Swiss accounting software compared, 2026
Eleven Swiss tools, prices and features side by side
← Back to overviewSole traders looking for accounting software usually compare two numbers: the price and the number of features. Both are harder to compare than they look. Some providers bill monthly, others annually; some quote prices with VAT, others without; and whatever is missing from the cheapest plan rarely appears on the pricing page.
This page puts eleven Swiss tools side by side, all of them plausible options for the self-employed and for sole proprietorships. Every figure comes from the providers' own pricing pages, checked on 19 September 2026 – not from comparison portals, whose numbers turned out to be consistently out of date.
What the providers cost per year
| Provider | Price per year | What that includes |
|---|---|---|
| CashCtrl FREE | CHF 0 | Double-entry bookkeeping and QR invoices, but a single user and no bank import |
| Swiss21 Starter (Abacus) | CHF 0 | 1 user, 1,000 documents sent a year, QR invoices, gross VAT method only |
| Pfeffersack | CHF 60 (annual plan) | Invoices, customer records, time tracking, VAT handling |
| Banana Professional | CHF 89 plus VAT (CHF 96.21) | Double-entry bookkeeping as a desktop program, recommended by the provider up to CHF 100,000 turnover |
| Milchbüechli | CHF 96 (card/PayPal), CHF 108 by invoice | Cash-book accounting only, without invoicing |
| Effizo | CHF 120 (no VAT) | Single-entry bookkeeping, QR invoices with dunning, VAT, bank reconciliation, unlimited users |
| Simplino | CHF 149 | Single-entry bookkeeping, QR invoices, VAT |
| Banana Advanced | CHF 179 | As Professional, with VAT reporting; recommended above CHF 100,000 turnover |
| Swiss21 Basic (Abacus) | CHF 252 (CHF 21 a month) | 3 users (CHF 5 a month per extra user), 2,100 documents a year, net and net-tax-rate methods |
| MILKEE Basic | CHF 298.80 plus VAT (CHF 323.00) | Up to CHF 500,000 turnover, 120 AI receipt scans a year, 2 users |
| Magic Heidi Pro | CHF 299 (CHF 25 a month) | Invoices and expenses for freelancers; free plan capped at 3 invoices |
| CashCtrl PRO | CHF 350 | 3 users, 2 organisations, bank import and receipt upload |
| bexio Basic | CHF 420 plus VAT (CHF 454.02) | Without bank connection and without receipt capture |
| bexio Advanced | CHF 504 plus VAT (CHF 544.82) | With bank connection and receipt capture, built for SMEs with a team |
| KLARA Business BASIC | from CHF 576 (from CHF 48 a month) | SME package, further modules cost extra |
Source: the pricing pages of the providers concerned, checked on 19 September 2026. Where an annual discount applies, the annual price is calculated from the discounted monthly rate. VAT is stated only where the provider states it; for Banana, bexio and MILKEE it is added in brackets at the 8.1% rate. Prices can change – the provider's current price list always takes precedence.
Why the price alone says little
VAT is handled differently. bexio, Banana and MILKEE quote their prices without VAT – CHF 420 becomes CHF 454.02. For a sole proprietorship below CHF 100,000 turnover, which is not VAT-registered itself, that is not a pass-through item but a real cost. No VAT is added to Effizo's price: CHF 120 stays CHF 120.
Free is rarely free enough. CashCtrl FREE runs a complete double-entry ledger, but allows neither receipt uploads nor bank transaction imports – both sit in the CHF 350 plan. At Swiss21 the Starter package costs nothing, but covers only one user and 1,000 documents sent a year, and supports only the gross method for VAT.
Scope varies more than price. Milchbüechli and Banana are bookkeeping tools in the narrow sense; Magic Heidi and Pfeffersack come from the invoicing side. Only a few solutions cover both plus VAT and bank reconciliation – and that is exactly where the field divides.
Features compared
| Provider | Bookkeeping | QR invoices | VAT reporting | Bank reconciliation | Receipt capture | Users |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Effizo | single-entry | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ AI-assisted | unlimited |
| Milchbüechli | single-entry | ✘ | ✘ | ✘ | manual | 1 |
| Simplino | single-entry | ✔ | ✔ | – | – | – |
| Pfeffersack | type not stated | ✔ | ✔ | – | ✔ AI-assisted | – |
| MILKEE Basic | single-entry (double-entry from Business) | ✔ | ✘ only from Business | ✔ | 120 scans a year | 2 |
| Magic Heidi Pro | type not stated | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ bank CSV | ✔ AI-assisted | – |
| bexio Advanced | double-entry | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | up to 25 |
✔ means the provider states the feature itself. – means it is not mentioned on their product and pricing pages; that is not evidence it is missing. ✘ appears only where the provider does not offer the feature: Milchbüechli has confirmed in its own FAQ that it can neither issue invoices nor import e-banking files, and offers no VAT reporting. MILKEE lists VAT reporting as not included in its Basic plan. Checked on 19 September 2026, MILKEE on 28 September 2026.
Which tool suits which case?
You only want to record income and expenses and write your invoices in Word anyway: Milchbüechli or Banana are enough and cost under CHF 100 a year.
You mostly write invoices and post very little: Magic Heidi is built for that, with a free plan for the first three invoices.
Your business is growing and several people work in it, with stock, projects or payroll: bexio and KLARA are made for that – at prices from CHF 454 and CHF 576 a year respectively.
You want both – bookkeeping and invoicing – with no tiers and no add-on costs: that is what Effizo was built for. Effizo is not the cheapest provider on this list; at CHF 120 it sits in the lower third. The difference lies in what that single price contains: invoices with a Swiss QR payment part, dunning, VAT reporting, bank reconciliation and AI-assisted receipt capture, with no cap on users and no surcharge for your accountant's access.
Effizo at a glance
- CHF 120 a year – one flat price, no tiers, no per-user fees
- Single-entry bookkeeping for sole proprietorships below CHF 500,000 turnover
- Invoices with a Swiss QR payment part, by e-mail or as a PDF for postal delivery
- Three-stage dunning – you set the deadlines and the reminder fee yourself
- Automatic VAT reporting
- Bank reconciliation – upload the statement as CAMT.053 or PDF and Effizo proposes the matching entry
- AI-assisted receipt capture included
- Unlimited users, ideal for giving your accountant access
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More on the features: Simple accounting, Invoices, Bank reconciliation, VAT – every price on the pricing page, and the direct comparison with the market leader on bexio alternative.