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Accounting · head to head

DATEV vs SalaryFits

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
SalaryFits logo

SalaryFits

Payroll

Brazilian employee benefits and earned wage access app, owned by Serasa Experian since 2024

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only SalaryFits 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.; SalaryFits it only operates in Brazil, tied to Brazilian payroll and labour law, so it is not an option for any multinational benefits programme outside that market.
  • They diverge on capability: DATEV covers Unternehmen online, SalaryFits covers Discount club.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which DATEV and SalaryFits actually diverge.

Attributes where DATEV and SalaryFits differ
AttributeDATEVSalaryFits
Starting priceOn requestFree
Pricing modelquoteFree for employers, fees apply to advances and loans
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWindows, WebWeb, iOS, Android
CategoryAccountingPayroll

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated).

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 SalaryFits

  • Discount club
  • Earned wage access
  • Payroll-deduction loans
  • Financial marketplace
  • Zero employer cost
  • Serasa credit integration

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

SalaryFits

  • A Brazilian employer wanting a zero-cost benefit to add discount and advance access for staffnot DATEV
  • An HR team wanting earned wage access without building payroll advance infrastructure in housenot DATEV
  • A company wanting to offer payroll-deduction credit access underwritten with bureau-grade datanot DATEV
  • An employer consolidating several point benefits into one branded app for staffnot 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.

SalaryFits

  • It only operates in Brazil, tied to Brazilian payroll and labour law, so it is not an option for any multinational benefits programme outside that market.
  • Ownership by Serasa Experian, a credit bureau, puts consumer credit data and workplace financial wellness in the hands of the same company, which some employees and employers may view as a conflict of interest.
  • Salary advances and payroll loans carry real fees and interest even though the base app is free to the employer, so the actual cost to employees is not zero despite the marketing framing.
  • As with any earned wage access product, heavy reliance on advances can mask underlying pay adequacy problems rather than solve them, and repeated use signals financial distress that a purely additive benefit narrative does not capture.
  • Independent, English-language documentation and support are thin, since the product and its support model are built around Brazilian Portuguese speaking employers and employees.

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

SalaryFits

Free
  • SalaryFitsFree
    • No employer subscription cost
    • Discount club free to employees
    • Salary advance and consigned loan fees apply per transaction

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 SalaryFits if

  • You need discount club.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want earned wage access.
SalaryFits review

Questions people ask

Is DATEV or SalaryFits better?
Neither clearly leads. DATEV starts at On request and SalaryFits at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, DATEV or SalaryFits?
SalaryFits has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for DATEV and Free for SalaryFits.
Does DATEV or SalaryFits run on more platforms?
DATEV runs on Windows, Web. SalaryFits runs on Web, iOS, Android.
Can I use SalaryFits for free?
Yes. SalaryFits 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 SalaryFits is typically brought in for.
What can DATEV do that SalaryFits cannot?
DATEV covers Unternehmen online, Lohn und Gehalt, Rechnungswesen, Jahresabschluss. SalaryFits covers Discount club, Earned wage access, Payroll-deduction loans, Financial marketplace.

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.

SalaryFits: Is SalaryFits still an independent company?

No. It was acquired by Serasa Experian, with the deal approved by Brazil's CADE antitrust authority in 2024, and now operates as part of that group.

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.

SalaryFits: Does it cost the employer anything?

The base discount club and app access are free to employers; advances and payroll loans carry fees and interest paid by employees.

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.

SalaryFits: Does it operate outside Brazil?

No, it is built specifically for the Brazilian market.

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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