Runple alternatives
The 5 best Runple alternatives in 2026
Honesty first: Runple has one of the best free tiers on the Austrian market — 5 invoices per month including genuinely automatic 3-stage dunning that beats most rivals here. If you still want an alternative, you usually want focus instead of a suite (Runple ships inventory and warehousing modules pure service businesses never open), recurring invoices without the Standard plan (€29.90), or e-invoicing, which Runple does not create. For the focus case, Backbone (formerly Billy; from €19/month incl. VAT) is our pick — it is our own product, and below we are transparent about where it wins and where it does not.
This roundup covers all five serious options — with verified pricing (as of July 2026), honest weaknesses and a clear "best for" per tool.
All alternatives at a glance
| Backbone | sevDesk | ProSaldo.net | FreeFinance | kalkül | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best for | AI invoicing, dunning with interest, receipts & a ZIP for your accountant (DE/AT) | Accounting & e-invoicing in the DACH region, native apps | Bookkeeping with UVA & FinanzOnline, Austria only | Full bookkeeping incl. e-invoicing (ebInterface) | Free BAO-compliant invoicing, Austria only |
| Document limit | Monthly allowance per plan; numbers not published yet | Free: 3 invoices/month; paid unlimited | Unlimited invoices (all plans) | No invoice limit; OCR via credits (1,000/yr) | No limit — core features permanently free |
| Price | from €19 / month incl. VAT | from €12.90 / month; free tier: 3 invoices/month | from €9 / month (annual) or €10 monthly | invoicing from Plus: €25 / month (12-month term) or €22 (36 months) | core free; supporter tier (price not public) |
| Invoice from AI prompt | Yesassistant Billy, asks before sending | No | No | No | Nono AI features |
| All features via AI assistant | Yesnearly everything; also from Claude/ChatGPT (MCP) | Nosuggestions only (receipts, bookings) | Nobooking suggestions & OCR only | Noreceipt recognition (OCR) only | No |
| Professional templates | Partially2 templates (Basic, Minimal), logo + accent color | Yes11 layouts, 6 of them Premium | PartiallyBASIC: fixed layout; designer from PLUS | Partially~43 fonts; free layouts need desktop software | Partiallydesign for paying supporters only |
| Live preview | Yesyou write on the page itself | – | NoPDF preview in a new window | NoPDF preview only in edit mode | Partiallyin the design editor, not the invoice form |
| Recurring invoices | Yesevery plan | Yes | Partiallyfrom PLUS; creates drafts | Partiallya batch you create yourself | – |
| Automatic email sending | Yesinvoices by email; reminders on schedule from Studio | Partiallyseries invoices optionally automatic; dunning manual | Noreminders manual per open item | Nobulk dunning — every run started manually | Noreminders sent manually |
| Bookkeeping | Nono EÜR/VAT filing; export for your tax advisor | Yesin the accounting plan | Yescash-basis from GO, UVA filing from PLUS | YesUVA & ZM straight to FinanzOnline | Partiallycash-basis statement free |
| E-invoicing | PartiallyZUGFeRD; XRechnung coming soon | Yeseven in the free tier | PartiallyebInterface to the federal gov., all plans | YesebInterface & XRechnung from Plus | Nonot offered |
Competitor pricing and feature claims per the vendors, verified on August 2, 2026, prices net. Backbone details per back-bone.io as of October 9, 2026, prices incl. VAT. Subject to change.
Backbone
Invoices, receipts and dunning with an AI assistantBackbone is the alternative for everyone who finds Runple too much suite: no module maze of trading and warehousing, just the shortest path to a finished invoice. The AI assistant drafts invoices and quotes from one sentence, sends them after your confirmation, and dunning chases late payers with interest. Recurring invoices come with the entry plan (Solo, €19 incl. VAT), not from €29.90 as in Runple. And Austria AND Germany run in the same account.
Full transparency, since Backbone is our product: Runple can also chase payment automatically — even for free. What Runple cannot do is draft invoices from one sentence. What Backbone cannot do: bookkeeping (cash-basis accounting, UVA filing, FinanzOnline), a BMD export, ebInterface and XRechnung (coming soon; ZUGFeRD is live) — and there is no permanently free plan either.
Strengths
- Invoices drafted by an AI assistant, sent only after your OK — none of the other tools here can (competitors as of July 2026, per their own sites)
- Recurring invoices from the entry plan (Solo, €19) — in Runple only from Standard (€29.90)
- Austria AND Germany in one account (mandatory-detail check under §11 UStG / §14 UStG while you write)
- Clean templates (Basic, Minimal) with logo and accent color, live preview
- Set up in minutes, cancel monthly; AI-read receipts and a ZIP for your accountant included
Weaknesses
- No permanent free plan (7-day trial with a card on file, €0 due today) — Runple has one
- No bookkeeping: cash-basis accounting, UVA filing and FinanzOnline integration are absent (a UVA template is coming soon), as is a BMD or DATEV export
- E-invoicing only in part: ZUGFeRD is live, ebInterface and XRechnung are coming soon
- Web app rather than a native mobile app; public API coming soon
sevDesk
The DACH accounting incumbentsevDesk is the best-known accounting name in the DACH region, with a dedicated Austrian offering (sevdesk.at). Against Runple it scores with e-invoicing (even in the free tier with 3 invoices/month), native iOS and Android apps, and an accounting plan for anyone who wants to handle EÜR and receipts themselves. The "Rechnung" plan starts at €12.90 net.
On dunning, sevDesk falls behind Runple: reminders are sent manually per invoice, and dunning levels need the accounting plan — Runple chases automatically even for free. sevDesk’s "AI" means receipt capture plus a support chatbot.
Strengths
- E-invoicing even in the free tier — Runple creates none at all
- Native iOS and Android apps
- Dedicated Austrian offering (sevdesk.at) plus wide DACH adoption
- 11 invoice layouts (6 of them Premium)
Weaknesses
- Reminders manual per invoice; dunning levels need the accounting plan — weaker than Runple
- Custom layout only as a paid service; colors from a palette only
- AI is limited to receipt capture and a chatbot
ProSaldo.net
The Austrian accounting classic (Visma)ProSaldo.net (a Visma product) is the right Runple alternative if you care less about inventory and more about the tax side: cash-basis accounting from GO, UVA filing straight to FinanzOnline from PLUS. Invoicing is already in the BASIC plan from €9 net billed annually (€10 monthly) — cheaper than Runple’s Basic (€19.90).
On dunning it is a clear step back from Runple, though: reminders are sent manually per open item. The BASIC layout is fixed and not editable, recurring invoices need PLUS and OCR needs the GO plan.
Strengths
- Deeply Austrian: cash-basis accounting from GO, UVA straight to FinanzOnline from PLUS
- Invoicing already from €9 net (annual billing) — cheaper than Runple’s Basic
- Established vendor (Visma)
- 30-day trial
Weaknesses
- Reminders only manually per open item — a clear step back from Runple
- BASIC layout is fixed and not editable; layout designer only from PLUS
- Recurring invoices only from PLUS, OCR only from GO
FreeFinance
Austrian cloud accountingFreeFinance is the Runple alternative for everyone who cares more about compliant bookkeeping and e-invoicing than a free tier: UVA filing straight to FinanzOnline, creation of ebInterface and XRechnung e-invoices (from Plus) — both things Runple cannot do — and around 43 fonts for branding. A 30-day trial is included.
The price jump is significant, though: the cheap Business package cannot write invoices — invoicing starts in the Plus package at €25 net per month (€22 on a 36-month term), prepaid, with no monthly billing. And dunning is a bulk run you start yourself — Runple does that automatically.
Strengths
- Compliant Austrian bookkeeping with UVA straight to FinanzOnline
- Creates e-invoices: ebInterface and XRechnung (from Plus) — Runple cannot
- Around 43 fonts for custom branding
- A dedicated German edition exists
- 30-day trial
Weaknesses
- Invoicing only from Plus (€25 or €22 net/month) — the Business package cannot write invoices
- 12- or 36-month terms only, prepaid — not cancellable monthly
- Dunning is a bulk run — you start every run yourself
- Free-form layouts need Jaspersoft Studio on the desktop
kalkül
The free tool from Linzkalkül is the alternative if even Runple’s free tier is too much suite for you: a deliberately lean invoicing tool from Linz whose core features are permanently free — invoices, the small-business rule, BAO compliance and even cash-basis accounting. The vendor commits to keeping existing accounts’ free features free.
The price of leanness: no AI features, reminders are sent manually — here Runple’s automatic 3-stage dunning is clearly superior — and colors and layout are reserved for paying supporters (subscription price not public). kalkül also stays Austria-only.
Strengths
- Core features permanently free — including cash-basis accounting and the small-business rule
- BAO-compliant invoices for Austria
- Deliberately lean — no suite overhead
- Vendor commits to keeping existing accounts’ free features free
Weaknesses
- No AI features; reminders only manually — Runple chases automatically for free
- Colors & layout for paying supporters only — subscription price not public
- Austria only; no e-invoicing
How we evaluated
All pricing and feature claims come from the vendors’ own pricing and help pages, last verified on 31 July 2026 (Backbone details: as of 9 October 2026) — including the inconvenient details like tier gating and dunning limitations. Where a vendor does not document something, we do not claim it — and where Runple beats the field (automatic dunning on the free tier), we say so plainly. Backbone is our own product: we rank it #1 for the use case it is built for, and we state its weaknesses as plainly as everyone else’s.
Do not choose Backbone if …
Backbone is ranked first on this page, and this page belongs to Backbone (formerly Billy). So that you can weigh that: here are the cases where another tool is the better choice.
- You already invoice public-sector clients (XRechnung)Backbone produces ZUGFeRD e-invoices, but XRechnung (and Austria’s ebInterface) is only coming soon. sevDesk, easybill and FastBill ship XRechnung in their cheapest tier, and in Austria FreeFinance creates ebInterface and XRechnung. If you must bill public-sector clients today, choose one of those.
- You want to do your bookkeeping inside the toolBackbone collects receipts, matches them to payments and takes bank statements, but deliberately does no bookkeeping: no EÜR, no P&L, no VAT return via ELSTER or FinanzOnline. Your tax advisor does the books from the export. If you want everything from one tool, take sevDesk, Lexware Office, or FreeFinance in Austria.
- Your tax advisor insists on a DATEV or BMD exportBackbone has none. It delivers a named ZIP of receipts, sent invoices, bank statements and a CSV report — or a free bookkeeper login. Any accountant can open that, but it is not a DATEV interface. If your accountant insists on one, that rules Backbone out — sevDesk and Lexware Office are built for it.
- You want a native mobile appBackbone is a web app: it runs in your phone’s browser and you can upload receipt photos with it — but there is no native app in the store (a Mac app for the timer is coming soon). sevDesk, Lexware Office, FreshBooks, Wave, Zoho and Square all ship one.
- You never want to payBackbone has no free plan: after a 7-day trial (card on file at Stripe, €0.00 due today) it costs from €19 a month incl. VAT. easybill (50 documents a month) and sevDesk (3 invoices a month) have permanently free tiers, and in the US so do Wave and Zoho Invoice.
- Your business is based in the USBackbone is built for Germany and Austria. It invoices in English and in USD, GBP or CHF too — for a German or Austrian business billing clients abroad. It does not handle US sales tax. For a US-based business, QuickBooks, FreshBooks, Wave, Zoho Invoice or Square are the better-fitting tools.