses and freelancers
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Only Lexware has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
- Each has a real cost: Circula the module pricing stacks: expenses at fifteen euro per licence plus ninety nine euro for cards plus a hundred and forty nine euro for accounts payable means a fifty person company pays well over a thousand euro a month before add ons.; Lexware 50% discount only applies for first 3 months
- Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Circula and Lexware actually diverge.
Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Accounting).
What each one covers
Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.
Only in Circula
- German per diem engine
- Receipt capture and OCR
- Corporate credit cards
- Employee benefits
- Accounts payable
- Mileage and travel
- DATEV and ERP export
- Approval workflows
Only in Lexware
Nothing recorded that Circula does not also cover.
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Circula
- A German company that must apply statutory per diem rates and meal deductions correctly to avoid payroll tax exposurenot Lexware
- A finance team wanting card spend, expense claims and benefits in one DATEV exportnot Lexware
- An employer offering the tax free monthly benefit allowance and needing auditable records of itnot Lexware
- A mid sized business replacing spreadsheet mileage claims with rule enforced distance calculationsnot Lexware
Lexware
- German business accountingnot Circula
- Invoicing and bookkeepingnot Circula
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Circula
- The module pricing stacks: expenses at fifteen euro per licence plus ninety nine euro for cards plus a hundred and forty nine euro for accounts payable means a fifty person company pays well over a thousand euro a month before add ons.
- A minimum of ten licences excludes small teams, and the flexible licensing model for occasional claimants makes monthly cost harder to forecast than a flat per seat price.
- Strength is in German tax rules, so companies with significant operations outside the DACH region gain little from the feature that justifies the price.
- The accounts payable module includes only a hundred invoices per month, so invoice heavy businesses face metered overage on top of the platform fee.
- Card issuing carries a per card transaction ceiling and depends on partner issuing, so high value procurement spend can hit limits that a bank issued corporate card would not.
Lexware
- 50% discount only applies for first 3 months
- Regular prices are double the discounted prices after promotion
- Pricing is in EUR only
Pricing, plan by plan
Circula
€15/month- Employee and Travel Expenses$15/month
- Per licence, billed annually
- Minimum 10 licences
- OCR receipt capture
- Credit Cards$99/month
- Platform fee, unlimited cards
- Per card spend limits
- Transaction limit of EUR 750,000 per card
- Accounts Payable$149/month
- Platform fee
- Includes 100 invoices per month
- Supplier invoice capture and approval
- Benefits$1/month
- Per licence
- Tax free benefit allowances
- Mobility and meal benefits
Lexware
Free- S$3.95/month
- Belegerfassung und -archiv (Document capture and archive)
- M$6.45/month
- Angebote, (E-) Rechnungen und Mahnungen (Offers, invoices, reminders)
- L$10.95/month
- Buchhaltung, EÜR und Umsatzsteuer (Accounting, EÜR, sales tax)
- XL$16.45/month
- EU- und Abschlagsrechnungen, API (EU invoices, installment invoices, API)
Which should you pick?
Choose Circula if
- You need german per diem engine.
- You work on Web, iOS, Android.
- You also want receipt capture and ocr.
Questions people ask
- Is Circula or Lexware better?
- Neither clearly leads. Circula starts at €15/month and Lexware at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Circula or Lexware?
- Lexware has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at €15/month for Circula and Free for Lexware.
- Does Circula or Lexware run on more platforms?
- Circula runs on Web, iOS, Android. Lexware runs on Web.
- Can I use Lexware for free?
- Yes. Lexware has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Circula starts at €15/month.
- What is Circula best used for?
- Circula is most often used for a german company that must apply statutory per diem rates and meal deductions correctly to avoid payroll tax exposure, a finance team wanting card spend, expense claims and benefits in one datev export, an employer offering the tax free monthly benefit allowance and needing auditable records of it, a mid sized business replacing spreadsheet mileage claims with rule enforced distance calculations. Of those, a german company that must apply statutory per diem rates and meal deductions correctly to avoid payroll tax exposure and a finance team wanting card spend, expense claims and benefits in one datev export are not what Lexware is typically brought in for.
- What can Circula do that Lexware cannot?
- Circula covers German per diem engine, Receipt capture and OCR, Corporate credit cards, Employee benefits.
Answered from the vendors’ own pages
Circula: Does Circula calculate German per diems automatically?
Yes, by destination country and trip duration, including meal and accommodation deductions, which is the main reason DACH finance teams buy it.
Lexware: How much does Lexware cost?
Lexware pricing ranges from €3.95/month (plan S) to €16.45/month (plan XL) at discounted rates. Regular pricing is €7.90 to €32.90/month. All prices include hosting, backups, updates, and support.
SourceCircula: What does it actually cost for fifty employees?
Roughly seven hundred and fifty euro a month for expense licences alone at the fifteen euro rate, before the ninety nine euro card platform fee and any accounts payable module.
Lexware: Is there a current promotional offer?
Yes, Lexware offers 50% discount for the first 3 months on all plans, then regular pricing applies. The billing period is monthly and cancellable anytime.
SourceCircula: Is there a minimum commitment?
Yes. A minimum of ten licences and annual billing on the published rates.
Lexware: Does Lexware offer a free trial?
Yes, Lexware offers a 30-day free trial with full XL features plus Lohn & Gehalt (payroll) access included.
SourceRelated pages
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