Sevdesk vs Zoho Books (2026): which should you pick?

Pick Sevdesk if

• Fits if you're a German freelancer who must send e-invoices
• Works for small businesses that share books with a tax adviser through DATEV

Look elsewhere if

• Tight if you're on Free: 3 invoices a month
• Not for you if you're outside Germany and Austria, since it's built around German tax rules
• Pricey if you want bookkeeping and bank connection: Accounting is €25.90 a month, Accounting Pro €34.90
• Watch out: marketplace integrations may carry partner fees outside the plan price

Pick Zoho Books if

• Fits if your business turns over less than $50K a year and you want to pay $0
• Works for businesses already running other Zoho apps

Look elsewhere if

• Tight if your team grows, since plans cap users at 3, 5, 10 or 15 and more cost $3 each a month
• Pricey if you need warehouses or Amazon and eBay channels, which start on Elite at $120 a month
• Not for you if you're past $50K revenue and hoping to stay free
• Tight if you bill a lot: invoices are capped at 1,000 a year on Free, 5,000 on Standard and 25,000 on Premium
• Watch out: automatic bank feeds need Standard, and the free plan can't take paid add-ons other than autoscans

Sevdesk

• Built around German tax rules; the page says included features vary by country, with versions for Germany and Austria.
• The Free plan stops at 3 invoices or e-invoices a month.
• Prices shown are monthly-billed and exclude VAT; 12 and 24-month terms are offered at 25% and 50% off.
• Marketplace integrations may carry partner fees that are not part of the plan price.

Zoho Books

• The free plan stays free only while revenue is under $50K a financial year, and paid add-ons other than autoscans cannot be added to it.
• Each plan caps users at 3, 5, 10, 10 or 15; more cost $3 per user a month, or $2.50 billed annually.
• Every plan caps invoices and bills a year: 1,000 on Free, 5,000 on Standard, 10,000 on Professional and 25,000 on Premium.
• These are US prices; Zoho lists separate editions for 18 countries plus a global one, including the UK, Canada, India and Australia.

Sevdesk

E-invoices and quotes

Create invoices, quotes and delivery notes in your own layout, with ZUGFeRD and XRechnung e-invoice formats from the Free plan.

Receipt capture

Scan receipts with the mobile app or upload them; the system suggests a booking category and matches them to bank transactions.

Advance VAT returns

Prepare the advance VAT return and send it to the tax office through the ELSTER interface from the Accounting plan.

Bank connection

Connect online banking, which the page says supports more than 4,000 banks, and match payments to invoices.

Tax adviser access

A DATEV and ADDISON interface and direct account access let a tax adviser work on the data.

Reminders and dunning

Send payment reminders from the Invoicing plan and run multi-level dunning notices from the Accounting plan.

Zoho Books

Invoicing and online payments

Quotes, invoices, recurring invoices, retention payments and automatic reminders, with a customer portal for paying online.

Banking and reconciliation

Reconcile accounts on every plan. Automatic bank feeds start on Standard, along with recurring expenses and period locking.

US tax and 1099s

Track sales and use tax, manage W-9s and 1099 contractors, and e-file 1099-MISC and 1099-NEC forms from Standard up.

Projects and inventory

Professional adds timesheets, project profitability and basic inventory. Elite adds warehouses, serial and batch tracking and shipping labels.

Automation and customization

Workflows, approvals and custom roles from Professional; custom modules, buttons and functions from Premium; Blueprints on Elite.

AI in accounting

Ask questions about the books in plain English, spot anomalies and automate collections, plus receipt autoscans on every plan.

Sevdesk

• Free€0.00

  Up to 3 invoices or e-invoices a month in ZUGFeRD and XRechnung formats, unlimited contacts.

• Invoicing€12.90

  per month, billed monthly, excl. VAT

  Unlimited invoices and quotes, payment reminders, DATEV interface, tax adviser access and support.

• Accounting€25.90

  per month, billed monthly, excl. VAT

  Adds bookkeeping, AI receipt capture, bank connection, advance VAT returns, EÜR and trial balance.

• Accounting Pro€34.90

  per month, billed monthly, excl. VAT

  For automating bookkeeping and watching the business in real time; extends the Accounting plan.

Zoho Books

• Free$0

  Revenue under $50K a year. 1 user and 1 accountant, up to 1,000 invoices a year, recurring invoices, payment reminders and 1099 filing.

• Standard$15

  per organization / month, billed annually

  $20 billed monthly. 3 users, bank feeds, sales and use tax, 1099 e-filing, custom reports, API access and 5,000 invoices a year.

• Professional$40

  per organization / month, billed annually

  $50 billed monthly. 5 users, sales and purchase orders, multiple currencies, timesheets, project profitability, retainers and inventory.

• Premium$60

  per organization / month, billed annually

  $70 billed monthly. 10 users, fixed assets, budgets, cash flow forecasting, a vendor portal and custom modules.

• Elite$120

  per organization / month, billed annually

  $150 billed monthly. 10 users, advanced inventory with warehouses and batch tracking, Etsy, eBay and Amazon channels, and up to 2 Shopify stores.

• Ultimate$240

  per organization / month, billed annually

  $275 billed monthly. 15 users and built-in business intelligence with 50+ prebuilt visualizations, KPI tracking and embeddable reports.

Sevdesk

• Annual discount

  25% off a 12-month term, 50% off 24 months

  The pricing section offers 12-month and 24-month terms marked as 25% and 50% cheaper than paying month to month.

Zoho Books

• Annual discount

  Save up to 25% with yearly billing

  Yearly billing cuts Standard from $20 to $15 a month, Professional from $50 to $40, Premium from $70 to $60, Elite from $150 to $120 and Ultimate from $275 to $240.