Softwr

Accounting · head to head

Conta vs DATEV

Conta logo

Conta

Accounting

Norwegian accounting software for small and growing businesses

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
DATEV logo

DATEV

Accounting

German accounting, payroll and tax software built around the tax adviser rather than the business

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Conta has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Conta norwegian pricing only: displayed in NOK without multi-currency support for international comparisons; DATEV dATEV does not publish transparent per-customer pricing the way a SaaS vendor does; your real cost is buried in your tax adviser's fee note, so comparing it against Lexware or sevdesk on price is genuinely hard.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 2 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Conta and DATEV actually diverge.

Attributes where Conta and DATEV differ
AttributeContaDATEV
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelsubscriptionquote
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWebWindows, Web

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 Conta

Nothing recorded that DATEV does not also cover.

Only in DATEV

  • Unternehmen online
  • Lohn und Gehalt
  • Rechnungswesen
  • Jahresabschluss
  • DATEV DMS
  • Meine Steuern
  • DATEV-Schnittstelle

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Conta

  • Norwegian small business accounting and invoicingnot DATEV
  • Project and department cost trackingnot DATEV
  • EHF/eInvoice generation for Norwegian regulatory compliancenot DATEV

DATEV

  • A German GmbH that wants its Steuerberater to keep doing the books but wants receipts to stop travelling in a shoeboxnot Conta
  • A payroll department that must file social insurance and wage tax returns to German statutory deadlines without an external bureaunot Conta
  • An SME preparing an e-Bilanz and audit-ready GoBD document archivenot Conta
  • A tax firm standardising dozens of client engagements on one chart of accounts and one document workflownot Conta

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Conta

  • Norwegian pricing only: displayed in NOK without multi-currency support for international comparisons
  • Annual billing required: no monthly-pay option for either tier, forcing yearly commitment
  • Pro tier vaporware: listed as 'coming soon' with no pricing or feature roadmap provided
  • Limited feature differentiation: Smart tier is 'most selected' by customers but does not clearly explain what additional business value justifies 62% price premium over Standard

DATEV

  • DATEV does not publish transparent per-customer pricing the way a SaaS vendor does; your real cost is buried in your tax adviser's fee note, so comparing it against Lexware or sevdesk on price is genuinely hard.
  • The board has decided to wind down the Austria-specific portfolio: existing products remain usable to 31 December 2028, are free of charge during 2029, and cannot be used after 31 December 2029, so any Austrian entity on DATEV has a forced migration dated in advance.
  • It is built for German statutory practice, so a group with subsidiaries outside the DACH region will run DATEV for Germany and something else everywhere else, with a consolidation step in between.
  • Large parts of the suite are still Windows desktop software installed on a workstation or terminal server, which means IT overhead most companies no longer budget for when they think they are buying cloud accounting.
  • The lock-in is social as well as technical: because your adviser holds the installation and the history, changing accounting software usually forces you to change or retrain your adviser, which is a far bigger decision than a software migration.

Pricing, plan by plan

Conta

Free
  • Conta Regnskap Standard$209/month (billed annually)
  • Conta Regnskap Smart$339/month (billed annually)
  • Conta Regnskap Pro$undefined/mo

DATEV

On request
  • DATEV Unternehmen online$undefined/month
    • Receipt and bank data exchange with your tax adviser
    • Cash book and master data modules
    • Ordered and usually rebilled through the adviser
  • DATEV Mittelstand$undefined/month
    • In-house financial accounting and invoicing
    • Payroll modules licensed separately
    • Per-workplace licensing
  • Lohn und Gehalt$undefined/month
    • German payroll runs and statutory electronic filings
    • Priced by number of payslips
    • Typically operated by the adviser on the client's behalf

Which should you pick?

Choose Conta if

  • You want to start without paying.
Conta review

Choose DATEV if

  • You need unternehmen online.
  • You work on Windows, Web.
  • You also want lohn und gehalt.
DATEV review

Questions people ask

Is Conta or DATEV better?
Neither clearly leads. Conta starts at Free and DATEV at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Conta or DATEV?
Conta has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Conta and On request for DATEV.
Does Conta or DATEV run on more platforms?
Conta runs on Web. DATEV runs on Windows, Web.
Can I use Conta for free?
Yes. Conta has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. DATEV starts at On request.
What is Conta best used for?
Conta is most often used for norwegian small business accounting and invoicing, project and department cost tracking, ehf/einvoice generation for norwegian regulatory compliance. Of those, norwegian small business accounting and invoicing and project and department cost tracking are not what DATEV is typically brought in for.
What can Conta do that DATEV cannot?
DATEV covers Unternehmen online, Lohn und Gehalt, Rechnungswesen, Jahresabschluss.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Conta: How much does Conta cost per month?

Conta Regnskap Standard costs 209 NOK/month and Smart costs 339 NOK/month, billed annually. Both exclude VAT and include a 30-day free trial option.

Source
DATEV: Can I buy DATEV directly without a tax adviser?

In practice, no for most of the range. Membership of the cooperative is restricted to the tax and legal professions, and companies get access through their adviser or as a client of one.

Conta: Can I pay monthly instead of annually?

No. Both Standard and Smart tiers require annual billing at a fixed monthly rate. Monthly-payment options are not available.

Source
DATEV: Is DATEV usable outside Germany?

It operates in Austria, Italy, Spain, Poland, Czechia, Slovakia and Hungary, but the depth is German. The Austrian product line is being discontinued with a hard end date of 31 December 2029.

Conta: What is included in the Standard vs. Smart plan?

Standard includes accounting, invoicing, unlimited receipts, mobile app, and EHF/eInvoice. Smart adds KID numbers, unlimited EHF, project/department management, free chat/phone support, and exclusive equipment discounts.

Source
DATEV: What is the DATEV-Schnittstelle everyone mentions?

It is the standard export format German invoicing and ERP tools produce so bookkeeping data can be handed to a DATEV-based adviser. Supporting it is effectively a requirement to sell accounting-adjacent software in Germany.

Conta: When will the Pro plan be available and what will it cost?

The Pro tier is listed as 'coming soon' on the pricing page with no published pricing or launch date provided.

Source
DATEV: Does DATEV handle e-invoicing under the German B2B mandate?

Yes, the accounting and invoicing modules were extended for the XRechnung and ZUGFeRD formats that the German B2B e-invoicing rules require.

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