# DATEV review (2026): is it worth it? > German payroll and accounting software used with tax advisors Checked Nov 13, 2026 ยท graded Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA. DATEV is a German cooperative that makes accounting and payroll software, used by tax advisors and by companies working with them. Its payroll offering lets companies run Lohn und Gehalt themselves or hand it to their tax firm, in the cloud or on-premises. HR modules for recruiting, time and travel costs sit beside it. - **Category:** Payroll - **Made by:** DATEV eG - **Website:** https://www.datev.de/web/de - **Runs on:** Web - **Who should skip it:** Skip it if you do not read German, as the site is German. - **Facts last checked:** Nov 13, 2026 ## Pricing DATEV's current pricing could not be confirmed from its own site. ## Key features - **Payroll software:** Lohn- und Gehaltsabrechnung programs, with versions for social institutions and the public sector. The site says about 14.5 million employees are paid with them each month. - **Cloud or on-premises:** Companies can choose a cloud solution or an on-premises one, and combine modules as needed. - **Shared work with the tax firm:** The payroll pages describe exchanging data with the company's tax firm, for example when it prepares the payroll. - **HR modules:** Related solutions cover recruiting, personnel management, time recording, HR controlling, staff development and travel expenses. - **Employee portal:** DATEV Arbeitnehmer online is listed as a way for employees to get their payroll documents. ## Good for - German companies that work with a tax advisor who already uses DATEV - Public-sector and social-sector employers that need sector-specific payroll - Firms that want modular payroll with a choice of cloud or on-premises ## Worth knowing - No prices were found on the pages read, so pricing is unverified; it is sold through a shop and through tax advisors. - Built for German payroll rules, and the site is in German. - The company describes itself as serving tax, audit and legal professions first, with companies as a second audience. - Sign-in now requires a DATEV SmartCard, mIDentity or SmartLogin, per a notice on the home page. ## ToolGPA grades **GPA: 1.8 out of 4**, graded Nov 13, 2026. DATEV is a German cooperative whose payroll runs in the cloud or on-premises and is shared with your tax firm. No price was found, it is built for German rules and the site is in German. - **Value for money: C.** No price was found; it is sold through a shop and tax advisors, so it sits in the middle of payroll tools. - **Free plan and trial: F.** No free plan or trial on the pages read. - **Features: B.** Payroll, cloud or on-premises, shared work with the tax firm, HR modules and an employee portal. The listing names no gap in the job. - **Ease of use: C.** No store rating on record. Sign-in needs a SmartCard, mIDentity or SmartLogin, which is extra setup. - **Platforms and integrations: C.** Web on the listing, with no mobile app or integrations list. These are ToolGPA's own grades. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from DATEV's own pages on 13 November 2026. Not based on using the product, and shorter than our full reviews. ## Where it stands among payroll services - DATEV's GPA of 1.8 is higher than 10 of the 61 other payroll services we grade, and level with 15. - It stands best on features (B, above 30 of 61) and worst on free plan and trial (F, above 0). The category's chart of price against score: https://toolgpa.com/charts/payroll ## Keep it, or make your own? **Keep it.** To replace DATEV you would be making payroll taxes worked out and filed with the government for you. That is not a weekend's work, with an AI app builder or without one. That makes this kind of software worth paying for, not this one in particular: 36 of the 61 other payroll services grade higher. - You could make: Employee records, expense tracking and reports: an app builder makes these well. - You could not: Payroll taxes worked out and filed with the government for you. - You could not: Clocking in from a phone, checked against where and when. - You could not: The depth: we grade its features B, which means it covers the whole job. A judgement by ToolGPA from this listing, by rules that are the same for every tool. Nothing was built to test it. **Tags:** Payroll, Employee records, Time clock, Expense tracking, Reports ## Alternatives - [SD Worx](https://toolgpa.com/tools/sdworx): European HR, payroll and time provider, with managed payroll. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/datev-vs-sdworx) - [Silae](https://toolgpa.com/tools/silae): French payroll and HR software, sold with accountants and partners. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/datev-vs-silae) - [Payfit](https://toolgpa.com/tools/payfit): Managed UK payroll and HR with an AI assistant. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/datev-vs-payfit) - [Zellis](https://toolgpa.com/tools/zellis): HR, workforce management and payroll software for UK and Ireland. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/datev-vs-zellis) - [Azets](https://toolgpa.com/tools/azets): Accounting firm with managed payroll services and cloud software. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/azets-vs-datev) ## Sources The prices, plans, platforms and features above were read from these pages on Nov 13, 2026: - https://www.datev.de/web/de - https://www.datev.de/web/de/unternehmen/loesungen/lohn-und-personal - https://www.datev.de/web/de/berufsgruppenuebergreifend/ueber-datev/das-unternehmen Page: https://toolgpa.com/tools/datev Listed by ToolGPA (toolgpa.com).