Dext vs Pennylane (2026): which should you pick?

Pick Dext if

• Fits if sorting receipts is the worst part of doing your books
• Works for bookkeeping firms chasing paperwork from 10 or more clients

Look elsewhere if

• Skip it if you were hoping to drop your accounting software, as Dext only feeds it
• Tight if you file more than 250 documents a month, since extras wait unread until next month or an upgrade
• Pricey if you need line items or statements read, as those are add-ons from $13 to $20.50 a month
• Watch out: firm plans need at least 10 clients, and Data health and insights is $7.50 per client extra
• Watch out: annual plans need 30 days' notice to cancel, and more than 5 business entities needs a quote

Pick Pennylane if

• Fits if you run a French company and want invoicing and your business account together
• Makes sense if your accountant will work inside the same app

Look elsewhere if

• Not for you if you're outside France, as the pages and plans are French and in euros
• Pricey if you want real accounting: the module is Premium at €79 a month, €149 for 2 users
• Watch out: Starter needs the Pennylane Pro account activated
• Watch out: each plan covers up to 1,200 invoices a year

Dext

• Dext is not a ledger: it sends coded documents to accounting software such as Xero, QuickBooks or Sage, which is bought separately.
• After the monthly document allowance is used, uploads wait unread until the next billing date or an upgrade; over 5 business entities needs a quote.
• Line item, supplier statement and bank statement extraction past the free credits cost from $20.50, $20.50 and $13 a month, or $0.50, $0.50 and $0.32 a document.
• Firm plans need at least 10 clients, Data health and insights costs $7.50 per client a month extra, and annual plans need 30 days' notice to cancel.

Pennylane

• Pages and plans are in French, priced in euros before VAT, and aimed at French companies.
• Each plan covers up to 1,200 invoices a year; Custom has unlimited sales invoices.
• Starter requires activating the Pennylane Pro account; the paid plans are sold by company size and user count.
• Capital deposit costs €1 instead of €69 excluding VAT with a Pennylane subscription.

Dext

Capture from phone, email or WhatsApp

Send receipts, invoices and statements from the mobile app, an email-in address, WhatsApp or an upload, or have Dext fetch invoices from suppliers directly.

Data extraction and coding

Reads supplier, date, amount, tax and line items (Dext states over 99% accuracy), suggests categories and applies supplier rules before publishing.

Accounting software sync

Publishes coded documents to 36+ accounting and e-commerce platforms, including Xero, QuickBooks and Sage, and pulls bank feeds from over 11,500 banks.

Employee expenses and mileage

Staff submit expense claims and mileage in the app, managers approve them, and each claim syncs to the books with an audit trail.

AI Assist

A paid add-on that learns the choices you make on suppliers, categories and splits and proposes automations for you to approve.

Vault document storage

Keeps every original document for at least ten years, tagged and searchable. Free up to 100MB, with more storage from $4 a month.

Pennylane

Invoicing and e-invoicing

Create and receive invoices in line with French e-invoicing rules; the pages state that every plan is compliant.

Pro account and cards

A business account with virtual, physical and one-time cards, supplier payments and automatic reconciliation of transactions.

Accounting module

The Premium plan adds accounting reports, automated entry rules, VAT and tax-return filing by EDI, and month-end closing.

Expense reports

From Essentiel, the plans handle expense claims and mileage allowances, with automatic categorization and analytical reports.

Cash forecast

Essentiel and above include a cash forecast, based on the pricing page's feature list.

Accountant access

Plans give your accountant access, and a separate offer exists for accounting firms.

Dext

• Business$25.21

  per month for up to 250 documents, billed annually ($31.50 monthly)

  5 users, capture, extraction and accounting sync. A slider adds users and documents: $48.75 a month billed annually at 10 users and 500 documents.

• Essentials$17.70

  per client / month, on an annual subscription billed monthly

  For accounting and bookkeeping firms, 10-client minimum. Capture and processing for business and self-employed clients; the rate per client varies with the count.

• Advanced$19.20

  per client / month, on an annual subscription billed monthly

  For firms, 10-client minimum. Adds advanced automation, practice insights and controls; the rate per client varies with the count.

Pennylane

• Starter€7

  per month, excluding VAT, 1 user

  For independents: invoicing, Pro account with cards, supplier payments in one click, bank sync; needs the Pro account active.

• Basique€14

  per month, excluding VAT, 1 user

  Adds deposits and partial invoices, delivery and purchase orders and built-in supplier payment; €29 for a 2-user company.

• Essentiel€24

  per month, excluding VAT, 1 user

  Adds automated reminders, quote signing, recurring invoices, expense reports, cash forecast and API; €49 for 2 users.

• Premium€79

  per month, excluding VAT, 1 user

  Adds the accounting module: tax filing by EDI, month-end and annual closing, annual accounts; €149 for 2 users.

• CustomCustom

  For multi-entity or complex companies: unlimited users, multi-level approvals and EBICS T payments; quote only.

Dext

• Annual discount

  Up to 20% off business plans with yearly billing

  The entry business plan costs $25.21 a month billed annually ($302.50 a year) against $31.50 billed monthly.

• Annual discount

  13% off firm plans on an annual subscription

  The pricing page for accounting and bookkeeping firms labels its annual subscription 13% off the monthly rate.

Pennylane

• Other savings

  Capital deposit for €1

  A Pennylane subscription from €7 excluding VAT lowers the online capital deposit fee to €1 from €69.