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Accounting · head to head

DATEV vs Mercury

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
Mercury logo

Mercury

Accounting

Banking for startups

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Mercury has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • 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.; Mercury treasury access requires a $250,000 balance held with Mercury
  • They diverge on capability: DATEV covers Unternehmen online, Mercury covers Business checking.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which DATEV and Mercury actually diverge.

Attributes where DATEV and Mercury differ
AttributeDATEVMercury
Starting priceOn requestFree
Pricing modelquotefreemium
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWindows, WebWeb, Ios, Android
FoundedUnknown2019

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 DATEV

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

Only in Mercury

  • Business checking
  • Savings accounts
  • Virtual cards
  • Team management
  • API access
  • QuickBooks
  • Xero
  • Stripe

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 Mercury
  • A payroll department that must file social insurance and wage tax returns to German statutory deadlines without an external bureaunot Mercury
  • An SME preparing an e-Bilanz and audit-ready GoBD document archivenot Mercury
  • A tax firm standardising dozens of client engagements on one chart of accounts and one document workflownot Mercury

Mercury

  • Business banking and payments for startupsnot DATEV
  • Managing treasury, invoicing and corporate cards from one accountnot 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.

Mercury

  • Treasury access requires a $250,000 balance held with Mercury
  • Non USD international wires carry a 1% conversion fee
  • Choosing OUR wire coding, which covers intermediary bank charges, costs $15 per wire
  • ACH invoicing is $1 per transaction on Mercury Plus and only free on the $299 a month Pro plan
  • Advanced and recurring invoicing require Mercury Plus at $29.90 a month

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

Mercury

Free
  • Mercury (Free)Free
    • ACH payments
    • Domestic wires
    • Real-time payments
  • Mercury Plus$29.9/month
    • Invoice ACH debits
    • Recurring invoices
    • Invoicing API (500/month)
  • Mercury Pro$299/month
    • All Plus features
    • Relationship manager
    • Free ACH invoice debits

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 Mercury if

  • You need business checking.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Ios, Android.
  • You also want savings accounts.
Mercury review

Questions people ask

Is DATEV or Mercury better?
Neither clearly leads. DATEV starts at On request and Mercury at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, DATEV or Mercury?
Mercury has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for DATEV and Free for Mercury.
Does DATEV or Mercury run on more platforms?
DATEV runs on Windows, Web. Mercury runs on Web, Ios, Android.
Can I use Mercury for free?
Yes. Mercury has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. DATEV starts at On request.
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 Mercury is typically brought in for.
What can DATEV do that Mercury cannot?
DATEV covers Unternehmen online, Lohn und Gehalt, Rechnungswesen, Jahresabschluss. Mercury covers Business checking, Savings accounts, Virtual cards, Team management.

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.

Mercury: Is Mercury business banking free?

Mercury's base banking tier is free and includes ACH payments, domestic wire transfers, real-time payments, Bill Pay, and QuickBooks/Xero automations at no monthly cost.

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.

Mercury: What does Mercury Plus add beyond the free tier?

Mercury Plus costs $29.90 per month and adds invoice ACH debits, recurring invoice capabilities, invoicing API with 500 calls per month, unlimited 1099 filings, and access to partner benefits.

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.

Mercury: Does Mercury charge monthly account fees?

No, Mercury states there are no minimum account balance requirements, overdraft fees, required monthly fees, or account opening fees. The free tier includes essential business banking, with paid tiers available for additional features.

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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