Best Lexoffice Alternative for Freelancers: 5 Compared

Most people shopping for new invoicing software aren't unhappy with their current tool. They're unhappy with the bill. They signed up to send invoices, and somewhere along the way ended up paying for a full bookkeeping suite with a bank-reconciliation module they've opened exactly once.

That's the real question hiding behind every "best invoicing software" search: do I actually need accounting software, or do I just need to get a quote signed and get paid?

For a lot of solo freelancers and two-person studios across the EU, the honest answer is the second one. So this invoicing software comparison weighs the options for that job specifically — proposals, e-signature, EU VAT, e-invoice formats, price, and how much accounting overkill you're forced to swallow. We'll be clear about who each tool actually suits, including the cases where a full accounting tool is still the right pick.

We've used the German market here as the worked example, because Germany has one of Europe's most mature invoicing-software fields and a live B2B e-invoice mandate — so it's a good stress test. The same decision logic applies whether you bill in Berlin, Amsterdam, Paris or Madrid.

A note on the numbers below: we checked every competitor price in June 2026 against the vendor's own page, and they're net (excl. VAT) unless mentioned otherwise. Prices move, though, so re-check before you sign anything.

The criteria that actually matter

Monthly price is the least interesting criterion, because almost every entry tier here lands in the same EUR 7.90–12.90 band. The things that actually separate an invoicing tool:

• Proposals + e-signature. Can you send a quote and get it signed before the work starts? Most invoicing tools skip this and start at the invoice. Worth noting: not one of the big invoicing tools below markets a legally binding signature flow at all.
• EU VAT and reverse-charge. If you bill a client in another EU country, does the tool handle cross-border VAT, or do you do it by hand?
• E-invoice formats. Germany's B2B receiving obligation has been live since 1 January 2025, and issuing becomes mandatory for businesses with turnover above EUR 800,000 from 1 January 2027 and for all domestic B2B from 1 January 2028. France, Spain, Poland and others are rolling out their own mandates. Can the tool produce a valid structured file — ZUGFeRD, XRechnung, Factur-X, UBL — when a client asks?
• No full-accounting overkill. Paying for double-entry bookkeeping you never open.
• Contract terms. This one quietly matters more than the price.

You can see how Clozo handles each e-invoice format here and what's in each plan on the pricing page.

1. The incumbent: Lexware Office / lexoffice (and why people want a lexoffice alternative)

In Germany the default is lexoffice — now rebranded Lexware Office since 2025, so you'll see both names in the wild. It's genuinely good at what it's built for: bookkeeping. The entry "S" plan runs about EUR 7.90/month net, rising to roughly EUR 32.90/month net at the top tier once you want bank sync, automatic payment matching and DATEV export. Billing is fair and the ecosystem is mature. It produces valid e-invoice formats including ZUGFeRD and XRechnung, and handles VAT.

The honest caveat from real users: the DATEV sync isn't flawless — sync errors that create double work are a recurring complaint, as is support once you hit the edges of more complex bookkeeping.

Who it suits: freelancers heading toward real bookkeeping. You have a tax advisor, you want DATEV export, you're tracking everything in one place. If "I need accounting software" is a true statement for you, an incumbent like this is a sensible default. If it isn't, you're paying for a workshop to hang one picture.

What it doesn't do well: the front half of the job. There's no proper proposal-to-signature flow. You can't send a quote, collect a legally binding signature and take a deposit in the same place you'll later invoice.

2. The invoicing-plus-light-accounting tool (e.g. sevDesk)

The other big German name is sevDesk (now owned by France's Cegid), and it's the one I'd warn you to read the small print on. The genuinely month-to-month "Rechnung" plan is around EUR 12.90/month net. The headline-cheaper price — about EUR 8.90/month — is the two-year rate, paid as a long-term commitment. Feature-wise it's a solid invoicing-and-light-accounting tool with ZUGFeRD/XRechnung output, VAT handling, AI receipt capture and DATEV export.

Here's the catch, and it's the single most common freelancer complaint about tools like this: the long-term contracts auto-renew unless you cancel before the term ends. People report the renewal as a roughly EUR 320/year surprise they didn't see coming. (Check the exact cancellation window in the current terms before you commit.)

Who it suits: someone certain they'll stay two years who wants the lowest sticker price. If you value flexibility, the contract structure is the exact thing freelancers complain about most. A two-year commitment just to send invoices is a lot of commitment.

3. The lightweight invoicing app (e.g. FastBill)

A lighter, invoicing-first option that sits between a template and a full suite — FastBill is the German example. The "Solo" plan is around EUR 10/month. It's decent for getting invoices out the door fast, with receipt automation, and VAT handling and e-invoice formats are covered.

Who it suits: freelancers who want clean invoicing and a bit of automation without the accounting depth of a full suite. If your only goal is the best invoicing app for getting documents out fast, it's a reasonable middle ground. Like the others, though, it treats the invoice as the starting point. The proposal, the signature and the deposit happen somewhere else — email, a separate e-sign tool, a manual bank transfer.

4. A plain template (Word / Excel / Google Docs)

Not a tool, but it's the real default for a huge number of new freelancers, so it belongs here. Cost is zero.

Who it suits: someone billing one or two clients a month who doesn't yet need anything else. The moment a business client asks for a structured e-invoice — a ZUGFeRD, XRechnung, Factur-X or UBL file — the template breaks. A PDF that looks like an invoice is not the same as a valid e-invoice format, and that gap is what pushes most people to search for software in the first place.

5. Clozo — the proposal-to-paid pick

We're a bit biased here, as you might tell — but let's be clear about who benefits most.

Clozo is built around one flow:

1. Send a professional proposal.
2. Get a legally binding e-signature (eIDAS, with an audit trail of IP and timestamps).
3. Take a deposit.
4. Get paid through a single link: card, iDEAL, Bancontact or SEPA, with no extra transaction fees on top of Stripe.

Then, when the work's done, it validates the client's EU VAT-ID live against VIES, applies cross-border reverse-charge automatically, and produces a valid e-invoice in their country format — ZUGFeRD or XRechnung for Germany, Factur-X for France, UBL for the Netherlands, and so on. Clozo produces the valid format file and you export it; you (or your accountant) then send or submit it to your client or to any national e-invoicing system yourself — Clozo doesn't connect to or transmit through those systems. Which plan includes the structured e-invoice formats (and which include online payments and the EU VAT engine) is laid out on the pricing page. It does not file your taxes and it isn't a bookkeeping ledger.

That last point is the deliberate trade-off. The one thing none of the invoicing tools above actually markets — a legally binding signature with an IP/timestamp audit trail — is the thing Clozo is built around. You can see the full feature set on the features page.

Plans are EUR 0 free, EUR 12/month Pro and EUR 22/month Unlimited, billed monthly with no two-year lock. The plans differ by what's included — the legally binding eIDAS e-signature is available even on the free plan, while online payments and the EU VAT engine come in on Pro, and the structured e-invoice formats are an Unlimited feature; see the pricing page for the full breakdown.

Who it suits: freelancers and small studios whose money problem is the process. The chasing, the "did you sign the quote yet," the late payment, the cross-border VAT guesswork, and producing a mandate-ready e-invoice on demand — all of it can be handled in one place. If your job starts with a proposal and ends with getting paid, this covers it end to end.

Who it's wrong for: if you genuinely want full double-entry bookkeeping, a DATEV-everything setup and your tax advisor in the same tool, Clozo isn't that — and a full accounting suite is the better call.

So which invoicing software should you pick?

Decide based on the job, not the logo:

• You want real bookkeeping plus DATEV: a full accounting suite (e.g. Lexware Office).
• You want the lowest sticker price and don't mind a two-year contract: an invoicing-plus-accounting tool (e.g. sevDesk).
• You want light, invoice-first software: a lightweight app (e.g. FastBill).
• You bill one client and a PDF still works: a template, for now.
• Your pain is the whole get-paid process — proposal, signature, deposit, payment, and a valid e-invoice format without an accountant: Clozo.

The trap to avoid is paying full-accounting prices, on a multi-year contract, for a job that's really "quote, signature, paid." If that's your job, you don't need accounting software. You need a freelance billing tool that gets you paid.

Try the proposal-to-paid flow free at Clozo. No contract, EUR 0 to start.