Facturwise vs FastBill: Cross-Border EU E-Invoicing

Facturwise vs FastBill at a glance

Two different tools for two different scopes

FastBill, founded in 2011 and headquartered in Germany, is invoicing software with bookkeeping functions added. It serves over 70,000 customers in the German-speaking market and earned Leader status on OMR Reviews in January 2026. Its strongest features are integrated time tracking with retainer management, receipt scanning from the Solo plan, VAT advance return preparation, and GoBD-compliant document archiving on every plan.

Facturwise is a focused e-invoicing platform. It generates compliant outgoing invoices in ZUGFeRD 2.4, Factur-X 1.0.8, XRechnung 3.0, and Peppol BIS 3.0 at EN 16931 profile level. It does not handle bookkeeping, VAT returns, or receipt OCR. The product is built specifically for cross-border EU e-invoicing compliance, covering Germany, France, Belgium, and the Netherlands from one account.

The comparison below covers the situations where the difference matters.

German-market focus versus cross-border focus

FastBill is a German-market product. The interface is German only. ZUGFeRD 2.3 and XRechnung 3.0 cover German B2B and B2G invoicing. The Steuerberater integration via DATEV export, GoBD archiving, and ELSTER submissions all map onto German bookkeeping practice. For a freelancer or agency invoicing exclusively German clients, this focus is a strength rather than a limitation.

Facturwise is built around cross-border EU compliance from the start. The same account generates ZUGFeRD 2.4 for German clients, Factur-X 1.0.8 for French clients (Factur-X is required under France's mandate, active for receipt since September 2026 and scheduled for sending from September 2027), and Peppol BIS 3.0 for Belgian B2B clients (mandatory since January 2026). The interface runs in English, German, and French. Invoice output supports 22 languages from the same account.

For users whose invoicing stays inside Germany, FastBill's market focus and the deeper accounting features it offers may outweigh Facturwise's broader format coverage. For users invoicing French, Belgian, or Dutch clients, FastBill does not currently document Factur-X or Peppol BIS 3.0 support; there is no path within FastBill's current plans to compliantly invoice these markets under their respective mandates.

What each tool is actually for

FastBill is invoicing software with bookkeeping functions added. Users handle invoicing, time tracking, receipt scanning, VAT advance returns, and lightweight bookkeeping in one tool. The Steuerberater accesses the data via DATEV export. Fifteen years of product development show in the depth of features for the German market: retainer management for agencies, project profitability analysis, automatic bank transaction import on Pro plan and above, payroll and year-end closing on Premium.

Facturwise is invoicing software with e-invoicing compliance built in. It assumes you already have an accounting solution, whether a Steuerberater handling your books in DATEV, a separate accounting tool for your domestic market, or your own bookkeeping process. Facturwise generates compliant outgoing invoices for clients who require ZUGFeRD, Factur-X, XRechnung, or Peppol BIS 3.0, and provides a DATEV-compatible CSV export for the Steuerberater handoff. It does not replace the accounting layer.

Neither approach is wrong. The question is which one matches your situation.

E-invoicing format support: what each tool covers

FastBill supports ZUGFeRD 2.3 and XRechnung 3.0, both at EN 16931 profile level, available from the Solo plan upward (€10 per month net, plus 19% VAT). The e-invoicing function is activated in FastBill's settings, after which a built-in pre-check tool shows whether each invoice will be compliant before creation. ZUGFeRD generation requires the standard EN 16931 mandatory fields: company name, address, country, email, phone, IBAN, BIC, and VAT ID. XRechnung is available for Kleinunternehmer (small businesses without VAT registration) and via FastBill's REST API, which is included from the Solo plan.

ZUGFeRD 2.3 and ZUGFeRD 2.4 are both EN 16931 compliant, which is the legally relevant compliance level for the German B2B mandate. The version difference reflects schema updates and release cadence; either version meets the mandate.

Factur-X, the French equivalent of ZUGFeRD that French business clients require under France's mandate, is not mentioned anywhere in FastBill's documentation or marketing material. There is no evidence of Factur-X support across fastbill.com, support.fastbill.com, or third-party reviews as of 2026-05-08.

Peppol BIS 3.0, required for Belgian B2B clients under Belgium's January 2026 mandate and used across the Peppol cross-border network for Norway, Denmark, Sweden, and Netherlands B2G, is not documented anywhere in FastBill's current feature set.

Facturwise generates all four formats on every plan including the free tier. ZUGFeRD 2.4 at EN 16931, Factur-X 1.0.8 at EN 16931, XRechnung 3.0, and Peppol BIS 3.0 are all available from the first invoice without plan upgrades. The output format is configured during onboarding and can be changed at any time in Settings, with the choice applying to every invoice generated from that point forward. If you want to verify any existing invoice for EN 16931 compliance before committing, our free ZUGFeRD validator checks field by field without an account.

Pricing: what you actually pay for each use case

FastBill pricing is net of German VAT. Add 19% to the figures below to get the gross amount you pay as an individual or a business not fully VAT-recoverable.

Solo at €10 per month net (approximately €11.90 gross) covers ZUGFeRD, XRechnung, time tracking, DATEV export, VAT advance return, and the scan app for receipts. It is limited to one user, which is a meaningful constraint for any team larger than a solo freelancer.

Plus at €15 per month net adds multi-user support and multiple bank account connections. Pro at €30 per month net adds the client portal, automated receipt OCR import, and automatic bank transaction import. Premium at €59 per month net adds payroll, year-end closing, and EÜR (income surplus calculation). All plans offer monthly cancellation.

FastBill offers a 14-day free trial with full Pro features. There is no permanent free plan.

Facturwise pricing is straightforward. The free plan generates ZUGFeRD, XRechnung, Factur-X, and Peppol BIS 3.0 invoices for five invoices total with no credit card required and no time limit. Advanced is €13.90 per month or €139 per year for unlimited invoices and clients. Professional is €24.90 per month or €249 per year and adds automated recurring billing, automated payment reminders, and white-label invoices without Facturwise branding. Full pricing is on our Facturwise pricing page.

For a user who needs only outgoing e-invoicing compliance without German-market accounting features, Facturwise's free plan covers ZUGFeRD, XRechnung, Factur-X, and Peppol BIS 3.0 from the first invoice at €0. FastBill Solo at €10 net covers ZUGFeRD and XRechnung for the German market only and excludes Factur-X and Peppol BIS 3.0 entirely. For users invoicing across Germany, France, and Belgium, the cost difference compounds because FastBill cannot generate the formats French and Belgian clients require regardless of plan tier.

When FastBill is the right choice

FastBill is the right choice if you are a German freelancer, agency, or small business whose invoicing stays inside Germany and who values integrated time tracking, receipt scanning, and lightweight accounting features in one tool. Fifteen years of refinement in the German market, an OMR Reviews Leader badge for 2026, and 70,000 customers are reasonable signals of product maturity.

If you bill clients by the hour or run retainer agreements with monthly budgets, FastBill's time tracking is more sophisticated than Facturwise's. The live timer with pause function, retainer management that documents budget overruns and enables separate billing, and project profitability analysis per project and client are standout features for agencies and consultants. Facturwise's time tracking is more basic: log billable hours, convert to invoice. If time tracking is a meaningful part of your daily workflow, FastBill is the stronger choice.

If you need VAT advance return preparation, automatic receipt OCR scanning, GoBD-compliant document archiving, or a native mobile scan app for receipts, FastBill covers those from the Solo plan. Facturwise does not.

When Facturwise is the right choice

Facturwise is the right choice if you invoice clients across Germany, France, Belgium, or the Netherlands and need compliant e-invoicing in all four formats from one account.

If you are a freelancer or agency invoicing French clients who require Factur-X under France's September 2026 mandate, Belgian clients under Belgium's January 2026 Peppol mandate, or any combination of cross-border EU clients, FastBill does not currently document support for either Factur-X or Peppol BIS 3.0. Facturwise covers both from the free plan. We cover the broader pattern of why this gap exists in our piece on the ERP outgoing invoice gap.

If you work in English or French rather than German, FastBill's German-only interface is a hard barrier. Facturwise runs in English, German, and French with full UI localisation in all three.

If you invoice clients in multiple languages and want each client to receive their invoice in their own language without template management, Facturwise generates invoices in 22 languages from the same account. FastBill's invoice output language coverage is not documented in any primary source as of 2026-05-08.

If you have a Steuerberater handling your accounting and you need to hand off invoice data monthly, Facturwise generates a DATEV-compatible CSV export on all plans including the free tier. FastBill includes Steuerberater export from the Solo plan as well; both products handle this handoff competently.

If you are evaluating other invoicing tools, our Lexoffice comparison, sevDesk comparison, and Zervant comparison cover similar trade-offs against different competitors.

What Facturwise does not do

This comparison would not be honest without stating clearly what Facturwise does not cover. Facturwise does not do bookkeeping, bank reconciliation, VAT return preparation, ELSTER submission, P&L reporting, or GoBD-compliant document archiving. Receipt OCR scanning is not available. Time tracking is basic compared to FastBill's retainer management and project profitability analysis. There is no native mobile app yet. If any of those are core to your workflow, FastBill or another accounting suite covers them and Facturwise does not.

Facturwise assumes you have an accounting solution already, whether a Steuerberater handling your books via DATEV, a separate accounting tool for your domestic market, or your own bookkeeping process. Facturwise handles the outgoing invoice compliance layer with particular focus on cross-border EU formats. Everything else stays in your existing setup.

Frequently asked questions