mika Alternatives 2026: 6 Options for GmbH and UG Compared

mika runs the bookkeeping of a GmbH or UG with AI and in-house bookkeepers, and charges by bank transactions. That model does not fit every company. If you want a flat price or a tax advisor at your side, there are good alternatives. Here are 6 options for a GmbH or UG in Germany, with prices, strengths and limits.

Quick answer: which mika alternative fits you?

• Want your year-end and taxes prepared automatically, at a flat price? Norman runs your bookkeeping for free. The annual accounts, the E-Bilanz and every tax return of your UG or GmbH cost €39/month on the Max plan with yearly billing.
• Want a tax advisor who signs your returns? Compare Norman's tax advice for new companies, boring.tax with a tax firm and your current firm.
• Have a holding? Norman's tax advice has a holding plan for new holdings, and boring.tax has its own holding plan.
• Keeping your tax firm? Then you keep the books in Lexware Office, sevDesk or BuchhaltungsButler, and the firm does the year-end.

mika remains a good choice if review by bookkeepers matters to you and the price fits your volume. Switching makes sense when another option fits your budget or your workflow better.

What is mika?

mika is AI bookkeeping from Berlin for incorporated companies such as a GmbH, UG or AG. Its AI books receipts and payments. Trained bookkeepers check anything it cannot match with confidence. You approve the VAT returns, the annual accounts and the tax returns yourself and submit them from mika. The responsibility stays with you, because bookkeepers are not tax advisors. mika describes itself as software, not as a tax firm. For tax questions, it refers you to tax advisors from a partner network. mika does not support the self-employed or freelancers.

Why look for a mika alternative?

The most common reasons are price, tax advice and the contract:

• Price by transactions. With annual accounts, mika costs €99 a month up to 25 bank transactions and €199 up to 50. As your business grows, the next price tier applies automatically.
• No tax advice in the standard plans. mika does not provide tax advice itself. A package with a partner tax advisor is available on request.
• No free plan. A trial is available on request; after that you pay a monthly subscription.
• Notice period. You can cancel with three months' notice to the end of a month.
• Incorporated companies only. If you also work as a freelancer, you need another tool for that part.

How much does mika cost in 2026?

mika charges by bank transactions per month. This is its standard plan, as published:

Monthly prices exclude VAT, reviewed on 27 September 2026. Above 150 transactions, mika prepares a custom quote. When the average of the last three months passes a threshold, the next tier applies automatically. Billing is monthly in advance. Depending on your needs, you add the holding annual accounts (€200 a year as an add-on or €600 on their own), payroll through a partner (€20 per employee per month) and single annual accounts for past years from €600. Online shops and SaaS companies also need a partner for revenue data, with its own fees.

The 6 options compared

These are entry prices, not identical packages. All prices exclude VAT, as published by the providers; time-limited discounts are not included. Reviewed on 27 September 2026.

1. Norman: your AI bookkeeper at a flat price

Best for: GmbHs and UGs that want their year-end and taxes prepared automatically at a flat price, and the self-employed.

Norman is the mika alternative with free bookkeeping. Your AI bookkeeper captures receipts, categorizes transactions and matches documents to payments. Norman prepares the annual accounts with E-Bilanz and every tax return of your UG or GmbH automatically; you file them through ELSTER on the Max plan, without waiting for a reviewer.

Strengths:

• Free double-entry bookkeeping and invoicing, including e-invoicing
• Annual accounts, E-Bilanz, corporate, trade and annual VAT returns, plus VAT returns and the EC Sales List on Max
• One flat price, whatever your transaction count
• Access for your tax advisor and DATEV export from Pro, or Norman's tax advice with a dedicated tax advisor
• Official MCP access for Claude and ChatGPT; web, iOS and Android; German and English

Limits: Norman is software. You review your postings yourself or with your tax advisor, not a bookkeeping team. Norman creates the disclosure file as a PDF; you file it yourself.

Prices: Free costs €0. Pro costs €9/month and Max €39/month with yearly billing, or €12 and €52 with monthly billing, excluding VAT. Norman's tax advice for early-stage UGs and GmbHs starts at €82/month billed yearly for up to 250 transactions a year; it covers new companies from their first filing. See all plans on the pricing page.

Transparency: Norman publishes this comparison.

2. boring.tax: AI bookkeeping, tax firm optional

Best for: GmbHs and UGs that start with AI bookkeeping and add a tax firm for the year-end when needed.

Strengths: The AI books receipts, the VAT return is prepared for your approval, and a DATEV export is included. In the plan with a firm, a tax advisory firm handles the year-end, the E-Bilanz and the returns. Limits: Without the firm there is no E-Bilanz and no corporate or trade tax return. The provider announces the prepared annual accounts for approval for the fourth quarter of 2026.

Prices: Without a firm €60/month, with a firm by price calculator, holding €500/year, all excluding VAT.

3. BuchhaltungsButler: book yourself, E-Bilanz through a partner

Best for: GmbHs and UGs that do their own bookkeeping and want balance sheet reports.

Strengths: Strong receipt automation, VAT returns and the EC Sales List from Smart, and reports for the EÜR and the balance sheet. You submit the E-Bilanz through the partner eBilanz+. Limits: The provider names no feature of its own for the corporate, trade and annual VAT returns. Plan your tax advisor for these.

Prices: Smart costs €34.90/month billed yearly or €46.90 billed monthly. The E-Bilanz through eBilanz+ costs €35 per filing, all excluding VAT. More in our BuchhaltungsButler comparison.

4. Lexware Office: book yourself, year-end at your firm

Best for: Companies whose tax advisor already works with Lexware Office.

Strengths: Low-cost ongoing bookkeeping with receipt capture, VAT returns and a link to your tax firm; widely used by tax firms. Limits: Lexware Office does not create a balance sheet for your GmbH, so it does not create the E-Bilanz either. Your firm still does the annual accounts and the annual returns, at its own fee.

Prices: Bookkeeping starts with the L plan at €21.90/month, excluding VAT. More in our comparison of Lexoffice alternatives.

5. sevDesk: bookkeeping with bank matching, year-end at your firm

Best for: Small companies that want banking, receipts and VAT returns in one tool and have a tax firm.

Strengths: AI receipt capture, bank matching, VAT return submission and DATEV export; you can invite your tax advisor. Limits: According to sevDesk, it does not create a complete balance sheet or E-Bilanz and does not submit annual returns such as trade tax or the annual VAT return. Your firm does the year-end of your GmbH.

Prices: The Buchhaltung plan costs €25.90/month with monthly billing or €22.90 with a twelve-month term, excluding VAT. More in our comparison of sevDesk alternatives.

6. Traditional tax advisor: everything from one source

Best for: Complex cases such as groups of companies, many employees, international business or ongoing advice.

Strengths: Personal advice and every service from bookkeeping to the returns from one source. Limits: The fees follow the German tax advisor fee schedule (StBVV) and are usually the highest. Without an agreed flat fee, you often learn the price only with the invoice.

Prices: In its fee guide, the German Federal Chamber of Tax Advisors (Bundessteuerberaterkammer) shows €3,550 for the annual accounts, notes and public disclosure of a small corporation, excluding VAT. Bookkeeping, the E-Bilanz and the tax returns come on top.

Which mika alternative should you choose?

Start with one question: who should do your annual accounts?

• You, with AI: Start with Norman. Bookkeeping is free, and the Max plan includes the annual accounts and taxes. Read more about the duties in annual accounts for GmbH and UG.
• A tax advisor: For a new company, Norman's tax advice fits. Otherwise, compare boring.tax with a firm or a traditional firm.
• Your current firm: Keep the books in Lexware Office, sevDesk or BuchhaltungsButler. Or invite your tax advisor into Norman.
• A holding: Norman's tax advice has a holding plan for new holdings, and boring.tax has its own holding plan.

If review by bookkeepers matters to you and the transaction-based price fits your volume, mika is still a good choice.

How to switch from mika

1. Plan the cancellation. mika has a notice period of three months to the end of a month. Set your cut-off date accordingly.
2. Save your data. Download the DATEV export, your receipts and reports while your contract runs. After the contract ends, mika provides an export on request and deletes the content after 30 days.
3. Move into Norman. Upload the DATEV export to Norman. Norman uses it as your opening balances and as the template for your chart of accounts. This works in the middle of a financial year too.
4. Connect bank and receipts. Connect your business account and forward receipts to Norman by app or email.
5. Reconcile the first period. Check balances, open items and VAT before you file your first VAT return from Norman. You can invite your tax advisor for this.

Our mika comparison page puts Norman and mika side by side.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best mika alternative in 2026?

For a GmbH or UG that wants its year-end and taxes prepared automatically at a flat price, we recommend Norman first. If you want a tax advisor at your side, compare Norman's tax advice, boring.tax with a firm and a traditional firm. If you keep your firm, Lexware Office, sevDesk or BuchhaltungsButler fit.

Is there a free mika alternative?

Yes, for ongoing bookkeeping. Norman includes free double-entry bookkeeping, invoicing and e-invoicing. Annual accounts and tax filing for a UG or GmbH cost €39 a month on the Max plan with yearly billing.

Can I do my GmbH's annual accounts without a tax advisor?

Yes. The managing directors may prepare and submit the annual accounts and tax returns of the GmbH themselves. They stay responsible for their accuracy, even when a tax firm does the work. For complex valuations or restructurings, professional help makes sense. Read more in Do I need a tax advisor?

How much do a GmbH's annual accounts cost?

It depends on the route. With Norman, they are included in the Max plan: €39 a month billed yearly. At mika, the plan with annual accounts starts at €99 a month. A tax firm charges under the StBVV; the Bundessteuerberaterkammer gives €3,550 as an example for the annual accounts, notes and public disclosure. All prices exclude VAT.

Does a person check my postings in Norman?

Norman is an AI bookkeeper: you review its suggestions and approve every filing yourself. You can invite your tax advisor from the Pro plan. With Norman's tax advice, one dedicated tax advisor reviews and signs every filing; for UGs and GmbHs this covers new companies from their first filing.

Can I switch from mika to Norman in the middle of the year?

Yes. Upload the DATEV export from mika to Norman. Norman uses it as your opening balances and as the template for your chart of accounts. Mind mika's notice period of three months to the end of a month.

Conclusion

mika combines AI with in-house bookkeepers and charges by bank transactions. You still submit the tax returns yourself there. Norman is the mika alternative if you want free bookkeeping and want the annual accounts, the E-Bilanz and every tax return of your UG or GmbH prepared automatically, at a flat price. If you need a tax advisor at your side, Norman's tax advice, boring.tax with a firm or your current firm give you a route.

Start with Norman and choose the route that fits your company.