Who is behind them
sevdesk originates from Offenburg, Germany. Cegid announced its acquisition on 6 February 2025, not in 2022. The cloud accounting service mainly targets self-employed people and small businesses.
Lexware Office is Lexware’s cloud service, formerly called lexoffice. Lexware belongs to Haufe and also offers desktop products. zrapp supports the Lexware Office connection described here; it does not connect those desktop products through this workflow.
That distinction matters more than it sounds: people saying „Lexware“ sometimes mean the desktop program. Everything below refers to Lexware Office, the browser product with an online login.
Pricing
Both use tiered pricing. The list prices below are net and monthly, as of September 2026 — check promotions and annual discounts directly with the vendor.
sevdesk lists inventory as a separate add-on, not an additional standard plan compared here. API availability also depends on account version and contract; the official Accounting Pro requirement concerns German system version 2.0 accounts.
| sevdesk | Per month | For |
|---|---|---|
| Free | 0.00 € | 3 invoices a month, e-invoicing |
| Invoicing | 12.90 € | Unlimited invoices and quotes |
| Bookkeeping | 25.90 € | Annual accounts, VAT returns, receipts, banking |
| Accounting Pro | €34.90 | Accounting plus REST API, management reports and cost centres |
Lexware Office pricing
Lexware Office is tiered more finely and starts lower, but has no permanently free tier.
XL is the relevant plan for zrapp because the connection uses a Public API key. The cheaper L plan is therefore not an equivalent cost comparison for this particular workflow.
| Lexware Office | Per month | For |
|---|---|---|
| S | 7.90 € | Receipt capture and archive |
| M | 12.90 € | Quotes, invoices, reminders |
| L | 21.90 € | Bookkeeping, annual accounts, VAT |
| XL | 32.90 € | EU and partial invoices, API |
Where the differences actually sit
Both providers cover many core tasks such as invoicing, document management, bank connections and working with a tax adviser. This does not mean every feature exists in every plan.
Compare the actual workflow: API access, EU tax cases, e-invoice profiles, adjustments and required export data. Plan requirements and the integration app’s limits can matter more than a general feature list.
| Area | sevdesk | Lexware Office |
|---|---|---|
| Invoices, credit notes, templates | Yes | Yes |
| OSS and reverse charge | Yes | Yes |
| XRechnung and ZUGFeRD | Yes | Yes |
| DATEV export and adviser access | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile app, receipt OCR, banking | Yes | Yes |
| Entry price | 0 € (3 inv.) or 12.90 € | 7.90 € |
| Bookkeeping tier | 25.90 € | 21.90 € |
The three questions that actually decide it
- What does your tax adviser use? Agree on access, document transfer and export format. Assess their recommendation against your workflow rather than assuming a conflict of interest.
- Which plan supports the integration? The described zrapp route requires Lexware Office XL or, in German sevdesk 2.0 accounts, Accounting Pro. Free invoicing does not automatically mean free API access.
- Which extras do you need? Check inventory, additional users, reports and paid add-ons. Then calculate accounting and app costs together, taking their different billing currencies into account.
What matters additionally for Shopify merchants
Neither system knows Shopify by itself. Between store and accounting you need an integration that turns orders into documents — with the tax case, line items, shipping and discounts.
That step is independent of the tool choice, and it is often where a decision flips: if no usable integration exists for one of the two, the cheaper tier is worth little.
zrapp supports both. Setup is described in connecting Shopify to sevdesk and connecting Shopify to Lexware Office. Which criteria an integration should meet is in the criteria framework for accounting apps.
Switching is possible, but not free
Both let you export your data, and both have import paths. So it is not a one-way street.
It still costs: master data has to be checked, number ranges continued and open items carried over. Switching mid-financial-year leaves two systems in that year's records. Workable, but worth agreeing with your tax adviser — and a reason to make the decision carefully once rather than quickly twice.
