Softwr

Accounting · head to head

DATEV vs Moneybird

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
Moneybird logo

Moneybird

Accounting

Dutch online bookkeeping software for freelancers and growing entrepreneurs

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Moneybird 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.; Moneybird compact tier severely limits functionality with only 5 monthly transactions
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which DATEV and Moneybird actually diverge.

Attributes where DATEV and Moneybird differ
AttributeDATEVMoneybird
Starting priceOn requestFree
Pricing modelquotesubscription
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWindows, WebWeb

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 Moneybird

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

Moneybird

  • Freelancer bookkeepingnot DATEV
  • Small business accountingnot DATEV
  • Growing entrepreneur accountingnot DATEV
  • Full-featured bookkeeping managementnot 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.

Moneybird

  • Compact tier severely limits functionality with only 5 monthly transactions
  • Bank connections limited to 5 on Start and Groei tiers until Compleet level
  • Multi-user support only available starting at Groei tier (29 EUR/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

Moneybird

Free
  • Compact$3/month
    • 1 user
    • 5 monthly transactions limit
    • 0 bank connections
  • Start$15/month
    • 1 user
    • 20 monthly transactions
    • 5 bank connections
  • Groei$29/month
    • 5 users
    • 50 monthly transactions
    • 5 bank connections
  • Compleet$41/month
    • Unlimited users
    • Unlimited monthly transactions
    • Unlimited bank connections

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 Moneybird if

  • You want to start without paying.
Moneybird review

Questions people ask

Is DATEV or Moneybird better?
Neither clearly leads. DATEV starts at On request and Moneybird at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, DATEV or Moneybird?
Moneybird has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for DATEV and Free for Moneybird.
Does DATEV or Moneybird run on more platforms?
DATEV runs on Windows, Web. Moneybird runs on Web.
Can I use Moneybird for free?
Yes. Moneybird 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 Moneybird is typically brought in for.
What can DATEV do that Moneybird 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.

Moneybird: How much does Moneybird cost and what free trial is available?

Plans start at EUR 3/month for Compact tier, with a 60-day free trial offering full Compleet access (EUR 41/month value) at no cost. Annual billing offers up to 25% discount across all tiers.

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.

Moneybird: What user limits exist across different Moneybird plans?

Compact and Start tiers are limited to 1 user. Groei supports 5 users. Compleet tier has unlimited users, making it the only option for multi-team organizations.

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.

Moneybird: How many transactions can I process monthly on each Moneybird tier?

Compact allows 5 transactions/month, Start allows 20, Groei allows 50, and Compleet allows unlimited transactions. Transaction limits reset monthly.

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.

Moneybird: Do Moneybird plans have bank connection limits?

Compact tier has zero bank connections. Start and Groei tiers each support 5 bank connections. Only the Compleet tier (EUR 41/month) offers unlimited bank connections.

Source
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