Market overview · July 2026
Invoicing software compared: sevDesk, Lexware Office, easybill & co. — and where Billy fits in
Anyone shopping for invoicing software in the German-speaking market in 2026 runs into the same big names: sevDesk, Lexware Office, easybill, FastBill — or a full ERP suite like Odoo. All are established, and at all of them “AI” has mostly meant receipt recognition so far.
This comparison focuses on exactly these tools and the two questions that matter day to day: how good do your invoices look — and what does the AI actually take off your plate? Plus an honest note on when another tool is the better pick. Billy is the AI invoicing app for freelancers in Austria, Germany and the US.
The feature comparison: design & AI in focus
| Billy | sevDesk | Lexware Office | easybill | FastBill | Odoo | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best for | AI invoicing & automatic dunning (DE/AT/US) | Bookkeeping & invoicing in one tool | Full bookkeeping with ELSTER (Germany only) | E-commerce & marketplaces (Amazon, eBay, Shopify) | VAT filing from the tool & deep template design | Growing companies with ERP needs |
| Document limit | from 50/month; unlimited on Pro | Free: 3 invoices/month; paid unlimited | No limit stated (fair use per T&Cs) | Free: 50/month; Starter: 250/month | No invoice limit stated | No limit — even on "One App Free" |
| Price | from €9 / month | from €12.90 / month | from €12.90 / month (plan M) | Free; from €9 / month | from €9 / month (Solo) | "One App Free"; Standard €19.90 per user/month |
| Invoice from AI prompt | Yescore feature | No | No | No | No | No |
| All features via AI assistant | Yesassistant reaches every feature | Nosuggestions only (receipts, bookings) | Nosuggestions you must accept | NoAI drafts text, you decide | NoOCR; receipts checked manually | NoAI in places (documents) |
| Professional templates | Yesdesigned templates | Yes11 layouts, 6 of them Premium | Partially5 base layouts | Partially2 base layouts you clone | Partiallyeditor with own fonts; Solo: 1 template | Partiallyconfigurable layouts |
| Live preview | Yes | – | Nopreview is a separate step | Nopreview on click | Yes | – |
| Recurring invoices | Yesset up in one sentence | Yes | Yesseries invoices | PartiallyProfessional (€25) and up | PartiallyPro (€27) and up | Yes |
| Automatic email sending | Yesinvoices & reminders, from the entry plan | Partiallyseries invoices optionally automatic; dunning manual | Partiallyseries invoices optionally automatic; no automatic dunning | Partiallyseries from Professional, dunning Premium only | Partiallydunning as a paid add-on | Partiallyfollow-up reminders automatic once configured |
| Bookkeeping | Nodeliberately not | Yesin the accounting plan | Yesplan L and up | No | PartiallyVAT filing yes, EÜR no | Yesaccounting module |
| E-invoicing | NoPDF invoices | Yeseven in the free tier | Partiallysending from plan M | Yeseven in the free tier | Yesin every plan | Yes |
Net prices with annual billing per the vendors’ pricing pages, verified 31 July 2026; Odoo prices vary by country. All information without guarantee — the vendors’ own pages are authoritative. On e-invoicing: German Kleinunternehmer (§19 UStG) are permanently exempt from the issuing obligation — details in the FAQ below.
Invoicing app or accounting software? The honest difference
sevDesk and Lexware Office are, at their core, bookkeeping tools: they generate the EÜR profit statement, file the VAT pre-registration via ELSTER, reconcile bank accounts and export to DATEV. Odoo goes further still and ships an entire ERP suite. That is a lot — and exactly right for anyone who wants to do their entire bookkeeping themselves.
Billy deliberately does not do that. Billy is a focused invoicing app: professionally designed, legally compliant invoices (§14 UStG / §11 öUStG, §19 small-business scheme, §13b reverse charge), quotes, credit notes, recurring invoices, automatic payment reminders — plus an AI assistant that does all of it on request. If a tax advisor handles your books, or you simply want to get paid without learning accounting software, you often don’t need the rest at all.
Where Billy has a clear edge
The most important difference is in the AI rows of the matrix: at every vendor compared here, "AI" as of July 2026 means receipt recognition, booking suggestions or a support chatbot. None of these tools has an assistant that does the actual work.
- A real AI assistant: "Invoice Anna €1,200 for the March workshop" — Billy drafts the invoice, you approve, Billy sends it.
- Automatic reminders from the entry plan: payment reminders and Mahnungen run on your schedule — easybill offers this only in its Premium plan, FastBill as a paid add-on, sevDesk and Lexware Office as a per-invoice click.
- Austria as a home market: §11 öUStG, the small-business scheme and reverse charge come preconfigured — Lexware Office, easybill and FastBill don’t support Austria at all.
- Bilingual (German & English) plus a US region: currency, date formats and tax logic switch automatically.
- Design first: professionally designed templates with a live preview as you type — the invoice is what your clients see of you.
- Control: the assistant sends nothing and changes no data without your confirmation.
The head-to-head comparisons
Torn between Billy and one specific tool? There is a dedicated, detailed comparison for each major vendor:
When another tool is the better choice
A fair comparison names the other direction too. You should pick another tool if any of these apply to you:
- You want to file the EÜR and VAT pre-registration yourself inside the tool: sevDesk and Lexware Office (plan L) file directly via ELSTER, FastBill includes VAT filing in every plan. Billy has no bookkeeping or tax-filing features.
- You sell on Amazon, eBay or Shopify: easybill specializes in marketplace billing, OSS and shipping integrations.
- You need ERP features like inventory, manufacturing or CRM: Odoo covers far more ground as a modular suite than any invoicing app.
- You must issue XRechnung or ZUGFeRD today (e.g. for public-sector or large corporate clients): the tools compared here create structured e-invoices, some even in their free tiers. Billy currently creates PDF invoices — though as a Kleinunternehmer you are permanently exempt from the e-invoice issuing obligation (see below).
- You want receipt scanning and bank reconciliation: banking sync and receipt capture are the accounting tools’ strength, not Billy’s.
The e-invoicing mandate: what actually applies as of July 2026
For Billy’s core audience — freelancers and small businesses in Austria and Germany — there is therefore no obligation to issue e-invoices as of today. What remains important is being able to receive and open incoming e-invoices.
The tools in brief
sevDesk
The market leader for freelancers who want invoicing and bookkeeping in one: EÜR, VAT filing via ELSTER, banking, DATEV, plus a dedicated Austrian version (sevdesk.at). E-invoices (XRechnung/ZUGFeRD) are included even in the free tier with 3 invoices per month. "AI" here means receipt capture and the support chatbot Sevi; reminders are created per invoice with a click.
Lexware Office (formerly lexoffice)
The Haufe-Lexware classic with over 230,000 customers, a very approachable interface and a payroll add-on. Invoicing starts with plan M (€12.90 net), bookkeeping/EÜR/ELSTER with plan L. Important for Austrians: per its own help center, Lexware Office is suitable for Germany only.
easybill
Strong for e-commerce: Amazon, eBay and Shopify integrations, OSS and shipping labels, plus a permanently free tier with 50 documents per month including e-invoicing. Recurring invoices require the Professional plan, automated dunning the Premium plan; archiving costs extra.
FastBill
Back in its founders’ hands since the 2024 buyback. Its specialty: VAT pre-registration goes directly to the tax office via ELSTER in every plan. Recurring invoices require Pro, fully automatic dunning is a paid add-on, and an official EÜR is missing.
Odoo
The modular open-source ERP suite: invoicing, accounting, CRM, inventory, manufacturing and dozens more apps. A single app is free ("One App Free"); beyond that you pay per user per month — often plus setup or partner effort. Usually oversized for pure invoice senders; the detailed comparison is linked above.