Softwr

Accounting · head to head

DATEV vs Fiken

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
Fiken logo

Fiken

Accounting

Norwegian accounting software for sole proprietors and small companies

From
219/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: 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.; Fiken bank integration available only as add-on (69 NOK/month)
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which DATEV and Fiken actually diverge.

Attributes where DATEV and Fiken differ
AttributeDATEVFiken
Starting priceOn request219/month
Pricing modelquotesubscription
PlatformsWindows, WebWeb

Identical on both: free tier (No), 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 DATEV

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

Only in Fiken

Nothing recorded that DATEV does not also cover.

What people use each for

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

DATEV

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

Fiken

  • Solo accounting and invoicing for small businessesnot DATEV
  • Multi-user accounting collaboration at no extra costnot DATEV
  • Invoice management with EHF e-invoice supportnot DATEV
  • Bank integration for transaction trackingnot DATEV

Where each one falls short

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

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.

Fiken

  • Bank integration available only as add-on (69 NOK/month)
  • Project accounting requires separate add-on (69 NOK/month)
  • Payroll and employee features cost extra (69 NOK/month)
  • Physical mail invoicing costs 25 NOK per invoice

Pricing, plan by plan

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

Fiken

219/month
  • Base Plan$219/month
    • Complete accounting functionality
    • Unlimited invoice sending via email and EHF
    • Unlimited user accounts

Which should you pick?

Choose DATEV if

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

Choose Fiken if

Nothing in the data separates Fiken from DATEV on the points above - pick on price and on how each one feels to use.

Fiken review

Questions people ask

Is DATEV or Fiken better?
Neither clearly leads. DATEV starts at On request and Fiken at 219/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, DATEV or Fiken?
DATEV starts at On request and Fiken at 219/month.
Does DATEV or Fiken run on more platforms?
DATEV runs on Windows, Web. Fiken runs on Web.
What is DATEV best used for?
DATEV is most often used for a german gmbh that wants its steuerberater to keep doing the books but wants receipts to stop travelling in a shoebox, a payroll department that must file social insurance and wage tax returns to german statutory deadlines without an external bureau, an sme preparing an e-bilanz and audit-ready gobd document archive, a tax firm standardising dozens of client engagements on one chart of accounts and one document workflow. Of those, a german gmbh that wants its steuerberater to keep doing the books but wants receipts to stop travelling in a shoebox and a payroll department that must file social insurance and wage tax returns to german statutory deadlines without an external bureau are not what Fiken is typically brought in for.
What can DATEV do that Fiken cannot?
DATEV covers Unternehmen online, Lohn und Gehalt, Rechnungswesen, Jahresabschluss.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

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.

Fiken: Is there a free trial for Fiken?

Yes, Fiken offers a 30-day free trial with no credit card required. After the trial, the base plan costs 219 NOK per month.

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.

Fiken: Do additional users cost more on Fiken?

No, Fiken includes unlimited user accounts at no extra cost on the base plan.

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.

Fiken: What add-ons are available and how much do they cost?

Monthly add-ons include bank integration, project accounting, KID number system, and API access (69-99 NOK each). Time tracking, payroll, and expense reimbursements also cost 69 NOK per month. Annual tax filing costs 1,290 NOK for sole proprietors or 1,590 NOK for limited companies.

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.

Fiken: What are the per-transaction costs?

SMS invoicing costs 3 NOK, e-invoicing via Vipps costs 5 NOK, physical mail invoicing costs 25 NOK, and credit checks cost 15 NOK per transaction.

Source
Share

Related pages

More on DATEV

More on Fiken

Keep looking

Other head to heads