Comparison
Marchant vs Lexoffice
Lexoffice is the most popular accounting tool for German small businesses — and it does ELSTER well. But if your business also touches the UK or France, here’s where it falls short.
Our honest take
Lexoffice is the first choice for German-only small businesses and Freiberufler. At €7.90/mo for S and €12.90/mo for M, it’s competitively priced, GoBD-compliant, and has excellent accountant handoff via DATEV.
Marchant is the stronger choice as soon as your business crosses borders. HMRC MTD, DGFiP TVA, and UK payroll (BrightPay sync) are simply not available in Lexoffice — meaning you’d need entirely separate tools to serve those markets.
Lexoffice is also German-only in the UI. If your team includes English or French speakers, Marchant’s fully translated interface (EN/FR/DE) removes the language barrier entirely.
Lexoffice is the household name for German freelancers and SMBs — inexpensive, GoBD-aware, and deeply integrated with ELSTER. Founders search for a Lexoffice alternative when a UK customer, French TVA registration, or bilingual finance team appears and the German-only product stops scaling.
This page documents where each product stops. Lexoffice is German-only in its interface and does not file HMRC MTD. Marchant does not file ELSTER, produce EÜR or Bilanz, or export to DATEV until the 2028 German launch — so for German compliance this year, Lexoffice is the product that works.
You will find transparent pros and cons, the comparison table, pricing context, and FAQs tuned to Lexoffice alternative and Marchant vs Lexoffice searches — including a straight answer on what Marchant cannot do in Germany yet.
Lexoffice
Where Lexoffice genuinely wins
- ✓Aggressive pricing for German micro-businesses — invoice-only tiers undercut almost everyone.
- ✓ELSTER and GoBD workflows accountants trust for domestic clients.
- ✓DATEV handoff is mature — German steuerberater workflows are first-class.
- ✓Strong domestic bank connectivity via FinTS/HBCI for everyday German accounts.
- ✓Large template library for German invoices and compliance copy.
Where Lexoffice is weaker for international teams
- ✗No UK MTD VAT or French DGFiP filing — you will buy separate software for each new country.
- ✗German-only UI — English or French finance staff duplicate effort in spreadsheets.
- ✗Payroll exists but international payroll is not the product thesis.
- ✗Multi-currency is EUR-centric compared with Marchant’s 50+ currencies and automatic daily rates.
Marchant
Why Marchant fits German HQ with UK or French arms
- ✓English and French UI alongside German — shared service centres finally stop translating screens manually.
- ✓Direct HMRC MTD VAT filing on every plan — no bridging software, useful if you also run a UK entity.
- ✓UK payroll via BrightPay sync from the Professional tier, with no per-employee add-on.
Where Marchant is still catching up
- ~Marchant does not file German tax today — Germany is planned for 2028. If you need ELSTER filing this year, Lexoffice does something Marchant cannot.
- ~Domestic German price points start higher than Lexoffice’s teaser tiers — compare fully loaded cost once you add UK/FR tools to Lexoffice anyway.
- ~Some highly specific Lexoffice marketplace connectors may need validation — bring your checklist to trial.
- ~If you are a German-only Einzelunternehmer with zero export sales, Lexoffice may remain the economic winner.
Feature comparison
| Feature | Marchant | Lexoffice |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | From £15/mo | €7.90/mo (S) · €12.90 (M) · €21.90 (L) · €32.90 (XL), net — every tier issues invoices |
| German VAT (ELSTER / UStVA) | Planned — German launch 2028 | Core feature — excellent ELSTER integration |
| German annual return (EÜR / Bilanz) | Planned — German launch 2028 | Yes — EÜR and Bilanz supported |
| UK VAT (HMRC MTD) | Included — direct MTD submission | Not supported |
| French TVA (DGFiP) | Planned — French launch 2028 | Not supported |
| German Payroll | Planned — German launch 2028 | Payroll add-on — Lohnabrechnungen included |
| UK Payroll (PAYE) | BrightPay sync (coming soon) | Not supported |
| French Payroll (DSN/URSSAF) | Planned — French launch 2028 | Not supported |
| Open banking | 2,400+ UK & EU banks — daily sync (coming soon) | German banks via FinTS/HBCI — daily sync |
| SEPA batch payments | Coming soon — not available yet | Yes — SEPA XML generation |
| Multi-currency invoicing | 50+ currencies with daily FX rates | Limited — primarily EUR |
| Receipt capture (OCR) | AI OCR — mobile + web | Yes — Belegerfassung via app |
| GoBD compliance | UK audit trail and immutable records; GoBD-conformant bookkeeping with the 2028 launch | Yes — GoBD-konform |
| DATEV export | Planned — German launch 2028 | Yes — strong accountant integration |
| Fixed assets & depreciation | Coming soon | Yes — Anlagenverwaltung included |
| English / French UI | English at launch — French and German coming soon | German only |
| Free trial | 30 days — no card required | 30 days — no card required |
Pricing comparison (verify before you buy)
Lexoffice advertises low entry tiers for invoicing separate from full accounting. Model what you pay once ELSTER accounting, payroll add-ons, and hypothetical UK/FR tools are included.
| What you are comparing | Marchant | Lexoffice |
|---|---|---|
| German entry (public list) | From £15/mo with UK compliance built in | S from €7.90/mo · M €12.90 · L €21.90 · XL €32.90 — net list prices, verified 2026-08-15 |
| ELSTER VAT filing | Planned for 2028 — Marchant does not file ELSTER today | Included — domestic strength |
| UK + French tax filing same stack | UK MTD today; French filing planned for 2028 | Not available natively |
| Payroll depth | UK payroll via BrightPay sync (coming soon); FR/DE payroll accounting is part of the 2028 launch, integrations on roadmap | German payroll add-on — verify scope vs your HR needs |
| Trial | 30 days, no card | 30 days, no card (confirm latest policy) |
Lexoffice is now sold as Lexware Office — same product, new name, so its plan names and prices are worth re-checking directly. VAT on software, partner bundles, and Lexware family promotions can change totals. Compare cost after you add every external tool you would need for UK and France alongside it.
Switching from Lexoffice to Marchant
Migration ships in 2027. The steps below are how the move will work when it does — the rest of Marchant is live today.
Most Lexoffice migrations lean on DATEV exports plus CSV downloads for open items. Your UStVA filing stays in Lexoffice until Marchant's 2028 German launch, so plan this as a books move, not a compliance one.
Export DATEV and CSV backups
Pull Kontenplan, balances, and open invoices. Store immutable PDFs for GoBD traceability even after you move.
Map SKR accounts to Marchant chart
SKR03 and SKR04 chart-of-accounts mapping arrives with the 2028 German launch, so keep your framework in Lexoffice for now. Record which variant you use — including custom contra accounts — so the mapping is ready when it is available.
Reconnect German banks, add UK/French accounts
Import at least one full statement cycle per IBAN as CSV for reconciliation confidence. Open banking feeds are coming soon.
Recreate VAT IDs and cash register settings
Copy USt-IdNr, Kleinunternehmer flags, and OSS registrations exactly. Add a new HMRC registration if UK expansion triggered the migration — DGFiP, like ELSTER, waits for the 2028 launches.
Shadow-run one UStVA period
There are no ELSTER credentials to switch: Lexoffice keeps filing your Umsatzsteuervoranmeldung until Marchant's German launch in 2028. Plan this step for then, and keep your Lexoffice returns as the comparison baseline.
Invite your Steuerberater into the trial tenant early — practice buy-in decides more switches than any product argument. DATEV handoff documentation arrives with the German launch planned for 2028.
Common questions: Marchant vs Lexoffice
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