Comparison
Marchant vs Pennylane
Pennylane is excellent for French businesses working closely with their accountant. But if you also need UK or German compliance, here’s what changes.
Our honest take
Pennylane is outstanding for French businesses with a dedicated accountant. Its accountant-collaboration features are best-in-class, and DGFiP integration is deep and reliable.
Marchant wins on UK compliance: MTD VAT filing, CIS and UK payroll. For French compliance Pennylane wins outright today, and will until Marchant's 2028 French launch.
Pennylane is also primarily French-language today. Marchant’s UI is fully translated into English, French and German from day one, making it easier for international teams.
Pennylane earned its reputation by putting French accountants in the same workspace as their clients. Teams start researching a Pennylane alternative when growth adds a UK subsidiary, German operations, or bilingual reporting — and a France-first stack becomes a bottleneck.
In this Marchant vs Pennylane breakdown we credit Pennylane's collaboration model and state the limit on our side plainly: Marchant has no native DGFiP filing and no DSN payroll until the 2028 French launch. What Marchant brings today is UK MTD filing and UK payroll, which matters only if you have a UK entity.
Use the sections below for honest pros and cons, the feature comparison table, a pricing snapshot, migration notes, and FAQs aimed at finance leaders comparing Pennylane alternative options for multi-country SMEs.
Pennylane
Where Pennylane genuinely wins
- ✓Accountant-first collaboration — comments, reconciliations, and review loops are a product philosophy, not an afterthought.
- ✓Strong DGFiP TVA workflows for French SMEs that already rely on an expert comptable.
- ✓Modern expense flows and card integrations tuned to the French market.
- ✓Growing adoption among French firms that want cloud-native books without legacy ERP weight.
- ✓Bank coverage focused on France and the EU that works well for domestic operators.
Where Pennylane is weaker for tri-country operators
- ✗No native UK HMRC MTD filing and no German ELSTER VAT filing in the same breadth Marchant targets — cross-border groups juggle extra tools.
- ✗French-first UX — English and German exist in places but international finance teams still feel friction.
- ✗European payroll outside France is not the headline story; UK and German payroll parity is Marchant’s differentiation.
- ✗Self-serve trials are lighter than Marchant’s card-free trial (30 days on every plan) — procurement teams may wait on demos.
Marchant
Why Marchant wins for the UK entity of an international group
- ✓Fully translated English, French, and German UI — shared service centres avoid shadow ledgers.
- ✓Open banking (coming soon) across 2,400+ institutions including UK clearing banks and EU branches your treasury already uses.
- ✓Transparent pricing without opaque enterprise quotes for baseline SME compliance.
- ✓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 French tax today — France is planned for 2028. If you need DGFiP filing this year, Pennylane does something Marchant cannot.
- ~We do not yet replicate every Pennylane accountant micro-feature — validate your firm’s review cadence with a pilot workspace.
- ~French accountant networks may need onboarding time — Marchant provides exports they already understand, but change management matters.
- ~If you are France-only and deeply embedded with Pennylane cards, staying put can be rational until international scope appears.
Feature comparison
| Feature | Marchant | Pennylane |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | £15/mo | €24/mo (France only at base) |
| French TVA (DGFiP) | Planned — French launch 2028 | Core feature — excellent DGFiP integration |
| UK VAT (HMRC MTD) | Included — direct MTD submission | Not supported |
| German VAT (ELSTER) | Planned — German launch 2028 | Not supported |
| French Payroll (DSN/URSSAF) | Planned — French launch 2028 | Via accountant integration (not native) |
| UK Payroll (PAYE) | BrightPay sync (coming soon) | Not supported |
| German Payroll (DATEV) | Planned — German launch 2028 | Not supported |
| Open banking | 2,400+ UK & EU banks — daily sync (coming soon) | French and EU banks — strong coverage |
| Accountant collaboration | Accountant access included | Accountant-first design — excellent collaboration |
| Expense management | AI OCR receipt capture | Yes — with Pennylane card integration |
| Multi-currency | 50+ currencies, live rates | Yes — EUR focused |
| SEPA batch payments | Coming soon — not available yet | Yes |
| Fixed assets | Coming soon | Yes |
| English / German UI | English at launch — French and German coming soon | French-first (EN in progress) |
| Free trial | 30 days — no card required | Demo on request |
Pricing comparison (verify before you buy)
Pennylane publishes list pricing in euros for French plans; Marchant bills in GBP, shown here converted for comparison only. Promotions and bundles change — confirm on each site before you model LTV.
| What you are comparing | Marchant | Pennylane |
|---|---|---|
| Typical SME entry (public list) | From £15/mo — UK compliance in the product | From roughly €24/mo for core French accounting — verify current tiers |
| UK MTD VAT filing | Included — native submission path | Not supported — separate UK tool required |
| German ELSTER VAT | Planned for 2028 — no ELSTER submission today | Not supported — separate DE tool required |
| Payroll — UK (BrightPay sync) | UK payroll via BrightPay sync (coming soon); FR/DE payroll accounting is part of the 2028 launch, integrations on the roadmap | French payroll via integrations; UK/DE not native in the same way |
| Trial access | 30 days, no card | Often demo-led — confirm latest self-serve options |
Currency display, tax-inclusive pricing, and partner discounts can change totals. Model fully loaded cost including any supplemental UK or German software you still need with Pennylane.
Switching from Pennylane 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.
Exports from Pennylane-compatible charts map cleanly into Marchant CSV templates. Coordinate with your accountant so FEC or trial balance exports align with fiscal year-end rules.
Download FEC or trial balance packages
French teams often have FEC exports, and Marchant ingestion accepts structured CSV equivalents — useful for reporting or a UK entity, not for French filing, which stays with Pennylane until 2028. Keep immobilisations and loan schedules for your own records; fixed assets in Marchant are coming soon.
Recreate TVA settings before first CA3
Copy regime start dates, coefficients, and autoliquidation flags exactly. There are no filing credentials to switch before the French launch in 2028 — run a shadow month against your last submitted CA3 if you want to be ready early.
Add UK and German registrations if new
If migration coincides with UK expansion, register MTD obligations before first submission — ELSTER, like DGFiP, is part of the 2028 launches. Your advisor should validate establishment rules.
Bring over your EU bank statements
Import a full statement cycle for each French and UK account as CSV. Open banking feeds are coming soon; Pennylane consents will not transfer when they arrive.
Train the finance committee
Show leadership the reporting they get on day one — that visibility is usually the political win that justifies the move.
CA3 filing stays with Pennylane until Marchant's 2028 French launch, so there is no cutover to schedule yet. Run the two in parallel for a period if you want to be ready early.
Common questions: Marchant vs Pennylane
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