Anyone planning to send or receive invoices via Peppol soon asks what it will cost. Peppol e-invoicing costs are not a single fixed fee: they add up from a few building blocks, and each provider packages those differently. This page explains what makes up the cost, which factors drive the price, and how this works out for three types of organisations. We deliberately do not quote amounts, because prices change and vary widely between providers. You can compare current prices in the comparison tool on peppol.nu.
How does paying for Peppol work?
Peppol is a network built on shared agreements and standards. As a business you do not connect to the network yourself: you connect through a Peppol Serviceprovider, which sends your invoices in the correct format and receives incoming invoices on your behalf. You pay that Serviceprovider, or the vendor of your accounting or ERP software if it has a Serviceprovider built in. The Peppol network itself does not charge you separate per-message fees.
What makes up Peppol e-invoicing costs?
These are possible building blocks a provider's price can be made up of; not every component applies with every provider. Some providers charge no additional costs at all, because everything is already included in a single package. Others work with a combination of fixed and variable costs, made up of (some of) the components below.
Fixed subscription
Price per document
One-off setup cost
Integration with accounting or ERP software
Receiving versus sending
Which factors determine Peppol e-invoicing costs?
Invoice volume
For most pricing models, the number of documents per month or per year matters most. At low volumes the fixed subscription carries the most weight; at high volumes the price per document becomes decisive.
Countries you invoice in
If you invoice in several countries, requirements on top of the standard Peppol agreements may apply, such as national format variants or reporting obligations. Not every provider supports every country equally well.
Integration complexity
A standard connector to a well-known accounting package is very different from integrating an ERP system with custom fields or approval workflows. The more complex the integration, the higher the costs.
Support and service
Standard support is often included. Dedicated contacts, agreed response times (SLA) or help onboarding trading partners are often priced separately.
Additional services
Some providers offer more than Peppol alone: archiving, validation or invoice processing. Make sure you compare like with like. The different forms of e-invoicing are explained on Getting Started with eInvoicing.
Worked example: three types of businesses
The examples below are qualitative: they show which cost items carry the most weight, not what you will pay.
Small business with low volume
- Weighs most: the fixed costs (subscription or base package)
- Limited: the price per document, because volume is low
- Often negligible: setup and integration, if Peppol is built into the accounting package
- Check whether your current package already offers Peppol
SME with average volume
- Weighs most: the combination of subscription and price per document
- Important: receiving purchase invoices, often a larger volume than expected
- Moderate: integration costs, depending on a standard connector
- Calculate with your actual volume in both directions
Larger organisation with high volume and several countries
- Weighs most: integration with the ERP system and the one-off implementation
- Important: country coverage and support for national requirements
- Relatively low per unit: the price per document at high volumes
- Ask for the total cost over several years
What this means for businesses
Use this checklist to map the cost factors for your own organisation.
Checklist
- Map the number of invoices you send per month
- Map the number of invoices you receive per month as well
- Check whether your current accounting or ERP software already supports Peppol
- List the countries you invoice in and whether extra requirements apply there
- Decide whether a standard connector will do or whether you need a custom integration
- Ask each provider what counts as a document and what a document costs beyond the bundle
- Ask about one-off costs for setup, integration and onboarding trading partners
- Compare the support level and response times with what your organisation needs
- Calculate the total cost over several years instead of only the monthly price
- Compare at least three providers based on your own volume and situation
For public sector organisations
In many countries, public sector organisations are required to be able to receive e-invoices, among other things under European Directive 2014/55/EU. For them the cost question is mainly about receiving at scale and integrating with the financial system. Check whether your organisation can use a central or shared facility before procuring a solution of its own.
Summary
For guidance on making the final choice, see the knowledge base page Choosing an e-invoicing solution.
Peppol e-invoicing costs depend mainly on your volume, how Peppol connects to your software, the countries you do business in and the support level you need. If you map these factors in advance, you can estimate costs accurately and compare providers fairly. Not every provider lists prices in the comparison tool on peppol.nu; where that information is missing, check the provider’s own website or request a quote.
